welcome to bbc news. our top stories: the port city of mariupol remains under heavy russian bombardment — ukraine offers to send negotiators into the city. a guarantee of safe passage for ukrainians is the condition for an exchange of russian prisoners of war, as the people of mariupol try to flee to safety. translation: we need a break after the shelling, after this whole nightmare. we have been hiding in basement for 30 days. russia shows off a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. president putin says it will make the country's enemies think twice. germany promises to stop importing russian oil by the end of the year, describing the current dependence on their energy as a miscalculation

by past governments. head—to—head for the only time before sunday's french presidential election. emmanual macron and marine le pen clash, in a tough televised debate. and in a virginia courtroom, the actorjohnny depp says he felt driven to drugs and alcohol, because of arguments with his then—partner, amber heard. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. in his latest initiative to save the lives of thousands of people trapped in the ukrainian city of mariupol, president zelensky has offered to exchange russian prisoners of war for a guarantee of safe passage

for his fellow citizens. the port city is still under heavy bombardment, as the russians intensify their attacks. the azovstal steel works has become the last centre of ukrainian resistance, as our correspondent mark lowen reports. in the fog of war, russia's ferocious firepower is unrelenting. mariupol, once a thriving port city, besieged and broken. explosion the last bastion of ukraine's resistance is the azovstal steel plant, perhaps a few thousand soldiers and civilians in its bunkers and tunnels — a patch of land holding out against one of the world's biggest armies. and now, a rare voice from inside the nightmare. translation: this is our appeal to the world. - it could be the last of our lives,

we are probably facing our final days, if not hours. the enemy is outnumbering us 10—1. but again today they refused russia's latest surrender deadline, and again an attempt at a humanitarian corridor failed. ukraine's president said he's offered moscow an exchange of russian prisoners of war for safe passage out of mariupol. translation: we are ready for different formats - of exchanging our people for the russian people, the russian military they left behind. they both left corpses scattered and abandoned wounded people. across the country, in kyiv, it's all quiet on the western front. so, from a volunteer centre, they send supplies to the east — first aid, food and preparations for battle to those repelling the russian assault. among the staff is olena nicolena, whose cousin max is one of the last fighters in the steel plant. the pride of russian army here.

they've gathered spoils of war from an invasion that has not gone moscow's way. this badge says that death is better than dishonour. olena hopes her cousin will return with more fragments of russian losses. do you feel proud of him? yeah, totally. i would never have imagined my cousin to become a true hero of ukraine and hero of mariupol. there is obviously a very bitter sense of pride, in the sense that he is in a life—threatening situation. but i am very proud of him. i dream of the day when he will return and we will be able to meet again and i will be able to tell this to him. if you could give a message to max now, what would you say? max, i know that you are very strong, and your family loves you a lot, and we are waiting for you, and we are sure that you will come back and you will be our hero, and you will have a great life

in the free ukraine after our victory. praying for that end are families across this nation — those like vladimir, whose only child, danilo, is also fighting in the steel plant. here in kyiv, they've fortified their monuments, but vladimir knows he can't protect what's most precious to him. translation: it's very hard there. they are running out of ammunition but they don't want to surrender, because they can't abandon the civilians they're protecting. i used to prepare him for the army, so maybe it's my fault he joined. i'm pretty sure i'll see him again, but until then, i want to say, danilo, i love you and i'm waiting for you. 500 miles from the front line, the emotional distance can seem further still.

with the agony of helplessness comes the hope and dread of news. mark lowen, bbc news, kyiv. earlier today, the russians released images of what they say was a successful test flight of a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. president putin said it would make anyone seeking to threaten russia think twice. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg is in moscow. he explained the significance of the launch. think of this as a not so subtle hint from the kremlin. basically, russia is saying to the west, look at us, guys, we have this very big, very powerful, very destructive new weapon, keep that in mind. what do we know about this weapon? the sarmat missile or satan ii as it is known in the west, has been in development for some time,

so no big surprise then. the pentagon said it was notified ahead of the launch, didn't see it as a threat, but the fact remains this launch took place at a time when hostilities are going on in ukraine, that sends a clear message i think to russia's opponents and vladimir putin made that clear today. he said that this missile would provide food for thought for those who in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric try to threaten russia. threaten russia. this from a president who sent his troops into ukraine, who is attacking ukraine. vladimir putin still trying to create this alternative reality, turning everything upside down, making out that it is russia that is under threat from ukraine, from nato, from britain, from america, and making out that he is acting in self defence. let's speak to ian williams, deputy director of the missile defense project at center for strategic and international studies.

i was struck while reading about this story that the pentagon, the united states, they say the test was not perceived to be a threat to the us or its allies. do you think thatis us or its allies. do you think that is a reasonable response to what we have seen happen? i think so. it is important to keepin think so. it is important to keep in mind that this icbm, even though it is the first test of its kind, is certainly not a unique capability that russia has similar missiles that can do similar things. the ss 18 has almost the same capabilities so it is not a new capability. it is to bischoff one of the most destructive weapons ever created. ——to be clear stop we have little to

gain by making a big deal about it or receiving that we are intimidated. what the pentagon said is perfectly reasonable. this result fired from a site in rush north—west, which could target 6000 kilometres away. tell us a bit more about how you might expect russia to use a missile like this? i you might expect russia to use a missile like this?— a missile like this? i would hoe a missile like this? i would hepe they _ a missile like this? i would hepe they do _ a missile like this? i would hope they do not _ a missile like this? i would hope they do not use - a missile like this? i would hope they do not use it - a missile like this? i would| hope they do not use it and a missile like this? i would i hope they do not use it and i hope they do not use it and i hope they do not use it and i hope the way they use it is as a deterrent. this is why countries have nuclear weapons, in order to deter nuclear use against them and it is white the united states, france and britain keep the nuclear arsenal is to deter the threat of nuclear weapons. what russia does and what vladimir putin does, he knows, he has shown himself to be a fairly poor

commander—in—chief of the russian military but he still very good at psychology and he knows that nuclear weapons and the threat of nuclear escalation creates a lot of anxiety in europe and the united states and he uses that. nuclear weapons are really one of the few points of leverage that but every person has. as economy is in shambles, the eu is moving away from his energy, he has been exposed. nuclear weapons are really one of the last things that russia can cling to. last things that russia can clina to. ~ ., ., ~ cling to. what do you think about the _ cling to. what do you think about the timing _ cling to. what do you think about the timing of- cling to. what do you think about the timing of this . about the timing of this particular launch? i about the timing of this particular launch? i think it is interesting. _ particular launch? i think it is interesting. if _ particular launch? i think it is interesting. if you - is interesting. if you juxtapose it to what the united states did a few weeks ago, we had a scheduled test that we

decided to postpone because it is the middle of a war and it was seen as a necessary and send the wrong message and it is interesting that vladimir putin took the opposite approach, not only to test this missile but use it as a way to threaten and bully. you can see the different attitudes that the different attitudes that the west and russia have. william, thank you so much for joining us on bbc news.- joining us on bbc news. thank ou. germany says it will stop importing oilfrom russia by the end of the year, to make the impact of sanctions more effective. currently around a quarter of the oil germany uses comes from russia. the german finance minister has admitted that stopping all russian oil imports now would hurt germany more than russia. he described his country's current energy dependence on russia as a miscalculation

by past governments. israeli aircraft have reportedly struck gaza with multiple strikes, in response to a rocket the israel defence forces say was fired from the territory by palestinian militants. police said a fragment from the rocket had landed near a house in the southern israeli city of sderot, but there had been no injuries. another four rockets are also reported to have been fired from gaza. there have been days of clashes between israeli police and palestinian protesters injerusalem, with many palestinians injured or detained. on wednesday, israeli police blocked far right nationalists from marching in the city's muslim quarter. in just a few days' time the voters of france will choose their next president and it's proving to be a bruising contest between the current head of state, emmanuel macron, and marine le pen, representing the party known at the national rally, formerly the national front. this evening, the two candidates faced each other

in their only nationwide televised debate. 0ur paris correspondent lucy williamson has been watching the exchanges. after weeks of sparring from a distance, tonight it's hand—to—hand combat — the first time in this election that emmanuel macron and marine le pen have fought face—to—face. bonsoir, marine le pen. bonsoir. with just two campaigning daysleft, and a quarter of voters saying the debate will shape their decision, they've been waiting for this. first up, the big one — rising prices and spending power — ms le pen's favourite subject. her slogan tonight, give the people their money back. mr macron lectures her on why her economic plans won't work. and then goes for the jugular. her relationship with russia.

"you're dependent on vladimir putin," he says. "when you speak to russia, you speak to your banker." but what do voters make of it? across the country in reims this evening, voters from all sides, many still undecided, were watching the drama unfold. we see a very different debate from 2017. it appears that marine le pen is much more well prepared than in 2017. she is very calm. she decided to not attack frontally the president, emmanuel macron, and from my point of view, emmanuel macron seems a bit unstable. translation: so far, - it's a very balanced debate. i'm biased, but the arguments are good, and they may change my mind. translation: she is much better than last time, - but she's still too weak- in comparison with macron. he is far stronger on every subject. j marine le pen�*sjob tonight

was to show that she was prepared for power. mr macron�*s task was to show that she was not, without looking too arrogant and superior himself. around 10 points separate them in the polls tonight. four days separates one of them from power. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. putt the united states, the centre for disease control has had the measure was still needed and has asked the justice department to continue with that appeal. the mask ban was lifted when it said the cdc had overstepped its authority when it introduced it a0 months ago. the wearing of masks is now optional. stay with us, still to come. the producers of the alec baldwin film, cameco rust, in which the

the producers of the alex baldwin film, rust, the western in which film director halyna hutchins was shot, are fined $100,000 for safety failures. the stars and stripes at half—mast outside columbine high. the school sealed off. the bodies of the dead still inside. i never thought that they would actually go through with it. choir sings. one of the most successful singer—songwriters of all time, the american pop star prince has died at the age of 57. ijust couldn't believe it, didn't believe it, he wasjust here on saturday. for millions of americans, j the death of richard nixon in a new york hospital has i meant conflicting emotions. a national day of mourning - next, wednesday sitting somehow uneasily with the abiding i memories of the shame of watergate. and lift—off of the space shuttle discovery, with the huddle space telescope, our window on the universe.

this is bbc world news. the latest headlines... ukrainian officials have offered to travel to mariupol for talks on the evacuation of civilians and military personnel. russia shows off a new intercontinental ballistic missile — capable of carrying nuclear warheads. president putin says it will make the country's enemies think twice. the actorjohnny depp has told a court that he felt driven to turn to drugs and alcohol because of constant clashes with his then partner, the actress amber heard. mr depp is suing herfor defamation, after an article in which she called herself a victim of domestic violence. he denies any abuse. he said in court that ms heard had a need for conflict. 0ur correspondent david sillito

has been following the case. all right. are we ready for the jury? johnny depp, back on the witness stand, for questions about a relationship that he says was controlling and belittling. as he settled down, there was only the briefest glance across the court towards where his ex—wife, amber heard, was watching. i was sort of not allowed to be right. not allowed to have a voice. so, at a certain point, what enters your mind is... you start to slowly realise that you are in a relationship with your mother. day one was all about the big picture. his childhood, his lifestyle, his personality, his drug use. day two is focused rather more on the specific allegations. good morning, mr depp. he was asked if he had

ever assaulted ms heard. no, he said. rather, he was the one who was punched and beaten. at one point acting out what it said happened during an argument. she squared off at me in the doorway of our bedroom, and i said, "what do you want to do, hit me again, "would you like to hit me again?" and i said, "go ahead, hit me". bam. the court was shown photographs, one from an incident which left him with a severed finger, caused by a bottle he says was thrown at him. another, an injury to his face. the court was then played a recording. i did not punch, hit you like this, i did not take

you, i don't know what the mission of my actual hand was, you are fine, i did not hurt you, i did not punch you, i was hitting you. what am i supposed to do, do this? i am not sitting here bitching about it, it's the difference between you and me, you are a baby. this was, he says, typical, him retreating, trying to escape from a relationship that he said had become demeaning, aggressive, violent. this was, he says, typical, him retreating, trying throughout it all, his ex—wife watched. we will hear amber heard's version of events in the days to come. david sillitoe, bbc news, fairfax virginia. the us rapper asap rocky has been arrested in connection with a shooting. the artist, whose real name is rakim mayers, was detained by police on his return to los angeles international airport, after a holiday in barbados with his fellow musician and girlfriend rihanna.

police had been investigating his potential involvement in a non—fatal shooting last november. officials in the us state of new mexico have fined a film production company more than $130,000, following the fatal shooting of a cinematographer. the actor alec baldwin was holding the gun when it went off on the film set. 0ur correspondent sophie long is in los angeles. she gave us the latest from there. halyna hutchins's death really rocked hollywood and left many here demanding to know how a young mother in one of the industry's rising stars could have been shot dead on a film set. there are clear industry safety protocols to stop anything like this ever happening, but today's report revealed that not only did the production company now those protocols were not being followed, it also failed to do anything about it and a maximum penalty was imposed, but that is far from the end of the matter. the criminal investigation is ongoing and criminal charges have not been ruled out, and multiple lawsuits have been filed, including an unlawful death lawsuit on the behalf of halyna hutchins's husband, which claims reckless behaviour and cost—cutting were responsible for her death. contrary to that, alec baldwin said any

statement that he was reckless it is entirely false and he was relying on a statement the gun was cold, meaning there was no possibility it could be discharged. he was not only the man holding the gun, he was also one of the film's producers, and that could be key in determining whether ultimately he could be held personally responsible for her death. a football shirt worn by argentina's football legend diego maradona, when he scored an infamous goal against england at the 1986 world cup, has gone up for auction. it's known as the hand of god shirt, because at a key moment in the game, maradona appeared to have leapt and scored with a header, but had in fact cunningly used his hand. the number 10 shirt has already attracted bids of $5 million. a study has shown that insect populations have fallen by about half in some parts of the world, because of climate change and intensive agriculture. researchers at university college london said the combined pressure of global heating and farming was driving

a "substantial decline" in the number of insects across the globe. the findings are based on global data on nearly 20,000 different species, at about 6000 locations he's a world—renowned biologist, environmentalist and veteran broadcaster of more than 60 years standing. sir david attenborough becomes an official "champion of the earth" on thursday as he receives a lifetime achievement award from the united nations environment programme. sir david's new honour celebrates his career—long efforts to protect and restore nature, as our climate editor, justin rowlatt, reports. and let mejust and let me just say that we are deeply honoured to... like and let me just say that we are deeply honoured to. . .- deeply honoured to... like so much of _ deeply honoured to... like so much of life _ deeply honoured to... like so much of life today, _ deeply honoured to... like so much of life today, this - deeply honoured to... like soj much of life today, this award ceremony was conducted over the internet, but there was nothing virtual about sir david's delight. virtual about sir david's deli . ht. . ., virtual about sir david's delight-— virtual about sir david's deliuht. . delight. overcome you have the award! wow! —

delight. overcome you have the award! wow! and _ delight. overcome you have the award! wow! and i _ delight. overcome you have the award! wow! and i am - delight. overcome you have the award! wow! and i am truly, i award! wow! and i am truly, truly extremely _ award! wow! and i am truly, truly extremely honoured. i award! wow! and i am truly, i truly extremely honoured. you know. — truly extremely honoured. you know. the _ truly extremely honoured. you know, the united nations, we are in— know, the united nations, we are in a — know, the united nations, we are in a new era, the united nations, _ are in a new era, the united nations, without them we will never — nations, without them we will never solve the environmental crisis — never solve the environmental crisis the _ never solve the environmental crisis. the world has to get togetheh _ hidden beneath the waves, right beneath— hidden beneath the waves, right beneath my feet, there are creatures beyond our imagination.- creatures beyond our imauination. , ., . imagination. only a concerted effort by the _ imagination. only a concerted effort by the countries - imagination. only a concerted effort by the countries of - imagination. only a concerted effort by the countries of the l effort by the countries of the world will do, so david tells inge anderson, the head of the un environment programme. we know what the problems are, and we know — know what the problems are, and we know how to solve them. all we know how to solve them. all we lack — we know how to solve them. all we lack is — we know how to solve them. all we lack is a _ we know how to solve them. all we lack is a unified action. right _ we lack is a unified action. richt. , , ., , , we lack is a unified action. richt. , , , ., , right. these problems cannot be solved by one — right. these problems cannot be solved by one nation, _ right. these problems cannot be solved by one nation, no - right. these problems cannot be solved by one nation, no matter| solved by one nation, no matter how big — solved by one nation, no matter how big that single nation is. we've — how big that single nation is. we've also recognised an uncomfortable fact. the health of our— uncomfortable fact. the health of our oceans is under threat.

but sir— of our oceans is under threat. but sir david has not lost hope. look how many whale species have come back from the brink of extinction, he says. the message is that it can be done — the message is that it can be done the _ the message is that it can be done. the message is this is possible. _ done. the message is this is possible, the message is that the natural world has more resources than we can possibly imagine — resources than we can possibly imagine. we've worked out how to kiii— imagine. we've worked out how to kill them. imagine. we've worked out how to killthem. now imagine. we've worked out how to kill them. now we should give — to kill them. now we should give them a chance for them to come _ give them a chance for them to come back— give them a chance for them to come back and save themselves and save — come back and save themselves and save us. a and save us. characteristically rousing call to action from the sir david, just weeks before he celebrates his 96th birthday. justin rowlatt, bbc news. beautiful pictures there. beautiful pictures there. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @bbcnuala also instagram. thank you for watching full stop stay with us here. bbc news

hello. for most of us, wednesday was a fine day, lots of spring sunshine around. temperatures widely 16 to 18 celsius, and the warmest spot was southampton, where we had temperatures up to 20. you can see the extent of the sunshine from the satellite picture from wednesday, but look at this area of low cloud. now, that really limited the temperatures through wednesday afternoon, and across the east side of scotland, not only was it cloudy and misty, it was chilly as well, with temperatures just around seven degrees. we still have that pretty big area of low cloud, mist and now fog affecting eastern areas of scotland,

the cloud thick enough for an occasional spit of drizzle and at times could affect the coast of north—east england as well. 0therwise, these are the kind of temperatures that we had to start the day on thursday. for the next day or so, we're going to see high pressure dominating our weather picture. the high pressure's north of the uk, the winds around the high pressure coming in from an easterly direction and will tend to strengthen over the next couple of days. as those winds blow across the cool north sea, so temperatures will start to ease a little bit over the next couple of days. nevertheless, thursday morning getting off to a sparkling, sunny start, for most, although there could be an odd patch of low cloud or mist across northeast scotland, a few fog patches slow to clear, and maybe one or two more coming onto the coastline into the afternoon. where that happens, temperatures just about seven celsius, but otherwise, it's another pretty warm day for the time year. but again, we are looking at some pretty high levels of pollen. for those of you that suffer from hay fever, that is something to bear in mind. there will be further changes in the weather picture on friday, subtle changes, in that the winds will be blowing a bit more strongly. that will knock

the temperatures down. but also, there's going to be more cloud across the south of the uk, potentially thick enough to bring a few patches of rain, although not amounting to much at all. temperatures, 1a or 15 degrees in the best of the sunshine across the northwest, maybe 16 in liverpool. but some of our north sea coast, 12 degrees would be close to what we will see. for this weekend, we've still got those easterly winds blowing, low pressure to our south. now, for the most part, a lot of the weekend will be dry with sunny spells, but i wouldn't be surprised if we saw some thicker cloud at times moving into the south or the east of the uk to bring a few patches of rain. but if we do see that, the rain probably not amounting to too much.

this is bbc news, the headlines: ukrainian negotiators have offered to hold talks in the besieged city of mariupol to try to save the lives of civilians and soldiers still trapped there. some civilians have been able to leave, but officials say there were far fewer than hoped. the government has blamed russian forces. the russian government says it's carried out a successful test flight of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of carrying nuclear warheads. president putin said it would make those who seek to threaten russia think twice. the pentagon said they had been informed of the test beforehand. the french president, emmanuel macron, and his far—right challenger, marine le pen, have clashed over, sanctions on russia, a ban on the islamic headscarf, and the cost of living, during the campaign's only televised debate before sunday's presidential run—off.

mr macron remains ahead in the polls.