sense — bitter sense of pride, in the sense that he is in a life—threatening situation, but i'm very— life—threatening situation, but i'm very proud of him. i dream ofthe— i'm very proud of him. i dream ofthe day— i'm very proud of him. i dream of the day when he will return. the british prime minister, borisjohnson, apologises "profusely" to parliament for breaking covid lockdown rules — but he may still face an inquiry into allgations he deliberately misled mps. and a chinese city of nearly eight million people joins shanghai in a full covid lockdown, as authorities try to combat the latest wave of infections. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk, and around the world. let's start with ukraine. western leaders say they'll send more weapons to ukraine, to help its defence forces, fighting a renewed russian offensive in the east of the country. britain's defence ministry says moscow has intensified its shelling of the donbas region, but ukrainian forces have been successful in repelling numerous russian advances. in mariupol, a strategic port on the edge of the donbas, russian—backed separatist fighters have been trying to storm an industrial complex. it's the azovstal works, where the city's last defenders, the azov brigade, have been holding out inside, along with hundreds of civilians. our correspondent catherine byaruhanga sent this report, from a village close to the eastern front line. russia unleashed its long—anticipated assault on eastern ukraine, thousands of troops backed by heavy weaponry on the move. it's a campaign to seize the donbas region, an attempt to salvage some kind of victory after significant losses in the north. another stage of this operation is beginning, this and i'm sure this will be a very important moment of this entire special operation. villages like novoselivka are becoming the new front line of this war. explosion in distance. russian forces have stepped up their bombardments. a small bomb squad has been called into diffuse unexploded munitions. they have to work carefully, but quickly. explosion. there are more and more people needing their services. translation: the enemy has started deploying these - munitions in large numbers, and quite a few of them fail to function in certain conditions. from this village, we can hear live artillery rounds in the distance. they're loud booms. and, this community is trying to prepare itself for a full—on russian offensive. they're doing their best, but this is going to be a difficult, protracted war. mykola ivanovich was home when the explosions started. from a population of 300 people, there are just a handful left in novoselivka. translation: it happened at night, it started - with three massive explosions. at 6am, i got up to work and saw people running around. i saw bits of bombs covering farms. i told them not to go there. some time ago, a woman picked one up over there and got killed. there's a devastating cost to russia's invasion. mariupol in the south has been razed to the ground. aid agencies say thousands of civilians are trapped here, under siege. a few ukrainian forces refuse to let the city fall, holding out in an iron and steel plant. today, russian special forces began storming buildings nearby. but a russian victory is far from certain in ukraine. catherine byaruhanga, bbc news, novoselivka, in the east of ukraine. the last ukrainian soldiers in the besieged port city of mariupol are refusing russia's demands to surrender. ukraine's government says russian forces are using bunker—buster bombs to pound a steel plant, which has become the final stronghold of ukrainian resistance in the city. our correspondent in kyiv mark lowen has been speaking to a relative of one of the fighters inside the plant, desperately hoping for news that he's alive. wade in the fog of war, russia's ferocious firepower is unrelenting. the azovstar steel plant still holding out against the siege of mariupol. perhaps a few hundred ukrainian troops are defending it. the commander calls it hell on earth. around 1000 civilians are holed up in its cold war style bunkers. food, time and water are running out.— food, time and water are running out. family are from the north _ running out. family are from the north of— running out. family are from the north of ukraine, - the north of ukraine, northeast.— the north of ukraine, northeast. , ., ., , northeast. this woman because my cousin. _ northeast. this woman because my cousin, max, _ northeast. this woman because my cousin, max, has _ northeast. this woman because my cousin, max, has gone - northeast. this woman because my cousin, max, has gone fromi my cousin, max, has gone from village buoyed one of mariupol�*s last defenders of ukraine. is been fighting in the steel plant. her last message from him was more than a month ago. how do you feel about him being there? i a month ago. how do you feel about him being there?- about him being there? i feel terrible, honestly. _ about him being there? i feel terrible, honestly. so, - about him being there? i feel terrible, honestly. so, first . terrible, honestly. so, first of all, i feel terrible, honestly. so, first of all, ifeel very terrible, honestly. so, first of all, i feel very sorry and better that maybe i was not talking to him as much as i should while we still had connection, because i didn't want to disturb him. i cannot imagine what will happen, if something will happen to him. i know how hard it will be for my aunt, for my family. [30 know how hard it will be for my aunt, for my family.— aunt, for my family. do you feel proud _ aunt, for my family. do you feel proud of— aunt, for my family. do you feel proud of him? - aunt, for my family. do you feel proud of him? yeah, i feel proud of him? yeah, totally- — feel proud of him? yeah, totally- i _ feel proud of him? yeah, totally. i have _ feel proud of him? yeah, totally. i have never - feel proud of him? yeah, - totally. i have never imagined my cousin to become a true hero of ukraine and hero of mariupol. there is obviously a very bitter sense of pride, in the sense that he is in a life—threatening situation, but i'm very proud of him. i dream of the day when he will return, and we will be able to meet again, and i will be able to tell this to him. do you feel he will return? _ tell this to him. do you feel he will return? i— tell this to him. do you feel he will return? i honestly, i he will return? i honestly, that's the _ he will return? i honestly, that's the only _ he will return? i honestly, that's the only thing - he will return? i honestly, that's the only thing i - that's the only thing i believe, as hard as i could, because i cannot imagine the situation otherwise. ijust cannot imagine, because it will be such a harsh moment for my family, and i was thinking, like, what would happen if, one day, i would receive a message that max has died. like, what would i do? and ijust started crying in the middle of the street, because i don't have any answer to that. if street, because i don't have any answer to that.- any answer to that. if you could give _ any answer to that. if you could give a _ any answer to that. if you could give a message - any answer to that. if you could give a message to i any answer to that. if you . could give a message to max right now, what would you say? max, i know that you are very strong, and yourfamily max, i know that you are very strong, and your family loves you a lot, and we are waiting for you, and we are sure that you will come back and you will be our hero, and you will have a great life in the free ukraine, after victory. mark lowen, ukraine, after victory. mark lowen. bbc— ukraine, after victory. mark lowen, bbc news, - ukraine, after victory. mark lowen, bbc news, kia. - mark lowen, bbc news, kyiv. kateryna malofieieva is a ukrainian journalist — she joins us now from kyiv. thank you so much for being part of today's programme. not only have you been covering this war from the beginning, you have been living it too, you have been living it too, you have been living it too, you have moved around, you have beenin you have moved around, you have been in car cave, dnipro, lviv and now kyiv, how have things changed during the course of the war? ,., ., ., , the war? good morning. it is actually quite _ the war? good morning. it is actually quite difficult - the war? good morning. it is actually quite difficult still, l actually quite difficult still, the war is still ongoing, and the war is still ongoing, and the places where i had visited, i definitely can say that it's not safe anywhere. for example, i visited lviv, and during those days when i stayed there, there were four missile strikes in lviv. so for example if you want to take some rest from the bombardment but it is intensive in the east of ukraine, it can catch up with you in the western part of ukraine as well, where a lot of civilians are fleeing, seeking for the safe haven for themselves from different cities of the eastern part of ukraine.— different cities of the eastern part of ukraine. now, we heard in that interview _ part of ukraine. now, we heard in that interview mark - part of ukraine. now, we heard in that interview mark lowen i in that interview mark lowen did, talking about that woman's brother, max, one of the last fighters left in mariupol. throughout this, there has been extraordinary bravery, and people around the world have really been surprised and taken aback by the strength of the ukrainian resistance that has been put up in the face of sometimes extraordinary odds. what gives people the strength to carry on, do you think? well, it is pretty obvious. this is a piece of their land, this is a part of their land, because for many soldiers who came to fight, who signed the contract with the ministry of defence, their ultimate goal is to protect the borders of the country. and also there are no guarantees for those people as well that you know about, the ultimatums that the russian side poses for those remaining in the azov star steel plant. there is no safety guarantees to the passage out. as one mentioned yesterday, some people in the command of on tuesday, he apologised for attending a birthday party in 2020 during lockdown, but insisted he wasn't aware he was breaking the law at the time. the bbc�*s deputy political editor vicki young has this report. he may want to talk about something else, but this isn't over yet. reporter: did you lie - to parliament, prime minister? boris johnson's honesty and integrity are being questioned. jeering. many of his mps offered support as he made a choreographed commons entrance with his chancellor. "you're cheering a criminal", shouted labour. i now call the prime minister. all he could do was apologise — again. it did not occur to me then, or subsequently, that a gathering in the cabinet room just before a vital meeting on covid strategy could amount to a breach of the rules. jeering. i repeat, that was my mistake, and i apologise for it unreservedly. mrjohnson said last week he'd been fined for a gathering with colleagues that had lasted just nine minutes. the labour leader accused him of coming up with insulting and absurd excuses. what a joke. even now, as the latest mealy—mouthed apology stumbles out of one side of his mouth, a new set of deflections and distortions pour from the other. but the damage is already done. the public have made up their mind. they don't believe a word the prime minister says. the most uncomfortable moment for the prime minister and his chancellor came when sir keir talked about a husband who couldn't be with his wife in hospital. john would have given the world to hold his dying wife's hand, even if it was just for nine minutes. but he didn't, because he followed the prime minister's rules. the prime minister continues to apologise for his behaviour, but he's effectively downplaying the seriousness of his lawbreaking, saying there are far more important things a prime minister should be concentrating on, but this wall of tributes to those who lost their lives to covid goes some way to explaining why it could be so difficult for him to move the debate on. lockdown and the harsh restrictions we all lived under for so long won't be easily forgotten. scotland yard continues to investigate, which means mrjohnson and conservative mps can't be sure the trouble is over for the government. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: chinese authorities try to combat the latest wave of covid infections as a city of nearly eight million peoplejoins shanghai in returning to a full lockdown. the stars and stripes at half—mast outside columbine high. the school sealed off. the bodies of the dead still inside. i never thought that they would actually go through with it. choir sings. one of the most successful singer—songwriters of all time, the american pop star prince has died at the age of 57. ijust couldn't believe it, didn't believe it, he wasjust here on saturday. for millions of americans, j the death of richard nixon in a new york hospital has i meant conflicting emotions. a national day of mourning next wednesday sitting somehow- uneasily with the abiding i memories of the shame of watergate. and lift—off of the space shuttle discovery, with the huddle space telescope, our window on the universe. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: ukrainian forces say they're holding out against russia's latest attacks — despite intense bombardment in the eastern donbas region. kyiv accuses russian forces of using bunker—buster bombs — as the last ukrainian soldiers in the besieged port city of mariupol refuse to surrender. china has reported just under 20,000 new coronavirus cases. the major steel city of tangshan in eastern china, has a population pushing eight million. it has also just matched shanghai more than a thousand kilometres further south, in returning to full covid lockdown. shanghai itself has reported covid—i9 deaths for two days in a row. these are the first confirmed deaths since 2020 but china has been accused of downplaying the numbers. well, let's get the latest from our correspondent, stephen mcdonell who joins now me from beijing. stephen, it only took one new symptomatic infection to confine more than seven million people in tangshan to their homes. how is this approach being received in china? well, tangshan is just well, tangshan isjust one well, tangshan is just one of the many cities currently locked down. i mean, there are dozens of towns and cities locked down in china at the moment. you can imagine the impact on the economy here, on the livelihoods of people, on the livelihoods of people, on the morale of the country, tangshan apart from having nearly 8 million people is a steel city. they have been in lockdown her month ago they have just gone back into lot down again, very bad news for the people who live there. and in shanghai, the city of 25 million people, the authorities are struggling to manage, but still, at times it's been completely chaotic, there are signs now residents of that city are not going along with what the government says, they are not coming downstairs, to have the tests, as they are supposed to do. of course, they are worried, firstly if they will catch covid—i9 and if they do catch covid—i9 they might be forced to go to one of these centralised isolation facilities, where they will be sleeping on camp beds, and huge hangers, next to people who may be much more sick than they are, and this includes very old people, frail, elderly, people who are weak and have other sicknesses, being made to go to the squalid isolation facilities, and it all seems like it's to be part of this on wielding commitment to zero covid—i9, that the government here is sort of rolling out in a mantra type fashion. and it's unable to shift policy. it's had this great policy that worked for so long with no vaccines but itjust doesn't seem to fit with the omicron variant, and with people who are increasingly vaccinated. just briefly, how well—founded are those fears of contagion in those isolation centres because that seems to be at the heart of this problem, doesn't it, people do not want to go and get tested, find they have it, not have especially badly and are asymptomatic then they end “p are asymptomatic then they end up in a worse situation as a result of these conditions? yes, because the problem is, in china, asymptomatic can be someone who has a fever, coughing and spluttering, actually feeling quite unwell but doesn't have pneumonia, hasn't had a chest scan, another person who is asymptomatic might be feeling completely fine. instead of letting that person just stay at home and recover all over the world, people with omicron are staying indoors and within are staying indoors and within a few days getting better. no, the chinese authorities, that's not part of the plan so you have to go into the centres no matter what extent of the illness is, and, imagine, like as i say you don't have many symptoms you go to this mass isolation centre sleeping on a camp bed with someone coughing and spluttering all over you, it can make you worse, make your conditions much worse than your conditions much worse than you are and you might even end “p you are and you might even end up in hospital as a result. you very much _ up in hospital as a result. you very much for— up in hospital as a result. you very much for your _ up in hospital as a result. you very much for your time - up in hospital as a result. you very much for your time and your analysis. let's get some of the day's other news: at least 9 people have been killed in a series of explosions in the afghan capital, kabul, which were reportedly aimed at schoolchildren. it's thought the islamic state group was behind the attacks in a western part of the city. a bomb blast at a bar in eastern nigeria has killed at least five people. 19 others were seriously wounded in the explosion in the town of iware in taraba state. eyewitnesses said the bomb had been hidden in a bag. shares have fallen sharply for the streaming service, netflix, after it reported a loss of subscribers for the first time in more than a decade. its customers dropped by 200,000 between january and march. prince harry has given an interview to the us tv network, nbc and said he and his wife meghan had a "great" time visiting the queen at windsor castle last week. harry, who's in the netherlands for the invictus games, also added that california now felt like home. speaking to today's hoda kotb, he said the meeting with his grandmother allowed him to check she had "the right people around her". it was so nice to see you, she always has a great sense of humour with me and making sure she is protected with the right people. she is protected with the right --eole. ., ., ~' she is protected with the right --eole. ., ., ~ ,. she is protected with the right --eole. ., ., people. you make you laugh, that's what — people. you make you laugh, that's what she _ people. you make you laugh, that's what she says. - people. you make you laugh, that's what she says. did - people. you make you laugh, that's what she says. did you | that's what she says. did you do it again?— that's what she says. did you do it again? megan and i had a team of us. — do it again? megan and i had a team of us, so _ do it again? megan and i had a team of us, so nice _ do it again? megan and i had a team of us, so nice to - do it again? megan and i had a team of us, so nice to catch i do it again? megan and i had a team of us, so nice to catch up with her. home forming for the time being is the states and it feels like that as well stop we have been welcomed with open arms and we have such a great community in santa barbara. 50 community in santa barbara. so ou community in santa barbara. so you feel like that's home for you? you feel like that's home for ou? . , let's have all the latest sports news now. hello, i'm marc edwards with your sport and no better place to kick off than at anfield where liverpool returned to the top of the english premier league for the first time since september, courtesy of a crushing 4—0 victory over bitter rivals manchester united. it didn't takejurgen klopp's side long to break the deadlock. luis diaz scoring after 5 minutes. a sadio mane goal sandwiched by a mo salah double extending the hosts' unbeaten record in the league to 13 matches. they now have a 2—point lead over manchester city, who play brighton later on wednesday. he was alone in front of the gold, a fantastic goal, the second one, outstanding goal, how we played that, with saleh, yes, could have got more, unnecessary really, we are not here that, possibly a good night for all with liverpool out. and fulham will be playing the likes of liverpool and manchester united next season having sealed their immediate return to the premier league with four games to spare. they cruised past preston north end 3—0 in their championship clash at craven cottage courtesy of a double from aleksander mitrovic. it means marco silva's side could effectively secure the league title as early as saturday if they win at second—placed bournemouth. former tennis world number one ashleigh barty has fuelled speculation she may attempt a top—level career in a third sport by signing up to for a golf exhibition. the aussie announced her shock retirement from tennis in march aged just 25. she is a keen amateur golfer with a reported handicap of four. she'll play in the icon series injuly, alongside manchester city boss pep guardiola and olympic champion swimmer michael phelps. barty had previously turned her hand to professional cricket, playing in the women's big bash league in 2015. to tennis and british number one cameron norrie found his feet on clay with a hard—fought victory over world number155, egor gerasimov in his opening match at the barcelona open. norrie had to come from a set down and an early break down in the third to take the victory for a 16th win of the year. dominic thiem's latest comeback ended with an opening—match defeat at the serbia open in belgrade. the former world number three playing his first atp tour match since suffering a wrist injury lastjune which needed surgery, was beaten in three sets by australia's john millman. thiem initially made his comeback from injury at the challenger event in marbella last month, losing to pedro cachin, but was then sidelined by covid—i9. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, marc edwards, and the rest of the sport team, goodbye. business coming up in five minutes time, we will talk about netflix, it has lost subscribers for the first time in a decade. it says password sharing is partly to blame. is that you? let me know. hello. for the keen gardeners out there, if your garden and your planters are looking a little bit parched at the moment and you missed out on some of the showers we saw on tuesday, you're going to be grabbing the watering can for the rest of this week — very little rain around. there will be a few showers across western areas, but notice how high pressure is dominating the weather charts in and around the uk, pushing rain—bearing low pressure systems down towards iberia, time and time again. and through the week, the breeze will be strengthening. in fact, a bit more breeze tonight across england and wales into the morning, which means it won't be quite as chilly as it has been. but for scotland and northern ireland, a touch of frost and patchy mist and fog around. that should clear by the end of the morning rush hour. there will be some cloud drifting westwards across england and wales, but overall, a lot more sunshine around on wednesday, compared with tuesday, although a few showers will pop up through the afternoon across some of these western districts. most, though, dry. as i said, a bit more of an easterly breeze, making it feel cooler along those north sea coasts of england especially, 9—10 celsius for one or two, but actually, the air�*s a little bit warmer than tuesday, so central and western areas, temperatures up to around 16—17. 17 also possible in and around the moray firth as well. now, as we go through wednesday night into thursday, we continue with a predominantly dry story. a little bit of cloud drifting in on that breeze, but with the breeze continuing to pick up, notice how the temperatures aren't going to drop as much. we should be clear of a frost as we go into thursday morning. a lot of dry and sunny weather, though, to come on thursday. greater chance of some mist and low cloud though, the coast of north east england, eastern scotland. a bit of cloud drifting through england and wales, but sunny spells for many and still pleasantly warm where you have that sunshine. but it is going to start feeling cooler down those eastern coasts, and you've got to bear in mind that easterly wind, coming off sea temperatures around 7 or 8 degrees. it is always going to feel cooler here, especially so on friday as that wind picks up even further. greater chance of some slightly thicker cloud, especially across england and wales, by this stage, with some light showers, even a little bit of drizzle in places, but most will be dry. sheltered from the breeze, western areas, where it could be quite gusty that wind, is where we'll see the highest of the temperatures, 15—16 west of scotland, maybe up to around 15 or 16 on the south coast of england. quick look into the weekend, and a bit of a complication as to what happens to this area of low pressure, how further north out of iberia it gets and its influence on us. throughout the weekend, we'll still have that breeze with us and that will make it further along the eastern coasts. in the sunshine feeling quite pleasant, but a greater chance of one or two more showers. bye for now. this is bbc news, with the latest business headlines, for viewers in the uk and around the world. from first to last — the uk was the fastest—growing economy in the g7 last year, but the imf now predicts it will be the slowest, as the pandemic blues begin to bite. the big turn—off — netflix shares sink some 25%, after it posts its weakest subscriber numbers in over a decade. centre or far right? france heads to the polls, to decide whether emmanuel macron or marie le pen will be its next president. we take a look at what this means for the eu's second biggest economy. and the uk ramps up the financial war on russia, by announcing plans to blacklist the moscow stock exchange.