this is bbc news, the headlines: russia's president vladimir putin has set out what he wants in exchange for a peace deal in ukraine. he laid out his demands in a phone call with the president of turkey, who's acting as a go—between in peace talks. the demands include a guarantee that ukraine neverjoins nato. the ukrainian army is continuing to hold off the russian advance in the second city of kharkiv, even as it comes under heavy daily bombardment. a planned humanitarian corridor to allow people to be evacuated from kharkiv failed to operate, due to shelling by russian forces. in the besieged city of mariupol, there are reports many people have survived after a theatre was bombed by russian forces. hundreds were thought to be sheltering in the basement. ukraine's president zelensky

has accused russia of deliberately targeting the theatre, something russia denies. one of the most shameful acts in the history of british industrial relations — that's how the rmt trade union is describing a decision by p&0 ferries to sack 800 staff without notice. our transport correspondent katy austin reports from dover. p&0 is one of the uk's biggest and best known ferry operators but its shock dismissal of 800 workers has created a storm. the company has made the decision... staff members who were informed in a video that they were losing theirjobs sent this footage to the bbc. i'm sorry to inform you this means your employment is terminated with immediate effect on the grounds of redundancy. your final day of employment is today. the company had earlier halted

all of its services, and a worker leaving a ferry in hull spoke to the bbc. we didn't know what to do. we had been told by this video message, but we have not seen anything in writing, there was no formal warning and we weren't told about anything beforehand, so what do we do? the rmt union said crew were being replaced by cheaper workers. a huge impact on the local economy. we have got individuals who have worked for this employer for in excess of a0 years, and we have got individuals who have been with this company for five years and thought they were embarking at a career at sea with a respectable employer, but their hopes and dreams have been thrown up in tatters. we have had children and families coming here in absolute tears. one seafarer told us that an agency sent him to a p&o ship in scotland but when it became clear he would be replacing the sacked crew he

quit and is on the train home. it was just horrible. we started feeling sick and nauseous because we knew what we were doing, we were taking those people's jobs. footage emerged of security personnel approaching a vessel in the northern irish port of larne while affected staff were on it. p&o ferries which is owned by dubai—based dp world is blaming its decision on financial challenges. like other ferry companies, p&o has suffered from a big drop in passenger traffic during the pandemic and the company said today it wasn't a viable business in its current state. it said it had to make swift and significant changes to survive. government ministers have expressed concern... reports of workers being given zero notice and escorted off their ships with immediate effect, while being told cheaper alternatives would take up their roles, shows the insensitive way in which p&o have approached this issue.

a point i have made crystal clear to p&o's management when i spoke to them earlier this afternoon. p&o said it would offer enhanced compensation packages because of the short notice, but labour branded the actions of the company a betrayal of workers who had kept the country stocked throughout the pandemic. katy austin, bbc news, in dover. now on bbc news, 100 women in conversation. vera wang is one of the fashion industry's true visionaries. she reinvented wedding dresses. celebrities have worn her designs, her business empire continues to expand to home, fragrance, and even vodka. at 72, she is continuing to push boundaries, and in this special 100 women interview, we spoke about appealing to a new generation, conflict between sustainability and fashion, and the rise

in anti—asian hate. welcome to 100 women, vera wang. you are a woman who needs no introduction, fashion icon, entrepreneur. thank you for sitting down with us. thank you so much for having me. you now run a vast business empire, ready to wear, home, fragrance, alcoholic spirits. you really did make your name and were synonymous with the white dress. i wonder if you could tell us more about how you got your unlikely start in bridalfashion. my unlikely start is pretty fair and pretty true. i was the girl least expected to get married, and i waited till the ripe old age of a0. but in all honesty,

i think my life, or i, was very much defined by what my career path was. when i finally got engaged, there weren't very many dresses that i found were suitable for a ao—year—old bride, which perhaps today doesn't sound as old. but most of the brides i was shopping for dresses with were 25, and i said there's got to be something for someone my age. not only that, i came from vogue magazine, where i was a senior fashion editor, so my experience in vogue, with the entire world of fashion at my disposal, made me a little bit more, ithink, careful about what kind of dress i wanted to wear, more knowledgeable. and so there really wasn't anything out there that made me feel it was the right dress for me. and that's sort of what prompted this whole business. it's been almost, in a weird way, random, but nonetheless,

amazing things have happened because of the way i live my life. today it's even harder for someone to start their own label. what challenges do you think come with that pressure, that your label is very much based upon you? i think it's enormous. i think that's an incredibly valid question, when you are very much defined by who you are as a brand, and people know your brand for you, there are always issues that come up, related to, you know, the next generation and what are the plans for the company, what do you intend to do as a strategy going forward, and when you are that identifiable with the brand, and perhaps a bit of that kind of celebrity, it does add more pressure, there's no doubt about it. i think, for me, there have been good parts about it,

and parts about it that have been frustrating. iam my brand, and i represent my brand, but i have an incredible group of people that support me behind my brand. you have to function together. it's impossible, unless. it's a high—pressure industry, for sure, the reviews aren't always glowing, and you had yourfairshare, when there was the black bridal collection. i don't know if it wasn't glowing, i have always been a bit of a rebel. and i think that, i think that even as a rebel, ijust am a creator. and i think when you spend 30—plus years on wedding gowns, you've sort of got to change it up a little bit. ijust thought, you have to give brides a certain freedom, and a certain opportunity to shake it up a little bit.

and girls, today, we encourage so much diversity, but women have always been diverse, it just hasn't been acknowledged, and it hasn't been accepted, and i like to think that when i came to bridal, i wasn't a bridal designer, i was a fashion insider, who happens to design wedding dresses, so there were no rules for me, and ijust said, you know what? i want girls to have a choice, they want to wear a mini, or a bathing suit, it's not about that, it's about who they are. so i think diversity has always been part of my own nature as a woman, and i have lived my own life. once again, i lived the life that i espouse, so for me it's very natural to be organic and i hope it's very authentic. the reason i brought that up is, for a woman who prides herself on breaking the rules, how do you deal with failure? i think most of my life has

been defined by failure. i mean, i was a very serious elite athlete, and i devoted 16 years of my life to trying to qualify in the olympics as a skater. and never quite made the cut. so, for me, when i saw that my career was going nowhere, i really had a nervous breakdown. i was lost. and fashion was the thing that really took the place for me of skating, it really gave me all those components, you know, shows, and music, and editing, and design and creativity, and storytelling, all the things i loved about skating, i took with me into fashion. my fashion has not been limited to two—dimensional sketches, or evenjust draping, it's been about story, emotion, it's been about, perhaps, romance, in many ways, and, i think, a lot of daring. i think i've been

fairly fearless. and thatjust, sort of having been an athlete, and part of having been a woman, i think, who has lived my life, i think on my own terms, pretty much. you consider yourself very much a feminist? i am a realfeminist, from way back when it was called feminism. i think it came very naturally for my generation. that woodstock was not, well, perhaps it's been interpreted as a fashion statement, at coachella, burning man, and some of these festivals, glastonbury, but the real truth is that, in my era, it was a political statement as well, it wasn'tjust about styling yourself, it was about a sense that you were young, and we believed that we should have a say in what goes on in the world, and we brought a different view

point to what had come before. so it wasn't raised purely from a professional of view, so it wasn't raised purely from a fashion point of view, it was embraced from an intellectual and emotional point of view. so, while i wasn't a hippy, per se, i very much understood, that people were questioning their lifestyles, and their life choices, and was this the only possibility? and that has been one of the little steps, or major steps, that has gotten us where we are today. bit by bit, step by step. and about fashion, i've always said, does fashion define lifestyle? in other words, do you live a life defined by how you dress? or, do you wear clothes that reflect the life you are living? and, for me, in the past, you dressed to suit your lifestyle, and what was

dictated to you in the past. but now, including the pandemic, and everything that has gone on in our world, i think that fashion is defined by how people live — it's the reverse. you've been an insiderfor over 50 years, do you feel like there finally is a real thought of resetting, when it comes to diversity, and fashion, of different ethnicities, on the catwalk, in production, body shapes, all types of diversity? i think women have always been diverse, that's the beauty of women. but i think now people accept so many different kinds of beauty. it's a global vision, rather than these thoughts of what beauty is, or how beauty is defined, even within the united states. and i think that is incredible. and it changes your eye as a creator, it changes...

i'm constantly viewing women, even men, in a different context. i name a few icons, jackie kennedy, grace kelly, marilyn monroe — these are various icons that brought something to fashion, and today, you do see variations on some of that. i mean you really do, but in a new way, in a more personal way. it's notjust your movie stars or first ladies, or princesses. it's kind of democratised now, and that's kind of great. one of the big issues that came up in this pandemic is that of sustainability. do you think the two can ever go hand—in—hand, fashion and sustainability, is that something you as a designer are thinking seriously about, now more than ever? i think we have always thought about it. i don't think it was ever

a subject we could tackle as an industry, globally, because by its very demand for speed and delivery, that, by its very definition, makes sustainability very difficult on every level. and then factor in what's going on with the planet, and what's going on with the techniques needed to develop fabric. now that we are working with new fabrics like plastics and moulded rubber and things like that, that we take them for granted, but it's going to take a lot of technology and a lot of investment to find ways to produce that kind of forward—thinking, and new way of lifestyle dressing, and yet not pollute our environment. so i don't think it's that simple a question. do we all wish we were more sustainable? absolutely. but the demands prior to

the pandemic were unbelievable pressure on fashion industry. i mean, it was faster and faster, newer and newer. i don't know how the two can go together. one has to be way more, i think, scientific, in a weird way, and way more thoughtful, and these changes are not going to happen within a day. you know, just flip a switch and suddenly silk doesn't involve a certain kind of water, and whether it is made in italy or france or china. these are global questions forfashion. have you reflected during the pandemic over what the future of fashion might look like? i think the future of fashion for me is exciting, because the future of the world and life is exciting. i mean, peoplejust went

into outer space, and people who aren't even astronauts can go — civilians? i think it's really exciting, and it too will affect how we dress. once again, i'm going to say it. lifestyle, possibilities are unlimited. boundaries, that will affect fashion. well, you have certainly lived through some amazing milestones, and i think what has been so interesting during this pandemic is people really getting to see a lot of your personality on social media. yes, a bit too much actually! and commenting on how great you look, i mean, a photo of you in a sports bra went viral, and i wasjust wondering how do you think about that, what you think about that attention? it was really shocking. i have never been to a gym and not seen women necessarily in sports attire, bicycle pants, short shorts, sports bras. so i didn't think that was so risque. i was just trying to show some barrettes in my hair that

were sort of large, and i thought if i started getting very dressed up, you would never notice what was in my hair. so i was really a bit shocked. i don't know, i have sort of pretty much been the same person for quite a long time. you can look at my history on the red carpet at the met. i just sort of was astonished, i thought people must be really bored! have nothing to do at home. i mean, it is nice that people thought that about me, it's very complimentary and i'm very grateful for that, but, you know, i've been asked, what are my secrets, all right, and i've got to be really honest. one of them is sleep. i value sleeping enormously. i value having a vodka cocktail at the end of the day, because it helps me to transition from a very intense work schedule

to a bit of a private life. another, well, the real, the real answer to why i think i may be perceived as being youthful is more about perhaps my energy, and i think it really has to do with my passion for what i do. work. i have been in fashion since i was 19 years old. not in front of the camera, behind it. i never thought about youth, i never thought about going way out of my way to preserve youth, in a fanatical, obsessive way. probably because i work with the most beautiful women in the world on a daily basis, and because of that, i am more envisioning them as my muses. and i think when you don't

think about ageing in that way, maybe it is in a way better. maybe, i don't know, it is healthier, or maybe it's a way of dealing with ageing that is productive, if that makes any sense. so i always said that, vodka cocktail, a lot of sleep, but work. work is the magic elixir here, it really is. it keeps your mind occupied, and when your mind is occupied, i think everything else follows. well, you are certainly changing the perspective of what it means to be 72, and how age influences... well, i don't think any woman is thrilled by that, in a way, but at the same time, i am kind of proud of it, because i think it speaks to other women, and i don't meanjust women, i think

it speaks to men. ageism has always existed. i see it in a child, in my goddaughter, val. i see that she wants to do more, she wants to be an adult. "why can't i go out with you guys for dinner, why can't i wear what i want to wear, why can't i?" because you can't, because mommy says no. i see what a lot of my godchildren are going through, and my own daughters. i see how hard it is, so there is ageism there. "you are not old enough, you are not old enough to be ceo, you are not experienced enough, you don't have enough knowledge". so there is ageism there. there is always an ageism somewhere, all the way along the way, and then as you get older, you have to find your own relevancy, and your own reason, and your own hopes, and your own happiness,

and your own desire for how you are going to spend the rest of your life. these are not small issues. at every stage of the way, ageism today is only associated with people who are chronologically at a certain age, a number. it is a number. but in many cases, i see people doing their very best work, because they have the confidence. whenever i feel like i'm lost before a collection, i tell myself this, even today. "well, i've been here before. this is not my first time at the rodeo". and i've come through. so i talk myself into the fact that i can do this. and i know that may sound odd at my stage of my career, but experience stands for a lot, too. knowledge, wisdom, patience, care. these things... you grow everyday in your life,

you have to try and continue to grow, in one way or another, and that is why i find ageism so old—fashioned. you used your platform on social media to speak out about anti—asian hate. we have seen a rise of this during the pandemic. how personal was this for you, and to be able to have a platform to speak out about this? well, first of all it was very shocking, because i began to hear stories that people that were just going grocery shopping were being knocked down on the ground, and their groceries stolen. and i just couldn't understand... well, i can't understand any kind of cruelty, whether it is on a personal level, or whether it is on a global level, when it is targeted at any group of people. i couldn't understand how you could hit a woman who is in her 80s with her groceries. i don't understand that.

because she's asian? i grew up in an asian household in america, amer—asian, and although i like to think i'm extremely american, i also know that i bring that part of my asian culture with me into everything i do. it is always present as a part of me. and i think we are encouraged to behave. we are encouraged to toe the line, to respect elders, to be kind, to work hard, to achieve, and to stand on our own two feet, and that is part of, you know, particularly chinese culture. i myself have always been a little bit of a rebel, just a bit, but nonetheless, i hope, respectful. and that is why it is particularly painful. i just feel that if you are trying to live your life, and be a good citizen, and make contributions as well,

and bring your culture into that melting pot that is the united states, that you are not going to be punished for it, or hurt, or attacked. so it has been very troubling for me. i think for that, and so many other reasons, women are now saying that they really feel there is a need for a reset after the pandemic, that things can't go back to the old way. do you think that is an important thing for you right now in your life? well, i had to reset, for so many reasons. i had employees who have worked for me faithfully for two decades or more, and with everything happening in the fashion industry, i tried to hold on for as long as i could, and when many stores, you know, retail, bricks and mortar, were shut down for eight months to a year, and offices were closed, some have not been

reopened, and they are operating through zoom, it had to affect our industry. i see myself as a hamster in a wheel, or the treadmill is speeding up and i can't keep up, and i think the pandemic allowed me time to think. the pandemic made us all slow down. it forced us to confront the speed at which we were functioning. it forced us to confront our own value system, our own ambitions, life and death, family, politics, and we now see we are all vulnerable to the exact same things. and hopefully, the sooner we can all work together and help each other and try to save, in an obvious sense, the planet, but in a more intellectual and essential way, our lives, i think the better.

vera wang, thank you very much for having this discussion with 100 women. i am just so honoured to have been asked. thank you. hello there. the weather is really settling down. there's going to be a lot of dry weather, probably, for the next week or so. now, on thursday, we saw more cloud mainly across northern parts of the uk, giving us a few showers. but we're going to see less of this and more of this — blue skies over the next few days, very colourful picture there in the centre of london. now, this was the cloud that gave us the rain on wednesday. that's well out of the way. this cloud is not really reaching our shores, and the speckle cloud, the showers in the north of scotland are tending to fade away. so, with clear skies, light winds, it is going to be a chilly start to friday morning with some frost, particularly across scotland and northern ireland. maybe a few mist and fog

patches across wales, the midlands, across the west country, too. these will lift in the morning, and then the sunshine comes out far and wide once again. the winds tending to freshen up a little bit in the afternoon, but it's likely to be a warmer day than it was on thursday. temperatures of 13 degrees in the central belt of scotland and newcastle, and a high of 16 celsius in the southeast of england. the weather's quitening down because high pressure's building across the uk on friday. the centre of that strong high�*s going to be pushing to the east of our shores with quite a few isobars on the chart on saturday. it's going to be dry on saturday, but the winds will be quite a bit stronger — that'll be a noticeable change for all parts of the country. so, no frost around, probably no fog around on saturday morning, but there will be lots of sunshine during the day. the winds coming in from the east or southeast means that the highest temperatures will always be across more sheltered western areas. across some eastern parts of england, temperatures maybe no higher than 12 or 13 degrees. could make 16 along the coast

of northwest england, but it's up towards the northwest highlands and perhaps even into the moray firth that temperatures could reach 17 or 18 degrees, and it could be the warmest day of the year so far. as we move into sunday, there are going to be some changes. it's going to be colder for a start and a bit more cloud around, too. there'll still be some sunshine around on sunday, but more cloud, especially for some eastern parts of the uk. it could just be thick enough to give one or two light showers in east anglia and the southeast of england. the winds won't be as strong on sunday, but temperatures are going to be lower, struggling to make double figures around some of those eastern coasts. but let's end on a positive note, because early next week, it's going to get warmer.

hello, this is bbc news — our top stories. pounded for weeks, kharkiv has been decimated by russian shelling, but ukrainian fighters are resisting. we have a special report from the frontline. they've tried to punch through here, again and again and again, and they've failed. the ukrainian armed forces are keeping them at bay. in the south — rescuers search for survivors — after a theatre is bombed with hundreds sheltering in the basement. are we closer to a peace deal? russia's president has put forward his proposals to turkey. do they leave or stay behind — the agonising decisions

being made in the crucial port city of odesa — including