welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines: authorities in alabama charge two teenage boys after last week's shooting at a birthday party. a new un report predicts india will soon overtake china as the world's most populous country. we hear from the last few hong kong activists still willing to demonstrate in public. and the 25—year—old k—pop star moonbin is found dead in his apartment at the age of 25.

live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to bbc news. we begin with some breaking news for you because at least 78 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in the yemeni capital sana'a during a charity distribution of food for ramadan. houthi rebels say those responsible for the distribution have been taken into custody. reports are coming in and we will keep you updated as we get the latest development. to the us where gun crime continues to affect thousands of american lives — including in dadeville

in alabama — where two teenage boys have been charged with four counts of murder after a deadly shooting at a birthday party on saturday. this scene shows the aftermath of the shooting where more than 30 people were wounded — some critically, after shots were fired at the mahogany masterpiece dance studio. the district attorney spoke about the victims and their families and you can see he struggled to maintain his composure. the message that i want to send is i know some of these victims personally, some of these kids are kids of friends of mine, people i went to school with, people i went to school with, people i went to school with, people i played all with and in the community back in high school and these are my kids. these are our kids. don't mess with our kids. do not mess with our kids. 0n cue. it comes as, in the state of missouri, 84—year—old andrew lester has pleaded not guilty in the shooting of a black teenager, ralph yarl, after yarl mistakenly rang his doorbell.

0ur north america correspondent nomia iqbal has more. andrew lester walked into court with the help of a cane stick and sheriff deputies underlining how old he is. he walked up to the judge and answered his questions. at times he appeared to be confused. he pleaded not guilty to the charges of armed criminal action and assault. at his age, if his convicted any of them, he would spend the rest of his life in jail. he has not denied shooting ralph yarl, he says it was late at night, the doorbell rang, he is an old man and he was worried his life is at risk. some legal experts dispute whether or not mr lester can argue it was self defence. there are such laws in the state. given that ralph yarl rang the doorbell. they said that people trying to break in do not ring doorbells. also prosecutors had earlier said there was a racial component to this case but mr lester has not been charged with any hate crime. ralph

yarl�*s with any hate crime. ralph ya rl�*s lawyers with any hate crime. ralph yarl�*s lawyers spoke just outside after he was arraigned, saying there were concerns that the next appearance would be in june, and to them, it's a very clear—cut case. they also confirmed to us that ralph yarl is now at home and is recovering slowly. meanwhile, two cheerleaders in texas have been shot after they mistakenly got into the wrong vehicle in a supermarket car park. one of the victims was treated and released at the scene, but the other was taken to hospital and remains in a critical condition. a 25—year—old man has been arrested. it's renewed the discussion of so—called "stand your ground" laws which is a person's rights to protect themselves and their property in the us by using deadly force. john roman is the director on the centre of public safety injustice and senior fellow with the national opinion research centre at the university of chicago. he told

me more about how this law came about and where it is in effect. the standing ground laws began to be enacted in the united states in about 2005 and quickly spread such that they are now in 32 states across the country, which have a standing ground law and the idea is to take what is english common law, which is the basis for self defence in the united states which says you can use deadly force to meet deadly force in your own home, is to take that principle out into public spaces, out onto the street and remove people's duty to retreat so they can use deadly force if they feel threatened.— deadly force if they feel threatened. x; :: :: :: , ., threatened. 53,000 cases over five years of — threatened. 53,000 cases over five years of your _ threatened. 53,000 cases over five years of your report. - threatened. 53,000 cases over five years of your report. that i five years of your report. that is quite a lot. how often does the lord used then? the is quite a lot. how often does the lord used then?— the lord used then? the self defence laws _ the lord used then? the self defence laws get _ the lord used then? the self defence laws get used - the lord used then? the self defence laws get used to - defence laws get used to routinely and criminal cases of homicide, self defence laws, stand your ground laws get used

in these 32 states pretty routinely now to justify all kinds of actions. but typically thejudge and thejury kinds of actions. but typically the judge and the jury don't buy this. they only failed to convicted because they acted in self defence in about 2.5% of the cases but that still twice as many cases found to be justified, the people are acting in self defence when they claim stand your ground, as is the case in states where there is no stand your ground law. it's sort of doubled the likelihood that somebody is found not guilty and that probably leads people to use more force than they would otherwise, if they didn't think to have that protection.- to have that protection. also, data from _ to have that protection. also, data from your _ to have that protection. also, data from your report - to have that protection. also, data from your report shows | data from your report shows that depending on the shooters or killers skin colour, the outcome is vastly different when stand your ground laws are featured. can you tell us your findings? featured. can you tell us your findinus? . featured. can you tell us your findinus? , ., featured. can you tell us your findings?— findings? there is a huge racial disparity _ findings? there is a huge

racial disparity year. - findings? there is a huge racial disparity year. if i findings? there is a huge i racial disparity year. if there is a white shooter and a black victim, that self defence claim is upheld about ten times as often as when the situation is reversed, and there is a black shooter and a white victim. in the united states, there are racial disparities all throughout the criminal justice system from who gets arrested to who gets convicted to how much time people are sentenced to serve stop its about the biggest that exists anywhere in the system. it's quite astonishing. in just a few months india will take over from china as the world's most populous country. that's according to a new report published by the united nations. experts predict that india's population wlll rise to over 1.4 billion people. the un also says the global population now exceeds 8 billion people. apart from india, otherfast growing nations include egypt, pakistan and the philippines. alanna armitage is from the united nations population fund who produced the report.

the big story is really how both india and china are going to address their demographic change. it's not so much about the fact that india will take over china in population numbers by aboutjuly this year, 2023, but it's really about, what will india do. more than a quarter of india's population is between the age of ten and 2a, a huge youth population. so many possibilities to invest in health of young people, education and employment. and that we know really helps countries take off. that's what we call a demographic dividend. the big story for united nations population fund is not so much the numbers and who has the biggest population of the smallest population, but how do we actually anticipate a demographic change and how do we ensure that we are formulating inclusive policies

to ensure that everybody�*s rights are being met? i to ensure that everybody's rights are being met? i want to ask ou rights are being met? i want to ask you about _ rights are being met? i want to ask you about that _ rights are being met? i want to ask you about that later - rights are being met? i want to ask you about that later but. ask you about that later but china is also now trying to implement policies to increase both rates after having that infamous one child policy and it's not alone, is it? but are those policies trying to boost both rates effective? ida. those policies trying to boost both rates effective?- both rates effective? no, we know from — both rates effective? no, we know from history _ both rates effective? no, we know from history that - both rates effective? no, we know from history that the l know from history that the types of policies which we call demographic engineering just don't work. and so our report in fact is using this opportunity of this demographic milestone to really try to change the narrative, to work with countries, to ensure that they are implementing rights based policies based on evidence. because we know in fact adjust by trying to incentivise women to have more babies, we've seen in many countries all of the work, doesn't work. what does work is when we understand the underlying determinants of why women are not having children stop that is often the

inability of women to be able to combine their work life with theirfamily to combine their work life with their family life, to combine their work life with theirfamily life, so really their family life, so really investing theirfamily life, so really investing in gender sensitive family policies are much better investment than investing in trying to get women to have more children.— more children. also your reports _ more children. also your reports show _ more children. also your reports show the - more children. also your reports show the globall reports show the global population now stands at 8 billion which is hugely significant, but we also have issues like food supply, don't we, with food and agriculture 0rganisation �*s morning the world could run out of food in four years. world could run out of food in fouryears. how world could run out of food in four years. how would you balance this? i four years. how would you balance this?— four years. how would you balance this? i think any kind of population _ balance this? i think any kind of population milestone, - of population milestone, demographic milestone, reaching 8 billion we did last november or india taking over china, it makes people nervous. it leads to this kind of demographic anxiety, as we call it in the report. what we're to point out is that often it's not the population numbers that are the

issue. the issues are many other structural factors we need to look it. in fact, it's not the fertility rates, there is no ideal population number but population numbers do matter in the sense that we need to be prepared for that change. we need to know what our age structure is. we need to know, the population dynamics that we have in order to plan for that. but i think we are trying to address that anxiety and say, you know, often we use these numbers to keep us from looking at what's really happening, whether it's inequality or discrimination, or look at those human rights issues first and foremost. a new ceasefire agreement in sudan appears in doubt, as gunfire was heard in the capital khartoum, after the 24—hour truce was due to come into effect. the leaders of kenya, djibouti and south sudan paused their attempt to get into sudan to try to mediate between the rival generals whose forces are battling

for control. at least 270 people have been confirmed dead. the un has now described sudan's humanitarian situation as "catastrophic" — with mass displacement of people. the red cross has echoed that concern. the truth is that at the moment, it is almost impossible to provide any humanitarian services in and around khartoum. there are calls from various organisations and people trapped, asking for evacuation. for the past four days, people have been out of water and food, electricity has been rationed and, in some places, totally disconnected. last month marked the start of hong kong's biggest national security law trial. 47 of the city's leading activists face possible life in prison for taking part in an unofficial election. it's been almost three years since beijing imposed the law on the former british colony. hundreds have been arrested under the law. only a handful of people are now willing to demonstrate in public. danny vincent has

been to meet them. we have blurred some images and slogans in our report. this man is one of the last three demonstrators in hong kong. a wide—ranging national security law is all but silenced the political opposition. —— this woman. surveillance has become more severe for certain activists. in the past, police didn't pay much attention to us. now both plainclothes and uniformed police around us.— plainclothes and uniformed police around us. they even set u . police around us. they even set up cameras _ police around us. they even set up cameras and _ police around us. they even set up cameras and record - police around us. they even set up cameras and record us - police around us. they even set up cameras and record us when| up cameras and record us when we set up. it is psychologically intimidating. you never know when it could be used against you.— used against you. chan po yinu's used against you. chan po ying's husband _ used against you. chan po

ying's husband is - used against you. chan po ying's husband is known l used against you. chan po| ying's husband is known as used against you. chan po - ying's husband is known as long hair, a veteran rebellious activist. arrested under national security law. he is one of 47 pro—democracy activists under 12 are taking part in an unofficial election. they include prominent scholars like claudia mo and activists such as joshua like claudia mo and activists such asjoshua wong. if found guilty, they face possible life in prison. this man is a former lawmaker and street activists. critics say the national security law is intentionally vague. as a precaution, we've lowered the words on this banner in 2020, beijing imposed a national security law in hong kong. it effectively criminalised descent. today the majority of political activists in the city have either fled or they've been detained. critics say what is happening to hong kong is a type of legal warfare. chan po ying and paul

still take to the streets but there banner is blank. demonstration brings unwanted attention. looks like a plainclothes surveillance team look on. they are surrounded. people say this national security law was needed to restore order after months of street process —— protests. don'tjust blame everything on the national security law. the there, everybody has to obey there, everybody has to obey the law, whether you like it or not. it's passed by the hong kong legislatures so that was the law that we need to uphold, the law that we need to uphold, the law that we need to uphold, the law that we need to abide and if you break the law, there are certain consequences which will come into play.— will come into play. hong kong is opening _ will come into play. hong kong is opening up _ will come into play. hong kong is opening up after— will come into play. hong kong is opening up after years - will come into play. hong kong is opening up after years of - is opening up after years of covid restrictions but the space for descent is shrinking. danny vincent, bbc news, hong kong. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

it started with a coffee and a chat, 15 months and 2000 miles later, barbara and gay set off for the final miles of their cathedral cycling tour with filing a ride between coventry and birmingham cathedrals. seeing all the beauty of the countryside, fantastic cathedrals, just wonderful places to visit and breathe in the atmosphere. it's just been the most enjoyable thing i could have done. a network of british cycling groups have seen the women make friends and explore on two wheels. today's cycling buddies joined in the celebratory ride and wejoined them en route as they extolled the virtues of two wheels. i guarantee you won't look back. once you've done one ride, you get the bug and you love it. it may not have been the fastest ride but as the friends made their way towards birmingham cathedral this afternoon, there were smiles and celebrations. are you ever too old for this?

no, definitely not. you're live with bbc news. russia has been accused of making plans to cut vital power and russia has been accused of making plans to cut vital power and communication russia has been accused of making plans to cut vital power and communication cables running under the north sea. the allegation has been made in a documentary produced by public broadcasters in scandinavia and finland. it says russian ships have been touring the coastline around norway, denmark and sweden, often disguised as fishing or scientific research trawlers. their real purpose is alleged to be marking out sites that russia could sabotage in the event of a conflict with nato countries. one of the ships has also been spotted in british waters, as our diplomatic correspondent, caroline hawley, reports. we're filming everything on the ship. we're filming in turns. i can see crew members walking around on the deck.

this is the moment the journalists find their target. they've been tracking a russian ship called the admiral vladimirsky. officially, it's an underwater research vessel. in reality, they say, it's spying for the kremlin. the men on deck are masked and armed. for their own safety, the journalists make a quick retreat. their investigation tracked the ship late last year, as it headed across the north sea to the moray firth in scotland. it lingered at this huge wind farm, then headed south to another. it then travels down the east coast of england, passing by yet more wind farms. reconnaissance of sensitive sites by intelligence agencies is not unusual, but there are now growing fears of a murky new underwater front line.

last year, near the norwegian island of svalbard, an underwater data cable was severed. this is one of the world's biggest satellite stations, and another russian vessel had been spotted behaving strangely there before the connection was cut. translation: it's a completely illogical movement _ pattern for a trawler. there may have been an insane amount of fish there, but still, passing over such a limited area more than 130 times... i'm no fisherman, but it doesn't look like regular trawler activity. last september came a dramatic act of sabotage on the nord stream pipeline under the baltic sea, intended to carry gas from russia to germany. the eu blamed russia, while the russians blamed the west. so far, we haven't got any confirmation who's behind that, but i'd say it's very important that we follow all the maritime traffic in the baltic sea and our region in the north sea also. the kremlin's denied that it has

a secret programme looking for targets to sabotage. translation: the media in these countries have made a mistake - in their investigation. they prefer to once again accuse russia without basis. but the threat that russia could pose to critical national infrastructure at sea — both here in the uk and in europe — is being taken increasingly seriously. caroline hawley, bbc news. let's look at some of the other days in the uk. children conceived as a result of rape will soon be recognised as victims of crime in england and well. little member accessed information and support services. sammy woodhouse was a victim of the prodromal grooming scandal and fell pregnant to her abuser when she was just 15. she has new bbc documentary where she met other mothers and children born from abuse. emma isles has more. a warning, you may find

the content of this report upsetting. becoming a mum was one of the happiest moments of sammy's life but when he turned 12 she told him a painful truth that the man he called dad had raped and abused her and that's how he was born. he and abused her and that's how he was born.— and abused her and that's how he was born. he didn't want to be the person _ he was born. he didn't want to be the person who _ he was born. he didn't want to be the person who he - he was born. he didn't want to be the person who he was, - he was born. he didn't want to be the person who he was, he | be the person who he was, he didn't want to begin his skin. i blamed myself, ifelt so stupid. i blamed myself, i felt so stuid. , . stupid. sammy and her son struggled _ stupid. sammy and her son struggled alone _ stupid. sammy and her son struggled alone with - stupid. sammy and her son struggled alone with the i struggled alone with the difficult emotions. it is only now years later that she is discovering we're not the only ones. ., , ., , ones. you question everything about yourself, _ ones. you question everything about yourself, looking - ones. you question everything about yourself, looking in i ones. you question everything about yourself, looking in the | about yourself, looking in the mirror like i could see the man who raped my mother looking back at me. who raped my mother looking back at me— back at me. neil grew up adopted- _ back at me. neil grew up adopted. the _ back at me. neil grew up adopted. the birth i back at me. neil grew up. adopted. the birth mother back at me. neil grew up i adopted. the birth mother was raped by a stranger in a park and that's how meal was born. finding out what the gut—wrenching moment.

finding out what the gut-wrenching moment. finding out what the aaut-wrenchin moment. ~ , ., gut-wrenching moment. when you hear those words, _ gut-wrenching moment. when you hear those words, it's _ gut-wrenching moment. when you hear those words, it's like - hear those words, it's like somebody, like a videogame hunched into your chest and ripped your insides out. i broke down. i did meet my birth mother and one of the first things i said was if i looked like the man who did this to you. like the man who did this to ou. ~ ., ~' like the man who did this to ou. . . ~' . like the man who did this to you-_ what - like the man who did this to you._ what did i like the man who did this to l you._ what did she you. walk away. what did she sa ? you. walk away. what did she say? she _ you. walk away. what did she say? she satisfied, _ you. walk away. what did she say? she satisfied, you i you. walk away. what did she say? she satisfied, you don'tl say? she satisfied, you don't look like him. that change things for me. the man who did that to my birth mother is nothing to me. for all intents and purposes i don't think of myself as having a birth father. i have my birth mother and that's it, that's enough. research suggests more than three dozen women become pregnant from rape in england and were each year. mandy had her son as a result of being abused by her father. her son as a result of being abused by herfather. this is the first time she has talked openly about how it feels. do you think it is different for us as mums having a child conceived through abuse, to

having children conceived in a happy relationship? yes. how do you think it's different? before i mothered children, i thought i knew what having a baby was, that when i had my proper children, it sounds awful to say that, i knew he wasn't conceived out of love. he was conceived by a monster. but by god i love him, but, yes, yes... ialways say but by god i love him, but, yes, yes... i always say i am the survivor, my son is a victim, because he is, because a crime happened to me and happened to him as well. for --eole happened to him as well. for people like — happened to him as well. for people like sammy and her son, becoming change in the law is a celebration, giving the legal right to information and support. after decades in the shadows, it's the side voices are finally heard. emma hales,

bbc news stop k—pop star moonbin has passed away at the age of 25. at the age of 25. he was a member of the famous boy band astro and debuted in 2016. moonbin was found unresponsive on wednesday evening in his apartment in the korean capital seoul. his music label has asked that everyone refrain from speculative and malicious reports. let's look at other stories in the headlines. the family of tyre nichols — the black man who died after being beaten by police — have filed a lawsuit against the memphis police department for his killing. the 29—year—old died injanuary, three days after he was being beaten by five police officers during a traffic stop. a coronating would have ruled out because of a cosmic death was from a covid—19 vaccine and not natural causes. the family

of the man believe he was the first person to die in the uk as a result of the astrazeneca vaccine and say they intend to pursue legal action. 11 indonesian fishermen have been rescued from a remote island of north—western australia after being stranded without food or water for six days. the being stranded without food or waterfor six days. the man from two fishing boats have been caught in a cyclone elsa and have all been treated in hospital. new zealand a competition for children get killed cat has been cancelled following a backlash from animal—rights groups. new zealand officials classify the freeroaming felines as a threat to native birds. before we go, a recap of breaking news this hour. at least 70 people have been killed and more than a hundred injured in the emadi capital, saana, after a charity

distribution of food for ramadan. we will have the latest and bring up to date. for now, that's that for the programme. thank you so much for watching. hello there. high pressure is continuing to bring a lot of dry, settled, sunny weather throughout the day for most areas on thursday, but like the last few days, we've got a keen easterly wind out there. that's taking the edge off. the temperatures will be noticeably chilly along north sea coasts and there will be some rain at times and more cloud across south—east england courtesy of this weather front, which will move in off the near continent. you'll notice there's a slight blue hue to the air mass, indicating that the air is quite chilly as well. so when you factor in the strong wind and slightly cooler air, then it will be a little bit fresher across the board. however, most places starting off dry, widespread sunshine and much of the country will stay dry and sunny all day. but then we'll see that area of cloud and some splashes of rain pushing into east anglia in the south—east during the afternoon.

it's here where the winds will be quite gusty as well. so with a lack of sunshine here and the gusty winds, it'll actually feel on the cool side now. now certainly cool along north sea coast, nine or 10 degrees at best, but head further inland — it's the low to mid—teens or the warmest spots again, western scotland, the high teens, maybe even more than that. and like the last few days with the dry and sunny weather, tree pollen will be high or very high for many of us. so as we head through thursday evening and overnight that area, clouds, splashes of rain in the south—east starts to migrate westwards across much of england and also wales. whereas the northern half of the country will see clearer skies, slightly lighter winds. so another chilly one here. less cold, though, where we have the cloud, the rain and also the stronger breeze. so for friday, some changes for england and wales. we've got a number of weather fronts bringing more cloud outbreaks of rain, whereas scotland, northern ireland poking out into the high pressure. we'll have yet another dry and sunny day. pretty decent temperatures for western scotland,

but england and wales will see outbreaks of rain. longer spells of rain, northern england, showery in nature, i think parts of wales, central and southern england, a little bit of sunshine in between. but with more cloud and showers around, that'll impact the temperatures ten to 13 degrees here, whereas again, anotherfairly warm one for parts of scotland. but it is all change as we head into the weekend. lower pressure starts to bring more unsettled weather for a time. and as that low clears into the north sea, it opens the floodgates to a cold arctic northerly. so a much colder spell expected, particularly towards the end of the weekend and into next week. but you can see those temperatures beginning to fall across the north of the uk.

dented by price cuts. tesla reports a drop in puppet after aggressively slashing prices to sell more vehicles. we will have the latest. plus looking to china from down under. canberra and beijing could be talking trade again as diplomatic frictions show signs of easing. welcome to asia business report with me, mariko oi. shares in tesla are falling in after hours trading after quarterly

results missed market expectations.