donated by a businessman accused of making racist remarks. a presidential rematch — joe biden and donald trump secure their parties�* nominations for november's election. and, as a boat carrying aid makes its way the un says a new land route has been used to deliver food to northern gaza for the first time in three weeks. the chief—of—staff of the late russian opposition leader alexei navalny has accused president putin's henchman of carrying out an attack against him in lithuania. let's get more on that story now. a long—time ally of the late russian opposition leader alexei navalny has been attacked outside his home in lithuania. leonid volkov was assaulted with a hammer and tear gas while in his car in vilnius on tuesday night. the alleged assailant is unknown,

as is their motive. mr volkov has lived outside russia for some years for his own safety and served as mr navalny�*s chief—of—staff until the opposition leader died suddenly in prison in the russian arctic last month. speaking earlier on the day he was attacked, mr volkov highlighted the threats navalny�*s team were facing by standing up to vladimir putin. that's why putin launches all these criminal cases and poisons and killings etc, indeed to push people out of the country where it is very complicated for them to stay relevant. matthew sussex is senior fellow of central european studies at the australian national university, he gave his take on the situation. regardless of who was directly responsible for beating up leonid volkov, the message that it sends will be a fairly common one for those who follow russian politics.

and that is, if you are an opponent of the putin regime, as leonid volkov through his relationship with mr navalny most certainly was, it is possible for you to end up injured, ostracised or potentially dead. and more importantly, that can happen regardless of whether you are in russia's borders or outside of them. i said anything that is how this message will be interpreted. it is a sad reality that when it comes to elections in russia, bad things tend to happen to people in the lead up to happen to people in the lead up to the selection, it is mr navalny dying in a prison cell and leonid volkov being beaten. we can remember back to 2018 when the poisoning in salisbury happen two weeks before the presidential election. so these things do tend to be linked. you can be sentenced to ten to 15 years for

criticising the special military operation in ukraine or even find yourself arrested and subject to searches, perhaps even being sent to the ukrainian front for carrying a blunt piece of paper. people who were mourners at mr navalny�*s funeral found themselves arrested and fined. this is a very risky thing for russians to do, simply because the leaders of state control also robust. 0ne because the leaders of state control also robust. one would think the war in ukraine would be front of their minds but it is not something they have any political agency over, not something that can affect. the russians have turned their minds inward and there is a sense of profound apathy about the future, that realistically it only holds more of the same and that same may be worse. it is instructive to note, some of the biggest topics of debate

are over egg prices. the daily cost of living for russians and concerns over whether that will get better or worse as this conflict drags on. we will have more on that story and there is more on our website. the first minster of wales, mark drakeford will give evidence to the covid inquiry today. he's expected to face questions over the speed of his response to the pandemic and tensions between his government and downing street at the time. 0ur wales correspondent, hywel griffith reports. as the man leading wales through the pandemic, mark drakeford gained unprecedented power over people's daily lives, announcing where they could go and who they could see. gradually, his government took a different path to the rest of the uk. by the autumn of 2020, that involved wales having its own separate firebreak lockdown. we have now reached the difficult decision to introduce a two week firebreak. that decision, and others

like banning the sale of nonessential goods, were lauded by some and lamented by others, as mark drakeford stressed the need for caution, moving more slowly out of lockdown than other parts of the uk. at his first appearance before the inquiry, the first minister accepted there were flaws in the welsh government's pandemic planning, distracted by brexit and other things. since then, the inquiry has heard his government moved slowly, even after the virus arrived in europe. his relationship with the former prime minister, borisjohnson, has also been laid bare. months went past in the pandemic without the meeting. the inquiry will want to know what went wrong, and if party politics played a part. the questions come just as mr drakeford prepares to leave the political stage. next week he'll stand down as first minister. the inquiry then gives him a last chance to frame his legacy.

hywel griffiths, bbc news. let's speak to our wales correspondent, tomos morgan. thank you so much for your time. what more do we know about the concerns that have been raised so far at the first minister will likely have to answer for? i far at the first minister will likely have to answer for? i think man of likely have to answer for? i think many of those — likely have to answer for? i think many of those that _ likely have to answer for? i think many of those that was - likely have to answer for? i think i many of those that was mentioned there, this is his last week in office. his last significant contribution as first minister will be giving evidence here, really. i think three main things he will be quizzed on throughout the course of today. first, one of the things that has been a running theme throughout all of these inquiries is the use of whatsapp. we have seen it in other parts of the inquiry, how much did the first minister used it and what did use it for? he has been inconsistent about what he used

whatsapp for. the health minister said his messages had been deleted on whatsapp when he gave it in for technical issues in 2022, an embarrassment for him. the first minister said he hadn't used it at all during the pandemic, but it was revealed on the first day of the inquiry he had used it for some messages to people he was working with. the second thing will be the relationship between the welsh government and the uk government throughout the pandemic. the first minister has made it clear there was not a good relationship with boris johnson throughout that period of the pandemic. we have the chief medical officer giving evidence saying, describing the relationship as an omnishambles. and the welsh secretary in the uk government said the lodge government was essentially making different decisions to the uk governmentjust for the making different decisions to the uk government just for the sake making different decisions to the uk governmentjust for the sake of it. it will be interesting to see what

mark drakeford and what more information he will be able to give that. and lastly will be about the planning aspect that the lodge government were in. it is fair to say mark drakeford throughout the course of the pandemic, he did gain a reputation of being a more cautious leader, easing restrictions and lockdown slower than other parts of the uk. as we have already heard, there is an admittance that possibly there is an admittance that possibly the lodge government were not properly prepared and we know as well that the cabinet here in wales didn't discuss covid for the first time until a month before the first lockdown was put in place. a lot of things to get through today and a lot of people will be looking at this to see if this will shape the legacy that he leaves behind next week. ., w legacy that he leaves behind next week. ., ., ~ , . legacy that he leaves behind next week. ., ., , . ., week. tomos, thank you very much for that. let's return to gaza — and a boat carrying 200 tonnes of aid is making its way to gaza from cyprus. meanwhile, the un says a new land

route has been used to deliver urgently needed food to northern gaza for the first time in three weeks. let's speak to laura lanuza. she is the communications and projects director at the spanish charity open arms that is sending the food aid flotilla to gaza. thank you for your time, we do appreciate it. it is a huge logistical challenge, could you tell us more about what is being done to get this food there and get it there securely and safely?— securely and safely? hello, good mornin: , securely and safely? hello, good morning, thank— securely and safely? hello, good morning, thank you _ securely and safely? hello, good morning, thank you so _ securely and safely? hello, good morning, thank you so much. - securely and safely? hello, good i morning, thank you so much. yes, securely and safely? hello, good - morning, thank you so much. yes, it has been a huge challenge from the very beginning. in fact, we were in conversations with our partners some months ago and it seemed impossible. even three weeks ago when we started in larnaca to work with our teams and the world central kitchen teams. there was a tiny possibility to make

this happen. all of our technical research and technical projects, working on the operational and technical part, as well as the diplomatic, in the end we could get to the end and finally get this mission to go on. it was really difficult because also in the logistical part in gaza, there is no port so we had to solve technical problems about disembarkation and also the navigation. in the end, even though there were many obstacles, we could make it. what obstacles, we could make it. what ha--ens obstacles, we could make it. what happens when _ obstacles, we could make it. what happens when the _ obstacles, we could make it. what happens when the aid _ obstacles, we could make it. what happens when the aid does get there, once those challenges you have described have been overcome, because there are security issues when it comes to distributing aid. when it comes to aid convoys, the world food programme had to suspend

deliveries because of what it described as chaos and violence, do you have the security that you need? 0ur you have the security that you need? our partners at world central kitchen are already on the ground. they have been cooking for the population there, so they have their logistics. they will be the ones getting the aid to disembarking all the food and they will store it and cook from this food to the people. it is a direct link and they are confident about the security and all the process until the end. we confident about the security and all the process until the end.— the process until the end. we are auoin to the process until the end. we are going to have _ the process until the end. we are going to have to _ the process until the end. we are going to have to leave _ the process until the end. we are going to have to leave it - the process until the end. we are going to have to leave it there, . the process until the end. we are i going to have to leave it there, but thank you for your time.— thank you for your time. thank you so much, thank _ thank you for your time. thank you so much, thank you. _ around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. jason is an experienced youth worker employed by birmingham city council. he's spoken to us anonymously, using a different name to make public his concerns about cuts to youth services and the poor mental health of his colleagues.

the council's deserted the youth service for the last ten years. this decision shows no value for a service that's done nothing wrong. the city council's decision to slash the budget for youth services by more than £2 million could see the closure of some of its 18 youth projects and centres. the plan is for birmingham youth services, the careers service and also the 1a to 19 team to be redesigned to save money. but critics argue it should not be about closing buildings. the city council told us an independent review will allow them to prioritise the most vulnerable young people. staff are being supported by their managers and they add that they're extremely grateful for their ongoing commitment. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. a bbc documentary has found egg freezing patients may have been

misled by some clinics about their chances of having a baby later in life. the number of women undergoing the procedure in the uk is at a record high — and is often advertised as a way for them to delay having children. but the fertility regulator says it's concerned about how success rates are being communicated to patients, as there's no guarantee the expensive and invasive procedure will work. anna collinson reports. going into the operating theatre, that's when it gets really real. ro is about to have her eggs retrieved. the idea, to freeze them at a younger, more fertile point, and use them when she's ready to have a baby. so i was supposed to be getting married in a few months�* time, but this summer things changed, and i had to make the decision to leave that relationship. i'm an absolute realist going into this, and i know that freezing my eggs does not guarantee me success of having a child in the future.

all i know, it's like, it's a positive thing for me to do right now. ro's been injecting hormones to help her body produce multiple eggs. under sedation, a long, thin needle is carefully inserted into each ovary to retrieve them. each egg is smaller than a grain of sand. they're painstakingly checked, before 13 are frozen and placed in storage. initially, i wasjust doing one injection a day. they've started the process there. you can start to see on my little tum—tum. there's been a boom in social egg freezing, where women undergo the procedure for non—medical reasons, an idea propelled by celebrities like vicky pattison. i thought what i was doing, right, was showing young lasses and young women that there's like, alternatives, you know? that we don'tjust have to rush into things with, potentially the wrong bloke. but women have told us navigating a giant private fertility sector can be daunting. single at 39, natalie decided

to freeze her eggs in 2020. you know, as a woman, you do have a biological clock that is ticking. there's a physical toll that it takes on your body. you're injecting yourself multiple times a day. then there's like, the emotional aspect of that. the science teacher says she struggled to understand what her chances of having a baby were. it's just purely now based on trust and hope, rather than data and research. i feel it was a journey that i felt very alone on. i don't think i expected, you know, the financial toll. honestly, it was probably the biggest hit. it was just trying to find the money from anywhere to make this happen. fertility clinic websites can be a key source of free information. but analysis by the bbc found a1% of clinics which offer private egg freezing in the uk may have breached advertising guidance. we found some clinics are prominently displaying attractive sounding success rates, with percentages in the high 90s.

but that's only one stage of the egg freezing journey. the chances of going on to have a baby are far lower, somewhere between 20 and 30%, and that isn't always made clear. we shared our findings with the fertility network. what is missing are the success rates for the ivf process, which are much lower, which are 25%, which are 30%, which depend on age, which could be 5% if a woman was over 40. i feel very angry for patients because they are being misled by this level of information. fertility experts told us patients should get personalised information about their chances of success at a consultation, but stress websites must be transparent. the uk's fertility regulator is clear. the responsibility to inform lies with clinics. freezing eggs for medical reasons is very different to freezing

for social reasons. and as a regulator, we are concerned about the success rates. we are concerned about the information women are getting when they're considering this process. although record numbers are freezing their eggs, research shows that very few are actually coming back to use them. natalie has, and fell pregnant in 2022. you're so excited, but then there's this scary kind of, oh, my god, this actually worked, i'm going to have a baby. she now has a son, who will turn one next week. the whole process costs more than £18,000. holding huxley for the first time, i mean, you'rejust — you're in awe that this baby has come from a frozen egg. you know, science is fantastic. it's wonderful, really, that we can do this now. women my age, single, make this decision, make this choice. i have been really, really fortunate, and i'm forever grateful for that. anna collinson, bbc news.

we can now speak to anna collinson, who joins us from the newsroom. what more have we heard from the women involved who have gone through this process? you women involved who have gone through this process?— this process? you get a real sense, i think, this process? you get a real sense, ithink, in this process? you get a real sense, i think, in that _ this process? you get a real sense, i think, in that piece _ this process? you get a real sense, i think, in that piece and _ this process? you get a real sense, i think, in that piece and even - this process? you get a real sense, | i think, in that piece and even more in the documentary because we have spoken to dozens of women who have gone through this procedure. it is important to point out that many of them found freezing their eggs incredibly empowering, they are able to take control of their timeline, as they see it. we have also seen women who have worked second jobs, used up their savings, given up the dream of a home and moved in with theirfamily so they dream of a home and moved in with their family so they can afford to pay for egg freezing. their hope is that this will prolong their chances

of being able to have a baby in the future. unfortunately, the stats currently show there is no guarantee this will necessarily work. there is a lot on how this has been communicated to patients because it is not always being made clear. the regulator is clear that it is the responsibility of the clinics. it is a bit of an insight into how they might be communicating behind closed doors because it does matter what it said on those websites and the regulator, fertility doctors and specialist have said this is vital that the information given is transparent.— that the information given is transparent. that the information given is transarent. , ., , transparent. there has been a big increase in _ transparent. there has been a big increase in this, _ transparent. there has been a big increase in this, how— transparent. there has been a big increase in this, how much - transparent. there has been a big increase in this, how much more. increase in this, how much more popular has egg freezing become? the popular has egg freezing become? tue: fertility popular has egg freezing become? tte: fertility industry in general is booming and it is worth hundreds and millions of pounds and egg freezing plays a big role in that. in 2011

there were around 400 egg freezing cycles and procedures every year. a decade, 2021, there were more than 4000. one of the big reasons for the increase is women who are freezing their eggs for non—medical reasons, also known as social egg freezing. they freeze their eggs at our younger, more fertile point and use them down the line.— younger, more fertile point and use them down the line. there is more on them down the line. there is more on the bbc news — them down the line. there is more on the bbc news website. _ them down the line. there is more on the bbc news website. if _ them down the line. there is more on the bbc news website. if you - them down the line. there is more on the bbc news website. if you want. them down the line. there is more on the bbc news website. if you want to | the bbc news website. if you want to find out more about this issue you can watch the documentary called egg freezing and me on the iplayer. bbc analysis has found 41 clinics offering this privately could be breaching advertising guidance. we have many case studies and please read. you are watching bbc news.

she rose to internationalfame as one fifth of the spice girls — but despite selling millions of records, singer mel b later found herself penniless and living back with her mum. citing the breakdown of an abusive relationship for her troubles, mel now hopes she can use her own experience to help others reclaim their lives. charlotte gallagher went to meet her. mel b made millions from the spice girls. but a few years ago, after leaving an abusive marriage, she was left with almost nothing, and had to move in with her mum in leeds. her ex denies the allegations. it's embarrassing, it's shameful. i'm all about girl power. yeah, look at what i'm just leaving, which is a complete girl powerless situation. i was doing a spice girls tour in 2019 here, then i lived with my mum because i wasn'tjust emotionally and physically abused, it was all the financial abuse too. i didn't realise that i didn't actually have enough — as much money as i thought i had.

so i had to literally eat humble pie, live with my mum, and my mum was the kind of person that would say, "oh, you've left him now, you're fine." but that couldn't be further from the truth. 0bviously, any situation is better than being with your abuser, but when you've left that kind of abusive situation, you have to — it's like starting all over again. you have to learn to trust people, to trust yourself. has it helped moving back to leeds? 0h, definitely. i mean, my mum's one of seven, so i'm surrounded by friends, family, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, the whole nine yards. and it's, you know, leeds is beautiful. i've got like, a great park walk and a forest. it's so green and so down to earth. and people are just — ijust find them warmer. and what was it like getting that house, buying a house? oh, yeah. so i didn't really think that that would ever be on the cards for me.

i mean, even though i've been looking at houses on and off for the last couple of years, but knowing i didn't have the money to really afford it, you know, ijust put my head down and worked and lived frugally, and hence i've been able to buy my own house. but this is like five, six, seven years on, when i didn't really have much. so you're saying you were shopping an aldi? yeah. i still love shopping in aldi and lidl. i don't think i'm ever going to stop doing that, to be honest! you're still so leeds?! yeah, i'm still leeds. i'm still a leeds girl at the end of the day. a big part of mel's life now is campaigning on behalf of other domestic violence survivors, as the patron of women's aid. ijust bring awareness and i talk about abuse and i talk about what i've been through. and i'm the voice of all the other survivors out there that don't have a voice, that can't be heard, or can't get their point across, especially when it comes to things like trying to change the justice system and trying to enforce more laws that are more supportive towards people that are coming out of an abusive situation. # this time you got to take it easy...#

it's now 30 years since the spice girls first auditioned. and if you're sat with one of them, well, you have to ask this. do you think there's the will in the group to get back together as a five? i think there always has been. there always is, yeah. it's just a case of logistically getting it going. and you're still friends, you've still got your whatsapp group? yeah. when i read about the whatsapp group, i was like, that must be so amazing. i think i leave it quite a lot and then ijoin it again. who's the funniest? me, of course, because i'm the northerner. well, mel c is very funny too. we're all funny in all different ways. and you still support each other — victoria beckham's doing your wedding dress? well, yeah, i might have a few wedding dresses. i've decided yet. but yeah, she's said yeah, she'd love to. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. hello again, a lot of rain in

south—east england already. some parts have already had the average rainfall for the whole of march. as we've run through this accumulation chart, further rain to come in the next few days. where we have the darker blues, we could have 30 to 40 millimetres of further rain. but the jade means up to 70 millimetres of rain, exacerbating the risk of localised flooding. we have the rain pushing south into north wales. murky conditions in the west but brighter skies in the south—east. for scotland and northern ireland, blustery showers that gales developing across the far north—west and temperatures eight to 15 degrees north to south. through this evening and overnight, this band of rain retreats northwards. it will bump

into some cold air in the highlands above 800m, so we will see some snow here. in the south it will be cloudy, showers and it will be mild. nine or ten, cloudy, showers and it will be mild. nine orten, but cloudy, showers and it will be mild. nine or ten, but a bit cooler as we push further north. into tomorrow, the band of rain continues to push northwards. another weather front bringing showers across england and wales. some of those will be heavy and thundery and it will be a windy day across england and wales but where we see any sunshine we could have temperatures get up as high as 16, even 17 degrees and favourite

parts sunshine at the south—east, north—east england and the north of scotland. heading on through the latter part of the week, this area of low pressure comes in with the weather fronts bringing of low pressure comes in with the weatherfronts bringing rain away. it will be a windy day, particularly across england and wales with strong winds across the england channel, even gale force at times that showers and rain clearing away from northern ireland and scotland through the course of the day. more of a northerly throw to scotland. they will feel cooler but temperatures down and we're looking at 11 to 13 degrees. into the weekend the forecast unsettled. rain at times, it will be windy at times

and on saturday the temperature dips but it does come back up again on sunday. but it does come back up again on sunda . , , ., but it does come back up again on sunda. , ,. , but it does come back up again on sunda. , sunday. this is a significant day because this — sunday. this is a significant day because this is _ sunday. this is a significant day because this is probably - sunday. this is a significant day because this is probably mark i because this is probably mark drakeford's last contribution sunday. this is a significant day because this is _ because this is probably mark drakeford's last contribution as first minister whilst giving evidence in the covid inquiry in west cardiff, east cardiff, sorry. i guess a couple of things that will be cropping up today, and one of the things they might want to get out the way straightaway is the use of whatsapp. i think it is a theme that has been running throughout all the covid inquiries as they have travelled throughout the country. how much was the first minister using? was he using it at all? he has been inconsistent in his

answers. he originally said he hadn't used it at all but it transpired on the first day of evidence that one of the barristers did say he was using it. he will need to clear that up. another member from need to clear that up. another memberfrom his cabinet, the former health minister said yes, whatsapp was being used, but not being used to make any decisions. it was just being used to discuss things. he will need to clear that. secondly, the relationship with the uk government. mark drakeford has been clear with his feelings on boris johnson during the pandemic. they were not warm feelings towards each other, they didn't meet at all in the first couple of months and the dialogue wasn't there. i

they felt they were losing out on the other side of the body when businesses were opening up quicker but in the initial stages before lockdown came into force was the planning there? i think mark drakeford has already admitted it possibly wasn't where it needed to be because they had their focus smoke on the resolution to brexit deals and things like that so i think he will be asked more about that today. lastly, the only other thing that is a contentious decision is a policy of testing residents after they got released from hospital going back to care homes and testing asymptomatic patients and testing asymptomatic patients and residents and workers in care homes. that is something that many of the families want more clarity on and i think for them it will be there planning before the pandemic as well. this there planning before the pandemic as well. �* , there planning before the pandemic as well. ~ , ., there planning before the pandemic as well. �* , ,, ., , ., , as well. as you mention, questions surround the _ as well. as you mention, questions surround the government's - as well. as you mention, questions | surround the government's planning before and after the pandemic. how did wales differfrom

before and after the pandemic. how did wales differ from the rest of the uk in