of state — as her funeral takes place in washington. and a new report warns a fifth of all reptile species face extinction, including turtles, crocodiles and a number of venomous snakes. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. president putin has warned that russia will respond immediately to any country attempting to interfere in the war in ukraine. speaking to parliamentarians in st petersburg, mr putin said he had all the tools to respond and that he'd already chosen his likely approach. during the day, the european union accused moscow of economic blackmail and of escalating the war, by cutting off russian gas supplies to poland and bulgaria. our russia editor steve rosenberg reports. the venice of the north, they call it. it was peter the great who built st petersburg, to make russia look and feel european. today, though, the gulf between russia and europe is growing ever wider. in the st petersburg palace, the president... vladimir vladimirovich putin. ..vladimir putin was addressing lawmakers. from them, a sign of loyalty, the letter z, symbol of russia's offensive in ukraine. from him, a warning to ukraine's western allies. translation: if anyone from the outside intends to interfere in what's happening, then they should know this — if they create threats for us, threats of a strategic nature, our retaliation, our counter—strike, will be instantaneous. we have all the necessary instruments, ones that no—one else can boast of. all the decisions on this have already been taken. across town, another decision announced. state energy giant gazprom had shut off gas supplies to poland and bulgaria, an escalation condemned across europe. the european union has accused russia of using gas as an instrument of blackmail. it said that was unjustified and unacceptable. but russia is unrepentant. in fact, the speaker of parliament here said, "good, let's cut off the gas now to all countries "who are hostile to russia." talking of hostile... ..russia continued to attack ukraine. here, with cruise missiles. there are russians who oppose this operation, but public protest is dangerous. sasha skochilenko knows that. she has been charged with spreading fake news about the russian army. she is accused of replacing supermarket price tags with anti—war messages. for that, she faces up to ten years in prison. sonia, her partner, believes it is a case that says so much about russia. translation: what this tells us is that freedom of speech - in our country is being stamped out, political repression has got worse and that people who are against the war are being persecuted and put in prison. what those in power here demand is unflinching support for the offensive in ukraine and for russia's confrontation with the west. steve rosenberg, bbc news, st petersburg. the us has been watching the situation with russian natural gas supplies to europe closely and has accused moscow of using them as a weapon. here's white house spokespersonjen psaki. this is the type of step, the type of almost weaponising energy supplies that we had predicted that russia could take in this conflict. that is why we've been in touch with europe, with these countries, including over the last 2a hours, with leaders in poland and bulgaria. and we have been working, for some time now, for months, with partners around the world to diversify natural gas supply to europe, in anticipation of and also to address near—term needs and replace volumes that would otherwise have come from russia. that was jen's sake there, that wasjen�*s sake there, the white house ——jen psaki, white house spokesperson. earlier, iasked professor amy myers jaffe, an expert in global energy policy, how serious is the situation for european countries? i think the interesting first step is that both poland and bulgaria had their contracts with russia ending this year, and so they were preparing to go to zero russian gas anyway, so this is less pressing, i think, for those countries. they have alternatives and they are prepared. but as a signal to those who thought that energy might not be part of the escalation of the conflict, i think it was a very threatening day, showing that, you know, we're on that path where escalation is going to affect energy markets increasingly over time. professor, how much worse could it get? how serious are we taking the statement from president putin, in terms of other countries that could be affected? well, as you know, the united states has its own exports of natural gas that have been increasingly targeted to europe, and the biden administration had done a sort of fact—finding tour to figure out what countries might be able to, in asia and other locations, to divert cargo they were expecting back to europe. and so i do think there is a considerable volume of liquefied natural gas that can flow to europe. butjust to give you an order of magnitude, i mean, maybe europe buys about 150 or 155 billion cubic metres a year of natural gas in some form, pipeline or liquefied natural gas. and, you know, we're talking about the international market providing about a third of that. so there's a lot of other gaps that would have to be filled if we went to a full ban, either europe decided to just stop using russian gas or russia decided to cut europe off substantially, and i do think that the country probably most at risk are the two countries are germany and, to a lesser extent, slovakia. but germany, being the engine of economic activity for europe, faces some real uphill challenges if indeed the conflict were to extend to their energy supply. that was professor amy myers jaffe there, speaking to us a little earlier. britain's foreign secretary, liz truss, says russian forces must be pushed out of the whole of ukraine, in the clearest indication yet of the uk's aims for the conflict. she described a victory for ukraine as a strategic imperative for the west, and she said should more must be done to deter future russian aggression, by spending more on defence and excluding russia from western markets. we can't be complacent. the fate of ukraine hangs in the balance. but let's be clear. if putin succeeds, there will be untold further misery across europe and terrible consequences across the globe. we would never feel safe again. so we must be prepared for the long haul. we've got to double down on our support for ukraine and we must follow through on the unity that we've shown in the crisis. a ukrainian marine commander holed up inside the azovstal steel works in the besieged port city of mariupol has made another impassioned appealfor rescue. serhiy volyna says about 600 soldiers who have been resisting russian attack are badly injured. he said many civilians are trapped with them. translation: in our group, - there are more than 600 wounded people, with different levels of severity. they badly need medical help. here, there are no conditions, no medicine, no personnel who could help them. we have wounded civilians and we help them as much as we can. we have civilians here with us too. there are hundreds here, dozens of children, many people with disabilities and the elderly. the situation is very difficult. there are serious problems with water, food, various supplies, provision of troops, military equipment and weapons. the russian authorities have released a former us marine who was jailed in 2019 for allegedly assaulting police officers. trevor reed has been exchanged for konstantin yaroshenko, a russian pilotjailed on drug smuggling charges and is now on his way back to america. a us official said negotiations for the swap were not related to the war in ukraine. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the number of daily active facebook users grew to 1.96 billion in the first three months of the year, according to its parent company meta. but meta — which also owns instagram and whatsapp — still reported its slowest revenue growth in at least a decade. analysts say businesses are pulling back on advertising as they grapple with rising costs and economic uncertainty, stemming in part from the war in ukraine. donald trump has appealed against a ruling that held him in contempt of court forfailing to hand over documents demanded as part of an investigation into his business empire. on monday, a judge ordered the former president to pay a fine of $10,000 a day until he complied with the subpoena. a court in myanmar has sentenced aung san suu kyi, the country's deposed civilian leader, to five years injailfor corruption. she was accused of accepting bribes in cash and gold. ms suu kyi has described the allegations as absurd. the case was one of several brought against her, after she was forced from power by a military coup early last year. hundreds of trade unions in sri lanka have called for a nationwide daylong strike urging the government to resign following an unprecedented economic crisis. transport, health and banking sectors are expected to be affected due to the strike call. the government has been struggling to pay for imports due to dwindling foreign exchange reserves. the dj tim westwood has stepped down from presenting his capital xtra radio show "until further notice", following claims of sexual misconduct. the former radio 1 dj, who's 64, has strenuously denied allegations of predatory sexual behaviour and touching — allegations made by seven women. 0ur entertainment correspondent chi chi izundu reports. westwood! tim westwood has been at capital xtra since 2013, presenting a weekly saturday night rap show. but today his employers at global, who own capital xtra, confirmed he was to step down until further notice. it's after allegations from seven black women who've accused the dj of predatory sexual behaviour and touching in a joint investigation between the bbc and the guardian. nyla — it is not her real name — met the dj at a new year's day party in 2017. one of my friends and i were at the front, and he kind of shouts me out for being the pengest girl in the rave. i wasjust like, "um, 0k." but one of my other friends wants a video with him. but as she's taking this video, he essentially moves his hand down my back and puts his hand up the back of my skirt. i step back because i'm a bit shocked from it, and i didn't really expect it to happen, but ijust felt kind of, like, objectified, really. tim westwood worked at bbc radio 1 for nearly 20 years, but speaking at a conference this morning, the director—general of the corporation said he was shocked by the allegations and urged anyone with a complaint to come forward. the testimony of the women is powerful and appalling. and, by the way, i would note the bbc... i credit the bbc and guardian teams for going after the story, by the way. i think that's absolutely what we should be doing. westwood, we know what we doing here. two nightclub appearances in birmingham and bognor regis have also been cancelled, but the 64—year—old has denied the serious allegations in their entirety and says he has not acted in the manner described. chi chi izundu, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we'll tell you why a fifth of all reptiles are now facing extinction and which ones are on the endangered list. nothing, it seemed, was too big to withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government help to build better housing. internationally, there have already been protests. sweden says it received no warning of the accident. indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. only when radioactivity levels began to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war for them. they've taken the capital, which they've been fighting for for so long. it was 7.00 in the morning. on the day when power began to pass from the minority- to the majority, when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony. - this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines: president putin cuts gas supplies and declares that russia will respond immediately to any country attempting to interfere in ukraine. a desperate appeal from those trapped inside a steel works in the city of mariupol — a ukrainian commander warns people will die if they're not rescued. let's turn to the uk now. the british conservative party is looking into claims that one of their mps was seen watching pornography on his mobile phone in the house of commons. it's understood that concerns were raised by a minister at a meeting of conservative mps last night. 0ur political correspondent ione wells has the details. these allegations were raised last night in a meeting between female conservative mps and the government's chief whip, who's essentially in charge of tory party discipline. 0ne female minister said that a tory mp had been spotted watching pornography in the house of commons chamber, and this account was corroborated by another mp in that meeting. and these claims have been met with horror, really. the tory mp pauline latham said that colleagues left that meeting shell—shocked. and she and opposition parties have said that if the culprit is found, then he should lose hisjob. now, the chief whip has said that anybody who witnessed this should refer it to parliament's independent complaints scheme and that on the conclusion of any investigation, he would take appropriate action, but these investigations can take month, sometimes even years to conclude. and there's also pressure, really, to tackle the wider issue of sexism in westminster at the moment, with reports that dozens of mps are facing sexual misconduct complaints and also mps of all stripes this week condemning an article in the mail on sunday where some tory mps were quoted saying that the deputy labour leader angela rayner distracted the prime minister by crossing and uncrossing her legs. now, this is certainly not the first time that conversations about sexism and sexual misconduct have been raised in westminster, and there is widespread frustration at the moment from mps and their staff members that we're still having these conversations in 2022. ione wells reporting on the story for us. in recent weeks, north korea has caused alarm by showing off its range of powerful weapons. on monday, the country's leader kim jong—un gave a defiant speech at a military parade, vowing to ramp up the country's nuclear arsenal. at that same parade, there were banned weapons on display. and in march, north korea tested its largest—known intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time since 2017. i'm joined now byjay song, associate professor in korean studies at the university of melbourne. it's great to get you on the programme, professor. ijust went to start by asking you, how seriously should we view these latest comments from jim john kuhn that were made at that military parade? == john kuhn that were made at that military parade?- that military parade? -- kim jong-un? — that military parade? -- kim jong-un? first, _ that military parade? -- kim jong-un? first, it— that military parade? -- kim jong-un? first, it was - jong—un? first, it was announced after the day of the sun on the 15th of april, followed by the 19th anniversary of the military foundation in april, so kim jong—un had to send a strong message to his people on this special day. the second, also kim and's strong message was in response to the latest south korean president's earlier mention of the preemptive strike against pyongyang, and lastly it was also get the attention from the international community, especially the biden administration, whose eyes are all on ukraine.— all on ukraine. yeah, exactly. in terms _ all on ukraine. yeah, exactly. in terms of— all on ukraine. yeah, exactly. in terms of the _ all on ukraine. yeah, exactly. in terms of the fact _ all on ukraine. yeah, exactly. in terms of the fact that - all on ukraine. yeah, exactly. in terms of the fact that the l in terms of the fact that the west is now preoccupied with that war in ukraine, how should the international community respond to what kim jong—un is saying and the types of weapons that are now being shown at these military parades that are being developed?— being developed? yeah, i see two types _ being developed? yeah, i see two types of _ being developed? yeah, i see two types of responses - being developed? yeah, i see two types of responses to - being developed? yeah, i see l two types of responses to north korea's latest statement. 0ne korea's latest statement. one is exacerbating the north korean threat. this is especially from north american analysts. but for most people living on the korean peninsula, the war is ongoing, and remember the korean war never ended with a peace treaty, it ended with a peace treaty, it ended with a cease—fire in 1953, and it was an armistice between north korea, china, on one side, and the un and basically the us on the other. and since then, the two koreas are divided, so north korea wants to remind us of that and it is... the second type of reaction is no surprise —, down. north korea cannot start a nuclear war and it wants do it, so they are just dropping in a let's talk. that's the second reaction, from the chinese and south korea, the current administration. professor, this inter—credential ballistic missile that north korea tested in march for the first time since 2017, just briefly, talk us through the capabilities of dismissal. us through the capabilities of dismissal-— dismissal. yeah, the weapon anal sts dismissal. yeah, the weapon analysts are divided. - dismissal. yeah, the weapon analysts are divided. and - dismissal. yeah, the weapon analysts are divided. and it l dismissal. yeah, the weapon | analysts are divided. and it is the right time for this time of posturing, after the special day. the country is in a crisis, but in terms of the weapons, i am crisis, but in terms of the weapons, iam not crisis, but in terms of the weapons, i am not sure if they are confident to do another test, it does not seem to be ready now. we have seen from other cases in the us and the former soviet union and china, the icbm requires at least 12 tests, but it does not seem that kim's confidence to other tests yet. that is why, instead of these big missiles and the military foundation day, we saw instead a grand gifting to his core supporters, by giving them luxurious flats and expensive gifts, to appease them, basically. gifts, to appease them, basically-— gifts, to appease them, basicall. ., ~ basically. ic. jay song, thank ou so basically. ic. jay song, thank you so much _ basically. ic. jay song, thank you so much for— basically. ic. jay song, thank you so much forjoining - basically. ic. jay song, thank you so much forjoining us i basically. ic. jay song, thank| you so much forjoining us on newsday —— i see. america's political elite have been paying tribute to former secretary of state madeleine albright at herfuneral service in washington. ms albright died last month, aged 84, having become the first woman ever to hold that office. among those in attendance at the national cathedral, bill and hillary clinton and president biden. her name is still synonymous with america as a force for good in the world. madeleine never minced words or wasted time when she saw something needed fixing or someone who needed helping. she just got to work. also among those paying tribute — hillary clinton, the third woman to serve as us secretary of state. she talked about their friendship. she didn'tjust help other women, she spent her entire life counselling and cajoling, inspiring and lifting up so many of us who are here today. so the angels better be wearing their best pins. and putting on their dancing shoes because if, as madeleine believed, there is a special place in hell for women who don't support other women, they haven't seen anyone like her yet. a study published in the science journal nature today says 21% — over a fifth — of all reptile species face extinction. hundreds of scientists from all over the world have spent the past 15 years cataloguing reptiles according to the criteria for the international red list of endangered species. here's zoologist bruce young, one of the report authors. we found that over 1,800 species of reptiles are at risk. you can find threatened reptiles around the world. reptiles include snakes, lizards, legless lizards, turtles, crocodiles. all of those make up the group of reptiles. so in the world, there's over 10,000 species. we assessed every single one and unfortunately found out that such a large number of species are threatened. we knew that reptiles were probably threatened. we didn't know exactly how much. the main thing that came out that was of great interest to us is that the same kinds of things that threaten reptiles also threaten other species — birds, mammals, amphibians — so you don't need rocket science to figure out how to protect reptiles. it's the same things we know we can do. we have those solutions. we just have to go about and actually implement them. that was bruce young there on reptiles at risk. and just to say, the reptiles that are at risk are crocodiles, which are often killed for their meat, turtles as well, which are targeted by the pet trade and used for traditional addison. also, the fearsome king cobra. that's it from us. thanks so much for watching. to stay with bbc news —— traditional medicine. hello again. many parts of scotland, northern ireland, western england and wales had some decent spells of sunshine, but across central and eastern england, we had some of this cloud yesterday. this is called stratocumulus. now, through the afternoon in hastings, that cloud began to break up. and because it's a thin cloud, it's only 200—300 metres thick, above that, you've got clear blue sunny skies. and once it starts to go, it can go very, very quickly, so it was a lovely end to the day here. now, i'm telling you about that because that's what this type of cloud is running in off the north sea, affecting parts of eastern england and the midlands at the moment. now, that is going to be prone to thinning and breaking up a bit more, i think, as we go through thursday. but with clearer skies out towards the west, it's cold at the moment. we've got some frost to watch out for heading into the first part of the morning. now, across southern england, a better chance of seeing some sunshine. should have some sunshine as well across much of the northwest of the uk. and i suspect this cloud will tend to get eroded, so the areas that are most likely to keep it into the afternoon, well, probably east midlands, lincolnshire, norfolk and suffolk. but otherwise, i think most of you will see some sunshine. dry for many, an odd shower for northern scotland, an odd shower in southwest england, but in the best of the sunshine, we're looking at highs up to 16 degrees. it's a similar kind of day, really, on friday. again, we start off with some of that patchy cloud coming in off the north sea, but many of us, it's a dry day, again with some spells of sunshine and starting to turn just a little bit warmer as well — 17 the top temperature in cardiff and glasgow as well. after this lengthy spell of dry weather caused by this high pressure, we're actually going to see some changes into the weekend. it starts to weaken, to allow this weather front to move in from the north and west. so saturday, although england and wales is looking at another fine day with some further spells of sunshine, much thicker cloud than we've seen all week will be heading into scotland and northern ireland, with outbreaks of rain especially through the afternoon, the rain turning heavier and steadierfor a time. temperatures, though, out of the rain still around 15 or 16 celsius, which will feel pleasant given the light winds. through saturday night and into sunday, the rain moves southwards across england and wales. but as it does so, it will weaken, so it will turn lighter and patchier. temperatures on sunday should reach a high of around 1a or 15 celsius, with the best of the drier and brighter weather in scotland and northern ireland. this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. workers across much of the industrialised world have been hit by a triple whammy, inflation is outpacing their wages, the gig economy is undermining job security and intelligent technology promises to transform the world of work. how should employees respond? well, my guest is frances 0'grady, they general secretary