welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... ukraine's interior minister is killed in a helicopter crash in kyiv. it came down close to a kindergarten. 1a people have died, including a child. translation: we ran - into the street and turning. there were bodies and debris lying around. there was smoke, blood and clothes — and mothers were running. philippinejournalist and nobel peace prize winner maria ressa is acquitted of tax evasion charges, in what's being hailed as a victory for press freedom. she tells me of her relief. nurses and ambulance staff in england and wales will strike on the same day next month, the biggest walk—out by nhs workers in their current pay dispute. and another day gets under way

at the australian open — but defending champion rafael nadal heads home after his dramatic second round exit. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to newsday. it's 7am in singapore, and 1am in ukraine — where the government says it's suffered its biggest loss of the war, when the three principal figures in the interior ministry were killed after their helicopter crashed in kyiv. interior minister denys monastyrskiy died with his deputy, and the department's state secretary — along with the crew — when the aircraft came down in bad weather in brovary, a suburb of the capital. the crash set fire to a kindergarten. at least 1a people died, including one child. our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse sent this

report from the scene — and a warning, you may find some of his report distressing. sobbing even with the backdrop of war, it's been one of ukraine's bleakest days. in the mist of the morning, a helicopter came down next to a children's nursery. translation: blood and clothes, and mothers were running. - from the moment the helicopter finally stopped, the a nswers slowly ca me. all nine people on board were killed. so too were those caught in its path. translation: i heard a loud sound, turned and saw- an explosion of flames. i wasn't thinking about what i saw. we soon learned a child was among the dead. then, news that it was senior government officials on a journey east towards the front line. they included this man, ukraine's interior minister denys monastyrsky — a strong ally of president zelensky. they were together yesterday.

he also handed medals to some of ukraine's national guard... ..and said the war was taking lives, health, strength and nerves. you can see where the journey went wrong. denys monastyrsky was travelling eastwards to the front line before his helicopter came down into the heart of this nursery. rescue teams are still going through the rubble. there are body bags in the playground. and he would often makejourneys like this at low altitude, which of course comes with its own risks. we went along on one last year. you can't go much higher than the tree line to avoid being targeted. speaking to world leaders today, president zelensky addressed what happened. 14 ukrainian families lost their loved ones today, and many more families are losing daily.

as for the obvious question, the cause is not known. an analysis of images of the crash site by the bbc has a revealed any missile debris. the ukrainian officials made no mention of the missile fire. in times of war, many suspect the enemy. these are dangerous times to be a ukrainian. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv region. for more on this, let's speak to former us ambassador to ukraine and senior director of the atlantic council's eurasia centre, ambassadorjohn herbst. it's great to get you on the programme, ambassador, and just to say we've seen such a tragic loss of life and we still don't know what happened. but if you could help explain what a significant blow this is for ukraine's war effort?- is for ukraine's war effort? look, den s is for ukraine's war effort? look, denys monastyrskiy _ is for ukraine's war effort? look, denys monastyrskiy and - is for ukraine's war effort? look, denys monastyrskiy and some i is for ukraine's war effort? look, denys monastyrskiy and some of| is for ukraine's war effort? look, - denys monastyrskiy and some of the others on that helicopter were very, very able professionals. so their loss is a loss to ukraine's effort

to win a savage war. but there are other able professionals in ukraine who will take the place of those lost today, and i'm sure the impact on the actual war effort will be small. but they were distinguished officials and fighters, and they should be honoured.— officials and fighters, and they should be honoured. indeed, and particularly _ should be honoured. indeed, and particularly with _ should be honoured. indeed, and particularly with the _ should be honoured. indeed, and particularly with the interior - particularly with the interior minister, as i understand it, he was very close to president zelensky. in terms of how you think president zelensky has approached this, he was at dallos and i understand you had been there at well —— as well, and when he made that speech to the people in the room, he sounded quite defiant, didn't he?— defiant, didn't he? first, he was here virtually, _ defiant, didn't he? first, he was here virtually, broadcasting - defiant, didn't he? first, he was| here virtually, broadcasting from ukraine. yes, of course he's defiant, he's facing a war of annihilation waged by vladimir putin. and he's been brilliant as a war leader — in part by rallies to

the people's existence as ukrainians. so he has no choice. what implications do you think this accident, orwhat what implications do you think this accident, or what has happened will have in terms of how officials travel safely in ukraine? i suspect the 'll travel safely in ukraine? i suspect they'll take _ travel safely in ukraine? i suspect they'll take a _ travel safely in ukraine? i suspect they'll take a second _ travel safely in ukraine? i suspect they'll take a second or— travel safely in ukraine? i suspect they'll take a second or third - travel safely in ukraine? i suspect they'll take a second or third look| they'll take a second or third look at helicopter flights at low altitudes. beyond that, i'm not sure we will see something. but that will be a step forward. find be a step forward. and interestingly, - be a step forward. and interestingly, in - be a step forward. and interestingly, in terms| be a step forward. and i interestingly, in terms of be a step forward. and interestingly, in terms of how the war effort goes forward, germany has announced its no longer dependent on russian energy — and how important do you think that is in terms of germany's involvement in sending tanks? we didn't get any confirmation of that, of course, when the german chancellor spoke to. look, removing the foolish dependency they had on russian oil and especially gas is critical for germany's economic well—being and

security, as well as european prosperity and security. however germany has been less than resolute in dealing with the russian invasion of ukraine last february. they promised a major change in policy providing military as well as economic support ukraine — they've actually been a week on the weapons question, even from other countries sending leah part tanks to ukraine because they had german parts. they'll dismiss their veto on setting other countries to ukraine, but the germans should send their own tanks. but i'm not sure they'll do that yet. i think olaf scholz needs to... if he wants to be a statesman. needs to... if he wants to be a statesman-— needs to... if he wants to be a statesman. ., ,, ., , ., ., statesman. former us ambassador and senior director— statesman. former us ambassador and senior director at _ statesman. former us ambassador and senior director at the _ statesman. former us ambassador and senior director at the atlantic _ senior director at the atlantic council's eurasian centre, thanks so much forjoining us on the programme. to other news now — and the nobel prize—winning

journalist maria ressa has been acquitted of tax evasion charges by a court in manila. her news site, rappler, was also cleared of tax evasion. ms ressa, who was awarded the nobel prize alongside a russian journalist in 2021, is head of rappler, which earned a reputation for its in—depth reporting and tough scrutiny of former president rodrigo duterte. she was convicted in 2020 of libel, and does face several other charges, which she says are politically motivated. i've been speaking to maria ressa about her relief. this is the very first legal win that rappler has ever had since president duterte took office, and the kind of social media manipulation, the harassment online, and then the weaponisation of the law happened. so this is a day that we had hoped would happen sooner. this case was... we went to trial for more than four years to get to this point, but we are here. and, you know, it went down to these three things —

facts, truth, and justice. that is who won today. did you ever think you would see a day like this? yes, ijust did not expect it to take so long. you know, martin luther king says, yes, it will take time, but my lord! i was just reading through the 80—page decision and there was no reason to have taken us to court. but having said that, well, here we go, itjust took a little while, four years and two months exactly, but we are not tax evaders, we never were. and, you know, for your case, this was incredibly important because this was about investments in the philippines, investments in a start—up company, right, that's the other part. so it was where business and economics, where rule of law, which is necessary for growth, and finally the last one, human rights and press freedom. these were incredibly important. this was an incredibly important day because it would have set

a direction for which way the philippines was going. what is your message to young journalists out there today, people who are, you know, trying to embark on this sort of career and looking at all the different factors around them ? oh, my god, karishma, i remember whenjournalists, the trust and credibility ratings of our profession was very high, higher than anyone, that was the time when i decided to become a journalist. i think about this time as creative destruction. the world as we knew it has been completely destroyed, because it has, it only seems familiar, but we must create it now. that is certainly the challenge for us here at rappler. the form ofjournalism has changed so much. are you on tiktok? this is a debate we have at rappler. i talk about facebook as a mallet for our minds, but tiktok as a surgical probe. there are lots of things that we have to deal with, plus our communities and this generation. gen z is very different.

imagine if you're in high school and you are trying to curate your life for a feed, for a crowd that could turn into a mob like this. what types of values do you have? i worry about the next generation, but that is exciting in another way. for the young journalist coming up today, this is up to you, we must create it together. you have talked a lot about social media in our conversation, maria, and if you were in the room with mark zuckerberg, what would you say to him? draw your lines, mark. in america, shareholders say... you know, you prioritise your shareholders, but there is a line between amoral, immoral, and evil. and you have to know when you've crossed those lines, when what you have created inspires autocracy and fascism, inspires violence, enables genocide. this should make you think.

dmitry muratov, who won the nobel peace prize with me in 2021, just came out with a video last night where he asked president marcos to think about his obituary. mark, think about your obituary. if you want more on maria ressa's acquital, you can head to the bbc news website, or download the bbc news app. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. all police forces across england and wales are being asked to check their officers against national databases to help root out corrupt individuals who may have slipped through the vetting process. it comes after a serving officer, david carrick, was found to be a serial rapist. uk inflation has fallen for the second successive month,

though it remains close to a ito—year high. consumer prices fell to 10.5% in the year to december, compared to 10.7% in november. that drop was due to lower fuel prices, but its offset by rising costs of food, transport, and hospitality. strike action is taking place in france. it has just been announced that services to and from calais will be suspended for nine hours, from 7am tomorrow, due to national walk—outs across the channel. the port of dover will still be open, and dunkerque services will run as normal — but travellers are being urged to allow extra time for alljourneys. a day of strikes and demonstrations is taking place across france in protest at plans to push the official age of retirement from 62 to 64. health bosses in england and wales say they are "hugely concerned" as the nhs prepares to face its biggest day of

industrial action ever next month. on the 6th of february, thousands of nurses and ambulance workers will walk out in a long—running dispute about pay. tens of thousands of nurses in england have already been taking part in strike action this week. our health editor hugh pym reports from university college hospital, in london, on the impact of the strikes. claps don't pay the bills, claps don't pay the bills! outside the hospital, the noise from striking nurses and protesters. claps don't pay the bills, claps don't pay the bills! inside, the operating theatres are silent. no planned operations are going ahead. there is no—one in the recovery room. today we would have had two days' worth of operations planned in these theatres, our newest set of theatres here at the grafton way building, and we have nothing planned at all in terms of surgical activity today or tomorrow. and what normally happens here, what level of activity? normally we'd be busy with orthopaedic or ear,

nose and throat surgery. it's one of our busiest surgical hubs in the whole of the uclh campus. but not today. university college hospital in london gave us access to one of their surgical centres. over 2,000 patients across the trust will miss their operations and appointments. the boss has called on unions and the government to settle the dispute. disputes like this, industrial action of this scale, is hugely disruptive, so it's notjust the cancelling of patients and reorganising their care, it's everything that goes behind that. but it's also motivating our staff, retaining our staff, keeping the morale of our staff high. given where this dispute's got to, what's your message to the government? my message and that of many chief executives around the country is that this needs resolution. we cannot continue to go through periods of industrial action and the disruption that it's causing to patients and our staff. back on the street, nurses defended their decision to strike. so i'm out here to protest.

we need a pay rise. we haven't had a pay rise for ten years in line with inflation, so we deserve better. every single day, we're . completely over capacity. it's not a safe environment to be looking after the patients - and a strike is unfortunately the only thing we feel- like we've got left. what about patients affected today? they've missed out on their operation, their appointment they might have waited forfor a long time. yep, so this is it, but it feels like this is the last _ thing that we had to do. as my colleagues have been saying today, it is with deep _ consideration that we stand here and do this today. - l hopefully, to do this is to get i what we want and for the future, stop any of this happening again. feelings are clearly running high on picket lines, but the question is, where do things go from here? right now, there seems to be a stand—off between the government and health unions. the health secretary covering england gave his response to the strike action. i'm disappointed by the strikes.

obviously, the losers are the patients who suffer the disruption. of course the strikes are in one quarter of trusts, so three—quarters of trusts are not striking and i'm grateful for the work that nurses and other staff are doing across the nhs. # do a deal, do a deal, do a deal! as striking nurses in wigan called for a deal, a march from university college hospital involving nurses and other campaigners reached westminster and the biggest set of walk—outs by ambulance staff and nurses was announced for a single day in february. hugh pym, 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 australian open continues, as defending champion rafael nadal is knocked out in the second round.

donald trump is now the 45th president of the united states. he was sworn in before several hundred thousand people on the steps of capitol hill, in washington. it's going to be only america first. america first. demonstrators waiting for mike gatting and his rebel cricket team were attacked with tear gas and set upon by police dogs. anti—apartheid campaigners say they will carry on the protests throughout the tour. they called him the butcher of lyon. klaus altmann is being heldj on a fraud charge in bolivia. the west germans want i to extradite him for crimes committed in wartime france. there, he was the gestapo chief, klaus barbie. - millions came to bathe as close as possible to this spot — a tide of humanity that's believed

by officials to have broken all records. this is newday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. the headlines... the ukrainian interior minister has been killed in a helicopter crash in ukraine. it came down close to a kindergarten — 14 people have died including a child. philippinejournalist and nobel peace prize winner maria ressa is acquitted of tax evasion charges. to afghanistan now — and the most senior un delegation to visit the country since the taliban swept to power in 2021, has flown into kabul to raise concerns about restrictions on women working for aid agencies. the visit by the un deputy secretary general, amina mohammad, comes as some international aid organisations have partially resumed work in afghanistan after receiving assurances that women can work

in the health sector. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports from kabul. winters are always harsh in afghanistan, but this is the winter of all winters, not only the temperatures below freezing, but this is a country where electricity is erratic or absent and heating is hard to find, especially in remote areas of afghanistan, which are all but cut off by snow. but on top of that, this year, the taliban have decided that afghan women can no longer work for the international aid agencies who are desperately trying to get this urgently needed aid to millions of people who need it. so just how urgent is the situation? we'rejoined here in kabul by samira syed rahman, who works for the international charity, the international rescue committee. how worried are you? you know, international rescue committee was able to reach 5 million afghans last year.

we've suspended most of our activities across the country because we are not able to work without our female staff at all levels of our organisation. we were already seeing earlier at the end of last year that most families around this country were having to choose between food or heating. the taliban recently clarified that they'll make an exception when it comes to the health ministry, because they do need women doctors and nurses to serve women of this country. is it possible that step by step, this could be reversed? as we saw with the health sector, it's notjust doctors and nurses. we also need female staff at all levels of our organisation in admin roles, in finance roles, in technical support to work alongside our female colleagues. this is a conservative society. samira syed, we wish you the best and all eyes now are on this high level united nations delegation. it says there needs to be a woman. there also needs to be women coming to this country at this high level to underline that educated women

playing senior roles in society is absolutely part of the world we live in today. because it's notjust that afghan women are being stopped from working in certain states, notjust aid, but in many government industries. afghan girls are not going to school. they're not going to university. they're also not even allowed to go to public parks in this city. the world wants to say with one voice — this is not acceptable. and lyse will be reporting from afghanistan all this week the australian open continues in melbourne park — and we've seen another day that brought with it more joy, heartbreak, and sensational action. some of the big names gracing the courts today included emma radukanu, coco gauff, and cameron norrie. joining me now with all the latest from the australian open is tennis host and writer,

blair henley. great to get you on the programme, and what an exciting moment indeed. we've just got and what an exciting moment indeed. we'vejust got some and what an exciting moment indeed. we've just got some of the biggest names on the courts today, including novak djokovic. anything in the way of unexpected results? weill. novak djokovic. anything in the way of unexpected results?— novak djokovic. anything in the way of unexpected results? well, i think alle es of unexpected results? well, i think all eyes were _ of unexpected results? well, i think all eyes were on _ of unexpected results? well, i think all eyes were on rafael _ of unexpected results? well, i think all eyes were on rafael nadal - - of unexpected results? well, i think all eyes were on rafael nadal - last| all eyes were on rafael nadal — last night for those of us in the states, he was knocked out in the second round by mackenzie mcdonald, he's the defending champion and number one seed. we know he's prone to injury, it was tough to watch them pull up in the second set. he was clearly hampered in the third and watching him limp off the court, down the hallway is never a site you want to see from one of the game's all—time greats. but listen, i don't doubt that he'll get back on the court as soon as possible and i think we will see him later in the year. but there are so many other storylines, as said — will novak djokovic get that 22nd grand slam title? action all over the grounds

on melbourne park today. exciting but also concern _ on melbourne park today. exciting but also concern about _ on melbourne park today. exciting but also concern about concerns . but also concern about concerns democratic conditions in australia, and how that's affected again democrat games?— and how that's affected again democrat games? and how that's affected again democrat names? ., �* ., democrat games? you've heard the sa in: democrat games? you've heard the saying fortune _ democrat games? you've heard the saying fortune favours _ democrat games? you've heard the saying fortune favours the - democrat games? you've heard the saying fortune favours the brave, i democrat games? you've heard the saying fortune favours the brave, it| saying fortune favours the brave, it also favours the adoptable. two days ago, it was around 37 celsius, today 18, yesterday it was raining and all these different conditions affect these different conditions affect the way the court plays, the way the ball bounces, which can be very good for some players depending on their game style, and maybe not so good for other players. so maybe it's a matter of fighting through on one day until you get the conditions you prefer. day until you get the conditions you refer. ., , , ., , day until you get the conditions you refer. ._ , ., , ., ~ prefer. players have been making their feelings _ prefer. players have been making their feelings known _ prefer. players have been making their feelings known about - prefer. players have been making their feelings known about the . their feelings known about the quality of tennis balls, i've been reading that this year, at this year's open and the reviews haven't been too kind. talk us through that. so we've heard from some of the

players that may be the balls aren't responding to spend quite the same way that a normal ball would. and again, some of that could be the changes in temperature, that affects the way a ball bounces. but if a player doesn't feel they can get that good feel when they're rushing out the back of the ball hitting that or sleigh spin, that'll be a big challenge on the court, there are different tennis balls used at many tournaments throughout the years. so not only do players have to get used to a different location or court surface, but most of the time they're getting used to different balls, as well. find time they're getting used to different balls, as well. and 'ust briefl , different balls, as well. and 'ust briefly. and fi different balls, as well. and 'ust briefly. and mi different balls, as well. and 'ust briefly, and 15 seconds �* different balls, as well. and 'ust briefly, and 15 seconds or k different balls, as well. and just briefly, and 15 seconds or left, l briefly, and 15 seconds or left, who's your money on this year? it’s who's your money on this year? it's hard to who's your money on this year? it�*s hard to bet against novak djokovic on the men's side. there's so much depth on the women's side in particular, really it's one of the things you can flip a coin. laughter i'm sure things you can flip a coin. laughter l'm sure we'll— things you can flip a coin. laughter i'm sure we'll be _ things you can flip a coin. laughter i'm sure we'll be talking _ things you can flip a coin. laughter i'm sure we'll be talking to _ things you can flip a coin. laughter i'm sure we'll be talking to you - i'm sure we'll be talking to you again about that.

that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello. this week's weather has been following a familiar pattern — most of the wintry showers have been across northern and western parts of the uk, so it's a good covering of snow in places, especially into the higher ground. the further east you are in the uk, it's been mainly dry. even though it's been sunny though, it hasn't melted the frost. and we're in the cold air clearly. there is a change though going into the weekend — milder air toppling in across the north and west of the uk. warmer colours doesn't translate into sunshine, mind you. the blue hanging on a bit longer towards east anglia and the southeast — so here through the weekend, we'll stay cold. until the weekend, though, it is cold still across the uk. however, where we've had those wintry showers, once we get past thursday morning, they will be easing. another widespread and quite hard frost as the day begins, and do watch out for ice after the showers we've had

overnight, and there'll still be some falling into the morning — northern scotland, for example, for northern ireland, for wales and for western parts of england. there are met office warnings out there, do check those if you're heading out early on. through the day, most of these wintry showers will fade. a lot of people will have dry weather, but windy with further rain, sleet, and snow pushing back in across northern scotland, adding to the snow we've already got here, and maybe the odd shower brushing the north sea coast of northeast england into the afternoon. temperatures only slowly heading up, but it'll clearly feel quite cold — though, for many away from northern scotland, there is a lighter wind on through thursday night and into friday morning. still some wintry showers across northern and eastern scotland along some north sea coasts, as well. but for most, it's dry and clear, though, the chance of getting some fog patches across western parts. and maybe not as cold first thing, but still a widespread frost. and actually on friday, the focus of the showers will be in north sea coastal counties. where we've had most of the wintry showers so far today, it'll be dry and mainly sunny. temperatures maybe a degree

or so higher in places, but it'll still feel cold out there. into the weekend, though, the changes are under way — now i mentioned, although it is turning milder across the north and west, there'll be plenty of cloud around, there will be patchy rain. where it's clearer, still down towards the south and east, the cold air hangs on after a frosty start. there could be a few patches reluctant to clear, and perhaps more widespread fog towards the southeast on sunday. temperatures only gradually rising across southeast england, where elsewhere it's turning much milder — 11 celsius, for example, in armagh.

good evening, this is your update from the bbc sport centre. it was a chance for manchester united to leapfrog their rivals manchester city and close the gap at the top with a win over crystal palace. but a stunning late equaliser put paid to that after united took the lead but had to settle for a 1—1 draw. nick parrott reports. manchester united have been building a momentum that has seen them become title contenders. but if they're to become champions for the first time since sir alex ferguson left, they need to win at places like selhurst park. they lost there at the end of last season before erik ten hag took charge. since then, the dutchman has worked some magic. david de gea showed he can still be a saviour. odsonne edouard couldn't believe he hadn't put crystal palace ahead,