this is bbc news. i'm tim willcox. our top stories: 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 defenders of mariupol as russia launches a major assault on the remaining ukrainian forces there. amber heard takes the stand in the multimillion—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. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. 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. so far, the united nations has

evacuated 300 civilians from mariupol and other nearby areas. i asked our reporter mark lobel if this is likely to be russia's final assault on the azovstal plant. 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 for 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, we thought 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. 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. slovakia also has major

problems. but the eu want this in place by the weekend, as we were discussing in place by the weekend, as we were discussin- earlier in place by the weekend, as we were discussing earlier this will only take place at the end of the year. each day we are seeing the horrors take place, strikes 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. amber heard has taken the stand in the defamation trial brought by herformer husband johnny depp. he originally sued for $50 million 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 who 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. anousha sakoui is an entertainment reporter at the la times. i asked her how people have responded to the latest events in court. 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've 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 against her, 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. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: flash floods hit valencia as the spanish city sees the rainiest day in may in 150 years. 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 world news, the latest headlines:

a bbc investigation finds some of ukraine's most vulnerable children have been left behind in institutions after being displaced by the war. ukrainian officials say russia has launched a major assault on the besieged azovstal steel works in mariupol. north korea is testing its weapons with renewed urgency. earlier in the week, it fired its 14th known round of missiles so far this year. it comes days before south korea's new president takes office, who is promising to take a hard—line on north korea. jean mackenzie sent this report from seoul. forjust a moment, peace looked possible. but north korea is back to testing its biggest, most powerful weapons. a disappointing end for south korea's outgoing president, who staked his legacy on building peace.

remarkably, he convinced the us president to meet north korea's leaderfor the first time in history. excitement built at these leaders announced to an audience of north koreans their plans to end the war that's divided their country for decades. 150,000 north korean citizens were applauding his speech. it was really a moving moment for me. a special adviser to the president, professor moon attended all the summits, even sharing soju with kimjong—un�*s sister. but when talks between these unlikely friends broke down, so did talks between the koreas. is it fair to look back now and say that you failed? no, i don't think so. was there war on the

korean peninsula? the moon government has shown very clearly what kinds of incidents can bring north korea to the negotiation table. but, for years, kimjong—un has continued building more sophisticated weapons while president moon has been accused of appeasing a brutal regime. you saw those images of their arms around in each other, laughing, and i remember seeing that and it just sent shivers down my back. like, this is...this is a dictator. now south korea has elected a tough—talking president who's promising to do things differently. "north korea is the enemy," he said. and he'll strike if necessary. last week, north korea paraded its missiles with this warning.

these south korean students, about to start their compulsory military service, would be on the front line of a conflict. what do you think about your president's policy of taking a more hard line on north korea? the world might be looking elsewhere, but north korea is getting harder to ignore. jean mackenzie, bbc news. you're watching bbc news.

colombia has extradited the leader of the country's biggest crime gang and drug baron to the us. president ivan duque confirmed the extradition of dairo antonio usuga, better known as 0toniel. he described him as the world's most dangerous drug trafficker and the murderer of many people, including children and police officers. meta platforms is set to open its first physical store. shoppers can try out and buy vr headsets. it's as the company plans to take its virtual reality space, the metaverse, mainstream. emily brown reports. living in a birchall space where people interact is now possible in a real meta store, the 1st of its kind opening in california. it is the latest push from meta platforms, the company that owns facebook, to promote mainstream interest in what it calls the metaverse.

the company is investing heavily in the metaverse by investing in hardware devices that might access to the virtual world. that might access to the virtualworld. here, consumers virtual world. here, consumers can virtualworld. here, consumers can buy headsets and interactive gadgets. last year it said it would start testing tools for selling virtual experiences within its vr platform. the stork company comes after the tech giant reported its slowest revenue growth in a decade and warned of a potential revenue drop in the current quarter. it also noted it will be ditching a castjust noted it will be ditching a cast just a year after launching the service. it is a time of change for the company which can be seen in reality or virtual reality by the 2,000,000,000 people who use met up platforms every day. emily brown, bbc news. the us central bank has raised interest rates by 0.5% 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—19. mr blinken had hosted both the mexican and swedish foreign ministers in washington over recent days. he'd been set to make a landmark speech on us policy towards china 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, 11,500 councillors are fighting for re—election. polling stations open at 7 a.m.. a massive clean—up operation is under way in valencia after record—breaking rainfall. dozens of cars were swallowed up as floodwater cascaded

through neighbourhoods of the city, leaving homes and businesses completely waterlogged. 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. weather—wise, 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. for crewmembers from the international space station have been preparing to return to earth. the astronauts have said they goodbyes and entered the dragon space capsule in preparation for our docking. nasa says it will smash down off the coast of florida in about 2k hours. just before we go. the football shirt worn by diego maradona when he scored his infamous "hand of god" goal for argentina in the 1986 world cup has been sold for $9 million. the shirt was put up for sale by the former england midfielder steve hodge. the two players swapped shirts at the end of the match. that was a valuable swap for

steve hodge as you can see. that is it so far. we are back later on with more news. from me and the team, see you soon. 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 an institution in western ukraine, where 22 disabled children had been left by their carers who fled to neighbouring countries. 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 the russian forces are going all out to defeat the remaining ukrainian forces holed up in the plant. the american actress amber heard has taken to the stand for the first time in the defamation case brought against her byjohnny depp, claiming that herformer

husband slapped and hit her in drunken rages.