welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines.. familes desperately search for loved ones after one of india's worst train crashes leaves nearly 300 people dead. we speak to ukrainians who've had enough of exile — and are heading back to their homes, near the front line. a 17—year—old who died after being pulled from the sea in bournemouth has been named asjoe abbess. earlier, a funeral was held for 12—year—old sunnah khan, who was killed in the same incident. and the plight of the platypus facing a bleak future of plastic pollution... just one of the issues under discussion on world environment day.

it's seven in the morning in singapore, and 4:30am in odisha in india, where the country's worst train disaster in decades happened. there's a growing sense of shock as the scale of the crash becomes more apparent. the rescue operation has been called off, with more than 275 people known to have been killed. a major investigation is under way. officials have confirmed that signal failure may have been a factor, but there are broader concerns, too. our correspondent archana shukla has been at the scene, we'll hear from there shortly, but first, let's show you this report. a painful search.

sifting through photos. from hospital to hospital, and now morgue to morgue. inconsolable and traumatised. 22—year—old himanshu can barely speak. his brother was on the train that crashed. "can i see my brother, just once?" he keeps repeating. at this makeshift morgue, he is just one of the many families in the desperate search to find those missing. but not everyone has answers yet. ten members of mukul singh�*s family were on the train. eight found, one dead, and one still missing.

his family spent £160, much beyond their means, to come here from another state. "these photos are unrecognisable. "how could we find him in this? "i had never thought this would happen. "just a day before we had so much fun," he tells me. many families arriving at the accident site, only to find their relatives have been moved elsewhere. with limited resources to manage the dead, government has now shifted all the casualties to the capital city, five hours away from here. but over 180 bodies still remain unidentified. officials have started posting the photos of dead bodies on government websites and have said they'll start resorting to dna identification. these tracks that tell the story of loss are still being cleared.

rail service has been restored on some tracks. questions on what led to the disaster still looms large. what we have found is that there is probability of some kind of signalling, i won't even call it a failure, of signalling interference. the driver of the train survived the crash. he told officials he did notjump a red signal. as hope fades for those families still searching for loved ones, attention will now turn to just why this disaster happened. archana shukla, bbc news, balasore, odisha. i caught up with archana a short time ago and she told me the latest on what we know so far. well, the preliminary investigation has revealed, according to railway officials and the railway minister,

that it could have been a fault in the electronic signal system which are installed to avoid direct head—on collisions. that's essentially if the train is running on one track, it doesn't divert on the other track where some other train is already stationed. there has been a fault in the electronic signalling system, is what the initial report has said. but how did that fault occur? who was behind it? these are some questions that the railway minister and all the officials at the railway board have also said we should wait for the final investigation report to come in to get those details. but this is just one question, on this one particular equipment failure, although they have ruled out a human errorfrom this, the driver of the train who survived the crash had said that he didn't jump a green signal, which means the human error in this part has been ruled out.

as you say, investigations are still ongoing. but if the course could be a signalling fault, that's quite worrying, isn't it? and i guess people will want to know what the authorities are doing to prevent it from happening again. absolutely. and even some of the family members who we meet here are of the injured, they are raising questions on how a massive accident like this has happened. now, remember, india does have one of the largest rail networks, and accidents have been happening for since time immemorial. although in the last few years, the severity and the number of accidents has actually come down. but the massive scale of this accident, the deadliest that india has seen in many decades, has posed questions. and some of the analysts that we spoke with said that if we look at numbers, while the government has been spending a lot of money in rail on railway infrastructure, it has largely been on starting new trains, starting newer technology of trains,

more high speed trains, but lesser amount of money has been going into track maintenance, or strengthening railway safety and signalling system. so possibly that is where the government going forward will need to, will have to start focusing in. and archana, many people remain unaccounted for. how do they plan to identify them all? one of the biggest reasons why, you know, this is happening is because most family members have not been able to reach the site because the rail services in this area have not yet come up on track, and has not started. so, many family members are still coming in to claim bodies, to find those who have been injured. but it is a difficult task, and it is a chaotic task every single day here in hospitals. but the government for now says that, you know, all the casualties have been moved to better hospitals and better morgue facilities in the capital city,

which is a five—hour drive from where we are right now. and there are many unaccounted and unclaimed bodies where the government officials say they are... they have started uploading pictures of those bodies on government websites and they've said that they'll resort to dna identification going forward if need be. now to ukraine, where its military says it's made small advances in two areas of the front line in the east of the country. it isn't clear whether this is part of a much—anticipated counter—offensive against russian forces. despite the danger, and warnings from officials to stay away, thousands of ukrainians are returning to their homes — close to the front line. our correspondent james waterhouse has been to the eastern town of pokrovsk, to find out why some are deciding to go home. the end of the line. we're on a journey, which people are being told not to take.

a train notjust to the battlefield, but home. viktoria has had enough of being a refugee and is heading back with her precious cargo. her baby. translation: it was impossible to live like that. _ we travelled all around slovakia and ukraine, but i have to settle our family. this is where we belong. after travelling across the country, she's welcomed by who she left behind. her husband, serhiy. translation: i feel overwhelmed and very glad to see my _ beautiful daughter and my wife. here, men typically stay behind to eitherfight or in serhiy�*s case, work. he and thousands of others chose to stay for this coalmine.

it's a major employer which binds pokrovsk together. workers have to balance their safety with simple economics. "i had to continue working", this man tells us. "i also need to financially support my family who've come back." his employer is still hiring staff. despite the dangers, it's an enticing prospect for those thinking about returning. mining is, afterall, part of the donetsk region's dna. before the full—scale invasion, pokrovsk�*s population was 65,000. it dropped to a third, but is now rising. it's become a destination for those escaping occupied cities. residents have also been enticed back by power and water being restored,

but the sharp end of this conflict is just 26 miles from here. it's why locals are being told to stay away. is it safe enough for people to return to pokrovsk? translation: no, even though pokrovsk is not right _ at the front of the donetsk region, we cannot say it is a safe city. multiple rocket launchers can reach here. on the outskirts of the city, closer to that threat, is the last line of defence. amidst all of the talk of a ukrainian counteroffensive, there's always a risk of the russians breaking through the line. there is a sympathy in the trenches for those wanting to come home. "if you have to die", he tells me, "it's better to die at home than somewhere abroad." it's the watchful eyes of soldiers like him

which are allowing people to move back into harm's way. for serhiy and viktoria, it's a conscious decision. translation: who knows when it will become safe here? _ maybe a year, two or five. we don't want to wait even one year. overall, we are prepared. yes? in these times of turmoil, there is a hope and belief they won't last forever. futures depend on it. james waterhouse, bbc news, pokrovsk, in eastern ukraine. we now know the names of the two people who died after getting into difficulty in the water off england's south coast. 17—year—old joe abbess from southampton, and a 12—year—old girl, named locally as sunnah khan — from high wycombe in buckinghamshire. joe's family say they're heartbroken and devastated.

8 other swimmers were affected in the incident off bournemouth beach. duncan kennedy reports. sunnah khan and joe abbess are known to each other in life, driven together by tragedy in death. they had been among ten swimmers involved in the incident by bournemouth pier last wednesday, and died. in their statement tonight, joe's parents from southampton said he had been enjoying a day at the beach. they said... it's still not clear what happened, but the police say the swimmers were not hit by a boat orjet ski. the identity of sunnah khan was also confirmed today.

she was 12 and lived in high wycombe. sunnah�*s funeral was held here at the central mosque in high wycombe yesterday and attracted more than 200 people. a close family member told me that she was a lovely girl and that everyone was deeply upset. eight other swimmers were injured in the incident. friends of sunnah and joe have been paying tributes online, capturing their lives with messages of love, loss and the heartache of unfinished youth. duncan kennedy, bbc news. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bringing you different stories from across the uk. picking up rubbish as you are manoeuvring a boat is no easy task, particularly when there's a bit of wind like there is today. but where there's

a will, there's a way. this litter picking exercise, taking plastic bottles and other rubbish out of the canal in nottingham city centre, is part of a much wider litter sweep on our waterways. throughout the country. we find all sorts from the common things such as plastic bottles to those more unusual finds, things like an inflatable flamingo, a chair, a garden fork, all sorts really. rivers are like the arteries. so they're carrying the water out to our oceans, causing untold damage there as well. children as well as adults are being encouraged to take part. the big puddle clean up has got another ten days to go, but the hope is that the public can be reminded how important it is not to litter. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website.

you're live with bbc news. the leader of hong kong's opposition party has been detained by police in hong kong on the 34th anniversary of the tiananmen square crackdown. she was holding a candle and two flowers in the causeway bay shopping district, when authorities surrounded her and forced her into a police van. a number of other arrests were also made, including the prominent democracy activist alexandra wong — who is also known as "grandma wong". rana mitter, professor of the history and politics of modern china at oxford university, explains the parallels between present day and the time of tiananmen square on the 4th ofjune, 1989. today, china has been in a crackdown situation, certainly for the last 5 to six years or so in terms of civil society, free speech and so forth. it is worth noting that during the 90s, so in the years after tiananmen square, but let's say until about ten years ago, there was a relative opening up of some areas such as journalism and free speech on areas such as constitution, constitutional change and democracy.

china was still an authoritarian communist state, but there was more space to talk broadly about some of these political issues in the last six to seven years. most of that space in public, at any rate, has disappeared. and it's not really possible to talk about anything that the communist party that rules china would see as undermining its own rule. the uk immigration minister has said the country's asylum system is "riddled with abuse", and that britain must reduce its reliance on hotels to house migrants. the number of people who've reached the uk in small boats so far this year has fallen by almost a quarter compared with the same period last year. our political correspondent helen catt, explains more. there has been a lot of criticism of the way that the government is taking action against the individuals who are crossing the channel, their plan to detain and remove anybody who arrives illegally and bar them access to the asylum system in the uk. there has been a lot

of criticism of that from some politicians in the house of lords here, which this week will return to considering the government's proposed law to enable them to do this. and there's another point around flash points. a real flashpoint has been this issue of housing asylum seekers in hotels, that you just heard robertjenrick talking about there. it is costly. it costs about £7 million a day. so that's about two and a half billion pounds a year. and you heard him there reference some of the other solutions that the government is looking at, things like housing people on barges and in disused military bases. that, however, will also come with a cost. the bbc has learnt of internal government projections that suggests that the home office is estimating it will have to spend between three and £6 billion over the next two years on that detention removal and ongoing accommodation costs. there is some concern among government insiders that the costs of this are escalating, but politically in the uk it's very important

for the government to be seen to be tackling this because the prime minister, rishi sunak, has made a personal pledge to stop the boats, and we're expecting to hear more from him on this tomorrow. the united states has accused the commander of a chinese warship of navigating in an unsafe manner after a near—miss incident between the ship and an american destroyer in the taiwan strait. here, the chinese ship can be seen approaching from the port side of the us ship, passing less than 150 metres in front. the us described the approach as a contravention of the maritime "rules of the road" and said it's ship was forced to slow down to prevent a collision. the united states authorities described itsjourney through the strait as routine, but china has accused the us of deliberately provoking risk in the region. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines.... authorities say a sonic boom heard across washington dc

was caused by militaryjets responding to a small plane in restricted airspace. pilots also used flares whilst attempting to intercept the civilian craft. officials say the pilot of the cessna citation was unresponsive and later crashed in southwest virginia. they deny the fighter jets caused the crash. police injapan have arrested a youtuber and former mp over threats he allegedly made to celebrities. yoshikazu higashitani, known on youtube as gaasyy, was kicked out of parliament after failing to attend any sessions. he was placed on an interpol most—wanted list, after allegedly posting videos threatening and slandering several people. a capsule with saudi arabia's first female astronaut aboard returned safely to earth earlier this week.

a breast cancer researcher was accompanied by fellow saudi and fighter pilot, ali al-qarni. along with two americans, mission commander peggy whitson and businessmanjohn shoffner, the four travelled to the international space station to conduct research on microgravity, human health and rain—seeding technology. rayyanah said the mission — titled the ax—2 — showed just what could be achieved with global cooperation. meeting with the crew and then going back and slashing down within ten days. going back and slashing down within ten days. it going back and slashing down within ten days. it only happened four days ago so i'm very happy to tell that story. what was it like, being there at the iss?— what was it like, being there at the iss? well, the moment ou at the iss? well, the moment you enter— at the iss? well, the moment you enter the _ at the iss? well, the moment you enter the international. you enter the international space station, you feel like you are visiting a new family. they are very welcoming, trying to introduce you to the different parts. it's strange here, knowing you're in a

simulator, but then when you are up there in the international space station it feels a little bit like a home, home you have not visited before. and it was really spectacular, seeing all the hardware is, software is, all the machines that will be working on. it was mind blowing. working on. it was mind blowing-— working on. it was mind blowinu. ., , blowing. how did you prepare for this? blowing. how did you prepare forthis? ma _ blowing. how did you prepare for this? did you _ blowing. how did you prepare for this? did you face - blowing. how did you prepare for this? did you face any - for this? did you face any challenges when you are up there? ., ., ., there? on the international s - ace there? on the international space station, _ there? on the international space station, before - there? on the international space station, before we i there? on the international| space station, before we go there, we usually train here. we started training last year, and it lasted for ten months of training. with the crew, led by the commander, and our pilot, and my partner in this mission. we have been training on the different situations that could happen on board station or on the way back, on the way there or on the way back. just

the way back, on the way there or on the way back.— or on the way back. just talk to us a little _ or on the way back. just talk to us a little bit _ or on the way back. just talk to us a little bit about - or on the way back. just talk to us a little bit about the i to us a little bit about the practicalities of the situation. you were carrying out scientific experiments whilst at the same time experiencing weightlessness. how did that feel? did not surprise you but all? well, helen, surprise you but all? well, helen. i — surprise you but all? well, helen, i think _ surprise you but all? well, helen, i think it's - surprise you but all? well, helen, i think it's the - surprise you but all? well, helen, i think it's the only| helen, i think it's the only thing that we cannot really train on. i wasn't really the best on flotation but i tried to improve that. it is really challenging a little bit in the beginning to be able to float in the station without trying to match the station up, in the beginning. but it went well. i can imagine that it takes some getting used to. now, you are the first women in space, and you said that you would like to be an inspiration to all arab girls. what is your message to them? ~ , , girls. what is your message to them? g ., , them? my message to them is the international _ them? my message to them is the international space _ them? my message to them is the international space station, - them? my message to them is the international space station, us - international space station, us going there was only the first

step. and i am really keen to see more and more of you learning more about stem education, science, technology, mathematics, and all the different sectors that would help build the space sector backin help build the space sector back in saudi arabia, especially. it's world environment day on monday. it's led by the united nations, and this year's theme focusses on solutions to plastic pollution. up to 23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers and seas every year. one animal affected by this is the playtypus — it's found only in australia — but they're at risk of being entangled by plastic. there's a project to protect its populations, and i spoke to gilad bino earlier, from the centre for ecosystem science at the university of new south wales who told us more. obviously, platypuses are a highly iconic species that is only found here in australia. plastic is a significant

environmental concern, definitely. large plastic and rubbish in general. it is a problem for platypus is because of the way they forage, they close their eyes in our use highly specialised bills to forage for food in the water. and so as a result of this kind of foraging behaviour, platypuses are prone to getting plastic and rubbish tangled around their necks. that could lead to definitely strangulation and death. more broadly, microplastics are also a big issue. we don't know exactly the impact to platypuses, but microplastics can definitely harm animals in a range of ways, including physical ingestion that could lead to malnutrition. and also, there's issues with toxicity that can impact reproduction, immune system, and generally metabolic problems and developing disorders. so, these microplastics can definitely pose impact to our freshwater environment, and there's still a lot to learn. that's all for now —

stay with bbc world news. hello there. very little change with the weather for this upcoming week. it's going to remain mostly dry and settled with plenty of sunshine as our area of high pressure continues to dominate. so, always warmest and sunniest like it has been for the last couple of weeks across central and western areas. a bit cooler, cloudy and breezier further east. but there is a chance of a few showers starting to push up into southern areas by the end of the week into next weekend, courtesy of this area of low pressure moving up from biscay and from iberia. but in the short term, plenty of dry weather to start the new working week, a bit of low cloud which will burn back to the coast from the midlands into eastern england. and it could stay quite cool. along north sea coast, more of a breeze in the southeast, slim chance of showers, scotland, northern ireland and otherwise it's a warm, sunny day once again, highest the temperatures out west.

now monday night, that low cloud again in the north sea rolls back westwards. it's much of northern eastern england, the midlands, perhaps even east wales by the end of the night, clear skies, western scotland, northern ireland, temperatures are falling between four and nine degrees. tuesday, then a bit of a grey start for east wales, the midlands, east and england. but that cloud will start to melt away as the strong june sunshine gets going again. it'll stay quite cool. maybe gray along some north sea coast, more of a breeze in the southeast. best of the sunshine and warmth in the north and the west. and just a very slim chance of a shower. scotland and northern ireland. wednesday we do it all again. bit of cloud towards central and eastern areas which will tend to burn back to the coast. same too for northeast scotland. most of the sunshine towards the south and the west and again, we'll see highs 22, maybe 23 degrees. otherwise, it's the low to mid teens along north sea coast. and we maintain that northeasterly breeze across the east and the southeast on thursday. so again, a bit more cloud here, cooler by the north sea coast.

further west, it's going to be mostly dry with plenty of sunshine once again. now, as we head into friday, although it's a similar story, we will start to see this area of low pressure encroach into the southwest, more of a breeze as well. and we could see some high cloud, a few showers as we head into the weekend. one things for certain, we will start to draw some warmer air off the near continent and a south southeasterly wind. so the southern half of the country, particularly southern england, into south wales, will start to warm up. we could be into the upper 20 celsius in the weekend in the south, but there is the threat of a few showers.