a little more rain here. that's your latest forecast. bye— bye. this is bbc news. i'm tim willcox with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. ukraine's abandoned children, displaced by the war — a bbc investigation finds some of the most vulnerable have been left behind. because of their disabilities they are not treated as human beings. they are only kept alive here. and it's not a problem of the institution, it's a problem of the system. contact lost with the defeners of mariupol, as russia launches a major assault on the remaining ukrainian forces there. amber heard takes the stand in the multi—million dollar defamation trial brought by former husband johnny depp — she alleges domestic abuse. he slapped me again. like, it was clear it

wasn't a joke anymore. and record—breaking rain in the spanish city of valencia triggers floods and causes chaos to the city's transport system. hello and welcome to the programme. we start with the plight of thousands of disabled children in ukraine, victims of the russian invasion, who've been abandoned without proper care. the human rights organisation, disability rights international, says its investigation found children with severe disabilities, tied to beds, in children's homes that don't have the facilities to cope. the bbc has visited one institution in the west of ukraine, where disabled children from the east of the country have been left by carers, fleeing the conflict.

this report by our correspondent danjohnson includes some distressing images. here's a sound of the war you haven't heard yet. anna's teeth—grinding anxiety hints at the hidden trauma of ukraine's disabled children, this conflict�*s most vulnerable and least visible victims. they are nervous, disorientated and distressed. they're not treated as human beings. they're only kept alive here. and they've been dumped in a place that can barely cope. are you certain you can give these children the care they need? ni. the director couldn't believe how their carers fled and left these children behind. translation: they were | so selfish that they ran out of here as fast as they could.

i thought they would come in here and tell us who had epilepsy, who was incontinent, and so on. but then they sat here till lunchtime and left. i don't like criticising my colleagues, but this is not the way it's done. victoria's one of 22 children moved here from an orphanage in donetsk, and left behind when the less severely disabled children were taken to germany. she has frequent seizures, and we're told she's put in restraints at night. victoria is m years old. in fact, these are all teenage girls. the nurse tells me she's not used to dealing with this level of disability and she believes the children aren't able to understand their situation. she asks, "what intellect can you see here?" my heart breaks, actually, as a mother of two children. disability rights experts are documenting the conditions. even though they're in a safe place, their state will deteriorate with time because they are not getting any stimulation, any kind of rehabilitation. and, to me, this is further disabling them. these were confined lives of institutionalised dependence long before the war.

there's no future for these children beyond these walls. these homes are relics of an outdated system. the boss insists a resident sings for us. staff shortages mean older residents help care for some children, and those in from the east have much greater needs than this place can handle. and disability rights investigators filmed at three more nearby institutions struggling with fragile young arrivals. they barely had time to give them any individual attention before the war. now they are left lying in cribs, lying in beds, tied down. total neglect. it's very dangerous. these children with disabilities are paying the price for the war. this flies in the face of any sort of international good practice in terms of the care these girls should be receiving.

but then, on the other hand, this is people trying to do their best in the toughest of circumstances. we were told oksana couldn't speak because of severe learning difficulties, but helena makes a connection. she says, in a full sentence, that her toe hurts. and then oksana spots our microphone. there's a flicker of the potential that could be unlocked. are you taking myjob, oksana? da! there is a call for these children to get more international support or the love and care of a family. but when so many ukrainians are running from war, it looks like thousands will still face lives of loss and waste, unseen and unheard. danjohnson, bbc news, in south—western ukraine. meanwhile, moscow has intensified its assault on the huge azovstal steelworks in the southern port city of mariupol, where at least 200 ukrainian civilians are still believed to be trapped.

the city's mayor says the russian forces are going all out to defeat the remaining ukrainian forces holed up in the plant. so far, the united nations has evacuated 300 civilians from mariupol and other nearby areas. let me show you some pictures from that assault. this is unverified footage, it's probably taken place on tuesday or wednesday, the pictures were shown on a pro—russian separatist media outlet. look at that. this is a russian bombardment of that. look at those explosions. the russian troops are inside, according to the ukrainians, and it's called a difficult, bloody battle, according to the commander of the azov regiment in this final stronghold. the resistance is strong. ukrainian soldiers are in there and so are 200 civilians and apparently 30 children. underground, the size of that steel plant around 1,500 football pictures.

so, you can see why the battle is dragging on so long. four square miles. looking at the weaponry by air, also reports a barrel bombs. indeed, indeed. it's important for people to get out of there. the un focusing their efforts on evacuating people, trying to assist that evacuation. 150 or so went on earlier this week. there's a promise from russia to open up a humanitarian corridor the three days starting on thursday, i don't know if that will be believed or not. it is a multi—fronted war. while this destruction goes on there is an investigation into destruction that has happened already. if i remind you of the mariupol theatre, if we can show you pictures of that, this is that theatre with the signs written on the sides to stop russians attacking it from the skies saying �*children,’ there was that awful attack on it, with a 300 people were killed. the associated press have looked into it, spoken to survivors and rescuers, they think double

that number, 600 people were killed, making this the single deadliest attack against civilians to date. this issue of war crimes committed by russia being picked up now again in the states. the economic consequences being played out as well, we've had more response from europe about the energy supplies coming from russia. a lot of focus has been on gas. europe at the moment looking at oil and europe's dependency on russian oil. a united response or not? you and i were discussing it earlier. the percentages of the reliance on oil. even germany, which doesn't have as large a percentage of reliance on oil, still has in the east a pipeline named friendship with russia from which oil comes through and they have to bring tankers over there, they have to dig deeper in ports to allow these ships to come in so they can connect. there are serious technical problems and the eu wants that oil embargo in place by the end of the year, but it has to be a unanimous decision of the 27 eu member states. now, listen to this, this was when stephen sackur spoke to hungary's communication secretary asking if a phased in oil embargo

as proposed by the eu was acceptable, he said no, and this is why. and, of course, as we were discussing earlier, this will only take place at the end of the year. each day we're seeing the horrors taking place, strikes just in the last few hours in dnipro, zaporizhzhia kyiv, mykolaiv, and cherkasy in central ukraine. attacks possibly on resupply efforts of the ukrainians, the russians trying to take out resupply efforts as the war continues in the east. i think what we're seeing now is the eu trying to do something but the reality on the ground showing or questioning the effectiveness of it. let's get some of the day's other news. the us central bank has raised interest rates by half a percentage point — the most aggressive increase in more than 20 years. the move is intended to tackle rapidly rising prices, fuelled by the war in ukraine. with us inflation at a ao—year high, further hikes are expected.

us secretary of state antony blinken has tested positive for covid—i9. mr blinken had hosted both the mexican and swedish foreign ministers in washington over recent days. joe biden�*s foreign policy chief had been set to make a landmark speech regarding us policy towards china on thursday, but that has been postponed. local elections are taking place across the uk on thursday. seats in all local councils are being contested in scotland and wales. voters in northern ireland will elect members of the assembly at stormont. in england, four and a half thousand councillors are fighting for re—election. for months, hong kong managed to control the spread of covid—i9. but the 0micron variant overwhelmed the healthcare system and the city recorded the highest death rate in the world. danny vincent reports from sham shui po district. for mr fong, home is

a three metre square cage. the city's extreme poor live in subdivided apartments. hong kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. until recently, six people lived in this room. but when 0micron hit, he lost two room—mates in the space of a week. translation: one person died on that bed, the other- person also died. he slept over on that bed. we called the ambulance, it got through but no one picked up. for the poor, living with covid means living in tiny apartments where the virus can easily spread. self—isolating is almost impossible. translation: it was too late, he died at about 8:00pm that| night, he suffered a lot, he kept saying he was unwell, he had asthma and underlying illnesses. hong kong is coming out of the fifth wave of covid—i9.

this city is stuck between two seemingly opposing policies and its most vulnerable in the society that have suffered. nine families live inside this narrow dwelling. we're taken to another subdivided apartment. since the latest outbreak, they've been living in isolation, supported by social workers. he has been living in his cramped apartment for 12 years, he's barely left his room for three months, he's unvaccinated. many of the elderly in hong kong are reluctant to get the jab.

translation: whether or notj to consider getting vaccinated, this is a key question, it depends on whether your health can handle it and is suitable or not. the right decision is in your hands. now the government enforces people to get vaccinated, now it is calling for the fourth jab, it feels like it's never ending. the elderly lives alone without neighbours, if they die no—one will know. china is determined to eradicate covid. in hong kong, the fifth wave led to the highest death rate in the world, here, the impacts will last long into 2022. danny vincent, bbc news, hong kong. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: amber heard gives evidence for the first time in the defamation trial brought by her ex—husband johnny depp.

i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. but the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and i islam struggled for supremacy. now, the pope's visit - symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in underfour minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: a bbc investigation finds some of ukraine's most vulnerable children have been left behind in insitutions, after being displaced by the war. ukrainian officials say russia has launched a major assault on the besieged a—zov—stal steel works in mariupol — the last part of the city held by ukrainian forces. amber heard has taken the stand in the defamation trial brought by her former husband johnny depp. he originally sued for 50 million dollars over an article in the washington post where she claimed she was a victim of abuse. he denies the allegations. a warning there's some strong language in this report by our correspondent david sillito. thank you, your honour. will you please state your name? it is amber laura heard.

amber heard. over the last 3.5 weeks, she has sat in court each day and listened as a series of witnesses and her ex—husband have described her as a violent, emotionally unstable and a liar. this was finally her chance to give her side of the story. why are you here? i am here because my ex—husband is suing me for an op ed i wrote. and how do you feel about that? i...struggle to have the words. i struggle to find the words to describe how painful this is. this is horrible. this has been one of...this is the most painful and difficult thing i've gone through. this, the beginning of her story of a marriage she said

left her injured and traumatised and sitting just feet away in front of her, the man she says assaulted and abused her, johnny depp. do you remember the first time he physically hit you? yes. please tell the jury about it. she said johnny depp had been taking cocaine and it was a comment about one of his tattoos that led to abusive language and violence. he slapped me across the face, and i laughed. i laughed, because i... i didn't know what else to do. i thought, "this must be a joke." he said, "you think it's so funny, you think you're a funny (bleep)." and he slapped me again. it was, she says, just the beginning of years of abuse.

but he was the love of my life. and he was, he was. but he was also this other thing. he was also this other thing. and that other thing was awful. throughout it all, johnny depp sat head down with his notes and jelly beans. all of it, he says, is untrue, but his ex—wife has a much more to say. david sillito, bbc news. earlier i spoke to anousha sakoui who is an entertainment reporter at the la times. i asked her how people have responded after amber heard took to the stand. this is week four of a 5—week trial and this is the first time that amber heard has been on the stand herself. we had four days ofjohnny depp last week after quite a lot of witnesses to bolster his case. this week we've seen the first

witnesses for the defence and, you know, it's obviously early days, we got another week estimated of this trial, next week, and the week after and so far, the public perception has largely been behind johnny depp. there's been reports of the throngs of fans of his that have been outside the courtroom in virginia. we've also seen on social media a lot of bolstering of his case and his side of things, so we'll have to see, like, today, as your report showed, there were some quite detailed and explicit accounts of her, the physical abuse she has alleged and it was quite graphic and obviously she was in tears

a lot of the time. we will have to see notjust how the public that the jury she was speaking to, how they will process it. it's interesting you are talking about the jury, because this isn't a trial being held in new york city or the west coast where you are, this is fairfax, virginia. just explain why that is. this is where the washington post, the publisher of the original watergate story of course is published, is that right? there are a couple of reasons why the lawyers have addressed this. 0ne it's because the washington post servers are there, also because it's a more friendlyjurisdiction for defamation cases. there was an effort to bring the case to california where there are greater defences against defamation, but virginia doesn't have those. so that's why the case is being held there. briefly, some people have asked why both of them are continuing with this. this is obviously over his career but the publicity is terrible for them

both, isn't it, in terms of their lifestyles and how they both admit to treating each other? it's a good question. i mean, there are several standardsjohnny depp has to meet to win his case. he has to prove that she not only lied but did it with malice and then it caused him financial harm so there are quite a barriers but he has said himself he will also do it to pursue the truth and potentially to help bolster his image again, you know, after having lost a lot of work. the prospect of hugely controversial changes to america's law on abortion is causing deep divisions in us society. 0ur correspondent sophie long has been speaking to opponents and supporters in mississippi — the state which asked the supreme court to reconsider the law. your hands are soaked in the blood of children you've murdered! this is the reception that doctors receive as they arrived for work in the last abortion clinic in the whole state of mississippi. christ can offer you forgiveness!

even in your blood guiltiness! a baby is a gift from god, a baby has a heartbeat. those who come here to preach and protest have no idea why people have come to terminate their pregnancies, how heartbreaking or how easy that decision have been to make. they don't know whether they were victims of incest or rape or whether they just made a mistake. you will know the word of the lord... they say abortion at any stage, under any circumstances, is murder. essentially the question is, is it ok to murder a baby in the womb when — fill in the blank. no. it wasn't the baby's fault if it is an issue of rape or incest. it's a baby. mississippi is known as a trigger state. if the supreme court does overturn roe v wade, it will implement a law banning almost all abortions, but there will be exceptions, so what these protesters call their work, their calling, will continue. once this is gone, they are going to move right up the food chain with all of the things that we value, evangelical christians don't like.

this is the beginning, not the end. abortion, contraception, gay marriage, equality, all of these things they are looking to get rid of and they will tell you that themselves. so there is a 50 state strategy for them to get rid of all these things. pro—choice campaigners say it is people here in mississippi's poor communities that will suffer. in the united states, we have medicaid which is government health care, and we were supposed to extend it for postpartum mothers for up to a year after pregnancy. that was raised in the legislature this session, it had bipartisan support from both pro—life and pro—choice factors. but it was killed by the speaker of the house who yesterday tweeted in celebration of this draft. as night falls, anti—abortion activists reflect on the ruling they are now confident it will be confirmed. the pro—life movement is not over by any means. we have still got a lot of work to do in all 50 states, and babies will still be losing their lives

to abortion for many years to come, even under this ruling. he will give your soul rest. but it was another typical day at a health centre which has become the front line in america's battle over abortion. if the court's final ruling goes as indicators suggest it will, its doors will close but the fight outside will continue on a different street, in a different state. sophie long, bbc news, jackson, mississippi. a massive clean—up operation is underway in valencia after record—breaking rainfall. dozens of cars were swallowed up as floodwater cascaded(gfx 00v)through neighbourhoods of the city, leaving homes and businesses completely waterlogged. wendy urquhart reports. (tx next) —— wendy urquhart reports. this used to be a road, now it's a river. dozens of cars were swallowed up as floodwaters surged through the city's

neighbourhoods, leaving homes and businesses completely saturated. "a lot of water fell last night," says this man. "just look at the state of the place." "last night, all the neighbours in the building "were bailing out water for four hours," says another. firefighters face an uphill struggle as they try to rescue drivers who were stranded in their cars. the horrendous weather forced the authorities to shut down several roads in valencia, and the metro system also ground to a halt as torrential rain battered the city for 2h hours non—stop. weatherwise, it's supposed to be dry and sunny for the next few days, which will give people a chance to clean up the mess that the floods have left behind, but they are unlikely to be able to salvage much because everything is completely waterlogged. wendy urquhart, bbc news. if you want to keep up with all the stories we're covering — just head

to our website — you'll find all the latest. hello. some spots down the eastern side of england had more rain on wednesday than they've had in four weeks. it is a different weather set—up, though, for the day ahead. high pressure building in will keep most of england and wales dry. closer to weather fronts in scotland and northern ireland, there is a chance of seeing a little rain. in fact, a cloudy and damp start for many places here. and as for temperatures, well, it will be a cooler start. the chilliest parts of england and wales perhaps down to mid—single figures, a little bit lower in some areas. so, a lot of cloud across scotland and northern ireland. the chance of seeing a little light rain.

it's more especially in western and mainly north—west scotland. this will be most persistent. eastern and southern scotland may see some sunny spells, and into the afternoon, a few breaking through in northern ireland. for wales and england, there is a slight chance of catching a shower. the vast majority will stay dry. and though there'll be a lot of cloud around, it'll be a warmer feeling day with some occasional sunny spells, up to 22 in the warm spots in south—east england. so, here, a lot of dry weather will continue as we get on into thursday night, but the rain really gathering into scotland and northern ireland going into friday morning. so, it'll become more widespread and heavier, and it'll be a milder start to the day across the board. so, some rain in scotland and northern ireland, gradually clearing southwards during friday. sunny spells and a few showers following on behind. the rain moves into northern england, heaviest to the west of the pennines, into wales, parts of the midlands, perhaps south—west england getting on into friday evening. whereas ahead of that, there'll still be some sunny spells for a time before it clouds over. and this is where we'll see the day's highest temperatures, just into the low 20s. now, it looks as if those parts of eastern england that have been so dry will see some more rain as we get on into friday night before clearing early

on saturday morning and another area of high pressure moves in. could be a lot of cloud for a time in scotland, northern ireland and northern england. one or two light showers or some patchy light rain and drizzle, and a cooler feeling day towards these north—eastern coasts. whereas elsewhere on saturday, if we do break out into some sunny spells, it'll feel quite pleasant. and then for part two of the weekend on sunday, well, most will stay dry, again with some occasional and pleasantly warm sunny spells. another weather system moving close to northern ireland and especially into scotland, with a chance of seeing a little more rain here. that's your latest forecast. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: human rights groups say the russian invasion of ukraine has led to thousands of disabled ukrainian children being abandoned in institutions that can't look after them. the bbc obtained exclusive access to one institution in western ukraine, where 22 disabled children had been left by their carers. moscow has intensified its assault on the azovstal steelworks in the southern port of mariupol, where at least 200 ukrainian civilians are still believed to be trapped. the city's mayor says russian forces are going all—out to defeat the remaining ukrainian forces there. the american actress amber heard has taken to the stand for the first time in the defamation case brought against her byjohnny depp, claiming herformer husband slapped and hit her

in drunken rages. in his testimony, mr depp denied any wrongdoing.