welcome to bbc news — i'm lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: back home — after six years in captivity in iran, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe arrives back in britain to be reunited with her family. ukrainian officials say a theatre in mariupol a welcome party watched her land and this is the seen line at raf brize norton where she is expected to leave shortly. this is the scene, live. ukrainian officials say a theatre in mariupol being used as shelter for civilians has been destroyed. russia denies attacking it. president biden brands vladimir putin a war criminal — as the us pledges a further $800 million of military support for ukraine. russia counts its dead in the war, but vladimir putin insists the invasion

is going to plan. we start with the news that has been breaking in the last hour. british—iranian national, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe has just landed back in the uk. this is the moment she arrived just after 1am local time on thursday morning. as you can see she walked down the steps of the plane alongside fellow british iranian anoosheh ashoori after their release was secured. the pair waved at cameras as they walked into a

reception building at the airfield and they have flown back via a brief stopover in oman. we can now cross to the foreign secretary, liz truss. we were not sure until the last minute so it has been very emotional but also really happy moment for the families and i am pleased to say that both naranin zaghari—ratcliffe and anoosheh ashoori are in good spirits, safe and well back here in britain. did spirits, safe and well back here in britain.— spirits, safe and well back here in britain. did they think the british — here in britain. did they think the british government - here in britain. did they think the british government at - here in britain. did they think the british government at all| the british government at all for the — the british government at all for the role they played? i thanked them and i think the families for how stoical they have been during this difficult period and we spoke about the process that we had been through, the difficult parts of making sure they were able to leave iran but it is fantastic to welcome them back safe and well. thank you. liz to welcome them back safe and well. thank you.— well. thank you. liz truss there, well. thank you. liz truss there. the _ well. thank you. liz truss there, the use _

well. thank you. liz truss there, the use pay - well. thank you. liz truss | there, the use pay foreign secretary, a quick few words with her reflections on the events that happened over the last 30 minutes. extraordinary moments, emotional of course for the families and for all the people involved in those negotiations. our reporter, our correspondent simonjones was at the airbase when she landed. he spoke a short while ago. family members are here. richard ratliff is here ready to greet his wife. also the uk foreign secretary, liz truss is here at raf brize norton. we know that this journey back from iran today has taken around 12 hours but the campaign to get naranin zaghari—ratcliffe freed and allowing her to return back to the united kingdom has taken almost six years. there has been a huge amount of diplomacy, stepped up in the past six months or so and then,

really, well when 2a hours when the family were suddenly told that there was a possibility that there was a possibility that naranin zaghari—ratcliffe could be returning home and could be returning home and could be returning home and could be returning home very quickly. it is something that they feared may never happen and even once the news emerged yesterday possible return to the united kingdom, they almost did not dare believe it. but now this has fully happened. she is now back in the uk and the reunion is certainly going to be an emotional one. we have heard from richard ratcliffe who says that he just cannot wait to begin what he is describing as a new chap to in the life of the family. but it is certainly going to be a challenging chapter, given what naranin zaghari—ratcliffe has been through, almost six years in detention, psychological torture, a trial that was considered unfair by charges

that were considered trumped up, accused of spying and then plotting to overthrow the government in iran, something she always denied. but now, chance back in the united kingdom tojust enjoy chance back in the united kingdom to just enjoy some family time, to try to get back to a sense of normality. what we are expecting is that the family are likely to go away for a couple of days to have some quiet time and privacy, just to spend time together for the first time in years. there will also need medical checks for naranin zaghari—ratcliffe after what she has been through but a sense here really in the early hours, just after one o'clock uk time, a sense of relief that, finally, this has happened. relief that, finally, this has happened-— relief that, finally, this has happened. relief that, finally, this has hauened. ., ., ,, ., , happened. thanks to simon jones there at the _ happened. thanks to simon jones there at the airfield _ happened. thanks to simon jones there at the airfield itself. - there at the airfield itself. having a moment now to remind ourselves of how we got here. the british government confirmed that it settled a debt that was owed to iran to secure the release of the pair.

in the 1970s the shah paid the british government $530 million for an order of tanks, that were never delivered because of the iranian revolution. nazanin was arrested in iran back in april 2016 as she prepared to leave for london, after visiting her pa rents. months of solitary confinment followed, along with blindfolded interrogations. in september that year, an islamic revolutionary courtjudge sentenced her to five years in jail at a secret trial. she was accused of working against the iranian government. and last spring when she completed that sentence, she was immediately sentenced to another year on charges of propaganda against the regime. but finally she's 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. with me is bbc reporter mark lobel who's been

following the story. an extraordinary sequence of events. what more do we know? just to bring us to where we are today, the uk are looking at cheap oil it needs because of what is happening in ukraine because of the cost of living and with iran they wanted to lift economic sanctions. so i think with both of those needs pressing on with the change of government in iran, this story came to a conclusion, really, because they realise that with british detainees, high—profile detainees in prison, they could not move forward on that issue, from the uk point of view, but iran was owed the money, this £400 million was paid. before we delve a little more into the political of this is just enjoy the moment and i want to show you some pictures that have been sent out by somebody who was on the plane leaving tae run with naranin zaghari—ratcliffe. look at that. what a lovely photograph. this is from a british diplomat, the middle east

director in the foreign office and these are some of the really fantastic moments. this is the moment that those two found out that they were leaving tae run. they were on the plane, finally, after years and years of campaigning in that time spent in prison. i'm sure that must have felt so surreal. in sure that must have felt so surreal. , , surreal. in their minds they must have _ surreal. in their minds they must have replayed - surreal. in their minds they must have replayed this - surreal. in their minds they - must have replayed this moment or imagine this moment for so long, losing hope, i imagine that it would ever happen and finally that they are smiling and sitting with that relief. and of course this was a diplomatic effort as well. it is. and what you said though, in terms of losing hope, i think you have really touched on a nerve there because both of them went through such different ordeals to difficult ordeals. at one point anoosheh ashoori tried to take his own life and had huge depression issues for naranin zaghari—ratcliffe at different points and at one point she had to go to hospital. but now we have liz truss tweeting her absolute delight at this if i

could read you some of what she said. she is delighted that naranin zaghari—ratcliffe and anoosheh ashoori have landed safely in the united kingdom and are reunited with their families, with loved ones, welcome home. she picked up on theissue welcome home. she picked up on the issue of the third of the three who were freed who has not been allowed to leave iran yet. he is also an american national as well as a uk national and anna rainey and national. she says he has been released on furlough and relied —— reunited with family in iran but she says it is far from sufficient and they will continue to work intensively to secure his departure from iran. a bit of work left to do there. and this is work that has been ongoing, notjust by liz truss but by predecessors and previous prime ministers and, not least, by richard himself, her husband, an extraordinary campaign over the years. indeed. most recently with a three—week hunger strike last year and liz truss thanked the prime minister and her

predecessor and tweets as well. it is notjust the british and american governments and the iran government but now we find out that, you know, omar and working hard to help out as well and it needed a change of tone, of attitude from the country but as we heard from simon jones country but as we heard from simonjones earlier, richard simon jones earlier, richard ratcliffe simonjones earlier, richard ratcliffe was supposedly at raf brize norton and, now is the time forfamilies to brize norton and, now is the time for families to reunite. indeed, an extraordinary and emotionalfew hours indeed, an extraordinary and emotional few hours ahead for all those involved. mark for the moment, thank you. but several of the psychological aspect i'm joined now by jason rezaian. he was the washington post's tehran correspondent for four years. he spentjust under 18 months in tehran�*s notorious evin prison until his release injanuary 2016. he now hosts a podcast about that experience and similar cases called �*544 days'. thank you for coming on the

programme. thank you for coming on the programme-— thank you for coming on the rouramme. ., , ., ~ i. programme. can i 'ust take you back to this _ programme. can i just take you back to this moment _ programme. can i just take you back to this moment of - programme. can i just take you back to this moment of your . back to this moment of your release. you know you are released and you touch down, you are finally home. what are those emotional moments actually like to live through? it is a mixed bag. there is obviousjoy and it is a mixed bag. there is obvious joy and elation that you are finally being returned to liberty, a great sense of relief that you are out of harm's way but, also, sadness of what you left behind. in the case of naranin zaghari—ratcliffe, her parents and siblings and the place where she grew up. and i think it is a process of recovery that takes months, if not years and, you know, the initial feeling that i remember having in the days and weeks that

followed my release was that i am thrilled to be free but why am thrilled to be free but why am i not happy? ithink am thrilled to be free but why am i not happy? i think i'm spalling the trauma that one has experienced by being held hostage for so long takes a long time to work out. that is an absolutely _ long time to work out. that is an absolutely fascinating - an absolutely fascinating insight and that such a complicated emotion to try and unpick why you are not happy. that must be incredibly difficult to work through and take a lot of time. and even richard ratcliffe, he was saying that this is not the end, this is now the beginning of that kind ofjourney. and the phrase we have heard throughout the day is people come out different people than they went into prison. i5 come out different people than they went into prison. is it something _ they went into prison. is it something you _ they went into prison. is it something you recognise? certainly. it may sound a little odd but it took a couple of years for me to really

recognise that voice inside my own head as me, the fear, the trepidation, the anxiety in public places were not something that i was used to before, before i was arrested and, you know, again, it takes and, you know, again, it takes a lot of work and a lot of time, fortunately i have a wonderfulfamily and employers wonderful family and employers and wonderfulfamily and employers and a community around me that was there to care for me and i know from six years of getting to know richard ratcliffe, that naranin zaghari—ratcliffe is coming home to a wonderful ally and partner. coming home to a wonderful ally and partner-— and partner. clear by the way that ou and partner. clear by the way that you are _ and partner. clear by the way that you are speaking - and partner. clear by the way that you are speaking about i and partner. clear by the way| that you are speaking about it how important that set up and that support is. i know what we want to stay away from issuing advice over the airways but i wonder, words do you have for naranin zaghari—ratcliffe about the months and years ahead?

healing and getting back to that life that you strived to have while it was taken away from you is possible but it is not guaranteed. the best recipe for getting there is to give yourself time and space and allow people to take care of you, to feel comfortable making requests and conditions that she and i and anoosheh ashoori and the man who was still in iran have all experienced stop choice is taken away from you. you do not have the free will and learning to access that once again in freedom does take some time. it once again in freedom does take some time-— some time. it is fascinating. one last _ some time. it is fascinating. one last point _ some time. it is fascinating. one last point i _ some time. it is fascinating. one last point i want - some time. it is fascinating. one last point i want to - some time. it is fascinating. | one last point i want to touch on. anoosheh ashoori's ap experience. we know one point he tried to take his own life and that really brings home

just what that experience of that lack of hope, that loss of hope and not being able to imagine and picture a day like today. it feels like an incredibly difficult thing that he will have to try and now reconcile from a place of not imagining this at all happening to it now happening. did you have those moments, not believing it was going to happen? i believing it was going to happen?— believing it was going to ha . en? . ., , happen? i certainly did. on the one thing that _ happen? i certainly did. on the one thing that we _ happen? i certainly did. on the one thing that we all _ happen? i certainly did. on the one thing that we all have - happen? i certainly did. on the one thing that we all have in i one thing that we all have in common is that we are innocent people, taken hostage and thrust into an impossible set of circumstances that we have no control over. and during those initial phases when all of us were held in solitary confinement and interrogated relentlessly, that ridiculous matters that we had nothing to do with, you are told, consistently that you are not going to come out of this place alive. that you will be executed, that we have already reported in our state media that you died in a car

accident, that you will spend the rest of your life in prison. and juxtapose that with them telling you at various times that your release is imminent, it might happen tomorrow, it might happen this afternoon. the confusion that that breeds are not having any outlets or opportunity to bounce this information off anybody you can rely on is designed to make one go mad and it works. but, you know, again, i spent a lot of time communicating with richard and with the family of anoosheh ashoori and the family of more at and many others who have been through this situation and the one thing that i try and tell them is that your ordeal will come to an end. sometimes in some cases sooner than others but there will be an after. as richard said, a new

chapter to a life together. and i hope and wish that for everybody being held unjustly in iran or anywhere else in the world. . ~ in iran or anywhere else in the world. ., ~' ,, , in iran or anywhere else in the world. . ~ ,, , . in iran or anywhere else in the world. ., ~ , . ., world. thank you very much for cominu world. thank you very much for coming on _ world. thank you very much for coming on and _ world. thank you very much for coming on and talking - world. thank you very much for coming on and talking us - coming on and talking us through. it is an enormous and unimaginable experience and you have brought focus for us. thank you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: in ukraine, a theatre in the besieged port city of mariupol, which ukraine claims russia bombed with more than 1200 civilians sheltering inside. we will have the details. 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 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 bbc world news, the latest headlines: in the past hour, the british

iranian woman, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, has arrived backin zaghari—ratcliffe, has arrived back in the uk for the first time in almost six years. to ukraine now and the besieged port city of mariupol. officials say russian forces have bombed a theatre, where it's thought more than 1200 civilians were sheltering. the number of casualties is not yet known — and russia denies it's responsible. in the capital kyiv, currently under a 35—hour curfew, emergency services say russia shelled a residential building. advancing russian troops have faced serious logistical problems, with many vehicles reportedly running out of fuel, as well as seeing strong ukrainian resistance. our first report 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're 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 counter—attack, 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. the ukrainians say they're 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. president biden has announced a further $800 million of military aid to ukraine. it comes after ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, used a rare live address to the us congress to make an emotional appeal for more help from america. 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's 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 people to determine their own future, it's about making sure ukraine will never be a victory for putin. later, and for the first time, he called putin a war criminal. oh, ithink 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. a reminder of our top story: the british iranian woman, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, has touched down on british soil for the first time since she was detained in iran six years ago. this is the moment she arrived at raf brize norton in oxfordshire, just after 1am local time on thursday morning. you can see her walking down the steps there was the other person there is fellow british iranian, anoosheh ashoori. after he was detained as well. they were both detained effectively on spying charges, charges of trying to overthrow the government, both widely rejected, significant moment for both of them as they walked towards their families, for those emotional reunions. we will have more coverage of that in the hours to come. get in

touch with me online, on twitter. i'm @lvaughanjones. hello there. there's going to be a different look to the weather on thursday and a change of fortune for much of the country as well. with the rain having cleared away, we had the sunnier skies across more western parts of scotland. there was almost an inch of rain in wiltshire and, for a while, we actually had some quite heavy rain here in lincolnshire as well. with that wetter weather clearing away out into the north sea and these showers yet to arrive from the northwest, we're going to have some clearer skies developing. so, by the time we get to early thursday morning, it could be quite cold and frosty in a few places. temperatures will be close to freezing, maybe down to —4 or so in the northeast of scotland. we'll find those showers coming in from the northwest across scotland and northern ireland — notjust one band of showers, but two, and they could be quite heavy as well.

some sunshine in between. those showers tending to die out as they move over the irish sea, one or two in the afternoon for northern parts of england and wales. but for much of england and wales, it will be dry with more the way of sunshine this time and lighter winds towards the southeast — temperatures here making 14, perhaps even 15 degrees. we do have some weakening weather fronts moving down from the northwest, bringing those bands of showers, but high pressure is going to be building by the end of the week, so it looks like it'll be dry on friday. could have some moisture left over from the earlier showers, giving this patchy mist and fog across parts of wales and the midlands. that will tend to lift, and we'll see a good deal of sunshine, i think, on friday, the breeze starting to pick up in some areas later in the day, but those temperatures are tending to climb as well. 13 degrees in the central belt of scotland, 15 or 16 perhaps in the east midlands and towards the fens. the weekend remains quiet and dry as well. a lot of sunshine around this weekend, but we're likely to have some stronger winds, too. after a chilly—ish start, i think, on saturday, it looks like a fine spring day — lots of sunshine around, dry day, but a noticeably stronger east or southeasterly wind, which means the highest temperatures are likely to be along the coast of northwest

england and around the moray firth — 16 or 17 celsius. high pressure in charge this weekend. the centre of the high is drifting to the east of the uk, allowing these stronger winds to arrive and maybe threatening one or two showers in the evening on sunday in the far southeast of england. otherwise, sunday is a dry day. temperatures a little bit lower. we may see a bit more cloud on monday and perhaps one or two showers.

this is bbc news. the headlines: nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe has arrived back in the uk for the first time in almost six years. her husband and seven—year—old daughter were waiting as her plane touched down. she had been detained in iran after being accused of working against the government in tehran — something she denied. travelling with her was the british—iranian man anoosheh ashoori, who has also been allowed to return to the uk. the retired civil engineer had been detained for almost five years on spying charges, which he too denied. one other headline: the authorities in the besieged ukrainian city of mariupol say a theatre that was being used by large numbers of civilians as a shelter has been destroyed by russian bombing.

city officials say the building was deliberately targeted.