welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: the race is on to recover the wreckage of an american surveillance drone. swiss financial regulators discuss stepping in after a share crash at credit suisse causes jitters in european markets. three people charged over an indonesian football arena and authorities in pakistan put imran khan's arrest on hold as violent clashes erupt. three people charged over an indonesian football arena stampede await their fate. voice-over: live voice—over: live from our studio in singapore, this is

bbc news. studio in singapore, this is bbc new-— welcome to bbc news. our top story today: the us defence secretary says he had a rare phone call with his russian counterpart in the aftermath of a collision between a russian fighterjet and a us drone. the race is now on to recover the wreckage of the drone which is thought to be 1,200 metres deep in the black sea. russia has also said it will try to find the wreckage. meanwhile, america's top general said the whole incident was a result of russia's increasingly aggressive behaviour in the area. us defence secretary lloyd austin gave this update earlier. asi as i have said repeatedly, it is important that great powers be models of transparency and communication. the united states will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows. and

it is incumbent upon russia to operate as military aircraft in a safe and professional manner. our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, has this report from kyiv. this is the kind of un—manned aircraft that crashed. an mq—9 reaper patrolling the skies over the black sea. gathering information over the war below flown will remotely. this is the type of russian warplane the us claims struck the drone — an su 27 fighterjet which encountered the aircraft near crimea early yesterday. us commanders said the russian planes flew in front of the drones several times and dumped fuel over it. after which, the drone�*s propeller was struck, spinning it out of control. but russia denies causing the crash. saying the drone was

approaching russian territory when it lost control to due to what a russian spokesman referred to as sharp manoeuvres. translation: | want to - underline russian fighterjets did not use the onboard weapons, did not come into contact with the un—manned aerial vehicle and returned safely to base. ukraine's foreign minister played down the risk of an escalating cofrontation between two of the world's nuclear superpowers. as long as russia controls crimea, this kind of incident will be inevitable, and the black sea will not be a safe place. so, the only way to prevent such incidents is actually to kick russia out of crimea. do you fear escalation? no, i think it'sjust routine incidents. it's happening from time to time. a us spokesman said steps are being taken to protect

the wreckage of the drone but accepted it might be too deep underwater. russian officials expressed confidence they could discover what was left. james landale, bbc news, kyiv. financial regulators in switzerland say they are ready to provide support for the troubled banking giant, credit suisse, if needed. shares in the bank have plunged 24%, sparking a wider sell—off in european stocks, which closed down more than 3%. it comes days after the failure of silicon valley bank in the us. our business correspondent, theo leggett, says credit suisse is no stranger to controversy. what you have to remember is credit suisse is no stranger to trouble. it lost $8 million last year, reeled from scandal to scandal over the past few years that have damaged its reputation and finances. it is seen as one of the weak of europe in the banking sector and matters because the enticing sector is becoming under scrutiny with the collapse of silicon valley bank

and signature bank and us came as big a shock and has focused attention on another base to see whether the weaknesses that occurred there might occur elsewhere. with all the scrutiny upon it, credit suisse has not been coming up well. it admitted yesterday that the material weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting were not good. today its biggest shareholder, the saudi national bank, said it was not prepared to prop the bank up further so that accentuates the feeling of weakness around credit suisse and why investors are running scared. then you have to ask why our shares and other banks as well? some weaknesses that existed in silicon valley bank and signature bank may exist elsewhere and there are concerns give one bad way to go under, if there were to be a major bank collapse in europe, what would happen? would there be a domino effect? other banks follow? that's the fear. people i wonder if the bank collapses, what happens next? the results, investors are running scared

and shares are down across the board. ., ,., board. theo leggett reporting on that story. _ earlier i spoke to fariborz moshirian, professor of finance and banking at the university of new south wales and the director at the institute for global finance. i asked him what has led to the concerns at credit suisse. the reporter has a well covered theissue the reporter has a well covered the issue here is that credit suisse was always on the watch, if you like, for a number of years, for different reasons. last year they made significant loss. we also know that obviously there are signals for liquidity risks were saudi national bank is not willing for instance to contribute more and the bank is looking for more sources of liquidity. people have been very nervous and what is happening with silicon valley bank and other regional banks in the united

states, so there is a bit of sensitivity in the market and everyone is on the lookout as to whether which other bank would have some other liquidity issue or business models which are not going to be sustainable in a high interest rate environment. i5 in a high interest rate environment.- in a high interest rate environment. , , ., environment. is it possible to sa at environment. is it possible to say at this — environment. is it possible to say at this point, _ environment. is it possible to say at this point, professor, i say at this point, professor, whether this situation can be contained below are looking at a domino effect, where you point out, because of the nervous sentiment, consistently sell of banks they are worried about which leads to more nervousness on markets? the fact that the _ nervousness on markets? the fact that the swiss _ nervousness on markets? tue: fact that the swiss central bank has signalled now that they are there to support credit suisse is a very significant step. it calms down the market to some extent with regard to credit suisse. however, trust is a big issue

in banking. in other words, there are issues of interconnectedness, there are issues of which other backs, for instance in europe, would be exposed to credit suisse, and that's where the european banks in general including eurozone banks come into question, not mentioning even asian banks. the market is very nervous for risk contagion and that's the issue that we need to wait and see if another 2a hours, 48 hours to see what emerges. hours, 48 hours to see what emerges-— emerges. that was fariborz moshirian, _ emerges. that was fariborz moshirian, professor - emerges. that was fariborz moshirian, professor of - emerges. that was fariborz . moshirian, professor of finance and banking at the university of new south wales, speaking to me a little earlier. the british chancellor, jeremy hunt, has pledged to "build for the future" in his first budget, promising it will deliver economic growth. he told mps that the country's financial forecast has improved, and the economy will avoid going into recession. he also said inflation was now predicted to fall to just under 3% by the end of the year. the opposition labour party accused the conservatives of "sticking plaster politics". here's our political

editor, chris mason. when will things actually get better, chancellor? there have been rather a few chancellors of late — here is the current one, jeremy hunt, the fourth in a year, and a big personal moment. at one end of downing street, his wife and children. at the other end, out on whitehall and beyond, this again. striking workers, schools closed, demonstrations. do you have money to end the strikes, chancellor? the answers, or lack of them, would come down the road in parliament. the overall message, things are tough but improving. i report today on a british economy which is proving the doubters wrong. the uk will not now enter a technical recession this year.

soaring energy bills have been a massive factor in crippling family finances in the last year. the government's help to ease the burden is to be extended until the summer. this measure will save the average family a further £160 on top of the energy support measures already announced. here is another choice the chancellor has made, maintaining the 5p—a—litre cut in fuel duty and not putting it up in line with rising prices. that saves the average driver £100 next year and around £200 since the 5p cut was introduced. the headline rate of corporation tax is going up, not popular among all his mps. businesses will pay less, though, if they put money into their future growth. that means that every single pound a company invests in it equipment, plant or machinery can be deducted in full and immediately from taxable profits. a big part of this budget is getting

more people into work. there are measures to help those with disabilities and 50— and 60—somethings tempted to retire. now they will be able to save more in a pension, tax—free every year. in the round, ministers want this to be seen as a steady as you go budget. the this to be seen as a steady as you 90 budget-— you go budget. the optimists are right- _ you go budget. the optimists are right. we _ you go budget. the optimists are right. we stick— you go budget. the optimists are right. we stick to - you go budget. the optimists are right. we stick to the - you go budget. the optimists| are right. we stick to the plan because the plan is working and i commend this statement to the house. in i commend this statement to the house. , ,., , house. in response the opposition _ house. in response the opposition parties - house. in response the| opposition parties were scathing. opposition parties were scathing-— opposition parties were scathinu. ., , scathing. managed to climb, britain going _ scathing. managed to climb, britain going backwards, - scathing. managed to climb, britain going backwards, thej britain going backwards, the sick man of europe once again. that's the briton they have created and they should look at in the eye. b, created and they should look at in the eye-— in the eye. a uk whose performance _ in the eye. a uk whose i performance deteriorated in the eye. a uk whose - performance deteriorated after the break that referendum, both an absolute and relative terms. under_ an absolute and relative terms. under country, the only one in the g7 — under country, the only one in the g7 where the economy has not returned to its

pre—pandemic level. not returned to its pre-pandemic level. not returned to its re-andemic level. ~ ., pre-pandemic level. what you say to peeple _ pre-pandemic level. what you say to people who _ pre-pandemic level. what you say to people who say - pre-pandemic level. what you say to people who say this - pre-pandemic level. what you say to people who say this is l pre-pandemic level. what you j say to people who say this is a budget for the rich, allowing people who are already well off, already earn a lot, save more their pensions? qt off, already earn a lot, save more their pensions? of course we want to _ more their pensions? of course we want to help _ more their pensions? of course we want to help older— more their pensions? of course we want to help older people i we want to help older people who want to stay and work and by definition they will generally be on higher salaries, but nearly five times more help is going to young parents. more help is going to young arents. ., . ., parents. your official forecasters - parents. your official forecasters say - parents. your official forecasters say the l parents. your official - forecasters say the freezing of the income tax thresholds over six years is equivalent to putting 4p on income tax. you are clobbering people. i thought it was meant to cut taxes is not as evidence cut taxes is not as evidence cut taxes when they can. today i cut corporation _ taxes when they can. today i cut corporation tax _ taxes when they can. today i cut corporation tax my - taxes when they can. today i cut corporation tax my £9 . cut corporation tax my £9 billion. and raise the headline rate. yes, but the pandemic, we spent £400 billion to support businesses and families. haw businesses and families. how much of the _ businesses and families. how much of the day _ businesses and families. how much of the day is _ businesses and families. how much of the day is still - businesses and families. how much of the day is still about shovelling the mass of your conservative predecessors! it conservative predecessors! tit is not. today is about... none

of it the statistics have recovered from that. today is about a long—term growth plan. the blunt political truth is conservative opinion poll ratings have not recovered. he, they might have a lot of persuading to do. chris mason, bbc news, at westminster. i bring you breaking news. we have reports from the us gs of a magnitude seven earthquake that struck the islands region, according to the us gs and tsunami warning system has also been issued, a tsunami threat for that area after the earthquake. i'll give you a sense of where the islands are, they are north—east of new zealand's north island and a similar distance south—west of tonga. the islands are part of new zealand and as far as been this point in time they are

uninhabited, except the permanently manned raul island station, the north most outpost of new zealand. we'll get more details on the story when we get it. for now, other stories. a court in pakistan has ordered police to suspend an operation to arrest the opposition leader, imran khan, until thursday morning. it followed pitched battles between security forces and supporters of mr khan outside his residence in the city of lahore. the confrontation began on tuesday when police tried to arrest the former prime minister for failing to appear in court over corruption charges. mr khan says the charges are politically motivated. our correspondent, caroline davies, sent this report from mr khan's residence: police have now left the stretch just outside zaman park, which is imran khan's home. the police might have left but the remnants of what happened here have not. you can see the charred remains of burned chairs,

you can see rocks on the floor. we know from eyewitnesses that there were rocks and sticks used by the pti, which is imran khan's party, supporters. we also know the police used water cannon and tear gas and it's that tear gas you can still sense in the air, you can feel it in the back of your eyes and throat. this was because the police arrived yesterday afternoon, saying they intended to arrest mr khan, and that is because they say that he didn't turn up to multiple court appearances. now, imran khan has said he didn't appear because of security concerns, he was worried about his own safety, turning up to those courts. we've heard today from the minister of information for punjab, that the police operation has been temporarily suspended, and that is because the pakistan super league, which is a cricket tournament, is ongoing and there's due to be a semi—final happening in lahore tonight. at the moment, this sort of disruption has meant the city... inaudible

protesters chant the supporters here have not suggested that they intend to go anywhere. uzair younus is the director of the pakistan initiative at the us think tank, the atlantic council. he says the authorities often use pakistan's love of cricket to deal with political problems. cricket has become a convenient excuse over the last few days in lahore, first to stop imran khan and his political party from having their rallies, which is their constitutional and democratic right, and now to pull back the police. the police has been pulled back primarily because of the court's interventions and also the fact that over the last 24 hours or so, their ineptitude and their repression was on full public display, so it became very challenging for the government to maintain this stance. but more importantly, we should not lose sight of the fact that this ongoing repression and attempts to arrest imran khan are part of a long—standing issue in pakistani politics,

which has to do with the military�*s role in politics, it picking favourites, and then when these politicians become too good for their own good, in the sense that they start showing their eyes to the military, they are tried to be cut down to size. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we meet the afghan orchestra trying to keep traditional music alive after the taliban takeover. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision — all of this caused by an apparently organised attack.

the trophy itself was on the pedestal- in the middle - of the cabinet here. now, this was an - international trophy, and we understand - now that the search for it has become an - international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines: the race is on to recover the wreckage of an american surveillance drone downed over the black sea. swiss financial regulators step in after a share crash at credit suisse causes jitters in european markets

in indonesia verdicts will be handed down on thursday for three police officers charged with negligence over a deadly stampede in a football stadium last year. indonesia's human rights commission has said police officers firing tear gas into the crowds was the main cause of the fatal stampede at malang's kanjuruhan stadium, in which 135 people were killed. our correspondent valdya baraputri is injakarta. great to get you on the show. talk us through the background of this case. iam going i am going to take you back to the first of october last year, early in the morning indonesians were shot by the deaths of dozens of people at a stadium in malang called kanjuruhan stadium. that night there was a match between two

football club rivals and looking at the history of the unwillingness of both supporters the match was only allowed to be attended by the home supporters which was the arema fc. arema fc that night lost the match and not long after it ended supporters went onto the pitch to support that disappointment while players were still there. police met this with force, supporters fought back after being punched and kicked. after that the police fired tear gas not only at the supporters on the pitch but also at the people on the stands and this cause people to run and scramble to find the exit gates only to find them locked and this because of the deadly stampede. in the end 135 people were killed at the

stadium and at the hospital and more than 600 were injured. this is one of the deadliest tragedies in football history. just listening to you talk us through what happen and the aftermath, what has the reaction been in indonesia and what concerns has it raised about safety in football? after the tragedy — about safety in football? after the tragedy of _ about safety in football? after the tragedy of the _ about safety in football? he the tragedy of the indonesian government promised to carry out a football reform for indonesian football and fifa also opened their office here in indonesia to help with that cause but more importantly, an investigation was carried out after this tragedy and five people brought to the court. however, the victimsmac family were disappointed. last week the courts sentence two people, one a football club official and the other security officer

and the other security officer and they got 1.5 years and one year sentence in prison which was way lower than what the prosecutor had demanded of them of more than six years for each person. the families said they did not reflect the loss of 135 people and we will see if the court today will bring a different sense of justice court today will bring a different sense ofjustice to the victims pars mac families and survivors.— and survivors. thank you for “oininr and survivors. thank you for joining us- _ since the taliban takeover in august 2021, playing and listening to music in public in afghanistan has been banned. the taliban say it is �*un—islamic�* and they locked the doors of the afghanistan national institute of music in kabul, when they returned to power in 2021, forcing the students of the music school to flee the country. but now, this determined group of young musicians are back on the international stage fighting to keep

afghan music alive. shekiba habib reports. these are the students of afghanistan's most prestigious music institute, after fleeing from their country. this is the start of their 2023 tour of europe. translation: i never imagined the taliban could take over - and ban music within a day. tanslation: when the taliban came, l i was sad because i wasn't able to continue studying. i was like a prisoner sitting at home. back home, they had freedom to perform in public and status as professionals. but when the taliban returned, everything regressed. after breaking all their instruments, the taliban locked the doors to their music school. years of dedication and passion were destroyed in seconds.

but the school's former students are far from defeated. translation: we won't let their actions go unnoticed. i we will play our music even louder. these musicians flourished in afghanistan before the taliban cut short their career. the might have lost their stage, their music school and their musical instruments but what's remaining is their art and their resilience. now living as refugees in portugal, the students have revived their orchestra and their mission. how do you feel before going to the stage? excited. which piece do you like the most? the one that's about afghanistan? it's good. the first concert of the tour and it's a sell—out show.

music plays translation: the taliban wanted young girls and boys _ to bejust like them, uneducated and without progress, without a future. translation: when the taliban are gone, i will go _ to afghanistan to teach music to girls and boys. before we go a little more on the breaking news story. an earthquake has struck the

kermadec islands islands region. north—east of new zealand's north thanet and a similar distance from tonga. they are largely uninhabited except for a station. that's it from us. thank you for watching. hello. it's quite mild out there and that's how it's going to stay over the next few days. but with that comes a lot of cloud and occasional outbreaks of rain. and that's what we've got in the headline for thursday. so here's the satellite picture and you can see this thick cloud streaming in from a south—westerly direction. you can see the weather fronts here, a broad area of rain—bearing cloud and that mild current of air all the way from the azores, wrapping around the low pressure, and we've got those weather fronts pushing through. so the forecast through the early hours shows that heavier rain across more northern parts of the country. rain, dribs and drabs, elsewhere and very mild in the morning, about 10 in the south and also in northern ireland.

still a little on the chilly side in northern scotland, around two degrees, where, earlier on, we had some snow across the highlands. so the forecast for thursday shows that heavier rain making its journey further north. there will be some rain also around other western parts of the country, but also sunny spells developing in northern ireland, but also heavy showers, possibly some thunderstorms, too. one or two glimmers of brightness possible also in east anglia and the south—east. mild, up to 15 degrees in some spots, but still chilly in stornoway, 7 degrees, and about 5 degrees in the northern isles. now, that low pressure is still with us on friday. in fact, multiple areas of low pressure and weather fronts sweeping across the country. it won't be raining all the time. in fact, on friday, from the morning onwards, you can see that rain is quite showery out towards the west. also a spell of showery rain for the extreme south—east and also east anglia. there will be some sunny spells, so certainly not raining all the time. temperatures every bit as mild, if not milder, 15 or even 16 celsius.

still that colder air sitting in the north and the north—west of scotland, around 8 degrees or so. into the weekend, a very undulating pattern in ourjet stream. and when we see these big ridges in the jet stream, that means that milder air is still streaming in from the southern climes. and you can see that mild air engulfing many parts of western europe and even reaching central parts of europe as well. so the outlook into next week shows those temperatures into double figures, in fact, hovering around 14, 15 degrees. but with that, a lot of cloud, outbreaks of rain, but sunny spells from time to time, too. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. this week, a look back at some of our most fascinating historical journeys. from the desert canyons ofjordan... that would be impressive if we built that today, but that was built thousands of years ago. look at it! ..to the noisy streets of paris. driving a 2cv car is not easy. driving in paris is not easy. well, now you're making me nervous! and from the majesty of lady liberty...

it stood for freedom - and for liberty to people