hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones, this is outside source. russia mounts a full—scale assault on ukrainian soldiers in mariupol. the ukrainian army says russia is trying to eliminate those defending the azovstal steel plant. translation: i the azovstal steel plant. translation: ., ,, ., ., ., translation: i appealed to the world community to — translation: i appealed to the world community to evacuate _ translation: i appealed to the world community to evacuate the _ translation: i appealed to the world community to evacuate the civilians, i community to evacuate the civilians, and i appeal to them to extract the soldiers who are suffering immense pain dying from their wounds. the who sa s pain dying from their wounds. the who says the coronavirus pandemic caused almost 15 million excess deaths worldwide, triple the current estimate. the bank of england raises interest rates to combat soaring inflation, and says they could arise

again very soon. and amber heard tells the court and her libel case againstjohnny depp or of the violence she says she suffered in her marriage. he violence she says she suffered in her marriage-— violence she says she suffered in her marriage. he sits down in front of me at one _ her marriage. he sits down in front of me at one point _ her marriage. he sits down in front of me at one point and, _ her marriage. he sits down in front of me at one point and, because i her marriage. he sits down in front. of me at one point and, because i'm not answering him, of me at one point and, because i'm notanswering him, i of me at one point and, because i'm not answering him, i was looking out the window, he slaps my face. welcome to the programme. we're going to start with the war in ukraine, and go to the city of mariupol. as we know it's been under siege for weeks. ukraine says russia has launched an all—out assault on the final pocket of ukrainian resistance, the azovstal steelworks. we hear around 200 civilians are still sheltering inside. russia said it would stop attacking so civillians could evacuate the plant — but there's no evidence of that happening. more on that in a moment. about 2,000 ukrainian troops are still defending the steelworks. russia's president putin says the remaining fighters there should put down their weapons and surrender.

now let me show you this footage — it's unverified — released by russian—backed separatists. experts say it appears to show thermobaric or vaccum bombs being dropped on the azovstal plant. those weapons are controversial — much more devastating than others of similar size, and can cause huge destructions. it's unclear when the footage was filmed. the avoz batallian is defending the steelworks — their commander recorded this video message. translation: there are heavy, bloodied battles. _ translation: there are heavy, bloodied battles. i'm _ translation: there are heavy, bloodied battles. i'm proud - translation: there are heavy, bloodied battles. i'm proud of i translation: there are heavy, l bloodied battles. i'm proud of my soldiers who make superhuman efforts to contain the pressure of the enemy. i am grateful to the whole world for the colossal support for the garrison of mariupol. now moscow says it's declared a three—day ceasefire, starting on thursday morning, at the azovstal steelworks to allow civilians out. the kremlin says humanitarian corridors are working. but ukrainian officials say that's not true. an azovstal commander says civillians are still trapped.

in a video posted on telegram, he said... and a ukrainian mp told the bbc this. we are all, our houses there is bleeding — we are all, our houses there is bleeding with pain because of the people _ bleeding with pain because of the people who are stuck at azovstal plant _ people who are stuck at azovstal plant. they are unable to be evacuated, and the russians are basically— evacuated, and the russians are basically firing everything they have, — basically firing everything they have, from the air and ground, just to destroy— have, from the air and ground, just to destroy the area with people still in — to destroy the area with people still in hiding. and there are, might— still in hiding. and there are, might i— still in hiding. and there are, might i remind you, lots of civilians. _ might i remind you, lots of civilians, stillthere, might i remind you, lots of civilians, still there, and they are unable _ civilians, still there, and they are unable to— civilians, still there, and they are unable to be evacuated from there i’i l i'it unable to be evacuated from there right now — so it's clear the situation inside is desperate. the united nations says a new convoy is on its way to the plant to try to evacuate the remaining civilians — that's expected to arrive on friday. now let me play you this message — it's from the wife of a soldier

in the avostal steelworks. we ask everybody, please act, please do something — we ask everybody, please act, please do something to — we ask everybody, please act, please do something to help _ we ask everybody, please act, please do something to help our— we ask everybody, please act, please do something to help our people, - we ask everybody, please act, please do something to help our people, or. do something to help our people, or soldiers. _ do something to help our people, or soldiers. or— do something to help our people, or soldiers, or civilians. _ do something to help our people, or soldiers, or civilians. they— do something to help our people, or soldiers, or civilians. they need - soldiers, or civilians. they need our help— soldiers, or civilians. they need our help right _ soldiers, or civilians. they need our help right now, _ soldiers, or civilians. they need our help right now, because - soldiers, or civilians. they needj our help right now, because the situation — our help right now, because the situation is _ our help right now, because the situation is really— our help right now, because the situation is really terrible - our help right now, because the situation is really terrible and l our help right now, because the situation is really terrible and it| situation is really terrible and it is reattym _ situation is really terrible and it is reattym it— situation is really terrible and it is really... it is— situation is really terrible and it is really... it is really— situation is really terrible and it is really... it is really critical. is really... it is really critical right— is really... it is really critical right now _ is really... it is really critical right now. they— is really... it is really critical right now. they are - is really... it is really critical right now. they are dying i is really... it is really critical. right now. they are dying each minute — right now. they are dying each minute. please _ right now. they are dying each minute. please help. - before today, we have seen evacuations from mariupol. this was last night in zaporizhia, a city north of there. these people were not sheltering in the azovstal plant. but were trapped in the city with no clean water, electricity, limited supplies, and under constant shelling. last week, people from the azovstal plant itself were evacuated. they're now in shelters, also in zaporizhia. ukraine's president says they'll get the help they need — including for psychological trauma. and now some have got out — we're able to hear what it was like

being underground for 60 days, under constant shelling. let's hear from two survivors. translation: we could never go out. we didn't see — translation: we could never go out. we didn't see the _ translation: we could never go out. we didn't see the light _ translation: we could never go out. we didn't see the light of— translation: we could never go out. we didn't see the light of day - translation: we could never go out. we didn't see the light of day or - we didn't see the light of day or breathe fresh air. the men who were with us, who were hiding in the shelters, they cooked over the fire, brought water so we could wash ourselves. translation: ., , ., �* ourselves. translation: ., �* , translation: people don't stop c in: , translation: people don't stop crying. they _ translation: people don't stop crying. they are _ translation: people don't stop crying. they are in _ translation: people don't stop crying, they are in absolute - crying, they are in absolute desperation to get out of there. some _ desperation to get out of there. some people even started thinking about— some people even started thinking about suicide because there's no way out. as we know, mariupol has been under attack for months. and you might remember when russia bombed a theatre in march. up to 1,000 civilians were said to be sheltering there. and this satellite picture of the theatre before the attack shows how they had tried to deter russian bombings — writing "children" in large letters, either side of the building. it was bombed anyway. at the time, because mariupol was cut off and under constant bombardment,

it was difficult to know how many people died. now, an investigation by the associated press suggests as many as 600 people were killed in that attack. that would make it the worst—known loss of life, in a single attack, of this invasion. the bbc�*s chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, is in lviv. good to see you there. we had a little detail there of what was happening in mariupol and those steel plants there. russia says the ukrainian soldiers there ought to surrender and lay down their weapons — it seems unlikely at this stage that that will happen. - it seems unlikely at this stage that that will happen.— - it seems unlikely at this stage that that will happen. we've heard that that will happen. we've heard that ultimatum from _ that that will happen. we've heard that ultimatum from russia - that that will happen. we've heard that ultimatum from russia for. that that will happen. we've heard i that ultimatum from russia for many weeks now. we heard president zelensky of ukraine saying many times that he told his fighters that

if they had to lay down their arms, if they had to lay down their arms, if they had to surrender, he would completely understand — and yet every time he is said that, the soldiers fighting there have said, "no, we have to continue to fight." so it has come down to this last stand in the bunkers, in the tunnels in this labyrinth azovstal steel still works, where commanders have been speaking about their difficult, bloodied battles now under way as russia intensifies its attacks on the steel plant itself.— russia intensifies its attacks on the steel plant itself. could we get our the steel plant itself. could we get your assessment _ the steel plant itself. could we get your assessment of _ the steel plant itself. could we get your assessment of the _ the steel plant itself. could we get your assessment of the state - the steel plant itself. could we get your assessment of the state of i your assessment of the state of western help? military help, intelligence, support? and what impact do you think that's happening at the moment —— that's having at the moment? at the moment -- that's having at the moment?— the moment? obviously western militaries, nato _ the moment? obviously western militaries, nato members-

the moment? obviously western militaries, nato members who i the moment? obviously western i militaries, nato members who have been accelerating their supply of weapons to the ukrainian forces, which has changed both in terms of quality and quantity, more and more weapons that started off after the invasion of 2a february, a lot of small arms and ammunition — now in more recent weeks, as nato understands this is a tougher fight than they anticipated, that the ukrainian forces are performing better than anticipated, they are now providing more and more heavy weaponry, those anti—tank missiles, the javelins which have proven so effective. ukraine continues to demand more aircraft and anti—tank missiles, and tanks to continue the fight. it is not surprising that the russian president putin has warned the west not to keep supplying this kind of heavy weaponry because he has targeted the supply lines before. obviously we are not getting all the details, that would be

military intelligence — but certainly looking at what's happening in the battlefield, the resistance of the ukrainian forces, it certainly is making a difference. of it certainly is making a difference. of the consistent message from ukrainians, especially president zelensky, is they need more heavy weaponry — because we do hear reports of fighters in the trenches dug in over the past eight years, that they are still fighting with old soviet weapons and need the more modern western weaponry if they are going to continue to hold back this intensifying russian onslaught, particularly in the east now. briefly, you covered the military support from the west — there's that meeting of donors in poland promising economic health, the humanitarian effort is obviously absolutely huge, and i think you've been speaking to children's charities today underlying the scale of the health that's needed? yes. charities today underlying the scale of the health that's needed? yes, we heard from the _

of the health that's needed? yes, we heard from the chief— of the health that's needed? yes, we heard from the chief operating - heard from the chief operating officer of save the children international. the war against ukraine is a war against children, they are suffering in unfathomable ways, with more than half of the displaced and refugees being children. children are on the run, being trapped — being trapped in those steel works, not seeing sunlight for weeks on end. thank you ve much sunlight for weeks on end. thank you very much for— sunlight for weeks on end. thank you very much for the _ sunlight for weeks on end. thank you very much for the latest _ sunlight for weeks on end. thank you very much for the latest inside - very much for the latest inside ukraine, thank you. before we leave ukraine, i want to look at the state of russia's offensive. after losses in the north, russia is now focused on taking control of the east and south. they want to create a land corridor between russia and crimea — which it illegally annexed in 2014. they haven't been able to do that because of ukrainian resistance in the southwest. now they say they're fighting for the "complete liberation" of the donbas. that's the eastern regions of donetsk and luhansk. russian backed separatists already hold territory there, since 2014. but they've stalled to the south of izyum and around the city of kharkiv — again because of ukrainian resistance. thousands of civilians

are still trapped in that fighting. and our correspondent andrew harding has been hearing from the people risking their lives in rescue operations. they sit in stunned silence on the school bus thatjust rescued them from hell. still weary with terror. two other buses with them did not make it back. "it was so scary," is all she can manage to say. thousands here are running the russian gauntlet, trying to escape from the kremlin's new offensive in eastern ukraine. but imagine escaping this, and then going back in again and again. that is what a group of remarkable volunteers are doing here in the donbas, including the man who filmed this. a british maths teacher, guy osborn, who came out last month to lend a hand.

we have been going quite close to the front and evacuating huddled, bedridden people, a couple of blind people, people with zimmer frames. —— evacuating quite a lot of bedridden people. it is quite a risk you're taking. i am quite scared most of the time. who wouldn't be? this footage was filmed by the driver of another school bus, one of the two that went missing. mikhail pankov is a local history teacher. last friday, he left for a rescue mission and never came back. then, a surprise announcement on russian television. mikhail has been captured alive. then another surprise. while we are speaking to his wife, yulia, her phone rings. it is her husband — still held captive, but calling with important news.

"he spoke about a prisoner exchange," she says. "my husband said the russians might swap him for prisoners held by our government. soon, i hope. so maybe everything will work out." perhaps it will. but for others still trapped in the town of popasna, no help at hand. this is as close as we can get to the town right now. you can hear the boom of artillery in the distance and some shells landing the other side of this field. we have been told all rescue efforts have now been suspended because of the danger, but that still leaves something like 2,000 civilians trapped in this town, and, we are told, many more civilians caught in other frontline towns. all evidence of a slow, grinding conflict with no end in sight. andrew harding, bbc news, in eastern ukraine.

i want to take you to the us now into a story that is developing now. amber heard is back on the stand in the defamation trial brought against her ex—husband, johnny depp. this is a live feed, but the feed is delayed tjy a live feed, but the feed is delayed by 30 seconds or so.— a live feed, but the feed is delayed by 30 seconds or so. when i went to the premiere — by 30 seconds or so. when i went to the premiere with _ by 30 seconds or so. when i went to the premiere with him, _ by 30 seconds or so. when i went to the premiere with him, and - by 30 seconds or so. when i went to the premiere with him, and i - the premiere with him, and i remember in the car checking my phone obsessively for pictures because my dress was backlit at all times —— backless, to have a backless dress. i was looking at pictures, i was on the red carpet. it was surreal because i was

checking for bruises and there wouldn't be any marks on me. we just looked like this other thing on the red carpet when it was just... it's not like that. it's embarrassing. i'm sure it's hard to him. objection, your honour, nonresponsive. objection, your honour, nonresonsive. , . ., , nonresponsive. ob'ection sustained. i want to nonresponsive. ob'ection sustained. iwannotake— nonresponsive. ob'ection sustained. i want to take you — nonresponsive. objection sustained. i want to take you to _ nonresponsive. objection sustained. i want to take you to february - nonresponsive. objection sustained. i want to take you to february next i i want to take you to february next month, to your wedding. i want to take you to february next month, to yourwedding. can month, to your wedding. can you please tell the jury about your wedding? 50 please tell the “ury about your weddin: ? ., .,, wedding? so we get married in los

anaeles. i wedding? so we get married in los angeles- i get— wedding? so we get married in los angeles- i get a — wedding? so we get married in los angeles. i get a sense _ wedding? so we get married in los angeles. i get a sense that - wedding? so we get married in los angeles. i get a sense that it - angeles. i get a sense that it was... the wedding, running around los angeles, is getting married that day, and i remember — i got ready, johnny and i met at the pit houses downtown. i wore a white dress, bobby pinned in my hair. —— a veil bobby pinned in my hair. —— a veil bobby pinned in my hair. and i walked out of that penthouse and i met withjohnny walked out of that penthouse and i met with johnny in walked out of that penthouse and i met withjohnny in the hallway. i thought he looked so handsome, and he seemed happy. and ifelt that

thought he looked so handsome, and he seemed happy. and i felt that we were making the right decision, i was so looking forward to having this, i thought we would get married and have stability, safety. so we get in the car, we get intojohnny�*s car and, for get in the car, we get intojohnny�*s carand, forthe get in the car, we get intojohnny�*s car and, for the second time since i've knownjohnny, he drove us in his truck. it was weird being in the car with him alone, you know, we didn't have that. and we drove to his mum's house and a justice of the peace arrived, looking kind of surprised. and she married us in the living room of his mother's house, betty sue, with our families together. my best friend, my mum,

his mum. we ate food with the kids, they were there. and we had a wonderful evening, and then, got up and got on the plane either the next morning or the day after, and flew tojohnny�*s island. and we had what we had planned — you know, we had planned for the better part of a year or so, planned for the better part of a year orso, maybe planned for the better part of a year or so, maybe eight months for this three wedding on his island with our close friends. about 12—15 people. we had these little houses built, not tents, but not houses, for the guests. we had them built and designed on the island. we had people come out and it was magic, you know? i was marrying the love of

my life, it was complicated. so we are watching _ my life, it was complicated. so we are watching and _ my life, it was complicated. so we are watching and listening - my life, it was complicated. so we are watching and listening to - my life, it was complicated. so we are watching and listening to the l are watching and listening to the actor amber heard give her evidence, describing at the moment her wedding to the hollywood actor, johnny depp. our correspondent nomia iqbal is in washington. hi there, we heard a little bit of what amber heard was saying, it was difficult to listen to at times. there were lots of tears and clearly distressing for her. what else have we heard from amber heard? that’s we heard from amber heard? that's ri . ht, we heard from amber heard? that's riaht, it's we heard from amber heard? that's right. its day _ we heard from amber heard? that's right. its day two — we heard from amber heard? that's right, it's day two of _ we heard from amber heard? that's right, it's day two of amber - we heard from amber heard? “trust�*s right, it's day two of amber heard giving evidence on what is week four of the trial. remember, up to this point, all we've really heard is johnny depp ultimate claims against his ex—wife, so this is her opportunity to give her side of story. and as we've been hearing there, she's described what her life

was like with her ex—husband. she's talked on the stand to the jury about moments of violence in the relationship, she's accused him of sexual and physical abuse, as well. she's portrayed johnny depp as somebody who had two sides — she said there was that one side that was the love of her life, to use that quote, and the other side which she said was, again i quote, an awful thing. as we saw there, she's been incredibly emotional on the stand, she's been very frustrated and come across really sad, as well. she told the jury howjohnny depp was allegedly very controlling of her career, and he would get very jealous when she had interactions with men or women. he used an offensive word against her, as well, describing a particular violent incident on a jet. now her case and all this was that she is the victim of domestic abuse. in his own testimony, johnny depp has said he

never struck amber heard, he's never struck any woman, and he characterised her as someone who had this need for conflict and violence. in both sides — in this case so far, both sides have been accused of violent. . ~ both sides have been accused of violent. ., ,, , ., , . both sides have been accused of violent. . ~ , ., , . ., violent. thank you very much for that. we're going to turn to covid—19 now. the world health organization says it estimates 15 million deaths have been caused by the pandemic. they describe that number as staggering. the data looks at the excess deaths in the first two years of the covid crisis compared to previous years. the who explained why they've released these numbers this way. reporting thefts from covid—19 is important to monitor the impact of the pandemic and the response. —— reporting deaths from covid—19. it is important to save lives and for us all to be better prepared forfuture emergencies. the concept of excess deaths helps scientists overcome the problem

of countries undercounting those who died in the pandemic. here's one public health expert on how the idea was put to use here. estimates from the who actually look at what _ estimates from the who actually look at what were deaths from what we would _ at what were deaths from what we would expect in 2020—21, and actually — would expect in 2020—21, and actually how many deaths had happened and are due directly to covid-19 — happened and are due directly to covid—19 or other causes where people — covid—19 or other causes where people can _ covid—19 or other causes where people can get care because covid was taking — people can get care because covid was taking up health care resources. you can see the difference between recorded deaths and what the who thinks were the actual number of excess deaths here. the grey lines shows all deaths that were recorded as being from covid — about five—and—a—half million globally. the number of excess deaths, in red, is far greater. here's professor sridhar again on why counting all of these deaths, is important. there is a saying in public health, which is if you don't count it, it doesn't matter, i thank you are what we are trying to do is put numbers to this that we can see that each

life matter is, how many of these deaths could have been prevented? how do we do better next time? even at this moment, the pandemic isn't over in all parts of the world. how do we actually try to save lives from this day forward and to avoid this major tall? i know comparisons have been made off into the flu, but in an average year, flu deaths are around 300—600,000 globally, so we can see covid—19 is a much more serious event, and really, the largest pandemic since1918. some countries stand out in the report. the estimate for excess deaths in russia is three—and—a—half times its official count. whilst in india, the who believes deaths were ten times what was recorded. delhi disputes this. india's government press office back in janary tweeted about various accounts of independent modelling, decribing them as "fallacious and ill—informed. not based on facts and mischievous in nature." the who says its methodology is sound. and scientists generally agree india's official count of 480,000 deaths is far short of the true figure.

here's a former adviser to india's government. there are at least seven published reports in the public domain, including some very reputed journalists, like science and lancet that put the somewhere around four million. the second point is the excess deaths in india is really consistent with the fatality rate around the world. we have to start believing that indians were somehow special and died, you know, far fewer than people elsewhere in the world. imogen foulkes is in bern. hi, imogen. the headline figure is staggering, 15 million excess deaths. what else was in this report that stuck out to you?— that stuck out to you? well, i think what's very — that stuck out to you? well, i think what's very interesting _ that stuck out to you? well, i think what's very interesting is _ that stuck out to you? well, i think what's very interesting is that -

what's very interesting is that we've got a wide range of countries which have really high fatality rates. the united states is one, india, according to these figures, is also one. now india, as you said there, has really pushed back at the estimate that the who has come up with. but the who is used to analysing mortality rates, it does it for all sorts of different things like malaria, like tb and hiv. so i think it knows what it's doing, but i think one of the things that particularly stands out as you asked is, what the who has looked at here is, what the who has looked at here is notjust those who died directly from covid, but people who may have died because they were unable to seek the treatment that they needed because their health services were overwhelmed. now this happened in many countries, even the most developed — and that's why the head of the who today said this is a

really sobering set of statistics and really needs to be a wake—up call to all countries, that they've got to prepare their health services to cope when there is a pandemic, that all the other things that we can get sick from — you shouldn't have cancer patients being unable to get treated because the hospitals are full of covid patients. our health services should be able to cope with the possibility of a pandemic, and i think this is something which the who in geneva is really hoping will send a message to governments all around the world. imogen, thanks very much for talking us through that report from the who, thank you. stay with us, we will have much more on the conflict in ukraine, president putin coming out today saying that those ukrainian soldiers still in the steel plant in

mariupol should surrender and put down their weapons. that's it for the moment. bye—bye. good evening. the weather's been a tale of two halves today. certainly more sunshine around than yesterday, particularly across england and wales — and strong sunshine at that. so it's been warmer more widely — we've had 21 degrees celsius and we'll have similar warmth over the coming few days as we've got the south—westerly winds and the azores high with us. but the weather, we realise — temperatures in the high teens, low 20s — will depend on the amount of cloud we have. and we've had rather more cloud further north under a weather front. particularly for the north and west of scotland, that weather front will continue here this evening. 1—2 sharp showers elsewhere, but nowhere near as many as yesterday — fairly isolated, they will fade away. and under the starry skies, it'll be a bit of mist around, probably more mist in coastal and hill fog in southern and western

areas, and our weatherfront really starts to pep up. so turning quite wet for northern ireland and scotland through the second part of the night. mild across the board, but a wet start for some tomorrow, some appreciable rain as it meanders its way slowly southwards, we'll see the sunshine returning with just a few showers in the north, the sunshine fading further south. but strong sunshine hanging on in parts of the south and the east, east anglia and southeast england. so 20—21, as we've seen today — cooler for parts of northern england, wales because we've got that cloud and rain, but still quite warm. the other side of that weather front when the sunshine comes out for the likes of eastern scotland. does mean that we'll see fewer areas with high levels of tree pollen tomorrow. but nevertheless, it's still high in southern and eastern areas where we keep the sunshine. now that rain will eventually reach southern areas — some uncertainty as to how much we'll see, but perhaps a dampening for the ground before that azores high re—establishes itself for much of the weekend — just the northwest, i think, pestered by the odd weather front. we will see some cloud mulling around those early showers on that weather front in the south,

perhaps some cloud for parts of eastern scotland, northeast england. but here, with onshore breezes, it could be just a little bit cooler on saturday. but where we see the sunshine, generally speaking, with a light wind, it'll feel pleasantly warm, some strong sunshine. by sunday, similar story first thing, a bit on the cool side once again. but then we've got this weather system starting to push its influence into the north and west of scotland and northern ireland. so i think here, we will see cloudier skies, perhaps some patchy rain — temperatures around 13—14. but again, warm where we see that sunshine, dry for many.

hello, i'm louis vonjones. this is outside source. the ukrainian army says russia's trying to eliminate those defending the is off style steel plant. i those defending the is off style steel plant-— steel plant. i advise them to evacuate _ steel plant. i advise them to evacuate the _ steel plant. i advise them to evacuate the end _ steel plant. i advise them to evacuate the end i _ steel plant. i advise them to evacuate the end i appeal i steel plant. i advise them to evacuate the end i appeal toj steel plant. i advise them to - evacuate the end i appeal to extract the wind and soldiers who suffered terrible pain dying from their wounds. ., ., wounds. the world health organisations _ wounds. the world health organisations as - wounds. the world health organisations as they - wounds. the world health | organisations as they occur wounds. the world health _ organisations as they occur pandemic caused almost 15 million excess deaths worldwide. trip of the current estimates. the bank of england raises interest rates to combat soaring inflation and says they could rise again very soon.

amber heard tells the court and her libel case againstjohnny depp more of the violence she said she suffered in her relationship. he sits suffered in her relationship. he: sits down in front of me at one plaintiff, and because i'm not answering him, iwas plaintiff, and because i'm not answering him, i was looking out of the window, and he slaps my face. let's get more on the war in ukraine. in the polish capital, poland, sweden and the european union hosted a conference of donors — including countries, businesses and banks. it was to raise money for ukraine's humanitarian crisis — and to support it economically during this war. the international donors pledged 6.5 billion dollars. let's listen to the polish prime minister. when russia brings death, the countries of the free world have to bring aid,

and i think this conference here in warsaw show a normal amount of solidarity. —— here in warsaw show an enormous amount of solidarity. so there are some in the eu — like poland — who want to enforce tougher sanctions on russia. there are others in the eu who don't. and — as we heard yesterday the eu proposed a total ban on russian oil imports. ursula von der leyen, the european commission president, said she wants russian crude oil to be phased out by the end of the year. but some eu countries aren't in agreement. the czech and slovak governments want a transition period. and hungary has flat out rejected it — this hungarian minister explains why. we received on the table is very far from what we will go with, not for the reasons of political reasons or any kind of case issue, but its hard physical effects on the ground, there is no substitute. to explain more on why those countries don't want to ban russian oil — here's bethany bell in brussels. slovakia and hungary are landlocked.

it's more complicated for them to find alternative sources of oil that would be supplied by sea, and what we understand, though, is that negotiations are continuing to try to find compromise, that possibly there could be more exemptions for countries like hungary and slovakia, also the czech republic saying that it wanted more time to find alternative source says, —— that it wanted more time to find alternative sources, but what we are hearing from diplomatic sources here in brussels is that they still think that it is possible to find compromise and the possibility of an oil embargo, and the ambitious scenario would be to see this oil embargo come into force by next week. here in the uk — interest rates have risen to the highest level in 13 years as the bank of england tries to limit soaring price rises. rates have gone up for the fourth

time since december — now from 0.75% to 1%. inflation, the rate at which prices are increasing, is expected to hit more than 10% by the end of the year. it's being driven by rising fuel, energy and food costs — partly due to the war in ukraine. and there's bad news for the economy — it was predicted to grow next year by more than 1%. now the bank of england expects it to shrink by 0.25% amid warnings of a real risk now of recession. our economics editor faisal islam has the details. butter seems to be the biggest price impact. at this nottingham deli, they don't need the bank of england to tell them inflation is surging in a way we haven't seen in a generation. as much as you try to stop passing on the price rises, that's gone now. we have to cut our cloth according to our means.

that's it. energy prices and raw materials costs are contributing to the bank of england now predicting even faster rises in prices, with the headline rate of inflation forecast to hit over 10% by the end of the year. as a result, the bank's predictions for the economy are being slashed over the next two years, with the economy forecast to shrink next year put up outside, the city centre is a tale of two types, vacancy sign, jobs vacancies but vacant commercial property showing and economy yet to fully recover from pandemic lockdown is now facing another black cloud. i am going to give it this year to see if it picks up any. if not... you are going to give up? i can't keep living on my savings. what's becoming clear in the data is the cost of living squeeze, as rising prices impacting upon disposable income, that's starting to have its own impact on the economy generally, with some fearing the economy

is starting to shrink. that word "recession" is starting to rear its head. it seems to be a combination of recession styles inflation with high inflation this year. yes, we are in a very difficult position, and i have used this analogy quite a bit, i'll use it again. we are walking a very narrow path between, on the one side, inflation, which is far higher than it should be and we want it to be, and on the other side, because we are being hit by big external shocks, which are causing inflation, that are so big, they are causing a big loss of real income to people and businesses. that's a long way... in long eaton, jamesjust heard the news about a £1600 a year increase in energy bills for the three—bedroom semi his family own. direct debits already increasing

by phenomenal amounts. you have to make adjustments. we'd like to do more events and holidays and whatnot but are having to rein it in. like millions, cloth is having to be cut according to circumstances. we are not using the tumble dryer because thatjust canes the electricity. we have not had it too bad with the weather, so we have been able to dry outside, and we do that as often as we can. and making sure we are turning things off, even the tv from standby. it's small amounts, but over the year, it adds up. and yet the answer to the inflation seen on energy metres is a further squeeze on household mortgage costs, with the bank of england raising interest rates to 1%, the highest ever since 2009. rates up, even as there are warnings of recession, as the bank walks the trickiest tightrope. well, as energy prices and bills continue to surge — the british energy giant shell has announced record profits of more than seven billion pounds —

over nine billion dollars — for the first quarter of this year. near rotterdam, europe's biggest refinery owned by europe's biggest energy company. never in its 115—year history has shell made more money than in the first three months of this year. shell made underlying profits of £7.2 billion in the first three months of this year alone, triple the amount they made in the same period last year. how come? put up the global price of oil, already high at the end of last year, as the world economy emerged from its covid slumber, surged again on concerns the conflict in ukraine see russian oil supplies disrupted or boycotted. similar story for gas, the price smashed records earlier this year. remember, russia is the worlds biggest exporter of gas and europe

is its biggest customer. those global prices have been reflected on uk forecourts and in uk energy bills. so what is shell going to do with that money? well, in the first three months of the year, it gave over £4 million to its shareholders, which remember, includes millions of uk pension savers. it's also promised to invest up to £25 billion in the uk over the next decade, mainly on renewables and low carbon technology, but some new oil and gas to help improve the uk's future energy security. the government has so far resisted calls from opposition parties for a windfall tax on oil and gas profits. elections are taking place across the uk today to elect local officials and councils and members officials and councils and members of the northern ireland assembly commits been seen as a key test of what the public has made of the last few years of their political leader's work. we have a special programme presented by hugh edwards for viewers here in the uk starting at 20 to midnight to bring in all the latest results as they come in.

to sri lanka — which is in the grip of an economic crisis. new fuel shortages are leading to long queues at petrol stations. this is one in the capital colombo. drivers waited hours here while other sites have run out. in some places, the queues were two kilometres long. the bbc�*s rajini vaidyanathan is outside a fuel station in colombo. what we see unfolding, notjust here in colombo, but across the country, are people waiting notjust for, you know, minutes, but we are talking about hours on end, just to fill up the tanks of diesel or petrol. if you just move the camera, you can see there is a petrol station behind me there, and in the distance on the side of the road, hopefully you are able to see, just all those cars through the traffic there that are waiting to get to the petrol station. we've been hearing today that some petrol stations here in colombo are already out of fuel, so some people will just have to go home.

we drove past another station on our way to get to this one which was already out, which is why some people are coming here, and i've been talking to people who say it is a daily routine, they have to wait three hours, maybe four hours every single dayjust to fill up their tank. let's look into how sri lanka's economic crisis began. it all comes down to the fact that sri lanka's foreign currency reserves have virtually run out. it's heavily reliant on imports, but can't pay for them — things like essential supplies of food, fuel and medicines. the government says it has only 50 million dollars of usable reserves. when he came to power in 2019, president rajapaksa decided to offer big tax cuts. this meant less money to buy foreign currency. rajapaksa and his new finance minister ali sabry now admit the tax cuts were a "mistake". while critics highlight the economic mis—management. the government blames the pandemic, which has all but killed off sri lanka's tourist trade. here's our business correspondent archana shukla. he's made it clear, foreign

reserves are even less than $50 million right now, and that is crippling imports of the essentials, fuel, a cooking gas and medicines, because of the shortages, prices of petrol have gone up by 90%, prices of diesel are up by 138% and that is pinching citizens on the ground. there have been protests for weeks. the crisis has made the cost of living unaffordable for many sri lankans. they're now paying up to 30% more for food than a year ago. protests first flared up in early april demanding the resignation of president raja—paksa and other members of his powerful ruling family. the president says he won't step down. police fired tear gas on students attempting to storm sri lanka's parliament. this is the leader of the opposition at a protest on sunday. there's abject poverty in all sectors of society. this government is an incompetent government. it cannot govern, they have to go home. so, how has the government responded

to protestors and the opposition? here's rajini again. the government's being accused by protesters and the opposition parties of corruption. the government denies those charges and says yes, it has mistakes, but it is doing whatever it can to try and get sri lanka back on track. the finance minister yesterday spoke to parliament and admitted, for example, that those steep tax cuts weren't actually a good idea, for example. but he did say, the new finance minister, that this will be a crisis that won't be easy to get out of quickly. so he says that it could take a couple of years for sri lanka to get back on its feet. stay with us on outside source. still to come... amber heard has told the us quite more details of the verbal and physical abuse she says she suffered at the hands ofjohnny depp. —— amber heard. —— amber heard. spring has sprung early — in fact over the decades it has moved forward by three weeks.

our science correspondent victoria gill reports. wytham woods near oxford, a very special site of scientific interest. this year marks the 75th anniversary of the wytham great tit project. scientists have systematically monitored every chick hatched in the nest boxes here since 1947, and we're about to meet the newest generation. wow, how many are there? eight, so that's a very standard size for a great tit. yeah. now, these parents have got a lot of work to do. they've got to find about 10,000 caterpillars for these. 10,000? to get them to fledge? yep. it's precisely because this has been a continuous study for all those decades that researchers have been able to see and to measure the change in the timing of spring here. the 75 years that we've been studying the tits here, we've seen quite a marked shift in the timing of egg laying.

so they're now laying about three weeks earlier. the tits here are actually managing to track the other members of their food chain quite well. so both the caterpillars and the eggs have also shifted their timing earlier. so the whole sort of food chain has shifted earlier in spring. the woods were bequeathed to oxford university by a wealthy local family back in 1942. since then, they've been the site of dozens of different scientific projects. but the longest—running is the great tits study, which chris perrins has been involved in for more than half a century. what are your reflections on the seasonal shift? that's fine, unless it gets to limits where the trees or the caterpillars or the birds can't do that shift because it's too big. and that's still a question that...? the work here goes on, and whenever spring happens, it's a busy season for the birds and the scientists, because as our climate changes, these rare, decades—long studies that track exactly how the natural

world responds become more important as time goes on. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is? russia has launched an all—out assault on the asal style steel plant for the last ukrainian prices are holding on. the defamation trial between the hollywood actor johnny depp and his ex—wife amber heard has resumed — it's in its fourth week — we've heard johnny depp testify — now it's amber heard's turn, she took the stand yesterday, and is back today. we'll hear more about what she's been saying in a moment — first let's remind ourselves what this is all about. the defamation case was brought byjohnny depp. after this article by amber heard in the washington post — where she claimed she was a victim of domestic abuse. johnny depp denies any abuse. and has sued herfor $50 million. amber heard counter—sued him for $100 million. let's listen to a bit of what amber heard said earlier today.

she's testifying now with a 32nd lane delay. she's testifying now with a 32nd lane delay-— she's testifying now with a 32nd lane dela . ., , ., ., lane delay. said the only way out of this was death, _ lane delay. said the only way out of this was death, again, _ lane delay. said the only way out of this was death, again, and i - lane delay. said the only way out of this was death, again, and i heard l this was death, again, and i heard that already at this point march 2015, probably 25 times. so, he screaming at her, he causes agents. i hear him talking incoherently, screaming incoherently at my lawyer and his agent. he comes back inside and his agent. he comes back inside and i genuinely didn't know if he was still mad at me or if it was about me at all. i didn't know. it didn't seem like it was connected to reality at all. at some plane shortly after that, i have been saying tojohnny, you need to sleep, let's eat some dinner, let's relax. calm down. in my head, i was

thinking that it would genuinely change if he just got some sleep, he needed to sleep it off, come down off the drugs, clearly the combination of what he'd take in pale wise with whatever else he was hiding from he was not good. i'd recognise that sort of delusion, i recognise that sort of delusion, i recognise that sort of delusion, i recognise that sort of unattached to reality rage, i recognise the patterns of those kind of loops where he's yelling about things that aren't really being discussed or talked about. i knew already that he just needed to sleep it off, clean up, sober up, and i thought we could. i rememberi up, sober up, and i thought we could. i remember i went to the fridge, i got out the stakes so that they would be ready to cook, and i got out some of the food, i was going to put together for dinner, going to put togetherfor dinner, i went upstairs, i don't know if i came back down in my nightgown at that point or if that was shortly after, but the next thing i remember

is coming downstairs and looking for him, we had an interaction and that i can't really describe, didn't really make a lot of sense to me, he was just belligerent, really make a lot of sense to me, he wasjust belligerent, belligerent, throwing things, screaming at me, i realised i was back on the chopping block and i realised it was, the air was sort of pointed at me again. and i tried to defend myself to him i was explaining to say that... objection, your honour, hearsay stop the she _ objection, your honour, hearsay stop the she hasn't— objection, your honour, hearsay stop the she hasn't said _ objection, your honour, hearsay stop the she hasn't said anything. - objection, your honour, hearsay stop the she hasn't said anything. try- the she hasn't said anything. try not to— the she hasn't said anything. try not to say— the she hasn't said anything. try not to say what _ the she hasn't said anything. try not to say what you're _ the she hasn't said anything. try not to say what you're saying - the she hasn't said anything. try not to say what you're saying unless he needed for _ not to say what you're saying unless he needed for context _ not to say what you're saying unless he needed for context or _ not to say what you're saying unless | he needed for context or something. try to _ he needed for context or something. try to say— he needed for context or something. try to say what he's saying. i rdrill try to say what he's saying. i will sustain the _ try to say what he's saying. i will sustain the objection. _ try to say what he's saying. i will sustain the objection. he - try to say what he's saying. i will sustain the objection. he was - try to say what he's saying. i will| sustain the objection. he wasjust sustain the ob'ection. he was 'ust belligerent. i sustain the ob'ection. he was 'ust belligerent. l i sustain the objection. he was 'ust belligerent. i don't i sustain the objection. he was 'ust belligerent. i don't know�* sustain the objection. he was 'ust belligerent. i don't know how i sustain the objection. he wasjust belligerent. i don't know how to l belligerent. i don't know how to describe to you, because it didn't make sense. it didn't make sense. so

we have been listening to amber heard described incidents with her ex—husband, johnny depp, this is, as i said come alive in the courtroom in the us. —— amber heard. before today, johnny depp testified for 13 days, let's hear some of that, and as he he denies abuse. never did i myself reached the point of striking miss heard in any way, nor have i ever struck anyone in my life. —— any woman in my life. iamjoined i am joined now very difficult to watch this trial explains. amber heard and in the courtroom they are describing accounts that she has

claimed took place withjohnny depp, and yesterday and now today as well, what has she been saying? it’s what has she been saying? it's rivetinl what has she been saying? it's riveting and — what has she been saying? it�*s riveting and chilling testimony. she has said thatjohnny punched her in the face where she allegedly flirted with women, johnny said he kicked her in the back of herjealousy, over herfriendship with her in the back of herjealousy, over her friendship with actorjames franco. she has described how she joined a support group for those who love addicts and try to get them help. she has laid out a pattern of violence and a really chilling testimony here. beyond the court room, the eyes of the world are on this, and particularly the eyes of hollywood where johnny this, and particularly the eyes of hollywood wherejohnny depp is currently a superstar in exile fighting not only for his reputation, but also for his career. what impact do you think this trial

has had on both of them so far? for johnn , has had on both of them so far? fr?" johnny, the test will come in less than two weeks. that is because at the film festival, his new film is “p the film festival, his new film is up for sale, movie studios and distributors have to decide if they want to be in thejohnny depp business. he is attached to a project to pay louis xiv of france. the movie will be a test of how johnny depp has damaged, but that there are any bids, high beds, whatever, the same with amber heard, less advanced in her career, of course, her next move is aquaman to, coming up later this year. and of course, there is more thanjust a reputation at stake, as i said, these are two big names who want to continue to break in hollywood whether they can or not, i think the impact of what's happening in the courtroom will show.— impact of what's happening in the courtroom will show. amber has been llettin courtroom will show. amber has been getting evidence _ courtroom will show. amber has been getting evidence today _ courtroom will show. amber has been getting evidence today and _ getting evidence today and yesterday, but we heard a lot from

johnny depp before that. just briefly, what was his main contention? what was his evidence about what had gone on in that marriage?— about what had gone on in that marriale? ., ., , ., , ., marriage? yeah, he admits it was a very difficult — marriage? yeah, he admits it was a very difficult trouble _ marriage? yeah, he admits it was a very difficult trouble the _ marriage? yeah, he admits it was a very difficult trouble the marriage, | very difficult trouble the marriage, but he was resolute in his conviction, as he heard before, that he has never hit amber or any other woman, clearly there are a lot of alcohol and drug issues, but what's at stake here is the issues of the libel trial, which is the wife—beating allegation. so it's a tough legal hill to climb, but it's also very tough to listen to, a test case in many ways for this kind of abuse. also, it's interesting how it's playing out on social media, where there seems to be so much love forjohnny and so much antipathy towards amber heard. it will be interesting now, we are finally hearing amber's side of the story

that starts to shift. you hearing amber's side of the story that starts to shift.— that starts to shift. you did 'ust briefly points i that starts to shift. you did 'ust briefly points towards �* that starts to shift. you did 'ust briefly points towards the h briefly points towards the definition angle to office, which of course is the point of this trial, and it's a difficult barrier to get over, to prove, isn't it? it and it's a difficult barrier to get over, to prove, isn't it? it really is. it over, to prove, isn't it? it really is- it refers _ over, to prove, isn't it? it really is. it refers to _ over, to prove, isn't it? it really is. it refers to a _ over, to prove, isn't it? it really is. it refers to a 2018 _ over, to prove, isn't it? it really. is. it refers to a 2018 washington post article, an op—ed where amber heard describe yourself as a victim of domestic violence, this follows the court case two years ago where johnny depp sued a british newspaper and lost. this time, he is sitting amber directly over what she wrote, but the legal challenge here is quite specific, that it has to show that what she wrote impacted his career, has it impacted his career? is no longer the pirates caribbean trim the neck franchise, no longer the fantastic beast francesca and he is fighting for his very survival. thank you very much for attacking us through what has been happening in court there in the us. we appreciate

your time and court there in the us. we appreciate yourtime and we court there in the us. we appreciate your time and we will be keeping across all the events in that courtroom here on bbc news, but for now, iam louis i am louis vonjones, this is outside source. goodbye. good evening. the weather's been a tale of two halves today. certainly more sunshine around than yesterday, particularly across england and wales — and strong sunshine at that. so it's been warmer more widely — we've had 21 celsius and we'll have similar warmth over the coming few days as we've got the south—westerly winds and the azores high with us. but the weather, we realise — temperatures into the high teens, low 20s — will depend on the amount of cloud we have. and we've had rather more cloud further north under a weather front. particularly for the north and west of scotland, that weather front will continue here this evening. 1—2 sharp showers elsewhere, but nowhere near as many as yesterday — fairly isolated, they will fade away. and under the starry skies, there'll be a bit of mist around, probably more mist in coastal and hill fog in southern and western

areas, and our weatherfront really starts to pep up. so turning quite wet for northern ireland and scotland through the second part of the night. mild across the board, but a wet start for some tomorrow, some appreciable rain as it meanders its way slowly southwards, we'll see the sunshine returning with just a few showers in the north, the sunshine fading further south. but strong sunshine hanging on in parts of the south and the east, east anglia and southeast england. so 20—21, as we've seen today — cooler for parts of northern england and wales because we've got that cloud and rain, but still quite warm. the other side of that weather front when the sunshine comes out for the likes of eastern scotland. does mean that we'll see fewer areas with high levels of tree pollen tomorrow. but nevertheless, it's still high in southern and eastern areas where we keep the sunshine. now that rain will eventually reach southern areas — some uncertainty as to how much we'll see, but perhaps a dampening for the ground before that azores high re—establishes itself for much of the weekend — just

the northwest, i think, pestered by the odd weather front. we will see some cloud mulling around those early showers on that weather front in the south, perhaps some cloud for parts of eastern scotland, northeast england. but here, with onshore breezes, it could be just a little bit cooler on saturday. but where we see the sunshine, generally speaking, with a light wind, it'll feel pleasantly warm, some strong sunshine. by sunday, similar story first thing, a bit on the cool side once again. but then we've got this weather system starting to push its influence into the north and west of scotland and northern ireland. so i think here, we will see cloudier skies, perhaps some patchy rain — temperatures around 13—14. but again, warm where we see that sunshine, dry for many.

this is bbc news. i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at 8: interest rates rise to 1%, their highest level since 2009. the governor of the bank of england says they could rise further, as the bank tries to deal with soaring inflation. because of this very, very narrow path that we are walking we can see a case in which they will need to be further rise in bank rates but it depends on how the economy evolves. profits at the energy giant shell almost triple to £7.3 billion in the first three months of this year, its highest ever quarterly figure. the mother of baby p, the toddler who died in 2007 after months of abuse, is set to be released from prison. the parole board has rejected a government challenge against its ruling to release tracey connolly.