a ship carrying 200 tonnes of aid to gaza prepares to leave cyprus, after securing all necessary permits to travel. victims of islamist terror attacks in the uk urge politicians to stop suggesting all british muslims are extremists. this agenda of hate and division is not good for anyone. portugal's centre—right democratic alliance is poised to finish first in the country's parliamentary election — just short of an outright majority — according to exit polls. and the biggest night on the entertainment calendar is finally upon us. will oppenheimer dominate the 2024 oscars? hello. i'm azadeh moshiri. welcome to the programme.

we begin in cyprus, where a spanish charity ship carrying vital supplies is preparing to set sail for gaza, along a new maritime aid corridor. the vessel — operated by the open arms charity — has been repositioning itself in the harbour in larnaca, while another, smaller boat, towed a barge carrying aid supplies out onto the water. over the last two days, it's been loaded with around two hundred tonnes of food and medical supplies. the aid will be overseen by the world central kitchen organisation. but without a working port, it's not clear yet where the ship will actually dock, or how its cargo will be distributed inside gaza. meanwhile, talks involving mediators, aimed at establishing a pause in the fighting before the start of the muslim holy month of ramadan, have so far failed to reach a deal. both israel and hamas are accusing the other of preventing any progress. now, the stakes are high. the hamas—run health ministry says more than 31,000 palestinians have now been killed since israel

began its military action following hamas's attack on october the 7th. that day, around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people were taken hostage. with the latest, here's our senior international correspondent, 0rla guerin. and a warning, her report contains images you may find distressing. from the skies over gaza, aid comes dropping. but so little, and so late. 0n the ground, a desperate rush. many are left empty—handed. "i'm taking care of orphans," says this woman. "i want to feed them." and here, some of the most vulnerable, born prematurely into war and man—made hunger, now in intensive care. staff say since december, all the babies born at this hospital in rafah have been underweight.

dr ahmed al—shair says there's been no proper food for pregnant women for the past four months. no meat, milk, eggs, fruit or vegetables. barak is struggling to keep her children alive. she can't hide the bullet holes, and she can't hide her despair. "i'm feeding my baby with water," she says, "just so she doesn't die. i shouldn't be giving her this at her age, but i have nothing else to keep her alive." after five months of war, much of gaza is in ruins, and hunger is killing now, as well as israeli missiles and bombs. this man was buried alive

after an israeli air strike. palestinian civil defence prised him free. but they say nine people were killed here in this residential building, crushed as they slept — the fate of many palestinian civilians. in gaza, the muslim holy month of ramadan will be marked in the rubble, amid grief, burials and a looming famine. whatever aid may trickle in by air or sea won't be enough, and won't stop the war. 0 rla 0rla guerin, bbc news, jerusalem. meanwhile, sweden and canada have said they will resume aid payments to the un agency for palestinian refugees, unrwa. they were among 16 countries that paused funds after israel accused at least 12 unwra employees

of involvement in the brutal attacks by hamas on the 7th of october. unrwa is the biggest un agency operating in gaza. it not only provides healthcare, education and other humanitarian aid, but also employs about 13,000 people in gaza. the un says it is still investigating. earlier, i asked scott anderson — deputy director of unrwa affairs in gaza — about this. the investigation is ongoing. it's being conducted by the office of internal 0versight services from the un headquarters in new york. it's the highest investigative body within the united nations, and as unwra, we have no input or control over the investigation. so, like everyone else, we're just merely waiting for the outcome and hope that will come soon. and it's my understanding that unwra has agreed to make some changes, to make some checks on its staff and its finances, in order for donors like sweden, for example, to start resuming its payments. is there any more you can tell us about some of those changes?

well, i'd say every donor has different requirements based on their national law, and we do our best to adhere to those at all times. and then for our staff, we already do a lot. we do reference checks, we do background checks for all our staff. and in addition to that, we share our staff list with host countries, including israel, every year. and the last time we'd shared the list for staff employed in gaza or in west bank was in early—2023. and we've never heard from israel or any of the other hosts about the status of any of our staff having ties that would be contrary to un values. right, but in this case, you have now and an investigation has been launched, and that's why these countries — some of your largest donors, 16 in total — pulled some of their funding. philip lazzarini, at the time — the head of unwra — said that unwra was close to death after these payments had been suspended. is that still the case? well, i'd say we're not close to death, but probably on life

support would be a better way to say it. thankfully, we had donors such as the european union and now sweden, canada, united arab emirates that have stepped up and sent additional money. there is an increase in funding from spain recently. so many donors have really stepped up and provided additionalfunding. that doesn't mean we're out of the woods. there's still a lot of work that we have to do, but the funding situation looks better, which is very important for the people we're taking care of in gaza, and the entire population of 2.2 million that's in need, and we're most critically concerned with 300,000 people in the north, where there are pockets of starvation. well, so you bring up the north, and that is one of the problems, isn't it, getting that aid to the 300,000 people it's estimated up north? what do you believe needs to be done to make those land routes more viable for aid groups? do you believe aid groups like unwra, but also others like the world food programme, are receiving the adequate amount of security that they need? i think that it will require

all of us working together — unwra, wfp, unicef, who, unfpa — to fix the problem that's been created by the lack of supplies flowing to the north. i think the security environment certainly has degraded across unwra, to the point that it's become dangerous in some cases for the convoys to move. and i think what would really change the approach of the entire humanitarian community is if there was an opening from israel into the north of gaza where we could transit supplies directly. there's a port in ashdod, not even 50 kilometres away. we could move food in very quickly, and i think we could begin to address the problem of malnutrition and pockets of starvation that exist. that was scott anderson from unrwa.

more than 50 victims of islamist—inspired terror attacks in the uk have signed a joint letter warning against what they describe as "anti—muslim hatred". they say it's the "height of irresponsibility" for some politicians to equate extremists with "the vast majority of british muslims, who deplore such violence". their letter comes as the government prepares to set out a new definition of what "extremism" is. damian grammaticas reports. 58 signatories who have survived terror attacks by islamist extremists, lost children, parents or partners. hamas's attack on israel, 7/7 in london, and many more. they say it's important to distinguish between the extremists and the vast majority of british muslims, who deplore such violence, but warn recently, some politicians and others have been facilitating anti—muslim hate. one of those who signed, who lost his partner elaine mciver in the manchester arena attack, is paul price. everything is to divide and people wanting to choose sides, and thatjust leads to hatred, people being entrenched in eitherside, and ijust... you know, i thought it was important

for someone like me to put an open letter to mps to say, you know, stop using this inflammatory language. crowd chants: ceasefire now! ceasefire now! this weekend, tens of thousands were out in london again. the signatories to the letter say it's important that being muslim is not equated with being an extremist. mr anderson... lee anderson was suspended as a conservative mp last month. commenting on the marches, he said islamists had got control of london and its mayor, sadiq khan. but the government is concerned about extremist elements within such protests who makejewish communities and others feel unsafe, so it's taking action. there are some people, sadly, who hold views that are contrary to the values that we hold as a country, and we should not allow those views to percolate through society. this week, the government will unveil a new definition of what constitutes extremism, to highlight groups that threaten democracy.

they'll be banned from getting government funding. but civil liberties campaigners say it could be far too broad and backfire. and essentially, this new definition scoops up a number of community groups and charities that it might not be intending to scoop up. ministers say free speech and religious belief will be protected. labour says it's important extremism is defined and hatred tackled, wherever it's found. damian grammaticas, bbc news. the first exit polls from portugal's snap general election suggest no party is set for an outright majority. the centre—right democratic alliance appears to have the biggest share of the vote — projected to be between 27 and 33 percent. the far—right chega party is set for as much as 21 percent of the vote — much larger than at previous votes — although other leading parties have ruled out forming a coalition with them.

we have with us antonio costa pinto, who is a professor of political science at the university of lisbon. antonio, can you tell us more about what the polls are showing, and what this could mean for portugal? what is the role of the chega party now? apparently, the head of the democratic alliance, the major centre—right party in portugal, clearly stated several times that he will not do an agreement with chega. but chega, enough in english, is the elephant in the room since the only possibility i think for the democratic alliance is to do a minor owner terry and coalition government with the small centre—right wing the liberal initiative —— is to do a coalition government. but with 20%

to 21% of parliament, chega is going to 21% of parliament, chega is going to be a serious problem and at the same time, a serious threat to the stability of the centre—right wing party. but clearly, after eight years of socialist government, there is clearly a square mac return, although of course, with chega being although of course, with chega being a sort of an elephant in the room —— conservative return. making it difficult to have a stable majority orany difficult to have a stable majority or any cabinet of the right. and you say that there is clearly this rise in the conservatives. we have seen the far—right populists rise in other european countries. we didn't see it quite in the same way in portugal. what do you think this is teaching us about what has been going on in the last few years? well, i think especially perceptions of corruption. let's not forget that the snap elections were provoked by

the snap elections were provoked by the resignation of the socialist prime minister facing accusations from thejudiciary of prime minister facing accusations from the judiciary of corruption, with some ministers. so this is the typical populistjuncture. and of course, chega... the second element is immigration. untilvery course, chega... the second element is immigration. until very recently, portugal was used to the typical portuguese speaking african and brazilian immigration. portugal is facing even because it needs a new wave of asian immigration knew in the country from nepal, from pakistan, from bangladesh. and immigration is the second element in terms of the political speech and the radical speech of chega. so there are two elements associated with a very apparently progressive social programme of chega. you know

increasing minimum wage, pensions, etc. this double nationalistic, xenophobic agenda with an apparently progressive type of social agenda, makes chega and have success. especially among the young. there is also an electoral turn towards the right from young voters.— right from young voters. right. antonio costa _ right from young voters. right. antonio costa pinto, _ right from young voters. right. antonio costa pinto, thank- right from young voters. right. antonio costa pinto, thank you | right from young voters. right. i antonio costa pinto, thank you so much for all of that perspective, we really do appreciate your time. now it's time for a look at today's sport with hugh ferris. hello. it was a meeting of two rivals, either of which could have ended the day top of the premier league, and having struck a telling blow in the title race. but in the end, neither liverpool nor manchester city could go above arsenal, with their game finishing 1—all at anfield, in what was the final match betweenjurgen klopp

and pep guardiola in the english league. city took the lead throuthohn stones, who tucked in a well—worked corner in the first half. but then the game turned again, with ederson�*s challenge on darwin nunez. a penalty was given, with the brazilian goalkeeper eventually forced off through injury. but not before he'd failed to stop alexis mac allister from converting the spot kick to equalise for liverpool. it leaves arsenal top on goal difference from liverpool, with a one—point advantage over manchester city. wow! what i said before the game, so after that game, nothing will be decided, whichever result will be the outcome. and for me, it proved today for the first time 100%, yes, we are exactly where we should be and the boys, what they gave. honestly, i watch a lot of football and i watch a lot of city, but i don't think i saw them ever struggling like they did today. it looks like they had the feeling

they are winning 6—0, 7—0 every time the crowd do it. and after the penalty, we give away, so the momentum was there, but then they changed back. at the end, it was action for them, action for us and, yes, it's happening. spurs beat aston villa emphatically to improve their chances of claiming a top—four finish at their opponents' expense. two goals early in the second half, then two more in injury time, giving spurs a a—nil win that keeps them fifth. but they're only two points behind villa and have a game in hand. outstanding. the first half, we made them work really hard, we were confident that would bear fruit in the second half and we maintained that tempo and intensity with our pressing and then the quality of our football in the second half was outstanding. they are very strong at home and it was a big game of significance, so for us to perform like that, it's

credit to everyone. burnley let a 2—nil lead slip to draw 2—all at west ham, with their former striker danny ings getting the equaliser. brighton's win over nottingham forest came courtesy of an own goal, and it takes them eighth. bayer leverkusen took another step towards a first ever bundesliga title in germany, with a 2—nil win over wolfsburg. with nine games left, they're ten points ahead of bayern munich, after goals from nathan tella and florian wirtz on sunday, and they're still unbeaten in all competitions this season. while in spain, real madrid's advantage at the top of la liga is back to seven points, after they beat celta vigo a—nil at the bernabeu. thomas ramos kicked 20 points to extend france's six nations win streak over wales to five, with a bonus—point 115—24 victory in cardiff. five tries and 25 unanswered points in the final 20 minutes of the match ensured the french a second victory in the tournament and third place in the table, ahead of the final weekend's fixtures, while wales have now lost 13 of their last 15

matches in the six nations. abraham ancer blew a five—shot lead, then won a three—way playoff with paul casey and cam smith to claim the liv hong kong title on sunday. ancer led by five shots coming into the final round on sunday, but he was unable to hold on and missed a birdie putt on the last hole that would have won him the title, before finally clinching victory on the first playoff hole. the win was the mexican�*s first on the liv series. much more on the website, of course. back to you. studio: thanks so much. it's hollywood's big night, the oscars. things are livening up in los angeles, as stars start hitting the red carpet. christopher nolan's oppenheimer, which has 13 nominations, is expected to sweep up many of the top awards.

then there's barbie — last year's biggest hit at the box office — which has eight nods. our culture editor, katie razzall, has the latest from hollywood. a last chance to rehearse, a few final adjustments for the day that hollywood prepares for all year. this red carpet will soon be full of the a—list, stars vying for the highest accolade the movie business has to offer. and the sense here in hollywood is that this year belongs to director christopher nolan. his oppenheimer biopic looks set to win best picture, best director, best actor for cillian murphy, and best supporting actor for robert downeer. .. can you explain quantum mechanics to me? ..but not best supporting actress for britain's emily blunt. i heard you got stuck with baby—sitting duties... it would be a huge oscars shock if the holdovers' da'vinejoy randolph didn't win that one. the only acting race that feels uncertain is best actress. and here, history could be made. if lily gladstone triumphs for killers of the flower moon,

she'll be the first native american to win an acting oscar. she's an experiment! but she could lose out to emma stone for her tour de force in frankenstein—esque poor things. it's not all red carpet glamour for oscar nominees. jonny byrne is also collecting sound for a new film while he's here. it's the background sounds, the unusual things that you only get if you go out and collect them in the real world. those are the things that give credibility to a film soundscape. byrne created the haunting sound in the zone of interest. you never see what's happening in auschwitz, what you hear tells the horrors. he also worked on poor things. i've worked on films that have come to the oscars, but never with this much buzz around them. and obviously, to be here with two films is pretty extraordinary. so, yeah, it's quite wild. here we are, the oscars. with the academy trying to lure back viewers, oscars hostjimmy kimmel made a parody film with the barbie cast. the biggest film of the year is unlikely to be taking many oscars

back to the barbie dreamhouse, but what it's done for cinema is something to shout about. screaming katie razzall, bbc news, los angeles. jacqueline coley is the awards editor at rotten tomatoes. shejoins me now. i meant to say tomatoes, you can correct me on that later! thanks so much for your time. we have some real box office hits up for a lot of nominations committees that usual? yes, it is actually something that harks back to the oscars past, the idea that the biggest films in hollywood also happen to be the biggest films on oscar night. think back to a movie like titanic. so having oppenheimer and barbie oscar nominated this time is a huge victory for the academy. but this is one of the strongest classes we have ever seen as far as oscar nominees, whether it be big films like oppenheimer and barbie or smaller

films like the zone of interest and anatomy of a fall. tomato, tomato, which it —— we hope you check the site! i which it -- we hope you check the site! ~ ., , ., ., site! i will! we hear you might have details about— site! i will! we hear you might have details about the _ site! i will! we hear you might have details about the performance - site! i will! we hear you might have details about the performance of. details about the performance of ryan gosling this evening. yes. details about the performance of ryan gosling this evening. yes, i moderated _ ryan gosling this evening. yes, i moderated the _ ryan gosling this evening. yes, i moderated the academy - ryan gosling this evening. yes, i moderated the academy press i moderated the academy press conference and we spoke to the musical director and the showrunner and executive producer and they kind of teased a bit how this will be one of teased a bit how this will be one of the likely biggest oscar performances we have ever seen. there are up to 75 different shortlist kens that might pop out. if you saw we don't talk about bruno, they will pull out the stops again. this will be an interesting evening. via inside, rousing song, or the slow ballad of what was i made for, there is a lot this ceremony has to offer because the

films we are talking about was such a part of the pop culture lexicon last year and this year. find a part of the pop culture lexicon last year and this year.- a part of the pop culture lexicon last year and this year. and this is a harsh question _ last year and this year. and this is a harsh question because - last year and this year. and this is a harsh question because we - last year and this year. and this is a harsh question because we are i last year and this year. and this is. a harsh question because we are so close to the ceremony beginning. we can see the big rivals, we are showing that life right now. but i —— but i am going to ask your big predictions for the night? -- but i am going to ask your big predictions for the night?- predictions for the night? well, i think the critics _ predictions for the night? well, i think the critics have _ predictions for the night? well, i think the critics have already - predictions for the night? well, i | think the critics have already said films like oppenheimer and barbie were ones they enjoyed. but this evening will be a very big night for christopher nolan and oppenheimer. i expect it to pull at least six wins, may be upwards of eight ifjohnny byrne and the zone of interest take the sound praise away from him. but it will be a great night for universal pictures because they have the best supporting actress in the front seat and if by some strange fluke cillian murphy doesn't pull out a best actor win for oppenheimer, the most likely person it will go to would—be universal the

holdovers. it it will go to would-be universal the holdovers. , ., ., ., ., holdovers. it is hard to imagine a macro are — holdovers. it is hard to imagine a macro are not — holdovers. it is hard to imagine a macro are not winning _ holdovers. it is hard to imagine a macro are not winning after- holdovers. it is hard to imagine a macro are not winning after the l holdovers. it is hard to imagine a . macro are not winning after the hype around it. iwant macro are not winning after the hype around it. i want to ask about the hosts because there is so much controversy around them. they have chosen jimmy controversy around them. they have chosenjimmy kimmel for a fourth chosen jimmy kimmel for a fourth time, chosenjimmy kimmel for a fourth time, what do you make of that choice? i time, what do you make of that choice? ~ , , ., ., choice? i think it speaks to the s neru choice? i think it speaks to the synergy of _ choice? i think it speaks to the synergy of abc- _ choice? i think it speaks to the synergy of abc. he _ choice? i think it speaks to the synergy of abc. he is - choice? i think it speaks to the synergy of abc. he is there - synergy of abc. he is there long—time late—night host. when you have a show on nbc when the globes were part of that, they had seth meyers and that speaks to how they approach these events. you are going to see big trailers probably from abc movies as well as movies in general. you are going to see these films, some of which are still in theatres. poorthings films, some of which are still in theatres. poor things was a small limited release back in the fall and it is still in theatres now, it does pass 100 million. again, they are trying to make it hollywood's biggest night. trying to make it hollywood's biggest night-— trying to make it hollywood's biggest night. trying to make it hollywood's binest niuht. ., . ~ biggest night. thanks so much. and of course, there _ biggest night. thanks so much. and of course, there is _ biggest night. thanks so much. and of course, there is much _ biggest night. thanks so much. and of course, there is much more - biggest night. thanks so much. and of course, there is much more on i biggest night. thanks so much. and | of course, there is much more on the bbc news website so please do look for updates there. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello. for many of us, sunday's weather story has been one of cloud and rain, and where you've been stuck under those grey and wet conditions, particularly where you've been exposed to the breeze, it has felt decidedly chilly. temperatures, though, will climb through the week ahead, albeit with some further bouts of rain at times. low pressure has been dominating things through the weekend, that low centred just to the south of us, clouds swirling around it. and this stripe of cloud that you can see here, that has been producing some outbreaks of quite heavy and persistent rain. now, the rain will slowly but surely peter out as we head through the night. certainly, the heaviest bursts will ease, but it'll stay quite damp and drizzly, with some areas of mist and hill fog, and any clear spells that you might see across, say, south wales and the south—west of england, well, they could just fill in with patchy fog as well. so monday morning, quite a murky start. it's an in—between day, really. this low clearing eastwards, other weather systems waiting in the wings out west. but for many of us, not

a huge amount going on, aside from a lot of cloud, some mist and murk, a few brighter spells, perhaps most especially for wales and the south—west of england. this area of low pressure mayjust bring some rain perilously close to the east coast of england, and this frontal system will bring some rain across northern ireland and into western scotland. temperatures — 6 celsius in lerwick, 12 celsius in plymouth. through monday night and into tuesday, this little weather system saunters its way in from the west. this first pulse of wet weather bringing rain across wales, parts of the midlands and southern england. as we start tuesday, that should tend to pull away southwards, but we'll see more rain getting into northern ireland, perhaps west wales, north—west england and south—west scotland as we head towards the end of the afternoon. temperatures, though, beginning to creep upwards. the winds start to come from the south or the south—west, so we'll see highs between 8—13 degrees. a sign of things to come. through the middle of the week, these frontal systems just continue to wriggle around,

but will generally shift northwards. some outbreaks of rain, yes, but a feed of pretty mild air starts to set itself up. those south—westerly winds bringing a mild, even warm feel to proceedings, actually, particularly where you get to see some sunshine, and there will be some sunshine as we head through the second half of the week and into the weekend. but some rain at times. those temperatures, though, up to around 16 or 17 degrees. bye for now.

this is bbc news, the headlines. a spanish charity ship carrying two hundred tonnes of aid to gaza is preparing to leave harbour in cyprus. the open arms is carrying food and medical supplies. the us military has also sent a ship carrying equipment to build a temporary pier in gaza — though it will take at least a week to arrive. two people have been arrested over an investigation into a funeral director, on suspicion of "prevention of lawful and decent burial". humberside police said they removed thirty—four bodies from legacy independent funeral directors and took them to a mortuary. it follows police receiving a report on wednesday of "concern for care of the deceased" and the princess of wales has thanked the public for their support as kensington palace posts the first official image of her since she underwent abdominal surgery. in a mother's day message, catherine said "thank you"

for the kind wishes. now on bbc news — it's hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk with me, stephen sackur. 2024 is a big year for elections worldwide. in some countries, that means political uncertainty, a whiff of change in the air, but not in russia. russians will vote for a new president in just a few days' time with zero expectation of a shift in the established order. ruthless repression of dissent has been vladimir putin's hallmark. and over the course of the last decade and more, i've spoken to the few prominent russians ready to make a stand against putinism. the list includes alexei navalny, who died in prison last month. but navalny was by no means

the first putin opponent to die an untimely death. let's start with the late boris nemtsov. nemtsov had been an ally of putin's predecessor, boris yeltsin. when putin emerged from relative obscurity to grab the presidency, nemtsov became a noisy opponent and in 2015, he was shot dead close to the kremlin. who ordered the assassination? well, the truth has never come out, but putin's opponents have little doubt. in 2011, i went to moscow to meet boris nemtsov, who was then putin's biggest, highest profile critic. putin became a successor and became the president because berezovsky was his friend. and berezovsky supported him very much and berezovsky financed his campaign. you know that putin rule is, if you are a friend, you can do whatever you want. if you are an enemy,

you will be injail, right? even if they had just one case of corruption, my corruption, believe me, we will never talk in the hardtalk on bbc. you will came to the prison maybe, maybe not, i don't know. and try to give me some present or whatever. that's why if you are in the opposition in this country you have to be hundred percent honest because if putin found just one very small point, this is the end of your life. if vladimir putin wants to, he can run for president in 2012. conceivably, he could run for president again in 2018. he could be russia's leader until 202a. he seems determined to stick around. do you have the determination to stick around? well, it will be disaster. and i'm afraid that russia will not survive. russia survived now because of very

expensive oil, even like you mentioned before, oil will drop down. it will be the end of the country. we will lose caucasus. we will lose siberian regions. we will get real destroying like yugoslavia situation. because this gentleman built very expensive state, very corrupted and with huge mismanagement. they do not know how to run the country. they just think about their own pockets, pockets of their lovers and friends. boris nemtsov�*s murder became a potent symbol of the dangers of opposing the kremlin, but some activists remained undaunted. best known of them all was alexei navalny, the anti—corruption campaigner and opposition leader who, like nemtsov, was targeted for assassination. now, miraculously, he survived poisoning with novichok nerve agent in 2020. but having recuperated in germany, navalny returned to russia knowing

he was a marked man. he was swiftly convicted of financial crimes and imprisoned in the harshest of conditions. the prison authorities announced his death on february the 16th. i spoke to navalny at his anti—corruption foundation office in moscow back in 2017 as he made plans to run against putin in the coming presidential election. i'm going to run and well, i'm not a naive person. i understand that kremlin is very unhappy with me running, and i understand that they will do everything to prevent me from running. and recently, several kremlin�*s officials said that he is not allowed to participate. but still, i am going to appeal to the people and ask for them support. i mean, in this office where we speak, you've already got your logos organized, navalny 2018. but i put it to you that if you lose this court case in kirov based on accusations of embezzlement and fraud, you will be barred from running.

and whatever you tell me about your determination. .. about your determination... actually, doesn't nothing in the current in the current council. well, as i said, they imprisoned me for five years and they released me on the next day. so what kind of law? the same with my participation in mayoral election. it was it was almost impossible to participate. but when people came on the street and said, we're not going to recognise this election without him participating. so you think you can use people power? absolutely. actually, it's only tool i can do. it's all i have. but mr navalny, i'm tempted to say to you, get real. you know what happened to khodorkovsky, you know what happened to kasparov, who is now in exile? you know what happened. i am real. i can assure you that i'm real. and i have my brother spent his time injail,

he took away from his family. and as you mentioned, he is in solitary confinement and they are really torturing him every time when i'm issuing new investigations. so i'm a guy from the real life here in russia and i understand everything. and i do believe that people's support can prevail the strategy what kind of strategy putin has against me. boris nemtsov, whom you knew very well, was walking down the streetjust a couple of hundred metres from the kremlin when he was murdered. that is the reality of moscow today. you're not immune from that. in this particular room we have meeting with him and with the volunteers. we were preparing the big rally. and after this meeting with the volunteers, we went in the street and i was arrested for the 15 days and he was killed a week later. so i understand what's going on in russia, and i understand a lot of risks and i understand danger. but this is my country. i'm going to fight for my country

and i know that i'm right. another long time putin opponent, vladimir kara—murza, is currently locked up in one of russia's penal colonies. like navalny, this politician, activist and anti—putin campaigner survived attempted assassination by poisoning in his case twice. my colleague sarah montague spoke to him in 2017 from washington, where he was then recovering from his second poisoning. she asked him why he thought he had been targeted. first of all, if you look at the track record over the last several years, they seem to be an extremely high mortality rate for some reason among people who have either been critics and political opponents of mr putin's regime or people engaged in independentjournalism. and as you well know, these people have died in different ways, some of them strange, mysterious ways, not only inside russia, but also outside, primarily in your own country where you are now.

so, you know, this doesn't really fit into a normal statistical model, this high mortality rate. and in terms of my own case, again, i don't have any specific information. i didn't receive any threats. there were no warnings. this just happened out of the blue both times, both in 2015 and now. it's important to understand the nature of the regime that we have in power in our country today. and in so many ways, vladimir putin's regime is similar to what we had back in the soviet times. we have we have media censorship. we have the lack of free and fair elections in our country. we have political prisoners, dozens of people sitting in jail only for their political beliefs and political activities. and i can go on. but for all these similarities, there is one very important difference, and that is that while there were persecuting dissidents and engaging in anti—western propaganda, members of the soviet politburo didn't hold their money in western banks. they didn't send their children to study in western schools. they didn't buy yachts and luxury real estate and luxury cars

in western countries. leaders and operatives of the current regime do all that. they want to rule inside russia like it's a third world dictatorship, but they want to use all the privileges and freedoms and opportunities of the western world when it comes for themselves and for their families and also for storing their ill gotten gains. and what about your role? because there you are recovering in washington, but you plan to go back, don't you? do you not expect another attempt on your life? well, first of all, i will definitely go back. i will definitely resume my work. i think those of us who believe in a different future for russia and different vision for russia, who want to see russia become a normal, modern, democratic european country, we have a responsibility. we cannotjust run away and give up. we have to continue our work and we will do it. and i will do it. and i and i will absolutely go back. i don't know when that will happen, because doctors have advised me to hold off going back for a while, for at least until full physical recovery, because they said if there's a third time now, this will be your last one.

this is what they told me directly. but i will absolutely go back and we will continue doing what we're doing because there are many people in russia who reject this regime and what it stands for. you don't hear their voices. i mean, a minute ago you mentioned the so called popularity of putin, his fake popularity created by controlled media, the lack of free and fair elections and total political control, basically. and, you know, partly fear, partly propaganda. the fact is, i mean, i travel widely around russia, beyond moscow, beyond saint petersburg, and in various regions east to west. and everywhere i go, there are people who are fed up with this regime, whether it's corruption, whether it's political control, who want to see a different future for russia. and frankly, i think these people represent the best hope for the future of our country, and it is for their sake that we have to continue working. vladimir kara—murza returned to russia two months after putin's full scale invasion of ukraine. he was arrested just days later and has been in prison ever since.

last april, he was sentenced to 25 years for treason based on his criticism of putin's invasion. his wife, yevgeny kara—murza, stayed in the us with their three children and she now campaigns on his behalf. i spoke to her last year from her adopted home in the united states and she described the unbreakable will of her husband. as i said, in 2015 and 2017, my husband was poisoned. and both times the doctors gave him a 5% chance of survival. he was very lucky to survive. and he relearned how to walk and talk and, you know, carry out the simplest of tasks. and then he continued his work because he believes it to be more important, bigger than himself, if you want. and i've always known who i married to. i've lived with him for almost 20 years. and i deeply admire and respect my husband

for his steadfastness in his fight for his principled stand, and for his refusal to back down and refusal to be intimidated no matter what. i deeply respect and admire him for that, and i'm going to fight for him for as long as i stand. that is a powerful sentiment. ijust wonder whether you've had any opportunity to talk to him in recent months and whether there's any part of him sitting in that detention centre right now under the conditions you've described, that sort of regrets his determination to go back. so definitely does not regret his determination to be in russia and to fight the regime because to him, silence means complicity. and that he would never do it. it's something that my husband is incapable of. he is, of course, concerned

about, you know, funny, he is the one in prison, he is the one facing up to 21! years for treason, as the government calls him, calls his public protest against what's happening. but he's concerned about me and the kids, and that is also very much my husband. i am a grown up girl. i can handle a lot. and i've proven it over the years that i can. and i willjust continue fighting with my husband. as vladimir putin tightened his grip on power in the early 2000, he made it clear to russia's post—communist economic elite that their freedom to make money depended on their staying out of politics. mikhail khodorkovsky, one of the country's richest men, had been an early putin backer. but when he started to rail against kremlin corruption, he became an enemy.

in 2005, he was arrested and found guilty of financial crimes. he spent a decade in prison and was then exiled. i spoke to him just weeks after russia's all out invasion of ukraine, and i asked him whether he regretted that early support for putin. do you think he changed

or did you get him wrong at the beginning? the soviet empire collapsed 30 years ago. in countries like ukraine, they have begun to build a civil society, democratic institutions, the rule of law. it's very far from perfect, but the process has begun. why? why three decades on, has that process not even really begun in russia? and people like you have poured money into open russia foundation and other civil society initiatives have failed. why?

initiatives have failed.

do you feel ashamed of your own country today? because you live outside it, you live in a very different world. and ijust wonder whether you really feel russian anymore or whether you just feel shame about your country.

vladimir putin insists that his rule commands overwhelming popular support and his poll ratings are consistently high when elections come around. he does win handsomely. but this in a country where rival political candidates are carefully vetted, though seen as a real threat, are blocked. those who are not can be useful tokens in the kremlin�*s carefully choreographed elections in 2018, that role fell to xenia sobchak, who stood against vladimir putin for the russian presidency, an election that alexei navalny was barred from running in. now she had little political experience, but she did have close family ties to vladimir putin. it's interesting that dmitry peskov, the chief spokesman for for mr putin, actually welcomed as soon as you declared that you were going to be a candidate, he welcomed it and said you seemed eminently qualified because this is what they're doing of course, every day. they're trying to hug me to death. they're trying to say to people that, you know, she's scrambling candidate and things like this. this is their dirty game. they play this dirty game. and if you know what they did

yesterday, i will tell you what they did yesterday. boris titov, who was part of presidential administration, goes to this elections as a candidate, saying that he goes against putin, but it's laughable. he goes against me, he's my spoiler. so this is a dirty game. they play from one side, they say, we want her to be part of us. i don't want to be part of them. they're trying to hug me so tight in their arms from other parts, they send a spoiler to my campaign, a person who worked in the administration of president and now he's against him. this is laughable. all right. let's test this proposition that you truly, truly are an opponent committed to bringing putin down. navalny talking about you said, ah, the difference is putin hasn't helped my family. clearly pointing to the fact that putin was the protege of your own father. you knew him throughout your life. he was a friend of the family. sorry to disappoint you or to disappoint navalny,

but it's better to say that putin was a protege of my father. my father was the mayor... navalny says no one helped my father whatsoever. it's my father who helped putin to work with him. so and putin was one of the people he worked with. but i was ten years old at this time. answer me this direct question why have you always avoided saying that putin himself is deeply corrupt, as navalny puts it, the father of russian corruption. you have never attacked putin personally. indeed, when boris nemtsov was assassinated and many critics of putin said that putin was behind it, you said absolutely not, that is not what vladimir putin would do. why do you defend him in this way? i'm not defending him. i'm just telling the truth. even if it's political,

not unsuitable. i really think that putin didn't say anyone to kill nemtsov. i know that it's beyond what he would decide. how do you know that? i'm just totally sure about the principles on which they stand. he would never say it like this. in the end, ms sobchak won just 1.7% of the vote in that 2018 election. putin romped home with 77%, and ms sobchak has since been reminded of the need for constant loyalty. last october, she briefly fled russia as three employees of her media company were arrested on suspicion of extortion. and when she returned home, she had to issue a fulsome apology. of all the interviewees in this programme, one is imprisoned, two are in exile, and two are dead. to stand up to vladimir putin means risking everything. the last words should go to the late

alexei navalny, who returned home, having survived poisoning, fully aware the kremlin would do anything to silence him. there is a word for that — it's courage. at what point would you decide that this is not worth it, that you're you've had enough? i really hope that it will be never such a moment when i'll decide this, because it means that everything is useless. what i've done before this all this sacrifice made from my family, my brother made by boris nemtsov, who was killed, he was shot in the back. close to the kremlin. a lot of other people, we have political prisoners, hundreds of them all over the russia. and if i will stop, it means all these sacrifice are useless and they are not. and i do believe in what i'm doing. and i do believe that my alternative is better for russia.

and i am absolutely agree, i am absolutely sure that we will succeed and i believe in victory. and we have a tough time right now and this empirical delusion and yes, but trends, political trends, they are changing. people became poor people, people asking questions. and i have the support from family and from people, and i'm not going to let them down. alexei navalny, we have to end there, but thank you for being on hardtalk. thank you very much. hello. for many of us, sunday's weather story has been one of cloud and rain, and where you've been stuck under those grey and wet conditions, particularly where you've been exposed to the breeze,

it has felt decidedly chilly. temperatures, though, will climb through the week ahead, albeit with some further bouts of rain at times. low pressure has been dominating things through the weekend, that low centred just to the south of us, clouds swirling around it. and this stripe of cloud that you can see here, that has been producing some outbreaks of quite heavy and persistent rain. now, the rain will slowly but surely peter out as we head through the night. certainly, the heaviest bursts will ease, but it'll stay quite damp and drizzly, with some areas of mist and hill fog, and any clear spells that you might see across, say, south wales and the south—west of england, well, they could just fill in with patchy fog as well. so monday morning, quite a murky start. it's an in—between day, really. this low clearing eastwards, other weather systems waiting in the wings out west. but for many of us, not a huge amount going on, aside from a lot of cloud, some mist and murk. a few brighter spells, perhaps most especially for wales and the south—west of england. this area of low pressure mayjust bring some rain perilously close to the east coast of england, and this frontal system will bring

some rain across northern ireland and into western scotland. temperatures — 6 celsius in lerwick, 12 celsius in plymouth. through monday night and into tuesday, this little weather system saunters its way in from the west. this first pulse of wet weather bringing rain across wales, parts of the midlands and southern england. as we start tuesday, that should tend to pull away southwards, but we'll see more rain getting into northern ireland, perhaps west wales, north—west england and south—west scotland as we head towards the end of the afternoon. temperatures, though, beginning to creep upwards. the winds start to come from the south or the south—west, so we'll see highs between 8—13 degrees. a sign of things to come. through the middle of the week, these frontal systems just continue to wriggle around, but will generally shift northwards. some outbreaks of rain, yes, but a feed of pretty mild air starts to set itself up. those south—westerly winds bringing a mild, even warm feel to proceedings, actually, particularly where you get to see some sunshine, and there will be some sunshine as we head through the second half

of the week and into the weekend, but some rain at times. those temperatures, though, up to around 16 or 17 degrees. bye for now.

live from london, this is bbc news. a ship carrying 200 tonnes of aid to gaza prepares to leave cyprus, after securing all necessary permits to travel. victims of islamist terror attacks in the uk urge politicians to stop suggesting all british muslims are extremists. portugal's centre—right democratic alliance is poised to finish first in the country's parliamentary election — just short of an outright majority — according to exit polls. and the biggest night on the entertainment calendar is finally upon us. it is the oscars. will oppenheimer win big? hello. i'm azadeh moshiri. welcome to the programme. an aid ship is about to set sail to gaza from cyprus,

as concerns continue over the humanitarian situation