live from washington, this is bbc news. ukraine claims to have made two small advances in the east, as russia's defence ministry says kyiv has started a large—scale military operation. 275 people are now known to have died and more than 1000 are injured in india's deadliest train crash this century. and coming up — we speak with the first arab female astronaut to go to space. i'm helena humphrey. we begin in ukraine, where the nation's military says it has made two small advances in the east.

this comes as russia's defence ministry says kyiv has started a large—scale military operation — something that has not been verified by the bbc. earlier in the day, the ukrainian army released this video which appears to refer to the long—awaited counter—offensive. in the video, the words �*plans love silence — �*there will be no announcement about the start�* appear. and on twitter, ukraine's defence minister posted the video quoting lyrics from depeche mode — �*words are very unnecessary — they can only do harm.�* meanwhile, despite the danger in certain areas, thousands of ukrainians are returning to their homes close to the front line even though officials are urging them to stay away. 0ur ukraine 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 coal mine. 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. 0n 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. now to the southern russian region of belgorod, which borders ukraine, where the region�*s governor said a drone attack set an energy facility on fire. this reportedly happened in just the last few hours, and the governor said there were no casualties. elsewhere in belgorod, anti—kremlin russian paramilitaries who captured two

russian soldiers said they would hand the soldiers over to ukraine. this comes after the paramilitaries said they would hand the soldiers back to belgorod if the governor came to meet them, which he did not do, despite saying he would. earlier, belgorod�*s governor urged all those still living along the ukrainian border to urgently move away in order to avoid the constant cross—border shelling. he said more than 4000 people had already evacuated and been relocated to temporary accommodation. recovery works are in progress after the deadly train crash in india. you can see the scene there live. the rescue operation has been called off. you are taking a look at lab features of the site of the crash there in the eastern states of 0disha, and those operations have been called off now with the knowledge that 275

people are known to have been killed. a major investigation under way and officials have confirmed that signal failure may have played a role in the tragedy. 0ur india correspondent archana shukla has been at the scene of the crash. inconsolable and traumatised. hello, hello? himanshu can barely speak. his brother was on the train that crashed. "can i see my brother, just once?" he keeps repeating. a student himself, 22—year—old himanshu even sold his phone to come find his brother. he�*s just one of the many families in their desperate search to find those missing. and at this makeshift morgue, every person is sifting through stacks of photos, hoping to find a familiar face.

but not everyone yet has answers. 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. "these photos are unrecognisable. "how can we find him in this? "i had never thought this would happen. "just a day before we had so much fun," he told me. many families are arriving at the accident site, only to find their relatives being 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 services yet to be restored, and questions on what led to the disaster still unanswered. what we have found is that there is — there is probability of some kind of signalling, not even — i won�*t even call it a failure — of signalling interference. it�*s now on the government, whose flagship programme has been more high—speed trains, to deliver answers. police in hong kong have detained 23 people for allegedly attempting to mark the anniversary of the tiananmen square crackdown. 0ne prominent pro—democracy campaigner was taken away by police after carrying flowers. others were detained for holding unlit candles or wearing yellow clothing.

tens of thousands of people in hong kong used to gather every year to mark the anniversary, but laws imposed by china have now made such vigils impossible. live now to anna kwok, executive director of the hong kong democracy council. welcome to the programme. thank you for being with us. we are hearing that tender people are being detained today on suspicion of "breaching the peace." do we know what could happen to those people arrested?— happen to those people arrested? ., , ., , ., arrested? for the people who have been — arrested? for the people who have been arrested _ arrested? for the people who have been arrested we - arrested? for the people who have been arrested we do - arrested? for the people who have been arrested we do not know whether the government wants to keep detaining them and charge them for incitement, perhaps, and in the past from 2020- 2020 to 64 perhaps, and in the past from 2020— 2020 to 64 people have already been arrested for commemorating the fourth of june and most of them were under charges of incitement so we are following closely on whether the government wants to

reuse that sort of language to arrest these people. find reuse that sort of language to arrest these people.— arrest these people. and 'ust remind i arrest these people. and 'ust remind us, anna, * arrest these people. and 'ust remind us, anna, of�* arrest these people. and 'ust remind us, anna, of how“ arrest these people. and just i remind us, anna, of how much arrest these people. and just - remind us, anna, of how much of a departure this is from what used to happen in hong kong in the years before. tens of thousands of people used to gather to mark the anniversary of the tiananmen square massacre.— of the tiananmen square massacre. since the 1989 tiananmen _ massacre. since the 1989 tiananmen massacre, - massacre. since the 1989 tiananmen massacre, iti massacre. since the 1989 i tiananmen massacre, it has massacre. since the 1989 - tiananmen massacre, it has been the place where people meet every year to halt a vigil but tens of thousands of candles will be lit to remember the massacre and a lot of people know about the tiananmen massacre and we remember it that way because it would always be on the news but we do not see it anymore and in fact busier the same place where they used to hold the vigil, pro—government groups are actually hosting a carnival to celebrate the beijing regime, and that is really different from what we used to — the hong kong we used to live in and hong kong is to have that

privilege to speak up and remember during fourth because of our freedom of expression. it is now gone and people are going to jail because of this. i imagine that it is difficult for many people in hong kong to really talk about, but how do they feel about life under the national security law which came in in 2020?— national security law which came in in 2020? since the national — came in in 2020? since the national security _ came in in 2020? since the national security law - came in in 2020? since the national security law came j came in in 2020? since the i national security law came in in 2020, people in hong kong have been trying their best to keep speaking out, and that is why 23 of them were arrested today — because they wanted to try to save that space and to navigate the bottom line that the government is trying to lay. but still it is hard to live in hong kong because you do not know where the liners and some people would argue hong kong has less freedom of speech than they have in china right nowjust because the government is trying keep censoring any opportunity for sentiment expressed on the

government and that is why in hong kong there is a huge spike of political prisoners and right now there is a hunger strike injailjust to commemorate june strike injailjust to commemoratejune four but even that has been censored by the government. that has been censored by the government-— that has been censored by the government. just to pick you up on that - _ government. just to pick you up on that - you — government. just to pick you up on that - you said _ government. just to pick you up on that - you said many - government. just to pick you up on that - you said many people| on that — you said many people in hong kong don�*t know, they are not sure about where the liners. do they feel that china could go further? for liners. do they feel that china could go further?— could go further? for sure. i think we _ could go further? for sure. i think we are _ could go further? for sure. i think we are actually - could go further? for sure. i think we are actually seeing | think we are actually seeing the possibility that hong kong will be the next because it is at its highest since 1997 and inside of present we see the radicalisation programme where the government tries to really preach that brainwashing propaganda to people and convert them into patriotic individuals and that is the kind of hong kong we are seeing today — we are seeing hong kong today — we are seeing hong kong to be used as the space to test

what is the most effective crackdown strategy on human rights. i crackdown strategy on human riahts. ., ., ., ., rights. i want to ask about the resonse rights. i want to ask about the response from _ rights. i want to ask about the response from the _ rights. i want to ask about the l response from the international community because autonomy and the way of life in hong kong was supposed to be protected for at least 50 years beyond the handover from the for at least 50 years beyond the handoverfrom the uk for at least 50 years beyond the handover from the uk to china in 1997. it does not appear to be the case. is the biden administration, for example, focused enough on hong kong? example, focused enough on hong kona ? �* . , ., ., kong? the biden administration has been vocal _ kong? the biden administration has been vocal on _ kong? the biden administration has been vocal on providing - has been vocal on providing support to hong kong, however, hong kong needs a sustainable pathways to come to the us and particularly political prisoners. what will they do when they are out of prison? we need to think of long—term solutions and strategies and we want the biden administration to be more mindful of the economic coercion the chinese government has been utilising and has been doing in hong

kong. and has been doing in hong kona. �* ., and has been doing in hong kona. �* . . kong. anna kwok, executive director of — kong. anna kwok, executive director of the _ kong. anna kwok, executive director of the hong - kong. anna kwok, executive director of the hong kong i director of the hong kong executive council, thank you for sharing your views on bbc news. ., ~ for sharing your views on bbc news. . ~ , ., for sharing your views on bbc news-_ the - for sharing your views on bbc news._ the team i for sharing your views on bbc- news._ the team rspb news. thank you. the team rspb sold home — news. thank you. the team rspb sold home so _ news. thank you. the team rspb sold home so they _ news. thank you. the team rspb sold home so they want _ news. thank you. the team rspb sold home so they want visitors . sold home so they want visitors to fall in love with nature on their doorstep with the help of a new installation dedicated to a new installation dedicated to a ferocious historic editor. thankfully for visitors it is very small and only emerges in warm weather. it very small and only emerges in warm weather.— warm weather. it is a real monster- _ warm weather. it is a real monster. they _ warm weather. it is a real monster. they are - warm weather. it is a real monster. they are huge l monster. they are huge predators. and people love it. fascination with life on the water gets people excited. not just the kids, it is often mums and dads and older kids. as it gets warmer we will see more and more around of them. find and more around of them. and whether or _ and more around of them. and whether or not _

and more around of them. and whether or not they _ and more around of them. and whether or not they make an appearance, the fascination for the dragonflies encourage people to emerge into the great outdoors, whatever the weather. come here all the time. they love walking through the dragonfly that garden. for more stories across _ dragonfly that garden. for more stories across the _ dragonfly that garden. for more stories across the uk _ dragonfly that garden. for more stories across the uk head - dragonfly that garden. for more stories across the uk head to i stories across the uk head to the bbc news website. you�*re live with bbc news. let�*s look at some of the stories making headlines around the world. the international oil cartel, 0pec, has announced a deal to reduce the supply of oil, a move designed to drive up prices. the saudi energy minister, prince abdulaziz bin salman, said his country would go further than its fellow members, announcing a 10% reduction: its biggest cut in years. he said this had been the incentive to get the deal done. in poland half a million people have taken part in an anti—government rally in warsaw. they were protesting over a wide variety of issues, including inflation, the cost of living, rights

for women and the lgbt community. protestors also gathered to show concern over a new law that they believe undermines poland�*s democracy. the us is accusing 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. the chinese ship was seen approaching from the port side of the us ship passing less than 150 metres in front. the us says they were forced to slow their ship to prevent a collision. in the us, 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 while attempting to intercept the civilian craft. officials say the pilot of the cessna citation was unresponsive and later crashed in southwest virginia. they say fighter jets did not cause the crash. the national transportation safety board has opened an

investigation. fighting is escalated in khartoum after a ceasefire expired on sunday. there have been reports of violence in the north staff for region. thousands have been injured and millions display since fighting a stop that make millions displaced. a capsule with saudi arabia�*s first female astronaut aboard returned safely to earth earlier this week. rayyanah barnawi, a breast cancer researcher, was accompanied by fellow saudi and fighter pilot, ali al-qarni. along with two americans, mission commander peggy whitson and businessman john shoffner. the four travelled to the international space station to conduct pioneering research on microgravity, human health and rain—seeding technology. earlier today, i spoke with rayyanah about her experience. welcome to the programme and thank you so much for speaking to was and taking the time.

i understand you have been at the international space station for ten days and you are back down here on earth right now. describe the experience for us. thank you so much for having me today. i am happy to speak about our experience. lift off and getting all the way to the iss and meeting with the crew and then splashing back down, within ten days — it only happened four days ago so i am happy to tell that story what was it like being there at the iss? the moment you enter the space station you feel like you are visiting a new family. they are very welcoming and introduce you. to the different parts. you know you are in a simulator

when you train but when you are up there it feels a little like a home that you have not visited before and it was really spectacular seeing all the machines and hardware we will be working on. it is mind blowing. how did you prepare for this? did you face any challenges when you were up there? 0n the international space station before we go there we train, we started training last yearfor ten months of training with a crew led by commander peggy whitson our pilotjohn and my mission partner ali. we have been training on different situations that can happen onboard the space station or on the way

there and on the way back. talk to us about what life was actually like on—board. i understand you are also conducting research into stem cells and they can be used in breast cancer research as well. i could start by talking about the research itself. we were privileged to conduct more than 20 experiments on board the station, 14 of which were driven by saudi scientists back home so being able to take our own research from our own country all the way to the international space station was an amazing and honourable feeling. we had the pleasure of working with the international space station crew, teaching us how to use the hardware that would help us to conduct these experiments and ranged from life technology to life sciences, biomedicalsciences

and also contacting children back home and telling them the stories about space station. talk to us a little about the practicalities of the situation. you were carrying out scientific experiments while at the same time experiencing weightlessness. how did that feel? did that surprise you at all? i think it is the only thing we cannot really train on. i was not the best at flotation but i tried to improve that. it is really challenging in the beginning to be able to float in the station without messing the station up in the beginning but it went well. i can imagine that takes some getting used to. now you are the first arab woman in space and you said you would like to be an inspiration to all arab girls. what is your message to them?

my message is that the international space station, us going there was only the first step and i am keen to see more and more of you learning more about stem education, science, technology and mathematics, and all the different sectors to help buildthe saudi space sector. and we have a legacy of having the first arab man who went all the way into space 40 years ago and our mission now is to build on that heritage. it is very important for them to be interested in any field of the space sector. it is not only about astronauts, there are many majors that could help to build

and maintain the space sector for saudi arabia. would you like to see saudi arabia do more to give more women and girls opportunities? saudi arabia is very supportive and empowers not only girls but all youth back home. i�*m only an example of that, also, the team who was trained for the first class of astronauts, there were four astronauts and two were women and two were men and the amount of level and support was incredible. are you planning on going back anytime soon to space? the first moment i get assigned. and something i always ask anyone returning from a trip, how was the food up there? interesting.

i had some issues trying to capture food on board the station. it was floating. but it was similar to what we have here. what kind of things did you eat? i love spaghetti and i ate so much. like, the preparation does not take much time, as much as it does here on earth. 5—10 minutes but it is very delicious. fascinating to speak to you. thank you so much. thank you so much for having me, helena. and finally, we leave you so some images of the so called "strawberry moon" captured over england. this full moon marks the start of meteorological summer and was seen glowing in the sky late on saturday night into the early hours of sunday. you can see from these images, it appeared spectacular, the strawberry moon was not considered a supermoon. the first supermoon of 2023, when a full moon is also at its closest point to earth along this orbit,

is expected in august. stay with us here on bbc 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 as it has been for the last couple of weeks across central and western areas. a bit cooler, cloudier, breezier or further eat. but there�*s 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 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 a shower in scotland and northern ireland.

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

further west it is going to be mostly dry with plenty of sunshine once again. now, as we head into friday although it�*s a similar story this area of low pressure encroaches into the south—west, more of a breeze as well and we could see some high cloud, a few showers as we head into the weekend. one thing is was certain, will start to draw warmer 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 20s celsius. there is the threat to a few showers.