♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. woman: the rules of business are being reinvented with a more flexible workforce. by embracing innovation, by looking not only at current opportunities, but ahead to future ones. man: people who know, know bdo.

narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. announcer: and now, "bbc world news". laura: ukrainian soldiers -- russia claims control. soldiers were taken to territory controlled by the russians. as they left, ukrainians said the courage had inspired the nation. coronavirus is spreading

explosively as the who says it's concerned under kim jong-un her unvaccinated. the crisis in sri lanka worsens leaving many patients unable to get medical care. >> most are returning home without getting medicine. laura: was there ever life on mars? nasa on a mission to find out. ♪ welcome to world news america on pbs and around the globe. to begin tonight in ukraine where soldiers who made a last stand have been evacuated from the steelworks invariable. they face an uncertain future.

moscow calls the evacuation a surrender. a warning, this report contas distressing images. porter: it's been a brutal and bloody 83 days, but the battle is over. for now. the wounded are carried out of the steel plants, filmed by the force they have been fighting. russia says it was a surrender, but the ukrainians say it was a survival. ukrainian leaders are keen to stress this goes away to save the country's hero. for more than two once -- two months, russians have bombarded

the site. analysts believe the latest attack used phosphorus bombs. a small fighting force refused to give up. they may have also helped prevent russia from pushing further north. >> thanks to defenders, the enemy was prevented from deploying and unable to take the gion. reporter: civilians used the vast network of tunnels as a refuge, but supplies dwindled in this bunker was cut off from the world. the situation beca desperate. finall after two months, women and children were allowed out into the light. as they arrived at the evacuation center, i met katerina.

the boys, age six and 11, are adapting to being back outside. games involved defeating russians their father is a fighter and remains at the plants. >> under the bombardment, the bombs were so heavy it felt like the bunker was moving and rooms became smaller. sometimes there was an hour break and we hope that was it. maybe that was the end of it. reporter: this month's vibrant port -- this once five report is now a shell. wounded fighters made a plea for safe passage. many have died from sepsis. the russians say those injured

will be treated and there are reports of a prisoner swap, but it's not clear what will happen to the hundreds of fighters. among them, is thoht to be katerina's husband. >> i want to help them, but i do not know how. i feel powerless. he is a very strong man, strong in spirit. he has been supporting me all of my life. reporter: the fighters may have obeyed in order to save lives, but their resolve in the face of insurmountable odds has made them assemble of ukrainian resilience. bbc new laura: the fall of mariupol. after climbing for two years it had no covid cases, north korea is saying infections are close to 1.5 million.

the capital is locked down according to state media. the u.n. says the lockdowns will have a devastating effect. there are fears the health system could be overwhelmed. we report from the south korean capital. ♪ reporter: north korean children celebrate the country being covid-free. just weeks before, omicron reached its defenses. -- breached its defenses. the country has done little to prepare for a nightmare scenario. people are not vaccinated, malnourished, and hospitals can't treat them. dr. park works as a neurosurgeon. >> i have been there over 20 times since 2007. i was looking at a major

hospital and had trouble seeing ventilators in the icus, trouble getting normal supplies. reporter: concerned about supplies, kim jong-un has been touring pharmacies. there is not enough medicine, he says. he has ordered the army to distribu stockpiles, but it's unlikely they have what people need. >> unit antivirals. they do not have that. i am certain of it. it's a matter of urgency that we get them pills as soon as possible. reporter: instead, state broadcasts have resorted to basic advice. drink water. rinse your mouth with saltwater. we were sick, but every night and morning, i made us gargle with saltwater. north korea's leader thought he

could shut the virus out. for years he sealed his borders, cutting off food supplies. getting information is difficult, but he is hearing the lockdown is maki it harder for people to get food. in some areas where there are lots of infections, people are not allowed to leave their homes. in north korea, if you are stuck at home, there is no way to make money. suddenly i am hearing cases of people starving to death. kim jong-un has some difficult decisions to make. he has to decide how hard to lockdown. the who has said it's ready to send vaccines and medicine, but

the north has yet to respond. >> we should not wait until they asked for us to help them. have packages ready, have cargo ready to go. each day they wait, people are dying. reporter: how many are paying their price before the state opens its doors? laura: joining me now is susan, one of the top u.s. state department offials dealing with north korea until 2018. welcome to the program. why do you think north korea is admitting to having covid now? reporter: it's hard to say what's on inside north korea. as you heard, it's hard to get reliable information but it seems like they may have encountered a real problem. they don't have any way of dealing with it.

they have kept their borders sealed. it's also possible there is an internal problem in north korea and the announcement is seen to be convenient for leadership. laura: who do you think will give help? are they looking to the united states, china? reporter: there has been offers assistance to north korea both from the um, various organizations, from south korea, certainly china has offered to give vaccines to north korea. north korea has refused all of assistance. it's not clear whether or not they will take offers at the moment, sometimes when north korea puts out a revelation

about some kind of disaster that's happened after a period of estrangement from the outside world, it means it symbolizes that it is an offer or outcry for assistance to come from the outside world. so far, there have been offers in recent days from south korea and no response from the north koreans. most people would assume and assess there is a lot of problems inside north korea. they have been sealed off from the outside world due to covid for a couple of years, including the border with china at one point, which means they cut off all outside trade. they have bad harvests the last couple of years, certainly the

stock of medicines, this has been a long-standing problem. the couple of years from cutting themselves off from the outside world and sealing off their borders only would have exasperated that. the health system is in big trouble, the food system is in big trouble, it may be they are seeing no alternative to reach out. we will see if they take these offers. they will need to take them pretty quickly. laura: thank you so much for being with us. here in the united states, president biden's going to buffalo to meet the families of 10 people kled in a racially motivated mass shooting. he called white supremacy a poison which is running through the u.s.. >> in america, people will not

win, i promise you. hate will not prevail, d white supremacy will not have the last word. people did come to buffalo. the gunman who massacred innocent people rooted in fear and racism. laura: bbc was in buffalo as the president was speaking and she joins us now. reporter: i ske with the mother of a victim, and she says while she is appreciative of

sympathy and condolences directed their way, what she really wants to see is action. she said she is tired of talk of unity, it's long past due for real gun control laws, people should not be able to have assault weapons, and she pointed out the education system, they need to have education about african-american history to combat racism. she says growing up in america, she did not have an education on african-american history until college. these were two of the key things they were calling for. laura: the president said people will not win. it's a general statement. both of us have covered so many mass shootings in the united states. is president biden proposing anything specific that has a chance of passing?

reporter: other ideas like trying to keep hands -- he said an air force one that there were laws on the books and what the nation needs to do is look in the mirror and face the reality of what it is, so i think for

people here in the community who were hoping for new ideas, they may be disappointed, but president biden is saying he will do his beswhen he goes back to washington. we will have to see. as many mass shootings as we have covered, america is not getting closer to overcoming divisions. laura: thank you. we turn to sri lanka, which in the last few weeks has been rocked by an economic crisis, food shortages and protests that force the primeinister to resign, and the new prime minister says sri lanka does not have enough medicine to care for its people as the system is under strain. bbc reports. reporter: one by one, essenal commodities are drying up. fuel supply can be shut at any time. how does one survive without

drugs? frantic social media appeals for lp. but, almost all -- >> even if you have money, no drugs. if i don't get these medicines, i can survive for three months. that is a serious problem. reporter: even govement doctors came out to protest. >> if you don't alleviatehe shortage in a prompt manner, we will lose the lives of patients. reporter: they almost have 250 beds but most are empty because of lack of medicine. those who are managing here from distant places because of fuel

problems, most are returning home without being checked by a doctor and proper treatment. sri lanka is in the middle of its worst economic crisis ever. the country imposed 85% of its medical supplies, but with foreign currency reserves running low, essential drugs are difficult to obtain. cancer and other life-saving drugs are fast running out. >> we're going to have a huge problem in the next couple of weeks. reporter: for now, sri lanka is praying to get hold of any medicines at all. laura: official results in lebanon's election confirmed allies have lost the majority in

parliament. there is a major blow to the group supported by iran. there is no single political group -- anna foster explains from beirut. reporter: these results are no help to lebanon. what it means is lebanon, potentially even months will be left in the midst of negotiations. it will make it much harder for any block to try and make meaningful change. in lebanon, that is so important. this is a country that has been devastated by an economic crisis, one of the worst in the last 150 years. people are living in poverty, they are looking to politicians for change, political corruption

and mismanagement was one of the things that sent thousands of people onto the streets in 2019 in mass protests, and that's one of the reasons why independent candidates have made gains this time around. 13 of them have seats in the parliament. it sends a strg message that people are ready for reform, but what it does not do is sft the dial in rms of power. even though hezbollah and s allies have lost majority, it is a powerful group. the military wing operates outside the structure, works as a state within a state. if you live in a stronghold area, your life will not change significantly.

there is no sign of that coming any closer after these elections. laura: bbc reporting there from beirut. in other news, flooding and landslides in an indian state have killed 11 people. 30,000 have been displaced and many roads and bridges have been destroyed. train services have been canceled. experts say climate change has increased the frequency and intensity. the first woman to hold the position in more than 30 years. uncertainties over the outcome of the june parliamentary elections raise a question mark over the tenure. the cabinet in spain has removed

the requirement for 16 and 17-year-old girls to get parental consent before determining a pregnancy. the government aims to boost the development of hormonal contraception for men, stressing it's not the responsibilitof women alone. the proposals would ensure state sick pay for women who have to take time off work because of incapacitating menstrual pain. nasa is trying to find out. the perseverance rover began a journey that may help to answer that question. the science editor reports. >> the parachute has deployed. reporter: it's a mission that began with a jaw-dropping dissent. over the last year, the perseverance rover has revealed

the planet asever seen before as it crosses the dusty terrain. it's made history by flying the first helicopter on another planet. perseveran is starting the most important part of its mission,unting for life. >> we know there was once water on the surface of mars. we know there are organics on the surface of mars. all signs point to the surface of mars being a habitable planet. reporter: the rover is exploring an area. billions of years ago it was a huge lake. this gives you an idea of what it once will look like. if we zoom in, this area shows where the river met the lake. the rover landed here in the floor of the crater. it spent more than a year traveling seven miles to get to the base of the delta. now, it has a 40 meter climb to

reach the top. so, it's deployed a helicopter to scout the best path ahead. perseverance will drill into rocks, looking for signs and bring samples back to earth. >> imagine if we found evidence there was life like this? that's huge. that's mind blowing. the opportunity to look for that , see what we see is going to rewrite history. reporter: this mission is revealing the beauty of mars, en showing us a martian solar eclipse. the red planet is right and dusty, now we may finally find outhether life existed on mars. laura: exciting. before we go, let's turn to belgium, host of the

championship. it was great excitement and a team named baywatch finished first after paddling almost 11 miles. congratulations to the winners. i am laura trevelyan, thank you so much for narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪

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♪ >> a community in mourning the president grieves with families of those killed in the mass shooting in buffalo calling out the attack as terrorism inspired by the poison of white surpremacy. then. a critical moment ukrainian fighters leave a steel plant that was the last