welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. we have a special report from bakhmut in eastern ukraine — the site of fierce fighting from which almost all the city's occu pa nts have fled like you can tell every minute that this is an area that is being intensely fought over. chaos and confusion again in congress, there's still no speaker in the house of representatives — kevin mccarthy loses a sixth vote as the republican rebellion continues. the european union now recommends pre—departure covid testing for chinese travelers entering the bloc more than 160 thousand people have

paid their last respects to the former pope — benedict 16th — before his funeral at the vatican on thursday. it's seven in the morning in singapore, and one in the morning in ukraine, where a ukrainian battlefield commander in the eastern town of bakhmut has told the bbc that the fighting there is ferocious. a us official has said russian forces have made incremental advances around the town, with mercenaries from the russian paramilitary wagner group heavily involved in the assault. the battle has been described as a �*meat grinder�* — with high numbers of casualties on both sides. almost all of the city's 70 thousand occupants have fled. russia is working hard to capture bakhmut —

in the hope it could lead to the fall of sloviansk and krama—torsk as well — the two most important cities in the donbas still under ukrainian control. but ukrainian forces are holding firm. the bbc�*s yogita limaye reports from the city. this is what the merciless bombardment of a city looks like. and how it sounds. once a quiet place known for sparkling wine, bakhmut is now a byword for war. and ukraine's resistance. russia is using all its might to try and dig at the city. we drove past abandoned buildings. 90% of the people have fled. this is what you can see everywhere in bakhmut, destruction. on the other side of the road coming

you can see apartment blocks completely destroyed, we are walking all over shards of glass pretty much every second you hear the sound of artillery fire. you can tell every minute of that this is a city that is being intensely fought over. and over the past few months, of fierce battle, even though it's had an important road intersection, it's the symbolic importance of this fight that has become greater than its strategic location. bakhmut of the home anatoly has known all his life. we see him barely react when a shell land is a few hundred metres away. he has come to a centre, a lifeline for those still here. why don't you leave, we asked him? translation: i have nowhere to go.

i am alone. who would want to take an 86—year—old in? here at least sometimes when the soldiers give me food, ifind it and eat it and i get free bread. in my whole life, i've never seen anything like this. tatiana used to be a midwife before the war. now, she is a volunteer. translation: i stayed because i needed here. of course i'm scared. i have been caught in shelling three times. i suffered a concussion. what use would i be hiding in the basement? people stay for different reasons. the explosions don't stop, but no one flinches. it is as if they have become numb. running from bombs every day, repeated trauma without an end. this woman told us she and her daughter live like mice running out quickly to get bread.

walking to this centre for a bit of food is a risk they take to survive. outside we met aleksei, the mayor of bakhmut. we can't show his location. translation: it is my “ob, my life, my fate to stay here. _ i won't leave the people and i trust ukraine's military won't allow my city to fall. we went to see ukrainian defence, taking to a location we can't disclose. underground, to one of their command centres, in the city. the heart of the military operation. fewjournalists have been here. this is a live feed from drones beyond the eastern edge of bakhmut, where russian forces are stationed.

the men here are trying to locate the target. for an assault team thatjust gone out. this commander told us this is the toughest battle he has ever fought. translation: we haven't seen enemy troops like this before. _ they are soldiers openly advance on their fire, even on the ground with their bodies, even if only 20 are left of their 60 men, it is very difficult to hold against such an invasion. a few weeks ago we had to withdraw from eastern approaches to the city to save our soldiers. they showed us this video. the east of the city on new year's morning under russian attack. in the fields outside bakhmut, we see the daily grind to keep a hold on it.

the winter makes it harder to camouflage guns. we watch them fire soviet—era weapons. soldiers tell us they work well and do the job. but in modern equipment would help push through the deadlock on the ground. on the other end isn'tjust the russian military, there are also thousands of mercenaries from the private groups. they expect incoming fire so we retreat to a bunker. why does it feel like it's deadlock on the ground? translation: it is stuck for many reasons. - the winter makes it harder to use equipment. we also have a shortage of weapons and ammunition. 21—year—old alexandre says. back to positions they go. each side trying to

wear the other down. in this battle of endurance. bbc news, bakhmut. to other stories now. and its day two of the speaker drama in the us house of representatives, as once again kevin mccarthy tried to become one of the most important elected officials in the us government. despite receiving on wednesday the backing of former president donald trump, who urged republicans to "vote for kevin and close the deal" — mr mccarthy lost a sixth consecutive vote for speaker, as a small group of far right republicans rebelled — and voted for somone else. the total number of votes cast is 433, of which the honourable hakeem jeffries of the state of new york has received 212. cheering and applause.

the honourable kevin mccarthy of the state of california has received 201. cheering and applause. the honourable byron donald is of the state of florida has received 20. applause. with one recorded as present. no member elect having received a majority of the votes cast, a speaker has not been elected. our washington correspondent gary o'donoghue gave us the latest from capitol hill. two days, six votes, nine and a half hours and there's still no closer to reaching a conclusion than they were at the beginning of this whole process. the problem is there around 20 rebels, on the of kevin mccarthy's party were implacably

opposed to him, despite the numerous concessions he has given them over the past few days, and with the intervention of donald trump himself, the supporters for mr mccarthy, that made no difference whatsoever. they're breaking for a couple of hours to try to do it all over again to mangle the words of what western philosophers best known thinkers, doing the same thing over and overagain, it thinkers, doing the same thing over and over again, it might not be the definition of idiocy when you expect a different outcome, but it is definition of highly embarrassing. and stay with us on bbc news as we will bring you all the latest on that vote to try and elect a speaker in the house of representatives the european union is now recommending travel controls on visitors from china, where covid infections have exploded. the guidance includes passengers having a negative covid—19 test before they depart from china,

random tests on arrival, and wearing face masks on flights. they also want aircraft waste water tested for the virus. it comes as the world health organization accused officials there of understating the true impact the recent surge in covid—19 infections is having on the country's health system. i'm joined now by professor yanzhong huang, a senior fellow for global health at the council on foreign relations. the eu now recommending pre—departure tests for chinese travellers — how effective do you think these sorts of restrictions are at containing the disease? it may be able to delay the spread of the _ it may be able to delay the spread of the virus to europe but certainly it is not— of the virus to europe but certainly it is not going to contain the spread. _ it is not going to contain the spread, we know that when they're implementing zero covid—19 measures, that the _

implementing zero covid—19 measures, that the most in the policy of imported cases and still we imposed passengers from south africa when omicmh _ passengers from south africa when omicron and that did not work and unnecessary because we know because it was_ unnecessary because we know because it was such _ unnecessary because we know because it was such a _ unnecessary because we know because it was such a high large number and that population but, we know that they provided that but those are the pre—existing and they will learn to coexist _ pre—existing and they will learn to coexist with the virus and causing a search— coexist with the virus and causing a search in_ coexist with the virus and causing a search in the — coexist with the virus and causing a search in the cases. gn coexist with the virus and causing a search in the cases.— search in the cases. on the cases that have been _ search in the cases. on the cases that have been seen _ search in the cases. on the cases that have been seen in _ search in the cases. on the cases that have been seen in china, - that have been seen in china, we heard from the who that they've come up heard from the who that they've come up with this morning about the lack

of transparency about deaths and cases there, were you surprised by that? �* ., ,., cases there, were you surprised by that? �* ., , , , that? i'm not so surprised, given that? i'm not so surprised, given that during _ that? i'm not so surprised, given that during the _ that? i'm not so surprised, given that during the zero _ that? i'm not so surprised, given that during the zero covid-19 - that? i'm not so surprised, given| that during the zero covid-19 era, that during the zero covid—19 era, china _ that during the zero covid—19 era, china used — that during the zero covid—19 era, china used its low—level infections and mortality level to showcase the superiority — and mortality level to showcase the superiority of its political system and with — superiority of its political system and with the virus rising in china and with the virus rising in china and significantly increase of the death— and significantly increase of the death toll number, it would be very difficult _ death toll number, it would be very difficult to — death toll number, it would be very difficult to justify death toll number, it would be very difficult tojustify the death toll number, it would be very difficult to justify the superiority of its _ difficult to justify the superiority of its political system and certainly it's reason by the methods and the _ certainly it's reason by the methods and the reporting of this especially the mortality and number. but the capacity— the mortality and number. but the capacity also is another reason

because — capacity also is another reason because they have dismantled the zero culvert regime and they do not have this _ zero culvert regime and they do not have this massive pcr testing system to get _ have this massive pcr testing system to get an _ have this massive pcr testing system to get an idea of how many people are infected or how many people died -- zero _ are infected or how many people died —— zero covid—19. and the test actually— —— zero covid—19. and the test actually know this better to know the status. thank you forjoining us with your thoughts. the uk's prime minister rishi sunak has set out his programme for the year ahead, in a new year speech. he made five pledges to the british public on the nhs, the cost of living and the economy. but the opposition labour party called him the do—nothing prime minister. our political editor chris mason reports. it might be a new year,

but last year's problems confront us seemingly everywhere. the prime minister claims he gets it. new year should be a time of optimism and excitement. yet i know many of you look ahead to 2023 with apprehension. i want you to know that as your prime minister, i will work night and day to change that. and quickly. the health service this winter confronts immense pressures. can any of us be confident it will be there for us, or our families, if we suddenly need it? people are understandably anxious when they see ambulances queueing outside hospitals. you should know we are taking urgent action, increasing bed capacity by 7,000 more hospital beds and more people cared at home. providing new funding to discharge people into social care in the community, freeing up beds. this was pointedly a speech that tried to look beyond the array of what many see as crises happening now, to set out what rishi sunak is about and hopes to achieve.

five promises. we will halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists and stop the boats. those are the people's priorities, they are your government's priorities and we will either have achieved them or not. the health service is under extraordinary pressure right now and some people watching this this afternoon might say, is that it? how soon will things improve in the nhs this winter? what i want the country to know is, this is an absolute priority for me. i made five promises today and making sure people can get the care they need as quickly as they need it is right there as one of those priorities. the country should hold me to account for delivering it and i am confident we will. you will notice there was no commitment to a timeframe for things improving in the nhs this winter. labour claimed the prime minister is out of touch. the conservatives have been

in charge now for 13 years. that's a very long time to make change in our country. the problems we see today, whether it is in the nhs, schools or communities when it comes to crime come down to a failure over those 13 years. the prime minister returned to downing street, his stall set out. tomorrow it will be keir starmer�*s turn to offer labour's alternative vision. chris mason, bbc news, in east london. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... more than 160,000 people have paid their last respects to the former pope — benedict 16th — before his funeral at the vatican on thursday. the japanese people are in mourning following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. good grief. after half a century of delighting fans around the world, charlie brown and the rest

of the gang are calling it quits. the single paul simon starts his tour of south africa tomorrow, in spite of protests and violence from some black activist groups. they say international artists should continue to boycott south africa until majority rule is established. around the world, people have been paying tribute to the iconic rock star david bowie, who sold 140 million albums in a career that spanned half a century. his family announced overnight that he died of cancer at the age of 69. the world's tallest skyscraper opens later today. the burj dubai has easily overtaken its nearest rivals. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our top story today. fighting in the eastern town of bakhmut in ukraine intensifies —

with high numbers of casualties reported on both sides. the funeral of the former pope — benedict xvi — will take place on thursday. his successor pope francis will preside over the service. more than 60 thousand people are expected to attend. the pope's body has been lying in state since monday — and huge crowds have been filing past to pay their respects. our religion editor aleem maqbool reports from the vatican. in one part of the vatican, pope francis was making an appearance in his weekly audience. he started by paying tribute to his predecessor. his funeral, he will lead tomorrow. a very short distance away, thousands were taking their final

opportunity to file past benedict xvi lying in state. after his burial, for the first time in nearly a decade, there will be only one pope in the vatican. so what is having the former pope around been like for the current incumbent? we asked one of those closest to him. it does have an effect. there is a presence there which is undeniable. i don't think it has obstructed pope francis in any way. he has done, said and decided what he wanted to do. but it is a powerful presence, i think most of us have been in the situations where there is a bit of a shadow from our predecessor and may be people make comparisons and say, we did it differently in the past. in the recent months, pope francis has struggled with mobility. there was speculation

he was reluctant to consider resigning while pope benedict was around and he might now consider that option more freely. if we had three popes, that would be, we have to say a little bit difficult to manage, i would think. but now pope benedict has gone to the lord, i think, yes, pope francis will stick to those principles that he has established, he will continue in this ministry as long as he believes and says he is capable. pope francis has always shown immense respect for his predecessor. in the morning, tens of thousands of people will pull into st peter's square to join him in laying benedict xvi to rest. the stars of the oscar—winning 1968 film romeo and juliet are suing the studio paramount pictures for alleged sexual abuse over

a nude scene they appeared in. olivia hussey and leonard whiting were 15 and 16 when they made the movie and say they were tricked into appearing in the nude scene. paramount hasn't responded to the claims. for more on this, i am joined now by civil rights attorney lisa bloom. she has been involved in a lot of high profile cases, including representing the accusers of bill cosby, jeffrey epsteen and donald trump and she also briefly advised harvey weinstein. do the actors have a solid ground for taking this kind of legal action? they do and that is because here in california, the law allows people to go back many years, giving back to the 1960s to bring the claim of child sexual abuse in that time deadline is coming to an end but theyjust made it and the proof of what happened is on film. they said they were filmed nude when they're 16 and 17 years old and admitted

into the movie and the proof is pretty clear. we into the movie and the proof is pretty clear-— into the movie and the proof is pretty clear. into the movie and the proof is re clear. ~ ., ., ., ., pretty clear. we have not heard from paramount yet _ pretty clear. we have not heard from paramount yet and _ pretty clear. we have not heard from paramount yet and this _ pretty clear. we have not heard from paramount yet and this is _ pretty clear. we have not heard from paramount yet and this is a - pretty clear. we have not heard from paramount yet and this is a case - paramount yet and this is a case thatis paramount yet and this is a case that is ongoing, where does it go from here?— from here? there will be a big eriod of from here? there will be a big period of discovery _ from here? there will be a big period of discovery were - from here? there will be a big period of discovery were each | from here? there will be a big - period of discovery were each side can ask the other questions in preparation for trial and ultimately to trial. involves advising paramount, i would tell them to settle the case very quickly and put the sordid chapter behind them because this is not something there not going to want to fight for a long time. based on your experience how successful is this kind of retrospective action? these cases can be very successful and i have represented people and number of them were against bill cosby on behalf ofjanice dickerson. we eventually won an epic settlement amount at the end of the case and thatis amount at the end of the case and that is because she had witnesses were able to corroborate her story. and in this case, if you have solid

evidence that would have been designed film, people are willing to testify in the act or the actresses that were involved, this is a very winnable case. we that were involved, this is a very winnable case.— that were involved, this is a very winnable case. we look at the fact that as you — winnable case. we look at the fact that as you point _ winnable case. we look at the fact that as you point out, _ winnable case. we look at the fact that as you point out, there - winnable case. we look at the fact that as you point out, there is - winnable case. we look at the fact that as you point out, there is a i that as you point out, there is a fairamount of that as you point out, there is a fair amount of discovery that is likely to take place in some time to go before we get to any sort of conclusion, not by what you are expecting in the next few weeks and months. ., ., ., ., ., ., , months. that paramount would answer in the defence — months. that paramount would answer in the defence may _ months. that paramount would answer in the defence may be _ months. that paramount would answer in the defence may be not _ in the defence may be not exploitation or the they are actually not nude and they were had some kind a covering of the body. i have not seen the film or that they were not 16 and 17 years old at the time and i am not clear about what exactly they�* re h time and i am not clear about what exactly they're h was when this was filmed, but they will be entitled to whatever defence they are going to have. and we will go forward from there. . ~ have. and we will go forward from there. ., ~' ,, have. and we will go forward from

there. ., ,, i. ., have. and we will go forward from there. ., ,, ., ., have. and we will go forward from there. ., ~' i., ., ., , have. and we will go forward from there. ., ,, ., ., , ., there. thank you for “oining us on the programme. _ and before we go, i want to tell you about a man who was saved from being pulled under a moving train at a station in india. take a look at this. the man was rescued by a soldier from india's railway protection force after he tripped and fell while trying to board a train. local media reported that the incident, which was captured on a cctv camera, took place at the purnea junction train station, in the eastern state of bihar. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. over really important moment for him to be able to have been saved from that. thank you so much forjoining us and to stay with bbc news for the

latest global headlines and analysis. hello there. there wasn't that much in the way of rain but there was still 2a flood warnings and forest and most of them in southern england that it's really a sign of the ground for man's pre—saturated. in the event to are looking quite busy and an area of clouds as he was going be bringing the pressure to the northwest of the british isles was somewhat windy weather and near canada, this area of cloud will be bringing in heavy rain and friday night and saturday, they could bring some area of localised flooding, i think. for the time being, mostly dry picture the brisk winds on wednesday or lightning all the while and temperatures in the months of from eight to 10 degrees and a few

patches of frost possible and in north scotland. and the sunshine will be in the morning across northeastern areas are the should be a fine start to the day in the cloud will thicken up pretty quickly and across northern ireland and particularly scotland were will be quite windy as the day goes by. and a customer northwesterly direction to the temperatures will have highs of around 13 or even 15 degrees and thatis of around 13 or even 15 degrees and that is around six or 7 degrees above average. and around the stage of january. above average. and around the stage ofjanuary. beyond that, thursday night with a low pressure winds up in strong winds affecting the northwest of the uk in gales and also severe details around the far northwest and a band of rain sweeps across the country with blustering showers continuing to feed and close to that low pressure centre will be to that low pressure centre will be to the north of scotland and here on friday, it would be quite blustery with further showers and lengthy spells in scotland but otherwise,

friday is a decent day but for most, the country is sprayed with a bit more the way of sunshine and a bit cloudy northern ireland to the course of the afternoon. still relatively mild and temperatures at 11 and 12 across southern portions of the uk. this band of rain going to friday and it is saturday could bring some area of localised water flooding in the rain looks heavy what follows is a mixture of plenty of heavy showers and quite blustery conditions adobe wendy to the weekend is of the showers could merge together to get something lengthy spots of red. temperatures edging downjust lengthy spots of red. temperatures edging down just a lengthy spots of red. temperatures edging downjust a degree or two. it is still on the mild side but pretty wet at times too.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour straight after this programme. can you just leave me fora moment, please? i will get what i can, but there's a huge change in the running order here. stand by, vt 20. stand by, tx. a, b, cand d, in that order, from five seconds. ten, nine, eight, seven, six... run vt 20. ..five, four, three, two... this is bbc one. ..one, zero. this is bbc news at 100.

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