welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. the united states reaches a deal to increase its military presence in the philippines as it seeks to counter chinese influence in the region. a former russian officer tells the bbc he witnessed russian soldiers humiliating and shooting ukrainian prisoners of war. the bank of england raises interest rates, to the highest level for over 1a years. and we speak to bill gates about covid, vaccines and those conspiracy theories. now i guess people are looking for the boogie man behind the curtain, the oversimplistic explanation.

welcome to bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. it's seven in the morning in singapore, and in manila — where there's been a big strategic development in the pacific rivalry between the us and china, with america sealing a deal to greatly increase its military presence in the philippines. it's seven in the morning in singapore, and in manila — the agreement was signed off by the us defence secretary lloyd austin, after talks in the capital of the philippines. it represents a change in approach by president marcos. previous adminstrations tended to weaken their ties to washington. the deal gives the us access to four more military bases in the philippines, which will make a total of nine. neither country has said exactly where the new locations would be although it has been acknowledged that washington has requested access to bases on the northern land mass of luzon, the closest part

of the philippines to taiwan, and on the island of palawan, facing the disputed spratly islands in the south china sea. earlier we spoke to pentagon press secretary — brigadeir general patrick ryder. by having like—minded partners working together, i mentioned our focus is on preserving a free and open into pacific region where decisions are made on a rules—based international order that is that largely preserves the peace not only in that region but worldwide since world war ii and so again this is a continuation and an enhancement of a alliance that we had with the philippines for very long time. well china has reacted to the announcment by suggesting that america was trying to trick the philippines into a trap — and trying to push manila into the front line of confrontation with china.

| translation: out of selfish interest| the us has continuously strengthened with military deployment in the region which exacerbates regional tensions and endangers regional peace and stability. countries should remain vigilant against this and avoid being used by the united states. i'm joined now by gregory b poling, a senior fellow at the centre for strategic and international studies in washington dc and the author of a recent book on territorial disputes in the south china sea. we have heard now from both the us and china. in your view how significant is this agreement? it is pretty significant. the american government have made a explicit commitment to the philippines since 2019 to defend filipinos if they come under attack in the south filipina sea and it was always clear that they cannot do that from guam or 0kinawa. he needed

more axis. so that is directly important. the other piece is that this is a part of an 18 months long now process of strengthening the lights it is just one of us use of agreements and have been ongoing. what does it say about the relationship that the philippines have with both china and the us because of course it has had in the past a strike a delicate balance between the two.— past a strike a delicate balance between the two. enter intro you ointed between the two. enter intro you pointed out _ between the two. enter intro you pointed out they _ between the two. enter intro you pointed out they really did - between the two. enter intro you pointed out they really did bend l pointed out they really did bend over backwards and and attempt to appease beijing and approve ties with china even at the cost with the long—standing alliance with the us and china's response but that was to not reciprocate. it did not deliver investment as requested or promised and most importantly, it increased its coercion and bullying and violence in the sea rather than dialling it back and what all of that has done is reinforce the

strategic confesses with in manila that they face in external threat from china only getting worse in that their only option is to be in an alliance with the us. i wonder what ou an alliance with the us. i wonder what you think _ an alliance with the us. i wonder what you think about _ an alliance with the us. i wonder what you think about the - an alliance with the us. i wonder what you think about the wider i what you think about the wider region, given the fact that the philippines and that relationship between the us and china isjust philippines and that relationship between the us and china is just one of an example of the country is caught between these two superpowers. do you think many other asian countries will look at this and think we may do the same thing? i don't think you will see the same kind of tightening with the interest. the philippines, japan, our innate camp of their own and in the case of the japan and philippines are —— we should not describe agency of these countries. they have not been doing this because they have been tricked by the us they have been doing it because have a check —— kicked around by china for decades. 0thers

around by china for decades. others are deep in english with the us and other parties like the japanese because they don't like what they see from china's behaviour. thank ou see from china's behaviour. thank you gregory _ see from china's behaviour. thank you gregory for — see from china's behaviour. thank you gregory forjoining _ see from china's behaviour. thank you gregory forjoining us - see from china's behaviour. thank you gregory forjoining us on - see from china's behaviour. thank you gregory forjoining us on the l you gregory forjoining us on the programme with your insights and analysis. some developing news. the us has said it is been monitoring a suspected chinese surveillance splint has been spotted in the skies over the northern us this week. us officials say they are confident, their words, that this high altitude surveillance balloon blocks to china. bringing you more on this in the next hour. more on our website as well if you want more on that story.

a former russian army officer has told the bbc he witnessed russian soldiers committing warcrimes in ukraine. in an exclusive interview konstantin yefremov said ukrainian prisoners of war were humiliated, beaten and shot. mr yefremov left the russian army in august last year and has fled abroad. he spoke to the bbc�*s russia editor steve rosenberg. this is the war in ukraine, the official russian version of it. packaged, promoted, propagandised by moscow. fearless russian soldiers fighting the good fight, defending the motherland. but konstantin yefremov was there, and the reality, he says, is very different. konstantin was a senior lieutenant in the russian army, but he's fled russia and he's agreed to tell me about crimes he says he saw russian soldiers committing in ukraine. starting here. this is one of konstantin's first

photos from ukraine — an air base seized by russian troops in melitopol. translation: i saw looting there. soldiers and officers grabbed everything they could. they climbed all over the planes and went through all the buildings. buckets, axes, bicycles — they bunged it all in trucks. konstantin says that on the day russia invaded ukraine, he tried to quit the army. he was warned he'd face up to ten years in prison for desertion. in occupied ukraine, he was sent to guard this artillery unit, and then a facility where he says he witnessed ukrainian prisoners of war being tortured. the ukrainian had a blindfold on. the colonel put a pistol to the prisoner's forehead and said, "i'm going to count to three and then shoot you in the head."

he counted and then fired just to the side of his head, on both sides. the colonel started shouting at him. isaid, "comrade, colonel, he can't hear you. you've deafened him." the interrogations became increasingly violent, claims konstantin. during another interrogation, the colonel shot the prisoner in the arm and in the right leg, under the knee and hit the bone. i went to the commanders and said, "the ukrainian needs to go to hospital. he'll be dead by morning from blood loss." we dressed him up in a russian uniform and took him to hospital. we told him, "don't say you're a ukrainian prisoner of war because either the doctors will refuse to treat you or the injured russian soldiers will hear you and shoot you."

the bbc has verified documents, photographs and videos provided by konstantin confirming his identity and his movements. 0nce he'd returned to russia, back on base, he was accused of a serious breach of discipline — for refusing to go back to ukraine. he was dismissed from the army. a russian human rights group, gulagu.net, has helped him leave the country. i apologise to the whole ukrainian nation for coming to their home as an uninvited guest with a weapon in my hands. i don't even have a moral right to ask forforgiveness from the ukrainians. i can't forgive myself, so i can't expect them to forgive me. konstantin says that senior officers called him a traitor for being anti—war, but he points out that he gave

an oath to protect his country, not to attack another. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. putin has spoken to the war in ukraine now —— and vladimir putin has spoken about the spirit of world war two against what he's called �*the aggression of the west'. mr putin was speaking in volgograd —— formerly known as stalingrad —— and scene of a decisive victory over germany. in his speech mr putin invoked images of nazism —— claiming his country was being threatened by german leopard tanks with crosses on them. the bank of england has raised interest rates, to the highest level for more than 1a years — with inevitable consequences for people

with mortgages, credit card debt and other borrowng. the rise — by half a percentage point to 4% — is to yet another attempt to control inflation. 0ur economics editor faisal islam reports. the squeeze continues. an official interest rate of 4% should not feel huge, but it does, and notjust here in nuneaton forjoanne, who runs a furniture and gift shop. the mortgage on the business has increased, gas and electric have increased, wages have increased and are due to go up again, so there's a lot of things that i have to think about on a daily basis to ensure that the business will be sustainable for the future. but could there be some relief from the bank of england? some strong hints today that this should be one of the last, even the very last, of these ten rate rises. is the central message of today's decisions in the report that we may be beyond the worst point of this crisis, with energy? well, i very much hope so, but we've onlyjust begun to turn the corner in my view, so it's too early to make that call with any degree of certainty. we think inflation is going to come down rapidly and a lot of that is down to energy prices, which have fallen rapidly. but i'm afraid there are big risks out there which mean that it may not happen in that way.

the government backed the move, suggesting that putting up public sector pay too much amid the wave of strikes could risk higher interest rates, but the opposition said borrowing costs were hitting families. the bank of england is absolutely right to do what they have done today, and we in the government must make sure we support them, by what i do in the budget, to make sure that we make it easier, not harder, for them to do what we all want to do, which is to halve inflation. ialready, before this interest rate i rise, we know that 4 million people coming off fixed—rate deals - or on tracker deals who on average are going to see mortgage payments going up by £2500 a year, _ so, a very difficult time for people. i britain mayjust be at a turning point in terms of the immediate energy shock recession, interest rates, inflation. but the medium—term picture for the economy is far more sluggish. there's an extraordinary chart in your report showing that since just before the pandemic, that the size of the economy,

we're not at it now, but we won't be at it even in the early part of 2026. that's over five years' lost economic growth. yes, that is extraordinary, actually. of course, we may have to conclude that covid has had bigger long—run effects than we thought it would, particularly in terms of things like the labour supply, with people choosing to come out of participating in the labour force. but you're right, it is quite remarkable in that sense. so, a softer landing in the next year, but the pandemic, brexit and the energy shock are leaving some lasting scars. faisal islam, bbc news. if you want to get in touch with me on any of the story seen so far. i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... we speak to microsoft founder

bill gates about covid, vaccines and those conspiracy theories. this is the moment that millions in iran have been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid, and the anc leader nelson mandela is to be set free unconditionally. three, two, one. a countdown to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 - of its engines at once. and apart from its power, - it's this recycling of the rocket — slashing the cost of a launch —| that makes this a breakthrough in the business of space travel. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it a piece of cake. thousands of people have given the yachtswoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth

after she smashed the world record for sailing a solo around the world nonstop. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. the australian tennis star nick kyrgios is due in court in canberra on friday, after being charged with an alleged assault of a former partner in december 2021. lawyers for mr kyrgios have said they will apply to have the assault charge against him dismissed on mental health grounds. i'm joined now by our correspondent, phil mercer, who's in canberra. great to get you on the programme can you talk us the details? lawyers for the australian _ can you talk us the details? lawyers for the australian tennis _ can you talk us the details? lawyers for the australian tennis star- can you talk us the details? lawyers for the australian tennis star say - for the australian tennis star say that his mental health troubles have been well documented in his medical history in recent years, indeed

eye—mac has spoken openly about his battles with mental health loneliness depression and the abuse of alcohol. —— nick kyrgios so today here in the australian capital territory his lawyers will apply to have a assault charge for out on mental health grounds. under the crime act here in the act, the magistrate has the authority to dismiss the charges on mental health grounds if the magistrate believes the defendant is mentally impaired and also if a decision along those lines would benefit both the alleged offender and the community, however the bar is very high. if the charges are to be thrown out it would need the final approval of the director of public prosecutions in the act. now nick kyrgios has not attended previous hearings, he will be here today for the first time and what

have been protracted legal cases involving this alleged assault. nick kyrgios is 27 years of age born and raised here and we are expecting when he comes to court for him to be on crutches. he has recently had knee surgery missing the australian open. he was a finalist at last year's wimbledon and according to his lawyers he is not only talented but troubled. later today we are expecting the magistrate to determine the progress of this case and whether it will be thrown out on mental health grounds.— and whether it will be thrown out on mental health grounds. thank you for keein: us mental health grounds. thank you for keeping us up-to-date _ mental health grounds. thank you for keeping us up-to-date on _ mental health grounds. thank you for keeping us up-to-date on that - mental health grounds. thank you for keeping us up-to-date on that story. | bill gates has said that he was surprised to be at the centre of so many conspiracy theories during the pandemic. the philanthropist, who has donated tens of billions of dollars to the causes of global health and tackling climate change, was accused of profiting from covid—19, or even spreading it.

it. the microsoft founder expressed concerns about the impact of social media, and said he thinks he can eradicate malaria in his lifetime. from kenya, amol rajan reports. for most of his life, bill gates has been the richest man in the world. but the founder of microsoft has, somehow, gone from being the face of american computing and capitalism to the front man for endless conspiracy theories. he's given tens of billions to philanthropy, focusing on climate change and global health. particularly that of children. i travelled to kenya to question him on a range of issues, including those raised by critics of his philanthropy. who made you god? i'm not god. i mean, as a percentage of the world economy, i'm kind of rounding there, but, yes, i decided that the death of children, when i read that diarrhoea was killing half a million children and that the vaccine to stop those deaths was being given to the rich kids but not to the poor

kids, isaid, "wow. now i know the area of inequity most of my money will go on." during the pandemic, gates became the subject of countless conspiracy theories. i did not expect that but, you know, during the pandemic, there were tens of millions of messages about, that i intentionally caused it or i'm tracking people, which... it's true i'm involved with vaccines but i'm involved with vaccines to save lives. you know, i guess people are looking for the bogeyman behind the curtain, the oversimplistic explanation, that its malevolence is a lot easier to understand than biology. greta thunberg credits her asperger�*s as her special power. what is your special power? defining whether somebody is on the asperger�*s spectrum is a pretty big thing but my ability to concentrate... is very high.

and when i was young, it was weirdly high. you know, to memorise things and try out my thinking, which made science and maths super interesting. and then i discovered software and was able to throw all my energy into that. you're going to turn 70 in three years, that's a big milestone for some people. how do you feel about it? no, it's strange to be an old person. i don't think of myself that way. you know, ifeel young but i have limited time. my life is two thirds done. can i get malaria eradication done? i think so. bill gates... thank you. ..a real pleasure to talk to you. amol rajan, bbc news, kenya. the new zealand government has weighed into reports that fifa is set to allow saudi arabia's tourism authority to sponsor the 2023 women's world cup.

new zealand sports minister grant robertson said fifa should consider the "empowerment of women and girls" when making commercial arrangements. football australia and new zealand football have said they are "shocked and disappointed" by the reported deal. i'm joined now by rebecca sowden, former new zealand international, who played for the football ferns between 2004 and 2007. wonderful to get you on the programme and just to say we still have not heard yet, from my car when it is being reported though, it will be announced soon, what are your thoughts? be announced soon, what are your thou~hts? ~' .,, be announced soon, what are your thou~hts? ~' , , be announced soon, what are your thou~hts? ~' , ., , thoughts? like most players, fans and the general _ thoughts? like most players, fans and the general public _ thoughts? like most players, fans and the general public this - thoughts? like most players, fans and the general public this is - thoughts? like most players, fans and the general public this is just l and the general public this is just and the general public this is just a gross misalignment between mac who themselves package the women's world cup on showcasing and regressing women, so with this latest report is

just too big to reconcile. i think particularly with this women's world cup being the first instance where they have unbundled sponsorship right with the mental cup providing the opportunity that don't have the same values on regressing women. given what you know of fifa and your experience in international fees given what you know of fifa and your experience in internationalfees —— football how do you think they will respond to this criticism? it will be interesting. _ respond to this criticism? it will be interesting. you _ respond to this criticism? it will be interesting. you mentionedl be interesting. you mentioned football australia and others have asked for clarity and what we saw last year with the men's woke up it seems that no matter how much noise or opposition there is there's not a lot these organisations can do all stopped —— men's world cup. however moving forward it will really hurt the women's game as a potential host nation or sponsor people will be careful about sponsoring these events if they know they could get blindsided by any moment. to your

oint blindsided by any moment. to your point about — blindsided by any moment. to your point about football _ blindsided by any moment. to your point about football fans _ blindsided by any moment. to your point about football fans as - blindsided by any moment. to your point about football fans as well. blindsided by any moment. to your point about football fans as well as j point about football fans as well as football players, i should say, what is it that they can do, what kind of pressure are you expecting to see on fifa from them? i pressure are you expecting to see on fifa from them?— fifa from them? i think it has been ureat to fifa from them? i think it has been great to see _ fifa from them? i think it has been great to see the _ fifa from them? i think it has been great to see the likes _ fifa from them? i think it has been great to see the likes of _ fifa from them? i think it has been great to see the likes of new - great to see the likes of new zealand football and football still come out early and have a sense we have already started to see over social media international players in the women's game sharing posts about it encouraging people to sign petitions. so i think we will see a lot of vocal resistance. the women's game are some of the leading advocates of gender equality, i don't think they will stay silent on this one. �* , , ., this one. i'm interested in your thou~hts this one. i'm interested in your thoughts if _ this one. i'm interested in your thoughts if this _ this one. i'm interested in your thoughts if this does _ this one. i'm interested in your thoughts if this does go - this one. i'm interested in yourj thoughts if this does go ahead, this one. i'm interested in your - thoughts if this does go ahead, what are you expecting to happen, are expecting football players to pull

out or fans not to show up, in the end qatar did go ahead with the world cup for instance. it is end qatar did go ahead with the world cup for instance.- world cup for instance. it is a tricky one _ world cup for instance. it is a tricky one for _ world cup for instance. it is a tricky one for the _ world cup for instance. it is a tricky one for the host - world cup for instance. it is a l tricky one for the host nations, world cup for instance. it is a - tricky one for the host nations, and the sporting bodies. this plan —— tournament for most players career is the highlight and they have already spent a lot of money here in new zealand and everyone once the tournament to be a success so no one wants to boycott it but it takes a lot of vocal opposition and i think around the tournament for all brands is this national noise in opposition. women's players have a great social presence i think it willjust damage all parties in this instance. ., , ._ willjust damage all parties in this instance. ., , ., instance. former player for the football ferns _ instance. former player for the football ferns thank _ instance. former player for the football ferns thank you - instance. former player for the football ferns thank you so - instance. former player for the i football ferns thank you so much instance. former player for the - football ferns thank you so much for joining us. that brings us to the end of the programme at this hour. do you stay with bbc news and i will

see you at the next edition of the programme. when a change on the weekend but first it has been a wet 2a hours across parts of northern scotland over 50 mm of rain and places over five hours of sunshine in sonny's parts of kent on thursday, much of the k has been cloudy. some cloud rain, we are all in the mild air at the moment it is this that changes over the weekend. by sunday the blue takes over. turning colder but actually it will be tipping the balance on sunday in favour of sunnier skies. balance on sunday in favour of sunnierskies. 0nce balance on sunday in favour of sunnierskies. once again balance on sunday in favour of sunnier skies. once again the big area of high—pressure moving across the uk. not there yet and there will be a lot of cloud to start off on friday. a damp start across parts of school other than scotland northern

ireland in northern england particularly mild here, double figure temperatures from the word go. early rain clearing away from northern ireland in northern england and pushed north across collins or any release or dispose here will be short—lived. for northern ireland, england and wales into the afternoon a lot of cloud around. you may still count some light rain or drizzle but also some brighter spells developing in a few places as well. temperatures will be a bit higher than thursday. up to around 13—14 celsius. through friday night working with a good deal of cloud around western areas most likely to get some further light rain or drizzle. area of what weather points to move into scotland to go on through saturday. another mild start to the day. here is the weekend under way. we have noticed a lot of cloud around. during daylight hours during when a few sunny spells here and there whereas furs scotland and northern ireland a band of weight working its

way southwards during the day. temperatures for many still in double figures, turning colder in those areas that see the back of the rain before the end of the day. it is the rain along with us with the front that moves its way southwards overnight saturday and into sunday morning, behind that a cold front with colder air moving in. a big area high pressure across the uk, the wind circulating around here. there will be loath ascension around on sundayjust parts of scotland maybe the far south west of england holding onto some cloud. temperatures down, yes, a frosty night to follow on sunday night.

good evening this is your update from the bbc sport centre. this year's six nations rugby championship kicks off this. and while the players will be focussing on what happens on the pitch officials are having to tackle numerous problems off it ranging from allegations of sexism and homophobia to corruption. 0ur sports editor dan roan explains. with its blend of rivalry, tradition and passion, the six nations remains one of the highlights of the sporting calendar.