hello, i'm carl nasman. the islamic state militant group is claiming 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 over 100 were left injured. the music group said on instagram earlier that they sold out the crocus city hall. a large fire has engulfed the roof of the complex, and 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. gunshot. 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 had previously warned of a large—scale attack. well, the white house national security council has just released a statement about this, its spokesperson saying:

with me is our correspondent will vernon. will, you've been following, from here in the us, these reports, this intelligence, from us officials. what more do we make of that?— we make of that? well, carl, i think many — we make of that? well, carl, i think many russians _ we make of that? well, carl, i think many russians tonight . think many russians tonight will be pretty shocked and saddened, when they remember that the us authorities — both publicly and privately — warned russia, the russian authorities, several times, that an attack like this was going to happen. you mentioned that security alert that the us embassy in moscow issued 15 days ago. now, just a few days ago, three orfour days ago, president putin commented on those warnings. they were issued not only by the us, but also by britain and several other countries, and he said that they were intimidate by the west and an attempt to sow fear and destabilise russian

society. now, the other thing we've learned from here in the us tonight, from the bbc�*s partner, cbs news, they spoke to one us official who said washington has intelligence that confirmed this claim from isis that it is responsible for the attack. isis that it is responsible for the attack-— the attack. let's talk about isis, the attack. let's talk about 55, then, — the attack. let's talk about isis, then, briefly. - the attack. let's talk about isis, then, briefly. it's- isis, then, briefly. it's claimed responsibility. as you mentioned, we're getting some confirmation — at least from white house and us officials —— what is the relationship like between russia and the islamic state? why might russia potentially been in its cross hairs? ~ �* , ., hairs? well, there'd been a number of— hairs? well, there'd been a number of attacks - hairs? well, there'd been a number of attacks in - hairs? well, there'd been aj number of attacks in russia hairs? well, there'd been a i number of attacks in russia in recent years, that had been linked to radical islamist groups like isis. in 2015, there was a plane that was shot down — not shot down, that was brought brought down, blown up, over the sinai desert in egypt, with 227 people on board, most of them russians, and islamic state group claimed responsibility for that. in 2017, there was an explosion on

the st petersburg metro. 15 people were killed in that. that was also linked to radical islamists. now, this particular branch of islamic state that claimed responsibility for today's attack near moscow, thatis today's attack near moscow, that is the islamic state group's affiliate in afghanistan. and counter—terrorism experts say that russia frequently finds itself in the cross hairs this group in the propaganda that they put out, they often accuse they put out, they often accuse the kremlin of having muslim blood on its hands over russia's military campaigns in afghanistan, in chechnya and in syria. afghanistan, in chechnya and in s ria. ~ , , ., syria. will, briefly - we have about 30 _ syria. will, briefly - we have about 30 seconds _ syria. will, briefly - we have about 30 seconds - - syria. will, briefly - we have about 30 seconds - but - syria. will, briefly - we have i about 30 seconds - but you've about 30 seconds — but you've reported in russia for many years. you are familiar with the site where this took place? yeah. i've been there several times. it's part of a huge complex near moscow, with all kinds of entertainment facilities, shopping, and concert halls. i think for an attack like, this it is the ideal target, attack like, this it is the idealtarget, because attack like, this it is the ideal target, because not only would it be incredibly busy at this time, but also, you know, this time, but also, you know, this isn't the centre of

moscow. there's not the same level of security. this is outside the city, and somewhere like crocus city hall will usuallyjust have a few... a handful, really, of unarmed guards on each entrance, nothing really that would cause too much trouble for this government.— too much trouble for this covernment. . , , government. really interesting stuff there- _ government. really interesting stuff there. our _ government. really interesting stuff there. our former - government. really interesting| stuff there. our former moscow correspondent, will vernon, thank you. i'm joined now by nina khruschcheva, a professor of international affairs at the new school in new york. ijust want i just want to get your reaction, first of all, to the events in moscow tonight. how shocking is it to you that we're seeing what appears to be an is attack in the russian capital? an is attack in the russian caital? ~ an is attack in the russian caital? ., _ , capital? well, obviously, it is shocking- _ capital? well, obviously, it is shocking. it's _ capital? well, obviously, it is shocking. it's also _ capital? well, obviously, it is shocking. it's also somewhat| shocking. it's also somewhat unexpected. you know, a lot of talk of the united states warning russia over march 8 holiday, the women's day holiday, the women's day holiday, about the attacks, but

actually about that warning, the russians then publicly said that the united states warned about that on the website, on the embassy website, and then others copied it. i think great britain, maybe germany — i forgot which other embassies. however, the russians said, it was not official reported as something to be expected. so the fact that the united states says now that they warned formally also the authorities, that, at least early on, around march 8, was not the case. so the warning may have come later, and that's why putin was saying that the united states was intimidating, precisely because the warning did not — at least appear, didn't go through the official channels. so it was shocking. and as your previous correspondent, previous correspondent, previous guest talked about, it is outside of moscow and therefore it seemed to be less protected, although another part that is incredibly

shocking, moscow is a very tight... | shocking, moscow is a very tight... i mean, moscow and otherareas tight... i mean, moscow and other areas are very tight security and so the fact that five camouflaged men with high weapons could get in is incredibly, incredibly suspicious. so i suspect that somebody must have been on that... on the inside.- that... on the inside. how do ou that... on the inside. how do you exuect — that... on the inside. how do you expect russian _ that... on the inside. how do | you expect russian authorities will react to this attack going forward? we believe that actually some of the assailants are still on the loose.— are still on the loose. some of the assailants are still on the loose. they're still looking for them. the fact that it's isis probably is incredibly shocking, even to the kremlin, because originally, immediately after it happened, the ukrainians were accused, they must have done it. so now they would have to figure out, the kremlin would have to figure out how to deal with that part of the threat. so clearly moscow is in the cross hairs. and if you talk to the russians — which i did, i was on the phone the whole evening today — the russians are also very

afraid of the reaction of the authorities that is that could become a reason for russia to have even tighter security, tighter control over people, and perhaps even kind of potential militarisation, further militarisation of society, and that's what people are very afraid of. bud are very afraid of. and speaking _ are very afraid of. and speaking about - are very afraid of. and i speaking about vladimir are very afraid of. and speaking about vladimir putin himself, he does often at least like to project this feeling of stability and security. we just saw him winning in a landslide election, in which he didn't face any true competition. does a terror attack — and that is what russia is calling this — potentially put a dent in that aura of stability that putin likes to project?— likes to pro'ect? well, he didn't likes to pro'ect? well, he dun-t win — likes to project? well, he didn't win the _ likes to project? well, he didn't win the elections. i likes to project? well, he l didn't win the elections. he just, you know, he became president through a certain procedure, which they pretended was a procedure supported by most of the population. so that's just an important qualifier. that'sjust an important qualifier. no, and that's just an important qualifier. no, and that's what i think... qualifier. no, and that's what ithink... i mean it

qualifier. no, and that's what i think... i mean it would have been much easier if it weren't isis. we still dent know exactly who was that and what happened. it would have been much easier if it were part of the ukrainian guerrillas, but the ukrainian guerrillas, but the fact that it's isis, so that's another enemy that putin needs to handled and clearly the society is not, or russia is not... is not as stable and calm as he tried to project and so that's why everybody�*s terrified of what kind of reaction would be there. right. but it also _ reaction would be there. right. but it also shows, _ reaction would be there. right. but it also shows, since - reaction would be there. right. but it also shows, since isis i but it also shows, since isis chose to act right now, it shows from the other side, from the enemies of russia, or the enemies of the kremlin, putin doesn't look stable and calm, and so they would really have to turn on propaganda efforts to turn on propaganda efforts to calm the russian population, because in the morning now, it's going to be morning soon. russia is going to wake up to this absolutely horrific

tragedy and it's important to understand how the state is going to use it. we understand how the state is going to use it.— understand how the state is going to use it. we have “ust a little bit going to use it. we have “ust a tittte bit of i going to use it. we have “ust a little bit of time i going to use it. we have “ust a little bit of time left. _ going to use it. we have just a little bit of time left. excuse i little bit of time left. excuse me forjumping in here, but i me forjumping in here, buti just me forjumping in here, but i just want to ask you about the us here. we know the relationship is strained between the us and russia, but we do believe that there was a warning given. that's what white house officials say. how likely is it that russia might have ignored these warnings prior to the attack? it have ignored these warnings prior to the attack?- prior to the attack? it could have. i mean _ prior to the attack? it could have. i mean i _ prior to the attack? it could have. i mean i am - prior to the attack? it could have. i mean i am actuallyl have. i mean i am actually believing that, given the relationship, perhaps the warning was not delivered in the most official proper manner, the way russians would have expected, and that's why they thought it would be sowing they thought it would be sowing the panic, as putin said. they could have. absolutely, they could have. absolutely, they could have. absolutely, they could have ignored the warning just because there's so much mistrust going on that the russians decided not to look at t but once again, i think the kremlin is not going to admit it. so the kremlin is going to create some sort of propaganda

around it and say, well, we may have made a mistake, but the united states is guilty because they didn't tell us exactly what they know, something like that. ., what they know, something like that. . ,. . ., that. nina kruschcheva, professor _ that. nina kruschcheva, professor of _ that. nina kruschcheva, i professor of international affairs at the new school in new york city, thank you so much for your perspective. 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 brother on instagram. james middleton posted a childhood photo 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 few weeks 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 is sad.

you don't wish that on anybody, whoever they are. ready? 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 for now, the princess of wales wants time, space and privacy to deal with her diagnosis and recovery. with me to discuss international reactions following the princess of wales' diagnosis is our news corespondent, helena humphrey. well, of course, carl, world leaders reacting, people around the world reacting to this news too. we can take a look at a statement put out by rishi sunak, the british prime minister. in it, he says that the princess of wales has the love and support of the whole country as she continues her recovery. he also addresses that feverish speculation, saying... we've also got some reaction coming in from this side of the pond as well with, here in the

united states. president biden has retweeted the princess of wales's video and in it he says, "jill and i wales's video and in it he says, "jilland ijoin millions around the world in praying for the full recovery of princess kate," as she's often referred to here. canadian prime ministerjustin trudeau as well putting out a statement on x. remember, of course, he's the head of a commonwealth country, a constitutional monarchy, saying... and people clearly are touched at home as well. the london underground also putting up this whiteboard, as you can see, with a message of support for kate, but also for anybody undergoing cancer treatment, saying, "anybody affected, please never lose faith or hope," echoing, of course, the words of the princess of wales in that video statement. you can see just _ in that video statement. you can see just the _ in that video statement. you can see just the incredible reaction from everyone, riders of the underground to prime

ministers reaching out and sending their messages to catherine, princess of wales. helena humphrey, thank you very much. now to the latest developments on the conflict in the middle east. russia and china 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 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. meanwhile, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu told us secretary of state blinken that israel remains determined to send troops into rafah, saying it is the only way to defeat hamas.

the defind message from mr netanyahu came after he held talks with blinken in tel aviv. 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. 0ur correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen, gave his analysis on those talks between mr blinken and mr netanyahu. well, 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 — he said israel is determined to go into rafah and benjamin netanyahu said he told antony blinken that if israel does not have the us support, "we'll 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 israel — representatives of israel, the us, egypt and qatar. antony blinken said that there are just a few differences now that remain between

the two warring sides and that the closer you get, in his words, to the goal, the harder 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. with just hours to go, the biden administration is urging the senate to pass a bill to avoid a us government shutdown. 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. if it doesn't, the federal government will be forced to stop most non—essential functions. us republican congresswoman marjorie taylor greene filed a motion to try and oust house speaker mikejohnson after the house passed a bipartisan spending bill friday. the georgia republican said she has no timeline for calling the resolution for a vote, and called it, quote, "more of a warning".

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, rather than spring, and it'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's pushing its way in the north and east and spiralling around that low in an anti—clockwise direction is a cold northwesterly wind. frequently packed isobars. the strongest of the winds further north. clear skies, though, over the next few hours will allow those temperatures to fall away, so a chilly start to our saturday morning.

as then, we start saturday, frequent rash of showers to the north but we will see them pushing across wales, central and southern england as we go through the morning, too. and some of the showers heavy with rumbles of thunder. so, through the middle part of the afternoon, we're still likely to see some showers across england and wales, most frequent further north and west, across northern ireland and up into scotland. and, yes, with elevation above 500 metres, we could see some snow as well. now, the wind will play its part, too. it's going to be a strong north to northwesterly wind at times. gusts in excess of 40—55 mph in the north but even further south, we're looking at 30—a0 mph, and that is really going to have an impact on the feel of the weather. so, your thermometers may suggest 9 or 10 degrees but it's unusual to be talking about it feels like this time of year but the wind chill will have an impact. it'll feel much colder — and really cold, considering we saw temperatures peaking at 19 degrees a week ago.

the showers will tend to fade as our low continues to pull away, and we actually see this little ridge of high pressure building. so, i've got some good news for you — sunday should be a quieter day before the next area of rain waits in the wings. so, there's a risk of a few showers running down through north sea coasts and here, a little bit more of a breeze with generally lighter winds, more sunshine coming through and it will be a drier day — 9— 12 degrees the highs. feeling a little warmer. but cloud and rain gathers out to the west and look what's in store for the week ahead. it stays decidedly unsettled with a glimpse of something a little bit more promising as we head towards easter.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. with the full—scale war in ukraine now in its third year, the country is struggling to sustain its fight. american weapon supplies are stalled, as is the flow of something just as important — that of new soldiers to the front. we cannot win with harmed and tired and exhausted soldiers. plans to call up hundreds of thousands have been held up for months because of

political wrangling in kyiv. we are all human beings. we get tired. but do we lay our hands down? no, we don't. but can they mobilise and train sufficient troops to get through the coming months? ukraine's struggle takes a daily toll. kataryna saw her husband off to war. he'd been called up. and afterjust two months at the front, he was killed by a russian shell. his family and friends remember the brightest of spirits.