as steve rosenberg hasjust in russian domestic terms. as steve rosenberg has just said, in russian domestic terms. as steve rosenberg hasjust said, it is in russian domestic terms. as steve rosenberg has just said, it is there recalling their victory over nazi germany and putin, as steve rosenberg also said, will be using it to enforce the commitment to dealing with what he describes as nazis in current ukraine. that's without doubt. there will be interesting features on the side which it's worth looking out for. putin will deliver a speech. i have sat there as he's delivered such speeches in the past. he's always been coherent, cold, knowing the message he wants to deliver. there are signs that he has become less connected and coherent overreach and decision—making in russia in that way and it will be worth watching how structured or unstructured what he has to say is. secondly it's worth looking at the kit that they roll across red square. how much of it is nuclear capable. there is a signal there one way or another. thirdly, people

steve rosenberg asked him if his colleagues at the foreign ministry shared his views. >> most people are following the propaganda and what they are told. when you work in the ministries, you work in the hierarchy and must obey what your superiors tell you. for many years, a political approach has been erased from the ministry, mostly. >> more from steve rosenberg in moscow. steve: bondarev is not the most senior official at the russian mission in geneva, but still, he is on the diplomatic staff. this is an embarrassment. he admits most officials in the government ministry support the government on special military operations. i do not think russian authities will be too bothered by this resignation. >> now, some comments made by joe biden. he is in japan visiting region allies. here he is with the japanese prime minter, but his comments are about taiwan. taiwan is off the coast of mainland china and behaves like an independent state, but beijing sees it part of china china once to reunited with the mainland -- china wants to reunite it with the mainland, if necessary by force. >> are

laura: steve rosenberg reporting from moscow. to find out how ukraine's leaders are responding to the eu's embargo on russian oil, i spoke to the bbc's james waterhouse, who's in key -- kyiv. the eu is trying to nish russia for this embargo, but what's the reaction in ukraine? james: president zelenskyy is not impressed. he has described the package, the six rounds of sanctions from the eu, as too little, too late. the government of kyiv has been calling for immediate and severe sanctions from as far back as january where pressure was building its troops along the border. the west kept saying, it's in response to something. that something has truly happens. that said, this is a sizable intervention. locking two thirds of imported russian oil is a big deal, that it is a concession. hungary was a main opponent, hugely reliant on russian energy. it's also an ally to the kremlin and is what kyiv long wanted, a blanket and to try to curve the russian dominance we are seeing in the east. it still sizable, it will directly affect the ru

steve rosenberg is moscow. >> ukraine and russia together produce almost one third of the world's wheat and barley at half of its sunflower oil. the war is having a big impact on food exports. the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken accused the -- accused russia of holding the world food supply hostage. 20 milli tons of grain exportedk in ukraine. mr. blinken says moscow's war was worsening the greatest of global food security crisis of our time. his comments follow a warning from the united nations that the content -- conflict could lead to years of mass hunger in poor countries. odessa are contact caroline davies is in this report. >> ukraine's wheat help feed the world but it is beyond reach. because of issues transporting it out of the country no one wants to buy it. >> we would like to be helped to sell this grain at any price as long as people do not go hungry. i think all western countries should help us. you need to bang your fist on the table and open ukrainian ports and stop the russian invasion and take out this rain. >> how do you feel knowing there are many people around

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. ukraine and western nations have dismissed president putin's attempt to justify his invasion of ukraine. the us called the claim absurd. in the meantime, the regional military administration in luhansk in eastern ukraine says heavy fighting is continuing as russia tries to press westwards. the local leader said there were serious battles taking place around rubizhna and bilohorivka. he said russians force had built a pontoon across the siver—skyi donets river and warned that if they gained a foothold they could potentially cut the luhansk region off from the rest of ukraine. live now to washington, where the bells of the national cathedral are being rung to commemorate a million american victims of covid—19. the bells will ring 1,000 times. the us centers for disease control estimates that 58% of the country's population has been infected with coronavirus since the start of the pandemic in 2020. more than two thirds of the population is now fully vaccinated. let's take a look at s

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. the speaker of the us house of representatives, nancy pelosi, has warned that american lawmakers won't agree to a free trade deal between the us and the uk if the british government goes ahead with plans to amend the northern ireland protocol which was agreed as part of the brexit deal with europe. in a strongly worded statement, ms pelosi expressed deep concern over british plans to override parts of the deal with the european union over northern ireland. 0ur north america correspondent david willis is in los angeles. the darkly did nancy pelosi say? it is as you say a strongly worded statement from i strongly worded statement from i of america's most powerful politicians, the speaker of the house of representatives, nancy pelosi. warning britain that any amendments to the northern ireland protocol could jeopardise lawmakers signing off on a uk — us free trade agreement. such an agreement has been much sought after by the british government of course and was touted as i of the main

our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports now from moscow. it is the annual pomp to showcase russian power. across red square they marched, thousands of soldiers, in a parade marking a glorious victory — the defeat of nazi germany. upbeat marching band music. but today there is no peace. vladimir putin has invaded ukraine. back from there, parading too, paratroopers — who moscow says took part in the russian offensive. a war of conquest, says the west. the kremlin disagrees. translation: the defence of our motherland, when its destiny - was at stake, has always been sacred. as in the past, you, our soldiers, are today fighting for our people in donbas, for the security of our motherland, for russia. on display — lots of firepower. and yet in ukraine, moscow has suffered military setbacks. what russia does next isn't clear. you can march thousands of soldiers across red square, you can parade your very latest military hardware. but that does not automatically make you an internationally recognised superpower. the point is that the kremli

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. to the philippines now, and the two leading contenders for the presidency have cast their ballots with heightened security across the country on election day. the frontrunner, ferdinand marcos junior, son of the former dictator, voted in his hometown in ilocos norte province in the north of the country. the outgoing vice president, leni robredo, a vocal critic of retiring president rodrigo duterte, is mr marcos' only serious rival among eight other candidates. earlier, i asked journalist ashley westerman in manila what was voter turnout looking like. so from what i'm seeing online and on twitter, you know, turnout is crazy, the lines are super long, the schools were open early. the commission on elections expects voter turnout to be 80%, which is very high. it was 80% in the last election in 2016. and another sort of really interesting thing about this election, rich, is that there are more eligible voters than ever — 67.5 million filipinos are eligible to vote this year, and more t

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. as russians prepared for victory day, the us first lady, jill biden, made an unannounced visit to western ukraine. outside a school that's become a temporary shelter, not far from the border with slovakia, she met president volodymr zelensky�*s wife 0lena, in herfirst public outing, since russia's invasion back in february. there is mounting speculation that vladimir putin may use tomorrow's victory day celebrations, to announce an escalation of the war here, allowing for a general mobilisation of more russian troops to try to win. the kremlin denies this, but what isn't in doubt, is that mr putin had hoped to be able to declare victory in ukraine by may 9th, and that is a task far from accomplished. if anything, russia is going backwards in this war, early territorial gains are evaporating, his army is bogged down in the east, and ukrainian resistance has won admiration around the world. a russian victory is now not even assured, for next year's victory day. that's it from me and t

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. ukraine's president zelensky, has released his own video message, commemorating the victory over nazi germany, saying his country will win its war with russia. much of the fighting is taking place in the east and south of the country. but, despite the attacks, the russian offensive overrall, appears to have stalled in the east, with reports of heavy losses. the bbc s andrew harding has sent us this report from eastern ukraine and a warning, it contains pictures you may find distressing. a quiet village in the donbas is saying farewell to ivan naduti. killed by a scrap of russian shrapnel. the 30—year—old builder volunteered to fight the day after putin's invasion. his wife begged him not to go. now his father is lost in grief. but something else is stirring in this village and across this region. a burning sense of defiance. "he was defending freedom for every one of us," says a village elder, his lip trembling. "glory to our heroes." a lonely ukrainian warplane thunders overhead.

our russian editor, steve rosenberg. let's take a look at the other main stories this hour. rescue workers in iran say that dozens of people are still trapped in the rubble of a ten—storey building that collapsed in the city of abadan. at least six people have been killed, and more than 25 people injured. the reason for the collapse is under investigation, while the tower block's owner and contractor have been arrested. the united nations has described the russian the world health organization does not believe the outbreak of monkeypox requires mass imagination. a senior official said the primary and were contact tracing, isolation and safe sexual behaviour —— requires mass isolation. sri lanka's inflation has hit a record high for the seventh month in a row. it rose 336%. sri lankans of rubble to afford basic supplies —— struggle to afford —— 33.6%. their international... there is yet another twist in the party controversy. as new photographs have emerged of borisjohnson drinking at a gathering in downing street during a coronavirus lockdown. the images, obtai

from moscow, our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports. this time of year, the traffic in moscow gets rather heavy. it's the final practice for the annual military parade. victory day marks the defeat of hitler's germany. but this year, putin's russia on the offensive. rehearsing on red square what moscow says are paratroopers back from ukraine. russia's invasion there is been presented here is another glorious presented here as another glorious chapter in russia's history. and so, you get this. in the run—up to victory day, across russia, organised displays of the letter z, the symbol of russia's offensive in ukraine, from schools... ..to stallions. at this sports festival outside moscow, we found lots of zs. patriotic pe to support the army. many here believe the kremlin's parallel reality, which portrays russia as a victim, not the aggressor. "nato's pressuring us," says natalia. "we'll fight to the end." "they have risen from hell to destroy us," natasha says, "the fascists, the americans, everyone who is against russians." but it wa

that was our russian editor steve rosenberg speaking to boris bondarev in an exclusive interview. it's democracies versus autocracies. that is how president biden characterised the status of the so—called quad countries, compared to the likes of russia and china, in his opening comments in tokyo. the quad is made up of australia, japan, india, as well as the us. ahead of the meeting, they all reaffirmed their commitment to the alliance. my government is committed to working with your countries, and we are committed to the quad. the new australian government's priorities align with the quad agenda. taking action on climate change and building a stronger and more resilient indo pacific region, through better economic security, better cyber security, better cyber security, better cyber security, better energy security, better energy security and better environmental and health security. 0ur cooperation is built on the values that we share, a commitment to representative democracy, the rule of law and the right to live in peace. i was once asked by the leader of china — i was once

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. the us senate has approved nearly $40 billion in aid to ukraine, the largest aid package since russia invaded. meanwhile, the secretary of state antony blinken is warning the world is facing the "greatest global food security crisis of our time", as more than 20 million tons of grain is piled up in ukraine because of the war. he's called on russia to allow ships to leave black sea ports, including the key city of 0desa, with food and fertiliser. 0ur correspondent caroline davies reports from 0desa. ukraine's wheat helps to feed the world, but while its black sea ports remain closed, much of it is beyond the world's reach. over 3,000 tons of grain fill yuriy�*s warehouse, but because of the issues transporting it out of the country, no—one wants to buy it. translation: idon't| know who in the world to ask for help. we would like to be helped to sell this grain at any price, as long as the people don't go hungry. i think that all western countries should help us. you need to bang yo

that was our russian editor steve rosenberg speaking to boris bondarev in an exclusive interview. president biden is currently in tokyo, holding a meeting with the so—called quad countries. in the last half hour, the us president took a family photo with the prime ministers of japan, india and australia. ahead of the meeting, they each gave a short statement. my government is committed to working with your countries, and we are committed to the quad. the new australian government's why it is aligned with the quad agenda —— priorities, aligning on climate change and building a stronger indo asian region through better economy, better cyber security, and better environmental and health security. 0ur cooperation is built on the values that we share. a commitment to representative democracy, the rule of law and the right to live in peace.— rule of law and the right to live in peace. prime minister kushida, _ live in peace. prime minister kushida, i— live in peace. prime minister kushida, i want _ live in peace. prime minister kushida, i want to _ live in peace. prime ministe

steve rosenberg, bbc news, russia. the oscar—winning american actor kevin spacey is facing five charges of sexual offences against three men in the uk. our special correspondent lucy manning joins me now. prosecutors announced this afternoon that they would charge the actor, i can break their charges down for you. he is facing gym counts of sexual assault from one man who is now in his 40s, the allegations are that assault happened in london in 2005, when that man was in his 20s. he is also facing two further charges from another man, another alleged victim, one of those is sexual assault in 2008, the other allegation is that he caused a person to engage in a penetrative sexual activity without consent. that is in the same year as well, and then the final charge is again of sexual assault against another man who is now in his 30s. that was in 2013 in gloucestershire, so the allegations have been made. he was, kevin spacey, during that period of eight years the artistic director at the old vic theatre in london. he ha

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. at the cannes film festival — tom cruise has been the great composer has died at the great composer has died at the age of 79 —— vangelis. he is composed one of the best known film scores and won an oscar for the soundtrack in 1981. he also wrote music for many otherfilms, including many other films, including blade many otherfilms, including blade runner. david cilento looks back. chariots of fire theme music. chariots of fire, 1981, a soundtrack that was both an oscar winner and a number one single. the work of evangelos 0dysseas papathanassiou, better known as vangelis. he had started playing piano when he was four and in the �*60s, aged 25, teamed up with a young demis roussos to form aphrodite's child. a life of writing commercial hits for his band was not what he wanted. in a studio in london, he spent hours alone, exploring the possibilities have been emerging new musical technology, the synthesiser. this led to a successful partnership with the singer... his most natur

she spoke to our russia editor steve rosenberg. this is how moscow portrays its soldiers in ukraine — as professionals. but away from the official images, some here tell a different story. marina — not her real name — has agreed to tell me her story. two of her sons are conscripts. the kremlin promised that conscripts wouldn't be sent to ukraine, but her sons were deployed close to the border. when russia invaded, she lost contact with them. translation: for me, time stopped. - i couldn't eat, i couldn't drink. i messaged mothers of other conscripts from the same unit. many of them had lost contact with their children too. i got into the car and started searching for my sons. on the phone, one of their commanders insisted they were on military exercises in the fields. i said, "i've driven round all the fields "where there are exercises, they are not there. "please don't lie to me." he hung up. fearing her sons were dead or injured, marina went to a military hospital. no sign. translation: there wasn't l enough medicine or ban

steve rosenberg, bbc news, russia. we can now speak to angela stent who's director of the center for eurasian, russian and east european studies at georgetown university. she is also the author of putin's world. thank you for making the time for us. president zelenskyy has pushed back against the west in the last few hours, especially after the former us secretary of state henry kissinger said that perhaps ukraine may want to seed similar to russia to put an end to the war. what's your response to those remarks? i read mr kissinger�*s remarks carefully and what he said was in the next two months there should be negotiations to go back to the status quo, and he. he didn't specify what that meant but presumably it meant to position that russia and ukraine were in on heather reid 23 before the invasion. at the beginning of this war, talansky himself said that he could envisage negotiation with rust donna crusher if they withdrew to where they were on 23 february but since then we've had the atrocities and bounedjah and

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. to the philippines now where polls have opened in the most divisive presidential election for many years. there are several candidates hoping to replace the current leader — the hardliner rodrigo duterte — butjust two clear frontrunners. leading in the polls is ferdinand �*bongbong' marcos, jr. he's the son of the former president, ferdinand marcos. critics say he's used his wealth to whitewash the history of his father's brutal dictatorship. bongbong marcos was also convicted in 1995 for tax evasion while serving as a public official. his running mate is sara duterte — the daughter of the current president. the main challenger to them is leni robredo. she is the current vice—president of the philippines. mrs robredo is a former lawyer and human rights advocate. her supporters include many celebrities and leading figures in philippines life. she's a member of the liberal party, which is traditionally connected with the richest families in the country. we're joined now by ash

she spoke to our russia editor steve rosenberg. this is how moscow portrays its soldiers in ukraine as professionals. but away from the official images, some here tell a different story. marina — not her real name — has agreed to tell me her story. two of her sons are conscripts. the kremlin promised that conscripts wouldn't be sent to ukraine, but her sons were deployed close to the border. when russia invaded, she lost contact with them. translation: for me, time stopped. - i couldn't eat, i couldn't drink. i messaged mothers of other conscripts from the same unit. many of them had lost contact with their children too. i got into the car and started searching for my sons. on the phone, one of their commanders insisted they were on military exercises in the fields. i said, i've driven round all the fields where there are exercises, they are not there. please don't lie to me. he hung up. fearing her sons were dead or injured, marina went to a military hospital. no sign. translation: there wasn't l enough medicine or bandages. l

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. let's look at the weather situation on the ground in ukraine itself. authorities in the southern ukrainian city of odesa say aircraft dropped seven missiles on a shopping centre and a warehouse on monday evening. the city's streets were empty because of a curfew. one person is believed to have died and five others injured and taken to hospital. officials say the missiles used were soviet—style, which caused extensive fires. let's speak to maria snegovaya who is a visiting fellow at george washington university. she's in washington. maria, thanks forjoining us. i am keen to get your understanding, if you like, of what vladimir putin has had to say and why he said what he has had to say and whether there is, in any way, within russia, i should say, a view that the invasion and intervention is backfiring?— invasion and intervention is backfirinu? ~ ., ., backfiring? well, indeed, ratio ”uzzlin backfiring? well, indeed, ratio puzzling military _ backfiring? well, indeed, ratio puzzl

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. back home now, and at high court coleen rooney's lawyer has accused rebekah vardy of being a "highly unreliable witness". it's the last day of the case where mrs vardy is suing mrs rooney for libel for alleging in an online post that she had leaked private stories to the sun, which mrs vardy denies. the judge will reserve her ruling on the case to a later date, as our correspondent colin paterson reports. rebekah vardy arriving in court for the final time, on her own, as her husband jamie vardy�*s team, leicester city, have a game tonight. for the first time the rooneys were not present, having booked a holiday, thinking the trial would be over — and were spotted at manchester airport. today, it was the closing arguments. the barrister of the defendant, coleen rooney, went first, saying that rebekah vardy regularly and frequently leaked stories to the sun, and if she approved or condoned the leaking of information through her agent, caroline watt, seen here on the left, then she w

our russia editor steve rosenberg spoke to mr bondarev on the phone in an exclusive interview. he not only resigned, but he basically stormed out. he launched a scathing assault on the kremlin, he issued a statement on social media he's never been so ashamed of his country, of the aggressive war unleashed by putin against ukraine, and against the entire western world. he said it was not only a crime against the ukrainian people, but also the people of russia. now, later i managed to get through to mr bondarev on the telephone and he told me more about why he decided to resign from the russian foreign ministry. i strongly disagree and disapprove of what my government is doing since february, and i don't want to be associated with it any longer. how difficult a decision was it? you know, it wasn't a decision like to do or not to do, it was just to do and when. so, i don't see any alternative. are you worried about your safety after taking such a decision? well, i think i might say so. how shocked where you buy what has happened after february the 24th by this offensive in ukraine

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. the us senate has approved nearly $40 billion in aid to ukraine — the largest aid package since russia invaded. meanwhile, the secretary of state antony blinken warned the world is facing the "greatest global food security crisis of our time", as more than 20 million tonnes of grain is piled up in ukraine, because of the war. he's called on russia to allow ships to leave black sea ports, including the key city of odesa, with food and fertiziler. our correspondent caroline davies reports from odesa. ukraine's wheat helps to feed the world, but while its black sea ports remain closed, much of it is beyond the world's reach. over 3,000 tons of grain fill yuriy�*s warehouse, but because of the issues transporting it out of the country, no—one wants to buy it. translation: | don't know - who in the world to ask for help. we would like to be helped to sell this grain at any price, as long as the people don't go hungry. i think that all western countries should help us. you need to ban

steve rosenberg, bbc news, russia. the american actor kevin spacey is facing five charges of sexual assault against three men. the allegations date back to when he was in the uk and relate to incidents in london and gloucestershire between 2005 and 2013. our special correspondent, lucy manning, has the latest details. he's facing two counts of sexual assault by one—man who is now in his 405. that man out in his 405, its alleged that those two counts of sexual assault are alleged to have taken place in london in 2005. another man has made in allegation, to allegations, one of sexual assault in london in 2008 and also in 2008 saying that the allegation is that kevin spacey caused a person to engage in sexual activity without the final is another man now in his 30s. another man now in his 30s. that's alleged to have happened in 2013 in gloucestershire. he was during that period of eight years the artistic director at the old thick theatre in london. he has in the past i was denied any allegations of sexual assault and w

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. ukraine�*s president zelensky has released his own video message commemorating the victory over nazi germany, saying his country will win its war with russia. much of the fighting here is taking place in the east and south of the country, with russia�*s defence ministry saying 200 targets have been hit today, mainly in the donbas region, the former industrial heartland that hugs the border with russia. but despite the attacks, the russian offensive overrall appears to have stalled in the east, with reports of heavy losses. the bbc�*s andrew harding has sent us this report from eastern ukraine, and a warning — it contains pictures you may find distressing. a quiet village in the donbas is saying farewell to ivan naduti. killed by a scrap of russian shrapnel. the 30—year—old builder volunteered to fight the day after putin�*s invasion. his wife begged him not to go. now his father is lost in grief. but something else is stirring in this village and across this region. a bu

from moscow, our russia editor steve rosenberg reports. tired and wounded. moscow released these images of ukrainian fighters leaving the steelworks they'd been defending in mariupol, giving themselves up to the russians. ukraine is hoping for a prisoner swap, but in russia there are calls to put some of the soldiers on trial for war crimes. they are killers, they are criminals, but we give them medical care. but your country invaded ukraine with more than 100,000 troops. that's aggression, isn't it? no, it's not an aggression. it's not an aggression. don't bully us. moscow tries to justify invading ukraine with a false claim — that it's gone in to fight nazis. a war crimes trial could shore up an unconvincing narrative. the kremlin wants russians to believe that in ukraine their army is battling nazis, and nato, europe and america were all plotting away to attack and destroy the motherland. and there are many here who believe this parallel reality. not everyone does. dmitry admits that his country, russia, is the aggressor. he is appalled by the bloodshed

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. authorities in the southern ukrainian city of odesa say aircraft dropped seven missiles on a shopping centre and a warehouse on monday evening. the city's streets were empty because of a curfew. one person is believed to have died and five others injured and taken to hospital. officials say the missiles used were �*soviet style', which caused extensive fires. i asked maria snegovaya, visiting fellow at george washington university, if she thinks that with people in russia this intervention, this invasion is backfiring. well, indeed, russia's military completely failed to achieve their original expectations that the kremlin built around it. a reminder that at first, putin planned to occupy ukraine, replace the government and install a russia—friendly regime. they failed completely with the first phase and probably will make it to the military books as one of the least successful military operations in the last century. now to their credit, they revised their goals and now they are

steve rosenberg, bbc news, russia. the american actor kevin spacey is facing five charges of sexual assault against three men. the allegations date back to when he was in the uk and relate to incidents in london and gloucestershire between 2005 and 2013. our special correspondent lucy manning has the latest details. he's facing two counts of sexual assault from one man who was now in his 40s. the allegations other that that sexual assault happen in london in 2005, so presumably when that man was in his 20s. he's also facing two further charges from another man, another alleged victim. one of those is sexual assault in 2008 in london, the other allegation is that he caused a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent, that is in the same year as well. and then the final charges again of sexual assault against another man who is now in his 30s. that was in 2013 in gloucestershire, so the allegations have been made. he was, kevin spacey, during that period of eight years, the artistic director at the

that was our russian editor steve rosenberg speaking to boris bondarev in an exclusive interview. in the uk, there's yet another twist in the so—called pa rtygate controversy, as new photographs have emerged of the prime minister, borisjohnson, drinking at a gathering in downing street during a coronavirus lockdown. the images, obtained by itv news, have sparked further accusations that the prime minister has been lying over his version of events, as our political editor chris mason reports. it's the 13th of november 2020, the country is in lockdown, and this is what was happening in downing street. look at these pictures, obtained by itv news. the prime minister raising a glass, holding forth, bottles littering a table as a senior colleague is given a send—off. and the rules at the time — no person may leave or be outside of the place where they are living without reasonable excuse. we now know there were two gatherings in number 10 that night. borisjohnson was asked about one of them in the commons six months ago. will the prime minister tell the house whether there was a

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. ukrainian western nations have dismissed food and's attempt and justifications for the invasion. in the meantime, the military organisation in luhansk says heavy fighting continues as russia tries to present to the west. local leaders said they were serious battles taking place around the business. there are warnings that if they gain a footfall they could cut the luhansk region from the rest of ukraine. meanwhile, the prime minister of sri lanka, mahinda rajapaksa, mahinda rajapa ksa, has resigned, faced with mass protests at the government's handling of the country's economic crisis. the island has been placed under curfew, after violent clashes between rajapa ksa supporters, and anti—government protesters in colombo. protests against soaring prices and energy shortages started last month, as our south asia correspondent rajini vaidnayathan reports. an island nation sinking fast. an explosion of anger after weeks of anti—government protests. as the two sides came face—to—fac

steve rosenberg, our russian editor. in news out of the uk, the british prime minister, borisjohnson, stands accused — again — of lying about events during lockdown in the uk. new images have emerged of the british prime minister drinking at a gathering in downing street on 13 november 2020. a week before the gathering, mrjohnson had banned all indoor socialising between different households, and he consistently declared that no rules had been broken in downing street. our political editor, chris mason, reports. it's the 13th of november 2020, the country is in lockdown, and this is what is happening in downing street. look at these pictures, obtained by itv news. the prime minister raising a glass, holding forth, bottles littering a table. as a senior colleague is given a sendoff. and the rules at the time — no person may leave or be outside of the place where they are living without reasonable excuse. we now know there were two gatherings in number ten that night. borisjohnson was asked about one of them in the c

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. laura: ukraine's president zelenskyy has released his own video message commemorating the victory over nazi gmany, saying his country will win its war with russia. much of the fighting inside ukraine is in the east and south of the country with russia's defense ministry saying 200 targets have been hit today. the former industrial heartland that hugs the border with russia. despite the attacks, the russian offensive overall does appear to have stalled in the east with reports of heavy losses. andrew harding has sent this report from eastern ukraine. it contains pictures you may find distressing. andrew: a quiet village in the donbass is saying farewell to ivan, killed by a scrap of russian shrapnel. the 30-year-old builder volunteered to fight the day after putin's invasion. his wife begged him not to go. now his father is lost in grief. but something else is stirring in this village and across this region, a burning sense of defiance. he was defending freedom for every one of us, say

here's an assessment of what the ambassador had to say from our russia editor, steve rosenberg. what the ambassador said there, we've been hearing for years from russian officials. whenever their country is accused of anything all accusations are rebuffed, all evidence of a russian complicity is dismissed, and what you end up with is this parallel reality in which, for example, cctv footage of russian soldiers shooting dead an armed ukrainian dead unarmed ukrainian civilians is dismissed as — what did the ambassador call it? ajoke, a game, a computer game. where the horrors of bucha are dismissed as a fabrication and where the levelling of mariupol, this extensive damage to residential areas, is sort of brushed aside as either collateral damage or blamed on ukrainian soldiers. in other words, none of this is ever russia's fault. everyone is against russia, everyone is blaming russia, everyone is accusing russia. russia is the innocent party. this is the kremlin narrative which we've heard many times before. we heard it after the salisbury poisonings, we heard it after the atte

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. the view from the cobbled streets of red square. ukraine's president zelensky here has released his own video message commemorating the victory over nazi germany, saying his country will win its war with russia. much of the fighting here, is taking place in the east and south of the country, with russia's defence ministry, saying 200 targets have been hit today, mainly in the donbas region, the former industrial heartland, that hugs the border with russia. but, despite the attacks, the russian offensive overall, appears to have stalled in the east, with reports of heavy losses. the bbc�*s andrew harding, has sent us this report, from eastern ukraine and a warning, it contains pictures you may find distressing. a quiet village in the donbas is saying farewell to ivan naduti. killed by a scrap of russian shrapnel. the 30—year—old builder volunteered to fight the day after putin's invasion. his wife begged him not to go. now his father is lost in grief. but something else is stirring in this village and across this region. a burn

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. ukraine's president zelensky has released his own video message, commemorating the victory over nazi germany, saying his country will win its war with russia. much of the fighting is taking place in the east and south of the country, with russia's defence ministry, saying 200 targets have been hit today, mainly in the donbas region, the former industrial heartland, that hugs the border with russia. but, despite the attacks, the russian offensive overrall, appears to have stalled in the east, with reports of heavy losses. the bbc�*s andrew harding, has sent us this report, from eastern ukraine and a warning, it contains pictures you may find distressing. a quiet village in the donbas is saying farewell to ivan naduti. killed by a scrap of russian shrapnel. the 30—year—old builder volunteered to fight the day after putin's invasion. his wife begged him not to go. now his father is lost in grief. but something else is stirring in this village and across this region. a burning sense

our russia editor steve rosenberg is in moscow. how significant is this? well, mcdonald's had temporarily closed its restaurants across russia backin closed its restaurants across russia back in march. that is when a lot of international companies and global brands had suspended their operations. the fact that mcdonald's has come out and said that as it, we are selling up, we are pulling out, i think that is recognition of the reality really. that things are not going to return to normal here. what the kremlin calls it special military operation, what most of the world calls russia's for, has changed things long time. mcdonald's issued a statement which said that owning a business in russia was no longer tenable or consistent with mcdonald's values. this really is the end of an era. i remember when the end of an era. i remember when the first mcdonald's restaurant openedin the first mcdonald's restaurant opened in russia way back in 1990, backin opened in russia way back in 1990, back in the ussr. there were such excitement, huge crowds and i had to queue

steve rosenberg reports. this time of year, the traffic in moscow gets rather heavy. it's the final practice for the annual military parade. victory day marks the defeat of hitler's germany. but this year, putin's rush is on the offensive. rehearsing on red square what moscow says our paratroopers back from ukraine. russia's invasion there is been presented here is another glorious chapter in russia's history. and so you get this. in the run—up to victory day, across russia, organised displays of the letter z, a symbol of russia's offensive in ukraine, from schools to stallions. at this sports festival outside moscow, we found lots of letters ats. patriotic pe to support the army. many here believe the kremlin's parallel reality which portrays russia as a victim, not the aggressor. nato's pressuring us, says natalia. "we will fight to the end." "they have risen from how to destroy us, the fascist, the americans, everyone who is against russians." she says. but it was president putin who started this by attacking ukraine. more than two months later, he appears farfro

here's steve rosenberg. we must keep in mind that boris bondarev is the most senior official, right, at the russian mission in geneva? he isa he is a counsellor but still he is on the diplomatic staff there, so this is an embarrassment. he admits that most officials in the foreign ministry support the government line on the special military operation, so i don't think the russian authorities will be too bothered by this resignation. now we're going to talk about some comments made by the us presidentjoe biden. he is injapan, on his first tour of asia as president, visiting regional allies. here he is with the japanese prime minister. and his comments are about taiwan. taiwan is a couple hundred kilometres off the coast of mainland china. the island behaves like an independent state, but beijing sees it as part of china. and china wants to re—unite it with the mainland, if necessary, by force. let's hear president biden�*s comments now. this was at a press conference. are you willing to get involved milit

steve rosenberg in moscow. here a police investigation is annoying after a three—year—old boy died following a suspected dog attack in mill road in greater manchester. our correspondent is at the scene. hello to you. this is a horrible story. than to you. this is a horrible story. an awful to you. this is a horrible story. in awful tragedy. and inventors we re were called to a farm down a lane to i am now yesterday lunchtime. what found them to call the police and the police came in. it taken to hospital but as a result of his injuries, he died shortly after arriving there. police say they are treating this as a criminal investigation. they see that there may have been other incidents in the past that they are investigating at the moment. they see the injuries that the little boy received it looked as if they were caused by a dog. down at the farm itself, there is a public pathway which leads through the middle of the farm and from that pathway you can see a forensic tent and you can see two clear plastic s

our russia editor steve rosenberg is in moscow and told us how significant this is. mcdonald's a temporarily shut its restaurants across russia back in march and that's where a lot of international companies and global brands had suspended their operations. the fact that mcdonald's has now come out and said, look, thatis has now come out and said, look, that is it, we are pulling out, i think that is recognition of the reality, really bad things are not going to return to normal here and with the crewmen because the kremlin calls special military operation, what most of the world calls russia's war has changed things. and owning a business in russia was no longer tenable or consistent with mcdonald's values. i remember the first mcdonald's restaurant was openedin first mcdonald's restaurant was opened in russia way back in 1990 backin opened in russia way back in 1990 back in the ussr, there was such excitement in huge crowds and add to queue for three hours to get an and i remember that day, american burgers and fries and pies, they really were a symbol that they of