days trapped underground in ukraine. more than 100 civilians — including children — who've been living for weeks in desperate conditions beneath a steel works in the besieged city of mariupol finally reach safety. chanting: we don't need roe, hell no! l chanting: not the church, not the state, women - must decide our fate! protests in the united states after a leaked document suggests the supreme court is about to overturn a law protecting the right to abortion. a race to the polls — as people across the uk prepare to vote in local elections on thursday — a special report from northern ireland where the results could bring seismic change. commentator: liverpool are heading to paris! - and liverpool have breezed through to the champions league final after a stunning victory against villarreal. and coming up in the sport, on the bbc news channel: after two years out of the premier league bournemouth are back following a 1—0 win over nottingham forest. good evening from belfast. the prime minister has hinted he may be prepared to do more to address the rising cost of living — but he has dismissed fresh calls from opposition parties for a windfall tax on energy companies. borisjohnson says the government will use what he called the ingenuity and compassion shown during the covid pandemic to try to help people cope with rising costs. but he warned there was no "magic solution". it comes as bp announced it made almost £5 billion in underlying profits for the first quarter of the year — more than double the figure for the same period last year. rising prices and energy bills are expected to be a big issue in the elections across the uk this week — including here in northern ireland where the outcome of the vote could have major consequences for the uk. we'll have more on that later. but first, here's our business editor simonjack. bp has driven straight into the middle of a political and economic storm. as the soaring cost of fuel and energy has emptied the pockets of consumers, it has filled the coffers of those that sell it. bp recorded its highest operating profit in a decade, adding fuel to a political fire on whether to impose a windfall tax to fund more help for the many people the bbc has met who are struggling. it's hard to determine whether it is energy orfood i'm picking, so that's why i have had to seek help. because you can'tjust pick one of the other, you have to heat your home. i used to love going to the beach but i can't even afford that in fuel now, because i have got a car to run now as welt — so we just do little things like this now. sometimes we'll even get the bus, won't we, instead? tonight, the prime minister said that the government could not solve the currant crisis but he hinted more help was coming. i'm not going to pretend that every family is going - to have a magic solution - from the government over night. i simply can't pretend that we can do that. i but we can be as ingenious- and as compassionate as possible. but he insisted taxing companies making important investments wasn't the answer. what do you achieve if you simply take that money away in taxes? l do you actually deter them _ from making the big changes we need in ourenergy market? because we really do. - we need investment in supply. that's the big problem we've got. the prices we are seeing are driven by global supply and demand factors, including, of course, the war in ukraine. in the first three months of this year alone, bp has made nearly £5 billion, more than double the amount they made in the same period last year, as the price of oil and gas has rocketed. meanwhile, they promise to invest £18 billion by the end of 2013 in the uk, mainly in renewables and low carbon technology, but some in oil and gas, to keep the uk's energy supply secure. they also think they will pay around £1 billion in tax on their uk operations. they paid none in the last five years, as prices were low and their costs were high. now the government largely welcomes this tax revenue and this investment plan and says that windfall taxes might deter that kind of investment. but opposition parties disagree, saying windfall taxes are essential to help fund extra help for those struggling with the cost of living crisis. we should have a windfall tax on oil and gas companies in the north sea who have made more profit than they were expecting, have a windfall tax on that, and use that to help people with their energy bills, up to £600 for those who need it most. the liberal democrats are arguing for a vat tax cut worth £600 to the average family, and one of the ways we would fund that is through a windfall tax on the oil and gas companies. this is a time when the oil and gas companies are making obscene . profits, so we need to be taxing - those profits and putting that money into supporting people - with financial help right now. we need to make sure that the government is taxing not just bp but other companies that are making excess profits. and that those proceeds should be reinvested back into making sure that those who are suffering from the cost of living crisis get some help. bp has written off a £19 billion stake in russian oil giant rosneft, but it still intends to increase payouts to shareholders, which include millions of uk pension savers. the argument over how and how much to tax the energy giants will continue this week as rival shell is expected to announce even bigger profits on thursday. simon jack, bbc news. let's talk to our political correspondent chris mason in westminster. how much is this issue of the cost of living expected to dominate not just this week with local elections but over the next weeks and months and years even? this but over the next weeks and months and years even?— and years even? this is going to sha -e and years even? this is going to shape the _ and years even? this is going to shape the domestic— and years even? this is going to shape the domestic politics - and years even? this is going to shape the domestic politics like | shape the domestic politics like nothing else, notjust in the countdown to the local elections this week but all the way to the next general election and quite possibly beyond. why? the statistics and numbers are grim and you don't need me to tell you that, you can see that we were queueing to pay for your shopping and queueing to fill up your shopping and queueing to fill up the car at the pumps, and the president of the pandemic shapes the politics around this. —— the president. the opposition can say to the government, look how much you splurge during the pandemic, you can see that from space, it was a huge government intervention, and what is happening now? they can argue it looks pathetic and inadequate by comparison. forthe looks pathetic and inadequate by comparison. for the government, they say they are doing what we can but there is a limit to what government can do and they point out that they are spending £80 billion per year servicing the interest on our national debt and there is an overall concluding thought which you should bear in mind, such as the scale of this challenge, the cost of living crunch, for any government at any time, whatever they do, it would still leave plenty of people saying, it is not enough.— it is not enough. chris mason, thanks for— it is not enough. chris mason, thanks forjoining _ it is not enough. chris mason, thanks forjoining us. - more than 100 people who've been trapped for two months beneath the rubble of a steelworks in eastern ukraine have finally been brought to safety after they were rescued on sunday. the evacuees have spent weeks — without seeing daylight — living in tunnels beneath the steelworks in the besieged city of mariupol. but the ceasefire that allowed them to escape was brief. fierce fighting has begun in mariupol again. and the red cross says there are still an unknown number of people trapped there. our correspondent, laura bicker, watched as the first evacuees finally made it to safety in zaporizhzhia this afternoon. theirjourney from hell is over. two months of horror ends in exhaustion and relief. katarina spent weeks hidden in the depths of the azovstal steel plant as russian bombs pounded the site. she tried to tell her children everything would be ok, even when she didn't believe it herself. translation: how we were living, to be honest, it was horrible. - from morning until night we were bombarded. artillery, rockets, air strikes, our children couldn't sleep. they were crying and scared, and us as well. there were several times we lost hope we would ever get out. we are extremely glad to be in ukraine. for more than 60 days these women and children were stuck in the darkness, living on rations handed down by ukrainian soldiers. it's been a difficult and complex operation to free them. translation: we lived in hope that every day would be - the last day in this hell, that we would go home to a peaceful mariupol, but now it is non—existent. this evacuation represents rare progress to ease the humanitarian cost of this war but hundreds more did not manage to make it on this bus. they are thought to still be trapped in the steel plant, including around a dozen children, and talks are still under way to free them. this footage from social media is said to show the azovstal steelworks this morning, under heavy attack from russian forces. this once thriving industrial heartland is now a charred shell. later in the video, russian tanks are seen patrolling what remains of the streets and park areas surrounding the huge factory. there are thought to be nearly 100,000 people still living in mariupol. translation: idon't. know where to go at all. i am not alone. imagine, everything is destroyed and broken. where should the people go now? here, they are sitting with small kids, little ones. i have nowhere to go. for those who have made it out, finally they have fresh food and a little hope. lives have been saved today but many more hang in the balance. laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. borisjohnson has become the first foreign leader to address members of the ukrainian parliament since the russian invasion — describing the resistance to moscow as ukraine's finest hour. but speaking via videolink from downing street, boris johnson acknowledged that the west had been too slow to act in 2014 when russia invaded crimea — and too slow to introduce sanctions on president putin. he said the same mistakes cannot be made again. 0ur eastern europe correspondent, sarah rainsford, reports. this is ukraine's finest hour. for borisjohnson, this was a virtual visit to ukraine's parliament. for volodymyr zelensky, the first in person since russia invaded. ukraine will win. there is genuine gratitude here for britain's support, both military and moral. but there's criticism, too, that had the west been tougher on russia eight years ago when it annexed crimea, this devastating war might never have happened. and today, the prime minister acknowledged that. and the truth is that we were too slow to grasp what was really happening, and we collectively failed to impose the sanctions then that we should have put on vladimir putin. and we cannot make the same mistake again. but ukraine is paying a huge price. it's when you see all this that you realise just how fierce the fighting was around ukraine's capital and just how close russian troops came to kyiv. and even though they've been forced back from here, this war, with all its destruction, is still far from over. tonight, there were strikes across ukraine. this was lviv in the west. still, diplomats who were quick to evacuate kyiv are now trickling back. we passed, you know, bombed—out playgrounds, bombed—out schools, hospitals, burned—out trees, twisted metal in farmland. so obvious, really, that right from the beginning this was about hitting the ukrainian nation. nowhere says that more clearly than bucha — smashed and traumatised by a month under russian occupation. today, we found this crowd queuing hours for hand—outs at a local church, because many here have lost everything. what the fighting didn't destroy, the russian soldiers often looted. inside we met galina, who says a missile came through her roof and hit her bed. she was next door, feeding the dog. "i sang to get through," she tells me. "under fire," i ask? she says it calmed her nerves and everyone around her. it takes time to trust the quiet again, that the russian threat won't return to a town that's now a crime scene, revealing stories of horror and their evidence. a prosecutor told me his team have open at 600 criminal cases and gradually they are publishing the identities of their key suspects hoping one day they can bring russian soldiers to trial on charges that include rape, murder and torture. all of that is happening even as they wall ukraine continues, we have had air raid sirens going off in kyiv today and we have seen missile strikes in lviv and on power stations and railway stations in this country, so we don't know at this country, so we don't know at this point how significantly damage is or as to whether there have been any casualties. sarah rainsford, thank you very much. millions of women across the us could lose their legal right to abortion, according to a leaked document from the supreme court. a final decision is due by the summer. abortion has been legal right across the united states for almost 50 years. but if that ruling is overturned — individual states would be free to set their own rules — meaning abortion could become illegal in more than 20 states. president biden says he wants to protect the law guaranteeing abortion rights. campaigners have already been protesting outside the court building in washington dc from where our north america editor sarah smith reports. abortion is violence! 0utnumbered but vocal, outside the supreme court, anti—abortion activists scent victory, after nearly 50 years of fighting the constitutional guarantee of abortion rights, that's known as roe v wade. with overturning roe it's going back to the states and the states are going to come up with these great programmes, a network of support to give women the choice, because right now a lot of women feels like abortion is their only choice. we want them to have real choice. you can stay in school and have a baby. you can have a job and have a baby. pro—choice campaigners aghast that more than half the states in america could ban or severely restrict abortion in the next few months, according to a leaked document from the supreme court. what did you think when you heard the decision you read the decision last night? i thought, this is devastating. the courts are undermining the american people. and we have a long road ahead, but we are not letting this fight slip through ourfingers. we are going to keep going. nine justices sit on the supreme court, five of them, according to the leaked report, will vote to overturn abortion rights, withjustice samuel alito writing that the decades—old decision to guarantee abortion was egregiously wrong. the impact will be sudden. there are 13 us states that have so—called trigger laws in place which would lead to an immediate ban on abortion. another 13 would move quickly to ban or severely limit access, says the guttmacher institute, a pro—choice group. it estimates 36 million women of reproductive age will live in states without abortion access. this is what the republicans have been working towards, for decades. they have been out there plotting, carefully cultivating these supreme courtjustices so they could have a majority on the bench who would accomplish something that the majority of americans do not want. abortion is violence! donald trump deliberately appointed three of the supreme courtjustices, hoping to overturn the ban on abortion. a move welcomed by republicans around the country. i think i've been clear, i'm pro—life and i've made that very clear from the moment i announced my candidacy and i believe that what we found during the campaign and even through today is that there is a lot of common ground on this topic. we want fewer abortions in virginia, not more. president biden says he believes a woman's right to choose is fundamental. he wants to pass a law through congress guaranteeing access to abortion. everyone knew a ruling on abortion rights was coming from the supreme court, but such a dramatic change in the law has still come as a seismic shock. the passions ignited by one of the most divisive issues in america will not be silenced when the court delivers its official ruling. for a document like this to be leaked from the supreme court is utterly unprecedented and republicans are furious. they think it has been done to try and undermine the ruling. we know the document is genuine. we don't know it precisely reports exactly what the court will rule, these opinions can be rewritten before they are published and we will get the final ruling in the next few weeks, and when we do this really fraught political battle in the steaks about reproductive rights will move to the steaks as they individually state—by—state to start passing their own laws on abortion access. sara smith in washington, thank you. —— states. on thursday millions of people across the uk will go to the polls for the local elections. but here in northern ireland — more so than anywhere else — the outcome could bring seismic change. for the first time in northern ireland's 100—year existence, a nationalist party — sinn fein — could become the largest party. and sinn fein�*s ultimate goal is for northern ireland to leave the uk and become one country with the republic of ireland. but whatever the result this week — there's still uncertainty about whether a power—sharing government will be formed afterwards ? because of tensions over brexit and other issues. 0ur ireland correspondent, emma vardy, reports. i have got a message tonight for sinn fein. you will never defeat the protestant people of ulster! never! the dominance of unionism through the decades is now in more jeopardy than ever before. the party opposed to northern ireland's existence may now define its future. but in the race for stormont today, many voters have become tired of the old struggle between those who want to remain part of the uk and those who want a united ireland. i think we're stuck with green and orange tribalism. we can't continue with what we do because we're going to get exactly what we've always got. power sharing has been collapsed here for nearly as much time as it's been active and the election result could lead to months�* more uncertainty. we seem to like crisis politics here and do nothing apart from crisis politics, so even if sinn fein are the biggest party, the unionist parties, whatever, need to stand up and take a position and say ok, let's see what we can work with now. the frustrations mean a growing number of people are voting for cross—community parties but the top jobs will still be decided on whether a nationalist or unionist party wins the most seats. we haven't gone away, you know. sinn fein under gerry adams was known as the political wing of the paramilitary group the ira. now, under the leadership of michelle 0'neill, the party is hoping to claim the first minister's role. it is a big, big thing still here. 0n the shankill road, for unionism a sinn fein victory would be a huge symbolic blow. what would that mean in an area like this? devastation, to be honest, because they want a united ireland which most people don't want. i wouldn't trust them as far as i could throw them. i really wouldn't trust them as far as i could throw them. why does that feeling still linger? i don't know, itjust boils down to my childhood and all too, so it does. for some who lived through the conflict, the memories of paramilitary activity on both sides still shapes the political culture of northern ireland today. if you come in one of the troubles tours of belfast, which is a big tourist attraction now, this is one of the places they will bring you and what it shows is that in some voters' minds it's very difficult to move on from that connection between sinn fein and the violence of the past. butjust minutes away, on the falls road, young sinn fein supporters see a very different picture. sinn fein are actually putting out a positive message that young people want to hear. it feels like progress for someone like me. i was born in 1997 so obviously i'm opposed to all the guns and explosions and everything so i don't really know that kind of lifestyle, for me it's always been the spirit of cooperation and working together. knock knock. the party's image in some people's eyes has certainly come a long way. their messaging reflects the price of gas to heat the house or the price of diesel. and in this election sinn fein has hardly mentioned a border poll, a referendum on whether northern ireland should leave the uk. how important is that goal of a united ireland? i don't think it's any secret that sinn fein are in favour of a united ireland, that's always part of the goal but in the here and now people need help in their day—to—day lives. the democratic unionist party has said a vote for them is the best way to safeguard the union, and that only they can stop sinn fein winning, but because the dup walked out of the stormont executive in a protest over the brexit arrangements, no—one will be first minister here unless they return, no matter how decisive a result may be delivered. health has also been a very big issue in the election campaign here. northern ireland has the longest hospital waiting lists in the uk with many people having to wait more than two years for an operation. and northern ireland has the highest proportion of its population on waiting lists compared to any other part of the uk. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page reports. hospitals in northern ireland can't get enough people through their doors quickly enough. around one in four adults are waiting foran appointment, or to begin treatment. more than half have been on a list for at least a year, but for thousands the wait is a lot longer. john from county tyrone says he was told six years ago that he needed surgery to remove his gall bladder. every couple of months, i was was getting up in the morning, i was always being sick, bringing up the bile, and i was sick the whole day and ended up going to hospital. how long have you been told you may have to wait for this? that was back in 2020 — they said i was two and a half years down the list. that two and a half years must be up nearly now. and nothing has materialised. the reasons for the problems in the health service have been set out in several government reports. these have suggested that there are too many hospitals in northern ireland given the size of the population, there should be more care in the community, and there is an urgent need to train and retain more staff. decisions about changing hospital services may be controversial locally, but this expert believes politicians can generate public support. if people see local decisions as part of a bigger picture, where services be better, where they're will be better out comes for them and theirfamily, then i think they will agree to it. it is very difficult for them to accept what they view as local closures when they don't see how it is part of an overall plan. there is another huge issue in health care here. northern ireland has a higher rate of mental illness and suicide than england, scotland and wales. this is a showing of a film remembering carl three of his school friends made it to help raise awareness. so there were two main reasons, the first one was definitely to pay tribute to carl's memory, and the second reason was just to let people in the younger generation know that it's ok to speak. it's absolutely vital for mental health, especially for me, what i've been through with carl passing, and everything, it needs to be at the top of the list. i feel like people are - prioritising physical health. it is a priority, obviously, but i feel like mental- health should fall under. the same level of priority. soon, voters will elect politicians to set priorities in the stormont assembly. fixing the health service may present the most challenging choices. chris page, bbc news, belfast. 0ur ireland correspondent, emma vardy, is here. a big moment on thursday for northern ireland with these elections. but what chances are there that the elections will result in a fully functioning government? at the moment the chances are pretty slim here in northern ireland. this place could be on four months more uncertainty and that is because even if there is a sinn fein victory, which would be an historic moment, very symbolic result in these elections, the power—sharing rules mean the first minister roll and deputy first minister roles are a joint office, they are equal and you cannot have one without the other. the dup has made it pretty clear they are not going to go back into they are not going to go back into the executive unless their demands around getting changes to the brexit arrangements are met, and if there is that sinn fein victory then there is that sinn fein victory then there is probably going to be even less appetite in the party for going back into power sharing. so the most likely scenario we will see is this period of negotiation between all the parties after polling day that could drag on potentially for months. in the meantime, we will see this government limping on, a sort of zombified government, if you like, not able to take the really big decisions at the top, and if there is no agreement between the parties after six months, we could be in for fresh elections, but people are getting pretty fed up with no functioning government, the parties get punished at the ballot box, people moving to cross community parties in the centre ground. community parties in the centre round. . . , community parties in the centre round. . ., , ., ~ nottinghamshire's police and crime commissioner has apologised after admitting breaking the speed limit. caroline henry was caught five times, and will be sentenced later this year. on her official website, she said ensuring an effective police response to speeding was one of her priorities. football now, and bournemouth have won promotion to the premier league. they beat nottingham forest 1—0 to secure their return to the top flight. it comes just two years after they were relegated to the championship. liverpool are through to the champions league final after an impressive victory over spanish side villarreal. they came back from 2—0 down in the first half, to win the match 3—2, and the tie 5—2. in villarreal, our sports correspondent, natalie pirks, was watching. they brought english weather to villarreal, but with it scouse optimism. liverpool fans were confident they were closing in on history. there is no better place on this earth and following this club around the world, best club in the world. if we win all four we are the greatest team in the world, never mind the invincible is. we greatest team in the world, never mind the invincible is.— mind the invincible is. we will be the best ever. _ mind the invincible is. we will be the best ever. as _ mind the invincible is. we will be the best ever. as the _ mind the invincible is. we will be the best ever. as the familiar - the best ever. as the familiar strains rang _ the best ever. as the familiar strains rang out, _ the best ever. as the familiar strains rang out, liverpool. the best ever. as the familiar i strains rang out, liverpool new the best ever. as the familiar - strains rang out, liverpool new 90 minutes of calm and discipline will see them sail through to the final. this electric start from the home side was not in the script. commentator:- side was not in the script. commentator: , ., ., ., . ~ commentator: they have got one back strai . htawa ! commentator: they have got one back straightaway! small _ commentator: they have got one back straightaway! small in _ commentator: they have got one back straightaway! small in number _ commentator: they have got one back straightaway! small in number but - straightaway! small in number but vociferous in support, the home fans urged their team forward as villarreal probed, pressed and harried, and some big mistakes. the lead had evaporated, liverpool heads had gone. time for a big team talk, big moment for fabinho and a big mistake from geronimo rulli clawed them back in the tie. luis diaz made a vital impact from the subs bench. mistakes, he made a few, villarreal�*s keeper handed liverpool yet another chance that sadio mane wouldn't miss. a remarkable turnaround, but if complacency creeps in again they will be punished next time. that might be the most important half—time team talkjurgen klopp has ever given. we knew this tight ground required cool heads and liverpool seem to have lost theirs inside the first three minutes, but they regained their composure and jurgen klopp is now the first manager to reach champions league, fa cup and league cup finals in the same season. tomorrow we will see of manchester city can make it another all english affair. natalie pirks, thank you for that.