this is bbc news — i'm lewis vaughanjones with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. in ukraine — fifty more civilians are evacuated from the mariupol steelworks — that's been under attack by russian forces. the governing conservatives lose almost 500 seats in local elections across britain — in england the liberal democrats make big gains. we've had a tough night in some parts of the country but on the other hand, and other parts of the country you're still seeing conservatives going forward. you're still seeing conservatives going forward. a huge explosion rips through an upmarket hotel in the colonial district of havana. at least eight people are dead. a state of emergency is declared in sri lanka, as thousands of protestors demand the resignation of both the president and prime minister.

and — why some controversial members of the british royal family won't be getting a balcony call at the queen'sjubilee. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. the united nations and the international red cross are continuing their efforts in ukraine to rescue more civilians from the besieged city of mariupol. on friday, 50 more people, including children, were evacuated from a huge steel factory complex. these are the latest pictures of some of those who've got out. the azovstal plant is under siege by russian forces. dozens are still trapped inside. the city, in the country's south, has been under constant shelling by the russian military. the steelworks has become the last holdout of ukrainian forces who are fighting to defend mariupol. our correspondent laura

bicker, has sent this report from dnipro. the russian attacks continue despite promises of a cease—fire, according to this unverified footage released by the ukrainian azov unit. kremlin—backed troops are still firing on this vast steel plant, according to uk intelligence, while ukrainian soldiers and hundreds of civilians shelter inside. they've been using the sprawling network of tunnels as a refuge for more than two months, with very little food or water. around 100 women and children have already been rescued from the depths of the plant. there is a complex operation to free more civilians. but now comes a plea to save the troops, who have used the steelworks to try and make one last stand the city. svetlana's only son is there. she doesn't want to be identified to protect him.

translation: it's horrible. horrible to know that your son is fighting and has nothing left to fight with, in a city that's completely raised to the ground and seized by the occupiers. i would give everything in exchange for him to survive. for everyone who is still there under the bombardment to survive. we beg, we beg all the world countries to help us and save our heroes. it's not them who are complaining and begging, it's us. svetlana was asked by her son to flee as the russian bombs leveled this once—thriving port. ukrainian officials claim more than 20,000 people have been killed. the relatives of others still fighting can't bear to see these images. yaroslava's husband and her two sons—in—law are also in that ukrainian azov unit. translation: every l image is a wound in my heart and in my soul. every time. my wish is that they would survive this.

of course they will keep fighting. they are holding on, they are doing the impossible. singing in ukrainian. 0utnumbered and outgunned, this small defending force become a potent symbol for ukraine. they may never surrender — but their families are praying they'll at least get a chance to leave alive. laura bicker, bbc news, dnipro. the white house has announced a new package of security assistance for ukraine that will include artillery, munitions, radars and other equipment. presidentjoe biden said that the existing funding for ukraine was "nearly exhausted" and urged the us congress to pass his proposed assistance package worth 33 million us dollars to — as he put it — "strengthen ukraine on the battlefield and at the negotiating table". here in the uk, local elections have been taking place that are a key test of the popularity of

borisjohnson�*s government. the prime minister says it's been a tough night for the conservatives — as the party lost hundreds of seats. the opposition labour party made gains in london but found it harder elsewhere in england. counting is still going on in northern ireland, where the result could bring seismic change if sinn fein win the most seats. in scotland the snp have once again finished as the biggest party. in wales labour made signficant gains. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg — her report contains some flashing images. ok, this is going well. trademark optimism, despite shedding councils and losing nearly 400 councillors too. from the safety of a primary school classroom in his constituency, the prime minister didn't seem downcast. that's very good, that blue there. he lost iconic london councils, giving away comfortable conservative ground.

and what are we going to have when we have the party? anger at downing street parties and his fine for breaking the law... there you go. ..did not translate into the catastrophe some conservatives had feared. it's mid—term and it's certainly a mixed set of results. and we've had a tough night in some parts of the country, but on the other hand, in other parts of the country, you're still seeing conservatives going forward not in london, where his labour rival had big reasons to smile this morning, winning over territory held by the tories for decades. we've just done it! westminster! wandsworth! steps forward, but outside london, perhaps not big, bold strides labour needs. this is a massive turning point for the labour party. from the depths of 2019, we are back on track now for the general election, showing the hard change we've done in the last two years,

what a difference it has made. have you heard from - durham police, sir keir? any comment on the police investigation? yet, as he travelled to celebrate success elsewhere, allegations over lockdown chased the labour leader. durham police will now investigate claims keir starmer broke the rules, having beer and curry with colleagues during lockdown. anything to say about - the investigation, sir keir? have you heard - from durham police? questions he had to answer again. no parties no rules let the police get on with it but i'm confident that no rules are broken. , . , , i'm confident that no rules are broken. , . ,, , ., , broken. grabbing seats in cities hall _ broken. grabbing seats in cities hall and _ broken. grabbing seats in l cities hall and birmingham broken. grabbing seats in - cities hall and birmingham put up cities hall and birmingham put up the tories in kansas, cambridge and wales, somerset and pockets of affluent london. the message from some green suburbs will cause terry's nerves. , .

suburbs will cause terry's nerves-— suburbs will cause terry's nerves. , . f nerves. they are saying they've had enough _ nerves. they are saying they've had enough of _ nerves. they are saying they've had enough of this _ nerves. they are saying they've had enough of this prime - had enough of this prime minister. and i think the tectonic_ minister. and i think the tectonic plates of british politics are shifting. and now it's up— politics are shifting. and now it's up to _ politics are shifting. and now it's up to conservative mps to show— it's up to conservative mps to show the _ it's up to conservative mps to show the prime minister into the abyss. show the prime minister into the aim-— show the prime minister into the ab ss. , i. the abyss. remember, your boat stitched together _ the abyss. remember, your boat stitched together a _ the abyss. remember, your boat stitched together a giant - stitched together a giant patchwork, not a picture that's the same in every corner of the country. there was a striking labour success in london. that will hurt for the tories. who broadly fell back further in the salt then in the north of england. their coalition fraying more and more at his traditional end but labours jubilation in the capital was always matched by enthusiasm elsewhere. the greens picking up elsewhere. the greens picking up pace to with dozens of gains. but while resulted in england perhaps confirmed much of the status quo, the scene is

set for a genuine moment of change in northern ireland. look at this. the first voters seemed set to make sinn fein there is party. that would be a moment of history and a moment of challenge and uncertainty for the uk. of challenge and uncertainty forthe uk-_ for the uk. i'm gratefulfor all the people _ for the uk. i'm gratefulfor all the people that - for the uk. i'm gratefulfor all the people that came i for the uk. i'm grateful for. all the people that came out and engage in what was a very positive campaign.— positive campaign. leaders whose dreams _ positive campaign. leaders whose dreams of _ positive campaign. leaders whose dreams of leaving i positive campaign. leaders. whose dreams of leaving the union for a united ireland will be in charge. that could shift the tone of political conversation in scotland where the s and p who also want to leave the uk sought more success and maintained their dominance. crucially, labour moves up into second place, the scottish tories in a slump. in labour grew in wales to come at the biggest party profiting at the biggest party profiting at the expense of the tories. spin back a few weeks, many tories in their feared back a few weeks, many tories in theirfeared a back a few weeks, many tories in their feared a complete calamity. they had a terrible

time in some parts of the country but this hasn't been a wipe—out and labour has moved forward but not far off fast enough to be sure of power. remember, these elections give us clues of what's coming next but it seems the two big parties are somehow locked in an uncomfortable status quo. that is very good. no dramatic breakthrough for his main rival, no total breakdown for the conservatives. boris johnson has taken knocks today but still stands to carry on. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. there's been a huge explosion at a luxury hotel in the colonial—era district of the cuban capital, havana. the blast in old havana destroyed the facade of several floors of the hotel saratoga, which was being refurbished. 0ur latin america correspondent will grant is following developments from mexico city. well, it seems that the human

presidency is basically saying that this was caused by a gas explosion, whether or not there was a gas leak or a tanker carrying liquefied gas that was parked outside the saratoga hotel is still to be determined. they did of course say that they are still looking at the exact cause but so far preliminary investigation seemed to point in that direction. if that is the case, this has been a horrific accident in old havana. yes, the hotel was closed, which means that could have saved lives. but of course, there would've been people working on that refurbishment, they would been staff inside that hotel, people passing through the streets in that area. thankfully, there was a school behind the hotel, we were told that everybody was evacuated safely from the school. but yes, a very serious accident in the human capital. capital.——cuban we will wait to

hear more detail of the explanation, of course sadly the detail on those who have been caught up in this who died and injured. just give us an idea of the area in which this happened. the saratoga hotel is really very, very well known in havana. basically, everybody will know it. it was a point where a lot of celebrities would go when they visited havana during the recent thaw between the 0bama administration and cuba. there's been all manner of different tour groups coming through over the years, press conferences with us senators i've been doing that hotel. it's a very, very well—known focal point in that area for tourism and as you said in your introduction, the colonial area old havana district, a lot of crumbling buildings around that. of course an explosion of this nature could have an effect on some of the surrounding buildings too. will any stair from any officials about when will be getting any more details about what happened? not yet. the presidency are being very

active with tweets, they're putting out information as they have it. there was a call for blood donations in havana as you said the injured are being treated in nearby hospitals, the president himself has been to the scene. i think really now the focus will be on pulling anybody else remaining in the rubble, accounting for everybody who is missing, working out exactly how many people have died. of course this could have an effect on cuba's re—emerging tourism industry. cuba the island has been hugely hurt by the covid—i9 pandemic went tourism is such the mainstay of the economy. i was there just last week. and the green shoots of a return tourism were beginning to show, this could have an impact on that recovery. let s get some of the day s other news. the italian government has impounded a $700 million yacht saying the investigation showed that the owner had ties to

prominent oligarchs of the russian government. which are targeted by eu sanctions. the yacht has to helipad, as when he grew at a movie theatre. thousands of people have joined the procession to bury three men killed in an attack during the cities independence day celebrations, the manhunt is still under way for two palestinians suspected of carrying out the attack. several others remain in hospital with life—threatening injuries. u.s. health officials say they are investigating 109 cases of severe hepatitis in children including five reported deaths. it follows reports by the world health organization of at least 228 probable cases across the globe. a number of possible causes are being investigated including viruses and contact with animals. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... prince harry and meghan say they will attend the platinum jubilee celebrations — but the queen says they won't be appearing on the buckingham palace

balcony. i nelson rolihlahla mandella 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. the tunnel is still not ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister becamel the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes _ memories of victory as the ve celebrations reached their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in

a future of peace and freedom. this is bbc news, the latest headlines... fifty more civilians are evacuated from the mariupol steelworks in ukraine — that's been under attack by russian forces. the governing conservatives lose almost 500 seats in local elections across britain — in england the liberal democrats make big gains. the united states says it believes north korea may be preparing a nuclear test within the next few weeks — it's first in five years. a state department spokeswoman said north korea had been making its puungayree nuclear test site ready for such a test. 0ur north america correspondent david willisjoins me now.

good to see you. what has the us been saying about the intelligence that they have a what they know?— what they know? this is the first such — what they know? this is the first such statement - what they know? this is the first such statement on - what they know? this is the first such statement on the | first such statement on the record from the us state department of its kind. they are saying as you reported there, they believe north korea is preparing its nuclear test site and could be ready to carry out some sort of test within the next few weeks. these state department spokeswoman said that allies and partners had been made aware of this and they would be continuing to work in close coordination with allies in the region. if it does happen it will be the seventh such nuclear test by north korea and the first in five years. but the first in five years. but the timing here is potentially significant for two reasons, first, because next week sees the inauguration of the new south korean president he is

known to be much more confrontational towards the north than his predecessor. in the week after that, president biden is due to visit south korea for the first time as president was up all of this of course a reminder to him and his administration that whilst they've been focusing their attention on russia's invasion of ukraine tensions have continued to simmer on the korean peninsula.— continued to simmer on the korean peninsula. and people will remember _ korean peninsula. and people will remember the _ korean peninsula. and people will remember the visit, - korean peninsula. and people will remember the visit, the l will remember the visit, the donald trump visit in an attempt to move relations forward. have they move forward at all from that?— at all from that? despite that love affair. — at all from that? despite that love affair, as _ at all from that? despite that love affair, as donald - at all from that? despite that love affair, as donald trumpl love affair, as donald trump called it with kim jong alone, of course he started calling him little rocket man before developing this summit with the north korean leader. those talks came to nothing. the biting administration is results to some sort of

diplomatic solution with north korea but the north koreans have so far shown little interest in that step —— biden administration. that is rather worrying bearing in mind that at the start of this year north korea has tested about 1k different weapons, including a couple of months ago and intercontinental ballistic missiles. sojoe biden clearly will have a lot on his plate when he visits south korea and the capital seoul in two weeks' time. �* ., , ., time. and conditions in north korea still — time. and conditions in north korea still very _ time. and conditions in north korea still very difficult, - time. and conditions in north korea still very difficult, of. korea still very difficult, of course the covid pandemic exacerbated things that's right, absolutely. find exacerbated things that's right, absolutely. and the economy _ right, absolutely. and the economy there _ right, absolutely. and the economy there has - right, absolutely. and the economy there has been l right, absolutely. and the l economy there has been in right, absolutely. and the i economy there has been in a right, absolutely. and the - economy there has been in a bad shape for a long time by all accounts it is a considerably at this point. nonetheless, only last week the north korean leader kimjong—un only last week the north korean leader kim jong—un reiterated

his desire to accelerate his countries nuclear programme, something that of course the western diplomats have found deeply troubling. we western diplomats have found deeply troubling.— deeply troubling. we believe they are- _ deeply troubling. we believe they are. thank _ deeply troubling. we believe they are. thank you. - the president of sri lanka, gotabaya rajapaksa, has declared a new state of emergency, as demands grow for his government to resign. earlier, police fired tear gas at protesters outside parliament in colombo and a nationwide strike brought much of the country to a halt. there've been weeks of demonstrations against the sri lankan government for its handling of the worst economic crisis in decades. 0ur south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan reports from colombo. here, not too far from sri lanka's parliament, you can see crowds who have gathered again for another night of protest. there is a real sense of celebration and camaraderie here — although earlier, things were tense as police fired tear gas and water

cannons into the crowds here. i've talked to almost any protester here, and they'll say they will continue to protest until sri lanka's government quits. in particular, they want the president and his brother, the prime minister, to quit office. now so far, the two brothers say they aren't going anywhere, and they are promising they will get sri lanka through this financial crisis, but many people here blame them and their economic policies for this mess. now tonight, the president met with his cabinet — we are hearing reports there are some tensions between the two brothers. earlier this week, there were reports that the prime minister might step down. as of now, both men remain in office. now, opposition parties are hoping to table a vote of no confidence against the government and parliament. now, parliament doesn't set again until 17 may. 0ne indication on whether the government may have

enough support to win any no—confidence motion was the election of the deputy speaker earlier this week — now he quit, the deputy speaker has the backing of the government even though he's from a different party. he quit and was reelected again, and that's were some observers thought the government has the numbers to last us through. by then this evening, not too long ago, the deputy speaker quit again, leading to quite a confusing scenario where he quit, then he was reelected, now he's quit again. and in many ways, that crisis of confusion and uncertainty sums up what's going on here and sri lanka with millions of families unsure where they'll get their next fuel tank from, where there will get their next meal from, when the next power cut will happen — and of course, people here wondering what the way is out of this financial mess. thank you for that update on the desperate situation in sri

lanka. this summer marks queen elizabeth's platinumjubilee — 70 years on the british throne. a key moment is a royal appearance on the balcony at buckingham palace. but the queen has decided that prince harry and meghan — along with prince andrew — won't be allowed to appear on the balcony during trooping the colour. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. an appearance on the palace balcony is a centrepiece of any major royal celebration, but for the platinum jubilee there are sensitivities around some family members. so, the queen has decided that only working royals willjoin her on the balcony. so, cancelled in balcony terms are the duke of york and the sussexes. harry and meghan say they are coming to thejubilee, but they won't be on the balcony. the big question, of course, is how visible will the queen be throughout the four days of the jubilee celebrations. it all begins on thursday the 2nd ofjune with trooping the colour, at the culmination of which the royal family makes that balcony appearance. according to the palace,

the queen plans to attend trooping — but a final decision will be taken on the day. on friday the 3rd ofjune, there will be a service of thanksgiving at st paul's cathedral. again, all the palace will say is the queen plans to attend. on saturday the 11th ofjune, after the derby, there will be the platinum party at the palace produced by the bbc — on a stage being built right in front of the palace. will the queen be there? it will be decided on the day. and then finally, on sunday the 5th ofjune, the gold state coach will be one of the main features in a jubilee pageant on the mall — though the queen will not be riding in it. so, it is clearly the queen's intention to be at trooping the colour and the service of thanksgiving — and at the other events if she can. nicholas witchell, bbc news. two historic cooling towers at the la robla coal fired power plant in spain have been demolished. the power station was built

in 1971 and will be replaced by a hydrogen power plant. it's formed part of the landscape of the mountains of the valle del alba region for decades but it took just 7 seconds to be reduced to rubble. let's bring you an update on one of the stories we've been covering this hour and officials in cuba say at least 18 people have been killed in an explosion at a luxury hotel in the capital havana. the original death toll was eight it is now 18. the original death toll was eight it is now 18. the explosion in old havana destroyed the facade of several floors of the hotel saratoga, which was being refurbished. the office of the cuban president, who has visited the site — says it was not caused by a bomb. it said preliminary investigations indicate that it was a gas leak. we will be keeping you across all the details of that story.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ lvaughanjones rain moving by temperatures raising two aaa cells is it a couple spots that will be repeated i think generally temperatures into the high teens possibly 20. because there will be sunshine but a few showers as well. that reigns been making its way southwards on this weather front here's a quite heavy rain for a time before it starts to clear way and the azor high dry weather across most of the uk. still a watering for the garden on that weather front, watering for the garden on that weatherfront, missy low watering for the garden on that weather front, missy low cloud, rather grey weather behind it we are seeing mist and fog, low—level fog forming and it's turned quite chilly, particularly in the downs of

scotland perhaps a touch of frosty air. a bright chilli start for some in the morning, best of the sunshine in the west today. still drizzly rain in southeastern areas as back—up breaks up it will be moist enough for a few showers to fall, notjust moist enough for a few showers to fall, not just across east anglia and the southeast but possibly in other areas, west is best for the sunshine, 16 to 20 potentially in areas here where see sunshine. they'll be cool breezes on the north sea coast with a bit more clout here as well during the day. the azor high prince to use to drift eastward into sunday allowing these by the system to come in the north and west. mist and fog first thing, a little bit on the cool side but then some fare with a car coming and going, a lot of dry weatherfor england and coming and going, a lot of dry weather for england and wales, fewer showers but instead we pick a bit of a breeze from the south across northern ireland and scotland to bring in some cloud and perhaps apache rain later in the day but not as chilly for the north sea coast. taking it further ahead into monday we keep that northwest southeast split at least on monday with the best of the dry

brighter weather across parts of england and wales. the strong sunshine as will see this weekend when it comes out but perhaps something heavier rain was coming into scotland and northern ireland. still looking unsettled as we head into next week. because we've got low pressure dominated towards the north, even for the sole some of these weather fronts could rush in some rain from time to time. the detail is uncertain but it looks as if it will be wetter further north and windy or potentially with the driest weather for the south. even here we might see a little bit of rain as well. as ever you can keep up—to—date on the website.

this is bbc news. the headlines — the governing conservative party has lost almost 500 seats in local elections across britain. in england, the liberal democrats make big gains. the prime minister, borisjohnson, admitted that his party experienced a "tough night" in some areas. the labour party made advances in london. a further 50 civilians have been evacuated from the azovstal steelworks in the besieged ukrainian city of mariupol. the figure was confirmed separately by the ukrainian deputy prime minister and russia's ministry of defence, which said women, the elderly and 11 children were among those rescued. an explosion at a luxury hotel in the cuban capital, havana,

has killed at least 18 people and left more than 30 injured.