and in central africa, the race to stop the plunder of rich peatlands and the release of damaging carbon dioxide. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it s newsday. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin in russia. one of president vladimir putin s closest advisers, the foreign minister sergei lavrov, has told the bbc that russia has not invaded ukraine and he s repeated the official line from the kremlin that there is no war, but it s a special military operation . mr lavrov has been at the heart of power in russia for over 20 years and represented the country on the international stage for nearly two decades. earlier today, he spoke to our russia editor steve rosenberg. it was the first time sergei lavrov had agreed to meet since moscow launched its offensive in ukraine. russia s government has created a parallel reality. invasion, what invasion? translation: we didn t invade ukraine. - we declared a special mi
cricket board brings charges against yorkshire and several individuals over allegations of racism. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it s newsday. welcome to the programme. it s 7am in the morning in singapore and 1am in brussels, where the us defense secretary has said he will move heaven and earth to ensure ukraine receives the weapons it needs to combat russia s invasion. lloyd austin was speaking at a nato meeting and called on allied countries to urgently increase deliveries of arms during a pivotal moment in the war. here s a glimpse of what secretary austin had to say. we can t afford to let up, and we can t lose steam. the stakes are too high. ukraine is facing a pivotal moment on the battlefield. and we re seeing what president zelensky warned us about. after failing to take kyiv and reassessing its combat aims, russia has shifted its focus to the donbas. and we can t underestimate the challenge that ukraine faces. a little earlier, president biden
prince william and his wife kate mark the fifth anniversary of a catastrophic tower block fire in london in which 72 people died. in beijing, thousands of people are being locked down and millions face compulsory testing after a surge in covid 19 cases. music. and could the best be yet to come? after nine years together, the k pop supergroup bts announce they re taking a break to focus on their solo careers. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it s newsday. hello, and welcome to the programme. a last minute intervention by the european court of human rights has blocked the uk government s plan to send seven asylum seekers to rwanda under a controversial new policy. the home secretary, priti patel, said she was disappointed, but would not be deterred and preparations for a second flight were under way. let s get the latest from our correspondent duncan kennedy at the airfierld where the flight was due to take off. what has happened really is that the flight is
a group of us senators from both the republican and democratic parties have reached agreement on a series of gun control measures. the developments come after the tragic mass shootings in texas and new york. let s have a closer look at what s in the proposal. the framework agreement includes support for state red flag laws where guns could be kept from those who might pose a danger. also included, tougher background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21. there would also be measures to prevent what s known as straw purchases, where people buy guns for others who are restricted from purchasing them. but what s not included are measures that the democrats and president biden had advocated, such as raising the age for buying semiautomatic rifles to 21, or new limits on assault style rifles. our north america correspondent david willis has been following the story. this is a significant move and assuming these proposals passed into law, they would represent the first gun co
that his boss became detached from reality, as he made false claims of voter fraud. scientists plan to sequence the genomes of all forms of life in britain, which could transform our understanding of the natural world. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it s newsday. welcome to the programme. it s 6am in the morning in singapore, and 1am in eastern ukraine, where russian forces are tightening their grip on the region of the donbas. president zelensky has called again for western allies to provide advanced missile defence systems for the ukrainian army, to stop the steady russian advance. the russians now control almost all of the strategic city of severodonetsk. the final bridge to the city has been destroyed, trapping ukrainian troops and thousands of civilians. the ukrainian government says russia is able to keep up its military offensive because it s still earning huge amounts by selling oil and gas, despite global economic sanctions. the russians are als