welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm monica miller. the headlines.. ukraine's president says his troops will continue defending bakhmut as russian mercenaries complain they don't have enough ammunition. one month on from the devastating earthquakes in turkey and syria, thousands are still living without proper shelter. all night long there are nonstop after shots. it is so hard to sleep. it is so hard to sleep. migrants arriving in the uk

in small boats would be banned from ever returning, under new plans by the british government. refugee charities say the proposals are unfair and unworkable. and we meet the team behind, �*the elephant whisperers�* — the indian documentary hoping to win at sunday's oscars. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky says the country's military commanders want to continue defending the embattled eastern city of bakhmut. it follows reports from a us— based think tank suggesting ukraine was probably withdrawing some of its forces from the city. russia is continuing it's all out assault to capture the eastern ukrainian city, while the city's deputy mayor

has told the bbc that not a single building had remained untouched, and that the city is almost destroyed. our correspondent, james landale, sent this report from kyiv. after more than six months of fighting, much of bakhmut now lies in ruins, yet the fighting remains hard. street by street, house by house. for those few civilians who remain in the city and in villages nearby, conditions are terrible, with little access to water, heat or power. translation: i want peace, silence, calmness, andjust l to be at home in our own land. the ukrainian army still holds the centre of bakhmut. they can get in and out from the west, but... this ukrainian soldier says

the situation is tense, tanks are shelling the road and bridges are broken. defending this city is coming at a high price in ukrainian lives. translation: | would l like to pay special tribute to the bravery, strength and invincibility of the warriors fighting in donbas. it is one of the toughest battles — painful and challenging. russian forces continue to bombard the city, and their troops continue to make small advances from the north and south, but at great cost. british military officials say some russian soldiers are even being forced to attack with little more than their spades. and while russia's defence ministry shows images of paratroopers supposedly making an assault, russian mercenaries at the heart of the fighting complain they are not getting enough ammunition. translation: what if| they want to set us up, calling us scoundrels, and that's why they don't give us ammunition? they don't give us weapons and they don't let us recruit more people from amongst prisoners? if wagner retreats from bakhmut now, the whole

front will collapse. there is not much left to win or lose in this city, but ukrainian forces are defending these streets hard and many russian soldiers are dying trying to take them. elisabeth braw is a senior fellow at the american enterprise institute. she says bakhmut has become important to the russian military, which has struggled to deliver any positive news to the kremlin. ukraine wants to to to take it back and russia wants to fully capture it. and it seems like such an insignificant town. why would you say this amount of blood over it?

but it's so significant at this point, because if the russians take it, they can claim that that they are advancing or they are making gains. they haven't made very many gains in recent months at all. and ukraine obviously wants to defend every part of its territory. i mean, russian troops are losing their lives at an alarming rate. so a lot of analysts are saying that this particular place doesn't have any strategic value. why are people fighting over it, both ukraine and the russians? i think it's — for the russian side. it's an effort to be able to show something to the russian public, because otherwise what this whole war about, if you can't even win or capture a small ukrainian town. and for the ukrainian side, it is about being able to defend their territory. and i think what is really interesting about this battle in particular is the large role that the wagner group is playing. that's something that we should pay attention to in future battles to come, because the wagner group is sending in a human wave upon human wave into barmouth, as your correspondent said, men armed very poorly. and clearly, the russian side isn't planning on these men surviving, but they want to wear out the

ukrainian defenders by sending in men after wave after wave of men, who are essentially going into their deaths. elizabeth, explain to our viewers exactly who is the wagner group? where did they come from? why are they fighting in this war for russia? it's a very mysterious group, and until recently, the founder of it even denied that it existed. the founder is a close friend of putin who has essentially accompanied him through his rise through various chapters of recent russian history.

it's a very mysterious group, and until recently, the founder of it even denied that it existed. the founder is a close friend of putin who has essentially accompanied him through his rise through various chapters of recent russian history. he has been — he started his career as a caterer to first to to ordinary russians, then to putin. and he has clearly done very well since, because now he owns this mercenary company that supplies russia with these troops in this war, which is what makes it so unique. we haven't seen anything similar in european in recent european wars. and this volunteer group also supports or props up governments or regimes in other parts of the world, especially in sub—saharan african countries. so those regimes rely on the troops to essentially keep them in place here. in this situation in ukraine, they are playing a very dirty game with the troops and we are not sure whether they are supposed to whether they are operating under geneva conventions or not. but that's and that's something that's being discussed. but that's something that's being discussed. it's a month since the devastating earthquakes which killed more than 50,000 people across turkey and syria, and which left vast numbers without proper shelter.

the un estimates that in turkey alone, at least one and a half million people who are still within the disaster zone are homeless. the true figure could be even higher. ourcorrespondent anna foster, who's been covering the tragedy from the start, sent this report from hatay province in southern turkey. surviving in the ruins. turkey's south is unrecognisable, ripped apart by the power of the quakes. this new landscape brings new challenges. those with nowhere to live now sleep where they can. some try to stay close to their damaged houses, songol tells me it's all they have left. the earthquake killed 17 members of her family. home is now a tent, but she isn't leaving. translation: having no | electricity is a big problem. the fear, it's too big. all night long there are non—stop aftershocks, it is so hard to sleep. anger at the slow response has only grown louder. shokrut complained about this building four years ago. eight people died here.

translation: help us, - save us, they were shouting. arms and legs were dangling out but there was nothing we could do. negligence greatly exaggerated this. so what has happened is more and more people have joined this conversation at the building and they are telling us that some of them who lived here, they knew it was dangerous, they said they had filed a complaint, so what we are doing now is finding out why, finding out what they saw, what they said, and try to pull together some evidence of the conversations they had with the person who owned this building. first, shokrut showed us proof of his official complaint on the government website. "the columns have cracked, no—one has shown any interest, "i request your attention before any loss of lives." over the next seven days we try to get the building's owner to tell us why it wasn't made safe.

camera is on. he didn't reply. this part of the country isn't the only place with dangerous buildings. istanbul, turkey's biggest city. a studyjust three months ago said a quake here could kill up to 90,000 people. massoud's apartment block was condemned when it failed its earthquake safety test. he lost family members four weeks ago, now he is losing his home as well. translation: a relative called and we all woke up screaming. | he sobs. it's a horrible situation. from north to south, this is a country in shock. rebuilding will take time,

healing will take even longer. people here in turkey will feel the impact for years. anna foster, bbc news, hatay. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines.... mexican officials have found over 340 people in an abandoned truck in the state of veracruz. 103 of them were children. the migrants were from guatemala, honduras, el salvador and ecuador. there was no sign of the driver. officials said the trailer was fitted with ventilation fans and air vents. the migrants will be cared for by mexican social services until their status is decided. london's metropolitan police has apologised for missing opportunities to arrest one of their officers before he killed sarah everard. wayne couzens, who is already serving a whole life sentence,

was jailed for 19 months for exposing himself to women on three occasions — one of them when he was on duty. torrential rain and landslides on a remote indonesian island have killed at least 15 people and left dozens missing. a disaster agency spokesman said houses had been flattened on serasan island. officials say strong winds damaged communications networks, making it hard to get accurate information. serasan island is several hours by boat from the nearest help. iran's supreme leader has called a wave of suspected poisonings of schoolgirls in recent months an "unforgivable crime". more than a thousand girls at dozens of schools across the country have been affected by unexplained illnesses since november. some politicians have suggested that religious groups opposed to girls' education may be to blame.

parham gho—badi from bbc persian reports. they gasp. the shocking images of iranian schoolgirls gasping for breath after possible gas attacks. the poisoned students are bussed away in ambulances to packed hospitals. concerned parents run to save their children. some are barred from entering the school. protests have been held in front of the education ministry. but they were beaten and arrested. many students say they were not allowed to leave school despite the smell of gas. translation: they closed the school doors, saying it was a sewage smell and nothing to worry about. i fainted in the corridor. school poisonings have been going on for more than three months.

here at bbc persian, we've been monitoring school poisonings and verifying the videos posted on social media. here are ourfindings. on november 30th, schoolgirls in the religious city of qom said they felt sick after inhaling odorous gas. in december, cities in two more provinces reported the same incidents. injanuary, students in two other provinces were poisoned, while schools in qom and other cities were repeatedly attacked in the meantime. in february, two more, including capital tehran. in march, it expanded exponentially and now almost the entire country is affected. after months, iran's supreme leaderfinally broke his silence on the issue. translation: they must be condemned to severe punishments. it's a serious and unforgivable crime. there will be no amnesty for them. many iranians suspect these are revenge attacks on schoolgirls who joined the protests that swept

the country for months since september. iranian girls were at the forefront of fighting forfreedom. now they are facing a frightening and invisible adversary. parham ghobadi, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme.. the legacy of japanese boyband moguljohnny kitagawa is examined in a new bbc documentary. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this is the worst atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 in modern times. in less than 2a hours the soviet union loss leader and replaced it with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior.

dynamic figure 20 years his “unior. ~ . , , ., , junior. we heard this gunshots and we were — junior. we heard this gunshots and we were petrified. - junior. we heard this gunshots and we were petrified. james i and we were petrified. james already sentenced to 90 time years transferred to prison in an eight car convoy. what does it feel like to be married at last? it it feel like to be married at last? , ., ~ , ., last? it feels fine, thank you. to think you _ last? it feels fine, thank you. to think you gotta _ last? it feels fine, thank you. to think you gotta change - last? it feels fine, thank you. to think you gotta change a l to think you gotta change a life's i to think you gotta change a life' ., �* ~ ., �* life's i don't know, i've never been married before. - this is newsday on the bbc. i'm monica miller. in singapore. our headlines...

thousands are still living without proper shelter. it's less than a week before the 95th academy awards — or the oscars — and one of the films shortlisted for best short documentary is the indian film, "the elephant whisperers." the film follows a couple, bomman and bellie, who devote their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named raghu. i'm joined now by the films producer guneet monga. thank you so much forjoining us on the programme. this couple isjust an incredible find, actually. tell us a little bit about the film—maker found them and then convinced them to do a major picture for netflix on this? them to do a ma'or picture for netflix on this?— netflix on this? so, thank you for having _ netflix on this? so, thank you for having me _ netflix on this? so, thank you for having me here. _

netflix on this? so, thank you for having me here. my - for having me here. my director, this is herfirst film. and in fact she lives near the area. and she has a really cute story about one day driving down from her house and meeting this really little baby calf. in the calf was so tiny, she got curious, followed them, and made friends with them. find and made friends with them. and what was your — and made friends with them. and what was your intention about making this documentary? the intention was _ making this documentary? the intention was to _ making this documentary? tue: intention was to let making this documentary? tte: intention was to let people around the world to know about coexistence, about the emotional bond between the wild, the animal, the nature, and human. it was definitely to lean into the emotions and know that there is a world that we can live together.— that there is a world that we can live together. you can't go wron: can live together. you can't go wrong with _ can live together. you can't go wrong with baby _ can live together. you can't go wrong with baby elephants, i wrong with baby elephants, certainly, on the big screen. but tell me a little bit about what your process is in terms of thinking when you take on a project like this? for

of thinking when you take on a project like this?— project like this? for me, it's definitely, the _ project like this? for me, it's definitely, the film-maker i project like this? for me, it's definitely, the film-maker in | definitely, the film—maker in this case, the film—maker in the story. in this case, this is a female first—time woman film—maker. in fact she's the first to south asian —— she's only the only south asian director this year in the academy as nominated and it is herfirst film. and it's definitely for me the process of the story. how much —— it's very emotional actually the process, how much the story impacts, it resonates with global audiences, and then meeting with the film—maker, leaning into the vision, to leaning into the vision, to lean into the passion. and in this case she had the truest form and —— of storytelling. and this is both of us, these two women, i could not be more happy supporting her as a producer. happy supporting her as a producer-— producer. this is not your

first time _ producer. this is not your first time at _ producer. this is not your first time at the - producer. this is not your first time at the oscars. l producer. this is not your i first time at the oscars. you had also been nominated for a film, period end of sentence which won a big award. so tell us a little bit about when you do get this award how your life might change. actually i was —— i was a producer and my film did the oscar. i was personally not nominated. this is the first time i am nominated. and yes it will be history and making, 1.4 million people —— 1.4 billion people in india. and a hundred years of indians in movie—making and this is the first time a film with two women making it, pushing it forward, is nominated. ithink this is already history in making an definitely, fingers crossed, if we win, it will be just epic. crossed, if we win, it will be just epic— just epic. there aren't many --eole just epic. there aren't many people that _ just epic. there aren't many people that actually - just epic. there aren't many people that actually get - just epic. there aren't many people that actually get to l just epic. there aren't many. people that actually get to sit in that theatre as the awards are announced. so what goes through your mind when you are sitting there with all those

stars in this big moment for you to's stars in this big moment for ou to' �* , ., ., stars in this big moment for ou to' �*, . ., ., you to's it's a lot of gratitude _ you to's it's a lot of gratitude and - you to's it's a lot of gratitude and a - you to's it's a lot of gratitude and a lot| you to's it's a lot of i gratitude and a lot of you to's it's a lot of - gratitude and a lot of anxiety mixed. i don't have a word for that. but definitely a lot of gratitude to be shortlisted and nominated and for the whole experience, and it's so exciting because of the academy awards and netflix, the whole world of audience are watching the film. we are getting fanart from around the world. so it so powerful. in fact, for all that we are so grateful of it. white back best of luck for you on sunday. we'll be watching. thank you. gary rossington, the last original memberfrom the band lynyrd skynyrd, has died at the age of 71. he appeared on all the band's albums and co—wrote their 1974 hit, sweet home alabama.

the band began in 1964 and he was still playing their signature song, freebird, in concert just a few weeks ago. a new bbc documentary examines the legacy of the japanese music executive johnny kitagawa. kitagawa founded a male—only talent agency which has produced many of japan's biggest boy bands. however, multiple allegations of sexual abuse have been made by boys and men who once worked with kitagawa and aspired to make it in the japanese pop market. mobeen azhar reports. japan has the biggest music market in the world after the us and one company joining in associates has dominated thej—pop orjapanese pop market since being established in the 1960s. its founder, johnny kitagawa, has had rumours surrounding him

for decades that he sexually abused boys in his male only talent agency throughout his 50 year career. few photos of him are known to exist, so we've drawn a picture of him to show you instead. claims of abuse were upheld in a 2003 libel case, but despite this, he continued to work until his death in 2019, and he's still revered injapan. i spoke to a fan on the streets of tokyo. he is god, is god, he is god. why is he god? such a big statement. some of the abuse happened while boys were staying at kitagawa's home. i spoke to a victim for the bbc�*s this world programme who shared his story for the first time. translation: johnny told me, go and have a bath. johnny filled up the bath. i thought, isn't he kind? but then he reached for my trousers. i said, i'll take them off myself.

but he replied with silence, and that terrified me. later, several boys told me, "you have to put up with it or you won't succeed." we tried several times to get answers from johnny and associates about the allegations and struggled to speak to anyone. eventually, i went to their offices and i was met by one of the marketing team. we already replied to them. please let any further communications be handled through the person who responded to you. i hear what you're saying, but that's not happening. i'm not getting a response at the moment. they've replied to you already. they've replied to say that they don't want to respond to the allegations. that's all they've said. i'm very sorry. any further conversation should go through them. so i want to speak to someone senior. i want to work out how we can make that happen. to be frank, i don't think, given the seriousness of the allegations, the fact that this relates to dozens of cases of young men..

we were asked to stop filming. kitagawa sinise replied and said they are working to establish highly transparent organisational structures adapting to the times in compliance with laws, regulations, and strengthen governments with impartial experts. in reporting the story, in reporting the we contacted the police, entertainment reporters, newspapers, tv networks, and even the public broadcaster. none of them would speak to us. an iron curtain is drawn when you mention the name johnny kitagawa, johnny kitagawa kitagawa, and so to this day he is protected injapan, even after his death. the full programme �*predator: the secret scandal ofj—pop' is coming soon to bbc world news tv, or if you're in the uk, you can watch it now on the bbc iplayer.

that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello there. the weather on thursday into friday could be very interesting. more on that later on. but we're going to find a bit more snow across more of the country in the next few days. so far, most of it has been falling across northern scotland and the snow is continuing to pile up here. cold start to tuesday, icy conditions as well. temperatures not quite so low for the south where we've got more cloud. we are continuing to see mostly rain but there could be a little bit of sleet and snow in there as well. it petered out a little bit more through the day. there will be a few wintry showers though developing further north as you continue northwards. we are seeing some sunshine, that snow continuing to push into northern scotland. on a chilly wind all the way from the arctic. whereever you are whether you've got the sunshine in the north or the cloud in the south,

it's going to be a cold day, temperatures about four, five degrees. we are seeing this weather front sliding slowly in from the atlantic and those fronts really mark this battleground between the milder atlantic air that stays just to the south of the uk, and the colder arctic air that's really going to be more dominant. and overnight tuesday night, those temperatures will fall away very quickly, where we have the clearer skies and over the snowfields in scotland it could be —10. widespread frost to start the day on wednesday. and maybe some more snow falling across southern parts of england and south wales, a couple of centimetres in places. again, it may die out, but we will see some wetter, windy weather in the southwest later. more snow over the moors. northern scotland, northern ireland seeing fewer showers, probably more sunshine on wednesday. but it's going to be another cold day after that frosty start. then things get very interesting through thursday and perhaps into friday as well. the risk of this disruptive snow is moving further north. there could be some quite heavy falls of snow in places as well. the reason for all that is this area of low pressure.

that's going to be deepening and it's going to push these weather fronts further north into that colder air. any snow that does fall across southern parts of england and wales should turn back to rain as it gets milder here, a bit windier too, but we've got that wedge of colder air further north so we're going to find a longer spell of snow, particularly falling across northern ireland and northern parts of england. and we will see that snow moving its way northwards eventually into parts of scotland. it's over the hills of scotland and the northern pennines, we could get some heavy falls of snow, widely in that area though, five to ten cm.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. the devastating train crash in greece which killed 57 people generated a wave of grief and anger. many greeks see the disaster as symptomatic of a failing state, characterised by a lack

of investment in public infrastructure and a lack of accountability at