from our correspondent. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news, it's newsday. this is bbc news, it's newsday. hello and welcome to newsday. it's seven in the morning in singapore, and 2am in the devastated ukranian city of mariupol where attempts to evacuate more civilians have stalled. officials say russia has ended a ceasefire and is blocking humanitarian corridors. hundreds of women and children are still trapped in bunkers beneath the city's huge steelworks. the azovstal plant is surrounded by russian troops. on sunday, about a hundred people were evacuated to nearby zaporizhzhia — from where our correspondent laura bicker reports. a short break to feel grass under theirfeet, after weeks of concrete. the survivors from mariupol are allowed a break in the long awaited journey away from the front line. for a month we are eating, over a0 of us, six food tins. we boiled two buckets of soup out of them and that was it for the whole day. there is no house any more. of course there isn't. this is mariupol after two months of war. homes, play parks and cafes are now child and blasted rulings. tens of thousands of people are thought to have died. many of the survivors came here, the azovstal steel plant. as the city fell, pounded into smouldering ashes, ukrainian fighters used the underground chambers to stay and fight. translation:. there were five very powerful bomb shelters that according to soviet standards at the time could withstand a direct nuclear strike. all people, if they were injured during the bombing, could come to us. we thought it was possible we would be shelled, but we did not expect such a genocide and such an inhumane war. for weeks, women and children lived in these maze—like tunnels. they use them as a refuge. appeals to get them out were ignored until now. yesterday, for the first time in more than 60 days, they clambered out of their dark refuge and were led through the rubble out of what many had described as hell. this is where they will come. others have made it out of mariupol today after scrambling for parts to rebuild their wrecked car. daniel was living on a tug boat. translation:. we were bringing food from the tug boat. the russians had been assaulting people for ten days and we had been sheltering. we couldn't even raise our heads. it was scary to be there. after days of terror and chaos, there is help, but the lives and city each one of these people once knew is now gone. mariupol officials told us that russia had bombed not long after civilians left. it's not clear what the holdup is ukrainian territory tomorrow. meanwhile, talks to get out the 700 people in that steel plant including we understand 20 children are continuing. but those negotiations are proving difficult. let's bring you some more of the latest developments on ukraine. the strategically important port city of odesa has been hit by another missile strike. details of injuries are still emerging, but the city council has confirmed a fifteen year old boy was killed. it's the second attack there in just a few days — on saturday authorities said the runway at odesa s airport had been targeted. european union energy ministers have held an emergency summit on whether to ban supplies from russia. they've held back from banning the purchase of oil and gas — but emphasised there would be sanctions on member nations who paid for russian natural gas in roubles. paying roubles through the conversion mechanism managed by the russian public authorities and a second dedicated account from gazprom bank is a violation of the sanctions and cannot be accepted. the member states, the company should not have any illusions gazprom and the russian regime in this matter. israel has summoned moscow's ambassador there for what it called "clarifications", after russia's foreign minister claimed that adolf hitler had "jewish blood". sergei lavrov made the comments on italian television, after being asked how russia could claim to be "denazifying" ukraine when president zelensky himself, isjewish. the european football governing body, uefa, has banned russia's national team and club sides from its competitions for next season. that extends the current ban, which affected this current season. uefa also said russia's bid to host the euro 2028 or the euro 2032 tournaments have also been declared in—eligible. much more on the war in ukraine on our website. our live page is constantly being updated — just log on to bbc.com/news — or download the bbc app. still to come a bit later in the programme... the first of our special reports on how china's belt and road initiative is starting to shape the way some countries in europe are thinking about theirfutures, but first... i want to tell you about how the authorities in beijing have closed restaurants to diners there, as part of new restrictions in the capital aimed at curbing a rise in covid—19. there have been a reported 58 new cases outside the areas under strict lockdown. our china correspondent stephen mcdonell has more. this is the restaurant district in the heart of old beijing where normally you can get a meal 2a hours a day. during the may day holiday you'd expected to be full of people gathering with friends and family to celebrate in the traditional chinese way but as you can see, it's not full here today. that's because all this week the restaurants of beijing have been ordered to close in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus. you can get take away and delivery services from these restaurants but you can't sit inside. it's an attempt by the government in beijing to avoid a full—blown citywide lockdown along the lines of what we've seen in shanghai with its food shortages, considerable hardship and a fair amount of discontent. this city has so far managed to escape the worst excesses of the coronavirus crisis. translation: because of the pandemic we can go . to lots of places. this holiday will abide by beijing's restrictions. i have no holiday plans, just go for a walk in places with few people. in beijing this week there are to be more rounds of mass pcr testing for tens of millions of residents. you have to use your phone app to show that you done these tests in order to go and access to public buildings even corner shops. live music venues and other places of entertainment have been restricted. in terms of lockdown, at the moment, they are being applied only to housing communities or neighbourhoods which already have clusters of cases. by getting in early with these measures china is hoping it doesn't have to shut down another one of its megacities with the pandemic really hammering the economy, hurting peoples livelihoods and causing a fair amount of social instability. now to alabama in the us — where police have issued an arrest warrant for a prison guard they believe may have helped an inmate facing a murder charge to escape. here they are — prison officer vicki white, on the left — and casey white — who's no relation on the right. he's a prisoner already serving 75 years, and she is what colleagues say is a model employee. the two were last seen leaving the jail on friday for what officials say was a fake medical apppointment. here's the lauderdale county sheriff speaking at a press conference. there is an active warrant out for miss white, obviously, for casey white, so we are in hopes we will get some much—needed breaks in the next few hours, a few days, that will help us locate them and get them back here and get casey white especially behind bars. as you have heard me say over and over, casey white is an extremely dangerous person and we need to get him located and get him off the street. let's get an idea of what people in the us think of this, here's ashley remkus, a journalist with al.com in florence, alabama. law enforcement, local law enforcement as well as state officials here are assisting in the search was share sherrif did tell us today the press conference that the authorities at the us canada border is law clinic as clinic as well as the mexico border have been notified of the search. she said that they were going to take him to the courthouse which is only about half a mile away from the jail here in florence for that mental health evaluation, it turns out there was no such court appearance. she also, according to the sheriffjoe people, other employees there at the jail that after she dropped him off at the courthouse she was going to be seeking medical attention because she was not feeling well. and the sheriff said they also determined there was no such medical appointment. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... a bbc special report on allegations that workers are being exploited by chinese companies operating in europe. i nelson rolihlahla mandella do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand, the tunnel is still not ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries christianity and islam struggled for supremacy now the popes visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister becamel the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes _ memories of victory as the ve celebrations reached their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore, our headlines. around one hundred civilians have been evacuated from mariupol�*s besieged steelworks — but ukraine accuses russian forces of blocking humanitarian corridors in the area. 130 thousand people remain trapped in the city. a special report for you now. as we've been reporting, the war in ukraine is forcing countries across europe to reconsider doing business with russia. the town is besieged on three sides by russian troops. most of the towns residents have fled, those are still there are living in desperate conditions under constant shelling. andrew harding sent this report. the russians are getting closer. their missiles landing to our left and right, as we take the last road into lysychansk. a farming town under siege. we're following a ukrainian army medic, pointing out the town's latest lacerations. look here. a bomb. he's taking us closer to the front lines, to a hidden base from where his teams scoop up casualties. yes, every day, it is blood, blood, blood, blood. the russians are making a big push now. yeah, yeah. very, very. you'd say the fighting's getting a lot worse now? yeah, very extreme, very extreme and very danger, very. the army have taken over the local hospital. a soldier is brought in by ambulance with a head wound. "his injuries are severe", says the medic. "there's not much hope for him." upstairs, a sombre silence on the wards. you can see here the impact of this intense russian bombardment, which we're still hearing outside now, in fact. room after room of young men with concussion. faces dazed and haunted. "i've got three young children," he says. "i wish the shelling would just stop. "we've all watched our brothers die in front of us." so, what do this town's torments tell us about the wider war in eastern ukraine? there are signs that russian troops are being methodical and therefore perhaps more effective in their offensive in this region. they're pushing slowly forwards against this town and a dozen others in the donbas region. but there's still no sign that the kremlin�*s forces are about to deliver some kind of knockout blow. even here, a few civilians cling on. these parents saying they can't afford to flee. and nine—year—old masha is trying to take it all in her stride. the sound of the bombs... speaking ukrainian. you're not scared? speaking ukrainian. she says, "because i'm the oldest girl, i'm not scared." good for you. inevitably, those left behind here have moved underground. this couple still wait for good news from their radio. speaking ukrainian. so, they're disagreeing here. she wants to go, but has no means of getting out. her husband wants to stay. she sobs. "have you seen what's happened here? "i don't know if we'll survive this," she says, voicing the fear that now hangs over this whole region. andrew harding, bbc news, lysychansk. a special report for you now. as we've been reporting, the war in ukraine is forcing countries across europe to reconsider doing business with russia. it comes at a time when moscow s most powerful ally, china, continues to expand its economic interests in european countries. but there are allegations of worker exploitation, environmental damage and so—called debt traps — where beijing has stepped in to lend billions of dollars. china denies the accusations and insists its a reliable partner and often offers investment where others are not willing. in the first of two special reports, our europe correspondent nick beake has been investigating key chinese projects in the balkans. it's an unmistakably chinese scene... ..from the workers to the offices. beijing is pouring money into this copper mine, hoping it's a golden gateway to further economic expansion. but this is not china — it's serbia, on the edge of the eu, where the red of the communist party is leaving its mark. translation: the chinese company treats us terribly. | we tracked down this vietnamese man, who said he'd paid the equivalent of £1,200 to come here for a constructionjob. translation: they forced us | to work more, but they did not provide enough supplies. there are 20 or 30 workers living together in each container. they treat us like slaves. after half a year, the father of three tried to leave but was stranded. shortly after we met, he did manage to return home — only after taking out a £1,500 loan. this is the linglong tyre factory where he worked. employment contracts we've seen appear to be copied and pasted from the middle east. if you're caught stealing, your hand is chopped off. if you were to murder someone, you're beheaded. this is the most visible case of labour exploitation we had in the country so far. human rights groups say it's a warning, as chinese business expands further into europe. if you're actually having chinese companies coming to other countries and not having institutions who are strong enough to prevent human rights violations or labour standards violations or any other violations, you will have probably the race to the bottom with other companies. from serbia to greece, inside the eu and one of its fastest growing economies. the tenderfrom the tender from the chinese state owned company was 20% cheaper than its nearest competitor. european rivals called to follow but couldn't stop the deal. croatia in all of the european countries face a delicate balancing act in dealing with beijing. concerns remain over alleged debt traps, cyber security, remain over alleged debt traps, cybersecurity, not remain over alleged debt traps, cyber security, not to mention human rights. but there is a general reluctance to side exclusively with the united states and to reject all future chinese investment and big infrastructure projects. this academic argues if europeans are smart and selective they can benefit from partnership with beijing. iii can benefit from partnership with beijing-— with bei'ing. if we exclude critical with beijing. if we exclude critical technology, - with beijing. if we exclude critical technology, if - with beijing. if we exclude critical technology, if we l critical technology, if we focus on railway, infrastructure projects, i don't think that there is much problem in satisfying both the eu, nato us and china. european countries are reassessing doing business with beijing. which is failed to condemn allied russia's attack on ukraine. it could mean europe watching more big chinese investment opportunities pass by. we will bring you next second report here on newsday at this time tomorrow. be sure to turn in to the programme for that report. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines — and prosecutors in the us state of georgia have begun selecting a grand jury to decide whether donald trump should face charges for allegedly trying to pressure officials to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election. mr trump lost the state to joe biden by a narrow margin — he then called georgia's secretary of state asking him to try to �*find the votes' he would have needed to win. the grand jury will not decide on guilt — simply on whether mr trump should face charges. he's not commented on this development, but has earlier described the phone call in question as "perfect." at least 350 people are understood to have been brought ashore in the uk after crossing the english channel in small boats, in the last two days. it's thought to be the first time crossings have been attempted in 11 days — though it's not clear if plans to process asylum seekers in rwanda or bad weather at sea was the cause of that temporary drop in activity. let's go somewhere where we don't often get to on newsday, much to my regret — the british virgin islands, a british overseas territory in the caribean made up of around 50 islands and a population of around 35,000 people. sounds idylic, but politically speaking, it's in turmoil. the country's premier, you may have seen, was arrested on friday at miami airport allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into america. andrew fahie was detained on drugs and money laundering charges by us agents who were posing as cocaine traffickers from a mexican drug cartel. the country has long faced accusations of corruption and dishonesty within govenrment, and the day after fahie's arrest, a report commisioned by the islands' governor said the territory should be returned to direct rule from london and its constitution suspended. from the british virgin islands, nomia iqbal reports. well, there were protests this morning where i'm standing, right outside the governor's house, of around about 200 people. and they were really angry. they showed up with signs saying "cooperate, don't dominate", "no uk colonial rule", "uk, look after yourself, deal with their own problems," that sort of thing. people are really angry about the idea, certainly the ones that were here this morning, of direct rule. when i put to them the results of this commission of inquiry, which basically said that there's a chronic failure of governance, just to quote the report, and basically everything that you need to make a government efficient is not happening here, they said we understand that, we understand there are problems here, but we don't think the uk taking direct rule is an answer. and they were outside the governor's house, as i say, as the uk delegation is inside meeting the governor, to make their feelings very clear. have a listen. so, why can we not be our authority on good governance and say we take your recommendations and we take your ci report and we see all the things that are wrong, and we are going to work here, the steps that we want to take to fix them ourselves before you come and tell us you're going to fix it for us. in britain, the number one reason for your brexit - was migration and immigration and not being able to be - controlled by germany and other eastern european countries. - here we are now with l the same predicament, facing the same challenges - and now you are telling us that you know what's best for us. it's wrong. that gives you a strength of the feeling here on the islands ceraintly by those protesters this morning. what happens next? well, this today is day one of three days of meetings with the uk delegation and also the acting premier, natalio wheatley, who's made it clear that he doesn't want uk rule. he wants the top job full—time. he wants mr fahie to resign. as of yet, though, there is no official decision on the future of the islands. that's all for now. stay with bbc world news. hello there. cloud was the main weather feature for many places on bank holiday monday, and we take lots of that cloud with us into tuesday. the cloud showing up here on our earlier satellite picture. it is low cloud. it's turning things quite misty and murky in places, and there are some weak frontal systems just providing enough impetus to give a little bit of rain and drizzle here and there. but a mostly cloudy start to tuesday, some spots of rain and drizzle around. and where things brighten up, perhaps most especially in southern england and wales, where we see some sunshine, we will also see some scattered heavy showers and the odd thunderstorm breaking out into the afternoon. many spots will stay quite cloudy. rather cool for some north sea coasts. ten degrees for aberdeen and newcastle, 16 for cardiff, 17 in london. and we see some showery rain into northern ireland through the afternoon. that will push across a good part of scotland through the evening, and then getting down into parts of england and wales through the early hours of wednesday. but the rain quite fragmented, quite hit and miss. there'll still be some lengthy dry spells, a mild start to wednesday morning. those outbreaks of rain brought about by this very weak frontal system. it's running into relatively high pressure, so that means it's certainly not going to be a wash—out. the rain very hit and miss, very sporadic. some showery bursts of rain tending to clear eastwards. then we'll see some sunshine on wednesday, some brighter skies generally, but quite a few showers, some of which will be heavy and thundery. it will be a warmer day, highs for many between 15—19 degrees. and that theme continues as we head towards the end of the week. high pressure building to the south, frontal systems running to the north—west of the uk and this broadly south—westerly flow of air bringing some rather warm conditions in our direction. so, thursday will stay like this. much of england and wales will be dry with some sunny spells and just the odd shower. northern ireland and scotland seeing more cloud and some splashes of rain at times, but not all the time. but the temperatures, 15 degrees there for glasgow, 16 for belfast, but 21 in london, maybe somewhere towards the south east getting to 22 degrees. now, on friday, there'll some warmth once again towards the south east of the uk. but this band of rain looks like it will make some progress southwards, and behind that, something just a little bit cooler and fresher. so, temperatures of 12 degrees for stornoway, but 20 the high in london. this is bbc news. we'll 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 from bratislava. i'm stephen sackur. the longer the ukraine war goes on, the higher the stakes become. slovakia is a front—line state, currently hosting tens of thousands of ukrainian refugees and funnelling weapons to kyiv. now vladimir putin has warned that outside interference could be met by lightning retaliation.