hello, and welcome to bbc news. i'm reged ahmad. ukrainians are going to the polls on sunday in the country's presidential election. they'll be choosing between the incumbent petro poroshenko and comedian and tv star volodymyr zelensky, who has no political experience. a court in the ukrainian capital, kiev, rejected a last—minute lawsuit calling for mr zelensky to be barred from standing. caroline rigby has more.

national anthem plays. the olympic stadium in care and has hosted huge sporting clashes, including the champions league final. —— kiev. it was once again filled with a fired up was once again filled with a fired up crowd this weekend, but in the place of football players, the two remaining candidates in the ukraine's presidential election. this was a run—off between the incumbent, petro poroshenko, and volodymyr zelensky, a comedian with no political experience. mr zelensky is the clear favourite. he claims to be one of the people, unifying figure who bring about change in a country where many are dissatisfied with the old guard. yet mr zelensky has conducted a majority of his campaigning via social media. the specific details of his policies remain largely unclear. he has, though, proven he can at least act presidential, having played the part inatv presidential, having played the part in a tv drama. but some, including his rival petro poroshenko question

whether television can translate into the real thing. he has stressed the need for political experience in a country that is fighting a war against russian backed forces in the east. nearly 36 million ukrainians are eligible to vote. those casting their ballots face a choice between sticking with what they have had for the past five years, or taking a lea p the past five years, or taking a leap into the unknown. translation: i will vote for zelensky, because there is hope that this man, who comes from the people, and better understand us and break the system that exists in the country. understand us and break the system that exists in the countrylj understand us and break the system that exists in the country. i can't imagine this man being president turns talking with, for example, angela merkel, or with the president of the european council, or with the head of nato. they are important people who have a lot of experience, and what does he know? on saturday a court rejected a lawsuit calling for mr zelensky to be barred from standing. the 11th hour case was

brought by a man who complained the distribution of free tickets for the presidential debate by mr zelensky‘s candidacy amounted to bribery. international monitors in ukraine say that in general, the election has been well organised and transparent. the winner of sunday's vote will be elected for a five year term as president. there has been heavy fighting south of the libyan capital, tripoli, after soldiers loyal to the un—backed government said they had launched a counter—offensive against general khalifa haftar‘s forces. more than 200 people have died since general haftar began his attempt to capture tripoli two weeks ago. rami abukalam has the story. this is south of tripoli on saturday as forces loyal to the internationally recognised administration tried to push back against general haftar‘s troops. it followed days of fighting in which neither side made significant advances and in which more than 200 people were killed. as the counter—attack was under way,

a fighter loyal to the government spoke of their defiance. translation: today, we advance from different axis. the moral of fighters is really good and, god willing, we will advance and reach haftar‘s home. the prime minister, fayez al—sarraj, has condemned the muted international response. russia, egypt and the united arab emirates are all supporting general haftar, who also appeared to receive the backing of donald trump in a phone call earlier this week. many foreign powers think he has the potential to stabilise libya from its post—revolution chaos. some libyan people feel the same, but others think he's just another warlord determined to win power by force. meanwhile, the fighting intensifies with each passing day. a un resolution drafted by the uk calling for a ceasefire was rejected by both the us and russia. rami abukalam, bbc news, london.

detectives in northern ireland are questioning two men in connection with the murder of thejournalist, lyra mckee. the 29—year—old was shot dead as she was watching rioting in londonderry on thursday night — 21 years after the good friday peace agreement was signed. the suspects, who are 18 and i9, were arrested under the terrorism act. officials say they believe a dissident irish republican group, the new ira, was behind the killing. from belfast, louise cullen reports. a journalist, campaigner, beloved partner and devoted daughter. the police today said they'd met lyra mckee's family to try to answer their questions

and they said the killing had united the community against the dissidents. my broader concern is that what we're seeing is a new breed of terrorists coming through the ranks. and that, for me, is a very worrying situation. there is a real sense that what happened to lyra marked the sea change, and i want people to have confidence to come forward. two men were arrested in derry this morning in connection with the murder of lyra mckee. they were brought here to belfast for questioning at the psni serious crime suite in musgrave police station. they're being held under the terrorism act. the police were carrying out a search operation targeting dissident republicans in the creggan area of derry on thursday night when rioting flared. in cctv footage, a masked man steps out from behind a wall. he disappears. then a few minutes later, a man with a gun fires shots towards police and onlookers. lyra mckee was rushed to hospital

where she died from her injuries. police believe a group calling itself the new ira was behind the shooting. one of the things that's worrying about this organisation is that they do have people who were experienced in the dark arts of bomb making, when they were in the provisional ira, and some of those people have gone over to the new ira in the last decade or so. for friends of the journalist and lg bt activist, reality is just beginning to sink in. when i woke up this morning, i did think that i dreamt all this, it hadn't really happened. i'd dreamt the vigil, i'd dreamt everything and then i heard the news and i realised that it wasn't some awful nightmare, it was true. and people across northern ireland are standing with lyra's family and friends with books of condolence being signed and vigils held in a number of towns and cities. everybody should show their condemnation of this murder in some shape or form. we need to move forward, and that nobody wants to go back to those dark days, and that our children deserve the opportunity to never be brought up in that, the way we all were. the community has been brought together to stand against that possibility by the killing of a woman who called herself a ceasefire baby. louise cullen, bbc news.

hundreds of extra police officers have been drafted into central london to help clear climate change protestors from the capital's roads. more than 750 people have been arrested since the demonstrations began on monday. the metropolitan police have defended their handling of the situation, describing the operation as unprecedented. jon donnison reports. the extinction rebellion has life in it yet. for a six—day, climate change protesters targeted central london. yesterday's pink boat in oxford circus was replaced by a green hammock. the message? they are not going away. if there were a better way, please somebody tell us. we have tried the suggested ways, we have tried writing to mps, we have tried doing petitions, we have tried standing on the street with banners. it clearly hasn't worked. she was

eventually arrested, as were others. they are not making it easy for the police. some protesters had glued themselves together, their arms encased with piping. a cheer goes up now as one protester has been released. here at oxford circus, the police are using bolt cutters, angle grinders and special chemicals to break through the glue that protesters have used to stick themselves together. there were similar scenes at waterloo bridge. we are here to protect our kids and to protect their future kids and their future kids. you to protect their future kids and theirfuture kids. you don't have to understand science to understand that. the metropolitan police have had to request 200 extra officers from neighbouring forces, but denied they are struggling to cope or that cells are full. it has been a challenging operation. they are using very dynamic communications and a very dynamic x. i think many

people would say we have not seen anything quite like this in this city or around the country before. by city or around the country before. by late afternoon the last of the protesters at oxford circus had been removed and traffic was flowing again. but as dusk fell at waterloo bridge, some demonstrators were preparing to bed down for the night. in the morning they will be back. britain's cyber—security watchdog says a list of stolen passwords globally shows that 123456 is the most commonly used, appearing more than 23 million times. the word "password" appeared 3.6 million times. other popular words used are "liverpool" and "blink182." the national cyber security centre is calling on people to improve their passwords, by using three random words. there've been clashes

between demonstrators and police in paris, on the 23rd saturday of yellow vest protests. officers fired tear gas and arrested nearly 200 people. the protesters have been banned from the area around the champs elysees and notre dame cathedral. our europe regional editor, danny aeberhard, reports. chanting. it's week 23 of the yellow vest protests, and the first since monday's catastrophic fire in notre—dame cathedral. but if the authorities hoped that that disaster heralded a moment of newfound unity, they were wrong. political tensions continue to smoulder, erupting into clashes on the streets of paris. a group of protesters set motorbikes alight in one area. the violence was nothing like the scale of the riots in december. one protester said radical elements had hijacked a mostly peaceful demonstration.

translation: you can see that there are people who are not necessarily here out of the same convictions we have, for peaceful reasons. we should be able to move around everywhere, but it's true, it's not very pleasant doing this. we can't protest as we would like, so it's getting tense. anger remains, though. some of it this week was directed against the colossal sum, about $1 billion, raised in just days to restore notre—dame. demonstrators have criticised the ease with which billionaires and corporations have funded huge donations for the fire—damaged cathedral rather than to alleviate poverty. the fire and its aftermath temporarily displaced the yellow vests from centre stage. this is bbc news. the headlines: ukrainians are going to the polls in the second round of the presidential election. candidates are the incumbent and a comedian who plays a president on tv. heavy fighting is taking place near the libyan capital as soldiers loyal to the un—backed government clash with the forces of general khalifa haftar.

kosovo has allowed a group of its citizens to return home from syria. four men suspected of fighting for the so—called islamic state were arrested when they landed. the collapse of the group has cast a spotlight on the issue of repatriation for many countries. kieron mirchandani reports. from the rubble of syria to a caged playground in kosovo. 110 people, mostly women and children returned home on saturday, swapping the desert of the caliphate for metal wiring as their cases are processed. kosovo is the latest country forced to deal with issues of repatriation of citizens who now wish to return home. while islamic state has been virtually defeated, many worry that those who return may still retain the destructive ideology. kosovo's top officials say allowing them to return home is an important step. translation: we'll not stop before bringing every citizen

of the republic upon kosovo back to their country. and anyone who has committed a crime or was part of these terrorist organisations will face the justice. since 2012, over 300 kosovons made the journey to syria according to government figures. police estimate that 30 people remain. those who returned on saturday were alleged fighters, a0 of them. they were arrested on arrival. kosovo was not the only country dealing with the issue of repatriation. the uk government did not allow shemima begum, a british isis bride, to return to the uk, stripping her of her citizenship. france has allowed the children of fighters to return. for many countries, the question is how to deal with returning members of the caliphate while maintaining security of the state.

it is a quandary few have an answer to. efforts in the uk to promote farming without agrochemicals has a long history. in 1946, the soil association charity was formed to do just that. now, more than 70 years later, the charity has 27,000 members, and works to support eating locally grown food. the group certifies more than 80% of the organic produce in the uk. john butler, one of the first organic farmers, shares his memories. the great thing about organic farming is that you do all you can to build up life in the soil. now, one of the chief ways of doing this is by using natural organic manures as opposed to artificial chemical fertilisers. soil produces food. and without soil, hunger is the consequence. and we damage our soil at our peril. now, when a soil is deprived

of its protective layer, then the structure begins to break down. the war brought in mechanisation and then development of chemicals. in the struggle for greater food production, scientists all over the world have turned their attention to the control of weeds and pests by chemical spray. these things, most of them did not smell very nice. they were not nice to handle. the deeper instincts of many people were offended by them. they were usually called 'artificials' in a rather derogatory term. if you put artificial fertiliser near a worm, that worm will wiggle away from it. it is violent, vicious stuff. it was only gradually that people began to see the deterioration of the soil.

when it has lost its cohesiveness, then it is subject to erosion. i remembervery well standing here in that field and looking out over the horizon and just being horror struck to see a great dust cloud obscuring the horizon. in dry, sunny, windy conditions in the springtime particularly, the fine soil particules on the surface get whipped up into cloud that can rise into the air 300 and 400 feet. there is no soil erosion with good farming. if i went out and picked up a handful of my soil here, you'd see it's so alive, it almost walks off my hands. it's full of wiggly things. there was a classic book written by lady eve balfour, who founded the soil association, called the living soil, that really made people sit up and think.

lady eve was an independent minded lady and she was interested in farming, one of the first women farmers. she was a dear old thing. a little frightening to begin with because she had short grey hair and rather a deep husky voice. she pointed out that it is obvious that anyone who looks at fertile soil that it's alive, it's a living thing, really. it has a mineral base of sand and grains of rock, but this is all knit together with organic matter by microorganisms, both plant and animal microorganisms, which produce this substance called humus, which binds the soil together in crumbs, and this crumb—like structure, which is fundamental to the health of the soil. i was brought up with the saying a good farmer leaves the land

better than he found it. i never actually like to call myself an organic farmer. i don't know. i like to be considered a good farmer. i love farming. that's why i've been so richly rewarded. because i've put my heart into it and i've been the richest man in the world because of it. john butler there, one of the first organic farmers in the uk. ajapanese sailor has become the first blind person to sail a yacht across the pacific ocean. he left california in the united states forjapan two months ago. donna larsen tells his story. it came into view as a small dot on the horizon, a 40—foot yacht carrying the first blind person to sail across the pacific,

nearing the end of an epic 14,000—kilometre journey and two months at sea. as they neared dry land, people gathered at the dock at fukushima in japan to welcome them. mitsuhiro iwamoto, a japanese citizen who lost his sight at the age of 16, set sail on february 2a from san diego, where he now lives. thank you for coming. he had steered the vessel as sighted navigator doug smith assisted him with verbal guidance on potential hazards and wind direction. mr iwamoto's first attempt at the crossing ended in disaster in 2013 when his yacht sank after being hit by a whale. so the 52—year—old was overjoyed to finally complete the challenge. translation: it was really tough and i realised that the pacific ocean is boundless. i've had enough, so i'll not sail yachts for a while. the pair celebrated reaching land with a hot shower and a cold beer,

safe in the knowledge that they've also raised money for charities to help prevent diseases which cause blindness. caroline rigby, bbc news. french television has put on a glitzy benefit concert to raise funds for the renovation of notre—dame cathedral, which was devastated in a fire on monday. singing an international array of artists joined the concert. so far, around i billion euros has been raised for the restoration of the cathedral, which had its spire and roof gutted in the blaze. close to 200,000 bees that live on the roof of notre—dame cathedral in paris have survived the devastating fire, which destroyed much of the building. three hives are still intact. experts say that the smoke is likely to have made them drunk.

hugh schofield reports from paris. for six years, they've been keeping bees on the roof of notre—dame. the inferno, one might have thought, should have reduced the three hives to a large pool of wax, but no. this brief video taken this afternoon shows that all is still in order. the day after, we had pictures taken by drones, and i could see the three dots made by the roof of the hives, and nothing was in front, nothing that looked like melted wax. and then on thursday, nicola, my boss, met andre on the pavement and he said that he'd seen bees going back and forth into the hives. luckily, the hives were not on the part of the roof that burned, but on the sacristy, a much lower level, visible here in the foreground. night was falling when the fire broke out, so the bees should have been settling down to rest. i was first very pleased, but facing them, they were on earth before us and they will be after us, i am definitely convinced of that,

even with whatever we do, pesticides, i am always positive and i know that they will survive definitely. christian writers of antiquity saw bees as an inspiration for the church, a community of workers toiling for a common good. eastertide at notre—dame, they are providing another symbol of life and hope. it's turning out to be one of the hottest easter bank holiday weekends on record with temperatures reaching 25.5 celsius in hampshire on saturday, the warmest day of the year so far. and there's more to come with sunshine and high temperatures expected for most of the country on sunday and monday. from sunny southport, olivia richwald sent this report. summer holiday scenes over the easter weekend. southport on merseyside has one of the biggest expanses of sand in the north—west

and the second longest pier in the country. these girls have taken two trains to be here today. it feels like summer because it's really hot and it's really sunny. what have you been doing? er...laying on the beach and going to the shops. it's been a lovely day here. it's been very warm. obviously, the sun's ultra warm for this time of year, so you've got to enjoy it whilst it lasts. i think days like this are few and far between. i've spent plenty of easters reporting on unseasonal snow, but i have to say that southport in the sunshine is far more enjoyable, and this isjust the beginning, because it's due to be lovely tomorrow and monday. across the uk, most places have been basking in blue skies and sunshine. from the north of wales on anglesey to the south in carmarthenshire, people were hitting the beaches. it was the perfect day for the european stone stacking championships in dunbar in scotland. when the mercury goes up,

thousands go down to brighton, where the water skiers were enjoying calm seas. inland, the boats were moving somewhat slower in milton keynes, and on the thames, where birds of all varieties were soaking up the sun. today, southport was hotter than seville and st tropez. tomorrow's easter eggs will be served sunny side up. olivia richwald, bbc news, southport. we wa nt we want to bring you some breaking news. it is coming out of sri lanka. we are getting reports that there have been blasts that have hit two sri lanka churches. it is easter mass held there, it is easter weekend. we are hearing that blasts have hit two sri lankan churches. that is coming through on afp and we are also getting reports of explosions that have hit two columbo

hotels in sri lanka. explosions have hit sri lanka churches and hearing explosion that to columbo hotels as well. that report coming through on writers as well. we will keep you across that breaking news here on bbc news as it develops. right now, let's get some weather with nick miller. hello. after two days of easter weekend warmth, you may be watching this to see if it is set to continue for the rest of the weekend. the short answer is yes but keep watching now for the longer answer. here's the view from oxfordshire earlier where it was a chilly start for saturday. warm in the sunshine again and the weather front close to north—west scotland, giving some outbreaks of rain and more cloud to western parts of northern ireland, but that backs away by monday. even here, we will see the return of the sunshine. this is how we start easter sunday, still with some outbreaks of rain in the northern and western isles, maybe a few mist and fog patches

towards eastern parts of england, but where some spots will start the day close to freezing for a touch of frost. but temperatures rebound in the sunshine across england and wales, the hazy sunshine for northern ireland and for some of those in scotland, the vast majority is dry for the northern and western isles, again, you could well see some outbreaks of rain a time. breezy here, cooler than elsewhere in the breeze still keeping some north sea and english channel coasts cooler than elsewhere but you have the sunshine, most of us high teens and low 20s, some spots near the mid—20s, giving the warmest easter sunday on record a run for its money. pollen sufferers, though, know it is quite high out there for tree pollen so, yes, some of us are suffering as a result. this is how it looks through sunday night and into easter monday. still with outbreaks of rain towards the western isles keeping it breezy here as well. elsewhere, though, it is mainly dry and clear and low single figures in cooler spots in parts of eastern england and, again, it could turn misty in a few places. easter monday, this is how this is shaping up. notice the difference between northern and western scotland. that weather system, as we saw earlier, has backed

away, so we are back in the sunshine here. there will be an increasing breeze and more in the way of high cloud pushing in from the south during easter monday so sun will be increasingly hazy. temperatures for some of us may not be quite as high so much as many of us will notice. it will still be a fine, warm day for getting out and about. now, this is how it looks as we go through the next few days after easter. notice we start to get low pressure taking over, weather fronts heading our way from the and that will bring —— from the south and that will bring a change after the easter weekend. more cloud around, increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms and we'll start to see temperatures coming down. but that will be a gradual process. you can see it all under way here. if you want some rain on the garden, there is hope, especially during the second half of the week.

this is bbc news. the headlines: ukrainians are going to the polls in the second round of the presidential election. the vote could see a comedian and tv star become the new leader. volodymyr zelensky, who until this campaign had no political experience, is challenging the current president, petro poroshenko. there's been heavy fighting south of the libyan capital, after soldiers loyal to the un—backed government launched a counter—offensive against the forces of general khalifa haftar. several air strikes and explosions have also struck tripoli. more than 200 people have died since the start of the offensive. police in northern ireland are questioning two men in connection with the killing of thejournalist, lyra mckee. she was shot while observing rioting in londonderry‘s creggan estate in northern ireland on thursday night. two teenage men have been arrested and are being held under the terrorism act.