live from washington, this is bbc news. ukraine claims to have made advances in the east as russia says kyiv has started a "large—scale military "operation". 275 people are now known to have died and more than 1,000 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. hello, i'm helena humphrey. thank you forjoining us. 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. shh! distant explosions. 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, saying "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 either fight 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 do 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 has 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 them over to ukraine 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 cross—border shelling. he said more than 4,000 people had already evacuated and been relocated to temporary accommodation. to india, and the full scale of the train disaster is becoming more apparent. the rescue operation has been called off with more than 275 people known to be killed, and a major investigation is underway. officials have now confirmed that signal failure may have played a role in the tragedy, which is leading to broader concerns. 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 £450 — 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 probable — there is probability of some kind of a 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. archana shukla, bbc news, balasore, 0disha. 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 our bbc reporter danny vincent. good to see you. just outline the situation in hong kong at the situation in hong kong at

the moment. i the situation in hong kong at the moment.— the moment. i think many critics will _ the moment. i think many critics will say _ the moment. i think many critics will say that - the moment. i think many critics will say that hong l the moment. i think many - critics will say that hong kong has been transformed dramatically. hong kong was once one of the only places on chinese soil where people could publicly remember the dead of tiananmen. tens of thousands of people would gather at night on during the fourth in victoria park, they would light candles as part of a visual. this was not seen as a radical event in the past. but today when people were attempting to even try to remember the dead, the response from the police is it's from the police is its extraordinary in comparison. —— a vigil. there were reports there were up to 6000 police officers across hong kong on during the fourth. there were a number of people who attempted to light electric candles or use their phones to try to use the light on the phone to try to commemorate the day but

anyone who showed any sign of dissent were essentially rounded up and taken away quite publicly, really. ispoke rounded up and taken away quite publicly, really. i spoke to some police officers during the night yesterday to try to understand exactly what law had been broken. critics will say that the national security law that the national security law that was introduced in 2020 is extremely vague. i could not get a clear answer from the police officers that i spoke to. they say that many of the people that were detained were taken to police stations for inquiries. critics will say that hong kong has been transformed really dramatically. if you think about what it was like in 2018 or even 2019 when thousands of people took to the streets, now even individuals taking to the streets to try to express their feelings about the people who died in 1989 in beijing are rounded up and taken away. danny, do we know anymore about the situation for those people were detained? we the situation for those people were detained?— the situation for those people were detained? we know that there were — were detained? we know that there were 23 _ were detained? we know that there were 23 people - were detained? we know that i there were 23 people detained.

we know that some of them have been released without charge. police have said that some people have also been arrested and there are further investigations taking place. but i think this again is an example to many people of how vague the legal system has become in this city. the authorities say hong kong is still a city ruled by law but many would argue that since the introduction of the national security law in 2020, they would say this city has simply changed perhaps forever. danny, how is the _ changed perhaps forever. danny, how is the tiananmen _ changed perhaps forever. danny, how is the tiananmen massacre i how is the tiananmen massacre thought about their in hong kong, even if people are not necessarily able to express or commemorate that event? well, what we do _ commemorate that event? well, what we do know _ commemorate that event? well, what we do know is _ commemorate that event? well, what we do know is for _ commemorate that event? well, what we do know is for 30 - what we do know is for 30 years, people of hong kong would gather in victoria park to express their feelings about what happened in 1989. it used to be a huge contrast compared to be a huge contrast compared to beijing. in beijing, some people would say on during the

fourth it was almost an example of collective amnesia, where there was almost no sign that anything happened at all around tiananmen square and in beijing, so hong kong used to be an example of how different the values were compared to the mainland. today, it's difficult to know exactly how people feel because people are not expressing their feelings publicly anymore and those that have done have essentially been detained but i think there is still huge differences between hong kong and the mainland and i think that can be seen by the fact that some people still took the risk to go to the streets to try to express their thoughts about those who died in 1989. �* �* ,., thoughts about those who died in1989. ~~ , in 1989. bbc reporter danny vincent in — in 1989. bbc reporter danny vincent in hong _ in 1989. bbc reporter danny vincent in hong kong, - in 1989. bbc reporter danny vincent in hong kong, good| in 1989. bbc reporter danny i vincent in hong kong, good to talk to you. thank you. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. ~ ., , different stories from across the uk. ., , ii" the uk. matlock november 2019. the town has _ the uk. matlock november 2019. the town has had _ the uk. matlock november 2019. the town has had more _ the uk. matlock november 2019. the town has had more than - the uk. matlock november 2019. the town has had more than its l the town has had more than its fair share of devastating floods. last year, storms in february caused part of the town's flood defence all to collapse, so work began to rebuild it. the aim of the wall is to protect homes and businesses from future flooding. something florist robert young welcomes. but he says the work has come at a cost. after a0 years operating in matlock, he has decided to relocate his business to nearby tonsley. relocate his business to nearby tonsle . , relocate his business to nearby tonsle. , ~ ., tonsley. maybe some kind of perception — tonsley. maybe some kind of perception that _ tonsley. maybe some kind of perception that matlock - tonsley. maybe some kind of perception that matlock is . perception that matlock is difficult to get to, it is closed _ difficult to get to, it is closed for different, and we at the council want to get over the council want to get over the idea _ the council want to get over the idea that matlock is open for business.— for business. the work to finish the _ for business. the work to finish the wall _ for business. the work to finish the wall should - for business. the work to finish the wall should be | for business. the work to - finish the wall should be fully finished by the autumn and the a6 is due to open in september, and it's a6 is due to open in september, and its is hoped then that matlock can get back to business as usual. formal stories from _

business as usual. formal stories from across - business as usual. formal stories from across the i business as usual. formal. stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. to the uk now, where under proposals in the government's illegal migration bill, the cost of detaining and deporting people arriving to the country in small boats could reach £6 billion over the next two years — that's according to internal government projections shared with the bbc. the immigration minister has defended the government's approach to migration, saying britain can't be a "soft touch". here's our correspondent aruna iyengar. stop these boats now. turn back the boats. it's time to tackle the small boats. i stop the boats. it's one of the government's top priorities. a5,000 people arrived in small boats across the english channel last year. but the cost of the new proposals could reach £6 billion over the next two years. ministers so far have not discussed these costs, but say they believe the measures will be a deterrent to illegal entry.

i will never put the interests of migrants above those of the british public. we also can't allow the uk to be perceived to be a soft touch. and i've just spent the last week visiting european countries like france and italy and those further upstream in north africa and all european countries are grappling with the same challenge. the illegal migration bill, if it passes legal hurdles, will mean anyone arriving illegally by boat will be detained and removed to their home country, or other country deemed to be safe, such as rwanda. then there's the cost of actually accommodating these people, providing them with food and healthcare and all of the other things, and then potentially also the cost associated with paying other countries to process claims as well. labour says the government's policy is flawed. all we've got is unworkable plans, and the costs are always getting worse and worse. and now, even the home office accepting what we've been warning about, that their latest plans

are actually going to mean a big, big increase in cost to the taxpayer. this is just total chaos. it's presently costing the government £6 million a day to house asylum seekers in the uk. many are put up in hotels. there's a huge backlog in processing cases, leading to greater accommodation costs. only in the last week, a0 migrants in a hotel in central london protested against having to share rooms. the government wants to cut costs by reducing the need for hotels and to have three to four single men sharing a room. it's right that we get good value for money for the taxpayer. but i'm confused because... and so if single adult males can share a room, and its legal to do so, which will obviously depend on the size of the accommodation, then we'll ask people to do that. i think that's a completely fair and reasonable approach. the government's new bill has caused huge controversy

and now there's scrutiny over the costs. there's also no guarantee that the new proposals will make it through parliament. aruna iyengar, bbc news. in other news, 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 said his country would go further than its fellow members, announcing a 10% reduction: its biggest cut in years. 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. a capsule with saudi

arabia's first female astronaut aboard returned safely to earth earlier this week. rayyanah bar—nawi, 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 pioneering research on microgravity, human health and rain—seeding technology. earlier today, i spoke to rayyanah barnawi 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 software, 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 here, we started training last year for 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 or 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 how 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,

1a 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 the saudi space sector. and we have a legacy of having

the first arab man who went all the way into space a0 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. certainly an inspiring message. 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.

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 east. 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 for 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. same 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 east and 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 we see 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 certain, we 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 in the south. there is the threat of a few showers.