welcome to bbc news — i'm nuala mcgovern. our top stories... president biden announces another $800 million of military help for ukraine — in what he calls a critical phase of the war. to modernise teddy roosevelt's famous advice, sometimes you will speak softly and carry a large javelin, because we are 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. dozens of people are killed in four bomb attacks across afghanistan — a shia mosque was among the targets. and — cultue clash — why did lawmakers in the us state of florida strip disney of its self—governing status?

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america, and around the globe. president biden has announced 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 escapedin this convoy. 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 my mum - can barely walk. there is no way i would have left her behind. there was constant shelling, even as we were leaving the city, there was some 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. this 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

that 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 have escaped a humanitarian crisis, for those who have 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 — our 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. that 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, may 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 is 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 in 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've 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 10 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.

0ur north america correspondent david willisjoins me now. urge to have you with us. he is outlining it to its audience. talk is through a little bit more of what is expected to come from this aid. president biden said — come from this aid. president biden said today _ come from this aid. president biden said today that - come from this aid. president | biden said today that vladimir putin would never succeed in occupying all of ukraine, and this latest package of military aid is intended to help ukrainian forces in that forthcoming battle in the east, the disputed dom bess region. russia, of course, has been putting a lot of forces in place in that region, and the president said this latest package will be aimed at providing the sort of tactical missiles, tactical weapons, i should say, that will be needed for the particular terrain in that part of ukraine. that includes heavy weapons such as dozens of howitzers and

thousands of rounds of ammunition, as well as tactical drones, which were specially developed by the us military here for deployment in ukraine, for precisely the sort of use that they are going to be put to. president biden said this was a critical window, as he put it, in the battle in ukraine, and it could air mark the next phase in the conflict there. —— air mark. for the next phase in the conflict there. -- air mark.— there. -- air mark. for our viewers — there. -- air mark. for our viewers as— there. -- air mark. for our viewers as well, _ there. -- air mark. for our viewers as well, they - there. -- air mark. for our viewers as well, they have | there. -- air mark. for our - viewers as well, they have been so many pledges of support of money, i'mjust wondering so many pledges of support of money, i'm just wondering how much is he getting too, and if there is political support for this? it there is political support for this? , ., , there is political support for this? , this? it is a very good question _ this? it is a very good question and - this? it is a very good l question and president this? it is a very good - question and president biden said today he intends to keep the flow of heavy weapons going into ukraine. already, $3 billion plus is the total amount of military aid that the us has pledged to ukraine, and

indeed next week, president biden is going to congress to ask for more money. 0ne biden is going to congress to ask for more money. one big question of course is how potentially inflammatory this might prove, as far as the russian president vladimir putin is concerned. you may remember last week that the russian embassy in washington sent a diplomatic note to the state department, basically a warning of what they called unpredictable consequences should the us and nato continue to supply heavy weapons to ukraine. that of course has prompted speculation that the russians may seek to bomb those deliveries of heavy weapons possibly also entering into those nato corridors in order to do so. those nato corridors in order to do se— those nato corridors in order to do so-_ to do so. thank you for “oining us from the i to do so. thank you for “oining us from the states, _ to do so. thank you forjoining us from the states, giving - to do so. thank you forjoining us from the states, giving us i us from the states, giving us the update onjoe biden.

the portuguese authorities have formally identified a suspect in the disappearance of the british toddler, madeleine mccann, nearly 15 years ago. the three—year—old went missing during a family holiday in the algarve region. the prosecutors did not name the suspect, but said they were acting on the request of the german authorities. in 2020, the german police revealed they were investigating a convicted child abuser and drug trader, known as christian b, in connection with madeleine's disappearance. he's currently injail in germany, and denies any involvement. dozens of people have been killed in four bomb attacks across afghanistan. the most lethal one took place in a shia mosque in mazar—i—sharif, where more than 30 people died. islamic state militants say they carried out at least two of the attacks. akram gizabi is chairman of the world hazara council. he joins me from washington. you are so you are so welcome. you are so welcome. thanks for joining me. could you tell our viewers a little about life for

the hazara community in afghanistan, as we get up to nine months after the taliban took over?— nine months after the taliban took over? ., ~ , ., , . took over? thank you very much for having _ took over? thank you very much for having me. _ took over? thank you very much for having me. life _ took over? thank you very much for having me. life for— took over? thank you very much for having me. life for the - for having me. life for the hazaras not only in kabul but in afghanistan as hell, just in a net shell, because they are women, mostly educated, they are confined to their houses, they cannot go out. even single mothers cannot go out to get some food, if they don't have a close relative there will be beaten. that is for our women folks. forthe beaten. that is for our women folks. for the man, those who have worked for the previous governments, no matter where is the army and police or in any other capacity or under

surveillance, they are being followed, interrogated, arrested. so these people, any one of them who have worked for the previous government, even asjudges, as the previous government, even as judges, as administrators, they are in hiding, mostly. sorry to interrupt you, but i'm just thinking about with this particular incident, ias is claiming —— is is claiming the attack. they are a rival of the taliban but it seems both groups have suffered. —— is is claiming the attack. when the taliban took power there was a claim that minorities would be protected. what do the hazara community need? do they need more pressure from the international community to try and protect them? what are you looking for?— looking for? first of all i must say _ looking for? first of all i must say that _ looking for? first of all i must say that this - looking for? first of all i must say that this was l looking for? first of all i l

must say that this was an illusion. but the taliban said they would do, what they would carry out. they have been saying a lot of things all along, but they don't follow. so that is one thing, that the taliban statements are just hollow. it is for media consumption. the second thing is that the hazaras, of course we need a lot of pressure to be put by the international community, by human rights organisations, by governments on the taliban, to respect human rights, not only for the hazaras, but for the whole people of afghanistan, the women, the educated people of afghanistan. that is first.

secondly, for us, the taliban and isis are two sides of the same coin. believe it or not, in the past in one incident at least in the north in a place in the north, they shared the authorisation —— the operation against the hazaras, more than 50 people were killed and they got away with it. so at times they have their minor differences, but in their hatred towards hazaras and towards shi'as and other religious minorities, they are the same. so if aces claim responsibility, where are the taliban? for us, the responsibility is squarely on the shoulders of the taliban, no matter who carries these

operations. thank you so much for speaking to us, that is akram gizabi, just to underline as well that where that mosque was it is a hazara community, they are muslim hsia, and very much affected by that and other attacks over the past couple of weeks. —— shia. stay with us on bbc news — still to come: meet the ultimate company man. we'll tell you about the veteran brazilian worker who really, really loves hisjob. 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 to 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. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: president biden announces another $800—million of military help for ukraine, in what he calls a critical phase of the war. 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. i'm joined by our reporter azadeh moshiri. welcome reporter azadeh moshiri. to the programme. 0k, let welcome to the programme. 0k, let us talk a little bit about disney. august through this special tax status i alluded to that this company had in florida. they are fairly far—reaching, dating back to the 1960s when disney initially made the deal with florida, part of the reason why they decided to open so many theme parks in the states, why it has become the single largest employer there, and it essentially allows it to operate as its owner in a simple government over the district, it has its own board

of supervisors, its own fire department. as you mention, they can build roads, it can also levy taxes, most importantly, it has saved disney millions in taxes and fees, but of course, now after this vote, this could come crashing down.— this vote, this could come crashing down. florida is so synonymous _ crashing down. florida is so synonymous in _ crashing down. florida is so synonymous in a _ crashing down. florida is so synonymous in a way - crashing down. florida is so synonymous in a way with l crashing down. florida is so - synonymous in a way with disney at times, so why did lawmakers strip them of this special status? it strip them of this special status? , , , ., , status? it is widely seen as retribution _ status? it is widely seen as retribution for _ status? it is widely seen as retribution for govenor - retribution for govenor dissenters's law, the so—called don't say gay law. disney took a strong opposition stance, called the parental rights in education banning school teachers from children age three—nine from discussing any issues to do with gender orientation, gender identity, sexual orientation, and that even extends to things like

support services, so things like counselling, and it means that parents can sue schools directly if they feel that law has been breached. disney has taken a strong stance in opposition to this, has said it is willing to hold donations within the state, can even support organisations that are willing to repeal this law, and it hasn't sat well with republican lawmakers as well as govenor dos santos who signed this law himself, who believes that disney has crossed a line. it really shows how difficult it can be for corporations like disney to represent the views of their staff, of some of their shareholders without causing some clarifications for themselves, but the lawmakers are essentially deciding the corporate future.— corporate future. govenor dissenters _ corporate future. govenor dissenters is _ corporate future. govenor dissenters is in _ corporate future. govenor dissenters is in the - corporate future. govenor i dissenters is in the headlines now, and it is i suppose one of those culture was that we sometimes see in the united states quite frequently, perhaps. why is he taking such

a strong stance or grabbing the headlines in this way?- headlines in this way? there are rumblings _ headlines in this way? there are rumblings about - headlines in this way? there are rumblings about a - headlines in this way? there i are rumblings about a potential presidential run bought dos santos in 2024, he hasn't confirmed it. certainly this is something he could add to his political scoresheet, decade box it is important to republican voters. it could be way this week in a fundraising e—mail he said that it disney wanted to pick a fight they have chose the wrong person, and call them a woke corporation. it isn't an education bill he has tackled, although education is extremely important to republican voters, he also signed a abortion law that was controversial at the time, so it's really positioning himself as a republican candidate who, potentially if he runs, isn't afraid of tackling sensitive issues to do with race, gender, and abortion that are taking place and various debates in america, whether culture was that began years ago are still very much going on.- very much going on. really interesting, _ very much going on. really interesting, thank - very much going on. really

interesting, thank you - very much going on. really interesting, thank you for l interesting, thank you for coming in. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. in france, it's the final stage of campaigning in the race for the presidency, which will be settled on sunday, when millions of voters will choose between the incumbent emmanuel macron and his rival marine le pen. the two candidates faced each other last night in a nationwide televised debate, after which many french voters are still said to be undecided. 0ur europe editor katya adler has been taking the temperature with just three days to go. bonjour! could this be france's next president? marine le pen, patriotic woman of the people, visiting france's forgotten villages? 0r far—right nationalist hiding behind a carefully reinvented, softer image?

"how radical are you?" i asked. translation: i'm not radical, sorry. - i'm running for president to establish a government of the people for the people, giving back power to the people. crowd chants. but these people and plenty of others in france remain unconvinced. so close to the elections, emotions are running high. police whistles. it's always like this on campaign trail le pen. there's protectors, press and protesters wherever you look. marine le pen remains the outsider in this election, but her popularity has grown. she's focused on voters' number one concern — the spiralling cost of food and fuel here. translation: marine le pen goes to markets to meet working - people like us.

she's down to earth. we've always liked her. translation: marine le pen, even if she tries to distance i herself from the extreme right, that's her background, that's her party. i'm voting macron to keep le pen out. in fact, both presidential candidates have a reputational problem. eu—obsessed and elitist is how emmanuel macron's critics describe him. so, at this campaign event in marseille, he ditched the designerjacket and appealed across party lines to vote for him on sunday. translation: the 24th of april is a referendum | for or against the environment, for or against young people. this election can be the start of a new french and european era, of great hopes and ambition. cheering brussels and washington are watching all this extremely carefully, especially with the raging russia—ukraine crisis. france has the eu's biggest

military and second largest economy. macron wants to use that to boost eu, nato and transatlantic relations. le pen is euro— and us—sceptic with traditionally close ties to moscow. who becomes france's next president is as important abroad as it is at home for a number of reasons. marine le pen's programme would directly lead to a total collapse of the french economy, which would hurt the other european countries. also very important economic partner, which is the uk. marine le pen defends her economic plans. but france's next president — she or he — won't be able to claim the heart of all french people. this is a divided country. katya adler, bbc news, paris.

in southern california, a stunning scenery is drawing in the crowd, these flower fields, tens of millions of flowers are blooming between march and may, you can see those lovely yellows and pinks, an ideal place to stroll or snap a photo, they will be open until mother's day and the united states. a quick reminder of our top story — the us is sending another $800 million worth of military assistance to ukraine, including howitzer artillery pieces and ghost drones develop specifically for the ukrainian conflict. president biden said the nature of the warfare on the nature of the warfare on the eastern front means that different equipment as required, and mariupol has been under attack since the russians invaded in late february. some civilians were able to live but

thousands are still left behind. thank you very much for watching us here on bbc news. 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 ten 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 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, ii, 12 degrees across some northern towns and cities. bye— bye.

this is bbc news — the headlines... the united states is sending another $800 million worth of 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. officials in afghanistan say dozens of people have been killed in four bomb attacks across the country. the first explosion killed more than 30 worshippers in a shia mosque in the northern city of mazar—i—sharif. the group that calls itself islamic state said it carried out two of the attacks. florida lawmakers have voted to strip disney of its self—governing status, in a move widely seen as retaliation for the company's opposition to a new state law, limiting discussion of lgbt issues in schools.

the bill will now head to the desk of the republican