why countries in east asia and the pacific region are among the worst affected. we start in ukraine where a battlefield commander in the eastern town of bakhmut has told the bbc that the fighting is ferocious. a us official has said russian forces have made incremental advances around the town, with mercenaries from the russian paramilitary wagner group heavily involved in the assault. the battle has been described as a meat grinder with high numbers of casualties on both sides. almost all of the city s 70 thousand occupants have fled. russia is working hard to capture bakhmut in the hope it could lead to the fall of sloviansk and krama torsk as well the two most important cities in the donbas still under ukrainian control. but ukrainian forces are holding firm. the bbc s yogita limaye reports from the city. this is what the merciless bombardment of a city looks like. and how it sounds. once a quiet place known for sparkling wine, bakhmut is now a byword for war. and
which is out next week. and the struggle to try to protect forests in the philippines, with many of them devastated by illegal logging and mining. it s seven in the morning in singapore and seven in the morning in china which is set to reopen to the world on sunday, welcoming international travellers and returning residents without the need to quarantine for the first time since 2020. this coming against a surge in infections in the country since beijing lifted covid restrictions. in some of its strongest criticisms of china to date the world health organisation has accused beijing of under reporting the number of covid deaths, china s foreign ministry has responded that china had transparently and quickly shared covid data, and that china s epidemic situation is controllable . facts have proof that china maintain close facts have proof that china maintain close communications with the world health close communications with the world health organization and show t
paid their last respects to the former pope benedict 16th before his funeral at the vatican on thursday. it s seven in the morning in singapore, and one in the morning in ukraine, where a ukrainian battlefield commander in the eastern town of bakhmut has told the bbc that the fighting there is ferocious. a us official has said russian forces have made incremental advances around the town, with mercenaries from the russian paramilitary wagner group heavily involved in the assault. the battle has been described as a meat grinder with high numbers of casualties on both sides. almost all of the city s 70 thousand occupants have fled. russia is working hard to capture bakhmut in the hope it could lead to the fall of sloviansk and krama torsk as well the two most important cities in the donbas still under ukrainian control. but ukrainian forces are holding firm. the bbc s yogita limaye reports from the city. this is what the merciless bombardment of a city looks like. a