hello, i'm carl nasman. it comes as no surprise... russian president vladimir putin has claimed a landslide victory in the country's election. exit polls suggest mr putin received about 87% of votes cast. however, there was never a level playing field. any credible opposition to vladimir putin is either injail, in exile, barred from running, or dead. at a news conference on sunday, he thanked his supporters. he downplayed this week's protests in russia, praised china, and said it is the west, not russia, that lacks democracy. mr putin said he is open to talks about a ceasefire in ukraine during the summer olympics. but he said if western countries were to send troops to ukraine, it could put the world on the brink of world war 3.

as the bbc�*s russia editor steve rosenberg reports, mr putin also mentioned his late critic, alexei navalny, by name. for vladimir putin, six more years in the kremlin. russia's president is sounding more confident than ever. translation: whoever might want to intimidate us, - whoever might want to suppress us, ourwilland our conscience, they have never been able to do it, and never will. then, mr putin's first public comments on the death ofjailed opposition leader alexei navalny. translation: you may be surprised, but a few days i before mr navalny died, some colleagues of mine told me there was an idea to exchange him for certain people in prison in the west. you can believe it or not. i said, "i agree," even before he had finished talking.

but what happened, happened. election results on russian tv, not a hold your breath moment. "the winner, by a mile and a half, vladimir putin." "what an incredible level of support and unity around the figure of putin," he says. "and a powerful signal to the west." but in this race, vladimir putin was, from the start, unbeatable. there were other candidates. but no serious challenger. potential rivals here are swiftly removed from the political stage, forced into exile or put injail. and elections, tightly controlled by the kremlin. but if they couldn't win, mr putin's opponents could at least protest. and they did, in many parts of russia. opposition figures had called on russians to flood polling stations at midday,

to vote against putin, or spoil their ballots, a symbolic protest against the system. we were here. i've never seen queues like this before at a russian polling station. before his death in prison, alexei navalny had backed the protests. it took courage to come. the authorities had warned that large crowds at noon would be viewed as illegal gatherings. ivan, not his real name, told me why he had come. it was important for me to see the faces of other people who would come here today, and to see that i'm not alone in my political views. and that there are a lot of muscovites and other people who believe that russia can be another country, with another future. for now, there'll be no change in the kremlin. this election was never about would vladimir putin

win or wouldn't he? elections here are designed to ensure he wins, and wins big. from the outset, for the kremlin, this vote was about creating the impression that mr putin has a mandate from his people, not only for war in ukraine, but also for what he's doing at home, transforming russia into an increasingly militaristic society, in confrontation with the west. but across town, muscovites continue to pay tribute to alexei navalny, the man who had wanted to be russia's president. here, a ballot paper. in place of putin's name, navalny�*s. and this message — "he's the candidate we wanted." steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. alexei navalny�*s widow, yulia, led the calls for the election day protests against vladimir putin. and she took part in demonstrations in berlin on sunday, saying she cast a ballot with her late husband's name written in. and here in washington,

an anti—putin protest formed on sunday among voters and demonstrators to condemn putin's war in ukraine, and the death of alexei navalny. the bbc�*s will vernon was there. it was there. was a large crowd outside the it was a large crowd outside the russian embassy today, several hundred people queueing up several hundred people queueing up to cast their votes in the collection that as we know is not a genuine election, and most of the people there were also taking part in a protest event, so alexei navalny, the late opposition leader and his supporters had called on russians all across russia and across the world to attend polling stations at midday sharp to register any kind of protest vote they liked against vladimir putin, and there were, you know, bearing in mind that this part of the united states there aren't huge numbers of russians living here, there were quite a lot of people, and they were holding flags and banners, placards, many of them

dressed in the colours of the ukrainian flag or the blue and white of the russian anti—war movement, and one of alexei navalny�*s closest aides was also there. i navalny's closest aides was also there-— navalny's closest aides was also there. i had a word with her, also there. i had a word with her. she _ also there. i had a word with her, she said _ also there. i had a word with her, she said that _ also there. i had a word with her, she said that alexei - her, she said that alexei navalny would have been delighted to see the turnout today and she said that although this election, so—called election, the outcome is predetermined, she says it is predetermined, she says it is nonetheless important for people to come out and show their solidarity. joining me live is maria snegovaya, seniorfellow for russia and eurasia at the center for strategic and international studies. i want to ask you about these results first, not being called a free or i want to ask you about these results first, not being called fair election but a fair big victory nonetheless vladimir putin how you will average this victory? do you think he will claim that he won nearly 90% of the vote in this election? it

nearly 9096 of the vote in this election? , , , election? it is pretty horrifying. _ election? it is pretty horrifying, not - election? it is pretty i horrifying, not because election? it is pretty - horrifying, not because of the numbers. it will probably another record of new electoral fraud and manipulation, but this number is more reflective of how much the president, the leader, is willing and dares to draw, what number is he willing to give himself? and the fact that he has given himself 87%, almost 90%, feels —— shows he is almost complete completely unrestrained. he has given himself a mandate to do whatever he wishes, whatever he pleases, and in light of this and the war of the russian opposition leader alexei navalny, all of that of course really paints a really dark picture of what is to come next. ., .,

next. there were no real opposition _ next. there were no real opposition figures - next. there were no real opposition figures in - next. there were no real opposition figures in the | opposition figures in the selection but there were protests, we did see those images of people lining up around noon, this was an organised protest, what did you make of it, how surprised where you to see this, given the risks they do face?- you to see this, given the risks they do face? well, the risks they do face? well, the risks are _ risks they do face? well, the risks are horrible _ risks they do face? well, the risks are horrible and - risks they do face? well, the risks are horrible and of- risks are horrible and of course all of those people deserve admiration and commendation but let's remember what they are reacting against, the horrible murder of alexei navalny, who was kept as a prisoner for the last three years and eventually was murdered by the kremlin, whether directly or indirectly, it is clear it is a pedicle merger. while it is very horrible that these people are show —— great that the people are showing up in numbers, but those numbers are tens of thousands of russians, they still represent a minority. and

second, despite the fact that they are showing up, it has not been constraining people, in fact over the last year, he has been increasingly more and more unhinged and i think what is coming next after this election is even more political terror against his political opponents, domestically, and perhaps also externally, as well as another round offensive against ukraine, possibly another mobilisation of people to fight this war. so we should not be unfortunately, you know, distracted by the numbers in the russian streets because we know that they are not constraining, as a matter of fact, he is unfeigned and dangerous.— fact, he is unfeigned and dangerous. there was an interesting _ dangerous. there was an interesting moment - dangerous. there was an i interesting moment after dangerous. there was an - interesting moment after the election results were announced, and ready for the first time in many years, blood putin mentioned alexei navalny by name, he almost made it a point not to say his name, what did you make of that moment today? did you make of that moment toda ? ., �* , ., did you make of that moment toda ? . �* , . . did you make of that moment toda ? ., today? that's a great point, it is actually _

today? that's a great point, it is actually a — today? that's a great point, it is actually a kgb _ today? that's a great point, it is actually a kgb style - today? that's a great point, it is actually a kgb style not - today? that's a great point, it is actually a kgb style not to l is actually a kgb style not to mention people of political influence by name, not to assist them, so in that sense putin has certainly followed his training, to remind you he was a kgb background. at this point he doesn't feel navalny represents a medical threat any more and so he feels free to mention him by name because thatis mention him by name because that is not the case of before. full anime putin has been in powerfor 2a years, more full anime putin has been in power for 2h years, more than anyone in russia. thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us, maria snegovaya. after weeks of deadly violence in haiti, police say several gang members have been killed in an operation to clear roadblocks and seize weapons in the capital port—au—prince. the united nations estimates 350,000 people have been displaced by the unrest. our central america correspondent will grant is one

of the first international journalists to gain access to the country, and reports from cap—haitien, where many people have been heading for relative safety. cap—haitien suffers from almost all of haiti's deepest problems — grinding poverty, chaos, disorder and corruption. but, crucially, not gang violence. so it's becoming the main safe haven for people forced to leave the gang—controlled capital, port—au—prince. another bus—load arrives, having run the gauntlet of a dangerous journey. "it took us hours longer than it should, as we had to reroute around the gang checkpoints and there was gunfire," says this passenger, who was clearly shaken. phanel pierre made the same journey six months ago. it's almost impossible to pull yourself from poverty in haiti. phanel managed it. but becoming a middle—class

businessman made him a target. the gangs destroyed his business, ransacked his house and tried to kidnap him, and in the process plunged him and his family back into poverty. translation: this is just| 296 of the life i used to live. infact, i'm not living. i'm just existing. the longer the power vacuum in haiti continues, the worse the humanitarian emergency here becomes. in turn, more and more displaced people will flock to the city of cap—haitien in search of refuge from the violent gangs that have such a tight grip on the capital. one of haiti's main gangs has released a slickly produced video, currently circulating online. it shows a well armed militia, a group prepared to take on the haitian state and any international force which might be deployed here. while the security situation is that of a failed state, so are the politics.

we have violence in haiti. uri latortue was the head of the senate and is currently under us sanctions for alleged links to drug trafficking and gangs. that's something he denies, and points the finger of blame at his opponents instead. the government works with the gangs, and this is the problem. the gangs become another institution of the state. and in this situation, police can't do anything. amid the worsening crisis, the us state department has laid on a charterflight for americans to leave for florida. several dozen took up the opportunity to flee. however, that's a luxury most haitians aren't afforded and must seek a safer place inside haiti instead. will grant, bbc news, cap—haitien, haiti. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a senior cabinet minister has

denied the conservative party has a problem with race after it accepted at least £10 million from a donor who is accused of racism. transport secretary mark harper told the bbc he was in the most ethnically diverse cabinet there has ever been. tory donor frank hester apologised after reportedly saying ex—labour mp diane abbott made him want to hate all black women. princess diana's brother earl spencer said he needed residential treatment to deal with trauma after writing his recently released memoir. in the book, he talks about the violent abuse he suffered when he was sent to boarding school at the age of eight. speaking to the bbc�*s laura kuenssberg, he said his research for the book led to a breakdown. work on the m25 in surrey is on schedule for completion before rush hour begins injust a few hours time. the unprecedented daytime closure of one of the country's busiest stretches came into force on friday night, with the motorway due to reopen fully at 6am monday morning.

you're live with bbc news. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu said that palestinian civilians will be given the chance to leave rafah before israeli ground forces launch an expected assault on the city in southern gaza. rafah is crammed with some 1.5 million palestinians, many from other parts of gaza, seeking refuge. israel has proposed setting up humanitarian islands for gazans to move to. but aid groups say the plan is practically impossible. despite growing international pressure, mr netanyahu doubled down on his position to forge ahead saying... no international pressure will stop israel from achieving all of its war aims. he spoke alongside german chancellor, olaf scholz, who is in the middle east and has re—stated his opposition an israeli offensive on rafah, along with other world leaders. our correspondent mark lowen has more, from jerusalem. well, germany's chancellor, olaf scholz, is keeping the pressure up on benjamin netanyahu over more

humanitarian aid getting into gaza, but also over israel's plans to send its military into rafah in southern gaza, where about 1.4 million gazans are sheltering, more than the more than half of the entire population of the gaza strip. israel seems determined to push into rafah. the prime minister saying earlier in the day that israel is determined to push on to total victory as he says it, which means an operation in rafah to crush hamas and get the israeli hostages back. but that has met with international criticism, not least from the us. president biden said a week ago that that would cross a red line as far as his administration is concerned. and a couple of days ago, the senate majority leader in the us, in effect, called for benjamin netanyahu's replacement, calling him an obstacle to peace. but in vintage netanyahu style, he is pushing back. he's digging in. he's facing more criticism both at home and abroad. but he is sounding defiant, saying israel will push on,

it will achieve these twin aims of destroying hamas and getting the hostages back. and he lambasted his international critics for, in his words, losing their moral conscience and forgetting about the hamas attack of 7th october. the question is, if the israeli military does go into rafah, what would they do with the those sheltering there? they would have to find a safe place for them to be. they would have to provide them with food and water. it would take time. it would take manpower. at the moment, the us says they have not received a detailed plan from israel over the operation in rafah. so there are still big, big questions over the logistics and timing of that operation if indeed it does happen at all. here in the us, presidentjoe biden held a shamrock ceremony on sunday to mark st patrick's day at the white house. the president spoke about the wars in ukraine and gaza, calling for an end to russian aggression and for peace in gaza. ireland's prime minister or taoiseach, leo varadkar, was also in attendance and echoed similar sentiments

when speaking of the worsening humanitarian situation in gaza. we stand together and oppose russia's brutal war in ukraine. give me a clap for that, please. applause and the taoiseach and i agree about the urgent increased humanitarian aid in gaza and the need to get a ceasefire deal and bring the hostages home and move towards a two state solution which is the only path for lasting peace and security. the only path for lasting peace and security-— and security. the people of gaza desperately _ and security. the people of gaza desperately need - and security. the people of. gaza desperately need food, medicine, and shelter, and most especially— medicine, and shelter, and most especially they need the bombs to stop — especially they need the bombs to stop. this has to stop on both— to stop. this has to stop on both sides, the hostages brought home and humanitarian relief_ brought home and humanitarian relief brought in. for more on the situation in the middle east,

i spoke to the former chief spokesperson of the us central command, joe buccino. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu sang today he still plans to go ahead with the military offensive in rafah despite extreme pressure internationally from the us as well, what is your reaction to his comments today? i well, what is your reaction to his comments today?- well, what is your reaction to his comments today? i think it is auoin his comments today? i think it is going to _ his comments today? i think it is going to be _ his comments today? i think it is going to be a _ his comments today? i think it is going to be a disaster. - his comments today? i think it is going to be a disaster. i - is going to be a disaster. i think the pressure is going to grow. once this goes in, i think it will take a lot longer than people think and i think it will look a lot worse than people anticipate. he it will look a lot worse than people anticipate.- people anticipate. he has warned this _ people anticipate. he has warned this could - people anticipate. he has warned this could take i people anticipate. he has - warned this could take several weeks, is that your assessment of that? i weeks, is that your assessment of that? ., ., weeks, is that your assessment of that? ~ ., ., ~ of that? i think what will take several weeks _ of that? i think what will take several weeks is _ of that? i think what will take several weeks is the - of that? i think what will take l several weeks is the reservists are going to move in, so basically the idea they are going to call up about 80,000, 90,000 of the river this they sent back. they had about 200 reservists in this fight, they are going to bring them in, ring in 80,000, 90,000 of them

in to move as many of the 1.5 million gazans out of rafah, move them out, so that will take weeks to bring them in, to establish military quarters, it is not going to look good, it is not going to look good, it is not going to look very formulaic, it is going to be very sloppy but it will take weeks to do that. and then a ground offensive is going to go in. ~ ., ., ., , ., in. we heard from netanyahu there were — in. we heard from netanyahu there were plans _ in. we heard from netanyahu there were plans to _ in. we heard from netanyahu there were plans to create i in. we heard from netanyahu there were plans to create a l there were plans to create a so—called humanitarian island, so—called humanitarian island, so moving dozen civilians out of the way, as you were describing, is that the credible plan that president biden has been pushing for, in terms of keeping civilians safe, if this invasion does go ahead? ., , , ., ., ahead? that is the plan that president — ahead? that is the plan that president biden _ ahead? that is the plan that president biden has - ahead? that is the plan that president biden has been i president biden has been pushing on and secretary of state blinken has been pushing on and my former colleagues at us central command have been recommending the idea. the problem is there is not a lot of places to go, the road is a crater, the conclave is devastated, the cities are

destroyed, the building are ruins. so you don't have a lot of places to push people to and a lot of people don't necessarily want to leave rafah so this all is going to look pretty bad, the images coming out of there are going to be pretty gruesome, videos are going to be horrific, and that is going to be, i think, before the ground offensive goes in. how then do you thinkjoe biden of the us might respond if israel does go ahead with this plan and results are as you describe? i plan and results are as you describe?— plan and results are as you describe? i think that there are a coople _ describe? i think that there are a couple of— describe? i think that there are a couple of things - describe? i think that there are a couple of things he i describe? i think that there l are a couple of things he can do. first, but conditions on military aid to israel, he has not done that yet, he really has done very little thus far, it has been all rhetoric, you saw senator chuck schumer make some very critical remarks of netanyahu but nothing above that. i think so far, they have put no conditions on aid to israel, i think you will see

that, but frankly all of that is going to be too late, israel has what it needs now to continue this campaign in rafah, they've got the aid they need, they've got the weapons they need, and we have supported them in a sufficient amount that they can go in that without any further aid from us. without any further aid from us, ,, , ., ~' ., without any further aid from us. .,~ ., ., without any further aid from us. speaking of aid, we have seen some — us. speaking of aid, we have seen some aid _ us. speaking of aid, we have seen some aid coming - us. speaking of aid, we have seen some aid coming in - us. speaking of aid, we have seen some aid coming in by| us. speaking of aid, we have - seen some aid coming in by sea, we have seen several airdrops by the yes, it still doesn't seem to be enough, the un warning of fanning taking hold in the territory, should the us be doing more to open up these land entrances to gaza, to really get aid in a bit more quickly? there are several ways of entering gaza doesn't require coming in by sea. that's right, chose, i think, the absurdity of the situation that we are building, the united states is building a floating peer because the country, israel, that we are supporting militarily and we are sending money to, won't

allow our trucks to go in by ground, they won't open up the ground, they won't open up the ground routs, so the roots in from egypt, the roots in from the north, lot of those are bombs but you can get aid in a lot faster if you push the aid in by ground. i lot faster if you push the aid in by ground-— lot faster if you push the aid in by ground. i want to turn to the ceasefire _ in by ground. i want to turn to the ceasefire talks, _ in by ground. i want to turn to the ceasefire talks, israel- the ceasefire talks, israel believed to be sending his head of intelligence to doha for the latest round of ceasefire discussions, is there any reason we can expect a deal soon? there was optimism that seems to have dropped away. i think that both sides here are going to inch towards a deal, i do think you are going to get a deal of some kind here, i think hamas has dropped its demand for a complete ceasefire, i think that is big, that's a big nugget that they have given there. i think with senator schumer, i think there is more pressure on netanyahu with net

—— senator schumer�*s remarks. and i think that we are going to get to a deal here, i really do think we are going to get to some kind of ceasefire here in the next three to four to five weeks. �* ., , , the next three to four to five weeks. �* ., , ., the next three to four to five weeks. �* .,, the next three to four to five weeks. ~ ., , ., ~ weeks. always a pleasure, thank ou for weeks. always a pleasure, thank you for coming — weeks. always a pleasure, thank you for coming in. _ let's turn to some important news around the world. a state of emergency has been declared in south—west iceland after the fourth volcanic eruption since december. the latest is believed to be the most powerful so far, with lava bursting 200 metres into the air at times. authorities said lava flows have been slow and steady since sunday morning. the village of grindavik has been evacuated again, only a month after residents were allowed to return. people around the world have been marking st patrick's day with parades and events celebrating irish culture. this was the scene in chicago, where the city's river was dyed bright green. it's an annual tradition that dates back to 1962. the environmentally friendly dye does not harm wildlife and only stays in the water for around five hours.

i just want to leave you with these live pictures of the white house, lit up in green for st patrick's day. as you heard earlier, ireland's leader leo varadkar has been meeting withjoe biden today. a president who is very proud of his irish heritage. that's all for now. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. we're into some much milderfeeling air now with temperatures in the mid teens quite widely on sunday as a wet start to the day for some of us. but we saw some sunny spells emerging such as here in nottinghamshire and there's more sunshine on offer as we head through monday — it's a similar looking day. for the vast majority of us, it should stay dry, some low cloud, mist and murk to begin with, but then it will brighten up quite nicely. but overnight there are some weather fronts just gradually

clearing eastwards. a lot of the showery rain is starting to fizzle out on the easterly track. and this is how we'll start off the day on monday. temperatures between five and eight degrees. it's a cooler start than yesterday morning across much of england and wales. but still temperatures in mid to high single figures so mild for the time of year. lots of dry weather around these areas of cloud just pushing further eastwards, the rain fizzling out. a lot of dry weather, some sunshine, clouds thickening from the west as we head through the afternoon. and there will be some rain across northern ireland for the second half of the day, too. a brisk south—westerly wind blowing, particularly for irish sea coast. and it's still mild, it's warm but not quite as warm as on sunday, perhaps temperatures between 11 and 16 degrees celsius. and there's more rain on monday night. it's just dragging its way further eastwards as we head through the night and into tuesday. so tuesday we'll see this front sinking southwards and eastwards bringing more cloud across east anglia, the far south east of england. showery outbreaks of rain pushing eastwards across scotland.

but for many central areas there'll be some bright spells and perhaps a scattering of showers, too. it's turning cooler now in the north and the west. but still, that mild air hangs on further south and east, 16 degrees celsius here. and you can see that quite nicely on the air mass chart here with that milder feeling air, still the south—westerly wind, colderfeeling, conditions taking hold across the north and the west. now, as we go through wednesday, we're going to start to see this wave develop on this front, and that's going to bring us perhaps some further outbreaks of rain, but still a lot of uncertainty regarding just where this rain is likely to be. it could clear away from eastern scotland towards the end of the day. and i think many north—western areas could stay largely dry, too. look, it's still very mild across the south east of england, 17 degrees celsius, perhaps here. as we go through thursday though, we're likely to see some more rain, especially in the south of england and wales. and it could turn a bit colder by friday. bye— bye.

a game changing move for evs in india's fast—growing economy. and as muslims around the world observe ramadan, we look at how some businesses

are supporting their workers who fast from dawn to dusk. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. in india, officials have lowered import taxes on some electric vehicles made by companies that invest at least $500 million in the country and start production within three years. i am joined start production within three years. iamjoined by start production within three years. i am joined by our india business correspondent in mumbai. this announcement, could it be a game changer? yes, indeed, it is very much in line with the kind of lobbying companies such as tesla have been doing with the indian government over the past several months. elon musk famously complained a few months ago that the indian duty structures are way too high for the likes of haslar to bring investment into the country. and he was right, india currently levies about 70—100%

import duties on electric