hello, i'm rich preston, welcome to the programme. we begin in russia, following the deadly attack on a concert hall, where at least 130 people were killed. this is the scene live in moscow right now — rescuers are still searching through the charred remains of crocus city hall. the death toll is expected to "rise significantly", according to the city's governor. in a televised address, president vladimir putin said that all four gunmen behind the attack have been arrested — seven others have been detained for their suspected involvment. he called the attack a "barbaric terrorist act" and he announced that the 24th of march would be a national day of mourning. the president said "all those responsible will be punished."

translation: all those _ who were shooting and killing people were found and detained. they tried to hide and were moving towards ukraine where, according to preliminary information for them from the ukrainian side, a window to cross the border had been prepared. altogether, 11 people were detained. federal security services of russia, other services work on finding the whole base of support of the terrorists. russian state broadcaster rtr has aired footage of what it said was the location where law enforcement chased down the perpetrators of the concert hall attack. we can't verify this footage — according to russia's national security service, the alleged perpetrators were driving white renault vehicles through the bryansk region when a chase with law enforcement took place, ending in an attempt to escape into the nearby wilderness. the fsb, and president putin, claimed that they were heading

for ukraine, where they said an associate had been awaiting for them. ukraine's andriy yusov, a representative of the gur military intelligence agency in ukraine, has responded to the allegations of involvement, labelling them "absurd". translation: ukraine has clearly stated that it has i nothing at all to do with this terrorist attack. and moreover, everything showed that putin's regime was interested in these events. if we talk about the information that those who carried out this terrorist attack were supposedly moving towards the ukrainian—russian border, that looks absolutely absurd, because the russian regions bordering ukraine are today full of military and special services. considering the latest events in the belgorod and kursk regions, where military actions are currently under way, these are front line regions. if we are to suppose that the people

who committed this terrorist attack were moving in that direction, then that means either they're stupid or suicidal, or they wanted to be caught. let's speak to our eastern europe correspondent, sarah rainsford, who is in kyiv. claim and counterclaim their either kremlin and by ukrainian officials. what do we make of this accusation that these assailants were heading for ukraine? it is that these assailants were heading for ukraine?— for ukraine? it is definitely what eo - le for ukraine? it is definitely what peeple here _ for ukraine? it is definitely what peeple here in _ for ukraine? it is definitely what people here in ukraine - for ukraine? it is definitely what people here in ukraine feared, l people here in ukraine feared, because we heard the news coming in about terrorist attack in moscow, when people here watching it, they thought that they would be blamed. russia and ukraine are red wall, it was quite clear as people here that vladimir putin would attempt to find or hold ukraine in some way responsible for what happened, and

the fear here has always been that was an excuse, he would use it as an issueis was an excuse, he would use it as an issue is to escalate the russian aggression against ukraine, rushing attacks on ukraine. remember, over the last couple of days we have had a massive barrage of missiles and drones fired at ukraine, so the fear here is some kind of escalation and uploading a putin would be using this attack to rally people around inside russia —— vladimir putin. potentially then allowing him to mobilise the population and find more men to fight the war. that is exactly what people feared here in ukraine and certainly now we have seen more and more officials, putin himself pointing the finger towards ukraine, saying, claiming that these gun men from the moscow attack were heading towards the ukrainian border, claiming that ukraine had made a window for them to cross that border. as you heard from andriy

yusov, he said that is absurd, he said he has a good idea of a window being opened up for these fighters are the training border, it doesn't hold up to scrutiny. it is a very heavily mined area, intense fighting along it, and off a lot of soldiers, and also security officers on the russian side, it is not the kind of place that somebody fleeing after committing a terrorist attack would run to if they were trying to get away. run to if they were trying to get awa . . ~' run to if they were trying to get awa . ., ~ , ., let's speak to aaron y zelin, fellow at the washington institute for near east policy where his research focuses on sunni arabjihadi groups, and he's also a founder of "jihadology. net" thank you for being with us. we have heard that the islamic group has claimed responsibility for this attack, doesn't seem to be much doubt about that, can you talk us through why i would be targeting moscow? , ., , ., ., ,

moscow? there is a number of reasons wh , moscow? there is a number of reasons why. purely — moscow? there is a number of reasons why. purely from _ moscow? there is a number of reasons why. purely from an — moscow? there is a number of reasons why, purely from an ideological- why, purely from an ideological perspective, the islamist views russia as infidels and crusaders alongside other countries in the west, but they view them as eastern crusaders, but from a geopolitical perspective russia has normalised a lot with the taliban regime in afghanistan, mcafee has been fighting them, and beyond that —— is has been fighting them. russia has been thanking them, we have seen coups happening, so notjust ideological aim but from a geopolitical perspective this is very relevant and we actually saw a respite russia of a is operative, so this is not super surprising. you mentioned _ this is not super surprising. you mentioned some _ this is not super surprising. you mentioned some of _ this is not super surprising. you mentioned some of russia? involvement in foreign conflicts,

such as syria and there is a reason we collect the islamic state group, there are different pockets and groups affiliated with this umbrella brand. can you talk us through what some of these groups are and where they focus their operations? the islamic state _ they focus their operations? the islamic state in _ they focus their operations? tue: islamic state in general they focus their operations? tte: islamic state in general has essential organisation and under that they have different provinces, unlike al-qaeda and the password they called them branches, butjust because they can't provinces does it mean they controlled territory. the main perpetrator of this attack has been most likely the islamic province based in afghanistan. whereas the operation in syria would be the syriac province. so it is all part of a centralised organisation, and the hub of external operations has shifted in last five years from the core territory in iraq and syria

and now to its base in afghanistan and now to its base in afghanistan and we have seen now this attack on russia is likely the 22nd external operation plot and attack that they have done in the past 12 months. thank you. here in the uk, our main story remains the wellbeing of the princess of wales. yesterday she shared the news of being diagnosed with cancer. our correspondent, charlotte gallagher is at windsor castle for us — give us a sense of the scene there. it has been a really busy day here, lots of tourists taking photos of the castle, you can probably see a few behind us. lots of locals out doing their shopping, but the conversations have been dominated by the princess of wales. and that news that she revealed last night that she has been treated for cancer. it has come as a huge shock to

everyone, and a lot of people have really identified with the princess in that video, very emotional, seemed very vulnerable, lots of people remembering times in their own family when people have been diagnosed with cancer. others talk about when they have had to tell their own children that they have been diagnosed with cancer, so people feel strongly for the princess and the message from here has been that people just wishing her well and hoping this news stops those online conspiracy theories that had been flying around the internet that'll probably caused a of upset to the royal family. my colleague laura trent has been the developments. —— following the developments. the last official appearance of the princess of wales with the royal family at sandringham on christmas day, when she stopped to speak to the crowds. thank you so much. that's very sweet of you to come and say hello to us. yes, well, have a very happy christmas. three weeks later, catherine was in hospital for major abdominal surgery.

as we now know, it was in post—operative tests that cancer was found. but in the weeks after surgery, speculation mounted. this mother's day photo that prompted conspiracy theories and further speculation led to the princess saying that she had edited the image. there was also the sudden change of plan at the end of february, when prince william pulled out of his godfather�*s memorial service, king constantine of greece. we now know this was around the time catherine would have received her diagnosis and treatment plan. since catherine released herfilmed statement, there has been an outpouring of support from around the world and closer to home in the uk. i think we really feel for her, and i think she's very brave. and the fact she said giving hope to other people with cancer, when she's in so much pain herself, it says a lot for her.

ijust feel for them. i think i wouldn't want. to wish that on anyone. and i think the whole country, l whether you're a royalist or not, should be with them _ from a humanitarian point of view and think about how they're feeling, and their children as well. _ she's a good advert for st andrews and so is prince william as well. so good wishes to all of them, including king charles, yeah, hopefully, they all get well soon. i've had bowel cancer myself a couple of years ago and it's a tough thing, and it's a tough thing for your family, as well as yourself. so, yeah, i wish her all the best. just goes to show you that no matter who you are, this horrible disease can get anyone. doesn't matter whether you're famous, who you are. it's just devastating for them. hopefully, she'll get through it. it was, yeah, it was a real big shock. i and hopefully, she can pull through and have i the treatment and get better. that's all that i'm sure - the great british public want. she's one of my favourite royals, so i was really sad to hear about it, actually. yeah, so whatever treatment she needs, i really hope it works for her and she recovers well. we're quite in on the social media, so we've seen some horrible things go on and be said, and people are having different

opinions, different comments, and people just really need to respect their privacy and what she's going through. it's absolutely heartbreaking. and i know quite a lot of people that have gone through cancer, and ijust feel like people really need to back off and just appreciate the time and let them be. for the prince and princess of wales, the priority has been to protect their young children — prince george, princess charlotte and prince louis — and they will spend time privately over the easter holidays as a family. there won't be a return to official duties for the princess until she has taken the time and space she needs. laura trant, bbc news. interesting to hear some voices on the streets are people sending their well wishes, and what is notable is that there is this desire for privacy from the royal family, but also clearly a strong public

interest. though sound almost like contradictory wishes. how easy is it going to be for the royalfamily contradictory wishes. how easy is it going to be for the royal family to get the privacy they want whilst also satisfying this clear public interest? t also satisfying this clear public interest? ~ . interest? i think there are practical _ interest? i think there are practical things _ interest? i think there are practical things first. - interest? i think there are practical things first. for i interest? i think there are - practical things first. for example, we are about a mile from where the prince and princess live with her three children, in windsor, but on the windsor estate, behind those walls, we can go nowhere near the house, the public and media and tourists, so they are left alone when they are home and with their children. it is the easter holidays, they will want to spend time as a family, five of them together. those practical considerations where they have their privacy, but obviously there is this huge public interest in the royal family and we have seen that over the last few months. it led from people offering support to the princess when she was being taken into hospital, then it really kind of snowballed into some really

crazy conspiracy theories that were appearing online, and they were promoted by people with millions of social media followers in some cases. i think now the princess has come out and said, this is what has been happening, i have been very unwell, i am been happening, i have been very unwell, iam now been happening, i have been very unwell, i am now feeling better but will be focusing on my recovery and treatment, and being with my family, i would think that a lot of people will take a breath, a deep breath and think, have we been doing the right thing by forcing the royal family to release more information, putting pressure on them to release more information? hopefully a lot of people will think they will get this privacy now to reflect on what has happened and focus on recovery. thank you. well, to discuss this further, i am nowjoined now by newsweek's chief royal correspondent, jack royston. he also presents the royal report podcast. we heard they are from some people in our rapport on the streets of britain, can you give us a sense of the international interest in this

story? the international interest in this sto ? , ., _ the international interest in this sto ? , ., the international interest in this sto? , story? yes, obviously before this announcement, _ story? yes, obviously before this announcement, which _ story? yes, obviously before this announcement, which was - story? yes, obviously before this| announcement, which was hugely dramatic and inspired, massive amounts of sympathy, there was already gargantuan amounts of interest in america. kate on google has been generating more searches than donald trump and joe biden despite it being an election year. it has been a massive story, even before she revealed that she had cancer. now i think the audience is split between those who massively regret some of the things they had been posting and a contingent of people who are doubling down and have pivoted from spreading crazy wild conspiracy theories about kate and maybe having a pop at prince william, so some people clearly are still not viewing this situation with the gravity i think it deserves and ijust sincerely hope those people think through how they may feel months down the line of kate is

still struggling. this feel months down the line of kate is still struggling-— still struggling. this is an incredibly _ still struggling. this is an incredibly difficult - still struggling. this is an incredibly difficult time i still struggling. this is an | incredibly difficult time for still struggling. this is an - incredibly difficult time for the monarchy, which is an institution, it performs roles, whether you are for the monarchy or not, it serves a purpose. we have had the announcement about the princess if you weeks after the announcement about the king himself. how does the institution continue to function? yes, they have got to keep going, and i think william will have to try to keep doing regular engagements, keep getting back out there, meeting the public on a regular basis. and camilla also. it is a huge weight in both their shoulders. they hope will be that the king goes into remission and is at some point back in the saddle, so to speak, and ditto for kate. the question is how long that will take, and it could be a long time. it could be months. they are very short of people now. i have been saying that i think it is

completely implausible that they bring back harry and meghan, i don't think william and kate would want that, but maybe bring back beatrice and eugenie sef they want to do some royaljobs. fine and eugenie sef they want to do some ro al'obs. ., and eugenie sef they want to do some ro al “obs. ., ., ,., , , royal “obs. one of the reasons this has royaljobs. one of the reasons this has touched _ royaljobs. one of the reasons this has touched so _ royaljobs. one of the reasons this has touched so many _ royaljobs. one of the reasons this has touched so many people - royaljobs. one of the reasons this has touched so many people is - has touched so many people is because it is not that uncommon for people to receive a cancer diagnosis, and most people know someone in theirfamily diagnosis, and most people know someone in their family or friend connection who has had a cancer diagnosis. can you talk us through what we know, if anything, about how, where and when kate's treatment will take place? you how, where and when kate's treatment will take place?— will take place? you are talking about the actual _ will take place? you are talking about the actual diagnosis - will take place? you are talking. about the actual diagnosis itself, kate went into hospital onjanuary 16 for ana operation which was not actually related to cancer. she was told at that point that it was noncancerous and the palace briefly journalist at that point to that effect. at some point after that, she was told that based on further investigation, there was a cancer

issue she was facing. we think there was some kind of proximity to the memorialfor a king constantine i, prince william's godfather, which he pulled out of, what was described as a personal matter. so it is obviously likely that a personal matter was related to the princess's diagnosis but we don't still know exactly when that actual diagnosis took place. exactly when that actual diagnosis took lace. . ~ now it's time for a look at today's sport with gavin. hello from the bbc sport centre. the women's six nations is under way as france kicked off with a win as they stake their claim to topple england as champions this year. in the next half an hour... later today though, wales are at home to scotland — in what's expected to be a tight encounter. yes, we have already had torrential rain, bright sunshine and just about everything in between here in cardiff already this afternoon. you can bet that this

game between wales and scotland will be just as unpredictable. these encounters are always very tight, always very hard—fought. these two sides finished third and fourth respectively last year and you can imagine that with the world cup next year, the two dominant forces in this competition, england and france, have already booked their spots, but the other nations have not. there is one more automatic guaranteed qualification spot up for grabs in this women's six nations, so there is plenty on the line. could any team close the gap or dominate england, who are looking for their sixth consecutive title? we will find out very soon. they begin the defence of their championship tomorrow away in italy, with captain molly parker set to make her iooth england cap. a big moment for her and herfamily. so confirmation of france's win over ireland to kick off this year's six nations.

winning 38 points to 17. wales and scotland to come. and on sunday. . .. holders england begin their campaign against italy in parma. max verstappen has maintained his perfect start to the formula one season by claiming pole for sunday's australian grand prix. the world champion's two laps in the final session were both good enough for first place on the grid. the dutchman ended up quarter of a second quicker than carlos sainz. the spaniard made an impressive return to action after missing the last race two weeks ago due to surgery to remove his appendix. idid i did expect to fight for polling, happy with the laps we did in 03. it was a bit of a tricky weekend so far, but we managed to be there at the end, so i am very happy with that. this is good to do a perfect option a. this is good to do a perfect option a, but— this is good to do a perfect option a, but if— this is good to do a perfect option a, but if tomorrow i feel good i will give — a, but if tomorrow i feel good i will give it— a, but if tomorrow i feel good i will give it my best shot but to be

fair, you — will give it my best shot but to be fair, you need to be percent. aryna sabalenka is into the last 32 of the miami open, winning her first match after the death of her former boyfriend konstantin koltsov. sabalenka claimed an impressive straight—sets win over her good friend paula badosa, despite the difficult circumstances surrounding her former partner. sabalenka will play anhelina kalinina in the third round. honestly, both bars are pretty strong mentally, both strong women, we proved it, we know how to disconnect in the two hours, 90 minutes of match, she played really well, i played really well for where i am coming from. so i think it was quite decent and that all comes from we have been through a lot in our lives and we are strong women and we know how to separate that in that moment. coco gauff is also into the last 32 in miami. she secured a straight—sets win over nadia podoroska. naomi osaka and iga swiatek

are amongst those in action later, hoping tojoin her. football now, and there's a host of international fixtures to come later, including england hosting brazil at wembley. meanwhile, how about this mouthwatering tie, as france take on germany? both will be at euro 202a. as will denmark and switzerland, who play each other later, too. republic of ireland welcome belgium. earlier, world champions argentina beat el salvador 3—0. and that's all the sport for now. the un secretary—general antonio guterres has visited the rafah crossing, which links gaza and egypt, to again call for an immidiate ceasefire. hundreds of trucks are waiting at the border crossing to bring much needed aid into gaza. here's a little of what the un chief had to say. nothing justifies the horrific attacks by hamas on october 7th.

and nothing justifies the collective punishment of the palestinian people. now, more than ever, it is time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. it is time to silence the guns. palestinians in gaza — children, women, men — remain stuck in a nonstop nightmare. communities obliterated, homes demolished, entire families and generations wiped out, with hunger and starvation stalking the population. let's bring on some live pictures from moscow where it is just coming up from moscow where it is just coming up to 7:30pm. antonio guterres when

he was speaking in egypt commented on friday evenings attack in moscow. it has been claimed by the islamic state group. antonio guterres says isis is a terrorist organisation operating in different parts of the world, we firmly condemn and consider absolutely intolerable the attack that took place in moscow. in the last few moments as well, the un secretary of state antony blinken has also strongly condemned what he called yesterday's deadly terrorist attack in moscow. at least 130 —— i33 in moscow. at least 130 —— 133 people are known to have died, according to russian officials, they say 140 people were injured. it is expected that death toll will rise as rescuers continued to search through the rubble of the building. they also say they are have detained 11 people, including four of the assailants. there was an accusation that the assailant left site heading for ukraine. that is an accusation that ukraine has strongly refuted.

much more on this story on the bbc news website. we have a life page running. we will bring you much more on this story in the coming hours. stay with us here on bbc news. good afternoon. some impressive cloud scapes out there today. yes, some spells of sunshine, but these big shower clouds bringing some very heavy downpours of rain, a bit of thunder and lightning thrown in. some of the showers have been wintry over high ground in the north. here it is on the satellite picture. these lumpy shower clouds pushing south—eastwards across the uk. just about wherever you are through the rest of the day, you could see a shower. some of the showers heavy, with hail and thunder. still wintry over the highest ground in scotland — say, above 500 or 600 metres elevation. windy out there, particularly gusty for western and northern coasts. and so, that is affecting the feel of the weather. temperatures on the thermometer, nine or ten degrees, factor in the strength of the wind,

it feels like temperatures — which include the wind chill — around five or six degrees. so as we head into the evening, still a few showers around. in fact, some more persistent rain and mountain snow across some parts of eastern and north—eastern scotland. elsewhere, i think most of the showers will fade through the night. it will stay fairly blustery. the winds easing down a little bit across western parts, but staying windy enough to stop the temperatures dropping too far — three, four or five degrees for most of us into tomorrow morning. now, we start tomorrow with this very weak ridge of high pressure just trying to build its way in. that will give us a window of drier and quieter weather. still quite windy close to the east coast as we start the day, with one or two showers. we'll keep some showers in northern scotland, wintry over high ground. and then through the afternoon, cloud will gather out towards the west. that mayjust bring a little bit of rain into western counties of northern ireland through the second half of the afternoon. temperatures a little bit up on where they are today, actually, around 11 or 12 degrees. now, through sunday night and into monday, this frontal system

tries to push its way in from the west. there is still a little bit of uncertainty about how much progress this front will make northwards and eastwards. i think the greatest chance of rain on monday is across south—west england, also parts of wales, northern ireland. but it may be that this wet weather ends up pushing a little bit further north. and if it gets into scotland, well, that could give some snow. at this stage, it looks like just some wintry showers in northern scotland. many eastern parts of the uk largely dry. but through the week ahead, we will see showers or longer spells of rain. the chance for some snow, especially over high ground in scotland. temperatures slowly creeping upwards.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines... president vladimir putin has said that all four gunmen behind a deadly attack on a concert hall near moscow have been arrested. at least 130 people were killed when attackers entered the crocus city hall on friday, firing indiscriminately. the islamic state group has claimed responsibility. there's been an outpouring of support for the princess of wales, who's revealed she's in the early stages of cancer treatment. she says the disease

was discovered after she underwent abdominal surgery in january. prince harry and meghan say they've sent a message wishing health and healing to catherine. and the un secretary—general antonio guterres makes a renewed call for an immediate ceasefire in gaza. it is just it isjust gone it is just gone for 30 pm. it isjust gone for 30 pm. a it is just gone for 30 pm. a very good afternoon to you. now on bbc news, newscast. hello, it's adam in the studio. and it's chris in the studio. now, basically, chris, ourwhole careers as politicaljournalists, there has been bubbling away this campaign led by the waspi women, so women against state pension inequality, and this is women who were born in the 50s but saw their state pension age increase so that it was equalised with men, and lots of them feel

like they lost out as a result for various reasons.