israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu temporarily hands over power to his deputy as he undergoes surgery. i promise you that this operation that i'm undergoing tonight i will also go through very quickly and i will be back to my duties as fast as possible. king charles has attended an easter service in windsor — followed by a walkabout to greet crowds. it's his most significant public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. pope francis pleads for peace in his easter message. he's been meeting worshippers after easter sunday mass — as thousands gather in st peter's square. turkey's main opposition chp is on course to hold key positions in major cities, in municipal elections across the country. hello, i'm tanya beckett. we begin in the middle east —

thousands of protestors have gathered in cities across israel, to call for elections due to the government's handling of the on—going crisis in gaza. the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, said a vote would paralyse the country and stop efforts to beat hamas. he will go undergo surgery on sunday for a hernia his doctors discovered during a routine examination. mr netanyahu will be fully sedated during the procedure — his office says that deputy yariv levin will serve as acting prime minister during this time. here's mr netanyahu. my medical statement is transparent, it is known. sure, a lot of people are saying crazy things, but of course — no boundaries. my wife went to an appendectomy and people said that she spent a whole week at a villa somewhere — and ijust had the flu, people said that i was where?

where was it? that i was in hospital. absolutely no boundaries to the lies. i just went through examination, and thank you to all the people asking for my well—being. and i promise you that this operation that this operation that i'm undergoing tonight, i will also go through very quickly and i will be back to my duties as fast as possible. jo floto, the bbc�*s middle east bureau chief, had this to say about the announcement. i think he was appearing tonight as an act of both reassurance and warning to his friends and critics. the reassurance that he was still vigorously in charge of his government as he prepared to hand over the reins of power to his deputy, and a warning there to those people converging on towns around israel, but particularlyjust a few kilometres away outside the israeli parliament calling for new elections and for him to step down, that those new elections would cause a paralysis in government, would hamper negotiations

for the hostage release and would be welcomed first and foremost by hamas. and to them he was warning that no amount of pressure — not from the us or anywhere else — was going to prevent eventually a military assault on the southern town of rafah, where mr netanyahu believes hamas are still holding several thousand of their own malitiamen and also where the hostages are most likely to be held as well. right. but there are people on the streets ofjerusalem protesting. absolutely. and so let's break down who those people are. some of them are groups of hostages�* families and their supporters who believe that mr netanyahu doesn't have the commitment to secure a ceasefire deal that would release their loved ones from gaza. their point of view is that it's been four months since the last deal that saw a significant release of hostages and since then very little has happened in that regard. they've been joined by other people who object to mr netanyahu on political grounds, and you'll remember last year hundreds of thousands of people

were paralysing the streets of israel every weekend, protesting against mr netanyahu's planned constitutional reforms. they have now coalesced to try to get mr netanyahu to step down and call new elections. he is very unpopular in the polls but this war is still something that most israelis think is the right thing to be doing. meanwhile, of course, he faces criticism over many aspects of the conflict in gaza but primarily the apparent lack of planning for humanitarian support. and as you mentioned, this assault on rafah, with that criticism out there, it's difficult for him to press ahead, isn't it? it's very difficult because israel's closest ally, the united states, that supplies billions of dollars�* worth of material, support and armament and intelligence to israel is insisting very clearly, very vocally, that an assault on rafah, which is this small southern town at the bottom end

of the gaza strip next to the egyptian border that has been swollen by about a million displaced people, that an assault on that town without making proper provision for those civilians would cause carnage. and on top of that, the americans and others — in particular the united nations — so that israel isn't discharging its responsibilities under the rules of war to feed properly the population of gaza. israel, for its part, accuses the united nations of being incompetent and not delivering the food that they say is there and available, but it is very clear that they're just a few miles away from northern gaza in particular where there is a scarcity of food and people are complaining bitterly about the lack of aid.

that there is plenty of food to be had, even though as we've seen in the last few days in america continues to fly 2,000—mile round trips to drop things out of planes on two people who are just a 45 minute drive away from a major container port on the mediterranean coast. aand a and some of the challenges getting humanitarian aid into gaza. meanwhile, a hamas offical says israel and hamas are "too far apart" for talks to progress — discussions over a possible new gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal are expected to resume in cairo, according to egyptian media. meanwhile, at least four people have been killed and others injured. after the israeli military carried out an air strike inside a hospital compound in central gaza. this is the moment it happened. the israeli military says it carried out the air strike on an islamichhad command centre in the courtyard of al—aqsa hospital in deir al—balah.

among those injured were seven media workers, including a freelance journalist working for bbc news. another development to bring you this hour — the reuters news agency is reporting that two civilians have been injured in israeli strikes — on the outskirts of the syrian capital, damascus. israel has carried out hundreds of strikes targeting pro—iran groups fighting alongside the forces of president bashar al—assad in the country's 13—year civil war. but strikes have increased since israel's war with palestinian militant group hamas. king charles and queen camilla have attended the easter sunday service at st george's chapel in windsor. here they are leaving the chapel earlier — much to the delight of crowds who had lined up to see them. this is the king's most significant public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. he wasn't expected to mingle, but he did — greeting well—wishers and thanking them for waiting out in the cold.

the prince and princess of wales did not attend, as catherine is receiving cancer treatment. the king has continued some work since his diagnosis, but all engagements so far have taken place in private. so this attendance at the easter morning church service at st george's chapel will be seen as an encouraging sign about his health. our reporter charlotte gallagher has more. the king and queen arriving at the easter sunday service, and waves for the crowds at windsor castle. this is an annual tradition but this hasn't been a normal year for the royalfamily, with both the king of the princess of wales diagnosed with cancer. prince william and catherine weren't at the service today — they're spending the easter holidays with their three children in private. this was the last time they were all seen together in public — christmas day at sandringham. today marks the king's first significant public duty since his diagnosis last month. happy easter. best wishes for the princess of wales.

you are very brave to stand out here in the cold. a chance to say thank you to well—wishers. hello, how are you? many had travelled to windsor especially to see the royals. i hope you haven't got too cold standing here. happy easter, i hope you're doing well. they didn't expect to meet the king. happy easter, your majesty. keep going strong. never give in. thank you very much. he seemed in great spirits, really, he seemed very humoured and i said to him, would you give, you know, our best wishes from wales to the princess of wales, and i spoke to her majesty the queen camilla as well and, yes, it was a joyful occasion. it's hoped this could be the start of the king making a slow return to public duties. now, we're not expecting him to be immediately carrying out a full calendar of events.

but we are perhaps expecting him to be seen more in public and you got a sense today that he has missed being out, meeting people, chatting, shaking hands and doing a part of the job which he obviously enjoys. lovely to see you. this has been a difficult few months for the royalfamily, but today seemed a positive sign about the king's health and recovery. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. he definitely looked glad to be back, meeting the public again. earlier, i spoke to robert hardman — daily mail writer and author of charles iii: the inside story. he definitely looked glad to be back, meeting the public again. i mean, he's been doing his constitutional duties — they haven't really stopped since his diagnosis, the audiences with the prime minister and the red boxes and

that kind of thing. but what he has missed is meeting the people, and that's something he's always enjoyed, and even the late queen, on easter sunday, would always expect a crowd outside st george's chapel, but she wouldn't do a walkabout. so today really was a significant moment, just the fact of him crossing the road there and shaking hands, and really shaking hands, lots of hands. i thought it was very significant. almost as if he enjoys, it to the extent that he draws energy from it, in a way. but the reality is he's been left fairly exposed from a personnel perspective? yeah, we hear this phrase slimmed—down monarchy a great deal, and it is very slimmed down at the moment. he's obviously out of action, and the princess of wales is, and the prince of wales is looking after her a lot, so what we saw today was the core supporters — there was the princess royal, for example, the duke and duchess of edinburgh, who are all stepping up. the duke of york was there as well as a sibling, because it's a family event. he won't be undertaking

any public duties. but between them, led by the queen — queen camilla has been central to all of this — they will fill the gaps that have to be filled, so we have seen in recent weeks the princess royal doing many investitures, that's a key part of things, and we're coming up to the really busy summer period. earlyjune, particularly, is going to very busy. we've the 80th anniversary of d—day, plus all the regular royal events, so i think we're going to see the monarchy need the other members of the family more than ever in the weeks ahead. we haven't heard from king charles as to when he plans to return to those public duties? king charles and his public appearance today.

now it's time for a look at today's sport with jane dougall. there was a dramatic afternoon of english premier league football as liverpool went top of the table following a 2—1 victory over brighton at anfield. the visitors took the lead through danny welbeck afterjust two minutes, but goals from luis diaz and then a winnerfrom mohamed salah gave managerjurgen klopp�*s side all three points. in games against brighton, we were never close. so today, calm, chasing them in the right moments, so many good things for a football coach. and that is why i am really happy with the result as well. yes, it is nerve—racking, sorry, for all of us, but that is the first of the last ten. let's keep going. in the late game, manchester city failed to break down arsenal as a highly—anticipated clash at the top of the premier league failed to live up to the hype — ending in a 0—0 draw at the etihad. it means city keep their unbeaten home run, stretching back to november, 2022 — but it also ends arsenal's

eight—match winning run in the premier league. at the end, we tried. just for the fact it is not easy. they defended really well. we tried and i recognised my team perfectly. now it isjust recognised my team perfectly. now it is just to relax, recovery, recognised my team perfectly. now it isjust to relax, recovery, and wednesday we will be back. you need a big performance, and defensively as well you have to be at your best. 2021, the last time they haven't scored. that is the difficulty at the level that they have and of what we have done today. let's take you to the final of the women's league cup, now where a goalfrom stina blackstenius gave arsenal a 1—0 victory over chelsea at molineaux, in a repeat of last years final.

there was some animosity between the two managers at the end of the match. chelsea manager emma hayes leaves the club at the end of the season, so her hopes of winning the quadruple ended when blackstenius scored with four minutes of extra—time remaining. play had to be stopped earlier in the game when arsenal's frida maanum collapsed off the ball and was treated by paramedics. the club later confirmed she was conscious and in a stable condition. it's a record—extending seventh league cup win for arsenal. real madrid are hoping to extend their lead at the top of la liga as they take on athletic bilbao. the second half is just getting under way — real leading 1—0 with a rodrygo goal. meanwhile, girona beat real betis 3—2 — the visitors coming from behind twice before cristhian stuani grabbed an injury—time winner to move them a step closer to champions league qualification for the first time. to the women's six nations, where italy withstood a late fightback from ireland for a bonus—point victory in dublin. two tries from vittoria vecchini, and another from valeria fedrighi, had italy ahead by 27 points to 7 midway through the second half. however, ireland came back

with a nevejones try, before aura mutzzo sealed the bonus point win with a fourth for italy. katie corrigan did score to give ireland late hopes of a first six nations win in almost two years, but italy held on for victory. translation: it was a tough match but it is an historic— translation: it was a tough match but it is an historic day _ translation: it was a tough match but it is an historic day for _ translation: it was a tough match but it is an historic day for us. - translation: it was a tough match but it is an historic day for us. we i but it is an historic day for us. we never won in ireland so we are going to celebrate. i am very happy for the intensity and the level that we made. and that's all the sport for now.

now to turkey, where millions of people have been voting in local elections — and turkey's main opposition chp appears to be on course to hold key positions in major cities. most eagerly watched is the outcome in istanbul, which is home to nearly a fifth of the population. and the current mayor there — ekrem imamoglu — is seen as mr erdogan�*s biggest challenger in decades. with more on this we can now speak to onur erem from the bbc turkish service. what can you tell us about the latest in terms of exit polls and the results, the votes that been counted? 70% of the votes have now been counted. forthe 70% of the votes have now been counted. for the first time, since mr erdogan came to power in 2003, they got more cities under control compared to the government party. right, what does this mean for the wider picture? the focus, the next

focus is going to be on whether president erdogan can remain in power nationally? and a lot depends on the selections? can you explain the link, please? his on the selections? can you explain the link, please?— the link, please? his term ends in 2028 but his _ the link, please? his term ends in 2028 but his party _ the link, please? his term ends in 2028 but his party having - 2028 but his party having experienced such a loss, it will create a political power struggle in turkey while the main opposition party, chp, gaining more powerthan ever. at its istanbul mayor who won his second term in istanbul, ekrem imamoglu, is appointed as the possible candidate of the opposition in 2028. i possible candidate of the opposition in 2028. , , ., in 2028. i see. in the short term, what happens _ in 2028. i see. in the short term, what happens if _ in 2028. i see. in the short term, what happens if the _ in 2028. i see. in the short term, what happens if the opposition i in 2028. i see. in the short term, l what happens if the opposition wins these elections, and the key cities are ankara and istanbul, is it possible that president erdogan will try some sort of clampdown? {iii

try some sort of clampdown? of course, people try to gain his popularity back, power back, and one of the key points to that is economic reforms. in recent years, the majority of the electorate pass main concern was the economy. inflation especially. the cost of living crisis. so according to most of the experts, this has an impact in local elections. so if he manages to fix this before 2028, his chances obviously increase at that election. and what is the opposition offer? today, the leader of chp, he made a speech around an hour ago celebrating their victory. and he said the turkish electorate show a different way to rule the state.

they want to be ruled by the rule of law and they want to change how not only their cities are rules about how the country is ruled. thank you ve much how the country is ruled. thank you very much indeed _ how the country is ruled. thank you very much indeed for— how the country is ruled. thank you very much indeed forjoining - how the country is ruled. thank you very much indeed forjoining us. - how the country is ruled. thank you j very much indeed forjoining us. we will keep you up—to—date with their selection results. meanwhile, romania and bulgaria have become the newest members of the europe's schengen area of free movement — but only for air and sea crossings. land border controls will remain in place because of austria's opposition to the eastern european nations becoming full members of the zone. vienna fears an influx of asylum seekers if all border controls disappear. romania's interior minister said joining schengen was an important moment for his country and its citizens. emer mccarthy has more from the newsroom. after a i3—year—long wait, romania and bulgaria have officially joined the schengen area of free movement. but there is a catch. the free movement only applies to air and sea crossings. that's after austria

opposed their full membership. it's concerned about an influx of asylum seekers if all border controls were to disappear. these are the scenes from sofia airport on sunday morning. it's extraordinary. what can i say? it's a special feeling. i took out my passport for nothing. it's nice to feel like a european citizen. it's very easy now at the borders. i had no problems at all. the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, welcomed the news. she posted on x, "this is a great success for the people of both countries. it also benefits millions of eu citizens across europe, making the schengen area even stronger." last month, the eu's border agency said it would triple the number of its officers in bulgaria to help stem the amount of people crossing into the bloc from turkey. both bulgaria and romania hope to complete the process for full membership by the end of the year.

everyone likes to take home a souvenir when they travel. but it seems that journalists invited onto the us president's plane, might have gone a bit too far. after a recent trip on air force one, an email was sent to the entire press pool, warning them that taking souvenirs from the plane is forbidden. items that have gone missing are said to include branded glasses, an embroidered pillow case and gold—rimmed dinner plates. the pope, who was not party to any of this, of course, has delivered his easter mass in the vatican, where he renewed his calls for a ceasefire in gaza and the release of the hostages being held there. here's our religion editor, aleem maqbool. when pope francis pulled out of some easter events, concerns about his health intensified.

but the vatican said it was to conserve energy for today. and that seemed to have worked. though a little out of breath, easter mass went smoothly. after which the 87—year—old went on a drive about, to greet what police estimated to be around 60,000 people who'd come to saint peter's square. events culminated with the pope's easter message. in he renewed calls for access to aid in gaza, for the return of hostages held there, and for an immediate ceasefire. he also focused on what children in gaza have been witnessing. translation: how much suffering we i see in the eyes of these children. i those children in that area of war have forgotten how to smile. with those eyes they ask us, why? why all this death? why all this destruction? war is always an absurdity and a defeat. celebrations in the holy land this year, including at the church of the holy sepulchre at the site where christians believe

jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead, was scaled down. palestinian christians talked of an easter tinged with sadness and many foreign pilgrims stayed away. at canterbury cathedral, archbishopjustin welby did talk of foreign conflicts, but also prayed for the king and princess of wales and others he said were suffering the same way, and he talked of other struggles closer to home. whether it is the evil of people smugglers or county lines in our schools, or the pain and suffering in a family riven with grief or rage or substance abuse, jesus the god man who experienced every pain and temptation is calling you and me to love in action. the archbishop talked of the easter story, giving hope of bringing light to darkness, and here at the vatican the pope ended by saying it was also

a reminder of the value of every human life. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in rome. it has been one of music sensations of the year — but some people say they have a problem with beyonce's new country album: cowboy carter. fans say five tracks are missing from the vinyl version of the record. they include some of the best—received songs — like ya ya and spaghetti. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. well, this easter weekend, the amount of sunshine we had across the uk varied quite a bit. some of us didn't have any sunshine at all. if you look at the satellite picture, you can see the thicker

cloud across parts of england and wales and the brighter skies earlier on across scotland and northern ireland — all part of a much larger rugged area of cloud shrouding many parts of europe. it's a big area of low pressure that's dominating the continent right now. and in the next few days, we are expecting a fair amount of rain. smaller areas of low pressure will come sweeping our way. and with that, outbreaks of rain and at times some strong winds. but it won't be raining all the time. there will be some fair weather in between these weather systems. so the forecast, then — through the early hours, we have some rain across the south of the uk, maybe some cracks of thunder. also, this easterly breeze drags in rain—bearing cloud into parts of northern england. so quite wet in yorkshire overnight. the temperatures early on monday — 5 in aberdeen, about 7 or 8 in the south. so no huge contrasts across the uk. so easter monday itself, then. well, rain at times, that's the headline.

but there'll be some sunshine, too. i think the thickest of the cloud with the most persistent outbreaks of rain will be across northern england — perhaps around the northwest here, merseyside, the irish sea, into eastern areas of northern ireland. either side of that, drier and brighter — i say "drier" — there will be showers breaking out across southern england. some of them could be thundery — but sunshine in between, too. the forecast for tuesday shows that weather front moving northwards, kind of fizzling away, but still damp here. and then the next weather system sweeps into southwestern areas of the uk, and then later in the day that rain will track northwards and eastwards across the uk. and here it is on wednesday. in its wake, showers are expected across the bulk of england and wales, and that easterly breeze there in the north of scotland keeping things fairly chilly. for our friends in stornoway, only 7 degrees — even colder than that in lerwick. about 7 in aberdeen.

but in the south, around 15 degrees. and in fact, the south—southwesterly winds will be quite persistent across the bulk of england and wales. so the temperatures will be never that low. but of course often rain clouds.

this is bbc news, the headlines tens of thousands of israeli protestors have gathered injerusalem for the largest anti—government demonstration since the start of the gaza conflict. israeli prime minister,

benjamin netanyahu, temporarily hands over power to his deputy as he undergoes surgery. i promise you that this operation that i'm undergoing tonight i will also go through very quickly and i will be back to my duties as fast as possible. king charles has attended an easter service in windsor — followed by a walkabout to greet crowds. it's his most significant public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. pope francis pleads for peace in his easter message. he's been meeting worshippers after easter sunday mass — as thousands gather in st peter's square. with more than half the votes counted in turkey's municipal elections, the main opposition party looks set to hold key positions in major cities. stay with us here on bbc news. carnauba wax is a product you may not have heard of, but you have almost certainly

consumed it — it's added to sweets to stop them melting, to pills to make them easier to swallow and as a thickener in lipstick and mascara. harvesting the wax from palm trees in brazil is an industry in which, according to brazilian authorities, companies are failing to improve working conditions. last year, more than 3,000 workers across all industries were rescued from situations including forced labour and degrading work conditions — which is a iii—year high. in brazilian law, this can amount to slavery—like conditions. the bbc was given exclusive access to a raid with the federal police on a carnauba wax plantation. katy watson has this report from the state of piaui in north—eastern brazil. we're heading to a farm where authorities suspect workers are being exploited. nobody knows we're coming. they want to catch the culprits red—handed. we find the workers sheltering from the midday sun. "who's in charge here?",

the lead investigator asks. one by one, the men are interviewed. the boss is nowhere to be seen. translation: it's so hot. we stop for a bit because otherwise the sun would kill us. we can only cope with so much. lunch is chicken feet and rice. people here are famished. so this is one of the water canisters that's being used. translation: it's so hot. so this is one of the water canisters that's being used. it says "for prescription only", so clearly had some kind of medicine in here before. but this is what's used as a drinking canister now. pierre—louis is the biggest producer of carnauba wax. its harvesting provides a livelihood to hundreds of thousands of people in one of brazil's poorest states. it's difficult work. the trees are thorny, the heat exhausting, and the risks of being injured are high. the inspector shows me more breaches of labor laws at the accommodation block. the low ceilings. broken electricity sockets. bare rooms.

the boss shows up and has been slapped with a fine of $30,000. this is the third time he's been caught breaking the rules. he's not apologetic. he's angry. the government needs to give small producers like me more of a chance. i have been fighting to survive for some time now. the cost of producing this work are more than what i receive. edmilson wouldn't go on the record about who he sells to. this is very common, says the inspector. the level of informality in the industry is problematic and makes it impossible to trace from producer to buyer. in 2016, the state, concerned with the number of workers they were rescuing in difficult conditions, asked the top five biggest wax processing companies to sign an agreement committing themselves to improving the supply chain and ending this informality. the bbc was shown the client list of the region's biggest wax processor. they include big companies like l'0real. according to prosecutors, producers found to have employed

workers in conditions analogous to slave labour say they sold wax to brazil even after the company said they'd improve the supply chain. but it's hard to prove because there isn't a paper trail. brazil ceras told the bbc that it only works with suppliers that can prove they comply with labour laws. l'0real says it, too, is committed to ethical sourcing and has implemented an audit programme with its suppliers to ensure due diligence. the investigator, though, says despite those promises, nothing changes. in the 11 years she's been rescuing workers in this industry. the supply chain has consistently been impossible to trace. the precariousness comes from the top down. there is what we call deliberate blindness. it's comfortable for the industry not to see the problems because they don't need to act. they don't need to invest. they don't need to pay. it's an unequal power balance between producers on the ground and the financially powerful businesses further afield

and in the carnauba wax industry, many benefit from that divide. katy watson, bbc news. sunday should have been the day a presidential election took place in ukraine. the vote has been postponed to an unspecified date due to the conflict with russia. more than two years after the invasion — how is the war going for ukraine — and the man who would have been running for a second term — volodymyr zelensky? earlier i spoke to charles kupchan — a senior fellow at the council on foreign relations for his view. zelensky has been a remarkable wartime leader, he's got most of the country behind him. he has lost some support because the battle to take back land over the course of the summer offensive in 2023 did not go as planned. should have taken place today. there are some who are unhappy that he responded election that should have taken place today. i don't think there's any question that was the right thing to do because ukraine couldn't really hold

an election when a big chunk of it is occupied by russia, nor should ukraine expend precious resources to hold an election when it is fighting for its life. so, i think zelensky is in reasonably good shape politically for the coming year, probably into next year, but the big question is, what happens on the battlefield? and that is a function of whether the us congress steps forward and approves a new aid package. they are on break right now. we will get a better sense of that when they come back in about a week—and—a—half. you would argue the role of america here is absolutely pivotal? no question about it. the eu, the british government, both stepped up, providing more weapons, providing more economic assistance, but the bottom line here is that the united states has provided the lion's share of weaponry. has provided the lion's we have seen the battlefield shift from momentum on ukraine's side to momentum in russia's side.

the russians are now taking back more land, not a lot, but a village here, a town there, up in the north. they desperately need two things. 0ne, artillery to get to the front line, to hold the line against russian offensives, and two, air defences. we've just seen in the last weekend, two weeks, that the russians are increasing their extracts against infrastructure, energy, water, cities. they need more air defence and the united states has to step up and get it into their hands. the difficulty is even with that supports, there is effectively a stalemate at the moment in ukraine, isn't there? ., , ., , stalemate at the moment in ukraine, isn't there? ., , .,, _, isn't there? nobody has come right out and said _ isn't there? nobody has come right out and said it, _ isn't there? nobody has come right out and said it, but _ isn't there? nobody has come right out and said it, but i _ isn't there? nobody has come right out and said it, but i think that i out and said it, but i think that ukraine now faces a future in which it is unlikely to be able to generate the combat capability to take back the territory that russia

has taken. it's about 18 or 19% of ukraine, and as a consequence, there is a shift, a pivot, a strategic pay but, going on as we seek to fortify the front nine and fortify the deep defences russia builds over the course of 2023 which prevented the ukrainians from breaking through during their offensive. so even though president zelensky is not coming out and saying it under president biden is not coming out and send it, what we are seeing here is a quite shift to ukraine focusing on defending the 80% of the country still under its control and using incoming assistant to turn that 80% of the country into a success story. i think that is a right way forward simply because they do not seem to be able to beat the russian forces on the battlefield. time is not on their side. ., . ~ ., ., their side. conflict in ukraine and elections that _ their side. conflict in ukraine and elections that were _

their side. conflict in ukraine and elections that were postponed i their side. conflict in ukraine and i elections that were postponed which should have taken place today. let's bring you some pictures now from baltimore. this is the scene at the bridge that collapsed earlier this week. crews have started to remove mangled steel from the harbour so the port can be reopened. maryland governor wes moore has urged republicans to work with democrats to approve the federal funding needed to rebuild the bridge and get the port economy back on its feet. 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, but that's been reduced to 21. it has been just over £10 an hour — just over $12. it's going up to just over £11 an hour. our business correspondent marc ashdown has the details. barista sam loves hisjob, but after paying his essential bills, he's often left with just a hundred pounds a month to live on. pay rises just help him stay afloat.

i think they balance, because obviously, everything else goes up in price, so you sort of even out every single year. so maybe for, like, a month, you will be like, ooh, i've got money this month, and then it'lljust be like, next month will be a bit of a rough one. workers across the uk in some of the lowest—paid jobs are about to get a boost in their pay. from tomorrow, the national living wage is going up from £10112 an hour to £11.44 an hour. this is the largest increase in the minimum wage in cash terms,

the lobby group uk hospitality said taken across all the pay scales, they've got significant cost headwinds that they're facing into, notjust wages, but energy, food price inflation and the cost of living pressures. so there is a perfect storm going on here, and on top of this, a 17% increase in their wage bill. prices and wages have crept up and there's a concern how far cost can be passed on to customers. we are not looking — be passed on to customers. we are not looking at _ be passed on to customers. we are not looking at plus _ be passed on to customers. we are not looking at plus £4 _ be passed on to customers. we are not looking at plus £4 and - be passed on to customers. we are not looking at plus £4 and it - be passed on to customers. we are not looking at plus £4 and it will. not looking at plus £4 and it will not looking at plus £4 and it will not be long before it's £5 that's on the horizon. it's a question we're asking ourselves, when there's that little cup of coffee in the morning become unaffordable?— little cup of coffee in the morning become unaffordable? some 14,000 uk businesses voluntarily _ become unaffordable? some 14,000 uk businesses voluntarily pay _ become unaffordable? some 14,000 uk businesses voluntarily pay a _ businesses voluntarily pay a so—called real living wage, at least £12 an hour, charities want to see more sign up month tomorrow's pay increase will give a boost to millions of low—paid workers.

marc ashdown, bbc news. they might be just a normal part of your morning commute — but for one british man, railway departure boards have become big business. russell pirie was so fascinated with them as a child, he decided to make his own at home. and now, they're so popular, he's quit his job and enlisted his family to help him produce them. 0ur reporter, jonathan holmes, has the story. they're a familiar sight in stations up and down the country, the glowing panels telling you where you need to go and perhaps how late your train might be. russell used to commute to reading daily, and he spent a lot of time staring at these boards. i was fascinated with the departure boards. i really liked everything about them. so i decided i'd try and build my own one just for fun. he puts a video of his homemade board on youtube and was flooded with offers to buy it. now he's quit his old job just to build them. it's so niche and it's just something you'd never think would even exist or people

wouldn't even want. ijust basically built it for fun myself and it just appears that other people seem to want them and enjoy them as well. platform two for the 11:41 great western railway service to bristol temple meads. the boards run off real time data that's been provided by the railway companies. they're so popular that russell's wife and father have been roped in to help make them. he used to even sell overseas at one stage, which i could never really understand. why would someone in america want to know about uk trains? but these are ex—pats who wanted to see what was going on at their local station. they've also found an unlikely following with people who aren't regular commuters. quite a lot of them go to either people who autistic themself or autistic children, they they find them absolutely fascinating sort of like i did. so yeah, we get a lot of feedback from autistic children, parents saying they love them.

russell's now working with pop mogul and railway fan pete waterman to make the boards work with model railways across the country. not bad for a light bulb moment that came from staring at just another piece of railway furniture. supporters of india's main opposition alliance have held 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. 0ur south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan has more. 0pposition supporters have gathered here and they are coming from delhi and other neighbouring states near the capital city. now they are calling for the release of 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 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 this action, saying the law will take its own course. india's elections are due to start on 19th april and 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 said that investigating 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 mahendra

modi is seeking a third straight in which prime minister nahendra modi is seeking a third straight term, is starting on 19th april. those are the elections in india which are coming up. today is elections in turkey, let's bring it to and symbol, where a major part is holding a rally, millions of people voted in the elections on sunday, and with more than half the votes counted the aversion appears to be on course to have. it's a setback for president to one. he seen as a best face opposition candidate for the presidency, and elections that will take place in 2028.

the london—based iranian tv news channel — whose presenter was stabbed friday — says "heavy threats" have been made to its staff. pouria zeraati, was attacked outside his home in south london. the iranian regime has denied any involvement in the attack, which is being investigated by counter—terrorism police. the actor chance perdomo left has died in a motorcycle accident. he was 27 years old and nominated for best actor at the who thousand that tv awards for his role in a bbc drama. in a statement, his publicist said his insatiable appetite for life was felt by all who knew him, his warmth will carry on in those 11 theories. 30 years after it first hit our screens, gladiators is still proving to be a hit with tv audiences. an average of eight million viewers tuned in to the reboot of the 1990s show over the last 11 weeks.

our culture reporter, noor nanji, has been looking into its success. gladiators theme music. the moment of victory. after weeks of gruelling challenges, finlay anderson and marie—louise nicholson finally got their hands on the prestigious trophy. contender, ready! gladiators, ready! the final showdown saw the contenders take on the tried and tested challenges against the gladiators. commentator: and here he goes! at the end, finlay and marie—louise went head—to—head with their rivals, running up the iconic travelator to the finish line. analysts say keeping the original format from the �*90s has been key to the show�*s success. what it's done, it's created a lot of nostalgia for those who might be in their 30s or 40s and remember watching it the first time around, so they watch it,

alongside their kids, who are watching it for the very first time. it will cause tv commissioners to come back to the drawing board and think of maybe more shows that will bring everyone around together. and this is not the end, with a second series of gladiators now confirmed. noor nanji, bbc news. back in 1974 — and the eurovision song contest — it was abba's performance of �*waterloo' at the brighton dome that clinched the title — and turned an unknown pop group into instant stars. a new exhibition marks 50 years since that moment of pop history — and our reporter, sarah smith has been for a trip down memory lane. it was the performance which would steal the show. # my, my. # at waterloo, napoleon did surrender. # oh, yeah... for a week, brighton was in the grip of eurovision fever. this exhibition, a collection

of stories from those touched by it. the big story is abba winning eurovision in brighton, which is a huge part of brighton pop history. but underneath that is all of the collective stories and memories from individuals. jacqui 0'byrne was assisting her father, a photographer. they were at the grand hotel to catch abba as they left for the dome. they came out of the lift in the most amazing satin pearls, but the men walked slowly, because they were in platform silver sparkling boots. musician bobby ward was also in the grand that evening watching as the band emerged. so, i gave frida a smile and she gave me a wink back. it was just a moment in time of an unknown band who... it was like i didn't know i was witnessing a slice of musical history. mel bowden was the dj providing music before the show. the whole of brighton was buzzing, there were parties everywhere. it was pretty glamorous

for brighton '74. # waterloo, i was defeated you won the war... - carrol theobald was in the audience at the dome. i do remember how outstanding abba was. and we had a scoresheet in our programme, at the back, and i gave them top marks. behind the scenes, chris english, who worked for the electricity board, had spent a week ensuring there would be no problems with power. but it was still touch and go on the night. i suddenly realised that the amount of power that the dome was drawing from the grid had shot up, because they'd put all the house lights on, which had never been on during rehearsals. so, i panicked a bit. the show did go on, though, and at the interval, this was the entertainment. # underground, overground, wombling free... a film of the wombles exploring the area. david grint was asked if he could drive one of them — wellington, as he remembers —

around in his buggy. it was a flash of two or three seconds and then something else, so if you blinked, you missed it. but it was well worth doing — my claim to fame. # waterloo, i was defeated, you won the war. _ these images capture abba in brighton before and after the win which would catapult them to fame — a show which 50 years on, those who were there have never forgotten. sarah smith, bbc news. germany is part—legalizing cannabis use from monday — in an attempt to tackle the black market. under one of the most liberal drug laws in europe, adults in germany will be allowed to carry up to 25 grams of dried cannabis on them and cultivate up to three marijuana plants at home. the government says decriminalising weed will hit the black market and reduce the spread of contaminated cannabis.

a tech investor has bought a burial crypt close to where the film star marilyn monroe was laid to rest, at an auction in the united states. the one—space mausoleum in los angeles cost nearly $200,000. the buyer said he'd "always dreamt of being next to marilyn monroe". many of us have seagull horror stories — from having our chips nicked at the seaside, to being dive—bombed by adult birds protecting their young. but scientists say gulls should be seen not as pests but as clever, adaptable birds which are being forced into cities by the loss of their natural spaces. here's our environment correspondent, helen briggs. seagulls showing off their flying skills on a winter's day. they may be a common sight near the coast, but, hit by bird flu and the loss of wild spaces, some populations are in trouble. i don't think people realise that the numbers, especially of our breeding gulls, have been declining. perhaps they don't take so much notice of them and realise that numbers have been dropping off. they are quite a visual species.

they are in our towns and parks in urban areas and we've become very familiar with them. three common gulls and 26 black—headed gulls. in january, hundreds of volunteers took part in the first national survey of winter gulls in 20 years, to get a better picture of the six main species that spend the winter here. the tide is dropping and the gulls are starting to gather. we've got black—headed gulls here, a few common gulls, and some herring gulls. the idea of today's exercise is to count them coming in, do a census, look at population change. not everyone is a fan of seagulls. some species, such as the herring gull, are notorious for raiding bins and stealing food. here in brighton, people have mixed views. i think people are very unkind and cruel to seagulls. they throw stones at them. i hate them. why do you hate them?

the other day, i ate a doughnut and theyjust stole it right out of my hand. they love a doughnut, you can't walk around | with food in your hand, | that's the only problem with seagulls, but other. than that they are cushty. this scientist says seagulls aren't the problem, it's us. if you think of an animal as a pest it is a negative mindset. if we think of them as intelligent creatures, thriving in an environment that we forced upon them, then that should give us a more respectful outlook of herring gull behaviour. the data from the survey will be used to draw up new conservation plans for seagulls, with the hope that we can learn to live better alongside each other. helen briggs, bbc news, on the south coast. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. well, this easter weekend, the amount of sunshine we had across the uk varied quite a bit. some of us didn't have any sunshine at all. if you look at the satellite picture, you can see the thicker cloud across parts of england

and wales and the brighter skies earlier on across scotland and northern ireland, all part of a much larger rugged area of cloud shrouding many parts of europe. it's a big area of low pressure that's dominating the continent right now. and in the next few days, we are expecting a fair amount of rain. smaller areas of low pressure will come sweeping our way. and with that, outbreaks of rain and at times some strong winds. but it won't be raining all the time. there will be some fair weather in between these weather systems. so the forecast then — through the early hours, we have some rain across the south of the uk, maybe some cracks of thunder. also, this easterly breeze drags in rain—bearing cloud into parts of northern england. so quite wet in yorkshire overnight. the temperatures early on monday, 5 in aberdeen, about 7 or 8 in the south. so no huge contrasts across the uk. so easter monday itself, then. well, rain at times, that's the headline. but there'll be some sunshine, too.

i think the thickest of the cloud with the most persistent outbreaks of rain will be across northern england, perhaps around the northwest here, merseyside, the irish sea, into eastern areas of northern ireland. either side of that, drier and brighter — i say drier — there will be showers breaking out across southern england. some of them could be thundery — but sunshine in between, too. the forecast for tuesday shows that weather front moving northwards, kind of fizzling away, but still damp here. and then the next weather system sweeps into southwestern areas of the uk, and then later in the day that rain will track northwards and eastwards across the uk. and here it is on wednesday. in its wake, showers are expected across the bulk of england and wales, and that easterly breeze there in the north of scotland keeping things fairly chilly. for our friends in stornoway, only 7 degrees — even colder than that in lerwick, about 7 in aberdeen, but in the south around 15 degrees. and in fact, the south—southwesterly winds will be quite persistent across the bulk of england and wales. so the temperatures

will be never that low. but of course often rain clouds. in the north, always a little bit cooler. that's it from me. bye— bye.

live from london. this is bbc news. tens of thousands of israeli protestors have gathered injerusalem for the largest anti—government demonstration since the start of the gaza conflict.

israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu temporarily hands over power to his deputy as he undergoes surgery. i promise you that this operation that i'm undergoing tonight i will also go through very quickly and i will be back to my duties as fast as possible. king charles has attended an easter service in windsor — followed by a walkabout to greet crowds. it's his most significant public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. with more than half the votes counted in turkey's municipal elections, the main opposition party looks set to hold key positions in major cities. hello, i'm tanya beckett. we begin in the middle east — thousands of protestors have gathered in cities across israel, to call for elections due to the government's handling of the on—going crisis in gaza. the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, said a vote would paralyse the country and stop

efforts to beat hamas. he will undergo surgery on sunday for a hernia his doctors discovered