makes a stark warning. ukraine is getting stronger. gradually, the war is returning to the territory of russia. and we have a special report where we talk to a mother about why it's getting easier to be a single parent in china. live from our studio in singapore — this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. we start in pakistan where at least 44 people have been killed, in what police suspect was a suicide bomb attack, at a political rally, in the north—west of the country. well over 100 were injured in the blast, at the event in the ba—jore district, near the border with afghanistan. our pakistan correspondent, caroline davies has the latest, from the capital, islamabad. a sunday afternoon political rally by one of pakistan's

biggest religious parties, jamiat ulema—e—islam. hundreds crowded in, flags, chanting, then the explosion. emraan was one of the rally�*s organisers on stage at the time it happened. his ears are still ringing from the blast. what do you remember after the explosion? translation: it was all injured people around, l all dead bodies and flesh. it was like doomsday. local people tried to help. there were not enough ambulances so people were taking their own cars. he says several people around him died. he isn't sure why he survived. these pictures show some of the chaos. stretchered or carried by any hands that could offer help. the district hospital declared a health emergency and a call was put out for blood donations. as the wards filled up some were taken by helicopter

to nearby peshawar. the death toll rose quickly. police have said that they have struggled to identify all of the dead. among those named is a local political leader. pakistan's prime minister condemned the attack. there has been an increase in violent attacks across pakistan, particularly in this province. the police have said they've discovered evidence suggesting the explosion might have been a suicide bomber but have not yet confirmed it. if this was an attack, it's not clear what the motive could be and no group has claimed it. it leaves many questions about what has happened and how it could affect the build—up to pakistan's much anticipated general election, still expected later this year. caroline davies, bbc news. a little earlier i asked our south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan to tell me more about the group whose rally was targeted.

well, this islamist political party is called jamiat ulema—e—islam—fazl. it is that a member of the governing coalition at the national level. it is an influential political party in pakistan, there have been a number of rallies across the country over the years. they are seen as a hard—line political party. this is not the first time they were under attack. some of the leaders were attacked a couple of years ago, they also came under attack in 2014, the leader of the group came under a suicide attack, but he escaped very narrowly. so there have been attacks on them claimed by the islamic state group in south asia chapter and also another muslim extremist group because they think this political party is not truly islamic, and that has been a controversy going on in pakistan, but this is a rude awakening and shock to political parties because the elections

are later this year, expected to be held later this year, so this is outraged by the political party to reach out to the supporters in this district which is on the border with afghanistan. so it is a big security concern for the pakistani government as various political parties, they want to get in touch with people by organising these kinds of rallies and energising their workers, working out strategies how to reach out to people. so it is a big concern for the government and the political parties. we know there have been several attacks. is there any connection to any recent ones that have gone on? there has been an increase in the number of attacks in northwest pakistan as well as in the province. that is a group called taliban pakistan, they called

off a cease—fire with security forces and since then they have been targeting pakistan security forces, but according to one media report, they deny any involvement in the latest attack, but we haven't heard from other militant groups, but what is really concerning pakistan's secuirty forces differences have been increasing attacks from these militants and the pakistani government blames militants, which they accuse them of harbouring inside afghanistan, however, the taliban administration in afghanistan denied those charges, but the pakistani military has suffered a lot of casualties, and according to one think tank report, more than 380 people have been killed since the beginning of this year due to this violence. earlier the bbc spoke to senior analyst for pakistan news channel geo — mazhar abbas. it mazhar abbas. is one of the west in recent yea rs it is one of the west in recent years rather during the ——

while during this government. this is the worst attack. it is just before, two weeks before the assemblies will be dissolved and we will go for new elections, so such an attack is really scary and one can foresee such an attack during an election as happened in 2013, in the same area, in the same locality. this attack directly targeted, on a political rally, on a political gathering. the situation is likely to go from bad to worse. and although the security in the last few years have launched several targeted operations and many militants, but it seems they still have sleeper cells and target and pick their targets, and in the last few weeks or so, they targeted security

personnel, also police officers. this is the first time in recent, during this government, that they have targeted a huge rally of a government ally. the head of the ruling alliance, it is definitely directly an attack on a government coalition partner. and you can follow all the latest developments on our website or on the bbc news app. ukraine's president zelensky has said the war is gradually coming home to russia. he was speaking hours after russia said it had downed three ukrainian drones over moscow. the russian defence ministry said three drones were downed with two crashing into offices, a local airport had to be briefly closed. kyiv has been blamed, although it hasn't openly

admitted responsibility. here's what president zelensky said. translation: russian - aggression has gone bankrupt on the battlefield. today is the 522nd day of the so—called special military operation, which the russian leadership expected to last for a week or two. ukraine is getting stronger. and you can follow all the latest developments ——to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process. we spoke to our correspondent james waterhouse in kyiv about president zelensky�*s statement. if we look at the language used by president zelensky, that these attacks are a natural, inevitable, fear, then that is a level up from kyiv�*s previous denials of responsibility when these attacks took place. i remember the bridge brings struck in unoccupied crimea,

president zelensky described the bridge as a legitimate target. that is the most cautionary language we have seen to this point. why is he doing this? he is not only looking to apply pressure on vladimir putin and the kremlin, but also the russian people because the majority of them appear to believe that the invasion of ukraine is both just and fair. if people in russia, as per president zelensky�*s suggestion, start to connect the explosions in the city with what is happening inside ukraine, then it might just make it more difficult for vladimir putin to justify this invasion. that is at least the help, but all signs are pointing to him only throwing more of what he still calls his special military operation. to niger, where the economic community of west african states has agreed to impose immediate financial sanctions— on the leaders of the military coup there. following a meeting in neighbouring nigeria, the bloc — known as ecowas — gave the junta —a week to hand

back power, and said it wouldn't rule out the use of force. niger's ambassador to the united states told the bbc he would welcome military intervention if a peaceful solution was not reached. the bloc has also imposed a no fly zone —on all commercial flights to and from the country, and closed all land borders between niger and member countries. aneliese bernard is director of strategic stabilization advisors, a washington—based risk advisory group —focused on west africa. she was formally with the state department in niger. this military coup was not exactly precedented. that said, we need to be clear that niger itself has only had one democratic election, that being the one that got us president bazoum in the first place. so coups in general are somewhat of a familiar terrain for nigeriens and for the government, for the region, for that matter.

that said, ecowas�*s response to this coup is incredibly significant and probably one of the more severe responses we've seen in the region. the last time ecowas threatened the potential use of force to dislodge the coup was for the gambian coup that took place in 2016. before that was in mali in 2012. so the point made is that the past five coups that have taken place in the sahel have not been met with such strong rhetoric by the regional bloc, but also the international community. so this is quite significant. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news — bringing you different stories from across the uk. last minute preparations for the leavers concert. and these year six pupils at new ford academy in stoke—on—trent are departing for pastures new on a high. their school has just been rated as "outstanding" by 0fsted. their learning plans are actually catered

to each individual child, and you can constantly see what the child is learning and what they're striving towards. nobody falls behind. everyone has a chance to catch up while everything's fresh in their memories. that level of learning is something the school strives for, for all 480 pupils. we're ambitious for every child, that they are absolutely given everything that they need, with hard work and resilience, that they can achieve whatever they want to. staff say their passion here for learning will serve these pupils well. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. in china, until recently, it was extremely difficult for single women to have children. last year the government said health insurance should cover the cost of giving birth for single mothers and that they should also get paid maternity leave.

despite widespread conservative cultural attitudes, a shift is underway 7 especially in the big cities 7 where more unmarried women are choosing to continue their pregnancies. as our correspondent stephen mcdonell reports from south—east china. two—month—old hung—hung is being raised by his mother and grandmother. it's a lifestyle still frowned on by many, especially in rural areas or smaller towns where beliefs are more conservative. attitudes are definitely changing towards single mothers in china, but mainly only in the big cities. this mother said she was lucky to have moved to shanghai to run a business. translation: i'm grateful l for the tolerance of shanghai. i'm from rural hunan, an area which will have a lot of discrimination against me as a single mum. she became a single mother after her boyfriend's family rejected his choice of bride

because her income and status was too modest. although she was pregnant, he broke up with her. her mother says the choice to continue with a pregnancy under such circumstances would have been impossible when she was young because of community pressure and official regulations. that this change in community attitudes has happened at this precise moment in history has been crucial. with an ageing population, the government wants more babies and yet many young couples have refused to answer the call on financial grounds, so more and more we are seeing officials starting to change the rules which had been blocking single women from giving birth. yet this woman isn't waiting for the government to sort out all the health insurance hurdles. she'll soon become a single mum on her own terms. we met her at an expo in hangzhou showcasing her online sales platform.

translation: my mum always told me that women should - be more independent, confident and strong. i don't want to marry into anotherfamilyjust because of a child. the 30—year—old says the time wasn't right for marriage when she accidentally became pregnant with her much younger boyfriend. however, women's status and financial independence are shifting in china, giving more options. translation: traditionally, women relied on men - and the family for support. as we earn more, men and women become more equal. women can even employ people to help them. the situation is patchy in china. even in some cities, single mothers on lower incomes are being denied the paid leave and health insurance needed to give birth. unmarried parents can now get the documents to, for example, process a child's school application. however, other government regulations still need to catch

up with what's becoming a reality in china. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, hangzhou. earlier i spoke to a china researcher for human rights watch. there are two aspects, one is that it is illegal it is legal to have —— to have babies as an unmarried woman, but it is still hard to get the benefits and the maternity leave, insurance, all of that step. you can apply, there are a lot of hurdles. the bureaucrat said the government doesn't understand, the company doesn't want to help you do that, this is one aspect. the other is really social stigma. it is still very stigmatized to be a single mother in china and to give birth without a dad next to the mum. so people feel ashamed, people feel there are a lot ofjudgements. now, the population growth is a major concern for china. in terms of what officials are doing, they have helped with some of the regulations, but are they doing anything to change the perception of single parents and society?

i don't think so because there is actually a lot of propaganda coming from the very top, including the president of china saying to me you know, women should espouse traditional value. women should go home and raise children, support their husband. so i think the propaganda is going the other way. the chinese government wants women to have more children, still, they want women to have children with in the framework within the institution of marriage. i want to talk to a little bit more about this stigma. in china, why is it taboo for a single mother to have a child? well, i think it's just a traditional value that has been going on for thousands of years. therefore we need to have children outside of marriage ——therefore woman to have children outside of marriage is very, very rare. and as we mentioned earlier, there are institutional, political hurdles for women to do that. just a few years ago, it's not even possible to have children outside of marriage because in order to register your baby, you have to present

the marriage licence. your baby can't even get registered if your baby is born outside of marriage, but this is a traditional value. it's notjust limited to china. in east asia, generally, in korea, japan, it is also quite a stigma to have children outside of marriage. even though these new procedures have been put in place to make it easier for single mothers, clearly there are single parents in china that is just kind of the way the world works. so what are some of the challenges that they encounter in society? we have to say, you know, these women are very courageous, young chinese woman. i understand there is stigma, pressure and judgment people have on you for giving birth outside of marriage. i would say people are very courageous to do that. and ifeel, you know, there are these communities, especially within big cities that women are getting together

and feel it is ok to do that, we don't have to conform ourselves into the institution of marriage in order to have children. 0n the other hand, you know, there are economic independence that arise from economic development in china, so, you know, there is stigma attached to that. there are political hurdles, but i feel the situation is getting better. in the uk, the prime minister has said he's reviewing what he called "anti—car schemes" — such as low traffic neighbourhoods across england. mr sunak has faced pressure to water down some of his environmental commitments— after a conservative by—election victory was linked to the party's opposition —for plans to extend london's ultra low emission zone. earlier this month, it was announced funding would end for any new projects in england. from newcastle, alison freeman has more. all quiet on this street in newcastle today. it's part of one of several

hundred low traffic neighbourhoods known as ltns that have been introduced in cities across the country. the aim — to reduce traffic in residential areas and stop side roads being used as rat runs. it's sort of adding 10 minutes onto yourjourney and you sort of think to yourself, is this actually doing any good for the environment? my road might be quieter, but the main roads are chock a block. it's definitely quieter down the roads and the traffic down the main road's not even that bad. so i don't really see what the problem is. tell me about the clean air sitting in those queues, i those incessant queues. queues. queues, queues of carsj pumping out fumes and using up extra fuel. this ltn, which was introduced back in march, is going to be trialled for 18 months. but these bollards have not only physically divided jesmond, they've divided opinion too, with more than 4000 people already signing a petition against it.

feelings about low traffic neighbourhoods have been running high nationally. protests in places like ealing in west london led to the reversal of some zones there. and earlier this month, the government said it was halting money for new schemes. today the prime minister said the government will be reviewing existing low traffic neighbourhoods and that he is on the side of drivers. but labour argues there is still a place for the zones. we are in favour of well—planned, low traffic neighbourhoods but as i say, they have to be decisions that are made by local communities. many people here say it's created more problems than it's solved, but with the drive towards net zero, more ways of tackling pollution need to be found. alison freeman, bbc news, newcastle. let's take a look atjust a couple of other stories making headlines across the uk.

police searching for a man who's believed to have fallen into the river wye in here—ferd, have arrested three men on suspicion of murder. officers say the man was involved in an altercation before he disappeared. teams are continuing to search the river. a midwife who told a patient that terrorists could contaminate milk formula to quote "kill the babies" has been struck off. anna semen—enko, who worked at royal gwent hospital in newport, made the remark when trying to persuade a patient to breast—feed. she was banned from the profession earlier this month. now, litter picking probably isn't something you'd expect to go viral on social media — but forjosh donaldson, what started as a hobby, has made him an online star. clearing up the forests near his home in the east of scotland, josh says he's inspired by his children. louise cowan went to meet him. environmental anxiety is a real

thing for a lot of people. especially my generation. we grew up, all the world's on fire, like, there's nothing you can do about it. butjosh donaldson is doing something for the environment. for the last few years, he's been ridding the angus countryside of rubbish. i'll pick it up, i'll carried up the hill. i'll come down, i'll pick up another bit, i'll carry it up there. i'lljust keep doing it until it's gone, you know? but it's good to see the pile getting bigger at the top, and that's the driving factor. it's nice to see an actual, like, a visual representation of your work. it's good. yeah, it's good. the 32—year—old began sharing his clear—ups on social media, and they were a huge hit. he now has 1.5 million followers on tiktok, and his videos are watched by, and inspire, hundreds of thousands of people far and wide. people send me videos of them, like, cleaning beaches and rivers, all over the world. like, vietnam and things. like, america and stuff like that. opposite ends of the world. and it's... it's nice to see that it's having an effect beyond just what i'm doing. and i think that keeps me

going for the most part, that it affects more than just me now, you know what i mean? so, too, do thoughts of his daughter. i think having her made me think a bit more about what we were leaving behind. and every time i pick a bit up, well, she'll come down here, she'll never see that. she'll go for a walk and that won't be here, like. and that kind of drove me forward, to leave something better behind for her and the rest of her generation. josh's online supporters raised funds for a van, to allow him to carry out even bigger clear—ups, and his long—term goal is to set up his own recycling centre. i think going forward, if we can make positive changes and do nice things, it might not change everything, but it'll make a nicer walk forthe kids, ora nicerten minutes in the woods than it would have been without it, which i think�*s worth it. louise cowie, bbc news.

something for everybody on social media. well done, josh. finally, how's this for a declaration of love? a farmer in the us has planted a huge swathe of sunflowers as a surprise gift for his wife. lee wilson from kansas planted 1.2 million sunflowers on 80 acres of land for his wife, renee, to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. he got his son to help secretly plant the field back in may. tourists have flocked to the field to take pictures of the state flower in bloom. that's all we have for you. goodbye for now. hello. july has been a very wet month across the uk. and as we look towards the very end of the month, and, indeed, into the start of the new one, well, there's more rain on the way. spells of wind and rain this week, rather cool as well. now, looking back at the rainfall we've had so far, these figures are valid up to 10am on sunday. can see that in preston 285% of the averagejuly rainfall. that means preston has had close to three times the rainfall we would expect in a typicaljuly.

and those figures got a further top up as sunday went on because we saw a band of heavy rain pushing northwards and eastwards in association with this frontal system still with us for monday morning. all tied in with this area of low pressure, which will be wobbling its way eastwards through the day. so a band of rain pushing northwards across scotland, some sunshine, at least for a time in the north of scotland, and then to the south of that, for northern ireland, for england and wales, large amounts of clouds and mistand murk, some splashes of rain and, actually, some really heavy and persistent rain across the channel islands that mayjust graze into southern counties of england at times. temperatures 17—21 degrees in most places. so at the oval for the crickets, i think we are going to see some showers at times. i'm hopeful of some lengthy dry spells as well to allow some play to take place. and then as we move through monday nights, well, quite a mishmash of weather. some areas of clouds, a bit of mist and murk, some splashes of rain. we mayjust see a few more clear spells working

into the mix by the end of the night, temperatures of 12 or 13 or 14 degrees. now, tuesday looks set to be one of the drier days of the week. i can't promise it's going to be completely dry. there'll still be some bits and pieces of rain, some showers around. but we should at least get to see some spells of sunshine and some decent dry gaps between the showers. rain, though, you'll notice, returning to the far south west of england later in the day. and temperatures at best 17—21 degrees, not particularly impressive for the first day of august. and then for wednesday, well, this deep area of low pressure pushes eastwards. this is a very autumnal looking weather chart. there will be some really strong winds, particularly on the southern flank of this low around the south west of england, also through the channel islands can be very windy indeed. some outbreaks of rain, and then it looks like staying decidedly cool towards the end of the week.

china and australia's economies in the spotlight this week, with factory activity data and the latest monetary policy decision due. plus — with artificial intelligence continuing to be in the spotlight we speak to an expert on what sort of regulations might be needed.

hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm monica miller. it's the start of a brand new week, and the economies of china and australia are in focus this week. beijing is due to release its latest manufacturing purchasing managers' index for this month in a few hours. we saw a contraction over the last three months as china's post—covid rebound lost steam. officials are also due to announce new measures to boost domestic consumption later on monday. on tuesday, australia's central bank will unveil its latest rates decision. the central bank had earlier hinted it could hike the cost of borrowing again as inflation continues to hover around 6 %. and on friday, it will give its update on its forecasts for price and growth for the australian economy. this is part of the monetary policy statement, released four times a year by the rba. earlier, i spoke with markets

analyst olivier d'assier