in this country. and i would like to ask- the panel now, do you support british agriculture? 0k, we will stick with strikes for the moment. forgive me, but i realise that's something that farmers feel very strongly about, and i hear what you say. can ijust ask, it is very clear the wave of sympathy we are getting for strikers and the real pain we are hearing from people who are affected by it, and in those industries. can i ask, is there anyone here in the audience who opposes the strikes? this couples big day was another victory for inequality after australians voted to legalise same—sex marriage. when you've been brought up to believe that to be gay is evil and you have been told it's demonic and all that stuff. to then have the australian public say we are behind you, go for it. we think it is something you should totally be allowed to do. that is incredibly profound. you still pinch yourself. you do. and at the same time go, hey i shouldn't be pinch myself. we always deserve this kind ofjustice and equality. it's true. still sometimes will say to each other. i can't believe we are married. how did that happen? that is awesome. but surely has not always been so tolerant. a special commission in the state of new south wales was investigating suspected and unsolved 93v investigating suspected and unsolved gay hate crimes committed between

1970 welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines.. us basketball star brittney griner has been released from a russian prison colony — exchanged for a notorious arms dealer nicknamed the merchant of death. in their much—hyped new documentary series , meghan and harry go into detail about their relationship, press intrusion and racism. an american diplomat�*s wife , who caused the death of a british teenager in a road collision and then left the country , is given a suspended prison sentence. and we take you to the great wall of china where two brothers are making an epicjourney ——running the entire length of it. it's 7am in singapore, and 2am in moscow where an infamous russian arms dealer , freed by the united states in a prisoner swap, is back home. viktor boot — known as the merchant of death — was traded for the us basketball star brittney griner, who's also flying home after her release. she was arrested in russia in february when cannabis oil vapes were found in her bags. our north america editor sarah smith reports. still in the dark, brittney griner doesn't know why she's being led onto a plane. this footage, released by the russian authorities, shows her being given the news. you know where i'm heading to? no. no?

no. you're flying back home, to the us. she is safe, she's on a plane, is on her way home, after months of being unjustly detained in russia. here on the tarmac in abu dhabi, the handover. brittney griner, in the red jacket, being released, and swapped for a notorious russian arms dealer, viktor bout. the basketball star had been detained in russia since february, when she was arrested at an airport in moscow for trying to smuggle vape cartridges containing marijuana into the country. something she described as an honest mistake. i understand everything that's being said against me, the charges that are against me, therefore i'm pleading guilty. after that guilty plea she was sentenced to nine years injail and last month was moved to an extremely harsh labour camp. viktor bout, the russian arms dealer known as the merchant of death, has been in jail in america since 2011. he's now also free man. the white house offered to swap bout for ms griner and paul whelan.

he's an american who is being held on charges of espionage which the us says are false. russia refused to include mr whelan in the exchange. britney greiner has become a real cause celebre in america and her freedom is being celebrated but the president is being criticised for releasing a man is clearly dangerous as viktor bout. brittney griner�*s i'm joined now byjonathan franks from the campiagn bring our families home, which brittney griner�*s family was a part of. can you give us a can you give us a sense can you give us a sense of what is been taken place find the scenes for

this to happen. been taken place find the scenes for this to happen-— this to happen. absolutely. thank ou for this to happen. absolutely. thank you for having _ this to happen. absolutely. thank you for having me. _ this to happen. absolutely. thank you for having me. i _ this to happen. absolutely. thank you for having me. i very - this to happen. absolutely. thank you for having me. i very much i this to happen. absolutely. thank i you for having me. i very much feel like this is a mixed blessing. last night when i found out i was absolutely overjoyed for miss greiner for her family. absolutely overjoyed for miss greinerfor herfamily. anytime a american injury. created after being held hostage it is a joyous occasion. however i sent i also felt sick to my stomach that paul will and was not included. this is now the third time he has been left behind by two successive american presidents. and i think it's disgraceful. this presidents. and i think it's disgraceful.— presidents. and i think it's disaraceful. a ., . disgraceful. as you point out. paul whelan has _ disgraceful. as you point out. paul whelan has not _ disgraceful. as you point out. paul whelan has not been _ disgraceful. as you point out. paul whelan has not been released. - disgraceful. as you point out. paul. whelan has not been released. what immediate concerns about his safety question mark and hopes and expectations about when he might be released. fin expectations about when he might be released. , . ., expectations about when he might be released. , . . , released. on his health and safety. he has been _ released. on his health and safety. he has been in _ released. on his health and safety. he has been in hospital— released. on his health and safety. he has been in hospital recently. . released. on his health and safety. | he has been in hospital recently. in russia they have a different definition of hospital than we do in america or you do in the uk. but i

think he's older. the conditions in monrovia where he are is being kept are squalid. and most people would contract significant illness in that environment. i'm actually quite worried if this continues and continues. and the us government continues. and the us government continues not to bring him home something horrible happened. jonathan just something horrible happened. jonathanjust in something horrible happened. jonathan just in terms of the process of this and the work you are involved in. how does bring our families help to get detainees on? and is this public spotlight useful question mark does it detracts tractor gets in a way of negotiations? i tractor gets in a way of negotiations?- tractor gets in a way of negotiations? tractor gets in a way of ne . otiations? ~ . tractor gets in a way of ne . otiations? ~' . , ., negotiations? i think there are some --eole in negotiations? i think there are some people in government _ negotiations? i think there are some people in government who _ negotiations? i think there are some people in government who say - negotiations? i think there are some people in government who say it - negotiations? i think there are some people in government who say it will get in a way of negotiations but i don't think that's accurate. what we have done. it'sjust don't think that's accurate. what we have done. it's just a hostage families i am their consultant. they have campaigned aggressively since

me to get the american government to use more tactics like prisoner trays to resolve this. we have about 60 americans being held hostage around the world right now. we have to start bringing them home. i heard the intro on the tribute i would agree to disagree on the threat she poses. i have some significant problems with cloud his persecution was handled. i will remind everyone that mr boot was not in jail for being the merchant of death. in the united states is on punishable to charge somebody for an adjustable offence. if they wanted to charge mr boot for the merchant of death they should've charged. they should've charged him they didn't. so, instead he would have gone in three years or four years and we. i think most of

us take the position that we may as well have gotten something in the deal turning them back. i don't think he's a danger. he is older now. he is sick. and quite frankly he was retired when the defence government site sentiment. thank you jennifer and government site sentiment. thank you jennifer and for — government site sentiment. thank you jennifer and forjoining _ government site sentiment. thank you jennifer and forjoining us _ government site sentiment. thank you jennifer and forjoining us on _ government site sentiment. thank you jennifer and forjoining us on the - jennifer and forjoining us on the programme wassup and given us our thoughts from the camping thing bring ourfamilies on. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the iranian government has executed a protestor for the first time since anti—government demonstrations began in september. mohsen shekari was hanged for wounding a member of the basij militia and blocking a street during a demonstration. the execution has been met with international condemnation. president putin has vowed to continue attacking ukraine's energy infrastructure. moscow's missile strikes have left millions of people without electricity as temperatures plummet. but he said that growing global criticism would not be allowed to interfere

with missions in ukraine. more than a thousand new york times employees have gone on strike in the first industrial action of its kind at the newspaper in more than a0 years.journalists and other workers at the media outlet, often referred to as �*america's paper of record' walked out for 2h hours after failing to reach an agreement with the company on a new round of contract negotiations. in their new documentary series, harry and meghan, the duke and duchess of sussex have heavily criticised the way they've been treated by the media and the royal family. the couple claim there were "racist overtones" in some of the press coverage. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell has been watching. it is the truth according to harry and meghan, the story of two people who fell in love but whose lives, in their view, were compromised by others conspiring against them. no—one knows the full truth. we know the full truth. the institution knows the full truth and the media know the full truth because they've been in on it.

the behaviour of the press is a constant theme. harry believes there was a racial undertone to media coverage when it emerged that he was in a relationship with meghan markle, a woman of mixed race. the couple think the royal family and buckingham palace should have done more to support them. it was almost like a rite of passage. and some of the members of the family was like, "but my wife had to go through "that so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? "why should you get special treatment? "why should she be protected?" i said the difference here is the race element. meghan too evidently believes she wasn't given a fair chance by the palace or the press. but truth be told. no matter how hard i tried or how good i was. no matter what i did. they were still going to find a way to destroy me.

there is no explicit allegation against royal family members on the race issue, though harry says there is unconscious bias. in this family, sometimes you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution. and there is a huge level of unconscious bias. the thing with unconscious bias is it is actually no—one's fault. but once it has been pointed out or identified within yourself, you then need to make it right. it is education, it's awareness. queen elizabeth, though, was warm and welcoming. meghan recalled their first meeting at windsor castle and her first curtsy. i curtsied as though i was like... "pleasure to meet you, your majesty!" so, have these programmes changed anything? this morning, king charles was out

and about on an official visit. buckingham palace is saying nothing publicly, though privately, officials are growing weary. i think there is a sort of sense of both disappointment - and exasperation in the palace that the couple feel the need i to keep going on about how miserable . they were in their royal existence. . at the same time, the couple feel they need to keep telling - the world why they left. i accept there will be people around the world who fundamentally disagree with what i've done and how i have done it. but i knew that i had to do everything i could to protect my family. three more hours of harry and meghan telling their truth will be released next week. especially after what happened to my mum. that's your grandma, diana. you know, i didn't want history to repeat itself. an american woman who caused the death of a british teenager in 2019 ,

has been given an eight—month suspended sentence. harry dunn , who was 19, died when anne sacoolas drove on the wrong side of the road. she returned to the us shortly after the collision , claiming diplomatic immunity, but later admitted causing death by careless driving. daniel sandford reports. more than three years after harry dunn died, his family came to the old bailey to hear thejudge passed sentence on the american woman responsible. but anne sacoolas, the woman being sentenced, was not in court. seen on the right, she was appearing by video link with her lawyer from washington, dc. first, thejudge praised harry dan's family for how they had campaigned forjustice for him. there is no doubt that the calm and dignified persistence of these parents and the family of that young man has led, through three years of heartbreak and effort, to your appearance before the court, and the opportunity for you to acknowledge your guilt of a crime.

please stand up, mrs sacoolas. for the offence of causing the death of harry dan by your careless driving, the sentence is eight months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. harry dunn's mother said she'd now kept the promise she made to him in hospital after he'd died, to get him justice. job done, promise complete. properly, properly complete now. anne sacoolas has a criminal record for the rest of her life. that was something that, you know, she never thought she would see, the us government never thought they would see. anne sacoolas had turned onto the wrong side of the road as she left a barbecue and stayed in the wrong lane for 350 metres, hitting harry dunn on a blind bend. the prosecution told the judge that a passer—by who arrived immediately after the crash found anne sacoolas looking disoriented with her two children on the side of the road. harry dunn was conscious and repeatedly said, "don't let me die."

anne sacoolas said, "it's all my fault. " "i was on the wrong side of the road. " but using her husbands job at the secretive us base at raf croughton, anne sacoolas claimed diplomatic immunity and left the country 19 days later. she also works for a sensitive branch of the us government. we're concerned over how much it would appear that sometimes the uk are continuing to pander to the us. it's like, they continue to choose to be a lapdog. and that needs to stop, that needs to change. but the family say that three years on, they can now remove the signs calling forjustice on the blind corner where harry dunn died. daniel sandford, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. a great run , along the entire

great wall of china. we meet two young men on an epic journey few have ever completed. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building in the centre of new york. there has been a crowd here standing in more or less silent vigil, and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating - the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundredsl of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been. gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former president of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila. she is facing seven charges of tax

evasion, estimated at £120 million. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani. in singapore. 0ur headlines us basketball star brittney griner has been released from a russian prison colony — exchanged for the russian arms dealer victor bout. prince harry says he sacrificed �*everything he knows' tojoin meghan �*in her world' — in the first episodes of a much—hyped new series. japan's lower house has passed a bill that will make it a crime for religious and other organisations to "maliciously" take

it's an issue that's been highlighted following the assasination of former prime minister shinzo abe. the only suspect in the murder said he resented japan's unification church, who'd allegedly used malicious tactics to take large sums of money from his mother which left her in financial ruin. the suspect had accused abe of being connected to the church. i'm joined byjeffrey hall, lecturer injapanese studies and international relations at kanda university of international studies. he joins us from tokyo. what does this bill move mean, what message is it sending politically and socially? sure this bill is a small step but a significant one for formers members of the church who have been campaigning for years for the government to do something to address the church is questionable fundraising practices. for most of that time the government had not really investigated the church at

all. some say that is because of the churches ties to so many politicians in the ruling part of. but now in the wake of the former prime ministers assassination. there has been intense coverage of the churches practices and in tense pressure on prime minister to do something. so this bill reprint something. so this bill reprint something. it represents quiche trying to convince the public that his party is going to cut ties with the church and do something for the victims. and how have the victims responded? the ruling has not gone down well with all the victims. some of the victims were present yesterday and reacted with emotion to the government doing something most see as of small step. it doesn't really do much to help people who are within the church who haven't left the church. who are still given money but don't realise

that they are victims. there's also the question of the bill not having that many rules against things like putting a limit on the amount one can donate. many have said it is very weak and there needs to be more to actually address this issue. what will be the impact of this bill on religious freedom — will it affect other religious groups too such as buddhists? the question of religious freedom is one that is relevant to the government. because the coalition partner is a political party that has a voter base of religious people and they have been very concerned with any new law that might do anything to impact their religious backers. so this is something that is sort of tying the prime ministers

hands because they don't want to something that could impact other religious groups.— religious groups. jeffrey holland their lecturer _ religious groups. jeffrey holland their lecturer at _ religious groups. jeffrey holland their lecturer at the _ religious groups. jeffrey holland their lecturer at the university i religious groups. jeffrey holland| their lecturer at the university of international studies. thank you for joining me on the programme. in a watershed moment for the gay rights movement in the united states, same—sex marriage will be protected at federal level. a bill to protect same—sex marriage has been given final approval by the house of representatives. president biden nowjust needs to sign the bill into law. there had been fears that the conservative—led supreme court might take away the nationwide right to same sex marriage, as it did with abortion. to australia now, and it's five years since australia legalised same—sex marriage. in december 2017, the marriage act was updated. for thousands of couples, the reform has been life—changing. from sydney, phil mercer reports. this couples big day was another victory for inequality after australians voted

to legalise same—sex marriage. when you've been brought up to believe that to be gay is evil and you have been told it's demonic and all that stuff. to then have the australian public say we are behind you, go for it. we think it is something you should totally be allowed to do. that is incredibly profound. you still pinch yourself. you do. and at the same time go, hey i shouldn't be pinch myself. we always deserve this kind ofjustice and equality. it's true. still sometimes will say to each other. i can't believe we are married. how did that happen? that is awesome. but surely has not always been so tolerant. a special commission in the state of new south wales was investigating suspected and unsolved gay hate crimes committed between 1970 and 2010. one victim, an american student, died after allegedly

being thrown off a cliff here. a national park in sydney. gay rights campaigners say that in the 19805 violence towards lgbt people was almost seen as a sport. homophobia was rife in the early days of the hiv epidemic. i think this represents a really important opportunity- for truth telling. we need to acknowledge and be upfront about what took place . during those time times. it wasn't that long ago. it is within living _ memory for so many people within our community. so those scars are still with us. i think this inquiry represents . a important opportunity for truth telling and tells us how far we have come. _ and hopefully this process can come create some healing. _ this couple have settled into married life. they now have the courage and freedom to be themselves. that's an incredibly precious thing. 0ur worlds were upside down. they were five years ago.

i think that whole debate and the legalisation of same—sex marriage was pivotal in that whole journey. only about 60% of australians voted in favour of marriage reform. there remains opposition from search church leaders and others. but the anniversary of the 2017 vote is being celebrated. as a moment in history. phil mercer bbc news sydney. two young men with a british father and chinese mother are in the middle of a epic journey that few have ever completed. they're running the entire length of the great wall of china. it involves effectively completing a marathon every day for six months — through deserts, over stephen mcdonell has the story. 0n the quietest parts of the great wall in all conditions. they're running two young men, half british, half chinese, completing a marathon a day along the entire length of this phenomenal structure. we're doing this to fulfill our

childhood dream of running the great wall. they've trained for years to traverse what are actually a series of walls and battlements. it's a grueling undertaking doing something like this, something very difficult to build. strength of character. oh, this is a nice bit of the wall, isn't it? check that out. so spectacular. jimmy and tommy lindsey, they've been linked to the great wall by theirfamily. so we've been coming to the great wall from a very early age. me from the age of four and tommy from when he was zero. they say they call it the great wall, and that's an understatement. what you see at the tourist sites, it's only a tiny, tiny fraction, a fraction of it. in 1988, their father relied on the hospitality of locals for his own great wall run, which the bbc reported

on at the time. he stayed in china, got married. now his sons are following in their dad's footsteps, starting in the far west, where the ancient wall was made from rammed earth. they'll finish near the north korean border. they passed their family's place at genco and check in with their dad. yeah. he's filled them with great wall knowledge since they were kids. it's been invaluable in getting them through this epic run through the remotest of areas, even dodging zero covid lockdowns, constantly reminding ourselves that, you know, it's to soak the journey and to soak the landscape, the people, the experiences the thing that never ceases to impress when you visit the great wall is how it goes on and on, off into the distance, seemingly forever. and you wonder what it's like on the next ridge or over in the next valley. well. these two know exactly what it's like because they've been there.

so we hope to inspire, especially young people, to find their own rites of passage. just before christmas, they'll have completed something that very few have. so they say they'll need a new adventure. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, in the mountains outside beijing. you have been watching newsday. goodbye. well, it looks like this cold weather is going to stick around for quite a few more days. it's not desperately cold during the day. it's the night—time that's especially chilly, with temperatures perhaps getting as low as minus ten in rural spots in the next few nights. but snow showers, icy stretches, sharp frosts, those are the main points as this cold air arrives and has indeed arrived from the northern climes all the way from the arctic. but we'll see subtle changes in the wind direction over the coming days. so that means that snow

showers will be affecting perhaps different areas. but the northerly winds have been bringing in quite persistent snow showers to scotland. we've had some grazing the eastern counties of england as well, even reports of hail showers in places. and through the course of the night, icy stretches in some areas. it's also going to turn quite cloudy across parts of the midlands, east anglia, the south—east. maybe a few flakes of snow from that as well, but really not an awful lot. these are the inner city temperatures, so minus three, minus four. but in rural spots, as i indicated earlier on, it will be a good deal colder than that. so here's the morning — lots of sunshine right from the word go, but not necessarily in the south—east. could be really quite raw and dull for a time before the sun arrives. wintry showers continue in the north, in some western areas, northern ireland, too. and again, briefly in the afternoon, temperatures for most of us touching around about three to five celsius. and then the following night, so friday night into early saturday,

again, these are the inner city values with lower temperatures expected in rural spots. so this weekend, of course, it's staying cold, but freezing fog, lingering freezing fog could be a problem. now, let's have a look at the forecast map, then. and you can see a low pressure establishing itself across the uk. that means lighter winds if we're in the centre of the low. that will help the fog to form. and also notice that blobs of blue, white are starting to appear in other parts of the country. that's an indication of the winds shifting around the uk and perhaps pushing in some of the wintry showers to areas that haven't seen anything so far. so, yes, the outlook staying cold, not desperately cold by day, certainly not subzero for most of us, but chilly nights. and of course, you can track the weather as always on our fabulous weather app, bye—bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the american basketballer brittney griner�*s been freed from a russian prison and is on her way back to the us. it's part of a prisoner swap. the us has released a russian arms dealer, victor bout. rights activists have condemned iran's execution of a protester — the first since anti—government demonstrations erupted in september. mohsen shekari was hanged for wounding a member of the basij paramilitary and blocking a street during a demonstration in tehran. a bill to protect same—sex marriage in the united states has been given final approval by the house of representatives. president biden nowjust needs to sign the bill for it to become law. harry and meghan have spoken of press intrusion and how they met in the first episodes of their new series.

the couple give more details about the challenges they've