welcome to bbc news. i'm nuala mcgovern. our top stories: we're on the frontline of war in ukraine, near kharkiv, where despite ukrainian advances, the threat of russian fire is constant. every inch of ground they gain here, every other mile gives their city respite from the russian guns that you can hear. in the us, republican senators block a democrat bill which aimed to preserve women's right to abortion nationwide. it was put to a vote ahead of a key supreme court ruling. sri lanka's president vows to give up most of his executive powers, but stops short of resigning over the country's economic crisis.

trying to hold the wings level and see if you can start descending. and a passenger with no idea how to fly is given instructions to land a plane in florida, after the pilot fell ill. we begin our programme with a special report from ukraine's second biggest city, kharkiv. in recent days, ukrainian forces have been retaking a number of towns and villages, pushing russian infantry and artillery back towards the border. the fighting, which has led to a dramatic fall in russian shelling of kharkiv, has been slow and costly, but ukrainian forces say they now have the upper hand. kharkiv is just a0 kilometres from the russian border, and the russians�* retreat could pose a wider threat to moscow's stated aim of capturing significant territory in the east, as fresh ukrainian troops join the battle there.

our correspondent, quentin sommerville, and camera journalist, darren conway, have spent the last week with ukrainian troops in and around the town of ruska losova, and they've sent us this report. a warning — you may find some of the reporting distressing. air raid siren wails. the spectre of russian victory once haunted this city. but no more. for months, the invaders were at the city gates, but kharkiv has cast doubt vladimir putin's foot soldiers, forcing them back towards the border. siren continues. this road is deadly. there are landmines either side, and a number of times, vehicles have been hit by russian shelling. so, the russians are retreating, but they're not giving up. they're trying to pin these men

down, but retreating they are. there's a lot more at stake here than just the city of kharkiv. the russian supply lines to the donbas are also under threat, and these men, they say that if they can take back their city, the second—biggest in this country, just by the russian border, why can't they take back all of ukraine? for more than a week, they've been fighting and winning. still, they have to move fast. an army in retreat is just as dangerous. so they're on guard. above them, they know that enemy drones are watching. speaks in ukranian. these men are exposed. at the top of this ridge, russian tanks and artillery still roam and still

lay down fire. this has become a far more mobile fight. a deadly game of hide and seek in the kharkiv countryside. 0k, iwill go. you will go there, behind the fence, yeah? 0k? we're following a ukrainian territorial defence unit — all volunteers. distant explosion. sit down. every second out in the open risks targeting from russians who are less than half a kilometre away. the men you see are from kharkiv. they're fighting for ukraine, but they're also fighting for their city, and it's a close—quarters battle. but every inch of ground they gain here, every other mile gives their city respite from the russian guns that

you can hear. distant explosion. we're now in the third month of this war. who's winning? we are winning, of course. ukraine is winning. every day that our guys do in mariupol, every day that our guys are doing momma— that they commit, you know, all these are small wins in a big war. through fields and villages, they gain ground. from here, russia attacked kharkiv dozens of times daily. now, only a handful of shells

make it to the city. but there's still a danger in the village. a shell whizzes just overhead. explosion. the enemy is there in the forest. out there, a russian tank is on the hunt. but they've grown used to these tactics, so already, the men who make up this unit — an economist, a businessman, a mechanic — have taken cover. little prepared them for this, but they haven't flinched. explosion. a direct hit knocks out the power. tank fire hammers the bunker. explosion. but the men are untroubled and unharmed.

russia's occupation has torn these communities apart. these are local men and a woman obtained under suspicion of aiding the enemy. they'll be handed over to the security services. collaborators who cause ukrainian deaths face a lifetime injail. with each day of this war, the centuries—old ties that bind russia and ukraine together are being torn asunder. ola has been trapped here from the start, she tells me, unable to receive cancer treatment. translation: i lost so much weight because of nerves. - we decided to get evacuated from here. amid the maelstrom, and numb to danger, is 66—year—old raissa.

she grew up in the soviet union, lived in east germany. she can't believe it's come to this. her home and her history in ruins. translation: shards of. the glass hit me in the face. how could she forgive russia these wounds? translation: why didn't - the shrapnel hit me in the head so that i would die immediately? for days, she suffered through this. translation: but i hardly feel physical pain any more. - the pain is in my soul. "you're lucky to be alive," says the medic. translation: yes,

my arm is working. | but lucky? god didn't let me die. now i have to live in pain. in a time gone by, raissa's father and vladimir putin's father battled hitler. distant explosion. but that shared memory is now lost to history. here in russian—speaking ukraine, the past runs deep — and the suffering brought here won't be easily forgiven norforgotten. quentin sommerville, bbc news, kharkiv. britain and finland have signed a mutual security deal, hours after the uk agreed a similar deal with sweden, against the background of the russian invasion of ukraine. the british prime minister, borisjohnson said the uk "will not hesitate" to act to defend against any threat from what he called a "21st century tyra nt".

he's been visiting both countries which are considering nato membership in the face of president putin's decision to invade ukraine. we can now speak to michael o'hanlon, who's a senior fellow and director of research in foreign policy at the brookings institution, where he specialises in us defence strategy. you are busy man these days, michael. thank you so much for joining us. i was taking a look back ati of joining us. i was taking a look back at i of your books from 2017, beyond nato. talking about a concept of permanent neutrality mentioning finland and sweden, i imagine perhaps you are thinking differently today? you are thinking differently toda ? , , ., ., today? greetings. you are ri . ht. today? greetings. you are riuht. i today? greetings. you are right. ithink_ today? greetings. you are right. | think that - today? greetings. you are right. i think that any - today? greetings. you are | right. i think that any hope that we could prevent this kind of crisis by thinking about some kind of a security structure that would not imagine nato continually expanding east is been overtaken by events was not i wish we had tried that. i think there is a decent chance that

could have diffused the animosity is enough that putin would not have done this horrible act. i blame vladimir putin entirely for the war. i think we had a strategic choice back then and perhaps we chose the wrong option. having said that i do not oppose finland and swedenjoining nato now. understandably they have included that vladimir putin is a bit more reckless and i predict will that we had bought before and the strategy of getting along with the russian bear such that it will not want to attack, whatever logic might have supported that approach before has been invalidated by vladimir putin's actions since debris. at this point i support any potential request by sweden and finland tojoint any potential request by sweden and finland to joint nato. any potential request by sweden and finland tojoint nato. it interesting. their populations have also come around to it in intervening years as well so we will be following that closely. you talked about being worried about provoking for example in previous years. with this, there is that risk even hearing

from the prime minister of russia, potential nuclear responses for example, they are saying that is overblown. how do you see it? how dangerous do you think it might be for finland and sweden to joint nato in the sense of provoking russia? ~ ., ., russia? well, we are in a dangerous _ russia? well, we are in a dangerous world - russia? well, we are in a dangerous world alreadyl russia? well, we are in a - dangerous world already because i am still processing how much nato is helping ukraine fight russia and kill russians with a lot of weapons transfers, with some degree of intelligence support, part of that we understand, part of it we don't. there appears to be at least some transfer of information. i think what we're doing on the battlefield in ukraine actively in where real—time is substantially more important and more risky than what we might do by bringing finland and sweden into the alliance. as a pot what we're doing in ukraine because it is

vladimir putin's war, he has chosen to make this attack. i think some decisions bike nato made this more likely, i don't blame us at our moral level. vladimir putin has decided, his big addictiveness and pettiness about ukraine making its own choices as a sovereign state justify the attack. my other point is i think it was foreseeable that many russians would act this way and we should be more creative with some of our previous approaches but that does not make us morally guilty of the war which is vladimir putin's. having said that we have to help the ukrainian super themselves. what we're doing now is quite considerable and quite a bit more than simply offering to help sweden and finland defend their own territory. in terms of the risk calculus, in terms of the risk calculus, in terms of what is really dangerous here, i think it is the war in ukraine that is far and above the more concerning. it is interesting _ the more concerning. it is interesting to _ the more concerning. it is interesting to hear- the more concerning. it is interesting to hear you i the more concerning. it is interesting to hear you say that you are still processing that. i think lotta people are

to figure out exactly the extent of aid or legal aid. just briefly, what do you think joe biden should do next? the fundamental _ joe biden should do next? tue: fundamental point joe biden should do next? tte: fundamental point is joe biden should do next? the: fundamental point is that joe biden should do next? tte: fundamental point is that we need a security structure for europe that would at some future date ring russia back in to help create a stable community of nations. which means our goal cannot be the permanent punishment of russia, however morally gratifying that they feel at the moment. i believe the lack agree with secretary said that in the short term we have to harm russia militarily, but in the lodge and we have to seek a negotiated settlement that will allow us to live some of the sanctions on russia and allow it to have some role in the future community of nations in europe. otherwise we risk a repeat of what happened in the 19205 repeat of what happened in the 1920s with what happened with thy mart republic in germany and the aftermath of world war i directly producing world war ii. ~ . ., i directly producing world war ii. a ., �* ., .,

i directly producing world war ii. michael o'hanlon thank you for having _ ii. michael o'hanlon thank you for having you _ ii. michael o'hanlon thank you for having you with _ ii. michael o'hanlon thank you for having you with us. - ii. michael o'hanlon thank you for having you with us. let's i for having you with us. let's stay with the united states. a bill that would protect nationwide access to abortion in the united states has been blocked in the senate. democrats had attempted to introduce the measure ahead of a supreme court decision that is expected to overturn a ruling that established the right to abortion in the 1970s. but all 50 republicans and one democrat voted not to consider the legislation. vice president kamala harris spoke to reporters shortly after the vote in the capitol. ijust presided over the women's self protective act vote and sadly the senate failed to stand in defence of a woman's right to make decisions about her own body. let's be clear, the majority of the american people believe in defending a woman's right, her choice, to decide what happens to her own body. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: global tech giant, google, says it's adding 2a new languages on the google translate platform —

we'll be telling you which ones. the pope was shot, the pope will live — that's the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon, that, as an italian television commentator put it, terrorism had come to the vatican. the man they called the butcher of lyon, klaus barbie, went on trial today in the french town where he was the gestapo chief in the second world war. winnie mandela never looked like a woman just sentencedl to six years injail. the judge told mrs mandela there was no indication - she felt even - the slightest remorse. the chinese government has called for an all—out effort to help the victims of a powerful earthquake — the worst to hit the country for 30 years. the computer deep blue has tonight triumphed over the world chess champion, garry kasparov. it is the first time a machine has defeated a reigning world champion in a classical chess match. america's first legall same—sex marriages

have been taking - place in massachusetts. god bless america! cheering this is bbc world news. the latest headline: ukrainian forces launch counter attacks in the east, forcing russian troops out of villages near the country's second biggest city, kharkiv. sri lanka's president, gotabaya rajapaksa, has promised to appoint a new cabinet within a week but stopped short of stepping down himself. he made the pledge in his first address to the country since anti—government protests erupted last month. his brother, the prime minister, resigned on monday. anbarasan ethirajan is in colombo. the sri lankan president, gotabaya rajapaksa, has addressed the nation in an attempt to solve the political crisis facing the country.

sri lanka has been witnessing weeks of protests against the government, and the protesters have been accusing the government of mismanaging the economy. and the prime minister was forced to resign on monday after violence during these protests. now, president gota baya raja pa ksa says a new cabinet will be formed within a week, acceptable to the public and also parliament. and he's willing to amend the constitution to transfer more powers to parliament. he will have discussions with the coming interim government about abolishing the executive presidency in the country, and he also warned that strict action would be taken against anyone who damaged public property or threatening lives. this speech comes on the backdrop of even the central bank governor warning that if there is no political stability here in this country, then we can expect more long power cuts and fuel shortages. this is a very stark warning from the central bank governor because sri lanka has run out

of foreign exchange reserves. they are struggling to import basic supplies like fuel and food — at the moment, they are getting these things from india on a credit line. so, economists warn that if this political instability continues, if there is no agreement between the political parties to form a government, that will have a devastating effect on the economy because the country's already running low on revenue. so, if the investors want to come in, if the imf wants to give a loan, or any other foreign country wants to help sri lanka, they would like to see political stability and that is what the central bank governor was warning. now, it remains to be seen whether the protesters will accept what president gotabaya said this evening, a few minutes ago, because they've also been demanding the resignation of gota baya raja pa ksa, saying we need a new political system for sri lanka. authorities in shanghai are further restricting access to hospitals and food as the city enters the most severe phase of its extended lockdown. some neighbours of

confirmed covid—i9 cases and others living close by are also being forced into government quarantine facilities as officials push ahead with enhanced measures that they think will stop the spread of omicron. from shanghai, robin brant has more. this was initially a lockdown that was supposed to last four days. we're now into its seventh week. this does feel, frankly, like the darkest time. we are seeing, as well, some of the most extreme measures imposed as the authorities try to contain the spread and try to get towards their target of what they're calling "societal zero" — so no new cases emerging outside of quarantine. now here, we are restricted on the food we can get over the next few days. no commercial deliveries, no group buys — just government—approved food deliveries. there's also further restrictions on access to the hospitals — anyone needing anything other than emergency care

in the next few days, will need approval of the local communist party neighbourhood committee. now, i'm aware already of people needing emergency ambulances that have struggled to get them — they couldn't come quick enough — so they've had to go by private car. so, all of that shows you how desperate, frankly, the authorities are to get towards this target that has slipped. i think one of the most severe measures we're seeing announced now, though, is bigger swathes of people living in apartments, who are near positive cases, being swept up and taken to quarantine centres. the authorities now say anyone living on the same level in an apartment block, maybe even in just the same apartment block, even if they're negative, will be taken to centralised quarantine facilities. global tech giant, google, has announced that it is adding 2a new languages on the google translate platform. the company says it's used

new technology which can learn language based onjust a few paragraphs of text. the latest additions range from lingala, which is used by more than 45 million people across central africa, and quechua, used by about 10 million people in ecuador, peru, bolivia, ecuador and surrounding countries. i'm joined now by harvard university language scholar dr americo mendoza—mori who speaks quechua, and is co—founder of the quechua alliance that promotes andean culture and language in the united states. perhaps, for our listeners, to give us a sense of how important quechua is as a language — there may be some of our view is not familiar with it. ., ~ , ., our view is not familiar with it. ., ~ i. ., it. thank you for the invitation. _ it. thank you for the invitation. quechual it. thank you for the l invitation. quechua is it. thank you for the i invitation. quechua is a it. thank you for the - invitation. quechua is a most spoken language in the americas with around 10 million speakers. as a comparison, swedish has around the same

number or quechua has more speakers than european languages like danish or icelandic.— languages like danish or icelandic. ., icelandic. google translate i coin: icelandic. google translate i auoin to icelandic. google translate i going to have _ icelandic. google translate i going to have this _ icelandic. google translate i going to have this on - icelandic. google translate i going to have this on that i going to have this on that platform along with others which gives it prominent. why didn't they do it earlier? is itjust the didn't they do it earlier? is it just the technology wasn't there? . . it just the technology wasn't there? ., ., , , it just the technology wasn't there? ., ., , there? language activists and scholars have _ there? language activists and scholars have been _ there? language activists and scholars have been working i there? language activists and | scholars have been working for a while and bringing and making sure indigenous languages join the platform but one of the challenges is that these languages use oral tradition and platforms so that was not enough data. these new

additions, artificial intelligence played a major role and makes it possible to translate quechua. but google is joining translate quechua. but google isjoining previous translate quechua. but google is joining previous and important isjoining previous and important efforts by many indigenous scholars and activists.— indigenous scholars and activists. ., ., ., activists. how important do you think it is online? _ activists. how important do you think it is online? there - activists. how important do you think it is online? there may i think it is online? there may be people who speak them who do not have access to the internet. do you think it'll make a real having it on this particular platform of google translate?— translate? certainly, it is true that _ translate? certainly, it is true that because - translate? certainly, it is true that because of - true that because of discrimination, indigenous speakers have not had even formal education to get access to literacy so these announcements is also an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of intercultural, bilingual education but also points out

the future, the prevalence of language will happen in this context. so recognising that many indigenous speakers may not have access right now should move us into a goal of making sure that will happen in the near future.— the near future. thank you so much. the near future. thank you so much- have _ the near future. thank you so much. have i— the near future. thank you so much. have i pronounce - the near future. thank you so much. have i pronounce thisl much. have i pronounce this correctly? thank you for joining us. thank you very much, doctor.— a passenger with no flying experience has had to land a cessna aircraft at palm beach airport, in florida, after the pilot fell ill. the plane had taken off from the bahamas. the passenger, who has not been named, was given landing instructions by an aircraft controller, who reportedly had a picture of the plane's dashboard in front of him, so that he could tell the passenger exactly which controls to use.

i want to hear more about that story and we will bring it to you as we get it. no more details as yet but it is a fascinating story. thank you for watching. hello. rain reached some of the driest southern areas of the uk on wednesday. it wasn't very much, but it was more than has fallen for quite some time. that system now out of the way, and southern areas are having a mainly dry thursday to come, whereas across northern areas close to a weather front, there'll be some more rain, particularly across parts of scotland, and especially in the west. there will be a lot of dry weather to begin the day and a cooler start, with temperatures quite widely into single figures. a little bit lower than this in some rural spots. there will be lots of sunshine first thing. all parts will see cloud increasing. not everywhere will get rain from that cloud. there will be a few showers popping up in northern ireland during the morning, lasting into the afternoon. northwest scotland turning wetter, more widely across western parts of scotland — later in the day, you'll see some rain.

some of that pushing a bit further east during the afternoon. the odd shower for wales and southwest england. across wales and england, more cloud in the afternoon, compared with the morning. and a warmer day across the east and southeast of england, where it stays dry, with some sunny spells, compared with wednesday's rain. it is scotland, northern ireland, northern england with some patchy rain on into thursday night, and then, really by friday morning, it's just the northern half of scotland really seeing some rain on what will be a milder start to the day. so on friday, then, it's really across northern scotland, we will see some further outbreaks of rain for a time. some cloud elsewhere in scotland, northern england, and northern ireland. it's wales and the southern half of england that will see the lion's share of friday's sunshine, on what will be a windy day across scotland, northern ireland and northern england, in particular — really quite gusty winds here. and temperatures are edging just a touch higher. now, it is a sign of things to come into the weekend — it will be pleasantly warm, especially when you get to see some sunshine. high pressure is close by. but that's not the whole story — later saturday, saturday night,

first thing sunday, there are some showers, even some thunderstorms pushing up from the south, into parts of england and wales. some of those come back sunday night and into monday morning. so, whilst many places this weekend will stay dry, there will be a chance of seeing a shower or maybe a thunderstorm, especially the further south you are. so, a selection of locations — you can find more places, of course, online and through the app — showing a lot of fine, pleasantly warm weather when the sun is out, but again, a chance of showers and thunderstorms later on saturday, particularly into england and wales.

this is bbc news. the headlines: ukrainian forces launch counter attacks in the east, forcing russian troops out of villages near the country's second biggest city kharkiv. the city is just lto kilometres from the russian border, and the russians�* retreat could pose a wider threat to moscow's stated aim of capturing significant territory in the east. us republican senators have blocked a democrat bill which aimed to preserve women's right to abortion nationwide. democrats had attempted to introduce the measure ahead of a supreme court decision that is expected to overturn a ruling that established the right to abortion in the 1970s. sri lanka's president, gotabaya rajapaksa, has promised to appoint a new cabinet within a week but stopped short of stepping down himself. he made the pledge in his first address to the country

since anti—government protests erupted last month. his brother, the prime minister, resigned on monday.