welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines... president biden announces another $800 million of military help for ukraine in what he calls a critical phase of the war. to modernrise teddy roosevelt's famous advice, sometimes, we will speak softly and carry a largejavelin, because we're sending a lot of those in as well. as president putin claims to have taken control of mariupol, we report on how some have managed to leave the besieged city. also in the programme, borisjohnson will become the first uk prime minister to be investigated for claims that he deliberately misled parliament. and erik the red —

manchester united announce their new manager. can he restore the team to its former glory? live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's seven in the morning in singapore and seven in the evening in washington, as president biden announces another $800 million of extra military aid for ukraine — saying "we will never let russia win this conflict." he added, "we're in a critical window of time," with moscow launching a new offensive in the east of the country. earlier, president putin declared victory for russia in the besieged city of mariupol and ordered his forces to blockade — rather than attack — the last pocket of ukrainian resistance,

a massive steel plant. mariupol has been under attack since the russians invaded in late february. some civilians have been able to leave, but thousands have been left behind. 0ur correspondent catherine byaru hanga reports. after a 24—hourjourney, they finally reached safety from mariupol, one of the worst hit cities in this war. only 80 people escaped in this convoy. iryna is gently helped off the bus by her daughter, tatiana. translation: i could not leave at first because myl mum can barely walk. there's no way i would have left her behind. there was constant shelling. even as we were leaving the city, there was firing. and what of the people they have left behind? 100,000 civilians are believed to be trapped. there are food shortages, no running water or electricity.

translation: it was a miracle that we found a radio _ wave where we heard about the evacuation. that helped us to get out. there are pro—russian separatist vehicles that pull over, but they are not saying anything about evacuations. i think many people could have got out if they knew there was an evacuation planned. after days of negotiations, only a few dozen people have made it out of mariupol, a drop in the ocean in terms of the numbers of those needing help. and this is what they're fleeing — a full—scale russian assault to capture the donbas region in the east. mariupol, devastated by bombardments. hundreds of civilians are believed to be trapped, alongside the last ukrainian forces at the azovstal steelworks. its bunkers and tunnels stretch for miles.

tapping his feet as he listened to his defence minister hail what he called the liberation of the city, president putin ordered a halt to the attack on the industrial plant. translation: i consider the proposed storming i of the industrial zone unnecessary. i order you to cancel it. this is a case where we must think about preserving the lives and health of our soldiers and officers. there is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities. block off this industrial area so that a fly cannot pass through. for those who've escaped severe fighting and a humanitarian crisis, perhaps an opportunity to rebuild their lives. but the fear is more ukrainians will face a similarfate as this war spreads to more villages and cities. catherine byaruhanga, bbc news, zaporizhzhia.

you saw president putin's televised meeting in catherine's report there. 0ur russia editor, steve rosenberg, was watching it in moscow. i think this is a kremlin leader who is becoming increasingly impatient. vladimir putin had been counting on a quick victory back in february — it didn't happen. he wants victories on the battlefield now, that he can present to his people and make russians believe that his "special military operation," as he calls it, is going according to plan. so, what does he do? he comes out today and he claims victory in mariupol, even though we know some ukrainian fighters are still at the steelworks. now, president putin will be acutely aware that in two and a half weeks, russia will celebrate victory day, a big national holiday here, where russia marks the defeat of nazi germany. he will be hoping that, by that time,

by may the 9th, he can claim a victory, a big victory in ukraine or at least in eastern ukraine. will he be able to do that? that's another question. the united states is sending more military assistance to ukraine, including howitzer artillery pieces and phoenix ghosts drones developed specifically for the ukraine conflict. president biden said the nature of the warfare on ukraine's eastern front meant different equipment was required. today, i'm announcing another $800 million to further augment ukraine's ability to fight in the east and the donbas region. this package includes heavy artillery weapons, dozens of howitzers and 144,000 rounds of ammunition to go with those howitzers. it also includes more tactical drones. in the past two months, we've moved weapons and equipment to ukraine at record speed. we sent thousands of

anti—armour and antimissile helicopters, drones, grenade launchers, machine guns, rifles, radar systems. more than 15 million rounds of ammunition have already been sent. the united states alone has provided ten anti—armour systems for every one russian tank that's in ukraine, a ten—to—one ratio. we're sharing and will continue to share significant timely intelligence with ukraine to help defend them against russian aggression. this is a huge amount of money that america's continuing to supply to ukraine. president biden said in that press conference today that he wants to keep the weapons and the ammunition flowing into the country. he paid tribute to ukrainian soldiers, to civilians, and didn't mince his words with president putin. he said he will not take over ukraine.

in terms of the package, it's similar to the money announced last week for assistance. these are weapons needed to fight this particular war that's going on on the eastern front. different weapons needed because the terrain is flat or there. is flatter there. if we look at how much money in total america spent since the war began, its just gone over $3 billion. in terms of how much money has been spent in helping ukraine since biden came into office, it's about $4 billion. huge amounts of money. it's worth pointing out that president biden, there's only so far he can go in terms of authorising this money. he is reaching a point where he will exhaust this drawdown authority, that he as president gets, where congress allows him to spend as much money. to spend this much money.

if he wants more, which he's said he does, more weapons and ammunition to keep flowing in, he will need to get approvalfrom congress, which he will ask for next week. the republicans, the opposition, want to be way more aggressive with russia. we can expect the pressure on biden to do more to ramp up significantly moving forward. borisjohnson is to become the first british prime minister to be investigated for claims that he deliberately misled parliament. it's the latest twist in the controversy over illegal gatherings held in downing street during lockdown. mrjohnson is currently on a trade visit to india. 0ur political correspondent, ben wright, is travelling with him. a chance to change their tune. borisjohnson landed in the indian state of gujarat brimming with talk of trade, investment and deals. looking out at the cheering crowds, the prime minister might have briefly forgotten the scandal he's bogged down in back home —

lockdown—breaking parties and whether he has told the truth. let me just say, i'm very keen for every possible form of scrutiny, and if the house of commons can do whatever i think it wants to do... visiting a jcb factory, there was little sign borisjohnson was again digging himself into trouble with his own mps 5000 miles away. with opposition parties pushing for an inquiry into whether the prime minister misled parliament, mrjohnson had told his mps to vote for a delay until the police had completed their investigations. but back in westminster, the prime minister's opponents were putting his previous words of promises in the spotlight. this is about honesty, integrity and telling the truth in this place. it is a principle we all share, but it is a principle under attack because the prime minister has been accused of repeatedly, deliberately and routinely

misleading this house. usually, there are things mps are not allowed to say in the commons chamber. that the prime minister of the united kingdom is a liar. but today, that word was allowed to pass. the fact he thought he could get away with such absurd . claims says clearly that this prime minister takes - the british people for granted. knowingly misleading parliament is a very serious matter, and today, borisjohnson insisted he hadn't. the pm does have a lot of support on his side... i support him because he was anointed by the people in 2019 to deliver a great mission, to unite and level up the country, and because he can make the big calls that are needed at this time. ...but it was clear. and for some, their patience snapped. the prime minister now

should be long gone and, deputy speaker, i certainly hope for this motion, but the prime minister should know the gig's up. by the time borisjohnson visited this temple number ten had backed down and ditched its plan. you seem to have completely misjudged the mood of your own party. i don't think it's sensible to have endless investigation and analysis now before the met have concluded their report. look, my view is, if the opposition really want to focus on this, that's all they want to talk about, that's fine, but what i want to talk about is the stuff we're doing to take forward the uk. talking about the most serious issues, whether a prime minister has lied to the house of commons, and you seem to be making up your approach to this question on an ad hoc, hour—by—hour basis, and that's proven by the chaos around this vote. don't voters expect a bit more? i'm sorry, what voters, i think, will want to see

is the conclusion of the investigation, and then i think the house of commons can decide what to do. steve baker, fellow brexiteer like you, senior tory, has said this afternoon you should resign. you're losing credibility in your parliamentary party. my point is... we had two hours on this i think on tuesday, quite a lot on wednesday. i don't think there's much more i can say on it. tomorrow, borisjohnson will hold talks with india's prime minister on ukraine, but he will return to face a commons investigation into claims he misled parliament over the party saga that won't go away. ben wright, bbc news, delhi. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme — in a virginia courtroom, johnny depp says he felt driven to drugs and alcohol because of clashes with his then—partner amber heard.

nothing, it seemed, was too big to withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government help to build better housing. internationally, there have already been protests. sweden says it received no warning of the accident. indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. only when radioactivity levels began to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war for them. they've taken the capital, which they've been fighting for for so long. it was seven o'clock - in the morning on the day when power began to pass from the minority to - the majority, when africa, | after 300 years, reclaimed

its last white colony. you're watching newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko 0i in singapore. 0ur headlines... president biden announces another $800 million of military help for ukraine in what he calls a critical phase of the war. as president putin claims to have taken control of mariupol, some civilians have managed to leave the besieged city. in the united states, lawyers for the actress amber heard have been questioning herformer partnerjohnny depp in his defamation case against ms heard. jurors were shown text messages in which mr depp referred to a �*monster�* inside him that he kept in check. the actor is suing ms heard over an article she wrote in

which she said she was a victim of domestic violence. 0ur correspondent david sillito has been following the case. johnny depp, and day three on the witness stand, and he was bracing himself for some tough questions. yesterday, we saw what he said where the injuries caused by his ex—wife, amber heard. it was that portrayal ofjohnny depp as the blameless victim in all of this that was today being challenged in court. he was shown these text messages, exchanged with the actor paul bettany, comments about burning and drowning amber heard. ater you said, "let's drown her bnefore we burn her," mr depp, you said, "i will bleep her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she is dead." that's what you said that you would do after you burnt her and after you drowned her. did i read that right? you certainly did, yes. a real threat, or a less than

serious monty python reference? and then his drug use — the court shown these photographs of bags of marijuana, the actor lying passed out, and whatjohnny depp says was a carefully staged photo of cocaine and whisky. you would sometimes drink whisky in the mornings too, right? during this time period. um, i-i... you know, i mean, isn't happy hourany time? and then questions about what amber heard calls the monster, his temper. the court was played a tape of him talking about a head—butt. mr depp, you said, "i head-butted you in th forehead, that doesn't break a nose." correct? i did say those words, but i said... i was using the words that miss heard was using. 0k. but there was not an intentional head—butt. there was also footage

of another angry outburst — he said, yes, he did hit cabinets and couches, but not his wife. david sillito, bbc news, fairfax, virginia. huan 0rlando hernandez, the former president of honduras, has been extradited to the united states to face weapons and drug trafficking charges. he was arrested in february shortly after ending his second term in charge of the country. us prosectors have previously accused him of funding his political rise with profits from drug traffickers. in afghanistan, there's been more violence against the hazara community. afghan officials say at least 31 people have been killed in a powerful explosion at a mosque in the northern city of mazar—e—sharif. dozens of others were injured. the arab league has called on israel to end jewish prayers inside the al—aqsa mosque compound in occupied eastjerusalem, saying it

could trigger wider conflict. in recent days security forces in israel have used stun grenades, with some palestinians throwing stones and firecrackers by the mosque. after a meeting injordan, the arab league said israel had restricted muslims in their right of worship while allowing ultra—nationalist jews to enter the site. israel says it is enforcing a long—standing ban onjewish prayer at the compound. florida lawmakers have voted to strip disney of its self—governing status. it's a move widely seen as retaliation for the company's opposition to a new state law limiting discussion of lgbt issues in schools. for the past 55 years, it's had the power to build infrastructure and control utilites on its theme park in exchange for tax relief.

a post—pandemic hong kong is beginning to emerge with social distancing measures being eased and cathay pacific, plus other airlines, restoring more international services. however, the easing of some restrictions presents a challenge to beijing. it wants to limit protests with a new leader set to be appointed next month. one of the ways china is tightening its grip on the former british colony is through the promotion of the mandarin language. let's speak to dr gina anne tam. to dr gina anne tam, associate professor of modern chinese history at trinity university in texas. thank you so much forjoining us on newsday. cantonese is the language widely spoken in hong kong, so can you explain to us how mandarin has been promoted in hong kong?— how mandarin has been promoted in hong kong? thank you so much for havin: in hong kong? thank you so much for having me- _ in hong kong? thank you so much for having me. since _ in hong kong? thank you so much for having me. since 1997, - for having me. since 1997, we've seen primarily through

education or pressures from groups to integrate more mandarin education into the city. last year in june, mandarin education into the city. last year injune, there was a report launched by the chinese ministry of education urging hong kong to recognise the legal status of mandarin and integrate it into student assessments. we haven't seen this necessarily integrated fully into schools yet, although there are a lot of schools who do teach mandarin alongside cantonese. but in the lake of the 2019 protects, many in hong kong are singing this report from the ministry as a signal that china seeks to extend its current encroachment on the autonomy to include promoting mandarin over cantonese.— promoting mandarin over cantonese. this is not the first time _ cantonese. this is not the first time beijing - cantonese. this is not the first time beijing has - cantonese. this is not the | first time beijing has done this. they've tried this in other regions of china, promoting mandarin as well. can you talk us through or that happened? i you talk us through or that happened?— you talk us through or that hauened? ., �* ~ �*, happened? i don't think there's a lace

happened? i don't think there's a place in _ happened? i don't think there's a place in china _ happened? i don't think there's a place in china where - happened? i don't think there's a place in china where the - happened? i don't think there's a place in china where the use | a place in china where the use of mandarin has not been one of many ways to downplay or delegitimize or raise expressions of identity, besides this one homogenous identity promoted by the state. in 2010, there were protests in the city of canton in south china to preserve its cantonese news. while that was illicitly set up axle, non—mandarin programming was in cities around... has been waning —— initially successful. mandarin is used essentially as a tool of erasing expressions of ethnic identities. in inner mongolia last year, there are new policies attempting to replace a lot of educational classes that were primarily mongolian with more mandarin. there were massive protests across inner mongolia that resulted in thousands of

arrests. what i think the take away here is that what happening in hong kong is an extension of a long history and a current contemporary phenomenon of using language standardisation as a top—down way to promote the singular montanus expression of chinese identity wall framing all of their languages and expressions as less valuable or subsidiary. doctor, thank you so much for joining us on newsday.- joining us on newsday. thank ou. manchester united fans all over have been reacting to the appointment of erik ten hag as manager. the man who's currently in charge of the dutch champions ajax will take over from interim boss ralf rangnick at the end of this season. ten hag becomes united's fifth boss since sir alex ferguson i asked natalie burrell, super fan and host of the only one united podcast, what she thought. i think we've been waiting for this appointment to be made for a long time. when he was first

announced, quite excited. he's done great things at ajax, so now i'm excited to see what he can do at manchester united. what do you think are the biggest challenges for the job? i think basically sorting out the dressing room, making sure that players want to play with the club, want to play for the club, want to play for the badge. i think we've had a lot of issues well documented, players unhappy. i think him sorting out the players, getting his players in, having a good style of play, we've not had that at manchester united for a while, so if you can bring an attacking style of play, that will be the firstjob for him. how do you think cristiano ronaldo will feature in his plans for the club? cristiano ronaldo is one of my favourite players, so i hope that he stays, but he's not the cristiano ronaldo of

a couple years ago. he was scoring all the goals for madrid. i hope he does stay, but if we don't get champions league football, i don't know. will erik ten hag have a younger player? want a younger player? maybe. but i still think cristiano will have a good place at man united. what do you think the fans expect for the next season? i don't think fans should expect the world. i don't think we're going to challenge for the premier league title, but if we could maybe get a cup, even a league cup, and then qualify for europe in fourth place, i thinkjust seeing good style of football, consistent football, i think we haven't seen that for a while and if we do get consistent football and results and performances, people will be happy. a lot of interesting stories on

our website. that's it for this addition. thanks for watching. hello. 0ur weather's going to be pretty settled over the next few days. it's fairly quiet out there right now and not much change on the way for friday. one thing that we will notice is that cool breeze strengthening day by day, particularly noticeable on the north sea coast, and this often happens when we have high pressure close to iceland there over the norwegian sea, low pressure to the south, and that basically shunts quite a strong airstream from scandinavia across the north sea and cuts through the uk. particularly chilly on those north sea coasts. it'll also drag in some cloud, some moisture, particularly to central and eastern parts of england, so a slow grey, breezy, chilly start to the day here, whereas out towards the west, there'll be sunshine. also, a few showers developing anywhere from london

into the south midlands, southern wales, maybe salisbury plain, perhaps the west country but elsewhere, it should be sunny. so, cold on the north sea. 0n the actual coast, it could be 10 degrees, but warmer spots, maybe southwestern parts of scotland, perhaps as high as 19, most of us somewhere in between. also worth noting the tree pollen levels will be generally moderate to high on friday. so, the weekend, then, that pattern continues, so the high across the north, low pressure to the south. we can see the rain across spain and france, so the bad weather's to the south of us, but we still have that strong breeze and, again, a few showers. perhaps a little more widespread, maybe, spreading into northern parts of england during the course of saturday. again, chilly on the north sea coast, maybe 12 in newcastle, typically 16 there in plymouth and not far off that in belfast as well. here's a sunday's weather forecast — more of the same — cold wind out of the north sea and all the bad weather staying way to the south of us

and similar temperatures, perhaps not even making double figures there in aberdeen. so, let's have a look at the outlook into monday. slight change in the wind direction, so you could see the high pressure builds down again across the uk, the wind switches direction — it will be more of a northerly. so, temperatures will actually drop as we go through the course of next week, maybe making around 10, 11, 12 degrees across some northern towns and cities. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. what lessons have the russians learned from the progress or lack of it of their military offensive in ukraine? right now russian forces are focused on the east of the country, the donbas. and what happens in the next few weeks will be critical for the future of ukraine, of russia and of european security.