this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm lucy grey. our top stories: a city under constant russian bombardment. we report from the front line inside kharkiv. you can see what they're up against here. this is daily, but the steadfastness of these men has been felt notjust in kharkiv, but around the world. they've had four weeks of this and still they remain. the russians haven't been able to break their lines. as soldiers fight for peace in ukraine, they tell us about their hopes. translation: mainly, we discuss the time when all of it well- end, when we will come back to normal life, when everything will be good,

and it won't be dangerous to go outside and have a walk. western leaders promise more military aid for ukraine as president biden says russia's invasion is only bringing nato closer together. nato has never — never been more united than it is today. putin is getting exactly- the opposite what he intended to have as a consequence of going into ukraine. - and in afghanistan, a national outpouring of sadness after the taliban backtracks on reopening high schools for girls. it is still like a nightmare for me to believe that we came back 20 years, and a girl like me cannot continue her way in order to realise her dream. nato leaders have approved plans to increase military aid to ukraine, and to send

thousands more troops to eastern europe after meeting at an emergency summit in brussels. the g7 and eu also held meetings in the belgian capital in a show of western unity against moscow. we'll have more on that in a moment. but we start with a special report from inside the city of kharkiv in the east of the country, less than a0 kilometres from the russian border. it has faced relentless russian missile strikes and shelling. our correspondent quentin sommerville and cameraman darren conway have spent time with two fighters who have been on the front line in kharkiv from the very beginning. violin plays a month of fighting alone, and russian guns still haven't silenced ukraine's cry for freedom. at the kharkiv philharmonic, maria baranovska may not have an audience, but this isn't

a city abandoned, only a city half gone. she remains here with her ten—month—old boy. staying is her duty. translation: i believe in our victory. _ i know that the armed forces of ukraine will protect their home. we just need to be a little bit more patient. standing united with the boys defending her and her son. a month ago, 22—year—old vlad said goodbye to his own mother and went off to fight. he and fellow private mark have been here ever since. they've quickly grown comfortable with war�*s daily tempo. they have the upper hand in kharkiv. what are you fighting for? translation: for peace in ukraine.

what about you, mark? translation: like my comradejust said, for peace in ukraine. these people came to our land. no—one was waiting for them here, no—one asked them to come. and what do you want to tell the russian soldiers that are shelling you? translation: run. - we were not calling you here. run away. — there is nothing else to say. either you stay here forever in the ground or you go back home and stop killing children and destroying homes and families. translation: go back home while you are still alive. - their steady determination and a little help from western weaponry have got them this far. it's time to head out to the front again. this, they say, is their land.

they know these fields and villages better than the invaders. and here, amid the melting winter snows, they cover every inch of ground. ukrainian mud is the defenders' friend. mark's foxhole has room for one, and offers just about enough protection from exploding russian shells. suddenly, on the horizon, there is movement. an enemy scouting party is spotted. gunfire the russians shoot back. gunfire but the danger here is artillery. mark tells us we have to move. "the russians will definitely

respond," he says, "100%." it's time to seek better cover. what is it like, spending day and night out in those tiny, tiny little trenches? translation: the shifts| are longer during the day, but at night, when it's cold, we swap often. what about you, mark? translation: it's ok, you get used to it. - humans can adapt to... explosion ..humans can adapt to everything. what's going on right now? they are targeting our position. explosions get down, get down. the shells begin to land all around us, only metres away. explosion

you can see what they're up against here. this is daily, but the steadfastness of these men has been felt notjust in kharkiv, but around the world. they've had four weeks of this, and still, they remain. the russians haven't been able to break their lines. and this invasion might have come as a surprise to the rest of the world, but this is what they've been expecting and training for for years. unable to move, the shelling is relentless. these bombardments are endless. explosion this is russia's tactic of choice. gunfire and explosions shouting we're told for the third time that day to get into a nearby underground shelter.

the russians are pretty determined to break these lines. are they going to get past here? are they going to get past you and these men? translation: | think no. - we will not surrender kharkiv. our loved ones have got our backs. explosion they won't get through here. quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv. president biden says nato has never been more united, and that russia's president, vladimir putin, is getting the opposite of what he intended when he ordered the invasion of ukraine. the us president was speaking after a summit in which leaders approved plans to send new battle groups to four countries. our north america editor sarah smith reports from brussels. this show of solidarity is why president biden�*s here, with the nato chief and over 30 other world leaders, to display the unity they believe is their strength. the nato summit is naturally

focused on defence, how to help defend ukraine. more weapons and equipment are being promised with britain pledging to double the number of missiles being sent. but ukrainian president zelensky wants far more. translation: you can give us 1% of all your aircraft, _ i% of all your tanks — i%. we can'tjust buy it. such a supply directly depends only on nato's decisions, on political decisions by the way. nato will not send troops to ukraine, but will station many more forces in member countries bordering russia as the alliance turns to face east. nato is being rapidly reshaped by this war in ukraine in ways that, frankly, the us has been pressing for for years. on the plane on the way over here, president biden�*s national security adviser told me it is time for member countries to put their money

where their mouths are. in other words, european countries need to spend more and contribute more forces, and for many years to come. putin was banking on nato being split. my early conversation with him in december and earlyjanuary, it was clear to me he didn't think we could sustain this cohesion. nato has never — never been more united than it is today. putin is getting exactly the opposite what he intended to have as a consequence of going into ukraine. at the g7 economic meeting, sanctions were on the table. with more imposed on russia today, as everyone keeps a wary eye on whether china will try to assist russia, either financially or militarily. ending europe's dependence on russian oil and gas is next on the agenda. the us will promise to send supplies of liquefied natural gas soon, but wants to know there's a long—term plan to get supplies elsewhere as the crisis in ukraine is reshaping global

relations for the long term. sarah smith, bbc news, brussels. malcolm davis is a senior defence analyst at the australian strategic policy institute. hejoins me from canberra. a big show of unity today and some promises about military aid, but ukraine clearly saying that he doesn't go far enough. what do you make of what has come out of today's summit? i think it went as far as it could at this point in time. i think the big concern for nato �*s will russia escalate to the use of chemical or even nuclear weapons, and as president biden indicated that a severe price. but quite correctly, he is not going to get into it, and in detail explanation of what the price would be. it explanation of what the price would be-_ explanation of what the price would be. . , ., would be. it was quite vague, wasn't it. _ would be. it was quite vague, wasn't it, what _ would be. it was quite vague, wasn't it, what he _ would be. it was quite vague, wasn't it, what he said. - would be. it was quite vague, wasn't it, what he said. we i wasn't it, what he said. we would be forced to respond in the nature of the use would determine the way we responded. it almost suggests that they

may not do very much, if only a small amount of use or something. it was quite a strange thing to say, wasn't it? i strange thing to say, wasn't it? 4' ., , ,., ., it? i think it has potential strengths _ it? i think it has potential strengths and _ it? i think it has potential| strengths and weaknesses it? i think it has potential. strengths and weaknesses in that approach. in being rather vague in the correct term that we use is strategic ambiguity. you leave the russians guessing as to what the nato response would be to a particular action, using chemical weapons against a city or even detonate against a city or even detonate a small tactical nuclear weapon in what is known to de—escalate. keeping them guessing actually makes them more cautious. if you get into too much detail, then they know exactly what they can get away with, and they will do that. but at the same time, keeping them guessing also risks potentially saying to the russians that the west is much more hesitant, and therefore, the russians might conversely be emboldened by that. it is a hard call to make. but i think that the right thing to do is

make it clear to the russians that there will be a major response, but it really does depend on what exactly the russians do on the ground. could there be a change in the type of military aid that they send? we are hearing in that package wejust heard, president zelensky package we just heard, president zelensky asked package wejust heard, president zelensky asked for i% of aircraft in i% of tanks. previously up until now we have mostly seen what they call defensive weapons, haven't we, from nato? i defensive weapons, haven't we, from nate?— from nato? i think the really interesting _ from nato? i think the really interesting thing _ from nato? i think the really interesting thing for - from nato? i think the really interesting thing for me - from nato? i think the really interesting thing for me that j interesting thing for me that came out of the statement was the tank issue, this is the first time the ukrainians have actually asked for tanks and armoured fighting vehicles. that would give them an ability to prosecute counteroffensive to prosecute cou nteroffe nsive much to prosecute counteroffensive much more effectively than just simply with infantry and shoulder fired weapons. simply with infantry and shoulderfired weapons. so it is up to nato now to decide on how to respond to that. the indications are that they have said no at this point because of the logistical challenges of

getting tanks and armoured fighting vehicles and the alien hands, and also the challenges of getting soviet style tanks and armoured fighting vehicles into the hands. it is over providing the very latest western tanks if they don't know how to operate them. find know how to operate them. and what about _ know how to operate them. and what about sanctions then? is there any sense that having a substantial impact in russia? look, obviously, it is having an impact in terms of damaging the economy, and over a period of time, that will grow in severity, and i do think that the midwest, particularly the western european countries need to start coming off the oil and natural gas to really hurt the russians where it hurts most. is it having an effect on the putin regime in terms of coercing it to stop the war? no, it's not. and this is the problem. the war continues, the atrocities continue, and continuing to rely on sanctions as a tool of choice runs two

risks. firstly, we run out of options in terms of sanctions, in other words, the arrows in the river get less and less, and secondly, the russians can build up a degree of immunity to it, particularly if the chinese stepped in to help them to a degree, and suddenly our sanctions become less effective. so then we have to think about what else can we do, and obviously the military issue then comes into play. ok. thank you _ issue then comes into play. ok. thank you very _ issue then comes into play. ok. thank you very much _ issue then comes into play. 0k. thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with us. malcolm davis live from canberra.- davis live from canberra. thank ou. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we meet the man who's turned netflix from streaming giant to movie powerhouse. 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 world news. the latest headlines: as fighting continues in kharkiv, officials say six civilians were killed

in russian strikes on a post office where residents were receiving humanitarian aid. western leaders, meeting in brussels, promise to increase military aid to ukraine — and send more troops to neighbouring countries in eastern europe. the us and other western countries have condemned the taliban's decision to shut girls secondary schools in afghanistan just hours after reopening them. they said the decision harms the group's prospects for legitimacy and urged them to reconsider. secunder karmani reports from the afghan capital, kabul. when the taliban closed her school last year, this girl began to draw at home. it has been more than six months now and her portfolio is filling up. this week she and her sister, like so many others, thought girls' secondary schools would finally reopen. i was dreaming for many nights that we would be back

in class and happy. and believe me when we heard the news, it was hard to believe, it is like a nightmare for me. we've gone back 20 years and a girl like me cannot continue to realise her dream. online, afghans have been sharing videos of sobbing teenage pupils. they arrived at school in the morning only to find out it is closing again. here, a tv presenter chokes up during a live segment. the western—backed government that used to be in power here was blighted by corruption. but one of the most significant gains you can point to over the past two decades, even if it was not perfect, was real improvement in girls

access to education. and now with this abrupt and confusing u—turn by the taliban on schools reopening, it feels as if there has been a national outpouring of grief. this man runs a charity promoting education in some of the most remote regions of afghanistan. he says even there some people are now thinking of leaving the country to ensure their daughters can go to school. thousands of people say that education is our right. it is not 1996, this is a new afghanistan and all people want to send their daughters and sisters in school. even more conservative in rural areas? yes. the majority of people. they want these activities in remote areas. protesting against the taliban is dangerous. this small group of women

gathered at an undisclosed location. "you have taken work and food away from us," they say, "do not take education as well." secunder kermani, bbc news. protestors have gathered outside the home of australian prime minister scott morrison in sydney to demand climate action. students held placards and protested against the government's climate policies. police made a number of arrests for unauthorised demonstrations elsewhere in the city. eu officials have agreed on landmark legislation to clamp down on the largest tech players. earlier i spoke withjesse lehrich, co—founder of accountable tech, a not for profit advocacy group about the effect this law could have globally yeah, i think it is obviously significant in europe where,

finally, these big tech gatekeepers are going to have to play by some set of rules which they really haven't had to adhere to at all. they were very innovative in getting to where they got to but since then, since they have entrenched their dominance, they have exploited that monopoly power, but i think it is also huge globally because there is this misconception that it's impossible to take on big tech and when and in the us here where i am, lawmakers have been talking about reining in these monopoly abuses for years but we haven't seen this kind of progress and so this is really a landmark law and a game changer on the global stage. if it comes in, we need to add, don't we? just explain then because as you say these companies are innovative and they have a lot of power. who is going to police it and make sure that they don't find clever ways around this?

i think a lot has been learnt from gdpr and the lack of enforcement, the lack of teeth that that law proved to have despite being well written, well constructed, so i think lessons have been learned and i think nobody has ever really had oversight in this manner over these companies so they were innovative but there is nothing innovative about self preferencing your own products or charging monopoly rents for small upstarts that might one day challenge you so it's going to unleash innovation for the kinds of companies that these companies once were, 15 years ago. a streaming service could win big at the oscars on sunday. netflix has 27 nominations, more than any other studio, with �*the power of the dog' one of the frontrunners to be named best picture. the man who's turned netflix from streaming giant to movie powerhouse — is scott stuber. he's netflix's head of global films and one of the most powerful individuals in hollywood. in his first uk broadcast

interview — he spoke to the our culture editor, katie razzall in los angeles. hollywood is changing, revolutionised by the streaming services which now dominate the oscars too. scot stuber is often described as the most important man in the business. the power of the dog, best picture, how are you feeling about it? i'm nervous, right? ithink, you know, whenever you've got a chance, you're always nervous. 25 years since our first run together... netflix has 12 nominations — nearly half its total — for its period western the power of the dog. what will success look like for you? is it to win best picture? well, you'd love that. i think we're all going in that room, all the ten films that are nominated, with that hope and that dream. what matters whenever you're making film is, can you make a film where the people involved can be considered best in class? the preparations at la's dolby theatre are beginning for an awards that celebrate the best of the movies, but with more than 200 million

subscribers to netflix alone, the way we watch movies has changed dramatically since the oscars started more than 90 years ago. and with the streamers only offering short cinema releases at best before their films are rolled out on the small screen, some accuse them of killing cinema. well, do pardon me. even the power of the dogs star benedict cumberbatch has complained about the impact on the big screen experience. you know, he criticised you and said he felt like he was working for the goliath that is killing david. i mean, you are a film lover... did he say that? yeah, i'm afraid he did. you know, and you're the film lover. surely in your heart, you want longer release times in cinemas, you want people to see films like the power of the dog in the cinema? yeah, completely. and then you think about the audience on netflix. the size of the audience for that film is huge compared to what it would be. i want you to meet my cousin... what stuber says matters. he's brought some of the world's biggest directors to netflix, including martin scorsese, who made the irishman, as well

as alfonso cuaron and steven spielberg... you cannot go around saying to people that there's a 100% chance that they're going to die. ..and big stars, too, like meryl streep. don't look up is also nominated for best picture this year. do you think the way we'll watch movies will change? i mean, what will it look like in ten years and 50 years? you know, istill think the same, to be honest. i don't think there's a better version to watch a film than on a big screen, or on a big screen in your home. i don't think that those two things will change. i do think there are obviously people now who watch them on an ipad or on a cellphone. does that offend you? if someone tells you they've watched... it bums me out a little bit, but then i go, "well, that's their choice." what matters this week, though, is the oscars showdown in la, and the chance — when it comes to best picture — for netflix to prove it really does have all the power. katie razzall, bbc news, los angeles. there will be plenty of coverage of the oscars on bbc across the weekend.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lucyegrey. hello there. there are some big changes in the weather pattern on the way, but notjust yet. on thursday, despite the haziness of the sunshine, temperatures reached 20 celsius in east yorkshire — the warmest place in the country. it's a few degrees cooler than that in northern ireland and across scotland, where we did see more cloud. and we've still got a weak weather front draped in the northern isles, bringing some damp weather here. otherwise, it's high pressure that's dominating the weather. with that stagnant air and no mixing, we've continued to see some poor air quality and we're going to find some high levels of air pollution again across some eastern parts of england in particular on friday. underneath that high pressure with clear skies, though, we start the day on a chilly note, as we have done over the past few days. temperatures in rural

areas won't be far away from freezing. there may be a few pockets of mist and fog to start the day across scotland and northern ireland but away from the northern isles, there'll be more sunshine on friday for scotland and northern ireland. plenty of sunshine for england and wales. the odd shower could pop up over the high ground in northern ireland, southern scotland, and northern england but essentially for most, it's a dry and largely sunny day and quite warm again for the time of year — 18, maybe 19 degrees for england and wales. the high pressure is still there across the uk for saturday. there is that weather front that's moving its way down into the north sea and that is bringing with it some cloud — that'll be important for the second half of the weekend. could be some mist and low cloud affecting some north—western parts of the uk but otherwise, it's another dry and mostly sunny picture and those temperatures showing little change, really, on saturday. but on sunday, we are

expecting some changes. still got the high pressure, but all that moisture, all that cloud that's in the north sea is going to be dragged into that area of high pressure for the second half of the weekend. a lot of uncertainty still about the extent of the cloud but it looks like for england and wales, there will be some cloud, at least for a while — quite low cloud, misty weather, too. where it sticks, it's going to be quite a bit cooler, but further north, across a good part of scotland and northern ireland, there's likely to be some more warm sunshine on the way. into next week, though, and this is where we see significant changes — not least because we'll start to see a northerly wind moving down, and that will really drop the temperatures. as the high recedes early next week, we've got the chance of seeing some rain and then, that northerly wind arrives — it will be much colder by day, and also colder by night.

this is bbc news. the headlines: officials in the eastern ukrainian city of kharkiv say air strikes have killed at least six civilians near a post office. the victims were receiving aid when the missiles hit. the city which is less than 25 miles from the russian border has faced relentless shelling and bombardment. western leaders meeting in brussels have promised to increase military aid to ukraine and send more troops to neighbouring countries in eastern europe. president biden and the european commission president, ursula von der leyen, said they were united against what they called russia's unjustified and unprovoked war. the us and other western countries have condemned the taliban's decision to shut girls' secondary schools in afghanistan just hours after they reopened

for the first time in seven months. they said the decision harms the group's prospects