this is bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: is the us supreme court about to overturn the 50—year federal law on abortion rights? a major moment is 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. and broadway is back with its busiest season

in more than a decade, but has it beaten covid? welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the us political website politico says it has seen a majority opinion leaked from the supreme court saying that it has voted to strike down the landmark roe versus wade decision which legalised abortion across the united states. the document, said to be written byjustice samuel alito, says roe versus wade was wrong from since it was first introduced in 1973. if verified, the leaking of the document is unprecedented in the history of the us supreme court. for more on this i spoke to our north america correspondent david willis.

this is the majority opinion of 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, i've 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 of the supreme court, that is widely seen as leakproof. but this, no more than 90 page document, this majority opinion by samuel alito has been leaked to politico. we can't independently confirm its veracity, but, 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. 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. now, it is possible, of course, we should point out, but because this is a majority opinion, thejustices can opinion, the justices can change opinion, thejustices can change their minds, but this is a conservative leaning course at the moment. donald trump, of course, appointed three justices to the supreme court and this 5—a reported majority by politico, in favour of abolishing roe versus wade, would seem to be in line with the predictions of many commentators over the last few months. i commentators over the last few months. . , ., ., .,

months. i have 'ust got a quote from this text — months. i have just got a quote from this text from _ months. i have just got a quote from this text from justice - from this text from justice samuel alito which i think might be worth reading out. roe was egregiously wrong from the start, he says, his reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences, and far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, roe and casey have inflamed debate and deepened division. so the language itself is pretty trenchant. david, just explain also then, if this were to be overturned, it falls 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 states. be decided by lawmakers in the individualstates. now, be decided by lawmakers in the individual states. now, the significance of that, david, is that we know that 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 would mean that women seeking an abortion would have to travel to another state, to an abortion friendly state, in order to terminate their pregnancy. now, we have already seenin pregnancy. now, we have already seen in texas, which passed a 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 the court. and they should point out that we were expecting an opinion on roe

versus wade within the next couple of months, the next eight weeks, and this is not, of course, the final opinion of the court. of course, the final opinion of the court-— the court. david willis their sellin: the court. david willis their spelling out _ the court. david willis their spelling out the _ the court. david willis their spelling out the situation . the court. david willis their| spelling out the situation as we understand it now. i'm joined now by mary ziegler, a law professor at florida state university and author of abortion and the law in america: roe v wade to the present. so for another chapter in this long—running saga. can ijust up long—running saga. can ijust up with the leak itself stop what you make of it? it’s what you make of it? it's really extraordinary. - what you make of it? it�*s really extraordinary. i've never heard or seen anything like this and i think it is testament to not only how extraordinary what's happening with abortion is, but also broader changes to the supreme court, to collegiality and to the supreme court and how polarised and partisan the supreme court has become. fine supreme court has become. one miaht supreme court has become. one might wonder. — supreme court has become. one might wonder, don't know if you have a view on it, as to the impact of that and who it most

might benefit?— might benefit? think you can read it either— might benefit? think you can read it either way. _ might benefit? think you can read it either way. some - might benefit? think you can read it either way. some are | read it either way. some are speculating it was potentially a cloak of one of the liberal justices and this was to have shock value and encourage one of the wavering conservative justices to move back from the brink, an alternative would be it is one of the conservative justices' g—loads and this is to soften the blow in a way to make it less of a shock when the court actually announces this opinion. because it is so unprecedented, it is really hard to know.— hard to know. what is interesting _ hard to know. what is interesting from - hard to know. what is interesting from the l hard to know. what is i interesting from the way hard to know. what is - interesting from the way you phrase that, because david willis was explaining, you know, it is an opinion, it could change before a final decision. would your view be that this is, nonetheless, a pretty clear—cut opinion in terms of both to the judges are supporting it and the way in which justice alito supporting it and the way in whichjustice alito has laid this out? which justice alito has laid this out?— this out? yes, it's hard to imagine. _ this out? yes, it's hard to imagine. i _ this out? yes, it's hard to imagine, i mean, - this out? yes, it's hard to imagine, i mean, the - this out? yes, it's hard to i imagine, i mean, the reason this out? yes, it's hard to - imagine, i mean, the reason i think many of viewing this is such a bombshell and are not

listening its veracity as much as might otherwise be the case is because it's absolutely in keeping with what we did after we heard the oral argument in this case in december, which is to say that this is an opinion explicitly overruling roe and framing the decision to do that as a matter of sensible and framing, ithink, as a matter of sensible and framing, i think, framing things ina framing, i think, framing things in a way that is likely to deepen the dibaba —— divide about abortion in the united states more. it is not an opinion it seems to be trying to manage backlash, it seems to be indifferent to the prospect of backlash.— of backlash. what is the process _ of backlash. what is the process now, _ of backlash. what is the process now, what - of backlash. what is the process now, what does of backlash. what is the - process now, what does this go from here?— process now, what does this go from here? well, we don't know exactly when — from here? well, we don't know exactly when opinion _ from here? well, we don't know exactly when opinion will- from here? well, we don't know exactly when opinion will be - exactly when opinion will be released, likely latejune of 2022. this draft is already several months old this point, so we don't know what the internal motivations are of this court, politico is reporting that the court's vote is still the same as when this came out, which is that there

are still five votes to overturn roe, we imagine there will be an internal debate within the court about what happens next, it is unclear whether this revelation or the sleep will change anything. i'm inclined to think that it won't. it likely will be waiting to see what happens until 8 june waiting to see what happens until8june and in waiting to see what happens until 8june and in latejune we will see the supreme court overturn roe in some shape or form, even if it is different. it is one of the great polarising issues of modern american history and politics, i suppose, and society. do you have any idea as to... isn't that clear across all states as to which way they fall, again, we understand that there are a good number that have laws ready to trigger if roe versus wade is collapsed. lilo. ready to trigger if roe versus wade is collapsed.— wade is collapsed. no, it's not. wade is collapsed. no, it's not- even _ wade is collapsed. no, it's not. even among - wade is collapsed. no, it's not. even among the - wade is collapsed. no, it's| not. even among the states wade is collapsed. no, it's - not. even among the states that have laws ready to go, there will be some uncertainty, to take one example, michigan has

one on the books, there is concern in stake was whether it violates the state constitution. there will be additional uncertainty in some battleground states like florida and north carolina about how far they will go. there will be much more uncertainty because we have seen some signs that states are reaching out to affect what happens outside of their borders. so we have seen missouri, for example, float a bill trying to punish doctors who perform abortions on missourians, even when they do so in other states. we have seen states in connecticut and returned saying we will shield our doctors from being sued in other states or extradited to other states or extradited to other states. so there will be different rounds of conflict off and on wednesdays are trying to impose the rules on one another.— trying to impose the rules on one another. mary, thank you very much _ one another. mary, thank you very much indeed. _ one another. mary, thank you very much indeed. 5-4 - very much indeed. 5—a explaining the implications of that leaked opinion coming from the supreme court. —— mary ziegler. we turn our attention to the situation in 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 getting them here. but it is hoped 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. do stay with us. still to come. a bbc special report on allegations that workers are being exploited by chinese companies operating 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 world news. the latest headlines... the us political website politico says it has seen a majority opinion, leaked from the supreme court, saying it has voted to strike down the landmark roe versus wade decision, which legalised abortion.

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 now part of the european union, and the eu is paying

for its biggest infrastructure project — the peljesac bridge — but it's 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 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. 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 is broadway writer and producer, here's his take on the ticket boom. i always make in my coverage, which is that broadway is an ecosystem, it is not a monolith, it is al 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, you go into a broadway theatre you wear a mask. i have seen 16 shows open this month and i have seen most 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 then nothing would ever close, but what we are seeing now... so there has always been a swing, 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 above $100 each, and that is a really good sign, 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 it sounds like something out of a 1950s sci—fi horror film. a mysterious yellow slime called the blob. it has no brain or nervous system — but it can make decisions and even solve puzzles. now — scientists in belgium are allowing families to adopt a blob of their own. the bbc�*s tim allman explains. it looks a bit like scrambled eggs gone wrong, but this yellow substance is, in its own way, a scientific marvel. it is a type of slimy mould. but when it comes to the blob, it is easier to say what it isn't, rather than what it is. translation: the blob is neither a plant nor- an animal nor a fungus.

its nucleus will divide every eight hours, and that is why it doubles or even tripled in size every day. the blob fascinates, because it seems to break all the normal rules. it doesn't have a mouth, stomach or eyes, but it can detect and consume food. it doesn't have a brain, but it seems to be able to think. looking for answers, a team of young scientists are being recruited to experiment with the blob at home. here is the precious envelope in which the blob is stored. the blob is asleep. when you have decided which day you are going to start, you are going to wake the blob up by soaking it in water. assuming it isn't an alien invader, secretly planning to take over the world, some sort of scientific breakthrough may occur. and, finally, we might discover the secrets of the blob. tim allman, bbc news.

just before we go — it's affectionately labelled fashion's biggest night out — the met gala in new york where this year's theme is "gilded glamour". hard to know where to start with all the stars really — but kim kardashian in a marylin monroe original dress seemed to be a winner. there was also model gigi hadid in what we're told was an extremely heavy dress — some light relief with lizzo playing the flute — and even an appearance from a former first lady. the first time it has taken place in fact since the pandemic began. just time to remind you of the main story. the us news website politico says it has seen a draft majority opinion leaked from the supreme court, saying it has voted to strike down the

landmark roe versus wade decision which legalised abortion across the united states. the opinion has been leaked, it was drafted in february and would allow each state to decide if you wanted to restrict or ban abortion. 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 leaked from the supreme court saying that it has voted to strike down the landmark roe versus wade decision which legalised abortion across the united states back in 1973. 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. fighters inside the mariupol steel works say they are being attacked by russian planes and missiles. 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.