welcome to bbc news. i'm mark lobel. our top stories: as the war in ukraine enters its second month, the country's president calls for a show of support around the world. come from your offices, your homes, your schools and universities. come in the name of these. with ukrainian symbols to support freedom, to support life. nato says it'll double the number of battle groups deployed on its eastern flank in response to russia's invasion. a siege without end: we talk to one of the survivors of mariupol, the ukrainian city under relentless russian shelling. no return to class for the girls of afghanistan: the taliban orders secondary schools to remain closed.

and tributes are paid to madeline albright, america's first female secretary of state, who's died at the age of 8a. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. it's exactly a month since russia defied expectations and invaded ukraine, a month in which ukraine has resisted the russian onslaught. in a speech to mark the occasion, president volodymyr zelensky appealed in english to people all over the world to come out onto the streets on thursday to show their support for ukraine. he reflected on the russian plan to, in his words, "wipe ukraine off the face of the earth."

he also said "they were wrong," words aimed at those who thought ukrainians would be frightened and wouldn't fight. it comes as nato is expected to agree to send more troops to eastern europe at an emergency meeting in brussels on thursday. for the latest, here's gareth barlow. for ukrainians, it's the war that should have never begun, for president putin it is the special military operation that was supposed to take days. but a month on, the brutal conflict continues. in the face of superior forces, ukrainian soldiers and civilians are digging in, preparing the capital, kyiv, for the full force of moscow's military might. but despite overwhelming odds in some areas, russian forces are being pushed back. from official forces, the from officialforces, the areas in the control of ukrainian

soldiers. for residents of cities like mariupol, daily life has become death. with each week, a frustrated russian army has increasingly sought to grind down ukrainian morale and the very fabric of ukraine itself. and as western arms pour in, the country's president has sought to get the message out of the devastation caused by the russian invasion. on wednesday, in his nightly address, addressing the world in english, volodymyr zelensky called for people to unite. come in the name of peace. come with ukrainian symbols to support ukraine, to support freedom, to support life. come to your squares, your streets. make yourselves visible and heard. say that people matter, freedom matters, peace matters, ukraine matters. the conflict has seen nato bolster its presence along its eastern flank. around 40,000 forces are now gathered there, and on thursday, after flying into brussels,

president biden will meet with allies to discuss deploying more troops close to the conflict. i expect leaders will agree to strengthen nato�*s posture in all domains with major increases to our forces in the eastern part of the alliance. 0n land, in the air and at sea. despite continued talks between russia and ukraine, there's no sign president putin is prepared to back down and end the suffering inflicted on ukraine. but despite the grief and bloodshed the country has already endured, months on, there is no sign ukrainians are prepared to back down in the defence of their country. gareth barlow, bbc news. ivo daalderjoins me now. he served as the united states ambassador to nato from

2009 to 2013. many thanks for joining many thanks forjoining us. ukraine has defied expectations one month on, no doubt about that. is there anything nato can say or do to deter the russians inside ukraine, and assuage concerns over the border or is itjust to put it crudely a bystander in this right now?— crudely a bystander in this right now? crudely a bystander in this riaht now? . , , ., ., right now? clearly, it is not a bystander — right now? clearly, it is not a bystander in _ right now? clearly, it is not a bystander in the _ right now? clearly, it is not a bystander in the sense - right now? clearly, it is not a bystander in the sense that l bystander in the sense that weapons continue each and every day across the border into ukraine to provide ukraine with the means to defend it else, to shoot down helicopters and aircraft with stinger and other man pads, go after tanks and artillery systems and rocket systems that are being used to besiege the cities there, taken up besiege the cities there, taken up with javelin �*s and other weapons. up with javelin 's and other weapons-— up with javelin 's and other weaons. �* ., ., ., ., weapons. but nato as a whole? nato as a _ weapons. but nato as a whole? nato as a whole, _ weapons. but nato as a whole? nato as a whole, first _ weapons. but nato as a whole? nato as a whole, first of - weapons. but nato as a whole? nato as a whole, first of all, - nato as a whole, first of all, is there to protect the

territory of nato, but also as a warning to vladimir putin, and one of the things i expect him to talk about in the meeting shortly at nato is in fact to have a discussion about how do we prevent vladimir putin from escalating further, in particular when it comes to the use of chemical or other weapons of mass destruction, including regular weapons. and to say, —— nuclear weapons. and decide if there is a line crossed would lead to direct nato intervention. we are closer to that than we were four weeks ago. i hope there is no further intervention, in fact, we all hope the walk and end as soon as possible and russian forces are withdrawn back to where they came from. but until such time, what is important is for nato to be ready to make clear that certain actions by russia are completely unacceptable and will lead to consequences. you mentioned _ will lead to consequences. you mentioned chemical, - will lead to consequences. you mentioned chemical, biological or nuclear attacks or even a

attack on a convoy in ukraine territory, but what could ukraine do, what with the deterrence that it could spell out in the next few hours be? under specific circumstances, it could move in particular directions, it could impose a no—fly zone in response to the use of chemical weapons or it could even come to direct assistance of ukraine with airpower, potentially even with ground forces in order to help ukraine defeat the russian army inside ukraine and restore the territorial integrity and independence of ukraine. interesting. that is further than the leaders have gone at all. i have pushed back against those, so you think it might be likely. that is fascinating. can i ask you one more question? russia, how close it to ending this will now do you think based on what you know today? i think based on what you know toda ? ., �* ~' today? i don't think russians are prepared _ today? i don't think russians

are prepared to _ today? i don't think russians are prepared to enter - today? i don't think russians are prepared to enter war, i today? i don't think russiansi are prepared to enter war, at least vladimir bruton isn't prepared to end the war yet. he is looking at achieving his war aims, which from the bid very beginning has included capturing kyiv and overthrowing the government. he is no nearer now than he was three weeks ago but i think he will continue to try, which is one of the reasons i worry about potential escalation using unconventional weapons. escalation using unconventional weaons. �* , escalation using unconventional weaons. �* ., escalation using unconventional weaons. ~ ., , escalation using unconventional weaons. �* . , ., weapons. always a pleasure to have ou weapons. always a pleasure to have you one. _ weapons. always a pleasure to have you one. thank _ weapons. always a pleasure to have you one. thank you - weapons. always a pleasure to have you one. thank you so i weapons. always a pleasure to i have you one. thank you so much for having us. mr; have you one. thank you so much for having us— well, on the ground in ukraine, the port city of mariupol is still under intense russian bombardment. around 100,000 civilians are now trapped there without food, water or power. 0ur correspondent wyre davies has been speaking to a survivor of the attack on the city's theatre where hundreds of civilians, including children had been taking shelter. maria walked for four days to escape mariupol. without money, a car orfamily, she has nothing. she's the first known survivor of the mariupol theatre attack

to speak about what happened. translation: the theatre was i completely packed with people. there was no space to lie down. people were just sitting. it was clear that this was a shelter, people knew this. also there was massive signs saying "children" that were made on both sides of the theatre. where were you at the exact time of the attack? translation: we were getting our breakfast, . and by breakfast, i mean, we were getting some boiled water. someone brought me some pieces of fish, i think, to feed the dogs. when they finished eating, i went outside to the water tank to get a bowl of water for them. this is when the shell landed. i saw that it landed just where i'd been sitting. i was outside and survived only because there was some man nearby. he heard the shell falling, grabbed me by the collar,

pinned me between the ground and the wall and covered me with his body. we were sprayed with broken glass and concrete. i was stunned, probably even concussed, because i fell unconscious several times since. when the dust settled a bit, i cleared my eyes. i saw injured people around. i tried to make my way inside. the dogs were the family for me. they were everything i had left. i could not find a way to get inside, to at least find out whether they are alive or dead. i sincerely hope they died instantly. maria says there were at least a thousand people inside the theatre. while russia denies targeting civilians and says it wasn't responsible, what maria saw suggests otherwise. translation: | don't know | how many people died, sorry. there were some rooms in there.

those were allocated for families with children. that part of the theatre is completely gone. partially deafened by the blast, her back in pain, maria now relies on the kindness of friends. she worries for her grandmother in mariupol and mourns her dead pets. at just 27, it's difficult to stay strong. wyre davies, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. we will have more on ukraine a bit later in the programme. let's get some of the day's other news. military sources in yemen say a senior general has been killed in a car bomb attack in the southern port city of aden. major—general thabet jawas was a commander of the saudi—led coalition forces fighting the rebels to restore president hadi's internationally recognised government. rescuers in china have found one of the two black box recorders from a passenger plane that crashed on monday with more than 130 people on board. no survivors have been found, although the search of the wreckage continues despite being hampered by rain.

cars have been swept away in paraguay�*s capital, asuncion, as heavy rains and floods lashed the south american country. streets in the capital turned to rivers. cars were immersed in water up to their roofs and many vehicles were washed away. jamaica's prime minister has told the duke and duchess of cambridge that his country is moving on and intends to become an independent nation. andrew holness has been meeting prince william and kate on their visit to the caribbean, marking the queen's platinum jubilee. 0ur royal correspondent jonny dymond reports from kingston. today looked like business as usual. the duke and duchess at a teacher training college, pursuing kate's passion for early years learning. but first, from the jamaican prime minister,

a public reminder that he wants an end to the british monarch's role as head of state. this won't have been what the duke and duchess were expecting. the prime minister did campaign on a pledge to make jamaica a republic, but to speak to the couple like this in front of the cameras is pretty strong stuff. if offence was taken, they certainly weren't showing it. but the prime minister's words are a reminder that the ties between britain

and the far—flung realms depend on present—day politics as much as the long links of history. jonny dymond, bbc news, kingston, jamaica. still to come: tributes are paid to madeline albright — america's first female secretary of state, who's died at the age of 8a. applause i'm so proud of both of you. let there be no more wars or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. with great regret, _ the committee have decided that south africa be excluded .

from the 1970 competition. recites islamic blessing streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: as the war in ukraine enters its second month, the country's president calls for demonstrations of support around the world. nato says it'll double the number of battle groups deployed on its eastern flank in response to russia's invasion of ukraine. it was their first day back at school, full of hope, but they were sent packing. the taliban abruptly ordered

girls' secondary schools in afghanistan to close on the day they were due to re—open. many had been shut since last august, when the taliban retook control of the country. 0ur correspondent, secunder kermani reports from kabul. dusting the desks. the morning began full of smiles and hope. for these students in the west of kabul, returning to school felt particularly poignant. last year, more than 90 were killed here in an attack by the local branch of the islamic state group. "we want to be successful so we can fulfil the dreams of our martyred classmates," says zikina. "that will be our revenge on those who were responsible." not long after they've arrived, there's unexpected bad news. the girls that literally just sat

down at their desks and the head teacher got a whatsapp message from the local taliban in charge saying that, actually, teenage girls can't come back to class just yet. and the girls are just devastated. "we just want to learn and to serve our country, " says fatima. "what is our sin?" she asks the taliban. "you're always talking about islam. "does islam say to harm women like this? "it doesn't. "i want to address the girls of afghanistan. "please don't give up fighting for your rights." the taliban's ministry of education pressed ahead with a ceremony marking the start of the new academic year, but seemed at a loss to explain what had gone wrong. "the central leadership has said, until a plan is developed "on the basis of sharia and afghan culture, girls' secondary schools "will remain closed," a spokesman told us.

we were at a school in the west of kabul today. there were teenage girls in tears because they have been told that they have to go home again. who should they blame for this? "i work for the ministry of education," he says. "we made our preparations. "you need to ask someone representing the leadership." the students filed home, just an hour or so after having arrived. in private, taliban members admit hard—line elements within the group still find the idea of female education controversial, even though schools are already segregated. that leaves these young women deeply worried for the future. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. from an immigrant fleeing persecution, to america's top diplomat. that was the journey we're remembering today of the former us secretary of state, madeleine albright, who has died at the age of 8a. arriving in america in i9a8 as a child refugee from czechoslovakia, she was the first woman to become secretary of state.

president biden said working with her in the senate was one of the highlights of his career at the time. 0ur washington correspondent, nomia iqbal, looks back at her life. madeleine albright was a trail—blazer. so help me god. congratulations, madam secretary. in 1997, she became american's top diplomat, the first female to do so. but her story began outside america. the daughter of a czech diplomat, herfamily fled prague from the nazis when she was a—year—old. a decade later, herfamily was granted political asylum in the us. her childhood would go on to shape her views and her policies. 0n the political stage, madeleine albright was the face of us foreign policy during the president clinton years. she pursued what she called "aggressive multi—lateralism", pushing for intervention in the wars that tore apart yugoslavia. she was a major influence on us policy in the middle east, clashing with saddam hussein over sanctions on iraq.

he called her a serpent, and so began her use of jewellery to make a diplomatic point, starting with a snake. russia's president putin once said he knew what the mood of a meeting would be by looking at her left shoulder. the 84—year—old supported getting other women in higher positions. she backed hillary clinton in 2016 with a comment that some considered controversial. she later apologised for it. just remember — there's a special place in health for women who don't help each other! arriving in europe tonight, president biden said in a statement that madeleine albright was a force and hers were the hands that turned the tide of history. there was also a tribute in the un from those who have followed in her footsteps. she left an indelible mark on the world and on the united nations. our country and our united nations are stronger for her service. 0nly last month, she warned that if president putin invaded ukraine, it would be

an historic error. madeleine albright was raised in a time when eastern europe was in crisis, to only see that crisis return during herfinal days. madeleine albright who's died at the age of 8a. gita amar is a political and social commentator in los angeles who worked as an aide on the michael dukakis presidential election campaign in the 1980s, along with madeleine albright, who was his foreign policy advisor. thank you so much forjoining us. madeline albright really broke the mould, didn't she? after her there were three phase —— female secretaries of state? phase -- female secretaries of state? ,, ., ,, ., state? she did make a huge difference — state? she did make a huge difference and _ state? she did make a huge difference and she - state? she did make a huge difference and she was - state? she did make a huge i difference and she was brassy and bold and her brooches told the story. but you have to realise she didn't break the mould till she was later on in life after she had been raising

two young woman and her husband had a divorce and she decided to go back to school and she became this, shall we say, socialite in georgetown, holding salons, financing democrats and then working on the dukakis campaign as an advisor and realising that she had something to say and she was going to make sure that when she said that people were going to take the soundbite. she was a multi lateral list and as you know a strong advocate for eastern and western europe. it advocate for eastern and western europe.- western europe. it was something _ western europe. it was something that - western europe. it was something that really i western europe. it was - something that really stood out at the time, wasn't it? she was given support by president clinton, what you think were her personal skills that got her personal skills that got her gnosis? i her personal skills that got her gnosis?— her personal skills that got her anosis? ~ ., , her gnosis? i think it was her savoir-faire, _ her gnosis? i think it was her savoir-faire, her _ her gnosis? i think it was her savoir-faire, her ability - her gnosis? i think it was her savoir-faire, her ability to . her gnosis? i think it was her savoir-faire, her ability to be j savoir—faire, her ability to be strong as a woman and make no soundbites available, she had no problem being a talking head on television before diplomats were appearing, rather than being inside the state department she was outside. she

was able to talk to people on the other side of the aisle, for example, jessie helms she was able to go to the home of the opposition and have a lovely meeting and convince him to vote her way in the senate on a treaty to ban chemical warfare and this was something she could do and that's pure diplomacy when she can convince something like that. she know when to turn on the charm and she knew when to be tough and she knew when to be tough and she also knew who her allies were from the beginning and she didn't let people get on her way stopping she was known for advocating for other women it's interesting she started off in a small office, and then she didn't mind sharing her beautiful town in georgetown and working her way out. . h0 and working her way out. . no doubt needed _ and working her way out. . no doubt needed now— and working her way out. . no doubt needed now for - and working her way out. . no doubt needed now for some smooth talking on chemical warfare. what are some of the other things she had in her armoury?—

other things she had in her armou ? ,, ., ,, ., armoury? she always dressed to imress, armoury? she always dressed to impress. we _ armoury? she always dressed to impress, we always _ armoury? she always dressed to impress, we always talk - armoury? she always dressed to impress, we always talk about . impress, we always talk about men poss mac suits it was always her brooches that she had on with the flag on the country, whether she had on an eagle, people would do collages and all sorts of showers a full instagram, photo essays to say what mood was she and. she had that going for her, was always a conversation piece and opening for her and she used that and she was able to impress with that, but she was a student of diplomacy, she was reading foreign policy papers and briefing books and she knew how to access power, she knew how to access power, she knew how to access power, she knew how to get on the phone at that time with those leaders to make important decisions. she was thrilled when hungary was able tojoin thrilled when hungary was able to join nato, thrilled when hungary was able tojoin nato, this meant the world to herfor a woman tojoin nato, this meant the world to her for a woman from eastern europe whose father and grandparents had been decimated in the holocaust. in

grandparents had been decimated in the holocaust.— in the holocaust. in one word, how will you — in the holocaust. in one word, how will you remember - in the holocaust. in one word, how will you remember her? l in the holocaust. in one word, how will you remember her? i | how will you remember her? i will remember heras how will you remember her? i will remember her as fearless. fearless, thank you so much for joining us and giving us your assessment of madeline albright who has died at the age of 8a. ash barty has held a press conference in brisbane after her shop decision to retire from these sport. she said she had no regret and people would have to wait and see what comes next. she said she was looking forward to coaching young indigenous australians. i know that my contribution _ indigenous australians. i know that my contribution with - indigenous australians. i know that my contribution with the l that my contribution with the aboriginal and indigenous side of the sport will only grow, i'm excited to have the opportunity to give indigenous youth and aboriginal youth around our nation opportunity to get into the sport. that's something i will work on down the track. we something i will work on down the track. ~ something i will work on down the track-— the track. we will have plenty more from — the track. we will have plenty more from her. _ the track. we will have plenty more from her. and - the track. we will have plenty more from her. and plenty i the track. we will have plenty i more from her. and plenty more on ukraine on the bbc news

website and bbc app. you can reach me on twitter. thank you so much for your company, goodbye. hello there. this fine, settled spell of spring weather is set to go on for several more days, with some warm sunshine by day. the nights still rather chilly with some frost and fog in places. 0ne subtle change, a bit more cloud in the north of the uk thanks to this weather front, a very weak affair. for the most part, high pressure is holding firm, and that is what's keeping things fine. but we are going to get off to quite a chilly start to the morning with those clear skies overhead, one or two fog patches around, some general mistiness here and there. that should tend to lift, and then we will see a lot of sunshine across england and wales, just the small chance for a shower, especially over high ground in northern england. more cloud for scotland and northern ireland, the odd spot of rain, but even here, there will be some sunny spells.

temperatures north to south, well, maybe 12 degrees for stornoway, but 18, 19, possibly 20 further south. but with that stagnant air, high pressure in charge, very light winds, air pollution is likely to be a problem. high levels of air pollution, particularly across eastern parts of england. as we go through thursday night, again, temperatures will drop away under the clear skies. there will be some fog patches here and there, more cloud rolling into northern ireland and parts of western scotland. towns and cities typically staying just above freezing, but one or two places in the countryside will drop below, and then for friday, well, more of the same. more sunshine and just a little patchy cloud for england and wales. northern ireland and scotland tending to see a little more cloud, especially up to the northwest. some rain for the northern isles, temperatures getting up to highs of 19, maybe 20 degrees in the sunniest spots. and high pressure is set to stay with us into the weekend. this front up to the north always bringing a bit more cloud, maybe some showery rain for shetland and for 0rkney. there will be some patches of low cloud and fog elsewhere as well, particularly around some of the coasts, but some good spells

of sunshine. temperatures dropping back maybe a little bit, 15 to 18 degrees. sunday morning could well start with some areas of low cloud and fog, perhaps most especially towards the southeast of england, tending to burn back towards the coasts. lots of sunshine, temperatures of 13 to 17 degrees. but into next week, quite a big change on the way. we will develop northerly winds and we will bring some much colder air southwards across the uk, so the temperatures will be much, much lower than they have been, and there could even be some wintry showers in places.

this is bbc news. the headlines: in a speech to mark one month since the russian invasion, president volodymyr zelensky has appealed to people all over the world to come out onto the streets to show their support for ukraine. speaking in english, president zelensky asked people to bring out their ukrainian symbols. president biden is in brussels for an emergency meeting of nato and a g7 summit to discuss ukraine. nato is expected to agree to deploy additional troops to eastern europe. 0n the eve of the gathering, britain announced it would send thousands more anti—tank weapons to ukraine. the us president has led tributes to madeleine albright, the first woman to serve as secretary of state, who's died at the age of 8a. he called her a force who had

turned the tide of history. eastern european leaders remembered her