welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: wounded ukrainian soldiers are taken out of the azovstal steel, plant after months under russian siege. ukraine's president says he hopes they will now be saved. translation: i want to underline, ukraine needs its ukrainian heroes alive. this is our principles. we have report from the frontline in the donbass, in eastern ukraine, which has seen the heaviest fighting of the last few weeks. police in the us say a gunman who killed 10 people, at a supermarket in new york state, planned further attacks after the mass shooting. and a 17—year—old striker becomes the first professional footballer in the men's game in england, for three decades,

to come out as gay. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we start with the news that more than 200 wounded soldiers from the azovstal steelworks, on the edge of the city of mariupol, have been evacuated. pictures suggest that they have been bussed out and have now reached novoazovsk, which is a russian—controlled town in eastern ukraine. at least 50 of them are said to have been taken to local hospitals. they are all ukrainian. the forces had been withstanding a russian offensive for almost three months, gaining almost legendary status among many ukrainians. it's not clear at this stage if they will be released into ukrainian

government hands. translation: we hope - to save the lives of our boys. among them are the heavily wounded. they are being treated. i want to underline, ukraine needs its ukrainian heroes alive. this is our principle. i think these words can be understood by all adequate people. an anxious message in some respect by ukrainian president zelensky. elsewhere, ukrainian troops are thought to be back in control of territory on the russian border, near kharkiv, the country's second largest city. but that doesn't mean the fighting is over. russian forces have been focusing on the donbas region, further south. the bbc�*s quentin sommerville and cameraman darren conway have been near the eastern city of izyum, known as the gateway to donbas, where they have been on patrol with volunteer fighters of the territorial defence force. war descended suddenly on ukraine. along the eastern front, its men may be in bunkers

but they do not cower here. three times in the last month, the russians have attacked this base with infantry and tanks, and three times they have been repelled. russian tanks strike on us directly from this position. another attack may be imminent. we are waiting for them for correct fire. so here they wait. vladimir putin has turned their days into night and taken them away from theirfamilies. but, for the men of this territorial defence unit, this is now home. above their heads hangs a constant threat. the town they have dug under is all but abandoned, its people gone. orphaned pets have sought shelter here too. the men know it won't be long before the next attack.

the commander tells me, "they far outnumber us "but we are ukrainians and we are on our land. "it doesn't matter how good the enemy are as soldiers, "they don't have the support that we do "from the people who live here." all of these men that you see are volunteers. many of them don't even have military training, and they are not here manning checkpoints far from the front. they are right in the thick of things. on the outskirts of izyum, the gateway to the donbas, and they are learning pretty fast because they are up against the russian army. and that gives you a sense of how much ukraine is committing to this fight — everything it's got. explosion. above, a russian barrage is the signal — it's time to get to work. outside these walls, everything is in

the line of fire, and these men face it daily. explosions. they need little reminder that, to the north, the majority of russia's forces are headquartered and, to the south, most of their ukrainian comrades. their patrols and defence along this frontline keep these two mighty forces apart. loud explosions. the shells start landing closer as the russians adjust their aim. we're heading back? so you get a sense of what russia's artillery and tanks can do to ukrainian homes.

this is relentless. but the reason that these men are holding on so tight here in these defensive positions is because they simply cannot let the russians through here. if they do, more ukrainian troops to the south in the donbas will be under threat. so they are hanging on for dear life here. at the front, there's no bunker, but they are armed to the teeth. yuri, this is a volunteer battalion, these men were doing ordinary jobs before the war, and they are facing against russian tanks, russian heavy artillery, in direct fire — how are they managing to hold the russians off? our men, they are going on with it... they fight. every day by this fire, you can watch it, because we believe that all the democratic countries,

all the world will help us, and when we will take — we give modern weapon, these brave men, they can destroy completely the russian army. and we liberate all ukraine and we liberate all the world of russian gangster regime. as the day grows long, it's time to pick up the pace. on open ground, there's no safe hiding place. pinned down, the route back is cut off by artillery fire, so through gardens and back yards, they search for an escape. a soldier calls out, "leave this place as soon as possible", and it is here we find natasha, stubbornly hanging on.

"do you need help leaving?" yuri asks her. translation: i don't have anyone here. but she is defiant. this war wasn't her choice. it's as if she refuses to acknowledge it, even as russian shells soar overhead. let us go to her house, she invites us. we can't go forward, can we? loud explosion. very close to us. very close to us, on our way. yuri tries to convince her to come with us. to stay risks death. translation: i don't want to betray my husband, he's buried in the cemetery here. i won't leave him. we try, one last time.

natasha, why don't you leave here? translation: because it's my home and i have nowhere to go. yuri implores her, "natasha, go to a nearby town, "they will help you there." translation: why? i got used to it now. he says, "we can help you, are you ready to be evacuated?" translation: if i go there, what will i do next? off you go, guys, thank you. we have to leave, but natasha is told to pack her bags. they will come back for her when the shelling stops. despite the onslaught, the men pushed forward. loud explosions. this is what stalemate sounds like on the eastern front. and this is what it takes to keep the gateway to the donbas firmly shut. quentin somerville, bbc news,

near izyum, ukraine. let's get some of the day's other news: the number of people suffering from covid—like symptoons in north korea is fast approaching 1.5 million, just a week after the state admitted its first outbreak of the virus. so far, state media has suggested around 56 people have died. the country's leader, kim jong—un, has mobilised the military to help the supply of medicine but an offer of help from south korea's new president has so far not been taken up. at least three people have died as dust storms affect several countries in the middle east. skies have turned red across nothern syria, much of iraq and part of saudi arabia. such extreme weather has been occurring increasingly regularly in the region this year, a near daily experience, as the climate heats up. sri lanka's new prime minister says the country urgently needs $75 million to pay for essential imports, amid worsening shortages

of fuel and medicine. government officials say the country has very little stock of gas and the next couple of months would be extremely difficult. thousands of people have been protesting against the worsening economic crisis. the vatican's representative injerusalem has accused israel of brutally violating a decades—old agreement to uphold freedom of religion. it follows friday's attack by israeli security forces on the funeral procession of palestinian—american journalist shireen abu akleh at an eastjerusalem hospital. the force has said it has launched a review. here's our middle east correspondent tom bateman. the pictures sparked international condemnation. a funeral procession reduced to fear and panic as israeli security forces kicked and beat

pallbearers with batons. and now newly released pictures from the hospital's cameras show how the police acted. standard is fired towards the hospital, famous for its maternity ward. a pregnant woman about to give birth had to be bundled in, say the staff. we were there at the time when mourners rush recovers. patient and staff ran into the building. i saw at least one person wounded and now shireen abu aqla's family say they were threatened while they tried to grieve. i they tried to grieve. i honestly was very afraid, i had to run and hide in the hospital because they started throwing stun grenades and one of them actually threatened to beat me if i do not move out of the way. if i do not move out of the wa . ., ., if i do not move out of the wa. ., ., way. today at the hospital, the vatican and _ way. today at the hospital, the vatican and four _ way. today at the hospital, the vatican and four in _ way. today at the hospital, the vatican and four in jerusalem l vatican and four injerusalem condemned the actions. the article states _ condemned the actions. the article states that _ condemned the actions. iie: article states that the condemned the actions. i“i;e: article states that the state of israel upholds and observes

the human rights and freedom of religion which in this case has been brutally violated. shireen abu a: la been brutally violated. shireen abu aqla was _ been brutally violated. shireen abu aqla was killed _ been brutally violated. shireen abu aqla was killed last - been brutally violated. shireen abu aqla was killed last week, j abu aqla was killed last week, shotin abu aqla was killed last week, shot in the head as she covered an israeli army. she was a palestinian christian. nobody eventually left saintjosephs. the eastjerusalem hospital is famous for its maternity ward known for its care forjewish and muslim staff alike. the staff: a of healing but all that felt under threat as security forces stomped into the hospital, as we discovered. this is now a hospital under siege. the forces defended its actions. it said 300 writers arrived at the hospital but this claim has been discredited. some people

through storms and it was protecting the funeral plan but the family disputes this. and it was the healers that ended up it was the healers that ended up with words. this neonatal intensive care doctor told me how he was burnt by a stun grenade. how he was burnt by a stun grenade-— how he was burnt by a stun urenade. ., ., , , grenade. one of them was very close to my _ grenade. one of them was very close to my feet _ grenade. one of them was very close to my feet and _ grenade. one of them was very close to my feet and it - close to my feet and it exploded and it gave burns to my feet. fix. exploded and it gave burns to m feet. �* , exploded and it gave burns to m feet. �* ., , my feet. a review is already bein: my feet. a review is already being announced _ my feet. a review is already being announced into - my feet. a review is already being announced into the i being announced into the funeral policing but the fossa decline to respond to claims by the vatican spokesman. tom bateman, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a still to come: 17—year—old striker becomes the a 17—year—old striker becomes the first professional foot taller in three decades to come out as gay. ——

footballer. this morning, an indian air force plane, carrying mr gandhi's body, landed in delhi. the president of india walked to the plane to solemnly witness mr gandhi's final return from the political battlefield. ireland has voted overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage. in doing so, it has become the first country in the world to approve the change in a national referendum. it was a remarkable climax. to what was surely the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. - it's been a peacefulfuneral demonstration so far, but suddenly, the police are tear—gassing the crowd. we don't yet know why. the pre—launch ritual is well—established here. helen was said to be in good spirits, butjust a little apprehensive. in the last hour, east timor has become _ the world's newest nation. it was a bloody birth for a poor country, i and the challengesl ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, i

it is time to celebrate. this is bbc world news. our main headline: wounded ukrainian soldiers are driven away from the azovstal steel plant after months under russian siege. i'v e i've been speaking to bradley bowman senior director at the foundation for the defence of democracies. i asked foundation for the defence of democracies. iasked him foundation for the defence of democracies. i asked him what he made of the latest from azovstal and the fierce resistance shown by ukrainian forces and azovstal.— resistance shown by ukrainian forces and azovstal. before the invasion a _ forces and azovstal. before the invasion a lot _ forces and azovstal. before the invasion a lot of _ forces and azovstal. before the invasion a lot of us _ forces and azovstal. before the invasion a lot of us were - invasion a lot of us were taught — and accounting vehicles and looking at the supremacy of the russians, overlooking fundamental

concepts but do they have the means to deploy them. the biggest thing most of us overlook was the determination of free people to defend our homes, when you combine the bravery of the ukrainian people to defend the land from the invasion with the weapons from the united states and british have provided them it's a formidable combination and as a result we have seen in many places in the ukraine the russians reaching a military, commentating point. we saw them defeated in kyiv, they have denied the russians is supremacy, two and a half months into the conflict inflicted more losses on the russians then in ten years in conflict in afghanistan. in some places they have gone on the counteroffensive pushing the counteroffensive pushing the russians back from kharkhiv and all the way back to the russian border, that is not even to speak of heroic offensive at the plant at mariupol which has bought

special —— time to other forces to receive assistance from the united states and others. given our united states and others. given your military — united states and others. given your military background - united states and others. given your military background what l your military background what make the intelligence we get that president putin is taking a direct and military operation?— a direct and military operation? a direct and military oeration? �*, ., ., a direct and military oeration? ., ., operation? it's almost a grand strateuic operation? it's almost a grand strategic version _ operation? it's almost a grand strategic version of _ operation? it's almost a grand strategic version of what - operation? it's almost a grand strategic version of what we . strategic version of what we are seeing on the battlefield. we know russia does not have a well—trained, disciplined non—commissioned officer corps like the united states, the british and ukrainians have, that's why we are seeing a lot of general being brought forward and being killed because they don't have the non—commissioned officers to implement orders with good order and discipline. we are perhaps seeing what he was told about his forces with this much trumpeted modernisation has really panned out that well, so starting to understand ukrainian are not the pushovers that he thought they were and

they will defend their homes. i think he will focus on the mariupol region and the land bridge of crimea and trying to lock in as much of that is possible. lock in as much of that is possible-— lock in as much of that is ossible. ., ., a, ,., possible. you mention mariupol and we have _ possible. you mention mariupol and we have seen _ possible. you mention mariupol and we have seen pictures - possible. you mention mariupol and we have seen pictures of i and we have seen pictures of ukrainian soldiers passed out of the azovstal steelworks, of they refused on numerous occasions to surrender, to meet deadlines being imposed upon them by the russian forces, but i guess there will be a very genuine desire for prisoner exchange on both sides. i mean, that matters to the russians every bit as much as it were to the ukrainians, presumably? president putin doesn't want to miss the extraordinary bravery people wounded and amputations going on in unsanitary conditions without medicine to dull the pain but they have held out, for roughly two and a half months and help thousands,

held 17 battalion tactical groups in and around mariupol, 20,000 true and prevented them from returning to the don best and that's some movement designed to annihilate ukrainian forces. in the history of urban warfare this will go down as an extraordinary stand. president biden will visit buffalo on tuesday to meet members of the community that lost 10 people in a gun attack described as an act of racially—motivated violent extremism. an investigation into the incident is underway to see whether the authorities missed telltale signs left by the suspected gunman. at 86, ruth whitfield was the oldest of the ten victims. her daughter spoke to the media. he took away my mother and my best friend. how dare you.

this needs to be fixed, asap. amen. the bbc�*s nada tawfik is in buffalo, outside the supermarket where the killings took place. there has been a steady stream of people coming to the top �*s grocery store to leave flowers orsee grocery store to leave flowers or see the scene for themselves and everyone we speak to says the same thing they realise this could have been them, anyone from the community could have been inside at the time and they were attacked simply for the colour of their skin. now this is an ongoing investigation and we are hearing more from the authorities say —— they say the gunman would have continued his rampage in other parts of the city if he wasn't stopped but he came to the city of buffalo multiple times before the shooting to do reconnaissance, thatis shooting to do reconnaissance, that is certainly one element of the investigation along with

forensically examining some of his online posts to try to learn more about how he got radicalised online. president biden will be visiting this community along withjoe biden, he will be offering his condolences here, but people here want more than just sympathy. they want to see real action, action when it comes to how the president will tackle systemic racism, how he will tackle gun control, and also extremism that proliferates online, so a lot for president biden to think about and act on when he comes to visit this community. internet censors in china appear to be erasing mentions of a student protest at an elite beijing university. this video, reportedly filmed at the incident, shows students gathering to stop the construction of a wall that would block their access to the school canteen and food deliveries. beijing has been gradually tightening covid restrictions, leading to rising social tensions. peking university has been a politically sensitive location since 1989 when student protests

there grew into the tiananmen square pro—democracy movement, which ended in a military crackdown. a 17—year old footballer who plays for blackpool in the championship, the second tier in english football, has become the first professional player in the men's game in the uk for more than 30 years to declare publicly that he's gay. jake daniels said the time was right to come out, and explained that hiding his identity had caused stress and mental health problems. the striker also said his team mates had been supportive and he hoped to become a role model for others. our sports editor dan roan reports. he may be at the very start of his career butjake daniels is already a footballing trailblazer. the 17—year—old only made his first—team debut for blackpool earlier this month. today, he became the first professional in the british men's game for more than 30 years to come out publicly as gay. it's been such a long time of lying, and i'vejust

processed and processed every day of how i want to do it, when i want to do it. the day i told my mum and my sister, the day after i scored four, so itjust shows how much of a weight off the shoulders it was, a massive relief, and lying all the time, it has been a struggle, but i feel i am ready to be myself, be free and be confident with it all. justin fashanu was the last active male professional in the british game to come out publicly in 1990, suffering years of homophobic abuse. he took his own life in 1998. with more of a focus on inclusivity, there has been progress since. last yearjosh cavallo, who plays in australia, revealed this. i am a footballer and i am gay. the only top flight—male professional footballer the world to come out. in making his decision, daniels has received the support of his club blackpool and praise from across the game. some will be surprised that in this day and age a player

revealing their sexuality has made so many headlines, but others believe this is truly a historic moment forfootball, despite the issues that it continues to confront. he is going down a path many, many others will follow. they have probablyjust been waiting to see how it pans out for whoever is first and i think once they see that the overwhelming majority of people will be more than accepting, others will follow suit. when it comes to gay players, the women's professional game remember the act remains far more representative than the men's, but many feel that by leading the way daniels can break the stigma attached to homosexuality in sport. dan roan, bbc news, blackpool. wa nt to want to draw your attention to our online offering stop is our main story, the fighters leaving mariupol steelworks, this is the azovstal iron and steel were, pretty much completely destroyed by russian

bombardment over the last few weeks and what will become of those soldiers, many of them wounded, we wait to find out. have a look on the website. hello. the weather's been all over the place in the last few days. yes, we've had some sunshine, some warmth, too, but also big thundery downpours, particularly in northwestern england and in northern ireland recently. now, on the satellite picture, you can see the motion of the cloud — it's mostly coming in out of the south and the south—west. so that's where the warm weather is coming from, too. and here are the thunderstorms we've recently had — now most of them have died away, we still have a little bit of rain here and there, but i think through the early hours of tuesday morning, it is a mostly dry picture out there with clear spells, a bit of residual cloud, that's pretty much it. oh, and mistand murk forming in the countryside, too. now, the temperatures early on tuesday will range from around eight celsius

in aberdeen to 12 in norwich, london, and along the south coast of england. now there is rain in the forecast for tuesday, but it'll be mostly affecting western areas of the uk. so, here it is, this weather front — in the morning, maybe just about fringing cornwall into western parts of wales, and spreading northwards. but notice how this area of rain expands during the course of the day, progressively getting wetter around these western areas. but further towards the east, the weather will be dry, hazy sunshine at the very least, and sunny closer to the north sea, and look at the temperatures — 26 in london, and easily into the low—to—mid—20s in yorkshire, as well. and then, tuesday evening, that rain will reach wales, the north—west of england, and move further north into scotland, as well, and there could be some thunderstorms returning to southern parts of the uk, as well, tuesday evening. here's a look at wednesday's weather map — still dominated by an area of low pressure and these south—westerly winds pushing in very volatile

weather systems, difficult to predict, really. but the thinking is that on wednesday, we'll see a return of thundery showers quite probably to south—western parts of the uk, whereas further east and north, it should be sunnier. but look at that, northern ireland closer to the weather front — so there's likely to be some rain, too. and here's the outlook from tuesday onwards, just about into the weekend — it will be changeable, staying on the warm side with sunny spells, but always a risk of showers with thunderstorms.

this is bbc news. the headlines: ukraine says more than 200 and 60 soldiers from the azovstal steelworks in mariupol have been evacuated. the defence ministry said all of them would return to ukrainian territory under exchange agreements with moscow. 50 are said to have been taken to local hospitals but in russian—held areas. elsewhere, ukrainian troops are thought to be back in control of territory on the russian border near kharkiv, the country's second city. western military sources say president putin is now directly involved in the day—to—day running of the conflict, a sign the war wasn't going to plan. president biden is expected to visit buffalo, new york, to meet families of the victims of saturday's mass shooting that killed ten people. it's the worst so far

in the us this year.