tonight at ten —nazanin zeghari—ratcliffe is a free women after nearly six years in detention in iran. she boarded a flight out of the country to the relief of her husband and daughter, and is due to arrive at raf brize norton in the next couple of hours. homecoming is a journey, not arrival. i don't think it willjust be today, it will be a whole process and hopefully we will look back in years to come and be a normal family and, you know, this will be a chapter in our lives, but there are many more chapters to come. another british iranian, anoosheh ashoori, detained for more than four years, is also heading back to the uk. also tonight, here in ukraine, russia goes on attacking key cities even as peace talks continue.

ukrainian officials say a theatre in mariupol that was being used as shelter for civilians has been destroyed. russia denies attacking it. russia counts its dead in the war, as vladimir putin insists the invasion is going to plan. and borisjohnson in saudi arabia wants fresh oil and gas supplies to reduce the west's reliance on russia. and coming up in the sport, on the bbc news channel... we'll have all the reaction as liverpool lock horns with arsenal looking to cut manchester city's lead at the top of the premier league to a point. good evening. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe is due to arrive back in the uk in the next few hours, having been released from detention in iran after nearly six years. her husband richard ratcliffe says

he's "deeply grateful" for her release, and that he and their daughter gabriella, are "looking forward to a new life." mrs zaghari—ratcliffe, who has dual british and iranian nationality, had been detained since 2016, originally accused of spying, then charged with plotting to overthrow the iranian government. she's always strenuously denied the allegations. another dual national, anousheh ashouri, is also returning to the uk, after being released. the foreign secretary, liz truss, says britain has now settled an outstanding £400 million debt with iran, dating back to the 1970s. our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley has the very latest. the sheer relief, the joy, are written all over her face. this is the moment nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe and her relatives have dreamt of for almost six desperate years. gratitude for those that made it happen, as she arrived from tehran in oman, then she boarded another plane, carrying her back to the uk and her excited family.

it's the beginning of a new life, a normal life. and there will be bumps, no doubt, and all the normal squabbles we had before, but, yeah, we're really looking forward to seeing her. gabriella was not yet two when her mother was arrested. now, she's nearly eight. there have been so many false dawns for the family that richard says she won't believe it's real until she's back in her mother's arms. there's a recovery process. you can't get back the time that's gone, that's a fact, but we live in the future, not in the past, so we'll take it one day at a time. day after day, week after week, richard ratcliffe waged a tireless campaignfor nazanin, working around the clock, and last year went on hunger strike for nearly three weeks, an act of desperation to pressure the government to do more to get her home. he's always said she was being held as a bargaining chip, to get the uk to pay its long—standing military debt. i think it's wonderful news,

and i think we must always realise that, sadly, the regime in tehran is capable of holding people in this way. i think people do need to recognise that. and i'm glad that, after a great deal of uk diplomacy, we've been able to get her out, get her back to her family. it was back in april 2016 when nazanin was arrested as she prepared to leave for london after visiting her parents. months of solitary confinement followed, along with blindfolded interrogations and psychological torture. in september that year, an islamic revolutionary courtjudge sentenced her to five years in jail at a secret trial. she's accused of working against the iranian government. and last spring, when she'd completed that sentence, she's immediately sentenced again to another year in jail on charges of propaganda against the regime. but finally today she's heading

home, along with anoosheh ashoori, a retired engineer arrested in 2017 while visiting his elderly mother. he was serving a ten—year sentence for alleged spying, also after an unfair trial. we brought him his favourite beer... his daughter elika told me the family had also got in champagne and cake and could hardly believe the news. it's been nearly five years of being inside a prison cell, so to suddenly, in a matter of 2a hours, have that turnaround completely and to come back to normal life is very daunting as well as it is amazing. so, you know, we still have challenges ahead, but we're going to face it together as a family. there will be adjustments, too, for nazanin and herfamily, who haven't been all together for six long years. homecoming's a journey, not an arrival. i don't think it will be just today, there will be a whole process, and hopefully we'll look back in years to come and be a normal

family and this will be a chapter in our lives, but there are many more chapters to come. this is how it's been for the past few months, precious moments of parenting from thousands of miles away. but very soon now, she'll be back home with them. richard says she'll want him to make her a nice cup of tea and perhaps to tidy the flat. caroline hawley, bbc news. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe's release comes after years of campaigning and diplomacy by herfamily and british ministers, and crucially, the payment as we've been hearing, of that longstanding debt that britain owed iran. here's our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. it's now almost six years since nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe was arrested at tehran airport. repeated attempts to secure her release failed, so why is she being freed now? ultimately, it's because iran's revolutionary guards and judges have decided they no longer need to keep

her hostage to put diplomatic pressure on the uk. that's in part because the uk has paid iran a long—standing debt. britain owed iran money for tanks sold in the 1970s but never delivered after the revolution. the uk feared paying the debt would fund terrorism and breach sanctions. but in a deal finessed by the gulf state of oman, £393 million was finally transferred to iran today, money the government claims will be used for humanitarian purposes, thus avoiding the risk of sanctions. it's not a ransom, it's a debt, and the point about debt is, first of all, we're a country that pays our debts. and secondly, if you owe a debt, you have to pay to whoever you owe it to. mrs zaghari—ratcliffe has also been released because of diplomatic efforts, above all by her husband, using everything from publicity to hunger strikes to put pressure on iran and british ministers, who did not always help matters, such as when boris johnson told mps this...

when you look at what nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe was doing, she was simply teaching people journalism, as i understand it. this was a false claim that was used against her repeatedly on state media. but other foreign secretaries kept up the pressure, likejeremy hunt, who visited iran in 2018, and then finally liz truss, who sent teams of diplomats to iran to do a deal. what has changed in the last six months is we do have a new government in iran. and i was able, when i went to new york in september, and met minister abdollahian, to reset the relationship and be clear that we were serious about resolving the outstanding issues that iran had, and they were clear they were serious about resolving the outstanding issues we had. she also met her counterpart from 0man, who played a key mediation role, facilitating the payment of britain's debt through his

country's central bank. i really hope what has been achieved here may stand as a beacon for future progress, notjust in the relationship between the uk and iran but also in international relations. certainly, broader international relations did also play a role. iran's economy has been struggling under international sanctions, less able to trade and sell oil, penalties it wants to see lifted as part of negotiations to secure a new deal, curbing the country's nuclear activities. that agreement is hanging in the balance. releasing detainees could help. for six years, politics kept nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe apart from her family. now it's played a part in her release. james landale, bbc news. 0ur diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley is here.

it is hard to imagine what nazanin and herfamily have been through, they have been to hell and back no question. they have been to hell and back no cuestion. ., , ., . , they have been to hell and back no cuestion. ., , . . , question. today is an incredible day for everyone _ question. today is an incredible day for everyone involved _ question. today is an incredible day for everyone involved in _ question. today is an incredible day for everyone involved in the - question. today is an incredible day for everyone involved in the familyl for everyone involved in the family said they were always being held as hostages over the debt written odour but the debt has been paid and now she is almost home —— over the debt but the debt has now been paid. she is almost home. she had intense pressure psychologically, when she was interrogated, and richard at home it was waging an extraordinary campaign at home, to get her released, but she suffered hair loss, ptsd and was at one stage taken to hospital. and anoosheh ashoori tried to take his own life, and he went straight from a dirty prison cell to the airport to come home. the latest we have is that the flight with them will arrive at raf brize norton in a couple of hours,

just imagine how everyone is feeling at the moment. there will be emotional reunions and then the task of trying to rebuild their lives. caroline, thanks forjoining us. let's get the very latest, on the situation in ukraine, and reeta is live in the western city of lviv for us tonight. thank you. here in ukraine, attacks by russian forces have continued three weeks into the war — even as both sides talk of possible compromise. in the besieged southern port city of mariupol, the authorities say russia has bombed a theatre used as a shelter for hundreds of civilians. there is no word yet on casualties and russia denies the attack. and in the capital kyiv, the emergency services said russia had shelled a residential building. the city is currently observing a 35—hour curfew. although russian troops have pushed forward

towards the outskirts of the capital, their progress in the north has been slower than in the south. they've faced serious logistical problems, with many vehicles reportedly running out of fuel, as well as strong ukrainian resistance. our first report this evening is from jeremy bowen in kyiv — a warning it contains some flashing images. just after dawn, another attack hit a residential area in kyiv. ukrainian forces say they are keeping russian artillery out of range, but missiles can be fired from russia, and they are harder to stop. it was another harsh day. in the besieged city of mariupol, a theatre was hit, where the deputy mayor says civilians were sheltering. it isn't yet clear how many were in there when it was destroyed. siren blares and by mid—morning in kyiv, sirens and smoke on the horizon from the ukrainian counterattack, trying to push back the stalled russian offensive to the north—west.

that was why there was a curfew — making it impossible to check out the sounds of battle. ukraine's president zelensky dropped more hints about a ceasefire. but decisions, he said, had to be in ukraine's interest. perhaps the missile attacks on kyiv are to pressure ukraine to offer concessions for a ceasefire. so far, the attacks are isolated, threatening how bad it could get. for residents cleaning up before the curfew, even a single missile is terrifying. "i'm so stressed," she says. "i can't even tell you anything, i'm still shaking." but really big tests of ukrainian resolve in the capital have not yet happened. more missiles could be that test. ukraine's will to resist, though, is still strong.

workshops have switched to war production, strengthening fortifications. ukrainians say they are part of the reason why russian troops are not able to break into kyiv. this was filmed before the curfew. what they're working on here is a tyre ripper. the idea is that anyone driving over this will get their tyres destroyed, and they've even got little extra bits that go into the tyre to make it even worse. after three weeks, is a ceasefire possible? if not, will russia punish this city? would that break ukraine's will to fight? jeremy bowen, bbc news, kyiv. vladimir putin has insisted that the invasion of ukraine is going to plan, but he's admitted that sanctions are inflicting economic pain on russia.

there's a human cost being paid there too, with thousands of soldiers being sent to ukraine to fight in president putin's war. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg has been to one military funeral in the west of the country. in russia, they are grieving, too. mikhail was killed in action in ukraine. angelika is his widow. how many russian soldiers have been killed in what the kremlin still refuses to call a war? 0ne family's pain is being repeated across the country. it's a criminal offence in russia to quote anything but official figures.

and those are 498 russian servicemen dead. that was on march 2nd. there has been no update for two weeks. many russians rally around their leader in times of crisis. it's as if they don't want to believe their president may have taken a fatal decision. "we're doing the right thing," nikolai says. "nato wanted to set up shop right next to us in ukraine, and they've got nuclear weapons." "well done, putin, for stopping them." the kremlin wants russians to believe that what their troops are doing in ukraine is both necessary and heroic. it's what the state media is telling them from morning till night.

because if people stop believing that in large numbers, they'll start wondering why sons, brothers and husbands have been sent into ukraine for what's been called here "the special military operation". father ivan is wondering why. he recently delivered an anti—war sermon, and he criticised the kremlin's offensive on the church website. he was detained and fined under a new law for discrediting the russian armed forces. translation: i believe that any bloodshed, however - you try to justify it, is a sin. blood is on the hands of the person who spilled it. if an order was given, it's on the hands of whoever gave the order, supported it, or stayed silent.

on his finaljourney, full military honours for soldier mikhail. his country calls him a defender of the fatherland. and yet it was russia's army that attacked ukraine, on the orders of president putin, to restore russian power, and to force ukraine into russia's orbit. russian national anthem plays. but at what cost? steve rosenberg, bbc news, kostroma. the war here in ukraine has had many countries reappraising their reliance on russian energy — and today borisjohnson, on a visit to the middle east, held talks with the united arab emirates and saudi arabia, to try to increase oil and gas supplies. he's told the bbc that the west must never again be vulnerable

to vladimir putin's blackmail. some mps have criticised the trip because of saudi arabia's human rights record, but the prime minister says the uk won'tjust turn a blind eye to abuses. our political editor laura kuenssberg is travelling with the prime minister. politicians don'tjust drop in for social calls, and they can't always pick who to stand alongside, or how the national anthem is played. the prime minister wants to starve russia of roubles, which means phasing out their oil and gas. the saudi crown prince has the power to turn the taps on, but asking him means leaning on a controversial ally whose human rights record is so often condemned, at a moment when democratic values around the world are so under attack. how can part of the solution be going to a country, a regime like saudi arabia, that has just executed more than 80 of its citizens, that has a questionable record on women's rights, on gay rights? how can you be comfortable with that? the uk has a historic

and long—standing relationship with saudi arabia, which goes back many, many decades, and that's not going to disappear. but are you comfortable...? i'm not going to pretend that it is easy to have those conversations, but we have to do it. and we have to look at the progress that we are making with that relationship in driving green investment in the uk and making sure that we are able to have energy security for the people of britain. so, basically, it's worth it? you don't like it, but it's worth it? so i want to be clear, we don'tjust turn a blind eye, we don't wink at them, we don't ignore it. we raise it, and we make the argument. the two men talked for so long the staff had to wait. an hour and 45 minute conversation included human rights, but it is not clear exactly what was said. then, after some obvious confusion, the pair did emerge to sign an agreement —

not for more oil straightaway but a promise to work more closely together, and more investment announced today. yet the opposition's asking questions about the company mrjohnson keeps. i think everybody wants to see measures to bring the energy bills down, but going cap in hand from dictator to dictator is not an energy strategy. the prime minister says we can't rely on russia, so now he goes to saudi arabia. but hard thinking is needed — notjust clocking up air miles — to untangle military, economic, diplomatic clashes that haven'tjust built up overnight. if you look back at 2014 and what happened when putin took part of crimea — part of ukraine, then — took crimea and the donbas, we totally failed to understand the threat that he posed. and ukraine is paying the price for that with the west looking the other way. i totally agree, and so what we need to do now is make sure that the west is never again vulnerable

to putin's blackmail. i think the reality is that, in one important sense, putin has already failed, in that he did not understand what he would encounter when he sent his troops into ukraine. he's still bombing ukrainian men, women and children. he didn't understand the strength of their resistance. what putin needs to realise is that he cannot now succeed. he won't be able to crush and conquer ukraine, because they've shown, fundamentally, that they have an indomitable spirit. yet the world already looks so different. alliances shifting, unknown possibilities hang in the air. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, riyadh. the us presidentjoe biden has called vladamir putin a war criminal for the first time. it came after he announced a further $800 million of military aid to ukraine. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, used a rare live

address to the us congress to make an emotional appealfor more help from america to fight off the russian invasion. our north america editor sarah smith has more. straight to the heart of american democracy, a plea for the us to defend democratic freedom. a hero's welcome, but these lawmakers will not answer his pleas for a no—fly zone over ukraine. translation: is this a lot to ask for, to create - a no—fly zone over ukraine, to save people? is this too much to ask? showing a video of brutal russian bombardment, zelensky drew a direct comparison with pearl harbor and 9/11, times when the us was attacked from the skies. then speaking in english to appeal directly to the us president. you are the leader of the nation.

i wish you to be the leader of the world. being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. with this impassioned plea, president zelensky is challenging president biden to defend the very idea of democracy against autocracy, increasing the pressure on the us to do more to support ukraine. but biden is adamant — to impose a no—fly zone would risk escalating this conflict into a world war. what is at stake here are the principles that the united states and the united nations and across the world stand for, it's about freedom, it's about the right of to determine their own future, it's about making sure that ukraine will never be a victory for putin. later, and for the first time, he called putin a war criminal. oh, i think he is a war criminal.

signing over an additional $800 million of military assistance for ukraine. hundreds of portable surface—to—air stinger missiles have already been sent there, with many more on the way, along with anti—tank weapons, guns and ammunition to help defend against russian attacks. the us is promising a total of $13 billion for ukraine, in weaponry and humanitarian aid. there is a deep cross—party commitment to help as much as possible, but also a firm resolve that us forces or aircraft will not, cannot get involved in this conflict. sarah smith, bbc news, washington. let's join our chief international correspondent lyse doucet who is in kyiv. solution might be found, but this comes amid the bombing of a theatre in mariupol which may have resulted in many civilian casualties?

—— a theatre in mariupol used to shelter civilians? galbraith war is intensifying on many fronts, including in kyiv and around the besieged city of including in kyiv and around the besieged city 0— besieged city of mariupol, but diplomacy _ besieged city of mariupol, but diplomacy is _ besieged city of mariupol, but diplomacy is intensifying - besieged city of mariupol, but diplomacy is intensifying in i besieged city of mariupol, but. diplomacy is intensifying in many capitals. even the veteran russian former minister sergei lavrov, often known for his caustic remarks, spoke of something concrete which would soon be agreed. at both sides have very thick red lights, the financial times has written about a 15 point plan centring on ukraine renouncing forever any ambition to rejoin nato in exchange for security guarantees, but what kind of guarantees would be acceptable to both? ukraine still insists that russia withdraw from all the territories it occupied during this invasion, it is very hard to see that happening, particularly in the south. president putin today emphasised again, vowing

he would achieve all of his aims. never mind that large swathes of ukraine are smouldering ruins and the impact on civilians has reached what the un secretary—general called terrifying proportions. and so it was tonight again in mariupol where a theatre housing more than 1000 people including women and children came under attack, and there were big white sides of the theatre saying "children." —— big white reeta on the theatre. —— big white signs in the theatre. lyse doucet, many thanks. that's all from me in lviv, now it's back to clive in the studio in london. the conflict in ukraine, has seen sky rocketing prices globally, for basic commodities like fuel, fertilizer and food. businesses here are calling for help from the chancellor, ahead of next week's spring statement, as simonjack, reports now, from south shields,

in tyne and wear. as cheap as chips — that doesn't quite ring true when you look at the prices of what goes into making this british favourite. it's a story of food price inflation in a box. since last year, the price of white fish, of which russia is a major supplier, is up 50%. the price of potatoes is up 30% and headed higher. and even peas have seen a 100% increase in price. and the energy to cook it — a whopping 400% russia—related rise to businesses who are not protected by a price cap. owner richard 0rd says many local chippies won't survive. i've seen hundreds of shops already that haven't been able to cope with the price increases, and unfortunately things are actually getting worse. the sooner we can get something sorted with price increases, the better, or we're going to see a lot of your local fish and chip shops gone. it's a similar story in the supply chain. by this afternoon, these will be down to chip shops and restaurants all over the north of england. potato grower mark robson is cutting

back production and won't be sowing in this field. straight away, the fertiliser, that's tripled. electric has tripled. the haulage has not doubled, but it's certainly going to be there very shortly. you know, we will definitely lose money if we planted this this year. i dread to think what you'd lose on this one little field. there is sunshine on the coast, but the outlook for businesses and their customers seems bleak. the war in ukraine seems a long way away from this beach in south shields, but the soaring price of potatoes, fish, oil, the energy to cook them, is in part due to that conflict. it's causing a cost of living and a cost of doing business emergency, which has very much arrived on these shores, and the firms we work for, whose products and services we buy, are desperate for some kind of financial lifeline. but adding to the burden on companies and consumers is a planned £12 billion tax hike in april. the chancellor needs to change

course at his spring statement, according to business chiefs. increasing costs are coming from every side — raw materials, energy, labour costs. i mean, it's a perfect storm, so we've got two key asks for the chancellor. one is delay the national insurance increases that are coming in april, and let's find a way to protect businesses from at least some of the energy price rises with an sme price cap. the government tonight said it recognised the impact gas prices are having on businesses and is looking for the best ways to support them. this global crisis is making economic and political waves right here at home. simonjack, bbc news, south shields. despite continued speculation about the future of chelsea football club, they're through to the quarter finals of the champions league. what a goal!

they led lille 2—0 after the first leg at stamford bridge,