welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: is the us supreme court about to overturn the 50 year federal law on abortion? a major moment looming for one of the country's most contentious issues. russian attacks resume on mariupol�*s steel works, despite hundreds of ukrainian civilians remaining trapped inside. those who've escaped tell their story. translation: for a month we were eating - _ over a0 of us — six food tins. we boiled two buckets of soup out of them, and that was it for the whole day. a special report from the balkans on beijing's big european investment push, with accusations some chinese firms are treating workers

like slaves. also, broadway is back. its busiest season in more than a decade. it has it beaten covid? hello. thank you forjoining us. we start breaking news. the us political website politico says it has seen a majority opinion leaked from the supreme court which says that it is voting to strike down the landmark roe versus wade decision, that is the decision which legalised abortion across the united states, a federal decision. the document, said to be written byjustice samuel alito, says roe versus wade was

wrong since it was first introduced in 1973. if that were to be verified, then the leaking of the document is certainly unprecedented in the history of the us supreme court. it is worth pointing out that this, the leak is still an opinion, so that would have to be confirmed as a decision by the supreme court, by all the judges of the supreme court, a majority of those. this is one of the biggest single legislative issues in the united states. it has stirred contention for all of those 50 years and more. joining us now is our north america correspondent david willis, who was in los angeles. first of all, let's start from the point of what we have got here, politico have a leak of it's an opinion, isn't it?— opinion, isn't it? that's riuht. opinion, isn't it? that's right. this _ opinion, isn't it? that's right. this is _ opinion, isn't it? that's right. this is the -

opinion, isn't it? that's. right. this is the majority opinion, justice samuel alito, that was written after a vote of the nine members of the supreme court following oral arguments in this case back in december. it is, probably don't need to tell you, extremely rare that a leak of this kind would have occurred. this is the one institution in washington, the supreme court, thatis washington, the supreme court, that is widely seen as leakproof. but this, a more than 90 page document, there is a majority opinion by samuel alito, has been elected to politico. we can't independently confirm its veracity, but i'd have to say the reaction here amongst other media outlets has been instance. words such as mind blowing, stunning, momentous, and earthshattering have been bandied about at the suggestion

that this law, passed into law more than a0 years ago, basically enshrining in the us constitution a woman's right to an abortion, will be abolished. it is possible, of course, we should point out, because this is a majority opinion, the justices can change their minds, but this is a conservative leaning course at the moment, donald trump, of course, pointed three justices to the supreme court and this 5- to the supreme court and this 5— four reported majority by politico in favour of abolishing roe versus wade would seem to be in line with the project —— predictions of many commentators over the last few months —— 5—a. many commentators over the last few months -- 5-4._ few months -- s-a. yes. they have few months -- 5-4. yes. they have got _ few months -- 5-4. yes. they have got a _ few months -- 5-4. yes. they have got a quote _ few months -- 5-4. yes. they have got a quote here - few months -- 5-4. yes. they have got a quote here from i few months -- 5-4. yes. theyl have got a quote here from this text, from justice samuel alito, was i think might be worth reading out. roe was

egregiously run from the start, his is, its reasoning was exceptionally weak and it has had damaging consequences. and farfrom bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, roe and casey have inflamed debate and deepened division. so the language itself it's pretty trenchant. explain also, if this was to be overturned, in full to each and every state to make its own decision? absolutely. and that is the argument of the majority on the court that this is not an issue enshrined in the us constitution and that it should be decided by lawmakers in the individual state. the significance of that, david, is that we know 26 states, more than half of them, have already put into place so called trigger laws that would, once roe versus wade was abolished, would instantly make abortion

more or less illegal in their states. and that means, would mean that women seeking an abortion would have to travel to another state, to an abortion friendly state, in order to terminate the pregnancy. we have already seen, in texas, which passed very tough abortion laws back in september of last year, women there have, in many cases, had to travel to neighbouring 0klahoma cases, had to travel to neighbouring oklahoma in order to have an abortion. now 0klahoma has decided to introduce similarly strict laws of its own. so this is the sort of its own. so this is the sort of problem that is going to confront women seeking an abortion in this country if, indeed, this remains the opinion of this court, and they should point out we were expecting an opinion on roe versus wade within the next couple of months, the next eight weeks. this is not, of course, the final opinion of the court. course, the final opinion of

the court-— course, the final opinion of the court. �*, . ,, . the court. it's an issue which stirs hearts. _ the court. it's an issue which stirs hearts. we _ the court. it's an issue which stirs hearts. we know - the court. it's an issue which stirs hearts. we know that l stirs hearts. we know that much. and inflames passions. and brings out a lot of people in demonstration, david, it is hard to imagine this is going to be any different. perhaps more so than usual.- to be any different. perhaps more so than usual. 0h, very much s0- _ more so than usual. 0h, very much so. this _ more so than usual. 0h, very much so. this is _ more so than usual. 0h, very much so. this is the - more so than usual. 0h, very much so. this is the most - much so. this is the most divisive issue in america at this time. in this particular deliberation by the supreme court which, of course, looks into a variety, takes on a variety of different cases, was the most heavily anticipated and, of course, this will arouse all sorts of controversy, not least the manner in which this news appears to have leaked out, now, the supreme court officials say they have no comment to make on this, but they are not knocking down the report in politico, which perhaps speaks volumes and i think there is going to be a lot of resentment about the way this filtered out, particularly

given, as i said, this is an institution that really does not leak. already, though, some have raised the possibility that maybe it was leaked deliberately in advance in the hope of turning some of the justices over to the other side, whether that is likely to happen remains to be seen. qm. happen remains to be seen. 0k, david, thank _ happen remains to be seen. 0k, david, thank you _ happen remains to be seen. 0k, david, thank you very much for that and filling us in on the breaking news, which is that politico, in fact, breaking news, which is that politico, infact, has breaking news, which is that politico, in fact, has leaked a majority opinion from the supreme court which would suggest that a roe versus wade, the abortion rights law which has stood as a federal law since 1973 is about to be overturned. we will have, obviously, more on that as it comes into us. let us bring you the latest now from ukraine.

the attempts to evacuate more civilians from the devastated city of mariupol have stalled. ukrainian officials say russia has ended a ceasefire and it's now blocking humanitarian corridors. hundreds of women and children are still trapped in bunkers beneath the city's huge azovstal steelworks, the azovstal plant is surrounded by russian troops. on sunday, about a hundred people were evacuated to nearby zaporizhzhia, from where our correspondent laura bicker reports. a short break to feel grass under theirfeet, after weeks of only concrete. the survivors from mariupol are allowed a break in their long—awaited journey away from the front line. translation: for a month we were eating - over 40 l of us — six food tins. we boiled two buckets of soup out of them and that was it for the whole day. weeping translation: there | is no house any more. of course there isn't. this is mariupol after two months of war.

homes, play parks, cafes are now charred in blasted ruins. tens of thousands of people are thought to have died. many of the survivors came here, the azovstal steel plant. as the city fell, pounded into smouldering ashes, ukrainian fighters used the underground chambers to stay and fight. translation: there were five very powerful bomb shelters that, according to soviet standards at the time, could withstand a direct nuclear strike. all people, if they were injured during the bombing and shelling, could come to us. we thought it was possible we'd be shelled, but we did not expect such a genocide and such an inhumane war. for weeks, women and children lived in these maze—like tunnels — they used them as a refuge. appeals to get them out of the plant were ignored — until now. yesterday, for the first time in more than 60 days,

they clambered out of their dark refuge and were led through the rubble out of what many have described as hell. this is where they will come. others have made it out of mariupol today after scrambling for parts to rebuild their wrecked car. daniel was living on a tug boat. translation: we were bringing food from the tug boat. - the russians had been assaulting the port for ten days and we had been sheltering. we couldn't even raise our heads. it was scary to be there. after days of terror and chaos, there is help, but the lives and city each one of these people once knew is now gone. mariupol officials told us that russia bombed the steel plant not long after they civilians left. it is not clear what the hold—up is. it is hope they will be here in ukrainian territory tomorrow. meanwhile, talks to get out the remaining several hundred people in the steel plant, including, we understand,

20 children, are continuing but those negotiations are proving difficult. laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. bringing together some of the developments 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 —— stay with us on bbc news, still to come: chinese workers being! —— chinese workers being! —— chinese companies exposing workers 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 news, the latest headlines: attempts to evacuate more civilians from the devastated do us website, politico, says documents leaked from the supreme court, saying that it is voting to strike down the landmark roe v wade decision

which legalised abortion across the us. attempts to evacuate more civilians from the devastated city of mariupol have stalled. ukrainian officials say russia has ended a ceasefire and it's now blocking humanitarian corridors. the war in ukraine is forcing countries across europe to reconsider doing business with russia. it comes at a time when moscow's most powerful ally, china, continues to expand its economic interests across european countries. but there are allegations of worker exploitation, environmental damage and so—called "debt traps" where beijing has stepped in to lend billions of dollars. china denies the accusations and insists it's a reliable partner and offers investment where others are unwilling. 0ur europe correspondent nick beake has visited key chinese project across the balkans and southern europe and has this special report. it's an unmistakably chinese scene... ..from the workers to the offices. beijing is pouring money into this copper mine,

hoping it's a golden gateway to further economic expansion. but this is not china — it's serbia, on the edge of the eu, where the red of the communist party is leaving its mark. translation: the chinese company treats us terribly. | we tracked down this vietnamese man, who said he'd paid $1,600 to come here for a constructionjob. they forced us to work more, but they did not provide enough supplies. there are 20 or 30 workers living together in each container. they treat us like slaves. after half a year, the father of three tried to leave, but was stranded. shortly after we met, he did manage to return home, only after taking out a $2,000 loan. this is the linglong tyre factory where he worked. employment contracts we've seen appear to be copied and pasted

from the middle east. if you're caught stealing, your hand is chopped off. if you were to murder someone, you're beheaded. the company did not respond to the various made against them. this is the most visible case of labour exploitation we had in the country so far. human rights groups say it's a warning, as chinese business expands further into europe. if you're actually having chinese companies coming to other countries and not having institutions who are strong enough to prevent human rights violations, or labour standards violations, or any other violations, you will have probably the race to the bottom with other companies. from serbia to neighbouring croatia. this former yugoslav country is in the european union, and the eu is paying for its biggest infrastructure project — the peljesac bridge — but it is beijing—built,

down to the last bolt. the tender from the chinese state—owned company was 20% cheaper than its nearest competitor. european rivals called foul, but couldn't stop the deal. croatia and all other european countries face a delicate balancing act in dealing with beijing. concerns remain over alleged debt traps, cyber security, not to mention human rights, but there is a general reluctance to side exclusively with the united states, and to reject all future chinese investment and big infrastructure projects. so in croatia, we don't . have fears about chinese influence... this academic argues that, if european governments are smart and selective, they can benefit from partnerships with beijing. so if we exclude critical- technologies, if we cooperate on physical things, - like railways, infrastructure projects, i don't thinkl there is much problem in satisfying both the eu,

nato, the us and china. we asked five chinese ambassadors in europe for an interview about beijing's vision for the continent, but none was available. but european countries are reassessing doing business with beijing, which has failed to condemn ally russia's attack on ukraine. it could mean europe watching more big chinese investment opportunities pass by. nick beake, bbc news, croatia. a government minister is visiting after it was just suggested the territory return to direct rule from london because of misdirection and miss governance from elected officials. andrew fahie was arrested in the us, charged

with conspiring to traffic drugs, but they have in protest against the proposal to impose direct rule. this report. if the uk delegation wants to know how some people feel, they just need to look outside the window. chanting, signs, and music filled up the street outside of the government building is about 200 people gathered for a demo. todayis gathered for a demo. today is an opportunity to note the ruin of the uk government. (speaks indistinctly) the country is facing a leadership crisis, andrew fahie was arrested in a huge sting operation by us drug officials. he is accused of drug trafficking and money laundering. at the same time, the results of a long independent report into his leadership was published. it found he had ignored good

governance, and the people of the islands had been badly served. the recommendation is for the uk to take charge of the islands for two years. protesters here have told us they feel this is the only way that they can send the methods to the uk representatives who are in the governor's house behind me. the uk ministerfor overseas territory so she is here to listen and understand, and no decision has yet been made about the future of the islands. the acting premier natalia wheatley is at the meetings with uk delegation and has expressed willingness to take over permanently. i have never contemplated that the responsibility of leadership of the virgin islands would come so soon, nor under such circumstances. but, i have been asked to lead and i rise to the call. but, that can only be decided by the uk governorjohn rankin, he is appointed by the queen here upon advice of the uk

government.— here upon advice of the uk covernment. , government. the independent re ort government. the independent report says — government. the independent report says it _ government. the independent report says it is _ government. the independent report says it is him _ government. the independent report says it is him who - report says it is him who should be taking over day to day control of the island. why is it that they are the authority on good governance, why can't we be our authority on cabinets and so, we take harassment nations agreed take your report, and we see all the things that are wrong, and we are going to give the steps that we want to take to fix ourselves before you say, no, we are going fix it for you. you number one reason for bremt— you number one reason for brexit was emigration, not being _ brexit was emigration, not being controlled by german and eastern — being controlled by german and eastern european countries. here _ eastern european countries. here we — eastern european countries. here we are now at the same predicament, facing the same challenges, and now you are telling — challenges, and now you are telling is _ challenges, and now you are telling is that you know what is best — telling is that you know what is best for us. it's _ is best for us. it's wrong. you are saying that we are — it's wrong. you are saying that we are your— it's wrong. you are saying that we are your dependent - we are your dependent territorx _ we are your dependent territory. you - we are your dependent territory. you have - we are your dependent. territory. you have done nothing _ territory. you have done nothing for— territory. you have done nothing for us. - territory. you have done nothing for us. nothingl territory. you have done . nothing for us. nothing for territory. you have done - nothing for us. nothing for us! people — nothing for us. nothing for us! pecpie here _ nothing for us. nothing for us! people here so— nothing for us. nothing for us! people here so they _ nothing for us. nothing for us! people here so they don't - people here so they don't ignore _ people here so they don't ignore the _ people here so they don't ignore the report's - people here so they don't l ignore the report's bindings and — ignore the report's bindings and want _ ignore the report's bindings and want to— ignore the report's bindings and want to improve - ignore the report's bindings - and want to improve leadership on the — and want to improve leadership on the islands, _ and want to improve leadership on the islands, but— and want to improve leadership on the islands, but they - and want to improve leadership on the islands, but they say - on the islands, but they say for the _ on the islands, but they say for the uk _ on the islands, but they say for the uk to _ on the islands, but they say for the uk to call— on the islands, but they say for the uk to call the - on the islands, but they say for the uk to call the shotsl for the uk to call the shots and — for the uk to call the shots and take _

for the uk to call the shots and take full— for the uk to call the shots and take full control- for the uk to call the shots and take full control would j for the uk to call the shots i and take full control would be unacceptable. _ this month in new york has proven to be among the busiest on broadway in recent memory, and in fact, it's been a decade since so many new shows opened in april. it's a positive sign of the theatre district's revival after a pandemic shutdown that lasted more than 18 months however challenges remain. some of theatre's biggest stars have been sidelined due to positive covid tests and there are concerns whether there are enough tourists and theatre loving locals to sustain so many new broadway shows. lee seymour covers theater and live entertainment. broadway is an ecosystem, it is not a monolith, it is a1 theatres and each theatre has its own independent companies, its own start—up basically. so they all have

their own protocols. you have a show like wicked and lion king, which is a billion global property setting up shop next to a three person play that has never been performed outside new york. those are both broadway shows but they are very different. up until this past weekend, they had been an industrywide mandate for showing proof of your covid vaccine at the door. that has now been dropped and it is sort of up to individual shows whether they want to keep that going or not. there continues to be an indoor masking mandate, so regardless of vaccination status can go into a broadway theatre you wear a mask. of them already, it is fantastic, it is live theatre, it really is back in that way. but can they all survive? can they coexist? i mean, that is a huge number to be throwing out there. yeah, that is the tough bit. the short answer is no — no, they can't, and the longer answer is that there never

is enough of an audience to support every show that has ever opened on broadway, because that nothing would have a close, but what we are seeing now... so there has or has been a spring, that was been hits and flops, there has or has been that gap between the haves and have—nots. if you look at the sales data, if you look at the average price people are paying per ticket to see different shows, you are seeing that 21 of the 36 shows that are running now, those average tickets are going for about $100 each, and that is a really good sign of strong demand, it means that more than half the shows on broadway, the market is saying they are really worth paying for. of those 21 shows, only two are brand—new, as in they have opened since the pandemic and one of those is about michaeljackson, the world's biggest pop star on the other a reminder a us website has reported it has seen a majority

opinion leaked from the supreme court saying it has voted to strike down at the landmark roe v wade decision, legalising abortion across the united states. still an opinion at this stage. hello, there. cloud was the main weather feature for many places on bank holiday monday, and we take lots of that cloud with us into tuesday. the cloud showing up here on our earlier satellite picture. it is low cloud. it's turning things quite misty and murky in places, and there are some weak frontal systems, just providing enough impetus to give a little bit of rain and drizzle, here and there. but a mostly cloudy start to tuesday, some spots of rain and drizzle around, and where things brighten up, perhaps most especially in southern england and wales, where we see some sunshine, we will also see some scattered heavy showers and the odd thunderstorm breaking out into the afternoon. many spots will stay quite cloudy. rather cool for some north sea coasts. ten degrees for aberdeen and newcastle, 16 for cardiff, 17 in london, and we see some showery rain into northern ireland through the afternoon.

that will push across a good part of scotland through the evening, and then getting down into parts of england and wales through the early hours of wednesday. but the rain, quite fragmented, quite hit and miss. there'll still be some lengthy dry spells, a mild start to wednesday morning. those outbreaks of rain brought about by this very weak frontal system. it's running into relatively high pressure, so that means it's certainly not going to be a wash—out. the rain, very hit and miss, very sporadic. some showery bursts of rain, tending to clear eastwards. then we'll see some sunshine on wednesday, some brighter skies, generally, but quite a few showers, some of which will be heavy and thundery. it will be a warmer day, highs, for many, between 15—19 degrees. and that theme continues, as we head towards the end of the week. high pressure building to the south, frontal systems running to the north—west of the uk, and this broadly south—westerly flow of air bringing some rather warm conditions in our direction. so, thursday looks like this. much of england and wales will be dry, with some sunny spells and just the odd shower. northern ireland and scotland seeing more cloud and some

splashes of rain at times, but not all the time. but the temperatures, 15 degrees there for glasgow, 16 for belfast, but 21 in london, maybe somewhere towards the south east getting to 22 degrees. now, on friday, there'll some warmth once again towards the south east of the uk. but this band of rain looks like it will make some progress southwards, and behind that, something just a little bit cooler and fresher. so, temperatures of 12 degrees for stornoway, but 20 the high in london.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the us political website politico says it has seen a majority opinion leak from the supreme court which says it has voted to strike down the landmark roe versus wade decision which legalise abortion across the united states back in 1973. —— legalised. attempts to evacuate more civilians from the devastated city of mariupol have stalled. ukrainian officials say russia has ended a ceasefire and it's now blocking humanitarian corridors. ukraine's largest sea port of 0desa 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 after 0desa's airport was targeted on saturday.