Fresh efforts are under way to evacuate civilians trapped by Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said a convoy of 45 Ukrainian buses was on its way to the besieged southern city. She said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had confirmed that Russia had agreed to open a humanitarian corridor to Mariupol. Tens of thousands of civilians remain there after weeks of bombardment. Earlier, the Russian defence ministry said the United Nations refugee agency and the Red Cross would assist in the evacuation of civilians. The evacuation was initially planned for Thursday, but the Red Cross has since told Reuters that for logistical and security reasons, the evacuation will now happen on Friday. It said a ceasefire would allow people to travel westwards to Zaporizhzhia via the Russian-controlled port of Berdyansk. A spokesperson for the ICRC said its teams were ready to help get civilians out of Mariupol from Friday, but only if all parties agreed on the terms.(BBC)…[+]