laura bicker reporting there. - that may prove difficult. laura bicker reporting there.er reporting there. why did those people she was talking about go to the azovstal steel plant in the beginning of the war? why did civilians go into those bunkers and why did those fighters go there? well, the azovstal steelworks is a vast steel and iron plant, one of the biggest in the world. it stretches for miles. it was built in 1930 and in the soviet era, they built dozens of bunkers underneath that steelworks, some, about a half dozen were built to withstand a nuclear attack. there's a huge of tunnels underneath. that is why the ukrainian fighters felt it was a natural fortress for them to go to and why many civilians at the start of the war flocked there for safety. i've been talking about the plant to the director general of the azovstal steelworks. translation: we never thought about it until 2014 _ we never thought about it until 2014 we — we never thought about it until 2014. we didn't imagine it as —— that azovstal could be a fortress or such an _ that azovstal could be a f

distant explosions laura bicker, bbc news, near zaporizhzhia.s it will suspend deliveries of electricity to finland from saturday, a day after the country said it would apply to join nato. the russian—owned company, rao nordic, said it had not been paid for previous deliveries. it did not say whether this was due to the impact of sanctions. the finnish power operator said russia provided 10% of finland's electricity, and this could be replaced with alternative sources. on the rwanda policy mounted by the uk government to remove asylum—seekers who cross illegally by small boats across the channel into the uk and other means, it's looking like 50 migrants have been notified of removal to rwanda, so 50 migrants have been told that the uk government is to move them. this is been revealed in an interview with the daily mail newspaper, the home office said it would start to inform the first planned to send to rwanda, including some people... they have 7-14 including some people... they have 7—14 days to lodge objections. stay with us on bbc news. stil

laura bicker, bbc news, near zaporizhzhia. the very latest from our team right on the front—line.iupol area. but what's happening inside the city itself? all eyes have been on the azovstal steel works where the last remaining ukrainian fighters in mariupol have been holed up for weeks. now new satellite imagery show the extent of russia's relentless air and ground bombardment of the plant to get those fighters out and finally declare a much—needed victory in a war that so farfor moscow isn't going according to plan. to the north in kharkiv, for instance, ukrainian troops have managed to push russian forces away from the city, the country's second largest. it's a success on a par with the defence of the capital itself a month ago when russian heavy armour was outmanoeuvred and routed by more agile, smaller ukrainian units. there are more problems further east for the russian military in sievierodonetsk. in this drone footage, an armoured column is trying to cross a river but ukrainian artillery, recently bolstered by the arrival of american howitzers, appears to have destroyed an e

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia.ng place in russia ahead of victory day tomorrow, when the country will celebrate the defeat of nazi germany. there'll be the usual military parade in moscow's red square and other cities, but this year the backdrop is of course, what's going on here in ukraine. it'll be a chance to rally people around the flag, but vladimir putin, is being accused of using the memory of world war ii, to justify his war. from moscow, here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg. this time of year, the traffic in moscow gets rather heavy. it's the final practice for the annual military parade. victory day marks the defeat of hitler's germany. but this year, putin's russia on the offensive. rehearsing on red square what moscow says are paratroopers back from ukraine. russia's invasion there is been presented here is another glorious chapter in russia's history. and so you get this. in the run—up to victory day, across russia, organised displays of the letter z, the symbol of russia's offensive in ukraine, f

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia.hile, in kyiv, nancy pelosi, the speaker of the us house of representatives, has made a surprise visit for talks with ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy. she said the united states would stand with ukraine until the "fight is done" and said congress would move quickly to deliver $33 billion worth of aid proposed by president biden. ben brown reports. nancy pelosi is the latest high—profile international political figure to come to kyiv and offer president zelenskyy moral support. and he's getting much more than that from the united states, some $33 billion worth of economic, humanitarian and military assistance promised by president biden. speaking in poland after nancy pelosi had left ukraine, she said ukraine is fighting for everyone's freedom. do not be bullied by bullies. if they're making threats, you cannot back down. that's my view of it, that we're there for the fight. and you cannot fold to a bully. russia is now stepping up its offensive on the eastern front in donbas, r

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. stayed with us here on bbc news.f strict lockdown, authorities in shanghai are beginning to gradually ease covid restrictions. the number of new cases is falling, but thousands of people remain in government run quarantine facilities. robin brant reports from shanghai, where he's still in lockdown. it's taken more than a month, but now shanghai's leaders think this outbreak is contained. so, it's time for a mass clean—up. disinfection by an army of workers, thousands of them, before a gradual opening up. but the brutal war against covid has left a scarred city. people as old as 100 were among those tested positive and taken to quarantine centres. one man detailed what he saw first—hand on social media. translation: a lot of- the old people have underlying health problems, and the conditions inside quarantine centres are not good. we hope the elderlies can be sent to better hospitals. in the five weeks i've been locked down — you can't step outside the gates — it's shanghai's most vulnerable who've suffered the most.

laura bicker, bbc news.ophia huang xue—chin, a prominentjournalist who kick—started china's #metoo movement. in september 2021, sophia and a fellow activist were arrested en route to the airport to the uk, where sophia was meant to be studying on a british government scholarship. now, the two are expected to face trial for "inciting subversion of state power." the bbc reveals what happened to sophia and why in the uk, there's been silence. jessie lau reports. translation: i am sophia. i was sexually harassed. this isjournalist huang xue—chin. translation: then he grabbed me, kissed me from the top - of my head to my forehead. a sexual assault drove her to kick—start china's #metoo movement. lastjune, she was awarded a scholarship to pursue gender studies at the university of sussex in the uk, but in september, sophia and another fellow activists were arrested. they are being held on suspicion of inciting that could see them facing behind bars. translation: when i found out she was missing and probably i arre

laura bicker, bbc news, dnipro.nd and sweden tojoin nato. ankara has accused the two nordic countries of harbouring kurdish people it deems terrorists. but the turkish foreign minister now says his country is ready to talk about the proposals. mark lobel reports. with finland and sweden yet to officially apply for nato membership, one of the organisation's members has concerns. ankara has accused the two nordic countries of harbouring kurdish people it deems a threat. turkish people, predominantly, a big majority of the turkish people are against the membership of those countries who are supporting pkk, ypg, terrorist organisations, and asking us to block this membership, but these are the issues that we need to talk, of course, with our nato allies. turkey's decades—long battle with the pkk has come up as both sweden and finland have kurdish communities, but turkey has not shown a link between them and the pkk. a path to bridging the two sides remains open. we have had those discussions in the alliance many times b

laura bicker, bbc news, near zaporizhzhia.ed by andrew d'anieri, who worked with peace corps in ukraine, and now is an assistant director at the atlantic council's eurasia centre. he gave us some insight into how significant turkey's opposition to nato membership for finland and sweden really is. on the nato issue with finland, sweden and turkey's opposition today, i think it is actually remarkable that this is the biggest issue we are seeing to these two countries' accession to nato. nato is typically a years long process that requires deep integration militarily, politically and economically, more than most people realise. and so we are talking about weeks and maybe months rather than years right now. so i think it is not necessarily a surprise that this has come up as a roadblock, but i think it is, we should all realise and recognise that sweden and finland are much closer to nato membership because of the work they have done to integrate with the alliance over the past several years, and my colleagues at the atlantic coun

distant explosions laura bicker, bbc news, near zaporizhzhia.ussian forces are pushing up out of the mariupol area. but what's hapening inside the city itself? clive myrie reports. all eyes have been on the azovstal steelworks, where the last remaining ukrainian fighters in mariupol have been holed up for weeks. now, new satellite imagery shows the extent of russia's relentless air and ground bombardment of the plant to get those fighters out, and finally declare a much—needed victory in a war that so far for moscow isn't going to plan. there are more problems further east for the russian military, in severodonetsk. in this drone footage an armoured column is trying to cross a river, but ukrainian artillery — recently bolstered by the arrival of american howitzers — appears to have destroyed an entire battalion tactical group, which can comprise up to 900 men as well as tanks and armoured personnel carriers. finally, on the black sea coast, attention today has been focused on the small but strategically important snake island. russian forces are

laura bicker, bbc news, dnipro. announced a new iso—million dollar package of military aid for ukraine that will include artillery, munitions, and radars. president biden said the existing funding for ukraine was "nearly exhausted" and urged us congress to pass his proposed assistance package worth 33 billion dollars to — as he put it — �*strengthen ukraine on the battlefield and at the negotiating table'. earlier, i spoke tojohn spencer. he is a retired major and an urban warfare specialist with the madison policy forum. he agreed the supplies coming in from america from this new lend lease bill would be a game changer. people don't win wars byjust fighting, they win by out supplying and reconstituting and logistically supplying, and that is what the ukrainians have, notjust with the us, these packages are game changers but it's really all nations supporting ukraine. it is a game changer, for sure. what sort of weaponry specifically will come from the united states in terms of the tank battles that are taking place

laura bicker, zaporizhzhia. the east of this country, the ukrainian army claims its pushing back against russian advances in some areas. but the town of lysychansk is besieged on three sides by russian troops. most of the town's residents have fled — those who are still there are living in desperate conditions, under constant shelling. andrew harding sent this report. the russians are getting closer. their missiles landing to our left and right, as we take the last road into lysychansk. a farming town under siege. we're following a ukrainian army medic, pointing out the town's latest lacerations. look here. a bomb. he's taking us closer to the front lines, to a hidden base from where his teams scoop up casualties. yes, every day, it is blood, blood, blood, blood. the russians are making a big push now. yeah, yeah. very, very. you'd say the fighting's getting a lot worse now? yeah, very extreme, very extreme and very danger, very. the army have taken over the local hospital. a soldier is brought in by ambulance w

laura bicker, bbc news.ts office says it's deeply concerned about the apparent rapid spread of covid—i9 in north korea. it believes around 700,000 people are ill — and that the country's �*very limited' healthcare system is not equipped to cope. the un said the apparent �*very strict lockdowns�* now in place could have a devastating effect on human rights in the country. 0ur correspondent jean mackenzie reports from neighbouring south korea. dressed as hand sanitisers, north korean children celebrate their country being covid free. just weeks before 0micron finally breached its defences. the country has done little to prepare for what is now a nightmare scenario. people are unvaccinated, malnourished, and hospitals are not equipped to treat them. dr park works as a neurosurgeon in north korea. i've been there over 20 times since 2007 and i was working at a major hospital in pyongyang and i would have trouble seeing ventilators in the icus. they have trouble getting normal supplies, they reuse things like a s

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia.er of missiles — the first strikes in the west of the country in more than a week. the city's mayor says three electricity substations have been damaged, parts of the city are without power and there are outages at some medicalfacilities. he said there's also serious damage to infrastructure and interruptions in the water supply. if you want to get in touch with me over any stories, including ukraine, iam @bbckarishma. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: ukrainian group antytila team up with ed sheeran, releasing a new song partly filmed and recorded while serving in the war against russia. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. but the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and i islam struggled for su

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia.e been hearing, those who managed to evacuate mariupol with the help of aid agencies and ukrainian forces are being taken to the city of zaporizhzhia. but disagreements on safe passages and broken ceasefires have led to many stalled attempts. in the last few hours, though, more than 170 civilians have arrived in zaporizhzhia in a convoy of eight buses. more than 600 people have evacuated mariupol in the last 10 days. among the latest arrivals were a0 people who had been sheltering at the azovstal steel plant. translation: here are - children's paintings that i've brought with me as a souvenir. it was a motivation for me to wake up in the morning. to make breakfast, dinner, to entertain children, to make them forget about war. translation: yes, the plant is in ruins. it was hard to climb over metallic debris. they walked us through some pathways. if there was a workshop before, now, it's like a ruin. well, those military parades taking place in moscow and other russian cities will, of c

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia.s first lady, drjill biden — who both made separate unannounced trips to the country. mr trudeau visited the town of irpin and announced canada will deliver new weapons and equipment to ukraine. the us first lady held talks with her ukrainian counterpart, 0lena zelenska, near the polish border. drjill biden said the visit on what is mother's day in the united states, was intended to show support to the people of ukraine. on monday, there will be military processions in russia to commemorate the soviet victory over nazi germany in 1945. but this year, the sight of tanks and troops on red square in moscow and other russian cities will have an added significance following the invasion of ukraine. the kremlin has been accused of using the memory of world war two to justify its offensive against its neighbour. from moscow, our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports. this time of year, the traffic in moscow gets rather heavy. it's the final practice for the annual military parade. victory d

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. some more of the latest developments on ukraine. the strategically important port city of odesa has been hit by another missile strike. details of injuries are still emerging, but the city council has confirmed a 15—year—old boy was killed. it's the second attack there in just a few days. on saturday, authorities said the runway at odesa's airport had been targeted. european union energy ministers have held an emergency summit on whether to ban supplies from russia. they've held back from banning the purchase of oil and gas, but emphasised there would be sanctions on member nations who paid for russian natural gas in roubles. the european football governing body, uefa, has banned russia's national team and club sides from its competitions for next season. that extends the current ban, which affected this current season. uefa also said russia's bid to host the euro 2028 or the euro 2032 tournaments have also been declared ineligible. israel has summoned the russian ambassador after the

our correspondent, laura bicker, reports. a brutal and bloody 83 days, but their battle is over for now. the wounded from azovstal are carried out of the vast steel plant filmed by the very force they've been fighting. russia will be keen to air these images which, they say, show surrender but the ukrainians say this deal is about survival. tonight, as more fighters lay down their arms and are taken into russian territory, ukrainian leaders are keen to stress this was a way to save the country's heroes. for more than two months, the russians have bombarded this industrial site. analysts believe the latest attack used phosphorus bombs, but a small fighting force refused to give up. they may have also helped prevent russia from pushing further north. translation: thanks to the mariupol - defenders the enemy was prevented from deploying 20,000 personnel into other regions. and so was unable to rapidly take zaporizhzhya. civilians also used the site's vast network of tunnels as a refuge, aided by soldiers. but supplies dwindled a

laura bicker, bbc news, near zaporizhzhia.mes trial since russia's invasion. a 21—year—old soldier appeared in the dock accused of killing an unarmed civilian. he faces life in prison if convicted. ukraine says it has identified thousands of potential war crimes committed by russia. moscow denies targeting civilians and made no comment about the trial. ukraine's state prosecutor there will soon there will be a lot more of these cases. let's get some of the day's other news. at least 27 people have been killed and more than a0 injured in a fire in delhi. the blaze started on the first floor of a a—storey building and witnesses say several people jumped to safety as it spread. more than 20 fire trucks and ambulances have been at the scene. two days after north korea officially acknowledged its first covid cases, official media say another twenty—one people have died. the state news agency also said over 170,000 more people showed symptoms compared with the day before. the north korean leader, kimjong—un, described the outbreak a

laura bicker, bbc news, dnipro.announced a new $150 million package of military aid for ukraine that will include artillery, munitions and radars. president biden said the existing funding for ukraine was "nearly exhausted" and urged us congress to pass his proposed assistance package worth $33 billion to, as he put it, "strengthen ukraine on the battlefield and at the negotiating table". earlier i spoke to veteran diplomat ambassador daniel fried. he helped lead the west's response to moscow's annexation of crimea in 2014 as sanctions coordinator in the 0bama administration. i asked him about the us lend lease bill and its importance to ukraine. the lend—lease bill has enormous symbolic significance and the fact that it passed congress overwhelmingly, with republicans and democrats uniting, is a very good sign for american leadership of this effort to push back on putin's aggression against ukraine. now, the $33 billion is necessary. the lend—lease bill provides some streamlining but it isn't, to be honest, quite t

laura bicker, bbc news, dnipro.nkara has accused the two nordic countries of harbouring kurdish people it deems terrorists. but the turkish foreign minister now says his country is ready to talk about the proposals. russia's president vladimir putin has warned his finnish counterpart that joining nato and abandoning finland's neutral status would be a "mistake". finland is expected to formally announce its intention to join the western military alliance tomorrow. russia and finland share a1300—kilometre border and russia says it has no hostile intentions towards finland and sweden. moscow is warning that their membership of nato would lead to the militarisation of the baltic region. the finnish president is said to have told president putin that russia's invasion of ukraine had "altered" his country's security environment. speaking ahead of a meeting of nato foreign minsiters — finland's foreign minister pekka haavisto explained his country's situation. we have 1,300 kilometre common border and it is peaceful and we

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia.ia. but disagreements on safe passages and broken ceasefires have led to many stalled attempts. but in the last few hours, more than 170 civilians have arrived in zaporizhzhia in a convoy of eight buses. more than 600 people had evacuated mariupol in the past 10 days — among the latest arrivals were a0 people who had been sheltering at the azovstal steel plant. translation: here are children's paintings - that i brought with me as a souvenir. it was a motivation for me to wake up in the morning, to make breakfast, dinner, to entertain children, to make them forget about war. translation: yes, the plant is in ruins. it was hard to climb over metallic debris. they walked us through some pathways. if there was a workshop before, now it's like a ruin. on monday, there will be military processions in russia to commemorate the soviet victory over nazi germany in 1945. but this year, the sight of tanks and troops on red square in moscow and other russian cities will have an added significance

laura bicker, bbc news, dnipro.se has announced a new iso—million dollar package of military aid for ukraine that will include artillery, munitions, and radars. president biden said the existing funding for ukraine was "nearly exhausted" and urged us congress to pass his proposed assistance package worth 33 billion dollars to — as he put it �*strengthen ukraine on the battlefield and at the negotiating table'. john spencer is a retired major who is an urban warfare specialist with the madison policy forum. he's in colorado springs. interesting that president biden with this package of many billions is talking about strengthening not only armaments but also at the negotiating table so could this be a game changer? absolutely, --eole be a game changer? absolutely, peeple win _ be a game changer? absolutely, peeple win wars _ be a game changer? absolutely, people win wars not _ be a game changer? absolutely, people win wars notjust - be a game changer? absolutely, people win wars notjust bad - people win wars notjust b

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. let's get some of the other main stories. korea has fired an unidentified object into the sea on the east coast of the country, just a week after kim jong un said he would develop nuclear weapons as fast as possible. north korea has carried out 14 major weapons tests this year and this latest has been fired just days before the newly elected south korean president, yoon suk—yeol takes office on may 10. it's the final day of campaigning, ahead of the local elections in the uk on thursday. seats are up for grabs in every scottish and welsh council. 90 members will be voted to the legislative assembly in northern ireland, and in england, voters will choose 4,000 councillors in 146 local authorities. the world's richest man, and new twitter owner, elon musk, says the social media network will remain free for personal users. but, the tycoon said — in a tweet — that there would be a small charge for commercial and government users. donald trump's hold over the us republican party has passed its first big test in the state of ohio,

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia.elopments taking place in ukraine right now. european union energy ministers have held an emergency summit on whether to ban supplies from russia. they've held back from banning the purchase of oil and gas, but emphasised there would be sanctions on member nations who paid for russian natural gas in roubles. the european football governing body, uefa, has banned russia's national team and club sides from its competitions for next season. that extends the current ban, which affected this current season. uefa also said russia's bid to host the euro 2028 or the euro 2032 tournaments have also been declared ineligible. israel has summoned moscow's ambassador there for what it called clarifications after russia's foreign minister claimed that adolf hitler had jewish blood. sergei lavrov made the comments on italian television, after being asked how russia could claim to be denazifying ukraine when president zelensky himself isjewish. for the latest we can now speak to our north american ——

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia.as been hosting the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, and the us first lady, drjill biden, who both made separate unannounced trips to the country. mr trudeau visited the town of irpin and in a press conference with president zelensky he announced canada will deliver new weapons and equipment to ukraine. the us first lady held talks with her ukrainian counterpart, 0lena zelenska, near the polish border. drjill biden said the visit on what is mother's day in the united states was intended to show support to the people of ukraine. on monday, there will be military processions in russia to commemorate the soviet victory over nazi germany in 1916. but this year, the sight of tanks and troops on red square in moscow — and other russian cities will have an added significance following the invasion of ukraine. from moscow, our russia editor steve rosenberg reports. this time of year, the traffic in moscow gets rather heavy. it's the final practice for the annual military parade. victor

distant explosions laura bicker, bbc news, near zaporizhzhia.ew, who worked at the peace corps in ukraine now an assistant director at the atlanta council's eurasian centre. we are seeing some of the power battles that continue there in ukraine from our colleagues who are there, but also of course we are hearing about nato potentially expanding finland and sweden in the news over the past few days. but then president erdogan of turkey talking about being against that and not approving. of that particular measure. how do you see this playing out? fin particular measure. how do you see this playing out?— see this playing out? on the nato issue _ see this playing out? on the nato issue with _ see this playing out? on the nato issue with finland, - see this playing out? on the - nato issue with finland, sweden and turkey's opposition today, i think it is actually remarkable that this is the biggest issue we are seeing to these two countries' a session to nato. nato is typically a years long process that requires deep integration militarily, political

laura bicker, bbc news, dnipro.nnounced 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

laura bicker, bbc news, dnipro.s appointing administrators, putting 16,000 jobs at risk. tonight, there's hope of a rescue deal being put together by the billionaire brothers who co—own asda. a teenager has been jailed for six and a half years for the manslaughter of 14—year—old dea—john reid in birmingham last year. the teen, who cannot be named due to his age, was cleared of murder last month. a statment read in court on behalf of dea—john�*s mother said her son had been chased down by a "lynch mob" before he was stabbed in the heart. covid infections have fallen across every nation of the uk. around two million people are estimated to have had the virus last week, according to the 0ns — that's a drop of almost a third. the number of people in hospital with covid has also fallen tojust over 10,000, the lowest number since the end of february. the duke and duchess of sussex have announced they will be attending celebrations for the queen's platinum jubilee next month with their children. but the queen has decided t

laura bicker, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme...h line is officially opened. 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's 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 get into a pop singer. it's been a peaceful funeral demonstration so far, - but police are tear gassing - the crowd, we don't yet know why. the prelaunch 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 bloodbath for a poor country and the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, it has time to celebrate. this is newsday on the bbc. 0ur headlines... president biden has visited b

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia.ou some more of the latest developments on ukraine. european union energy ministers have held an emergency summit on whether to ban supplies from russia. they've held back from banning the purchase of oil and gas, but emphasised there would be sanctions on member nations who paid for russian natural gas in roubles. paying roubles through the recognise of the russian authorities, and the second dedicated account is a violation of the sanctions and cannot be accepted. the member states and the company should not have any illusions that they can rely on the good faith of gazprom, and the russian regime in this matter. israel has summoned moscow's ambassador there for what it called clarifications, after russia's foreign minister claimed that adolf hitler had "jewish blood". sergey lavrov made the comments on italian television, after being asked how russia could claim to be denazifying ukraine, when president zelenskyy himself, isjewish. the european football governing body, uefa, has ban

laura bicker, bbc news. live to kyiv and our chief international correspondent lyse doucet. the significance of what has happened in mariupol when you consider the wider context of the conflict? , , ., ., ., ., ~ conflict? this is a ma'or marker in the war, conflict? this is a ma'or marker in the war. its h conflict? this is a major marker in the war, its bloodiest _ conflict? this is a major marker in the war, its bloodiest battle - conflict? this is a major marker in the war, its bloodiest battle is - conflict? this is a major marker in the war, its bloodiest battle is all| the war, its bloodiest battle is all but over, and the story of mariupol will now live in infamy as the place that russia blasted and bombed and besieged into submission. mariupol is now a byword for suffering and it is now a byword for suffering and it is known the world over but it has also been a symbol of the defiance and determination of ukrainian fighters, and since early march there were predictions that the city would fall within days and ukrainian fighters held on. but now that mariupol has all

laura bicker, bbc news, dnipro. has announced a new multi—billion dollar package of military aid for ukraine that will include artillery, munitions, and radars. president biden said the existing funding for ukraine was "nearly exhausted" and urged us congress to pass his proposed assistance package worth 33—billion dollars to — as he put it — �*strengthen ukraine on the battlefield and at the negotiating table'. ambassador daniel fried is a veteran diplomat who is now at the atlantic council. he helped lead the wests response to moscow s annexation of crimea in 2014 as sanctions coordinator in the 0bama administration. he's in washington. this bill is going to be worth billions and billions but what will do effectively in terms of arms supplies from the to ukraine?— arms supplies from the to ukraine? , ., ., , ukraine? this has enormous symbolic— ukraine? this has enormous symbolic significance - ukraine? this has enormous symbolic significance and . ukraine? this has enormous| symbolic significance and the fact tha

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia.le — in kyiv — nancy pelosi, the speaker of the us house of representatives, has made a surprise visit for talks with ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky. she said the united states would stand with ukraine until the "fight is done" and said congress would move quickly to deliver 33 billion dollars worth of aid proposed by president biden. my colleague ben brown reports. nancy pelosi is the latest high—profile international political figure to come to kyiv and offer president zelensky moral support. and he's getting much more than that from the united states, some $33 billion worth of economic, humanitarian and military assistance, promised by president biden. speaking in poland after nancy pelosi had left ukraine, she said ukraine is fighting for everyone's freedom. do not be bullied by bullies. if they're making threats, you cannot back down. that's my view of it, that we're there for the fight. and you cannot fold to a bully. russia is now stepping up its offensive on the eastern

laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. do stay with us. still to come.by chinese companies operating in europe i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterand. but the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and i islam struggled for supremacy. now, the pope's visit - symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in underfour minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in the future of peace and freedom. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines... the us political website politico says it has seen a majority opinion, leaked from the supreme court, saying it has voted to strike down the landmark roe versus wade decision, which legalised abortion. attempts to evacuate more civili

laura bicker, bbc news.iden has travelled to buffalo in new york state, to meet the families of the ten people killed in a racially—motivated mass shooting at the weekend. mr biden called white supremacy a poison which is running through the us. the bbc�*s nada tawfik was there as the president spoke and she sent us this report. america has a long and troubled history with racism and guns. the city of buffalo is the latest deadly chapter. joe biden, the latest president to console a community in mourning. in an all too familiar ritual, mr biden and the first lady paid their respects to the victims who were massacred here as they were shopping for groceries. after meeting with family members of the victims, he gave a forceful speech, calling the attack domestic terrorism and urging americans to reject white supremacy. white supremacy is a poison. it's a poison. it's running through... applause. it really is. running through our body politic, and that's been allowed to fester and grow right in front of our eye

laura bicker, bbc news, near zaporizhzhia. the very latest from our team on the front line.and out of the mariupol area. but what is happening in the city itself? all eyes have been on the azovstal steelworks, where the last remaining ukrainian fighters in mariupol have been holed up for weeks. now, new satellite imagery shows the extent of russia's relentless air and ground bombardment of the plant to get those fighters out, and finally declare a much—needed victory in a war that so farfor moscow isn't going to plan. there are more problems further east for the russian military, in severodonetsk. in this drone footage an armoured column is trying to cross a river, but ukrainian artillery — recently bolstered by the arrival of american howitzers — appears to have destroyed an entire battalion tactical group, which can comprise up to 900 men as well as tanks and armoured personnel carriers. finally, on the black sea coast, attention today has been focused on the small but strategically important snake island. russian forces are in control here, but have been under attack from

laura bicker, bbc news, dnipro. in houston, new york, washington, los angeles and chicago. last week, an unpublished draft draft ruling on abortion rights was leaked, suggesting the court will overturn the 1973 decision. on friday, us senate democrats failed to pass a bill to make the right to abortion a federal law. carol tobias is president of the national right to life committee and told us that the current situation is dividing opinion right across america. i know people are upset but i think what most people don't understand, quite frankly, is if the supreme court does overturn roe v wade, abortion will not be illegal across the country, we will have states that protect unborn children and we will have some states that don't, and we will have some states in the middle that will go back and forth. personally, i think abortion should be only allowed if the mothers are in danger. they are alive and growing and should be protected so that would be my position, but this is something that will be decided state—by—sta