hello, i'm carl nasman. we want to bring you the latest on two major stories developing at this hour. in a moment, we'll discuss the revelation that britain's princess of wales says she is in the early stages of cancer treatment. but first, the islamic state militant group has claimed responsibility for an attack on civilians in russia on friday night — it's a claim that us officials say they have intelligence to corroborate. russia says at least 60 people — including children — were killed and almost 100 were left injured. thousands came out to see the russian rock band picnic, which was due to perform in krasnogorsk, a suburb to the north—west of moscow. the music group said on instagram earlier that they sold out the crocus city hall. videos from those inside were posted on social media, you can see some here. they show panicked

concertgoers taking cover as shots ring out inside the venue. a large fire has engulfed the roof of the complex. it is now believed to have been extinguished. russian special forces were sent to the scene. reuters reports that president vladimir putin has wished a speedy recovery to those injured. steve rosenberg, our russia editor, has the very latest from moscow — and there are some upsetting scenes in his report. screaming. gunshots. a russian concert hall under attack. gunshots. gunmen had stormed the venue near moscow, the crocus city hall. they went on the rampage, shooting their way through the building... screaming. ..and into the auditorium. there was supposed to be a rock concert here. gunfire. instead, this. gunfire. the attackers walked through the stalls, firing indiscriminately. dozens of people are reported to have been killed.

"they've set the hall on fire! "the hall's on fire," he says, as more shots ring out. then, the rush to escape. "there's panic! "panic," she says, as the crowds fled from the auditorium and tried to get out. soon, the whole building was ablaze. the mayor of moscow said it was a terrible tragedy. the russian foreign ministry called it a bloody terrorist attack. "i saw how the terrorists came in and started shooting "everyone," he says. "we were led to an exit but it was locked. "we ran around, looking for a way out. "in the end, we went into the basement and waited "for the emergency services." police and russian special forces rushed to the scene. some of the attackers are reported to have escaped. the search is on to find them. two weeks ago, the us embassy here issued a warning that extremists planned to target large gatherings in moscow, including concerts,

within 48 hours. it's not clear whether there's any connection between that alert and this attack. the images are just horrible and just hard to watch and our thoughts, obviously, are going to be with the victims of this terrible, terrible shooting attack. who were the attackers? there's been no confirmation on their identities from the russian authorities but late tonight, islamic state claimed responsibility for the attack. the scale of destruction and loss of life is becoming clear after an assault on civilians that has shocked russia. and as steve mentioned there, the us warned of an large scale attack. well the white house national security council has just released a statement about this. spokesperson adrienne watson said:

officials from french, german and american governments condemned the attacks and shared condolences on the incident. ukraine's foreign ministry also rejected responsibility, saying, quote: our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford has more on the ukrainian perspective from kyiv. i think of course because russia and ukraine are at war

it was inevitable that some may suggest that cave was in some way involved. putin —— kyiv.. the put out a statement saying it categorically rejects any kind of accusation of ukrainian involvement and we heard from a presidential adviser saying ukraine has nothing to do with it and said there was no way that ukraine would attack civilians in this way, that ukraine's war with russia would be decided on the battlefield. ukrainian military intelligence went much further and they in fact accused frusher of staging this attack, saying it needs to bolster support for its war and for mobilisation to find more soldiers to actually fight for vladimir britain's war on ukraine and there is no evidence of that of course, these two countries are very much involved in an information and psychological war as well as one on the battlefield so there's a lot that's still unclear but i can tell you here in ukraine as the news of that attack moscow was coming in, there was fear here because people were worried that ukraine would be blamed and that that would have

consequences here in ukraine, that it could be an escalation of russia's war on ukraine, more devastating attacks just after last night we saw 150 missiles and drones fired by russia right across ukraine. that's the view from kyiv. with me is our correspondent will vernon. he's a former moscow correspondent. joins me here. what more do we know about the timeline and what was said and what was potentially listened to in moscow? i what was potentially listened to in moscow?— to in moscow? i think many russians — to in moscow? i think many russians would _ to in moscow? i think many russians would be - to in moscow? i think many russians would be pretty i russians would be pretty shocked when they are reminded that russian authorities were warned both publicly and privately by washington that an attack was imminent. and we saw it in that security alert, published by the us embassy in moscow. 15 days ago. it warned of imminent plans to target large public gatherings specifically, as you mentioned, concerts. now, three days ago,

president putin actually commented on this warning. he said, well, he dismissed it and poured scorn all over it and said this was an attempt to intimidate russia, to destabilise russian society and to sofia but the other important thing we've learned here in the us tonight is that when us officials back into the bbc�*s partner cbs news confirmed that washington has intelligence that this isis claimed that it is responsible for the attack, that claim is legitimate, genuine —— and to sow fear. legitimate, genuine -- and to sow fear-— sow fear. youth reported in russia for _ sow fear. youth reported in russia for many _ sow fear. youth reported in russia for many years - sow fear. youth reported in russia for many years and l russia for many years and turning to the actual attack and where it took place, how familiar are you with the site itself and is this large theatre or concert venue? croker city hall, part of an enormous complex just outside of moscow, there are several shopping centres there, exhibition halls, sports facilities, you know, all kinds of things —— crocus city hall.

and if you are a gunman planning an attack, to me, and i've been there several times, it would seem like the ideal target, it's friday night, a concert of a very popular rock group packed with people but you know not in the centre of moscow, so outside of moscow, less security, discards and somewhere like moscow's crocus city hall would probably have a handful, may become of un— armed guards on each entrance, some metal detectors that are not always working. nothing, certainly, that would present any kind of serious obstacle to gunman like we saw today. there will be questions, _ gunman like we saw today. there will be questions, of _ gunman like we saw today. there will be questions, of course, - will be questions, of course, in the coming days about the security, the level of preparedness in russia. we haven't heard much yet from vladimir putin. what do you make of the general level of preparedness and safety in the country right now, given it is a country at war?— a country at war? first thing to say is _ a country at war? first thing to say is that _ a country at war? first thing to say is that this _ a country at war? first thing

to say is that this kind - a country at war? first thing to say is that this kind of. to say is that this kind of thing is incredibly unusual in russia. moscow in particular is a very safe city. shootings are rare. but in terms of the kind of general security picture, russia is a more dangerous place now compared to just over two years ago when the full—scale invasion of ukraine was launched. thousands of convicts, for example, have been released from russian prisons, handed weapons and sent to the front line. some of the murderers, many of them then returning to their home towns and villages. hundreds of thousands of russian men have been mobilised, sent to the frontline. some of them of course should be at home serving in the police and security forces. you know, there are more weapons in circulation. i'm not saying there's a direct link between there's a direct link between the war in ukraine and what we saw today but you know, in terms of the general picture, most russians now feel less safe than they did just over two years ago. safe than they did 'ust over two years agmh two years ago. interesting. will vernon, _ two years ago. interesting. will vernon, former - two years ago. interesting. | will vernon, former moscow correspondent with your view on

those events tonight. thank you so much. turning to our other main story tonight. the princess of wales is undergoing treatment for cancer. catherine made the deeply personal announcement herself in a video message. it comes after she had stepped back from public life to take time to recover after undergoing abdominal surgery injanuary. catherine says that although it was thought at the time that her condition was non—cancerous, tests had found cancer had been present and she is in the early stages of a course of preventative chemotherapy. here's that very personal message filmed at windsor earlier this week. i wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you personally for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst i've been recovering from surgery. it has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family but i've had a fantastic medical team who've taken great care of me, for which i'm so grateful. injanuary, i underwent major abdominal surgery in london

and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non—cancerous. the surgery was successful. however, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. my medical team, therefore, advised that i should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy, and i'm now in the early stages of that treatment. this, of course, came as a huge shock and william and i have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately, for the sake of our young family. as you can imagine, this has taken time. it has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment but, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to george, charlotte and louis in a way that's appropriate for them and to reassure them that i'm going to be ok. as i've said to them, i am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal in my mind,

body and spirits. having william by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance, too, as is the love, support and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. it means so much to us both. we hope that you'll understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while i complete my treatment. my work has always brought me a deep sense ofjoy and i look forward to being back when i'm able. but for now, i must focus on making a full recovery. at this time, i'm also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer. for everyone facing this disease, in whateverform, please do not lose faith or hope. you are not alone. that message from catherine, princess of wales. and from windsor, our royal correspondent daniela relph has more. this was the last official

footage of the princess of wales alongside the royal family, on christmas day at sandringham with her three children, who she is now so keen to protect after going public with news of her diagnosis. back in december, all had seemed well as she spoke to the crowd. thank you so much. that's very sweet of you to come and say hello to us. yeah, well, very happy christmas. but three weeks later, she was admitted to hospital for major abdominal surgery. it was in her post—operative tests that signs of cancer were found. tonight, buckingham palace issued a statement on behalf of the king. he said: he also said that he and the queen: a message, too, from

california. the relationship is still strained but the duke and duchess of sussex issued their own statement. harry and meghan said: but perhaps the most personal message of all came from the princess's other on instagram. james middleton posted a childhood photograph with his sister and said: the clamour for information about the princess's condition has been intense. this footage, published earlier this week, filmed by a member of the public, showed her shopping in windsor with her husband last weekend. and this photo, released on mother's day, to ease some of the public speculation did the opposite, with the princess issuing a statement to say she'd made some edits to the image. a turning point appears to have been this thanksgiving service in windsor for king constantine of greece at the end of february. the rest of the royal family

were there but the prince of wales pulled out that morning very suddenly, due to a personal matter. we now know this was around the time the princess was diagnosed and began her treatment. it's been an incredibly turbulent time for the family. the couple's priority has been to protect their children and ensure they have time to explain what's wrong to prince george, princess charlotte and prince louis. they now hope the speculation will stop as they spend time privately for the easter break. in windsor, whether family lives, there was sympathy and support for the princess. i think she very brave to set the record straight and i hope she will now get privacy for her and herfamily. it will now get privacy for her and her family.— will now get privacy for her and her family. it is sad. you don't wish — and her family. it is sad. you don't wish that _ and her family. it is sad. you don't wish that on _ and her family. it is sad. you don't wish that on anybody, l don't wish that on anybody, whoever_ don't wish that on anybody, whoever they are.— the princess won't be back to a full programme of public duty for some time. we may see her occasionally, but only when her medical team have approved. for now, the princess of wales wants time,

space and privacy to deal with her diagnosis and recovery. kensington palace said it would not be disclosing more details of catherine's cancer but it said her chemotherapy treatment began in late february and she is now on a "recovery pathway". julie bauman, director of the george washington university cancer center told us what this pathway may look like. from a medical perspective, i have taken away from her information that first, she had a major abdominal surgery is the initiation of a cancer treatment. and that second of all, she is going through what she is describing is preventative chemotherapy and the medical term for that is adjuvant chemotherapy. my patients often ask me after they've gone through surgery why would i need chemotherapy now if the surgeon got it all? right? and people often think

of cancer almost like a ball or a tumour and once it is removed, then the cancer has been addressed surgically, anatomically. the reality is, though, depending upon the stage, depending on the type of cancer, that cancer can have travellers. there can be small cells that have broken off or travelled like a root system into adjacent tissues and they can be travellers that have travelled through the bloodstream to another organ. so, when we have a patient who has just had a major surgery to treat their cancer, we make a decision about adjuvant chemotherapy and in the context of stage, stage one, two, three orfour, but what of stage, stage one, two, three or four, but what i learned from that is that she's getting preventative chemotherapy or adjuvant chemotherapy with the goal of qr. —— with the goal of cure. with me to discuss international reactions following the princess of wales' diagnosis is our news correspondent, helena humphrey. of course a raft of reactions

we would expect both from world leaders and also people just around the world who have been concerned about this. we could start with a look at the uk prime minister rishi sunak. he put out a statement released on x, saying: he also addressed that feverish speculation, saying: also that international reaction coming in as we would expect from french president emmanuel macron in europe, replying to the video put out by the princess of wales, saying: further statements as well from across the pond here in the united states. it was spoken about the white house press briefing today and we can take a listen to what glennjohn pierre the spokesperson had to say. pierre the spokesperson had to sa . ., ,

pierre the spokesperson had to sa , ., , ., say. our thoughts are with the duchess of _ say. our thoughts are with the duchess of cambridge - say. our thoughts are with the duchess of cambridge and - say. our thoughts are with the duchess of cambridge and her| duchess of cambridge and her family. — duchess of cambridge and her family, members and friends during — family, members and friends during this incredibly difficult time. and certainly, we wish _ difficult time. and certainly, we wish her a full recovery. and — we wish her a full recovery. and i— we wish her a full recovery. and i think it's important that we respect their privacy, especially at this time, so i'm not going _ especially at this time, so i'm not going to go further than that — not going to go further than that. �* ., ., ., . not going to go further than that. ., ., ., ., ,, that. an automatic press secretary _ that. an automatic press secretary there - that. an automatic press secretary there would i that. an automatic press i secretary there would also that. an automatic press - secretary there would also is president biden has now retweeted that video and set myself along with the first ladyjill biden are praying for the recovery of princess kate as they often call her here in this country. also in canada, we have reaction coming in with remembering of course canada is a member of commonwealth and also a constitutional monarchy, prime ministerjustin trudeau putting out a statement, saying: and what i willjust say that is noteworthy is that a site of international world leaders,

just stories abound around the world taking a moment, we've also heard in the uk people stopping in shopping malls for examplejust to watch stopping in shopping malls for example just to watch the video put out by the princess of wales and also in london, people who are familiar with the london underground from the reverter of course is the tube will not often you see these whiteboards just buy the ticket barriers and moments of national interest and this time around we are seeing one for the princess of wales, telling her to take all the time that she needs to get the treatment you need and focus on things that will get you through this then also saying at the end of that statement, to anybody affected by cancer, please never lose faith or hope. you are not alone. we need to care for one another because cancer does not care about you and me. i think reflecting that statement made by catherine princess of wales at the end of her video as well, the message of hope to people suffering from something which at the end of the day we know one in two people around the world will be affected by. pa. people around the world will be affected im— affected by. a message clearly resonating _ affected by. a message clearly resonating with _ affected by. a message clearly resonating with so _ affected by. a message clearly resonating with so many - affected by. a message clearly| resonating with so many people around the world. the bbc�*s

helena humphrey, thank you very much. now to the latest developments on the conflict in the middle east. russia and china have blocked a us draft resolution that tied an immediate ceasefire in gaza to the release of hostages held by hamas. the two countries said the text put conditions on a pause in the fighting and failed to clearly oppose a planned israeli ground offensive in rafah. it was the first time america had supported calls for an immediate ceasefire in the region, having previously used its own veto to block such demands. the draft us resolution also called for more aid to enter gaza and voiced us concerns about an expected israeli offensive in rafah. the israeli pm benjamin netanyahu told mr blinken that israel remains determined to send troops into rafah, regardless of us opposition, saying it is the only way to defeat hamas. the defiant message from mr netanyahu came after he held talks with antony blinken in tel aviv. have a listen. translation: i met with

antony blinken today - i told him i greatly appreciate the fact that for more than five months, we have been standing together in the war against hamas. i also told him that we recognise the need to evacuate the civilian population from the war zones and, of course, also take care of the humanitarian needs, and we are working to that end. but i also said that we have no way to defeat hamas without going into rafah and eliminating the rest of the battalions there, and i told him that i hope we will do it with the support of the united states but if we have to, we will do it alone. our correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen, gave his analysis on those talks between mr blinken and mr netanyahu. antony blinken came to israel with a stark warning, that if the israeli government pursues its intention to send the military into rafah in southern gaza, where an estimated 1.5 million civilians are sheltering, it could further isolate israel internationally and could perhaps fail to

achieve israel's stated goal, which is to destroy hamas. antony blinken said that the us believes there is an alternative way to do that, and that an israeli delegation going to washington next week will receive plans or hear plans from the us of how to achieve that goal without sending the military into rafah. but mr blinken's warnings appear to have fallen on deaf ears because once again, benjamin netanyahu repeated that israel is determined to go into rafah and benjamin netanyahu said he told antony blinken that if israel does not have the us�*s support, we will do it alone, in his words. it doesn't spell much hope for the continuing ceasefire talks in doha, which are ongoing between israel with his old representative from israeli representatives and qatar, and antony blinken said there arejust a qatar, and antony blinken said there are just a few differences now that remain between the two warring sides into the closer you get, in his words, to the goal, the heart

of the last yard remains. there is still a chasm of mistrust between the warring sides and nobody really expects an imminent breakthrough if, indeed, one is achieved at all. bringing you the latest here in washington. the senate has only a few hours to pass a critical bill that would avert a us government shutdown. if it doesn't, the federal government will be forced to stop most non—essential functions. earlier, the house of representatives approved a $1.2 trillion spending bill, but it still needs to be approved by the senate before midnight in washington. that's less than three hours away. we will continue to monitor that story for you throughout the night. and before we go, let's recap our top stories — gunman have killed at least 60 people at a theatre outside moscow. russian authorities say more than 100 others were injured. russia's national guard is searching for the gunmen, who have yet to be identified. ukraine has denied any involvement. that's all from us for now. i'll be back in 30

minutes with more. more on the situation in moscow as well as here in washington. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. for the start of this weekend, it's going to feel like we've stepped back into winter, rather than spring, and that's due to the strength and direction of the wind, a cold north—westerly which will feed in a rash of frequent, heavy showers as well. and it's all because we've got low pressure that is pushing this way in the north and east and spiralling around that low in an anti—clockwise direction is a cold northwesterly wind. tightly packed isobars with the strongest of the winds in the north. the temperatures will fall away and a chilly start saturday morning. as then, we start saturday,

a frequent rash of showers to the north but we will see them pushing across wales, too. some of the showers heavy with rumbles of thunder. so, through the middle part of the afternoon, we are still likely to see some showers across england and wales, frequent further north and west across northern ireland up into scotland. and yes, with elevation above 500 metres, we could see some snow as well. the wind will play its part. it will be a strong north— north—westerly, 110—55 mph and in further south, 30—35 mph. your thermometers may suggest 9—10 degrees but unusual to be talking about what it feels like this time of year but the wind chill will have an impact — it mean it feels colder, really cold, considering we saw temperatures peaking at 19 degrees a week ago.

the showers will continue to fade as that low pulls away building. so, i have good news — sunday should be a quieter day before the next batch of rain waits in the wings. the risk of a few showers running down the north sea coast, orsunshine running down the north sea coast, or sunshine coming through and it will be a drier day, 9— 12 degrees the huys. feeling a little warmer. the cloud and rain gathers to the west and look what is in store for the week ahead — staying decidedly unsettled with a glimpse of something a little bit more promising as we head towards easter.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. a population of 1.4 billion. one of the largest economies in the world. poverty, though still rife, is in steady decline. it's a place so full of life, of soul, of hope, of progress. but all that is under threat.

as our planet warms, india is predicted to become one of the first countries in the world where temperatures will top the safe limit for people simply resting in the shade. and it could start happening in the next decade. it will impact the lives and livelihoods of the poorest first, who will have no choice but to continue working in the dangerous heat. translation: in the hot - weather, the sun burns my body. quite... it is high right now. we will have more kidney disease. we will have more heat strokes.