welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines: tens of thousands of ukrainians are forced to abandon their homes, as floods caused by the destruction of a russian—occupied dam continue to spread. rescue teams are trying to help people and you can see how they would be trapped. the water is cloudy. kherson, after everything it has gone through, is a city on its knees. a business targeting women and east asia has been uncovered in the bbc. prince harry takes to the stand again in his privacy case against mirror group newspapers — he tells the court he's suing to stop the hate towards his wife meghan. wildfires in canada leave tens of millions of people living under orange skies, as air quality drops to hazardous levels.

announcer: live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news — it's newsday. thank you for being with us. we began in ukraine where floodwaters are still rising in the city of kherson after a major dam was hit on thursday. tens of thousands of people have been stranded and whole neighbourhoods submerged. officials say they could be a catastrophic impact on agriculture which would worsen the global food shortages. this eastern bank of the dnipro river is currently a no—man�*s—land. neither russia nor ukraine control here. now, no—one can live here.

the ukrainian army drone spotted catalina trapped in her home. they tried to drop her water — no luck. her son then makes the crucial catch. they're both taken to kherson, along with her daughter, maria. a city once occupied by russia, then liberated by ukraine, now on its knees. translation: we managed to find the simplest boat, i but my father and a neighbour got carried away in it. it came loose, and the current was too powerful yesterday. rowing didn't help. so we were left with my kids, the three of us, for the night. it feels like we lived a whole life in one day. otherwise, we're very grateful to everyone. this once innocuous road, now a slipway rescue boats. this once innocuous road, now a slipway for rescue boats. as people are brought to safety from submerged streets, the relief is palpable. to move through the streets now, you need one of these.

the silence reflects just how uninhabitable pockets of the city have become. that sign would normally be at head height. the trunks of those trees are completely submerged. rescue teams are trying to help people, and you can see how they'd be trapped. the water is cloudy. kherson, after everything it's gone through, is a city on its knees. explosion shelling is a common occurrence in kherson. the russians might have left, but they're never far. it takes a lot for locals to be forced to leave here, but, for a growing number, that moment has come. president zelensky has criticised the international response to what's happened, accusing the un and red cross of not being here. in two days, kherson has partly been submerged by the dnipro river. the flooding is more extreme on the eastern bank — part of ukraine, but

controlled by the russians. there is a military dynamic to the kakhovka dam's destruction — it makes any ukrainian offensive from here more complicated. as for those living here, it's gone from difficult to the verge of impossible. james waterhouse, bbc news, kherson. earlier this week there were reports of your craning attacks in the area west of donetsk. around zaporizhizhia. while the russians control huge areas of the region, the ukrainians are still in control of the city. our correspondent quentin sommerville is there, and sent this update about ukraine's counteroffensive. i've been to those very front lines where there's an offensive going on right now, and it's very difficult ground to attack across. it is wide open fields with very little cover, and those fields are peppered with russian artillery craters. when we were there a few months ago,

the men that we were speaking to in the trenches told us the lines had only moved perhaps ten, or maybe a few hundred metres — well, they're certainly moving now. we're getting reports ukrainian forces have gained five kilometres, perhaps even ten of territory. it's not just the fact that they're moving, it's how they're moving, which is an indication of how the main offensive will go. they're using armoured vehicles, they're using tanks, they're moving fast. they're attacking multiple different axes. but they're facing a very formidable foe, because the enemy on the other side of the line has been there for a long time, and has dug in and built formidable defences. they have plenty of artillery and anti—tank missiles, as well. so that much—anticipated main offensive is coming, and the ukrainian commanders will be looking at the lessons of these earlier offensives — but let's not forget, huw, just the other week, president zelensky said that ukraine was ready

for this counteroffensive but he warned that in the coming days and weeks and months, many lives would be lost. the ukrainian soldiers we've spoken to have a solemn understanding of that. they realise there's a lot riding on this counteroffensive, perhaps everything. quentin somerville reporting. the uk prime minister rishi sunak says that the uk military and security services have yet to establish who was responsible for the damage to the dam in ukraine but he told the bbc that if russia was to blame, it would fit with a pattern of behaviour of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure. the prime minister is in washington to meet president biden and other leaders. a city of many motorcade welcome another one today. rishi sunak is in washington for the first time as prime minister. the day after the

79th anniversary of d—day, he laid a wreath to the tomb of the unknown soldier at arlington national cemetery and remembering was passed he talked about the one raging now. i asked talked about the one raging now. iasked him have talked about the one raging now. i asked him have uk intelligence you yet how their ukrainian dam was destroyed and who did it? we do not have a definitive answer on who is responsible but if it does turn out to be russia, i think it would fit with the pattern of behaviour throughout these four which russia is an active strategy has deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure. , ., , infrastructure. these actions are abhorrent, _ infrastructure. these actions are abhorrent, that - infrastructure. these actions are abhorrent, that causing l are abhorrent, that causing enormous suffering and that is why it is important we continue to stand with ukraine family. what can you achieve here with conversations with the president, particularly in the light of what has happened in the last 2a hours. i’m light of what has happened in the last 24 hours.— the last 24 hours. i'm proud the last 24 hours. i'm proud the uk has _ the last 24 hours. i'm proud the uk has played _ the last 24 hours. i'm proud the uk has played a - the last 24 hours. i'm proud i the uk has played a leadership role, particularly militarily

but the us obviously has been the largest contributor to that effort. what we want to do is make sure you crank and defend itself today but four years into the future and act as a deterrent to russia for aggression and convince it that there is no point in persisting this illegal and unprovoked war. . , this illegal and unprovoked war. ., , ., ., war. that is a huge long-term commitment _ war. that is a huge long-term commitment with _ war. that is a huge long-term commitment with the - war. that is a huge long-term commitment with the uk? - war. that is a huge long-term i commitment with the uk? those other conversations _ commitment with the uk? those other conversations i'm - commitment with the uk? those other conversations i'm having . other conversations i'm having with notjust the us but other allies. it with not 'ust the us but other allies. , . ., ., ., . allies. it is a great alliance we have- _ allies. it is a great alliance we have. thank _ allies. it is a great alliance we have. thank you i allies. it is a great alliance we have. thank you for i allies. it is a great alliance i we have. thank you for being here. diplomacy _ we have. thank you for being here. diplomacy is _ we have. thank you for being here. diplomacy is timeless i we have. thank you for being i here. diplomacy is timeless but this trip offers a glimpse into the uk's place in the world after brexit. after the referendum there wasn't talk about a uk—us deal but there is no such talk anymore. but the prime minister doesn't seek a global role in artificial intelligence, ai. global role in artificial intelligence, al. the ability of computer to do things which

until now required human activity. i until now required human activi . ., ., until now required human activi. ., ., , activity. i want to make sure in the uk — activity. i want to make sure in the uk we _ activity. i want to make sure in the uk we realise - activity. i want to make sure in the uk we realise the i in the uk we realise the benefits of ai, whether in drug discovery is or other ways, but we also have to put safeguards in place for the risks it poses, risks that the creators of ai themselves have highlighted. i believe the uk is well—placed to lead and shape the conversation on this because we are very strong when it comes to ai.— it comes to ai. how do you make the case to _ it comes to ai. how do you make the case to the _ it comes to ai. how do you make the case to the leader _ it comes to ai. how do you make the case to the leader of - it comes to ai. how do you make the case to the leader of a i the case to the leader of a superpower, as the leader yourself of a medium—sized country, not a big international block. how do you convince a president who might be more tempted to ring up the european union or talk to other global players, that the uk should be a kind of convener on the future in that? i should be a kind of convener on the future in that?— the future in that? i think we should have _ the future in that? i think we should have confidence i the future in that? i think we should have confidence in i the future in that? i think we | should have confidence in our country being a leader in al. if you look at the number of companies, the amount invested, the quality of our research, other than the us, there is no

other than the us, there is no other democratic country that has that strength in al. this bein: has that strength in al. this being america, _ has that strength in al. this being america, the - has that strength in al. this being america, the prime minister heads to a baseball game later before his appointment with the president tomorrow. a bbc investigation has uncovered an online business of sexual assault, producing and selling thousands of videos meant targeting women on public transport across east asia. on one of these websites, buyers can even order their own tailor—made assault video. they are run by a shadowy figure known as uncle chi. bbc went undercover to expose his real identity. this is nicole your, injapan. translation: identity. this is nicole your, in japan. translation: there is a nu in japan. translation: there is a guy looking _ in japan. translation: there is a guy looking for _ in japan. translation: there is a guy looking for a _ in japan. translation: there is a guy looking for a target. i in japan. translation: there is a guy looking for a target. the i a guy looking for a target. the raleiah a guy looking for a target. the raleigh police _ a guy looking for a target. the raleigh police are running an operation to catch sexual assault. —— the railway police.

sexual violence against women in public is a global phenomenon but injapan the problem is so endemic it has its own name. �* ,, �* ., its own name. translation: thou ridina its own name. translation: thou ridin: back its own name. translation: thou riding back and _ its own name. translation: thou riding back and forth _ its own name. translation: thou riding back and forth on _ its own name. translation: thou riding back and forth on a _ riding back and forth on a single ticket it looks like the kind of behaviour. the suspect is taken to _ kind of behaviour. the suspect is taken to the _ kind of behaviour. the suspect is taken to the police - kind of behaviour. the suspect is taken to the police station. l is taken to the police station. the reality is much more sinister. translation: in the reality is much more sinister. translation: in that trick of the _ sinister. translation: in that trick of the trade, _ sinister. translation: in that trick of the trade, it _ sinister. translation: in that trick of the trade, it felt - trick of the trade, it felt like hand hitting me. this woman was _ like hand hitting me. this woman was only - like hand hitting me. this woman was only a - like hand hitting me. this woman was only a teenager when she was sexually assaulted on the train for the first time. translation: it the train for the first time. translation:— the train for the first time. translation: it is starting to feel like he — translation: it is starting to feel like he was _ translation: it is starting to feel like he was touching i translation: it is starting to feel like he was touching and i feel like he was touching and grabbing me. that is when i finally realised and i was

sexually assaulted every day. busy has been investigating a website selling thousands of videos of them being assaulted. this is a business of sexual assault. the website are run by assault. the website are run by a shadowy figure known as uncle she. but he wheezy? our investigation has led us to tokyo. posing as a potential investor, our undercover journalist met with them multiple times. until uncle agreed to meet us. a 27—year—old from china admits to being the man behind all the websites we have been investigating. translation: haw investigating. translation: how many people _ investigating. translation: how many people do — investigating. translation: how-oi many people do you have any current team?

many people do you have any i current team?_ i current team? translation: i have a team — current team? translation: i have a team of _ current team? translation: i have a team of 15 _ current team? translation: i have a team of 15 people. i current team? translation: i have a team of 15 people. he . have a team of 15 people. he admits of— have a team of 15 people. he admits of making profit, cashing in on sexual violence against women. translation: £550 - £1100 daily. we against women. translation: £550 - £1100 daily.— £550 - £1100 daily. we went to ut £550 - £1100 daily. we went to put allegations _ £550 - £1100 daily. we went to put allegations to _ £550 - £1100 daily. we went to put allegations to him. - £550 - £1100 daily. we went to put allegations to him. i i £550 - £1100 daily. we went to put allegations to him. i am i put allegations to him. i am reporter from put allegations to him. i am reporterfrom the bbc. we know you are the online persona. do you are the online persona. do you do this for the money or do you do this for the money or do you enjoy abusing these women? stop... stop... we put our allegations to him, his only response is silent and then violence. he has since left japan. his associates say they are no longer working with him.

the country is said to reform sexual assault laws however campaigners say these changes do not go far enough. joanna has also written an article about it and a full programme will be aired on the bbc as well. let's take a look at a few stories making headlines: pope francis is doing well after undergoing a procedure for a hernia. after undergoing a procedure fora hernia. he had after undergoing a procedure for a hernia. he had reported being uncomfortable. the sub'ect being uncomfortable. the subject of _ being uncomfortable. the subject of the _ being uncomfortable. tue: subject of the operation... he's awake and fine and he is at work. ., ,, . at work. the former us vice president — at work. the former us vice president mike _ at work. the former us vice president mike pence i at work. the former us vice l president mike pence lodged at work. the former us vice i president mike pence lodged his presidential campaign on wednesday by describing his former boss donald trump as reckless. it all supporters in

iowa that mr trump put himself above the constitution and he should never be president again. polls show mr trump as the front manner to be that republican candidate. football superstar lionel messi has announced it will be playing in the united states next season. he told the spanish media he will be joining inter miami, co—owned by david beckham. the move was confirmed by major league soccer and inter miami, although messi said the deal was yet to be completed. the argentine, who is leaving paris st germain, had previously been linked with a move to saudi arabia. hip hop's legend tupac shakur, who was killed in a drive—by shooting in las vegas in 1996, has received a star on the hollywood walk of fame in los angeles. the ceremony, which was attended by the rapa's sister and stepbrother, paid tribute to the star, who died at the age of 25. around

the world, and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. nearly 5500 miles of roads in kent, a network in the state of decline. here in deal, residents say the roads are so bad they are no longer say. t5 bad they are no longer say. t3 just horrendous. they don't give two hoots about what happens to vehicles and people. people are tripping up in the potholes, and the conservation area, it's not very well lit at night is anyway.— night is anyway. over the ears, night is anyway. over the years. repairs _ night is anyway. over the years, repairs haven't i night is anyway. over the l years, repairs haven't kept night is anyway. over the i years, repairs haven't kept up with the potholes. the maintenance backlog is now nearly half £1 billion. road resurfacing costs 30% more than it did last year, and government funding is still lower than two years ago. the department for transport says it's giving kent over £40 million to invest in its roads for next year alone. the council says if government funding doesn't increase, it will have to consider closing

some roads. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you are live with bbc news. prince harry has finished giving evidence at the high court in london, as part of his privacy case against the publisher of the daily mirror. he says he took the case to stop hate towards his wife, meghan. the mirror denies using unlawful methods and says the stories about harry were obtained using legitimate sources. but harry has alleged he was unlawfully targeted during a 15—year period that began when he was a child. our culture editor katie razzall was in court. the interest in this story shows no sign of waning. for a second day, the world's media gathered in a cul—de—sac in central london, waiting for the high court's star witness. prince harry arrived here for another bout of cross—examination. the mirror group is determined to show he is wrong to claim

that articles about him were based on unlawful information gathering. mgn's barrister told him there was not a single item of hard evidence in these articles to show phone hacking, and that prince harry's claims were pure speculation. the prince says this one, about a secret dinner he had with the late tv presenter caroline flack at a close friend's house, was based on phone hacking, as he and his friend had left voicemails for each other. mgn says it came from a photo agency. this one, about his then—girlfriend chelsy davy�*s fury at his visit to a lap—dancing club, was also based on hacking, prince harry says. mgn says it was in other papers the day before. and when he split from chelsy, there was this headline. prince harry told the court he was likely to have exchanged voicemails about the difficulties in their relationship, and said, "i now find this very suspicious." mgn says the story was in the news of the world before. prince harry blames the tabloids for his break—up with miss davy. today, he told the court he had once found a tracking device

on her car — put there, he claims, by a private investigator. "for my whole life," he said, "the press have misled me and covered up the wrongdoing." andrew green for mirror group asked him... prince harry said... andrew green continued... prince harry responded... today we saw a more confident prince harry, making his points more forcefully, though at the end of his evidence, his barrister asked him the toll going through it all had taken. the prince appeared to fight back tears. "it's a lot," he said in a cracked voice. he stayed in court to hear jane kerr, a former mirror royal reporter who the court has insisted must give evidence. her byline appears on almost a third of the articles about prince harry being examined by the court. she commissioned private

investigators to help with stories, but said she had never asked anybody to do anything unlawful. prince harry spent around eight hours in the witness box. he will be leaving here probably feeling relieved, having kept his cool and focus in the face of some tough questioning. there will be relief too from his estranged family. with weeks of other evidence still to come, it could be many months before thejudge makes his decision. katie razzall, bbc news. a cyber crime gang — thought to be based in russia — says that it's seized a mass of sensitive data — including payroll information — from organisations and companies including the bbc, british airways and boots. the hackers — part of a group called clop — are demanding a ransom payment by the 14th ofjune. our cyber correspondent joe tidy has the story. it's been described as a

massive cyber heist. data stolen from underneath companies's notice, and now on a hike's website, a warning in broken english. the gang called clop, boasts... an ultimatum was also issued to the dozens, maybe even hundreds of organisations affected. get in touch with us to discuss a ransom payment or we will publish your data online. the bbc, koh boots, aer lingus and british airways arejust bbc, koh boots, aer lingus and british airways are just some of the organisations we know about. the scale of this mass hack has really shocked the cyber world. it all started with a relatively obscure but popular piece of corporate software called moveit. the clop hackers managed to find a unique way into the system and that gave them access to all the companies that use moveit, for example, the uk payroll provider zellis.

that allowed them to download some of the data of their customers, including the bbc and british airways. they are often dubbed supply chain attacks and what that essentially means, instead of targeting an organisation directly, they target a piece of software an organisation uses, so in this case they will use file transfer software that a bunch of companies use and this really kind of opens the gate a little bit. you use this as your initial entry point, it is your back door, if you like. clop has been a persistent cyber threat for years. an international police operation in 2021 saw arrests in ukraine of alleged members of the gang but with the leaders of the crew thought to be based in russia, clop has continued to make millions extorting organisations around the world. their latest victims are faced with a dilemma of paying the ransom or not. the advice is don't, as it fuels their criminal enterprise and they might sell the hacked data online anyway in secret. for staff whose national insurance numbers or even bank details are potentially in the hands of hackers, it is a concerning time. but these criminals are less interested in going after individuals, when organisations could pay them more, so the advice is to not panic

but be vigilant of any suspicious activity or e—mails. joe tidy, bbc news. to north america now, where the white house is sending support to canada to help battle wildfires there that have caused smoke to drift over a large portion of the united states and canada. earlier on wednesday, flights were briefly grounded at new york's laguardia airport. meanwhile, public health officials have urged people not to exercise outside and warned the haze could last for days. our correspondent samira hussain sent this from new york city. imean, i mean, just take where i am right now in lower manhattan away from the world trade centre and if you look behind me, well, it should be new jersey and some office buildings we would regularly see any time we are in this area, but they are rendered pretty invisible right now. it is a similar scene throughout parts of the eastern seaboard,

where you have seen just the air quality has become really quite poor. here in new york city, public schools have been ordered to not have any outdoor activities, and the mayor of new york has said that, look, don't go outside if you don't have to, and if you do, you should be wearing an n95 mask. but of course, i took to the streets of new york to ask new yorkers what they make of the haze. have you ever seen anything like this? no, i said it was like the apocalypse. that's what i feel like, it's very scary. and dangerous, too! i haven't had a mask on since covid, but now breathing this — i don't want to breathe this in, it's very dangerous. no, never seen anything like this before at all. i this is bonkers. ijust walked out now, and i was completely shocked by the haze and the — it's like, you can smell this horrible, horrible smell. it feels like a video game, it don't feel real, - it smells weird. it'sjust crazy, like my lungs feel weird right now. - i'm feeling sick, so i got to get. home, yeah, i don't know.

well, it is all coming from the wildfires in canada — right now, there are more than 400 fires raging in the country, from the west over into the east, and only half of them are actually under control right now. and so it's the wind that's bringing that air down to new york, and even as far down as the carolinas. and the air�*s actually quite polluted, as well, because in it, there's this fine dust that is particularly irritant — a particular irritant, rather, for people with lung disease and asthma, which is why there's so much caution around people staying indoors, especially if you're more vulnerable. some incredible pictures in that report from new york city. that's it for this edition of newsday. i will be back with business news shortly so join us if you can buffer now thank you so much for watching.

hello. well, our weather's been stuck on repeat a bit over the past few weeks, hasn't it? it's been largely dry and settled, with the best of the sunshine towards the west. but things are changing, as we head through the latter part of the week and into the weekend, the heat and the humidity are going to build, and there's a chance of some thunderstorms, as well. now, heading through the course of the weekend, these are the sort of temperatures we could see — mid—to—high—20s, very small chance, one or two places possibly getting near 30 celsius. but we do have a heat health alert that's been issued by the met office and the uk health and security agency, too. so, high pressure has been in charge of our weather, but cast your eyes down towards the southwest — this is storm oscar, and over the next few days, that low pressure is going to push closer towards the uk — and as it does so, we'll draw in these winds for more of an easterly, or even southeasterly direction, so that is what is bringing us the warmer weather. but for the here and now, still in that cooler air mass at the moment, so thursday morning dawns with quite a bit

of cloud for central and eastern areas, and, like recent days, and eastern areas, and, like recent days, that cloud will burn back towards the east coast through the day. so lots of strong sunshine — you'll notice the breeze blowing through east anglia, southern england, through the english channel, too — but the warmest spots probably getting up into perhaps the mid—20s, still mid—teens, though, for parts of eastern scotland and northeast england. and grass pollen season will be reaching its peak soon, so very high levels of pollen — you'll notice that across england and wales, if you suffer from hay fever. now, thursday evening and overnight into friday, the cloud rolls back westwards once again, as it has done over previous nights. it's probably a little bit less cold, though, temperatures staying up around about 8—9 celsius for most of us into friday, we'll see that subtle change in wind direction. so friday, mostly dry again, still a bit of cloud lingering in the northeast, but not as much as recent days. breeze blowing in from the east or northeast, across the southern half of the uk, but look at those temperatures — more widely, we're getting up to about 24—25 celsius, still a little bit cooler than that again in the northeast.

heading into saturday, a few showers start to work in, initially for the far southwest, they'll creep their way northwards and eastwards — perhaps northern ireland, central parts of england and wales could catch some of those hit—and—miss thundery downpours. hit—and—miss thundery downpours. so we're looking at temperatures probably warmest for many central and eastern areas on saturday. temperatures above average for all of us, as we head through the next five days or so. chance of some heavy showers — it looks like they ease away for many of us through the course of next week. bye— bye.