welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm monica miller. the headlines — a $30 billion rescue package is confirmed, as 11 top us banks step in to shore up the embattled first republic. talks between the leaders of south korea and japan are hailed as a milestone in their tense relationship. anger in france, after the government pushes through pension reform without a vote. are we have a special report on the fighters in the trenches in the trenches of eastern ukraine, trying to resist the russian advance. and families on a remote scottish island are told they have a high risk of cancer, after scientists discover a harmful gene.

voice-over: live from our studio in singapore, - this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america, and around the globe. eleven of america's biggest private banks have stepped forward with a $30 billion rescue package for the troubled first republic bank. fears had been growing that the regional lender might be at risk of failure, as a result of market turmoil. the us treasury secretary, janet yellen, insists the rescue deal is evidence of resilience in the country's banking system. ican i can reassure the members of the committee that our banking system is sound, and that americans can feel confident that their deposits will be there when they need them. this

week's actions demonstrate our resolute commitment to ensure that our financial system remains strong, and that depositors�*s savings remain safe. our north america correspondent, peter bowes, told us what prompted janet yellen to strike such an upbeat note. for about a week now, since the collapse — for about a week now, since the collapse of— for about a week now, since the collapse of silicon valley bank due to — collapse of silicon valley bank due to liquidity issues last week, _ due to liquidity issues last week, followed a few days later by the _ week, followed a few days later by the collapse of the new york bank, _ by the collapse of the new york bank, signature, and it has caused _ bank, signature, and it has caused a _ bank, signature, and it has caused a lot of people to worry about — caused a lot of people to worry about their deposits in medium—sized banks especially. first _ medium—sized banks especially. first republic included. people really— first republic included. people really getting the jitters about _ really getting the jitters about the security of their investments, their ability to use that _ investments, their ability to use that money to pay their bills, — use that money to pay their bills, to _ use that money to pay their bills, to pay their workers, to meet — bills, to pay their workers, to meet payroll here in the states every _ meet payroll here in the states every couple of weeks. and it prompted some to take the action— prompted some to take the action of— prompted some to take the action of taking their money out of— action of taking their money out of those banks and putting

it into — out of those banks and putting it into larger banks, and that is exactly— it into larger banks, and that is exactly of course what those medium—sized banks and the banking — medium—sized banks and the banking industry generally doesn't want to see. so that's why— doesn't want to see. so that's why we — doesn't want to see. so that's why we are hearing the words of janet _ why we are hearing the words of janet yellen, reassurance and confidence she was talking about _ confidence she was talking about. she wants to try and instill— about. she wants to try and instill that confidence in people that, as she put it, the us banking system is in a healthy— us banking system is in a healthy state, and that's why also — healthy state, and that's why also we — healthy state, and that's why also we see these major 11 private _ also we see these major 11 private banks, jp morgan chase, citigroub — private banks, jp morgan chase, citigroup is including injecting some huge amount of money, — injecting some huge amount of money, $30 billion, into first republic, — money, $30 billion, into first republic, to keep it alive. the one thing _ republic, to keep it alive. the one thing that _ republic, to keep it alive. the one thing that we _ republic, to keep it alive. tie: one thing that we are seeing republic, to keep it alive. ti9: one thing that we are seeing as you mentioned, janet yellen trying to reassure the markets. it's a bit like deja vu of the 2008 financial crisis, but do you think that she is going to succeed? it has been again a very volatile time. a lot of people are waiting for the other shoe to drop with some other shoe to drop with some other bank.— other bank. well, that's the bi . other bank. well, that's the big concern. _ other bank. well, that's the big concern. we _ other bank. well, that's the big concern. we have - other bank. well, that's the

big concern. we have seenl other bank. well, that's the | big concern. we have seen a positive response certainly in this country. the banks have said that this illustrates their confidence. they want to try to get their message out. the regulators in this country have talked about this move of the 11 banks being most welcome. so everyone is seemingly singing from the same hymn sheet here, and we did see stocks rise after this announcement, stocks of first republic. there may well have been some jitters after the closing of markets, but it is probably too early to say, in terms of the longer term impact. interesting thatjanet impact. interesting that janet yellin impact. interesting thatjanet yellin talked about a contagion, comparing what's happening in banking and the financial world with essentially a virus spreading through a community quickly, and this is the financial equivalent of that and what she and the other banks want to do is try to stem that, and stem it before it gets out of

control. moving on to japan and south korea, the two countries have hailed a new chapter in their troubled relationship. it came after leaders of the two countries met at a summit in tokyo, as both face increasing challenges from china and north korea. the leaders announced agreements on trade, security and cultural exchange. 0ur correspondent, shaimaa khalil, says the summit is dominating japan's media. the first top three headlines are all about the south korean leader's visit. agreed to resume shuttle diplomacy, they indicated japan apologise enough of the past, and for japan to resume exports to south korea. they had a lot to talk about in this landmark visit, but i think the biggest headline is the fact that it actually happened, because it marked a new chapter, as you say, a reset button for those relationships that have actually plummeted since 2019, partly because of the dispute

over compensation because of japan �*s historical wartime forced labourer, but also because of the expert curbs that japan put on south korea. top of the agenda was set by north korea just hours before president ewan was supposed to land in tokyo, north korea fired a long—range intercontinental ballistic missile, and in that it really demonstrated why it was important for the two leaders to talk, to show a united front, because of that now frequent missile launchers from north korea. this is the fourth this week. it also notjust that, the fact that they also have threats from china, the expansion, its military ambitions in the region. these are security issues that affect both countries and they both benefit really from working together on them. flan benefit really from working together on them.- benefit really from working together on them. can you tell us a little _ together on them. can you tell us a little bit _ together on them. can you tell us a little bit about _ together on them. can you tell us a little bit about how - together on them. can you tell us a little bit about how the i us a little bit about how the announcement over force layback people were responding injapan

because in south korea, president yoon, his approval rating has plummeted, that people feel the south koreans did not get what they deserved in this agreement.— in this agreement. that's ri . ht, in this agreement. that's right. and _ in this agreement. that's right. and i— in this agreement. that's right, and i think - in this agreement. that's right, and i think really i in this agreement. that's l right, and i think really this is at the core of a long—standing issue, a sore issue between the two countries historically of course, because japan colonised the korean peninsula and that compensation was for victims who were forced to work injapanese was for victims who were forced to work in japanese factories. to work injapanese factories. japan, in 2018, was ordered by a court to pay compensation, and the companies refused, and thatis and the companies refused, and that is really why we have seen that is really why we have seen that deterioration. last week, president yoon decided he was going to resolve this. he said his country was going to fit that bill, his country was going to pay the victims. a very controversial decision in south korea as you say. here in japan, it was hailed by the leadership, by many politicians

and diplomats, because essentially that was the sign of a new beginning in that relationship. it is interesting as well because i think it shows if you weld the contrast of what you have to do in terms of what you have to do in terms of internal policy in south korea and foreign policy, which is a priority for president ewan. but here injapan and the united states as well this was seen as a ground—breaking development. washington is watching this very carefully because again it is very important to the us that two of its most strategic regional allies to work together if it is going to face up to threats from china and north korea. in the us, the pentagon has released a video of what it claims is part of tuesday's incident between a us drone and a russianjet. the incident, which happened here in the black sea, was the first direct us—russian incident since the war in ukraine began in february last year. in the footage, you can see what is claimed to be the russian su—27 jet approaching the drone.

the jet releases fuel as it passes, before flying over the top of the drone. the russian jet then repeats the manouevre. russia has denied us accusations that its jets acted recklessly. kristine berzina, managing director of the german marshall fund from washington, dc. she told us what we can expect next. there is a different approach to presenting narratives of what could have happened there. the release of this particular footage provides accord to the us assertion that the russian planes were behaving poorly, that they were behaving perhaps recklessly. it does seem rather aggressive, the way that the russian planes were behaving. now, having this visual footage out helps the us case to say, look, russia, we are willing to call you out on the misdeeds that you do, which is something the us has done since before the us has done since before

the february 2a invasion by publishing and declassified intelligence that in prior years it would never have done. what russia does in return is really the big question. does it continue to deny, which i think we should assume it would happen, but how does it actually behave in the skies? so far, the ukrainian war has been a ground war in ukraine. if the russian planes and if russia becomes more aggressive in the air, all along the russia nato interaction points, which is a large piece of territory from of the black sea, the baltic sea, then we should be careful about the risk for misinterpretation, and further incidents.— further incidents. there was indication — further incidents. there was indication from _ further incidents. there was indication from the - further incidents. there was| indication from the pentagon official we just heard from that maybe it was bad airman ship. but exactly, a lot of times surveillance, countries know what's going on, they kind

of look, they have a sense of what has been happening. why do you think washington did want to make this type of public? well, there is one thing to be aware of and that is much more typical behaviour. 0ur typical behaviour. our understanding is that, throughout this war, the nato countries have been flying over the black sea, and russia is aware that they are here, to bring it to a confrontation between aircraft to something different. it is something more worrying. so one concern that i haveis worrying. so one concern that i have is this release from the us perhaps indicating that something is changing about russian behaviour, and is it better to call russia out on such behaviour publicly to reduce the risk of that occurring again? if this stays secret, do you have a quiet escalation, which would not be safe anybody? french riot police have used

tear gas and water cannon to clear thousands of protesters from the streets of paris. the protests started after president emmanuel macron forced through plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. his government invoked a rarely—used tool in the constitution, to avoid a vote in the assembly. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri reports. this isn't just this isn'tjust a rendition of the national anthem, this is a protest by france's own lawmakers. the prime minister was repeatedly heckled. translation: i was repeatedly heckled. translation:- was repeatedly heckled. translation: �* ., , translation: iwasn't angry, i was really _ translation: iwasn't angry, i was really shocked. _ translation: iwasn't angry, i was really shocked. it _ translation: iwasn't angry, i was really shocked. it reflects l was really shocked. it reflects the fact that a certain number of opposition groups do not respect our institutions. some of them have said it clearly. they want chaos in the assembly and on the street.—

and on the street. president macron would _ and on the street. president macron would have - and on the street. president macron would have known i and on the street. president l macron would have known this move would have angered the people of france. pushing through laws without a vote has always been unpopular, and pension reform has been an inflammatory issue. this is how president macron approached the vote. as prime minister invoked article a0 9—3 of the constitution so they could bypass a vote in the national assembly. that allowed the government to raise the retirement age from 62 to 6a. mere minutes before lawmakers were due to vote. taste mere minutes before lawmakers were due to vote.— were due to vote. we could not camble were due to vote. we could not gamble on _ were due to vote. we could not gamble on the _ were due to vote. we could not gamble on the future _ were due to vote. we could not gamble on the future of- were due to vote. we could not gamble on the future of an - gamble on the future of an essential reform to preserve our retirement system, dealing with possible changes of position of opposition members. protesters across the country do not agree. unions are calling this a declaration of war. translation: it’s

calling this a declaration of war. translation:- war. translation: it's an important _ war. translation: it's an important day, _ war. translation: it's an important day, because . war. translation: it's an j important day, because we war. translation: it's an - important day, because we feel that there is anger, determination, that we have turn — determination, that we have turn that— determination, that we have turn that into victory, and we are determined.— are determined. the far right opposition — are determined. the far right opposition leader _ are determined. the far right opposition leader marine - are determined. the far right opposition leader marine le l are determined. the far right. opposition leader marine le pen has said she will table a vote of no confidence. unions are calling for more protests next week. but, for now, mr macron is standing firm. as of a missionary, bbc news. moving to the uk, where the government has banned ministers and civil servants from using the social media app, tiktok, on their phones and devices, over security concerns. it's been claimed that the chinese—owned video—sharing app passes information about users to the chinese government, something the owners, bytedance deny. china says it's a politically—motivated decision, not one based on facts. the uk is following the united states and the european commission in banning the app from government devices.

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme — a community on a remote scottish island are told they have a high risk of cancer, after scientists discover a harmful gene. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision — all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was - on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. now, this was an international trophy, and we understand - now that the search for it has i

become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is newsday on the bbc. now to ukraine, and the ongoing battle for the city of bakhmut in the east of the country. two ukrainian army brigades defending the city's southern flank recently gave the bbc access to their positions — as fierce fighting continued in and around the city. they say russian casualties far outweigh theirs, but that the enemy is using new techniques to try to seize the city and the surrounding countryside. 0ur correspondent quentin sommerville sent us this special report.

in war�*s uncertain journey, fates are decided in the unlikeliest of places. ukraine has drawn a line in the mud, and that line is bakhmut. no matter the hardship, the enemy must not pass. this ground must be held. winter has given way to early spring. they hope it might slow russia's advance. translation: the thing is, it complicates thejob for both parties. the enemy has difficulty attacking, because nothing moves in the mud. nothing except tank tracks... ..and army boots. the mud's unreal. it pulls you this way and that way. it's a trap for men, for vehicles. it makes moving around this

battlefield almost impossible. and for the soldiers of the 3rd separate assault brigade, it means going the long way round. moving as fast as the territory allows. they're in range of russian guns. we're told to keep low. stop, stop! there's snipers around here. these trenches are new, but warfare along this front is antiquated. below ground, these are dugouts that their grandfathers would recognise. but by digging in, they've tied up russian forces here and held bakhmut longer than many expected.

but it isn'tjust the conditions that are basic. this is a 21st—century war, being fought with 19th—century weaponry. it's a maxim machine—gun. 120 years of history of killing russians. a weapon from the first world war, used in the third world war. sporadic gunfire. right, we are heading right to the very forward position. we can hear shelling right now and automatic gunfire. more shelling. they get attacked here on a daily basis. translation: there are the enemy positions, so let's move very fast. ok. almost every day, some shells from mortar or artillery.

we can see the craters all around here. there is a fresh crater, right there. we've got to go, we've got to go. there's hardly any tree cover here, the men are exposed. gunfire. and the russians found them. 0k, move, move. you can go in the car, because there is a little bit of water here. keep down. gunfire. the russians are only 500 metres away. that's automatic fire. all along this line there's grenade fire, automatic gunfire and tank fire. translation: it's really dangerous there, bullets are flying everywhere. that kind of fire

is every day here. seven months, more than seven months into this battle, it's created a wasteland. this is the longest battle of the war so far. to the north, and to the east, and here in the south, russia's been making gains. but it's costing them. the ukrainians say that for every one soldier that they lose, russia loses seven. but still they hold on here. and bakhmut is a town that no—one believes has strategic value. but to russia and ukraine, it matters in this war. translation: this is not a strategic question for us. we are just ordinary soldiers. but this is our land. if we lose here, then do we retreat to chasiv yar, to sloviansk, then all the way to kyiv? however long it takes, two, four, five years, we have to fight for

every piece of ground. so, every tiny step of land needs to be defended, even as they toil under waves of attack from russian prisoners sent by wagner group. translation: we were in combat every two hours. as far as i understand, they were wagner. we were fighting them, and without over estimating our achievements, i would say a single company was killing 50 of their men a day. we checked the figures, they are awful numbers. they are outgunned and outnumbered but, for now, unyielding. in bakhmut, like in the rest of this war, they have grown used to the odds being against them. quentin sommerville, bbc news, on the outskirts of bakhmut. a community on a remote scottish island has been told they have a higher risk of cancer after scientists discover a harmful gene. they identified a gene

which is known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. and they've narrowed down the variant to people of orkney islands heritage. more specifically — the gene variant has been traced to the island of westray — with a resident population ofjust under 600 people. 0ur scotland science and innovation correspondent laura goodwin has the story. people have lived here on the island of westray for many thousands of years. in part, the community's deep connection to their roots have helped scientists solve a 25—year medical puzzle — an increase in family history of breast cancer first noticed by the screening services in 0rkney. now a team of geneticists have come to the island to communicate their findings face—to—face. over time, a pattern emerged, that we were starting to come across a gene difference in the gene that was, at that point, we were uncertain of the meaning of, but we kept finding it. and i was really suspicious that that gene alteration

was important, and it was explaining the pattern of breast and ovarian cancer that we were seeing in those what appeared to be branches of one big family. around one in 1,000 women across the uk have a brca1 variant. the study found one in 100 people with 0rkney grandparents have this particular variant. the study was able to trace the gene all the way back to the 18th century. this family tree shows known carriers of the gene but also those who were not tested but who researchers believe carried the gene because of their family links. it also shows who then went on to develop cancer. linda hagan can map her own westray family tree for many generations. i lost my sister four years ago — she was younger than me — to breast cancer. and an aunt, a well loved aunt, she died when she was a6. so it has affected our family and there are cousins as well who have had

breast cancer. although this is news that we don't want to hear, it is important for us to know what is going on, and in the hopes that some maybe further treatment or at least a recognition of what could happen if we carry the gene. karen scott has already been tested for the gene due to herfamily history of breast cancer. 0rcadians are all over the world. this is a massive discovery. and hugely important for the health of every individual in 0rkney, and the generations to come. there are other communities within the uk that have a known prevalence of brca gene variants but identifying founder mutations like this is rare. women with the same variation have already been found across the uk and america, which means their roots, most likely, lead back to 0rkney. laura goodwin, bbc news.

you have been watching newsday. stay with us. hello. thursday brought a fair amount of rain for some parts of the uk, but it also brought northern ireland its warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures peaking just above 16 celsiusat helens bay, not too far away from belfast. it's all because of low pressure, the centre of which you can see swirling here on our earlier satellite image. that has been bringing rain in places, but it's also been drawing warm air, or at least mild air, up from the south, and it will continue to do so during friday. the far north of scotland sticking with something just a little bit chillier, because here we've got a northerly wind, a band of cloud and some patchy rain to start friday. elsewhere, this area of wet weather moving across southeast england and east anglia. some of that rain could turn heavy and thundery for a time before clearing. and then for most of us,

it is a story of sunny spells and showers. again, some of the showers could be heavy with some flashes of lightning, some rumbles of thunder mixing in. but in between the showers, there will be a decent amount of sunshine, maybe not quite as mild as it was on thursday across northern ireland. highest temperatures, perhaps a little further east, 16 celsius there in newcastle. but with these northerly winds, it will be a little bit chillier across the likes of caithness and sutherland, 0rkney and shetland, six celsius, for example, in lerwick. the northerly wind continues here into the evening. elsewhere, southerly winds pushing areas of cloud and rain northwards. i think it will turn quite misty and murky in places. a little bit chilly in the far north, again, one celsius there for lerwick, but elsewhere generally between 6—9 celsius to start saturday morning. now, for the start of the weekend, this area of low pressure will be transiting eastwards across the uk, near the centre of the low, very light winds. so that means where the showers do pop up through saturday, they are likely to be very slow moving. if you catch a shower,

it could be with you for quite some time. again, some could be heavy and thundery, some sunny spells in between, the chance for some slightly more persistent rain into northern ireland and especially northwest scotland. again, it is going to be mild, ten celsius degrees for aberdeen, 12 celsius for belfast, perhaps 1a celsius in norwich and in london. and then we get to sunday, not as many showers on sunday. there should be some spells of sunshine around, although cloud will roll in from the west, bringing some rain into northern ireland and perhaps western scotland later in the day. perhaps not feeling quite as mild at this stage, but still not bad for the time of year, 9—1a celsius.

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. hello. it's adam in the studio. and chris in the studio. last time we were sat here we were with kenneth clarke, wading through the budget, and the budget of office responsibility which had another 300 things in it. now that you have had time to sleep on all those things with them under your pillow, what are

your thoughts? 50 under your pillow, what are your thoughts?—