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. thousands came out to see the russian rock band, picnic, which was due to perform in krasnogorsk, a suburb to the northwest 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 showing panicked concertgoers taking cover as shots ring out inside the venue.

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 cityhall. 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:

the us government also shared this information with russian authorities in accordance with its longstanding duty to warn policy. nina khrushcheva is professor of international affairs at the new school in new york and gave me her reaction to the attack. well, obviously, it is 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, 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 officially 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 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... 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.

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 team have approved. 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�*s diagnosis is our news correspondent, helena humphrey. a raft of reaction as you might expect coming from world leaders. ordinary people around the world. starting off by working out what british prime minister rishi sunak had to say in a statement posted to x. he addressed the feverish speculation about her health and whereabouts. as you might expect, we have been seeing reaction from the side of the pond as well. here in washington president biden reacting to the news, retweeting the video statement from the princess of wales.

princess kate is how she is regularly referred to in the united states. we have also had support from canadian prime ministerjustin trudeau. of course, canada, a member of the commonwealth and constitutional monarchy. this is whatjustin trudeau has said. clearly, i think people very much touch at home in the uk. we have even seen at the london underground a message of support from tube workers are sending love to catherine but also echoing those words from the princess of wales herself, saying to anyone affected by cancer these never lose faith or hope, of course something which affects one in two people and with cancer rates increasing right now. so many --eole increasing right now. so many peeple with — increasing right now. so many people with cancer _ increasing right now. so many people with cancer diagnosis, | people with cancer diagnosis, and a big outpouring of support. helena humphrey

joining me in studio, 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. meanwhile, the israeli prime minister 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. 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. let us take a look at some other stories making headlines. shareholders have approved a merger to list donald trump's social media venture on the stock market, providing a potential financial lifeline to the former us president as he faces possible seizure of properties. company officials said investors in digital world acquisition agreed to merge with trump media — the owner of the truth social platform — to form a new company. trump faces a $451; million court payment in a new york fraud case and if the merger goes through, trump could hold potentially $3 billion in stock. but he may not be able to sell it for six months. 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 nonessential functions. the us state department says it facilitated the safe departure of more than 230 american citizens out of haiti since march 17th. gang violence has forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. the united nations welcomed reports that political groups selected all members of the transitional council that would take over presidential powers ahead of future elections in haiti. it's been ten days since haiti's former prime minister ariel henry resigned after being faced with international and internal pressure. unicef says it's unable to get enough aid into the country and that "many, many people" are suffering serious hunger and malnutrition. the white house said on friday they are working

with the haitians on a haitian—led political transition to restore governance there. let's get more on the situation in haiti. with me is former haitian ambassador to the us herve h denee. thank you so much for being here, we appreciate you being here. i want to ask about the transitional council that has been put in place to appoint a temporary leader of haiti. how difficult will that mission be and how much more authority will a temporary leader have than the former prime minister, arielle henry, whojust stepped out. arielle henry, who 'ust stepped out. . ~ arielle henry, who 'ust stepped out. ., ~ , ., arielle henry, who 'ust stepped out. ., ~ ., ., out. thank you for having me, sir. out. thank you for having me, sir- this _ out. thank you for having me, sir- this is _ out. thank you for having me, sir. this is a _ out. thank you for having me, sir. this is a real— out. thank you for having me, sir. this is a real question - sir. this is a real question that they were asking. because the position of a group of seven people does make a lot of people to work together. but they have to face that issue because they know there is a

loss of pressure to set down some solution.— loss of pressure to set down some solution. and there are not many _ some solution. and there are not many actual— some solution. and there are not many actual haitians - some solution. and there are not many actual haitians on | not many actual haitians on this council, are there? it is supposed to be an international body, mostly leaders from other countries, or is it... crosstalk. only haitian in that council. but you have the people from another group that is involved, as haiti is part of it, so their concern of the back of it to serve that issue. but we will see, we hope that this country has not been suffering too much. we hope that it will have the kenyan people soon and i heard there would be also people from benin and benin, most of the haitians that come from that region.— from that region. you are referring _ from that region. you are referring to _ from that region. you are referring to the _ from that region. you are referring to the many - from that region. you are - referring to the many hundreds of police officers and there

was a deal agreed for international security forces to go to haiti, which is on hold currently. want to ask about security, we heard security forces in haiti had killed a gang leader, ti greg, the head of the dogma 95 gang, had you heard about that, do something like that signalled you that potentially believes might be able to gained the upper hand there? the might be able to gained the upper hand there? the issue is haiti has suffered _ upper hand there? the issue is haiti has suffered from - upper hand there? the issue is haiti has suffered from a - upper hand there? the issue is haiti has suffered from a lack. haiti has suffered from a lack of opposition. normally we are supposed to have the police and the army. for some reason the army in the past is a bad story, but the new army, was minister of defence, so really wanted to install the army is served, but if we need really to respond, have a response to those situations, we have to find a way to uphold that new

defence force and the police also and the army force to be able to face that issue. the bbc's hardtalk _ able to face that issue. the bbc's hardtalk programme has bbc�*s hardtalk programme has been speaking with the dominican republic president. he was asked whether or not he would be willing to allow displaced haitians to take refuge in the dominican republic temporarily. i want to player his response.— player his response. take a listen. player his response. take a listen- no. _ player his response. take a listen. no, we _ player his response. take a listen. no, we will- player his response. take a listen. no, we will not - player his response. take a listen. no, we will not do i player his response. take a | listen. no, we will not do it, because we have a loss of historic reasons to do that. i think they have a lot of opportunities around the patient given territory and land, that they can utilise like that. but we will not authorise any refugee camps at this moment for a lot of security and also historic reasons. security and also historic reasons-— security and also historic reasons. ~ . , ., reasons. what is your reaction to the dominican _ reasons. what is your reaction to the dominican president? l to the dominican president? this is a country that shares a

border with haiti and there are many hundreds of thousands of displaced people. this many hundreds of thousands of displaced people.— displaced people. this is very sensitive- _ displaced people. this is very sensitive. in _ displaced people. this is very sensitive. in the _ displaced people. this is very sensitive. in the past - displaced people. this is very sensitive. in the past we - sensitive. in the past we occupied that part, not dominican republic, it was not formed yet, for 25 years, you know. so very sensitive. a understand the position there. so we face a situation where to find a solution to resolve it. we have about 30 seconds left. i want to ask you, as the formation ambassador to the us, what more would you like to see the us do?— the us do? well, think the us should be _ the us do? well, think the us should be very _ the us do? well, think the us should be very concerned - the us do? well, thinkthe us| should be very concerned about that, because this is very close to the us and that concern is the international security of the us. when there's a in haiti and you see a lot of people coming, people crossing the border, this is part of the internal problem, on top of that there is a

security matter, we don't know who can be part of that, take benefit from that situation. they may be enemies of the united states. because haiti is the caribbean, part of the caribbean. when a hope of a plan from the united states, think they should be confirmed —— consent very much. the -- consent very much. the formation _ -- consent very much. the formation ambassador - -- consent very much. the formation ambassador to l —— consent very much. the formation ambassador to the us, thank you very much. i formation ambassador to the us, thank you very much.— thank you very much. i thank ou thank you very much. i thank you very _ thank you very much. i thank you very much. _ thank you very much. i thank you very much, so, - thank you very much. i thank you very much, so, for - thank you very much. i thank| you very much, so, for having me. and before we go, let's recap our top stories. gunmen have killed more than 60 people at a theatre outside moscow. you can see smoke still in the air as the sun comes up in moscow. russian authorities say more than 100 others were injured. a large fire had engulfed the roof of the complex, though it's since been put out. the islamic state militant group has claimed responsibility. it's a claim that us officials say they have intelligence to corroborate. russia's national guard is searching for the gunmen who have yet to be identified.

you are looking at live images in moscow after those attacks. stay tuned for more 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 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 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. and then, as we start saturday, a 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 110—55 mph in the north but even further south, we're looking at 30—110 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.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines _ this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for _ this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you - this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at - this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the . the headlines for you at the top of the hour which is straight after we are so we are so happy. soiam so i am the mayorfor the results. we have a long way to go. i know it is hot here.

please keep counting. gunshots. come on, quickly. can ou gunshots. come on, quickly. can ou hear gunshots. come on, quickly. can you hear me? _ gunshots. come on, quickly. can you hear me? abdullah, _ gunshots. come on, quickly. can you hear me? abdullah, we - gunshots. come on, quickly. can you hear me? abdullah, we need - you hear me? abdullah, we need help. they are firing live bullets at us and we are on the floor. we need help. we cannot sustain this. we need help.