the fact that the king is due to be out and about today is being seen as a very positive signal about his health. thousands of worshippers are gathered in st peter's square to hear pope francis lead easter sunday mass. over the past hour there was crowds have been watching pope francis lead the mass and amid concern for his health, so far, things have gone without a hitch. as the war in gaza continues, ceasefire talks between israel and hamas are expected to resume in cairo. voting takes place in local elections across turkey, with president erdogan's party hoping to regain control of cities it lost five years ago. and we'll bring you a special report on seagulls as conservationists warn of dwindling populations

across the uk. hello, i'm lukwesa burak. we start with easter celebrations taking place across the christian world. tens of thousands of worshippers have gathered in st peter's square to hear pope francis lead easter sunday mass and give the traditional urbi et orbi blessing. these are live pictures from vatican city, where the 87—year—old pope is expected to deliver his address shortly. we'lljoin our correspondent there in a few minutes,

but let's cross first to windsor, where king charles is to make his first formal public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. he's due to attend the easter sunday service at st george's chapel, along with other royals, but prince william and his wife, the princess of wales, who's also receiving treatment for cancer, will not be there. let'sjoin my colleague sarah campbell, who is live at windsor for us. hello to you, sarah. hi” hi,, lukwes. hi, , lukwes. people hi,, lukwes. people have been queueing up to get inside the grounds of windsor castle, they have now been let in and that is indicative of the fact that the is to start within the next hour. —— lukwesa. to start within the next hour. —— lu kwesa. just to to start within the next hour. —— lukwesa. just to give you an idea of the geography, this is castle hill in the middle of windsor, that is henry viii gate. if you were to go

behind that, you would get to st george's chapel, and that is where the easter service is going to happen. so, the mamas of the royal family are not going to be outside he had walking to and from the chapel, they will be inside the confines of the chapel, but there are people who have queued up this morning to be inside, to get that glimpse of the king, and it is being seen as very significant because it is the first time that he has really been out and about in a kind of public facing capacity since his cancer diagnosis was made public last month. here is my royal correspondent colleaguejonny dymond. to the family church — and that of many monarchs — the king is expected to walk today in what will be his first public sighting since the announcement of his cancer diagnosis. it was after a procedure in january that cancer was found. since then, the king has continued with constitutional duties, but avoided

all public engagements. messages and images, there have been aplenty — most recently an audio message on maundy thursday. may god bless you all this easter. what a change it will all be from a year ago — just before the coronation, the royal family made its way to church. king and queen. prince and princess. happy easter. kate spoke out over a week ago — revealing her preventative chemotherapy treatment for cancer. she is, she says, focusing on recovery, and she won't be seen in public for a while to come. the priority this easter for the princess and prince — their family. all eyes, then, on the king this sunday — himself mid—treatment for an unknown cancer. his reign on hold as he, too, devotes his time to recovery. jonny dymond, bbc news.

that gives us a sense of what a turbulent start to 2024 it has been, and therefore why the fact that the king is expected to make this walk to and from st george's chapel is being taken as a positive signal about the state of his health. joining me now isjournalist and royal commentator afeeya hagan. good morning to you. good morning. thank ou good morning to you. good morning. thank you for— good morning to you. good morning. thank you forjoining _ good morning to you. good morning. thank you forjoining us. _ good morning to you. good morning. thank you forjoining us. i _ good morning to you. good morning. thank you forjoining us. i was - good morning to you. good morning. thank you forjoining us. i wasjust i thank you forjoining us. i was just saying, and we were just looking at those pictures, with the king's cancer diagnosis, and the diagnosis also of the princess of, it has been an unprecedented start to the year for the world family? unprecedented reall is the for the world family? unprecedented really is the only _ for the world family? unprecedented really is the only word _ for the world family? unprecedented really is the only word to _ for the world family? unprecedented really is the only word to describe i really is the only word to describe the past three months. with that double cancer diagnosis, and then all the raw that when in between

that, looking for the princess of wales and then the shocking announcement of her diagnosis as well, a very tumultuous start to 2024 for the royal family. i think this can be seen as a positive point today where we will see the king out and about making that short walk from windsor castle to st george's chapel, as you mentioned there. i think it is also important to note that although we will see him, this is not to signify a return to royal duties. it is kind of him putting a toe in the water to see how today goes, it is going to be a reduced number of people, a reduced number of members of the royal family at that service itself, himself and queen camilla will sit slightly apart from other mammals of the royal family, and that's all about keeping him healthy through this chemotherapy, people are prone to infection so it is about keeping the amount of people around him small so

he can keep himself healthy, so it is a toe in the water to see how he gets on with returning to royal duties but it is definitely a positive sign to see him up and about as it were.— positive sign to see him up and about as it were. you're absolutely riaht, about as it were. you're absolutely right. afeeya. _ about as it were. you're absolutely right, afeeya, and _ about as it were. you're absolutely right, afeeya, and i _ about as it were. you're absolutely right, afeeya, and i wondered - about as it were. you're absolutely right, afeeya, and i wondered if. right, afeeya, and i wondered if you, i was struck by the picture that was released by the palace earlier this week, showing him at a meeting with faith leaders, and there were something like 12 people in the room and itjust gave the sense that gradually, this very gentle reintroduction to more sort of public duties is now under way? yes, i definitely felt that. before, when we had seen him perhaps with the chancellor, jeremy hunt, and when we have seen him with prime minister rishi sunak, there was where one—on—one meetings, or with ambassadors from around the world, but now we see 12 people in the same room, those faith leaders, like you mentioned, i thought, room, those faith leaders, like you mentioned, ithought, ok, this is definitely looking like he is ramping up on those royal duties. the is absolutely being fulfilling his constitutional functions for the whole time that he has had this

diagnosis, but it was definitely encouraging to see him in a room full of more people taking on what will probably be a bit more of a lengthy and intense engagement at that time. so, all these little steps are very positive signs. afeeya, really good to talk to you, thank you so much. we should point out here at windsor, those pictures hopefully of the king should be around in the next hour or so and also to point out that the prince and princess of wales will not be here today, of course that is following her cancer diagnosis which was made public last week. so, plenty more to come here at windsor. sarah, thank you very much indeed, live from windsor castle. let's get more now on the pope's easter message and blessing from st peter's square. we can cross live to our religion editor, aleem maqbool, in vatican city.

aleem has been following this rather serious feast for the christian and catholic faith. hello to you. how has it been going so far?- has it been going so far? well, i mean, has it been going so far? well, i mean. there _ has it been going so far? well, i mean, there were _ has it been going so far? well, i mean, there were lots - has it been going so far? well, i mean, there were lots of - has it been going so far? well, i l mean, there were lots of concerns swirling around throughout this easter time over the pope's health, given that he didn't unexpectedly, he didn't deliver his homily for palm sunday, and he pulled out of one of the events on good friday. but we were told that was to conserve his energy for the celebrations on easter sunday, and it seems to have done the trick because the tens of thousands of people around me here in st have been watching the pope preside over mass for more than an hour now. yes, at times he has appeared a little bit out of breath, but for the most part he has been smiling, he seemed

strong, he delivered his homily without too much trouble. unfortunately, aleem, we have got a little bit of interference on our connection to you there, to vatican city, so we are going to leave it for now and try and fix that and come to you. but absolutely astounding images, beautiful images, actually, coming from vatican city. you can see how the square there has been laid out, where tens of thousands of catholics have entered st peter's square in vatican city to hear the pope's easter sunday mass, and then at midday of course is the urbi et orbi blessing to the world, and the world indeed does watch on. 1.3 billion followers of the catholic church. he gave a long vigil, held a vigil yesterday, on

saturday, the easter vigil, at the vatican, in front of some 6000 people. and today we start to see the culmination of what has been, and is, a busy week in the catholic faith. what we are expecting to hear later today is perhaps his concerns and comments on international conflicts raging worldwide. that is what he is expected to say later. we will bring you that and when we get it. to the middle east now, where talks on a possible new gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal are expected to resume in cairo. that's according to egyptian media. israel is sending a delegation of security and intelligence officials to the indirect talks. it comes as the families of israeli hostages held by hamas in gaza step up the pressure

on the prime minister benjamin netanyahu to secure their release. this was the scene in tel aviv on saturday night, as relatives of the hostages joined with anti—government protesters, bringing tens of thousands of people onto the streets. our middle east correspondent yolande knell has more on those talks in cairo. israeli media saying that the israeli delegation is flying over there. this comes, of course, after last week a previous round of indirect talks broke down in qatar without any agreement on this plan for a 40—day ceasefire. that would have led to some 40 hostages still held by hamas in gaza being released in exchange for palestinian prisoners in israeli jails and a big increase in aid going into gaza as well. there was some talk about whether displaced people should be allowed to go back to their homes in the north. that was certainly a demand that was made by hamas. finally, hamas came back a few days

ago and said that it was sticking to its original negotiating position. it wasn't prepared to talk about a truce. it wanted israeli troops to fully pull out of the gaza strip. we had the israeli prime minister then coming back saying its demands were delusional. but quite quickly, a new round of talks has got going with the egyptians also acting as mediators here, along with the qataris and with some us involvement, saying that these talks with egyptian intelligence are due to begin later in the day. we understand hamas are not going to be there at this stage. we've had a palestinian official who's close to the talks telling us that they're waiting to see what egyptian mediators come up with after their meetings with the israelis. and it is a race against the clock now, isn't it? i mean, pictures of children badly malnourished, continuing pressure on israel to open up land corridors with the gaza strip and reports also of palestinians being killed during an aid drop at kuwaiti roundabout.

what more can you tell us about that? so these issues continue with aid distribution, with the un warning about a man—made famine looming in gaza, particularly for those in the north where there is still about 300,000 people living. that's why actually at the moment, one of the positive signs we've had in the past couple of days is news that for the second time, this maritime route is going to be used, bringing in more than 300 tonnes of food by sea — two ships set off from the port of larnaca in cyprus yesterday. they are with food on board from the world central kitchen, the spanish charity open arms involved there. and they'll also be taking some heavy lifting equipment because, of course, it's been a real problem that in gaza you don't have a functioning port at the moment. so this is needed to off—load that aid. but yes, still, this isjust a fraction of the amount getting

in that is so desperately needed. and it's the un in particular has been saying that there are air drops, that these this new sea route is very good. but what is needed is for more crossings to be opened into gaza and for more lorry loads of aid to be going in. and that's the call for israel. israel has said that it doesn't limit aid going to gaza. a car bombing at a busy market in northern syria has killed at least seven people and injured many others. the white helmets group say that two children were among those who died. the blast took place in the town of azaz in aleppo province. pro—turkish forces and their proxies control large areas of syria near the border with turkey, including a number of major towns. now to turkey, where millions of people are voting in local elections which could see president erdogan's party retaking control of key cities it lost in the last polls five years ago. most eagerly watched

is the outcome in istanbul, which is home to nearly a fifth of the population. the current mayor there, ekrem imamoglu, is seen as mr erdogan's biggest challenger in decades. if he wins today, it would boost his standing as a potential rival to president erdogan in 2028. the elections are taking place against a backdrop of severe economic problems, including inflation of nearly 70%. let's speak to esra yalcinalp from the bbc turkish service who's in istanbul. hello to you. let us begin. with istanbul, because there is so much talk about istanbul, it is home, of course, to mr erdogan, so this is personal to him. why and how did he lose it in the last elections? weill. lose it in the last elections? well, about 16 million _ lose it in the last elections? well, about 16 million people _ lose it in the last elections? well, about 16 million people are - lose it in the last elections? -ii about 16 million people are expected

to vote today in turkey. —— 60 million. but we can say that all eyes will be in istanbul today, because of its significance for both the ruling justice and development party, ak party, the party of mr erdogan, as well as the opposition chp. toeke's economic and social powerhouse, istanbul, was ruled by ak party and its islamist predecessors for about 25 years, and then in 2019, the chp alliance won, with ekrem imamoglu as the mayor. and he is running up against the ak party candidate, the former minister for the environment and urbanisation today, and ekrem imamoglu is viewed as president adam and's biggest challenger that has come in decades, and if he manages to win today in

istanbul, the opposition will have very high hopes for the upcoming presidential elections in 2028, and it is certainly where ekrem imamoglu is the person who will face mr erdogan to be the president. fix, lat erdogan to be the president. a lot of analysts — erdogan to be the president. a lot of analysts are _ erdogan to be the president. a lot of analysts are saying _ erdogan to be the president. a lot of analysts are saying that this election is notjust an indication of what might happen in the next presidential elections, it is also very important for the opposition in turkey, which this year has been described as a somewhat split, because they have united in the past, analysts saying that it is under threat of an increasingly authoritarian regime, what is the political environment like at the moment in turkey, particularly with commentary on a possible constitutional amendment to mr erdogan staying in power? weill. erdogan staying in power? well, turke is erdogan staying in power? well, turkey is having _ erdogan staying in power? well, turkey is having these _ erdogan staying in power? -ii turkey is having these elections

amid economic troubles that have been going on for some years now, with inflation getting up to 80% last year, and now with an official inflation of 67% last february, and ongoing huge loss of purchasing power in its citizens. so, the voters may also vote weighing up the government's economic performance in these local elections, although they are local elections, they carry a lot of implications for the general outcome of the country. and there is some discontent with the akp regarding the economic performance, like i mentioned, and one factor to watch will be the islamic new welfare party. so, this is going to be an alternative for those ones who don't want to vote for the opposition chp but want to show akp that they are getting uneasy with their politics. so, something to

watch will be that. and in terms of the fairness of the elections, some pro opposition voices have voiced concern over election security, as the top ministers were in istanbul campaigning for the akp candidate for weeks against ekrem imamoglu. but regarding the propaganda leading up but regarding the propaganda leading up to the elections, we can say that the ruling akp party has an advantage in turkish elections, however, we must add that documented fraud cases on the election day are very rare. fraud cases on the election day are ve rare. , . ., . ., , fraud cases on the election day are ve rare. , . . . ., , ., ~ fraud cases on the election day are ve rare. h, ._ .,, ., ~ very rare. esra yalcinalp, thank you very rare. esra yalcinalp, thank you very much — very rare. esra yalcinalp, thank you very much indeed, _ very rare. esra yalcinalp, thank you very much indeed, from _ very rare. esra yalcinalp, thank you very much indeed, from the - very rare. esra yalcinalp, thank you very much indeed, from the bbc. very much indeed, from the bbc turkish service. this is bbc news. supporters of india's main opposition alliance are holding a major rally in the capital ahead of next month's general election. it's the first meeting since the arrest of the chief minister of delhi, arvind kejriwal, on corruption charges ten days ago.

opposition parties accuse the governing bjp of using investigative agencies to detain their leaders and prevent them from campaigning. the government denies this. our south asia editor, anbarasan ethirajan, has more. opposition supporters have gathered here and they are coming from delhi and other neighbouring states near the capital city and now they are calling for the release of arvind kejriwal, the delhi chief minister. he was taken into custody ten days ago on corruption charges, which he denies. major leaders are addressing this rally, saying that india's democracy and constitution should be saved and that is the motive of this major rally here. the congress party says that its bank accounts have been frozen and they have been asked to pay more than $200 million in fines for allegedly violating tax rules. but the government denies any political motive behind that action, saying the law

will take its own force. now, india's elections are due to start on 19th april and it will be held in several phases. the campaign is going across the country for this mammoth exercise, but what the opposition is saying is that there is no level playing field. for example, they accuse the election commission of being biased towards the governing bjp and they say that investigative agencies are being used to cripple them, to stifle dissent, to prevent them from campaigning. however, the governing bjp denies these charges, and the mammoth exercise of india's general election in which prime minister narendra modi is seeking a third straight term, is starting on 19th april. let's ta ke let's take you to vatican city, and pope francis has just entered

let's take you to vatican city, and pope francis hasjust entered part of the square. he was seen being wheeled into, in his wheelchair, and has now been transferred to the popemobile, in preparation for the address, urbi et orbi, that he will be giving. we are expecting him to make reference to the conflicts going on around the world, and this may all be a struggle for him this easter period, regarding his health, he had cancelled appearances on friday, but on saturday did preside over the easter vigil at the vatican in front of some 6000 people, and those around the world as well, last minute cancellation on good friday, the vatican said in a statement that it was simply a measure of caution. he has suffered quite serious

respiratory issues over the winter, bronchitis as well, you remember backin bronchitis as well, you remember back in 2021, a chunk of his large intestine was removed. they're waving to the crowd and worshippers, as the popemobile manoeuvres round. let's get a sense of the atmosphere there. crowds cheer. speaking on saturday night, in a ten minute homily given in italian, he mentioned the undue difficulty and

condemning the walls of selfishness and indifference in the world. a lot of people watching for signs of fatigue, but looking surprisingly well. and being able to bless some of the worshippers at the time. pope francis, of course, never really takes any holidays. but his health had led to him cancelling a number of appearances, including at the end of last year, co p28 of last year, cop28 in dubai. he had in the past mentioned that he would be open to stepping down, if his health was an issue. more coming from the vatican, as the christian world celebrates easter. hello.

it was a beautiful start to easter sunday for many of you, but we have seen a few changes compared with yesterday. the area of low pressure that's been towards the west of us has slipped further south and, in doing so, we're dragging in more of an easterly breeze. that's brought in more cloud through central and eastern parts of england, outbreaks of rain into the afternoon from east anglia pushing then towards parts of yorkshire. to the south of it, we'll see a bit more sunshine develop once again, but there could be a few heavy, thundery showers for the channel islands and the south—west, but further northwards and westwards you come, we will continue with some long spells of sunshine. certainly a better afternoon in northern ireland than we began. cumbria into western parts of scotland seeing the best of the blue skies, but we will see more low cloud creep up eastern coasts this afternoon and that will have an impact on temperatures — just around eight or nine degrees for some in the east of scotland, compared to 16 degrees in the west where we'll see the highest of the temperatures through today. into tonight, outbreaks of rain will develop more widely across northern england. some heavy, potentially thundery showers working their way up across some southern counties of england and wales. but for much of scotland and northern ireland it will stay dry. with some clear skies in parts of scotland a chance of a touch

of frost for some of you. now, into monday, bank holiday monday, of course, our area of low pressure is more broadly spread across the uk and that means more cloud, more rain, particularly so for northern england. we'll also start with some downpours across the midlands, east anglia and wales. they will edge away northwards, skies will brighten and then it's an afternoon of sunshine and some slow moving showers. some will stay dry in the south. outbreaks of rain across northern england quite extensively, edging into parts of northern ireland, southern scotland at times, but further northwards and westwards in scotland, still with sunshine, but more of a breeze here tomorrow. that's going to feed some cold air in across parts of east scotland, north—east england. just around eight or nine degrees at best here through the day, whereas western scotland maybe up to around 14 degrees — down on today's values. a bit warmer in east anglia and the south—east, with more sunshine compared with today. into tuesday, we'll see the cloud and outbreaks of rain push into eastern scotland. still drier in the west of scotland. a brighter day for england, wales and with a bit of brightness in northern ireland, but showers will develop and some

longer spells of heavy, thundery rain across the south later in the day. it sets us up for a week in which we'll all see some rain at times, not a complete wash—out, but even though it will be wet at times, it will also turn a bit milder too.

this is bbc news. the headlines: as the war and gaza continues,

ceasefire talks are expected to resume in cairo. the prime minister's office as a delegation of officials have been sent. tens of thousands of worshippers have gathered in st peter's square to hear pope francis late easter sunday mass. there has been concerned about the 87—year—old's health. king charles joins the queen and other members of the royal family at an easter service taking place at st george's chapel at windsor castle. it's his most significant public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. millions of workers in the uk will see their pay increase tomorrow as more people become eligible for the national living wage. millions of workers in the uk will see their pay increase tomorrow as more people become eligible for the national living wage.

previously you had to be 23 years old to qualify,