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| | Fresh strikes in Lviv amid concerns for refugees fleeing to UK | |  | | | | | | | | | The battle for eastern Ukraine, where Russia is refocusing efforts, is continuing with heavy bombardment but fresh strikes have been felt further afield once again. Power stations and railway stations in the western city of Lviv, which is considered relatively safe, have been hit. According to the mayor, Russian missiles have caused blackouts. This comes amid news that more than 100 people were finally evacuated from the besieged port city of Mariupol. "We were losing hope that we would ever get out," said one woman, who was among a group taken to relative safety after a humanitarian corridor was successfully agreed for the first time. Some of them had been trapped in bunkers beneath the massive Azovstal steelworks - the last place in Mariupol not under Russian control - for months, but others still remain.
Meanwhile, concerns have been raised over a UK hosting scheme for Ukrainian refugees. BBC News has learned that potentially abusive men, some with a reported history of violence, have been messaging women on Facebook groups specially set up to connect sponsors and hosts. The government says safeguards such as background checks and a visit to the host’s property are in place. But the Homes for Ukraine scheme has previously been highlighted as a potential issue by the UN's refugee agency. | | | | | |
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| | Investigation after US abortion ruling leaked | | | | | | | | | A leaked draft document suggesting millions of women in the US could lose the legal right to abortion sparked reaction from both sides of the debate. The document - labelled "1st Draft" - has also been making headlines since it found its way into the public domain via US website Politico. It is a genuine draft, says the Supreme Court's Chief Justice John Roberts, who describes the leak as "a singular and egregious breach". An investigation is being launched. Though the document appears to be in its initial stages, and is not the court’s final decision, it has stirred expectations that the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling, which legalised abortion in the US, could be overturned. If it is overturned, around half of US states could ban abortion. Can Congress legalise abortion if the Supreme Court overturns the ruling? Our North America reporter Anthony Zurcher has taken a look. | | | | | |
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| | Record high university course complaints | | | | | | | | | The Covid pandemic changed how students were taught in schools, colleges and universities. The impact of this has led to complaints from students in England and Wales about their university courses. Complaints were at a record high last year - and more than a third of them were related to the pandemic. How courses were delivered was the biggest issue, with concerns raised about the increased dependence on remote learning and being unable to access sites such as laboratories. "Some students found that they weren't getting the learning experiences that they reasonably expected," says the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, which received 2,763 complaints - up 6% on the year before. Read more here. | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | There's not long left now until this year's elections get under way, so our politics correspondent Chris Mason has looked at the hopes and fears of political parties as campaigns in England near the end. Voters will be going to the polls across the UK, in local and Northern Ireland Assembly elections. Once people finish casting their votes, what will the political landscape look like? Famous pollster, Professor Sir John Curtice, could have the answer. He gets elections right - but how does he do it? Find out here. | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | "Look: the Muslims are here, the Hindus are here, the Catholics are here. All the same blood. This is the real Sri Lanka." Lukshan Wattuhewa gestures across Galle Face Green on Colombo's colourful seafront, where thousands of demonstrators now converge daily. He hopes massive anti-government protests - fuelled by the country's worst ever economic crisis - can mark a turning point in the decades of ethnic and religious violence that have scarred so many communities across Sri Lanka.
A Buddhist monk nearby agrees: "People are putting aside religious and racial differences to join this struggle. Sri Lanka has become one united nation." Both men are from the Sinhala Buddhist majority, who account for three-quarters of Sri Lanka's diverse population. Tamil Hindus, Muslims and Christians are among the country's sizeable minorities. For weeks now, citizens have been taking to the streets across Sri Lanka with a simple message: "Gota go home". "Gota" is Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the country's president. | | | | | | | | | | | | Nick Marsh | | BBC News, Colombo | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | Calls for a windfall tax, the government's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda and the leaked US anti-abortion ruling are among the stories on this morning's front pages. The Financial Times says BP’s "bumper earnings" have stoked calls for a windfall tax to offset energy bills. This is echoed by the Daily Mirror which reports the oil giant "rakes in £639 a second", and says the prime minister won't step in to help. Boris Johnson's comments about free bus passes for pensioners is the focus of the Daily Star. His promise to "fire up" the economy is carried by the Daily Express. Meanwhile, the i newspaper reports the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is in "chaos" and reaction to the draft anti-abortion ruling is covered by the Guardian. Read the newspaper review in full here. | | | | | |
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| | | | | US Missing guard and inmate had 'relationship' | | | | | | | Twitter Musk warns of 'slight cost' for businesses | | | | | | | TV Britain's Got Talent star paralysed after stunt | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you watch one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you listen to one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you read one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | Need something different? | | | | | | | | | Inside a church in Venice, specialist art handlers are trying to tease out two paintings that have been nailed to a wall for hundreds of years. They’re by an artist called Giulia Lama. She's one of the forgotten female artists being rediscovered for a new project. So, why, like the others, isn't she well known? Find out here.
Continuing with arts - and crafts. They're a key part of one teenager’s school days, which are different to most. Skateboarding YouTuber Destiny, who has autism, is home-schooled and her days include making and selling toys for cats while studying for her GCSEs. She says it makes her feel free. Here’s her story.
And finally, to a couple who have been reunited at home in India. Akhil Reghu and his wife Jithina Jayakumar survived a hijacking at sea and a war before seeing each other again. Here’s the full story. | | | | | |
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| | On this day | | | | | | | 1982 The British ship HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentine missile fired from a fighter bomber. | | | | | | | | |
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| | | Let us know what you think of this newsletter by emailing bbcnewsdaily@bbc.co.uk. If you’d like to recommend it to a friend, forward this email. New subscribers can sign up here. | | | | | |
