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 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 a future of peace and freedom. this is bbc world news. our main story: a further 50 civilians have been evacuated from the mariupol steelworks in ukraine that has been under attack by russian forces. here in the uk, local council
hello and welcome to bbc news. the united nations and the international red cross are continuing their efforts in ukraine to rescue more civilians from the besieged city of mariupol. on friday, 50 more people, including children, were evacuated from a huge steel factory complex. these are the latest pictures of some of those who ve got out. the azovstal plant is under siege by russian forces. dozens are still trapped inside. the city, in the country s south, has been under constant shelling by the russian military. the steelworks has become the last holdout of ukrainian forces who are fighting to defend mariupol. our correspondent laura bicker has sent this report from dnipro. the russian attacks
this is bbc world news. i m tim willcox. our top stories: in ukraine, 3 further 50 civilians are evacuated from the mariupol steelworks that s been under attack by russian forces. the white house announces a new $150 million package of military aid for ukraine, including artillery, munitions and radar. a huge explosion rips through an upmarket hotel in the colonial district of havana. at least 22 people are dead. macro translation you could see people shouting, dust rising a disaster. it was like a horror film, a disaster. it was like a horrorfilm, really. a state of emergency is declared in sri lanka as thousands of protestors demand the resignation of both the president
interest rates rise to their highest level since 2009. rates go up to 1% from 0.75%, as the bank of england tries to curb inflation. profits at energy giant shell almost triple as oil prices surge. also this lunchtime: ukraine says russia s trying to destroy the last group of soldiers in the mariupol steelworks while the kremlin denies it s stormed the complex. covid causes 15 million excess deaths worldwide, according to the who. and did spring come three weeks early? scientists who monitor bird populations think so. and coming up on the bbc news channel, more reaction the late, late drama in madrid, as manchester city are knocked out
would be shut off or boycotted, and that sent the international bidding warfor prices, which means they have made more money than they ever had in their 115 year history. as to what they are going to do with it, they will have a lot of money given to their shareholders, £4.5 billion this quarter, four point billion pounds the next. that includes, by the way, millions are pension savers. they are also pledging to invest between them, bp and shell, over £40 billion in oil infrastructure over the next ten years. people will be looking closely to see if they fulfil those commitments. ukraine s army says russia is trying to destroy the last group of soldiers trapped in the azovstal steelworks plant in mariupol. for the latest, we can join my colleague ben brown in kyiv. yes, it looks like this could be the endgame at the azovstal steelworks in mariupol, where about 2000 ukrainian troops a making a desperate last stand