which has been under lockdown for more than three weeks, has reported its first official covid deaths in two years. to have them here is extraordinary... and prince harry speaks to the bbc about the invictus games, and what ukraine's presence there means. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news — it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. russia has expanded its bombardment, hitting sites right across the country over the past 2a hours. in a televised address, president volodymyr zelensky said he could confirm that the battle for the donbas region had begun. translation: we can assess now that russian military has| begun the battle for donbas, for which they have been preparing a long time. a very large part of the russian army is now concentrated for this offensive. no matter how many of the russian troops are there, we will be fighting. we will defend ourselves and do everything that we must to keep what's ukrainian. what is not, we simply don't need it. that was president volodymyr zelensky. earlier, the secretary of ukraine's national security council said russian forces had tried to break through almost the entire front line in the donetsk, luhansk and kharkiv regions. thousands continue to flee as russia steps up its new offensive, massing troops in the region, where ukrainian forces have been fighting russian—led separatists for the past eight years. our defence correspondent, jonathan beale, reports from eastern ukraine. this is now the sight and sound of the donbas. severodonetsk, another city and another target for russia's unrelenting bombardment. we tried to enter to speak to families taking shelter, but the thump of artillery was steadily coming closer. explosions let's go. well, wejust came here to go to a shelter, but there's shelling a bit close to us, and so we've had to move out. a lot of crump of artillery going on at the moment. nothing appears to be sacred when russia wages war. this, one of the holiest sites in the donbas, but that didn't save svyatogorsk�*s historic monastery from being scarred by a russian air strike. this was once a popular tourist destination. now it's just another town from which people flee. translation: what can i say? i'm overwhelmed with grief. i'm 70 years old and i've nowhere to live. the few who've stayed behind have to queue for food. they're notjust hungry, though, they're scared. translation: i cry every day. what kind of god would allow this to happen? i cry every day. what kind of god should we ask to stop all this? there is now a strong military presence in this town. just a few miles down the road, russian forces are advancing from the north. a ukrainian soldier shared this drone footage of how they were trying to slow down the russian columns — blowing up a bridge. but they know more will be coming. translation: we know that russian forces are bringing i reinforcements into this region, but we're doing everything possible. we are ready to repel the russian occupiers and prevent the capture of our cities. we will stand to the last and defend our homeland. we headed south, the roads eerily empty. four, five... we soon found out why. plumes of smoke — once again, we were within range of russian artillery. turn, turn. staying put is like russian roulette but with heavy shelling. galena's home was nearly hit overnight. they were still replacing the blown—out windows. inside, her 11—year—old granddaughter, anastasia, too frightened to come out, cowering under a desk that's become her bedroom. anastasia's mum, svetlana, fears they're now trapped. the constant bombardment�*s also taking its toll on the city of avdiivka. here, they're praying for divine intervention. pastor oleg offers a blessing and food for those who've stayed behind. but in a heated discussion, one man tells him, "it's the russians who'll bring us salvation." pastor oleg tells him, "i'm not against russia — "i'm against its invasion of ukraine." nowhere is safe within range of russian artillery, and as we've seen, russia is pushing forward from the north, from the east and from the south. and there's a real danger that ukraine's forces here could be surrounded. for now, they're holding out. so, too, are the remaining citizens of avdiivka, hiding in bunkers. but for how long? jonathan beale, bbc news, eastern ukraine. meanwhile, seven people have been killed in missile strikes in the western city of lviv, which has been relatively unscathed throughout the conflict. our correspondent, danjohnson, has been to the site of one of the attacks, and sent us this report. this is how the people of lviv found out their city wasn't as safe as they thought. missile strikes across the skies on a bright morning hitting buildings right in the heart of the city and bringing the conflict closer to the west. an industrial unit was hit. firefighters filmed their efforts to put out the blaze and save the lives of the people inside, having their morning coffee before work, when the missile landed. the families of those caught up in this couldn't keep back. this couple heard the news, tried to call their only son, but got no answer. he was 26. translation: he was going to marry and now we have to bury him. what's your message to the people who did this? translation: it has not been done by humans. . humans cannot do such things. they are not humans. they are barbaric invaders. the crater gives some sense of the power of this explosion and i actually saw the muscles this morning flying across the city skyline and then hitting. this is one of the places that has been devastated, it is a car garage, a service centre, the place that you get tyres fitted, but it is completely devastated and there is so much clearing up to do here, and that's to say nothing of the loss of life. four of the workers here were killed this morning. ukrainians believe this is a reminderfrom russia that it still has firepower and is prepared to use it. we're told the missiles were fired from aircraft in the region of the caspian sea, a long way away. they shook the whole neighbourhood. this woman's lived just across the road all her life. translation: ourwindows were shattered, everybody was frightened. we didn't know what to do. we started praying. we didn't know whether to stay or whether to flee. local officials said there were three strikes on military warehouses in addition to the garage. across the city, seven people died and ii were injured. translation: what we see today in ukraine is genocide _ which is purposefully committed by the aggressor who kills civilians. seven civilians had plans for life. today, their lives have ended. once again, ukrainian rescue teams are carrying out the grimmest tasks, passing on the worst news to families. if anyone needed it, this was an early morning reminder that this country, all of it and all its people, are still at war and still under threat. danjohnson, bbc news, lviv. in china, the authorities in shanghai have reported the first covid deaths since 2020. official figures show seven people died on sunday. all had underlying health conditions. lockdowns remain in place across parts of the city, almost four weeks after they were first introduced. and some residents are understood to have been taken to quarantine facilities, with reports of food shortages in parts of shanghai. chinese authorities do not appear to be getting rid of their covered zero policy. —— covid zero. krishna udayakumar, who is the founding director of the duke global health innovation centre, told me he doesn't think that china's covid figures have been accurate throughout the pandemic and argues that the same thing is happening in shanghai. well, if we look at the number of cases in the hundreds of thousands, i would be shocked if it was only three deaths, especially in the context of the age and demographics of the population, as well as the vaccination and booster rates. the vaccination and booster rates involved. and this goes back to the accuracy of data from china. if we look at the entire pandemic so far, it's just about 4640 deaths that have been reported. when we see different modelling, it would tell us that that's off by anywhere from a factor of three — so maybe three times as much — as much as 100 times off. we don't think the numbers are quite accurate from across the pandemic. i would argue the same as to what we're seeing now in shanghai. should we be worried about what's going on in china, apart from the fact that what is happening to people there, but as a sort of lesson for the rest of the world, or is this quite a distinct case we're seeing in china? i think it is concerning for several reasons. one, i think it's showing us that our strategy of zero covid is not sustainable in the long term. two, it's also showing us that just getting high rates of vaccination coverage in a population level isn't that protective if you don't use effective vaccines and you don't vaccinate fully, which we now know with many vaccines requires three doses. also, if you have lower rates of vaccination in the most vulnerable, which are the highest aged populations. not only do we have to increase vaccination rates for everyone, we have make sure we are protecting the most vulnerable in our populations so that we're protecting them from severe disease and death, while also protecting our economies to stay open and protecting our health systems from being overwhelmed. so, do you see what's happening in china right now — obviously with the caveat they have their own distinct challenges — being repeated in other parts of the world? where are you seeing some of these challenges? yes, i do think what we saw previously in hong kong is what we're now starting to see in parts of china, where there are significant increases in cases, but also some increases in hospitalisations and potentially death. we do need to make sure we're protecting against that in every country by rolling out a more comprehensive set of tools. so, vaccination remains critical and we should increase vaccination and booster rates everywhere in the world, especially in low and middle income countries. we also need to make available therapies, including antibodies and anti—virals. that requires a test to treat strategy. we have to roll out all of these things as well as the need to finance a pandemic. if you want to get in touch with me i'm on twitter if you want to get in touch with me i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the ukrainian athletes inspiring prince harry at the invictus games for injured servicemen and women. the stars and stripes at half—mast outside columbine high. day school sealed off. the bodies of the dead still inside. i never thought they would actually go through with it. one of the most successful. singer songwriters of all time, the american pop star prince has died at the age of 57. - i didn't believe it, he was just here on saturday. for millions of americans the death of richard nixon, in a new york hospital, has meant conflicting emotions. a national day of mourning next wednesday sitting somehow uneasily with the abiding memories of the shame of watergate. and liftoff of the space shuttle discovery, with the huddle space telescope, our window on the universe. this is newsday on the bbc. 0ur headlines — the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, says the expected large—scale russian offensive in the east of the country has begun. at least seven people are killed in ukraine's western city of lviv, as russia intensifies its air raids across the country. "inhuman and cruel" is how many human rights organisations have called the british government's new scheme to send asylum seekers 4,000 miles to the east african country of rwanda to have their claim processed. similar allegations were made against the australian government, when they processed asylum seekers offshore on the islands of nauru and manus in papua new guinea. the australian government has since abandoned the use of offshore processing, and now pursues a policy of turning back all boats heading for its shores. madeline gleeson is a senior research fellow at the kaldor centre for international refugee law. she says off—shore processing isn't effective. i understand that in the uk there has been some consideration of perhaps amending the way that asylum claims are processed, and in doing so the government might look around to other countries to see what has worked elsewhere. but to have honed in on offshore processing is the policy to be adopted, like we have had in australia, is somewhat bizarre, because it did not work here. on almost every measure, it was a policy failure, and we abandoned it pretty quickly as one of our main policies. so it is concerning to see that the uk is proposing to follow suit and perhaps walk into all the same problems we saw here. but meddle in. _ problems we saw here. but meddle in, in _ problems we saw here. but meddle in, in all— problems we saw here. but meddle in, in all fairness, just to look at the other perspective, what are the solutions of this case, what did work, then, in australia, if you are saying off shoring didn't? ~ ~ , ., ., didn't? well, the australian context is — didn't? well, the australian context is very _ didn't? well, the australian context is very different - didn't? well, the australian l context is very different from that facing the uk, and i think that facing the uk, and i think thatis that facing the uk, and i think that is a very important point to remember. whereas i understand the uk is concerned primarily with boats coming across the channel from france, we were dealing in many cases from people fleeing directly from people fleeing directly from their country of origin, that being sri lanka, so people leaving the place directly they were claiming persecution, and being turned away directly, and also from indonesia. so in terms of geographically and wear these interceptions were taking place it is a very different context from the uk. what we saw in australia when offshore processing failed to achieve the desired results, instead the australian government pivoted to a different policy, which was as you mention turning back all boats at sea, and that has seen a reduction in the number of people trying to reach australia by boat, but carries with it obvious concerns, legal and humanitarian.— and humanitarian. indeed, madeleine, _ and humanitarian. indeed, madeleine, and _ and humanitarian. indeed, madeleine, and you - and humanitarian. indeed, madeleine, and you pointl and humanitarian. indeed, i madeleine, and you point out their strategy failed, but specifically the aim of ensuring that not more refugees would come to australia's shores, was there any improvement in those figures come as a result of the strategy?— come as a result of the strate: ? ., _, strategy? no comment fact, the situation went _ strategy? no comment fact, the situation went backwards, - strategy? no comment fact, the situation went backwards, so - strategy? no comment fact, the situation went backwards, so in| situation went backwards, so in the first year of offshore processing, more than 2a,000 people arrived in australia by boat. and to put that number in context, in the previous years and decades, the number of people arriving by boat in australia was in the hundreds, or at its peak perhaps about five or 6000. so then in the first year of offshore processing, that leapt to 24,000 processing, that leapt to 2a,000 or more. now that's not because offshore processing was pulling people in, it is that offshore processing failed to appreciate the reasons why more people were getting on boats at that time. it wasn't a policy that time. it wasn't a policy that was well designed to meet those needs, and what we saw was not even just a continuation but a massive skyrocketing in the number of people arriving by boat in that first year. people arriving by boat in that first ear. ., ., , people arriving by boat in that first ear. ., first year. that was madeleine gleason speaking _ first year. that was madeleine gleason speaking to _ first year. that was madeleine gleason speaking to me - first year. that was madeleine gleason speaking to me a - first year. that was madeleine | gleason speaking to me a little earlier. a national state of disaster has been declared in south africa, in response to floods that have claimed hundreds of lives. the south african military has deployed more than 10,000 troops to help with relief and rescue operations, following the devastating floods that swept through parts of kwazulu—natal province last week. the death toll now stands at over 440, and more than 60 people are still missing. in a televised address, the south african president, cyril ramaphosa, said a massive and urgent relief effort was needed as lives were still at risk. it is clear that there are other areas of the country that need emergency intervention as well. cabinet met in a special session last night and decided to declare an additional state of disaster. the bbc�*s pumza fihlani has more. we have just come across a community that are apparently trying — community that are apparently trying to— community that are apparently trying to rebuild a bridge that was washed away here a few days a-o. was washed away here a few days age they— was washed away here a few days ago. they told us that this has been _ ago. they told us that this has been here _ ago. they told us that this has been here for many decades, but so far_ been here for many decades, but so far because no help has coma, _ so far because no help has come, they have decided to come out and _ come, they have decided to come out and try— come, they have decided to come out and try to put whatever infrastructure they can to try and — infrastructure they can to try and hold _ infrastructure they can to try and hold it into place. now the reason — and hold it into place. now the reason for— and hold it into place. now the reason for that is there is a school_ reason for that is there is a schooljust across from where we are — schooljust across from where we are standing, it is a primary— we are standing, it is a primary school. they are worried _ primary school. they are worried that in a few weeks' time — worried that in a few weeks' time when schools reopen, their children— time when schools reopen, their children won't be able to go to schooh — children won't be able to go to school. now there is another reason — school. now there is another reason why they have decided that they don't trust the authorities to do this. just on my right _ authorities to do this. just on my right here, there is a bridge _ my right here, there is a bridge that was last constructed, we last saw construction workers and about 2016, _ construction workers and about 2016, they said had this bridge been _ 2016, they said had this bridge been standing, that people who would _ been standing, that people who would not have to come out and it would — would not have to come out and it would have been spared. they also told — it would have been spared. they also told us how they physically had to go out into the community and try and locate _ the community and try and locate people who had been washed _ locate people who had been washed away further upstream, and their— washed away further upstream, and their bodies were found here — and their bodies were found here. they told us that, a week end, _ here. they told us that, a week end. no— here. they told us that, a week end. no one _ here. they told us that, a week end, no one from the government has come — end, no one from the government has come on the one from any sort _ has come on the one from any sort of— has come on the one from any sort of rescue effort has visited _ sort of rescue effort has visited this area. he is saying that officials here _ he is saying that officials here have come and made numerous promises to the people of this— numerous promises to the people of this village to try and rebuild _ of this village to try and rebuild this bridge that is decades old, and so far nothing has happened, and he said they are the — has happened, and he said they are the sort of community that gets— are the sort of community that gets up— are the sort of community that gets up and try to do things for themselves. they told me that— for themselves. they told me that they— for themselves. they told me that they realise how dangerous this task— that they realise how dangerous this task is put on the other side — this task is put on the other side of— this task is put on the other side of it— this task is put on the other side of it there are communities who are isolated. there — communities who are isolated. there aren't any shops there and — there aren't any shops there and this— there aren't any shops there and this is— there aren't any shops there and this is the only route that would — and this is the only route that would make them possible to get to either— would make them possible to get to either hospitals or even shops, _ to either hospitals or even shops, so it is a matter, he says. — shops, so it is a matter, he says. it _ shops, so it is a matter, he says. it is _ shops, so it is a matter, he says, it is deciding between letting _ says, it is deciding between letting people on the other side — letting people on the other side starve or doing what they can to — side starve or doing what they can to try— side starve or doing what they can to try and help them. prince harry has hailed the courage of the ukrainian national team at the invictus games, the international sporting event for injured servicemen, women, and veterans. he was speaking to the bbc as the competition continues in the hague. from there, our correspondent anna holligan reports. each competitor bears the scars of conflict. for many who thought they wouldn't make it, sport has provided a lifeline. in an interview with the bbc, prince harry highlighted how far the ukrainians had come. i think what people need to remember, or perhaps don't even know yet, is a vast majority of the ukraine team were serving, in some shape orform. so they removed their uniforms, put their team strips on, jumped on the coach, came over here, slept for a couple days, tried to decompress and then were straight into it. and then they've got to go back. so, i think to have them here is extraordinary. their presence has added poignancy. many will be returning to the battlefield. translation: we don't have another choice. - it's simply the question of survival of our nation and our people. all of us must fight. 0ur government decided we should be here, despite the difficult situation, and talk to the world, show that we are getting killed, but we are fighting and staying alive. his attitude embodies the spirit of these games, but there is a focus here, too, on repairing lives. invictus athletes are encouraged to bring the people who have been part of their journey to recovery. there's a real family vibe here inside the invictus park. these games are partly designed to recognise and celebrate the vital role that families play as support structures, helping wounded soldiers to rebuild their lives. and this is a mission the prince wants to extend even further, taking invictus into new territories. we're constantly inviting new nations. because this is about healing, and as the bigger teams, us and uk, perhaps decrease in number, it will provide an opportunity for more nations to come in, who desperately need this opportunity and this place to heal together. anna holligan, bbc news, in the hague. president biden has marked easter monday by taking part in the traditional easter egg roll event at the white house. he was accompanied by his wife, jill, and flanked by two easter bunnies, as he re—introduced the event for the first time since the pandemic. the easter egg roll dates back to the 19th century, and features hundreds, or even thousands, of children who've been invited to search for treats in the grounds of the white house. you have been watching newsday. a reminder of our top story. russian forces have increased their bombardment of cities in eastern ukraine. experts say moscow appears to be trying to weaken ukraine's military facilities. ukraine's military facilities. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello. for those of you who have extended your easter break into this week, there is some good weather news in that there'll be a lot of dry weather around. admittedly, there will be some more showers, more especially during the next 24 hours. and as the week goes on, increasing breeze will turn eastern areas that bit cooler. 0ut there to start tuesday, a bit of a chilly start as it is. a touch of frost in places, particularly in southern scotland, across ireland and towards the borders of southeast wales and southwest midlands. a lot of cloud, though, across england to begin with, already producing one or two showers, a few lingering showers in the west from overnight. but through the day, the cloud starts to increase across parts of england into wales, and showers become a bit more abundant, some of those becoming heavy and thundery. showers throughout the day in the highlands of scotland, and whilst the odd one's possibly in northern ireland, southern and eastern scotland, there will be dry and sunny weather to come here, and much more sunshine in east anglia and the southeast later. temperatures down in recent days, but at levels we should be this stage in mid—april. so, some showers continue into the night, but notice how they're starting to track further westwards. a developing easterly breeze, most noticeable for england and wales. that could bring in some mist and low cloud toward some eastern coasts of northern england and east scotland, not only through the night, but into wednesday, where, again, we could start with a touch of frost in the north and the west. but for most on wednesday, actually a lot more sunshine around, away from those eastern coasts, a few showers dotted around in the west, but more of you will have a dry day. but with that east—to—southeasterly wind, you're going to notice temperatures along those coastal strips close to the north sea a good deal cooler than you've been used to. whereas, sheltered in the west, you're going to see temperatures climb up into the mid—teens, maybe high teens for one or two. so, a big east—west contrast, whereas across europe, it's a north—south contrast. who would've picked norway out for your easter break? 20 degrees in oslo on wednesday, compared to wet and windy conditions and rather cool conditions across eastern spain. spanish costas not looking great over the next few days, due to this area of low pressure. as that pushes its way in towards the mediterranean, high pressure expands across the north atlantic, iceland and scandinavia. we're going to drag in more of an easterly wind for us here in the uk. it does mean a lot of sunshine around for thursday, a bit of cloud building up through the day. an isolated shower can't be ruled out, but most places will be dry. still that east—west split, though, as i mentioned, with temperature conditions. but as we go through into the end of the week and the weekend, it does look like whilst many in the north will stay dry, increasing chance of some showers spreading out from the south. take care. this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories after this programme at the top of the hour. air raid siren wails it's been a relentless assault on ordinary lives. this is the neighbour, and that's where the bomb, or whatever it was. since the start of the war in ukraine, thousands of people have been killed... ..and millions have been forced to leave their homes,