welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm monica miller. the headlines: britain's prime minister says he's "up for the fight" to bring in new legislation to prevent migrants crossing the channel. the un refugee agency says it will punish asylum seekers. people must know that if they come here illegally, it will result in the detention and swift removal. the white house says it supports a bipartisan bill in congress that will give president biden new powers to ban the chinese—owned app tiktok in the us. two of the four americans kidnapped in northern mexico on monday have been found dead,

refocusing attention on gang violence in the country. the romance scams that cost people thousands of dollars. the bbc speaks to former gang members. and ahead of the oscars this weekend, newsday speaks to domee shi, director of turning red, nominated for best animated movie. voice-over: voice—over: lives from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. the uk government has unveiled its plan to tackle illegal migration, aimed at stopping people crossing the english channel in small boats. the prime minster, rishi sunak, said the bill was "tough but necessary and fair." the un refugee agency says

the bill would deny protection to many asylum—seekers needing protection, calling it a breach of the un refugee convention, and undermining britain's humanitarian tradition. this report from our political editor, chris mason. it's half—five in the morning. so, dungeness. we're heading for one of the beaches on the south coast where migrants have arrived. this morning we will discuss the prime minister's plans to get tough on small boat crossings. rishi sunak and the home secretary say this is part of what they call a larger global migration crisis, as people from poorer countries try to get to richer ones. people must know that if they come here illegally, it will result in their detention and swift removal. once this happens and they know it will happen, they will not come and the boats will stop. it's a massive challenge that's

just got bigger and bigger. you imagine those migrants yesterday who attempted this crossing setting off from beyond where the eye can see to be picked up somewhere in the channel. and the scale of the problem that confronts the government and the prime minister set himself a huge challenge of trying to sort this out. the government is, for now at least, committed to remaining in the european convention on human rights. but strikingly, the home secretary has written to mps saying there is a more than 50% chance the plans are incompatible with international law. today marks the start of this planned new policy. there is plenty more argument to come. to the us now where senators from both republican and democratic parties have presented a bill that would give more power to the administration to ban chinese apps if they pose security threats, including the popular video—sharing platform tiktok. this bill comes after the us government officials were barred from installing tiktok on their devices in january.

our north america correspondent, peter bowes, has been following the story. this is very significant because it is rare these days that we see any bipartisan cooperation in washington on anyissue, cooperation in washington on any issue, that's republicans and democrats are seeing things in the same way. here we have a bill presented by both parties with white out that shows widespread concern in washington about tick—tock and it would effectively give the white house and us government the power is that it is seeking to either constrained to limit or band tiktok altogether from united states if it deems it to be a threat to national security. it won'tjust threat to national security. it won't just apply to tiktok. this will apply to any technologies, similar

technologies, similar technologies from china,, russia, north korea, venezuela, iranian kumar. earlier we spoke to oriana skylar mastro from the freeman spogli institute for international studies at stanford university. we talked about president biden backing this bill and asked why it had come to this. i think the first thing is this is a relatively new challenge. with these technological platforms potentially posing problems and challenges to us marshals and properly national security other countries around the world, but as technology evolves, so too does the challenges in the us at least the bill is designed to create some processes, mechanisms and different authorities so the us government can assess the risk to us citizens and interests and make decisions in real time when it comes to new technologies. i when it comes to new technologies.- when it comes to new technolouies. ., , when it comes to new technolouies. . , . , technologies. i was getting any sort of indication _ sort of indication on more details exactly of what the

specific things they are concerned about with this app? what has been mentioned is there are concerns about the privacy of user data and in particular in area of china, chinese government, the communist, micro party have put series of domestic laws fourth say they have the right to get access and sees data from chinese companies at well. when the chinese government has used the chinese government has used the data for a number of purposes, whether it is to censor what certain people are saying track down dissidents in some cases or even punish those of other nationalities who say things that chinese communist party does not like. there are concerns that data can be used as leverage against individuals overseas will be used to facilitate their growth as a technological power in areas like artificial intelligence. the bottom line is needed way to assess these risks and that's what the bill is designed to do.-

that's what the bill is desiuned to do. , designed to do. the chinese have said — designed to do. the chinese have said all _ designed to do. the chinese have said all along - designed to do. the chinese have said all along tiktok'sl designed to do. the chinese | have said all along tiktok's a parent company is not forwarding people's personal information but why can't the us accept this answer? the us osition, us accept this answer? the us position. if— us accept this answer? the us position. if i — us accept this answer? the us position, ifi may, _ us accept this answer? the us position, ifi may, is— us accept this answer? the us position, ifi may, is not - us accept this answer? the us position, if i may, is not that l position, if i may, is not that we don't accept the answer that potentially it has not been forwarded to date, but we know that the chinese government has put in place rules, regulations and processes to facilitate such a transfer if they deem it in their interest to do so. if the chinese government really wanted to reassure the united states and other countries that will not be getting access to private user data and use it for their own purposes, they should change a lot of those laws on the books and a lot of their own practices domestically.

protests in the georgian capital tbilisi against a controversial foreign agent law have continued late into the night. hundreds of people gathered outside the parliament building where police used water cannon and tear gas to try to disperse them. the demonstrators gathered after parliament gave its first approval to a bill requiring organisations that receive funding from abroad to register as foreign agents. the bill has been criticised by the eu and the united states who say it will have an impact on freedom. two of four americans kidnapped in mexico on monday have been found dead. the two survivors have returned to the us. the group was fired on by gunmen while driving through matamoros in the north—east, after crossing into mexico from texas. a mexican woman also died in the violence. a suspect is in custody. here's our mexico correspondent, will grant. caught up at the epicentre of mexico's violent drug war. this unconfirmed video reportedly shows the moment that the four us citizens

in mexico for a cosmetic health procedure for one of them were kidnapped. only one appeared to be conscious, ramping up the fears for their relatives in north carolina. those fears were later confirmed in the most public of ways by the governor of tamaulipas state, speaking live to the mexican president in his morning press briefing. translation: about an hour ago, we were notified that there - were indications of a sighting of the four american citizens. and 35 minutes ago, it was fully confirmed by the prosecutor's office. two of the four are dead. one is injured and the other is alive. the ambulances and the rest of the security personnel are on their way to give the necessary assistance for the transfer and any medical support that may be required. this was supposed to be a short trip to mexico by a close group of friends, but it descended into another tragic and violent episode on the border. health tourism to mexico is common and popular among people living in

southern us states. but matamoros is one of the most dangerous cities in this country. tamaulipas, one of its most dangerous states. the four americans had travelled together for one of them, a 33—year—old, to undergo a minor procedure. she was accompanied by shahid woodard, jindal brown and eric williams. but the group never made the appointment. the incident further strains the already difficult us—mexico relationship. the cartels are responsible for the deaths of americans, and we are fighting as hard as possible. the dea and the fbi are doing everything possible to dismantle and disrupt and ultimately prosecute the leaders of the cartels and the entire networks that they depend on. under president lopez obrador, the mexican drug war has continued to worsen. critics say his security policy, often described by his, quote, "hugs, not bullets," simply isn't working,

with the cartels in control of swathes of the country. now, as these four us visitors return home in the worst possible circumstances, they become the latest victims of mexico's endless war with organised crime. will grant, bbc news, mexico city. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: tap if you can hear us. we speak to the director of turning red — nominated for best animated movie. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 hours then, the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. we heard these gunshots in the gym _ then he came outj through a fire exit

and started firing at our huts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much, do you think? i don't know, really — _ i've never been married before. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm monica miller in singapore. our headlines: the un refugee agency says the british prime minister's plans to prevent migrants crossing the channel

will punish asylum seekers. the white house says it supports a bipartisan bill in congress that will give president biden new powers to ban the chinese—owned app, tiktok, in the us. in recent years, people around the world have lost hundreds of millions of dollars to online romance scams. one of the most lucrative of these, being run by criminal gangs across south—east asia, is called the �*pig butchering romance scam'. as the name suggests, the scammers refer to their victims as pigs, whom they fatten up to be butchered — or conned, out of as much money as possible. a bbc world service investigation has spoken to former scammers. a warning that this report from zhaoyin fung contains scenes some viewers may find disturbing. a whispered plea for help.

translation: i'm a chinese man trapped in a scam compound in cambodia. didi, not his real name, left china for the promise of a well—paid job. instead, he was trafficked to cambodia, locked up in a compound and forced by criminal gangs to carry out an online romance scam known as pig butchering. translation: i'm recording this video secretly from inside the bathroom. in the scam, victims are known as pigs. scammers use fake online profiles to groom them before tricking them to invest in fake financial exchanges. didi worked 12 hour days targeting people in america and europe under the constant threat of violence. translation: someone in my team made a mistake today. he was beaten up in front of everyone, then dragged out of the office. videos shared with the bbc by activist networks show the type of violence didi witnessed is common in scam compounds.

this is shao tsui, not his real name. he's a former scam boss. he's wearing a mask to avoid reprisals from criminal gangs. he says he make hundreds of thousands of dollars running a scam operation, even writing a guide for other scammers to follow, but that he now regrets his actions. translation: the pig butchering scam is all about using emotions. that's how you win their trust. the profiles we make up are always very handsome, rich, responsible and caring. it was a profile just like this that cindy fell for. the scammers stole the identity of an innocent social media influencer from south korea to target her with. jimmy came at a time when i was the most vulnerable in my entire life. cindy ty is a successful businesswoman based in boston

in the us. at the time, she was going through a divorce and had just found out she had terminal cancer. jimmy would message me every day. if i was sad in my interactions with my husband, he was always there. when my husband and i had decided that we were going to divorce, that's when it switched to much more of a romantic relationship. after seducing cindy, jimmy tricked her into investing more than $2 million on a fake cryptocurrency platform, despite the large amount that i'd lost, i actually believe that i've been luckier than most. i've given the scammers enough of my time. i've given enough of my money, and i absolutely refuse to give them who i actually am. after four months in captivity, didi managed to escape and make

it back home to china. we approached the owner of the compound where didi was being held for comment, but he did not respond. hundreds of gangs continue to carry out the pig butchering scam from compounds across south—east asia, targeting people all over the world. zhaoyin feng, bbc news. and viewers in the uk can watch the full film — the pig butchering romance scam — on bbc iplayer now. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. this wednesday we mark international women's day — an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women and also reflect on the global challenge of gender equality. in the most recent gender gap index report released by the world economic forum, japan ranked 116th overall out of 146 countries. our correspondent shaimaa khalil sat down with the first female mayor of one

of the tokyo's biggest districts. she says challenging japan's male—dominated politics is a difficult but necessaryjob. this is not your average japanese politician. satoko kishimoto is an outsider challenging the status quo. after living in belgium for the last decade, ms kishimoto has become one of only three female mayors in tokyo's 23 main districts and the first in the history of the tsuginami area. in june, the former environmental activist and democracy advocate beat the conservative incumbent by a narrow margin. she tells me the first few months on thejob have been a rough ride. of the tsuginami area. as a woman and especially fairly young, i am not from bureaucracy bureaucrats. i'm not a politician. so then automatically, you know, it's difficult. issues like climate change, diversity, you know, the gender equality.

of course. it has been challenged by the kind of old politics or like, you know, the boys club. in her own district, most of the senior political posts below that of mayor are occupied by men, with women making up just over 2% of japan's local leaders. being a female mayor is a lonelyjob. the women's representation have stayed almost the same from 75 years. this is quite insane injapan. what is the most difficult for women to to challenge the political life is because they have to do a lot of work. we have to recognise as a national crisis, you know, like this under—representation of women in politics. japan is the world's third largest economy, yet it has an abysmal record when it comes to women in politics, ranking at the bottom ten of 146 countries.

and yes, the traditional social norms here make it very difficult for women to pursue a political career. but those who do have to deal with misogyny and harassment. this group of researchers and female politicians is trying to change that. they're hoping that their confidential online consultations will encourage more women to brave the world of politics. translation: because i've been public about my experience with harassment other women have told me about what they went through. i think almost everyone has experienced it — being showered with insults by older men or being touched inappropriately, for example. it was a wake up call for me. the government has been regularly criticised for not doing enough to encourage more women to get into politics, with some arguing that the male dominated cabinet and ruling party are part of the problem. there are some rare success

stories, but it will take generations for women to get equal seats at japan's top decision—making table. shaima khalil, bbc news, tokyo. it's the oscars on sunday — and for the first time in history, this year's line—up includes a record number of nominees of asian heritage. in the lead up to the awards, my colleague karishma vaswani has interviewed three oscar nominees. she spoke to domee shi, director of turning red, which is nominated for best animated movie. she talked about the weight of being a trailblazer — and the importance of authenticity in film making today. we made it mostly from home we had an all—female leadership team on this movie and took a chance on a culturally specific almost gender specific story but they knew that within the specific story there was a universal experience. everyone

has gone through the trials and tribulations of puberty, of waking up and not recognising your body, fighting with your mom every single day and to have this movie recognised hopefully shows two studios in the future that you can invest in new voices and invest in unique stories. they will be commercially and critically successful.— commercially and critically successful. ., ., ., successful. what are you doing, no awa ! successful. what are you doing, go away! go _ successful. what are you doing, go away! go away. _ successful. what are you doing, go away! go away. one - successful. what are you doing, go away! go away. one of- successful. what are you doing, go away! go away. one of the i go away! go away. one of the thins i go away! go away. one of the things i think _ go away! go away. one of the things i think the _ go away! go away. one of the things i think the film - go away! go away. one of the things i think the film really l things i think the film really showed decide the camaraderie of women that you spoke so eloquently about is the diversity in north american canadian life and i wonder how much and how important that is for you as a sure that make storyteller to talk about those kind of themes and reflect that on—screen in the way that you have. on-screen in the way that you have. , , , , on-screen in the way that you

have. , ,_,. ., have. diversity is so important for me and _ have. diversity is so important for me and the _ have. diversity is so important for me and the types - have. diversity is so important for me and the types of- have. diversity is so important| for me and the types of stories that i want to tell, i am inspired by my own life and own cultural background, being chinese canadian. you want to fit in and you want to assimilate into the west and you pulls that make push aside all those things that can make you different or standout but now as an adult, as an adult creative that is where i go back and revisit and pull a lot of inspiration from. hot back and revisit and pull a lot of inspiration from.— of inspiration from. not to bran of inspiration from. not to brag but — of inspiration from. not to brag but being _ of inspiration from. not to brag but being 13 - of inspiration from. not to brag but being 13 means i of inspiration from. not to i brag but being 13 means i'm officially— brag but being 13 means i'm officially a _ brag but being 13 means i'm officially a grown—up. - brag but being 13 means i'm officially a grown—up. at - brag but being 13 means i'm i officially a grown—up. at least according _ officially a grown—up. at least according to _ officially a grown—up. at least according to the _ officially a grown—up. at least according to the transit - according to the transit commission. _ according to the transit commission.— according to the transit commission. ~ ., , ., . commission. what is the advice ou commission. what is the advice you would _ commission. what is the advice you would give _ commission. what is the advice you would give to _ commission. what is the advice you would give to people - commission. what is the advice you would give to people who l you would give to people who are of asian descent trying to tell these stories, trying to make it big and, look at you as the inspiration of how to get it right. the inspiration of how to get it riuht. �* . , , the inspiration of how to get itriuht.~ . , , .,

it right. authenticity is more important — it right. authenticity is more important than _ it right. authenticity is more important than perfection. l it right. authenticity is more| important than perfection. it is hard, especially for women and children raised with impossibly high standards and put under a lot of pressure to take a chance that their family has pulled their resources into and made something of themselves. i spent my college years trying to but then i realised when i began to share my stories and sharing what embarrassed me the most of the most, when i began to share those stories and connect with people that is when i took my storytelling to another level and it grew from just being a craft to being a way to connect with audiences and bring people together. domee shi — the creator of pixar�*s turning red, speaking to karishma vaswani. and our series of interviews building up to the oscars continues all through the rest of this week. make sure to tune in on friday when we hear from michelle yeoh — the star of everything

everywhere all at once, which is a solid frontrunner for best picture. an alligator believed to have been stolen from a zoo in texas 20 years ago has been returned after being discovered at a nearby home. this eight—foot—long creature is thought to have been taken as either an egg or a hatchling. the female gator was found near the city of austin last week, before being taken back home to the animal world and snake farm zoo, where she's said to be settling in well. let's have a recap of our top story for the hour. the british prime minister rishi sunak says he is up for the fight to bring new legislation when it comes to migration, however the un refugee agency is saying that it will punish asylum seekers. if you want to find out all the latest news you can continue to

follow it on bbc .com. i am monica miller, thank you for watching. up up to now most of the snow that has been falling has been across more northern parts of the uk especially northern scotland where we have snow and ice here at the moment. that cold artic air has swept down across all areas now coming into the cold air this weather front is sliding in from the atlantic ringing wet weather and a mixture of rain sleet and snow, perhaps towards the m4 corridor and there could be a few centimetres in places and times of the early morning rush hour. icy conditions here and further north with clear skies will be cold and frosty with temperatures at —13 in the glens of scotland. that wet weather across southern parts of and wales moves away quickly and then we will see more wet weather coming in from the south—west and that will to snow as well. more cloud across

wales and southern england and the midlands further north, some sunshine and fewer snow showers around that wherever you are it will be a cold day, temperatures three to five degrees again. focusing on the wet weather coming into the south—west, it moves in more quickly and moves further north as well so we will see that rain turn to sleet and snow more widely during the evening rush hour and more significant snow in places as well, 5—10 centimetres. that snowy weather than moves away later on in the night and we see the next area of low pressure coming in from the atlantic. this one is slowing down a bit and the weather is moving northwards more slowly. �*s we see some wet weather coming in from the south—west on thursday, southern parts of england it may well be rain, turned to rain in south wales, the south midlands, turning to snow across north wales and northern england during the afternoon. snow beginning to arrive here, still dry through much of the day across scotland and northern ireland. this is the

area that the met office have issued the heavy snow warning. the yellow warning. snow may not get as far north in scotland but there is still the potential for heavy falls of snow over the pennines in particular with the snow developing a little more widely in these areas after dark. that area of low pressure not moving as far north and sliding away, we are still left with snow falling for a while on friday especially across central and eastern parts of england. that will be replaced by brighter sky from the north with sunshine again a few more snow showers. cold airfor much sunshine again a few more snow showers. cold air for much of the country, seven or eight degrees in the far south but otherwise for all five is more typical.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. child: the day before war started was just i like any other. we played with our friends and ate with our families. that night was the last time our dreams were peaceful. in them, fireworks danced, lighting up the skies. but we woke to explosions. the sky burst into red and yellow.

the windows and walls shook.