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 we will speak softly and carry a largejavelin, 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. bonjour! comment ca va? ca va! ca va, merci! we're on the chaotic campaign trail of marine le pen, who's hoping to become president of france on sunday. it's always like this on campaign trail le pen.

there's protectors, press and protesters wherever you look. 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". 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 at 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 my 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 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. 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 donbass 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 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 2.5 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 ninth, 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.

thank you very much to steve. well, as we've been reporting, president biden said the nature of the warfare on ukraine's eastern front meant different equipment was required. here's a little of what he had to say. today, i'm announcing another $800 million to further augment ukraine's ability to fight in the east, in the donbass 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 anti—missile helicopters, drones, grenade launchers, machine guns, rifles, missiles, radar systems. more than 50 million rounds of ammunition has already been sent. the united states alone has provided 10 anti—armour systems for every russian tank that in 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 willis has more details on the aid package. president biden said 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 donbas region. russia, of course, has been putting a lot of forces in place in that region and the president said this latest package would 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. and 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 that this was a critical window, as he put it, in the battle in ukraine and it could earmark the next phase in the conflict there. . ., 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. it's the second attack this week which has targeted the mainly hazara shia community. on tuesday, two bomb blasts hit a boy's school in a western neighbourhood of kabul, leaving six people dead. no—one claimed responsibility but islamic state militants have targeted the area in the past. earlier, i spoke to akram gizabi, chairman of the world hazara council, and i asked him what daily life was like for the shia minority nine months after the taliban took over.

life for the hazaras not only in kabul but in afghanistan is hell, just in a nutshell, because there are women, mostly educated, they are confined to their houses, they cannot go out. even single mothers cannot go out to get some food. because if they don't have a close relative, they will be beaten. so, that is for our womenfolk. for the men, there's those who have worked for the previous governments, no matter where in the army and police or in any other capacity are under surveillance, they are being followed, they are being interrogated, they are being arrested.

so, these people, any one of them who have worked for the previous governments — even asjudges, as administrators — they are in hiding, mostly. crosstalk. sorry to interrupt you there, akram, but i'm just thinking about with this particular incident, is is claiming is claiming the attack. of course, they are a rival of the taliban but it seems both groups have suffered. —— to be that under both groups, the hazara have suffered. 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? taliban statements are just hollow. it's for media

conception. —— 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, for the women of afghanistan, the educated people of afghanistan. the former pakistani prime minister imran khan, ousted from office earlier this month, has been holding large rallies across the country, refusing to accept the new government that has been formed and demanding fresh elections. he's alleged he's the victim of an american—led conspiracy — though his opponents have ridiculed that. secunder kermani reports from lahore. imran khan may no longer be the prime minister here but he is still able to draw out big crowds. he has been repeating his allegation that he was ousted as the result of a us

led conspiracy, targeting him, he says, because of his foreign policy decisions, including a recent trip to moscow. and in doing so, he is really tapping into a reservoir of popular anti—western sentiment here. why is america so concerned that we are having a good relation with russia and china? that is the main thing which is threatening america. they used to think that because they had slaves, they would suffer with america. �* ,, �* slaves, they would suffer with america._ has | america. translation: has brou . ht america. translation: has brought these _ america. translation: has brought these politicians - brought these politicians together on the same page? the? together on the same page? they never used _ together on the same page? they never used to _ together on the same page? they never used to even _ together on the same page? they never used to even sit _ never used to even sit together? it has been done by america — together? it has been done by america and foreign powers. the us officials _ america and foreign powers. tie: us officials imran america and foreign powers. tte: us officials imran khan's opponents he had dismissed those allegations, most independent analysts i have spoken to do not believe them either. i say imran khan is deliberately, they believe, exaggerating the contents of a diplomatic cable sent by the pakistani ambassador in

washington which may contain very blunt perhaps aggressive language but is not, they say, evidence of a conspiracy. instead, they say imran khan fell out with his former life, some's powerful military, and thatis some's powerful military, and that is what has led to his downfall and a new government here would have cost deny allegations made by imran khan and his supporters that they are corrupt, and they are hoping that this momentum but imran khan is trying to build up imran khan is trying to build up will peter out. he is calling for fresh elections but beyond holding these big, large rallies, will have to see just what he can do to make them happen because they are not due to take place until next year. secunder kermani reporting. 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 his job.

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, i didn't believe it. ijust — 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 hubble space telescope, our window on the universe.

this is bbc world 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. as president putin claims to have taken control of mariupol, some civilians have managed to leave the besieged city. 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, orfar—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 a 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. and the election on sunday. the portuguese authorities have formally identified a suspect in the disappearance of the british toddler, madeleine mccann, nearly 15 years ago. the 3—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. 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. good to have you with us. what was or what were, i should say, tax benefits disney had? timer;r tax benefits disney had? they were pretty — tax benefits disney had? they were pretty far-reaching - tax benefits disney had? "tt2 were pretty far—reaching and disney has enjoyed them since the 1960s when it into the deal with florida, why it opened so many fear parks in florida and why it became the single largest private employer there. essentially allowed the magical kingdom to rule itself, it was able to build its own roads, levy taxes, had its own board of supervisors, its own fire department, if disney decided one day it wanted to build the airport, it could have done it on the district that it governs. most importantly, it's allowing disney to save millions in taxes and fees. now it looks like that's come crashing down for disney. who crashing down for disney. who and why did —

crashing down for disney. who and why did lawmakers do this will change its status? it is will change its status? it is widely seen _ will change its status? it is widely seen as _ will change its status? it 3 widely seen as retaliation for disney buyers like opposition to a new florida education law, one opponents call the don't say gay bill. and was signed into law by governor ron desantis of the republicans, pivoting primary school teachers to discuss sexual orientation or gender either today with any of their pupils, children from age 3—9. disney took a very strong stance against the law, saying it had support any organisation that would try to repeal the law, host some of its own turner political the nations and protect the lgbtqi+ community there. this did not sit well with governor desantis and really highlights how difficult it is for the corporations when trying to take an ethical stance, one they feel is reflected by their employees, some of the shareholders and

yet doing that without facing repercussions from lawmakers but are deciding their corporate fates is becoming very difficult to do. so interesting _ very difficult to do. so interesting because it is often seen as a family friendly destination as well. why is governor desantis taking the stance? its the headlines. there are some ramblings of a potential presidential run in 2024. he hasn't confirmed this but he did say an e—mail this week that disney is trying to pick a fight, they've chosen the wrong guy and called disney a work corporation and this is something you might want to add to his political scoresheet should he run.— to his political scoresheet should he run. �* . should he run. azadeh moshiri, thank you _ should he run. azadeh moshiri, thank you for— should he run. azadeh moshiri, thank you forjoining _ should he run. azadeh moshiri, thank you forjoining us. - there's more on this story on our website, including this political analysis by our senior north america producer, mat morrison. that's on bbc.com/news. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. 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 prosecutors have previously accused him of funding his political rise with profits from drug traffickers. in the uk, mps have approved an inquiry into claims that prime minister borisjohnson deliberately misled parliament about downing street parties during coronavirus lockdowns. he'll become the first british prime minister to be investigated into such allegations. north korea's leader, kim jong—un, has written back to south korea's outgoing president, moonjae—in, to thank him for trying to improve relations. mr moon, who steps down next month, had written to mr kim on wednesday, promising to continue to try to lay a foundation for the reunification of the two countries. we're told this is the era of the gig economy, a world where many people have to adapt to flexible working conditions and zero—hour contracts. but that's most definitely not the case for one brazilian who's given a whole new meaning

to the phrase company man. tim allman explains. walter 0rthmann begins every day the same way. he starts with his daily exercises, has a spot of breakfast with his family and then heads off to work. walter has been doing this for 84 years, a world record for an employee at the same company. translation: you have to like work. _ i started to work with that willingness and fighting spirit. you also have to start working on something you like to do. you can'tjust do anyjob to say you are working, that doesn't work. walter started working for a local textile firm in 1938 when he was just 15 years old. since then, he has witnessed, amongst other things, the second world war, the korean war, the vietnam war, two gulf wars and now a conflict in ukraine.

there have been 15 us presidents, more than two dozen brazilian presidents, including a few military dictators, but only two british monarchs. translation: you have to be healthy, _ so you have to take care of your health. i have been exercising for more than 60 years. i have been taking care of myself all the time. that really helps your body to be strong forever. walter has just turned 100 and shows no signs of retiring. they say if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. it is certainly true for walter. tim allman, bbc news. well done to him. tens of millions of flowers went between march and made from yellow to pink, the colours

make it an ideal place to stroll and snap a photo, open until mother's day on 8 may in the united states. thanks very much for watching 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 10 degrees, but warmer spots, maybe south—western 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 can 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. the headlines: the united states is sending another $800 million worth of military assistance to ukraine, including howitzer artillery pieces and phoenix ghost 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