welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... ukraine has accused russia of bombing a maternity and children's hospital in the besieged city mariupol. global condemnation followed that air strike. ukrainian officials say many people have been killed since russia began its bombardment. the attack happened while a ceasefire was supposed to be in place — mariupol�*s mayor says president putin has destroyed a peaceful city. translation: they wanted to take the lives of our children, _ our women, our doctors. we've been fighting for m days of war for the lives of every child who came under fire from enemy weapons.

in eastern ukraine, a ceasefire in sumy does hold, allowing many more people to flee to safety. we'll also report from a key port city in the south of the country, where residents are preparing for a possible russian attack. and deep in the icy waters of antarctica, a remarkable discovery, shackleton�*s vessel endurance, still in one piece a century after it sank. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 7am in singapore, and one o'clock in the morning in ukraine where russian forces have bombed a maternity and children's hospital in the southern port city of mariupol, that's according to ukrainian officials. mariupol�*s city council said the hospital had been destroyed. officials say 17 people —

including women in labour — have been injured. the attack came while a ceasefire was supposed to be in place. elsewhere in the country ceasefires did hold, allowing more civilians to flee other besieged cities. our first report this evening is from our international correspondent, orla guerin. a warning — her report contains some distressing images. survivors emerge from the wreckage after what ukraine says the neck of the hospital for women and children, after what ukraine says was in her —— and children, after what ukraine says was in her --_ and children, after what ukraine says was in her -- russian attack. preanant says was in her -- russian attack. pregnant women _ says was in her -- russian attack. pregnant women were _ says was in her -- russian attack. pregnant women were among - says was in her -- russian attack. pregnant women were among the | pregnant women were among the wounded, according to the local governor. there was supposed to be a cease—fire in place to let civilians flee. instead, they weren't safe, evenin flee. instead, they weren't safe, even in hospital beds. here, the massive craterjust

outside the building. the local mayor said this was utterly evil. translation: today, the russian _ utterly evil. translation: today, the russian federation _ utterly evil. translation: today, the russian federation rated - utterly evil. translation: today, the russian federation rated a - the russian federation rated a peaceful city, shall the children's hospital, destroyed the most valuable thing we have, we, the people, the one to take the lives of women, children, doctors have been fighting during ia days of war for the lives of every child who dies at the lives of every child who dies at the hands of enemy weapons. rush also claims — the hands of enemy weapons. rush also claims that _ the hands of enemy weapons. rush also claims that does _ the hands of enemy weapons. rush also claims that does not _ the hands of enemy weapons. rush also claims that does not fire on civilian targets. tell that to those we met today being carried from ipin close to kyiv. they survived days and nights of shelling and must now survive life cast adrift as

refugees. and what future for around i refugees. and what future for around i million of ukraine's children, operated injust two i million of ukraine's children, operated in just two weeks. the united nations calls this a dark historic first. hour after hour, people keep leaving ipin. the town is being emptied of its residents and it's notjust happening here, there are other cities in ukraine being bombarded by the russians where civilians are being driven out. this isjust one where civilians are being driven out. this is just one corner of the refugee crisis in europe since world war ii. svetlana is among the legions made homeless by vladimir putin will stop "our house is gone." "we have been in the cellar for ia

days with no light, water or heat. but we will be back for sure. further down the road, and relief. a reunion for friends further down the road, and relief. a reunion forfriends and further down the road, and relief. a reunion for friends and neighbours. who didn't know if they would meet again. svetlana says... "you are alive, my sunlight." anastasia is finally on her way into relative safely in western ukraine with baby irpin. he first met them two days ago as they fled. but she's concerned for her father who stayed behind in the horror of o. —— baby oleg. "he is sitting in the basement, we pray that all is well with him, he refused to be

evacuated." with every day that passes, this looks increasingly like a war on civilians, on their homes, their lives, their freedom. a war on civilians, on their homes, their lives, theirfreedom. and many already fear this could lead sooner or later to a wider european war. orla guerin, bbc news, irpin. in the north east of ukraine, in the city of sumy, thousands of civilians are escaping to relative safety after the russians agreed to a humanitarian route. some 7,000 people were evacuated from the city yesterday, including hundreds of international students who were ta ken to safety in two convoys of buses and cars. our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford is in poltava, where people have been arriving from sumy. they've not eaten like this for two weeks. because these children have been hiding beneath ground, as their city above was bombed and shelled by russian troops. this morning, they

made it to safety. their care home evacuated from the front line. the director tells me the air strikes were the scariest. as we speak, a door bangs somewhere and shejumps. translation: it's not normal. it's so far from normal. - at the start, we didn't tell the youngest children that there was war. they didn't know, but theyjust started drawing tanks because they heard the shooting. that's not normal. so, she's trying to get help to get them even further from the fighting. children who were vulnerable even before this war now have new trauma. there were more air strikes the day their convoy travelled south. russia claims its liberating ukraine, but no one here asked to be saved, orfor their homes, their lives, to be ruined. and now, families are forced to flee, uprooted, abandoning everything.

this girl has been living in a cellar with russian fighter jets flying overhead. her mum can't find them rooms here. "it's too expensive," she says, "and everywhere is full." so most are trying to get out. poltava has become one giant waiting room, as thousands are now evacuated here away from the front line and the immediate threat, and then stranded. there are people here from all over this region who fled the areas where the fighting is now at its fiercest, and they've come here in hope of getting a ride as far west as possible. but for the moment, there is no information, no trains. they're just standing and waiting. when a train pulls in, they surge forward. it's a moment of hope but it's a fleeting one. this train is travelling east, not west — towards the fighting, not to safety. sarah rainsford, bbc news, poltava.

russia's foreign minister, sergey lavrov, has arrived in turkey ahead of talks with his ukrainian counterpart tomorrow. it will be the first high—level contact between the two governments since the invasion began. yalda hakim, who's in the ukrainian city of lviv, has more on those talks. any kind of talks in these circumstances are important, although, we have seen for the last few days the various different engagements, diplomatically, haven't seemed to work. expectations have been low from both sides, and there haven't really been any real outcomes, although, we did see some positive developments with those humanitarian corridors that were allowed to take place over the last 2a hours. you'll remember that the shelling that took place when there were earlier attempts. so, the first time, we will see the ukrainian foreign minister, meeting on the sidelines of that conference in turkey.

there are hopes from the turkish side that they will be able to mediate something when they bring the two sides together. the biggest question will be about the humanitarian crisis creating more windows for the russian side. they will need those demands met. they say they will not stop this war, they will not stop this war, they will not stop the bombardment until ukraine doesn't agree to become neutral, for example and agreed to put in its constitution that it will notjoin nato. they also want to crimea, for example, to be recognised, and they want the independence of the donbas. so there are various things that need to be discussed, and ukraine is showing signs of some kind of compromise. although when you hear from president zelensky when he addressed the house of commons, for example, or a few days ago at the us senate, he remains defiant. he says he's going to fight for his nation. let's look at the fallout in russia now — where heineken has become the latest high profile name

to suspend operations in the country after macdonalds, coca—cola, and unilever announced they were pausing operations. the us secretary of state, anthony blinken, says the exodus of international companies is having a profound impact. moscow is accusing the united states of waging an economic war on russia after it banned russian oil. our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, reports now on russia's increasing economic isolation. life is changing for russians. sanctions are making their country look very different. at mcdonald's, final orders. it's suspending business in russia over what it calls the needless human suffering unfolding in ukraine. customer alla believes the russian offensive is destroying russia's future. translation: it's very sad. it's notjust mcdonald's that's closing. all western businesses

are shutting down. everyone who can is leaving. it is a symbol of the new times. we will be left isolated. back in the ussr, happier times, when mcdonald's opened up here. the fast food was slow, but only because of the huge crowds of customers. it felt then as if russia was getting an appetite for good relations with the west. well, i was actually in the queue here 32 years ago when mcdonald's first opened. it actually took me three hours to get inside. and i can remember the excitement in the crowd because for muscovites, this place was a symbol, a symbol of russia opening up to the world, a symbol of east embracing west. but it feels now that that's all gone. and instead, russia's increasingly isolated. international brands are vanishing

from moscow's shopping centres. but russians have less money to spend here anyway. sanctions have caused the value of the rouble to plunge. but for those who back moscow's onslaught in ukraine, many of them claim they couldn't care less about global corporations disappearing from the russian market. the era of post—soviet colonisation by the west started with the arriving of mcdonald's to russia, and the era of sovereign greater russia starts with mcdonald's leaving it. so, have a nice trip. for the moment, moscow is defiant, uncompromising, unapologetic. but russia is intricately connected to the global economy. isolation will hurt. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. one country though that has so far avoided condemning russian

aggression, is china. still, beijing says it's willing to work with the international community to act as a mediator in the conflict and has also sent an intial batch of aid to ukraine, which includes food, blankets and cutlery. i'm joined now by professor steve tsang from the school of african and oriental studies in london, and director of the soas china institute. it is great to get you on the programme. i know we have spoken about this issue and certainly china's growing influence in the world i need to stay with you before. can china take on this role of the mediator?— before. can china take on this role of the mediator? well, china is the one country — of the mediator? well, china is the one country that _ of the mediator? well, china is the one country that has _ of the mediator? well, china is the one country that has the _ of the mediator? well, china is the one country that has the capacity . of the mediator? well, china is the| one country that has the capacity to do the job, one country that has the capacity to do thejob, but it is one country that has the capacity to do the job, but it is very unlikely that china will put its heart into its, not the foreign minister of china. ~ , .,

its, not the foreign minister of china. ~ ,, ., china. indeed. when you look at the fact that beijing _ china. indeed. when you look at the fact that beijing is _ china. indeed. when you look at the fact that beijing is sort _ china. indeed. when you look at the fact that beijing is sort of caught - fact that beijing is sort of caught in the middle of all of this, if thatis in the middle of all of this, if that is fair to say, does china want to get involved and put it south on the global stage in this way? weill. the global stage in this way? well, china didn't _ the global stage in this way? well, china didn't really _ the global stage in this way? well, china didn't really lunch _ the global stage in this way? well, china didn't really lunch the - the global stage in this way? in china didn't really lunch the war in ukraine, but china must have been warned by putin that something was going to happen when putin visited china at the start of the olympics. so the president knew this was going to happen. he didn't do anything to prevent it, and once the situation developed and got out of hand and the president of china and put in, the president of china and put in, the president of china came with a very incoherent policy than the one hand says china would like to help, but on the other hand reiterated that china's support for russia is rock—solid. it's a contradiction.

yeah, and that trainees support for russia, you know, we havejust been hearing from a colleague and my correspondent in russia, steve rosenberg, about the impact on russia's economy. can china help in that way, to support russia's economy? buying up surplus oil, for instance, that the west is now, in effect, banning. instance, that the west is now, in effect. banning-— effect, banning. china will almost certainly do _ effect, banning. china will almost certainly do what _ effect, banning. china will almost certainly do what it _ effect, banning. china will almost certainly do what it can _ effect, banning. china will almost certainly do what it can to - effect, banning. china will almost certainly do what it can to help i certainly do what it can to help russia in terms of countering sanctions, buying russia's energy will be in china's interest and china would probably try to get a rather good price from russia while doing so, helping russia as well. so there is a lot in it for china to help, but if it comes down to sanctions on financial services, i don't think china will put chinese companies at risk of being subjected to secondary sanctions if that should come up as an issue. steve,

how closely — should come up as an issue. steve, how closely do _ should come up as an issue. steve, how closely do you _ should come up as an issue. steve, how closely do you think— should come up as an issue. steve, how closely do you think beijing - should come up as an issue. steve, how closely do you think beijing is l how closely do you think beijing is watching this? the leadership, as an example ofjust how far the west will go when it comes to defending liberal democracy. what other lessons, do you think are being taken away from this? i lessons, do you think are being taken away from this?- taken away from this? i think bei'in: is taken away from this? i think beijing is watching _ taken away from this? i think beijing is watching the - taken away from this? i think| beijing is watching the events taken away from this? i think i beijing is watching the events in ukraine very, very carefully, and as you rightly point out about the western responses to the ukrainian crisis. if the west, the democracies led by the united states cannot deliver the promised damage to the russian economy by sanctions, the chinese government well know that when the chinese government use force against taiwan, western threats of sanctions would not amount to all that much. it is something that i think we have to be very careful about. steve, thank you so much forjoining

us on the programme with your thoughts. it is to say we will be bringing you the perspective of a tomorrow after having looked at the chinese perspective today. due to nan to that. let's bring you up to date with some of the other stories making the headlines. south korea's presidential election has been narrowly won by the conservative opposition leader, yoon suk—yeol. in one of the tightest races in the country's recent history, he beat the governing democratic party candidate, lee jae—myung, by less than one percentage point. a political novice, mr yoon is expected to adopt a more handline policy towards north korea. australian prime minister scott morrison declared a national emergency over unprecedented flooding in two states. at least 20 people have been killed in new south wales and queensland as rising waters inundated homes over the past two weeks. federal and state governments have faced anger for not acting faster to help residents. a man who became the first person to receive a heart transplant

from a genetically—modified pig has died, two months after the operation. 57—year—old david bennett — seen here in the middle — who had terminal heart disease — died yesterday. before the operation he said he knew the risks and acknowledged it was a shot in the dark. now to an extraordinary discovery. more than a century after it sank, the lost ship of the antarctic explorer, sir ernest shackleton, the endurance, has finally been discovered. it was found by a team of scientists, in remarkably good condition in the seas off antartica. our science editor rebecca morelle has the story. emerging from the antarctic deep, the world's most famous undiscovered shipwreck, now found. it is the first time anyone has seen it in more than 100 years. endurance, perfectly preserved,

frozen in time, 3,000 metres beneath the ice. i thought, if there's any wood—built ship that could survive the impact of the sea bed, it will be the endurance, and she did, she held together beautifully. but i have never, ever seen a wreck anything like as beautiful and as inspiring as this one. the condition of sir ernest shackleton's ship is astonishing. the ship's wheel is almost pristine. bolts gleam in the woodwork. the portholes look polished. and these white circles are dinner plates, abandoned by the crew. this was the polar ice breaker that brought the team to the wreck. the conditions were challenging. the agulhas ii had to carve its way through the thick ice in the weddell sea. underwater robots were deployed and spent weeks searching the deep, until the endurance

was at last found. probably the most famous as yet undiscovered shipwreck in the world, and now we know exactly where it is. we know what it looks like, we know what condition it's in and we can broadcast images of that around the world. it matters because people will see those images and will connect to this extraordinary story from our history, the greatest story of antarctic survival of all time. and this was the ship just before it sank, captured in footage restored and released by the bfi. the endurance became stuck in sea ice soon after it set off from south georgia, drifting for months before the crew was eventually ordered to abandon ship. the endurance expedition was amazingly well documented, with photographs, film and crucially, navigation records, which were vital for locating the wreck beneath the ice. what is extraordinary is it was found just

four and a half miles, that's about seven kilometres, from the coordinates recorded on the day the ship sank, more than 100 years ago. this was all down to frank worsley, the ship's captain. frank worsley really needs to be recognised now, even more than he was at the time, as an expert navigator. he was using all of the equipment that was at his disposal at the time and clearly, because the ship has been found so close to that location, he did a brilliantjob. the discovery gives us a new link between the past and the present. the ship won't be raised, and nothing will be removed. left exactly as it was found, resting in the darkness of this most remote corner of the world. rebecca morelle, bbc news. what a remarkable story there. back to our main story

now — and to odesa — ukraine's biggest sea port — where there are fears that it could be the next major target for russian ground forces. residents are setting up barricades and sandbags in the southern city. lucy williamson has been hearing form the volunteers preparing to defend the city. at a secret location near the southern city of odesa, they are getting ready to meet the russian army. testing recipes for molotov cocktails and getting in some target practice. two weeks ago, danilo was in his final year of a law degree. now he is making home—made bombs with ukraine's civil defence force, working side by side with an electrician, a welder, and an olympic athlete. "when did you learn how to make molotov cocktails?" danilo is asked. "it seems it is an optional course for the fourth year of a degree," he quips.

bogdan was in kyiv looking for work as a lawyer when the war began. translation: my family said i had to come back home - because they needed my help. ukrainians across the country have met the russian aggressors with these weapons. the team here have been making two crates a day. "we have got a lot better at it," bogdan says. translation: it is like making soup. you need to do everything step—by—step. odesa has been watching russian ships off its coast for days, its beaches mined, its opera house barricaded, its women and children heading out. 30 miles away, the queue at moldova's palanca crossing renews itself, day and night. this is the first safe port for people living in odesa. ukraine's third largest city has been braced for a russian assault for many days now, and having seen what has happened elsewhere, they know what to expect when it comes. angela has just arrived from odesa with one of her daughters and two grandchildren.

her elder daughter is serving in the ukrainian army. "it is not peaceful", she said. "they destroyed the military barracks in our village. we lived for three days in the basement of our house because of the air raid sirens." behind them, odesa is a city in waiting, a city watching as its people leave, waiting for the russians to come. lucy williamson, bbc news, palanca crossing, moldova. and before we go, a reminder of the latest developments in ukraine. a maternity and children's hospital has been destroyed in a russian air strike, in the city of marry—oo—pol. in a russian air strike, in the city of mariupol. the attack happened while a ceasefire was supposed to be in place. meanwhile, a ceasefire held in the city of sumy — in eastern ukraine — allowing thousands to flee to safety. and, heineken has become the latest big brand to suspend operations in russia in protest at the war, following in the footsteps of mcdonald's, coca cola, and pepsi.

that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello there. this week starts off on a cold, chilly note for many of us, but temperatures have been rising as the week's worn on, in fact, we are staying in the very mild theme for the rest of the week, certainly for the working week, but it will become more unsettled with breezy, even windy conditions and also rain at times. now, we've got high—pressure to the east of us over the near continent, low pressure to the west over the atlantic. it's drawing up some very mild air from biscay and iberia. this weather front continuing to thicken the cloud up across more central parts of the country today. so we start off with quite a bit of cloud around, bit more cloud generally across england and wales than we had through yesterday morning. cold, frosty start for northern ireland but bright with some sunshine, some sunshine getting

into western scotland, and it will also be bright across eastern england and the southeast, where, again, we will see temperatures very mild for the time of year 1a—15 celsius, even double figures further north and west. it will be a little bit breezier as well. now, as we head through thursday night, it turns cloudy, outbreaks of rain pushing up from central and southern areas, it will spread northwards across northern england and in toward scotland. so more cloud around, more breeze, so it will be a milder night for most of us and a mild night certainly for northern ireland. so that's how it's looking to end thursday, into friday we see a little more active weather front start to sweep in from the atlantic. that will bring more windy weather but also some heavier rain, which will start to push into southwest england and wales, northern ireland, as the day wears on. 1—2 showers ahead of it, but generally dry and bright, quite mild and windy across northern and eastern areas. this rain will be spilling its way northwards, and it will be a blustery day wherever you are, certainly windy across more northern and eastern areas, especially close to the coast. temperature wise, again, it's pretty mild, highs of 10—13 celsius,

maybe not quite as mild as it will be for thursday because we've got more cloud and rain around. now, into the weekend, it stays unsettled, a particularly deep area of low pressure moves in towards the southwest and the west of the uk during the latter part of saturday into sunday, and as that spreads northwards for sunday, we will see a mixture of sunshine and blustery showers. some of these will be quite heavy. so it is an unsettled picture into the weekend, some wet and windy weather pushing into the southwest later on saturday, and it's sunshine and showers for most on sunday.

this is bbc news, the headlines... ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky has accused russia of committing a war crime by bombing a maternity and children's hospital in the besieged city of mariupol. a regional governor said at least 17 people had been injured. global condemnation followed that air strike. ukrainian officials say many people have been killed since russia began its bombardment. in the north east of ukraine, in the city of sumy, thousands of civilians are escaping to relative safety after the russians agreed to a humanitarian route. some 7,000 people were evacuated from the city yesterday. and heineken has become the latest big brand to suspend operations in russia in protest at the war, following in the footsteps of mcdonalds, coca—cola, and pepsi. those are the headlines.