hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. russian opposition leader alexi navalny gives a defiant message in court against president putin. days after ending his hunger strike, navalny said vladimir putin's crown was slipping and accused him of turning russians into slaves. turkey imposes its first national lockdown. a country that was spared the worst of the first wave, turkey now has the highest rate of coronavirus infections in europe. in the uk, borisjohnson says suggestions he broke the rules over improvements to his downing street residence are a "firago of nonsense". the opposition disagrees. i think this is getting a bit farcicah _ i think this is getting a bit farcical. all he's got to do is answer_ farcical. all he's got to do is answer a _ farcical. all he's got to do is answer a very farcical. all he's got to do is answera very simple

farcical. all he's got to do is answer a very simple question, which is who— answer a very simple question, which is who paid, — answer a very simple question, which is who paid, initially, for the redecoration of your flat? i don't think there's _ redecoration of your flat? i don't think there's anything _ redecoration of your flat? i don't think there's anything to - redecoration of your flat? i don't think there's anything to see - redecoration of your flat? i don'tl think there's anything to see here or to worry about, but what we are doing is focusing on the stuff that really matters. and lift off — the first part of china's permanent space station blasts into orbit. we begin in russia, where we'vejust had the first glimpse of kremlin critic alexei navalny since he ended his three—week hunger strike. here he is, close—shaven and a lot thinner than the last time we saw him. he was appearing in court via video link to appeal a defamation conviction in february. he was found guilty of slandering a world war ii veteran, but mr navalny argues the charge was politically motivated. here's some of what he said today.

translation: this | whole case is forgery. even signatures were forged. you, your honour, know very well and therefore did not grant the petition to verify the signatures, because they were forged. it is probably a new standard of russianjustice. alexei navalny�*s hunger strike was a protest at what he said was a lack of access to medical care. he became so ill during those three weeks that doctors warned him he was on the verge of dying. this is what he said about his health today. translation: yesterday, they took me to the bathhouse so i could shave. - there was a mirror. i looked at myself and i look like a creepy skeleton. i weigh around 70 kilograms. the last time i weighed that much was in the seventh grade. if i took off myjacket right now, you would see me looking much worse. navalny also used today to attack vladimir putin. he called him "a naked king".

that's a reference to the children's folk tale about a king who finds himself exposed in front of his subjects. "russians have been enslaved and you've stolen their riches," mr navalny said. well, today was about that slander conviction, but alexei navalny is in prison to serve a 2.5 year sentence. that was imposed for violating parole terms relating to an embezzlement conviction in 2014. he violated them by going to germany to get medical treatment after being poisoned with the nerve agent novichok. none of this was in play today and mr navalny�*s appeal against the fine for slander was rejected so he has to pay. that will have to be organised from where navalny is serving his sentence. it's a notorious penal colony east of moscow. and while he's there, the russian authorities are suspending the network's activities. the network has disbanded its regional centres saying it's too dangerous to defy the suspension orders. this is the campaign

office in moscow. the authorities are trying to label the entire movement "extremist. that officially would put it in the same bracket as terrorist organisations such as al-qaeda and would make it far easier to jail activists and freeze the groups�* bank accounts. the court hearings on that decision are due to start up again on may 17th. here's navalny�*s right hand man — leonid volkov. translation: to put it short, - navalny's regional campaign offices do not exist any more and, for me especially, this isn'tjust a notion, it is a painful blow to my very heart. long live the king. all of our tedious work in the last four years and your support has not been in vain. we have sown the seeds of freedom around russia, which will spread. sarah rainsford has been speaking to opposition activists in st petersburg. since navalny's arrest, the pressure on his supporters has intensified. irina used to run his

office in st petersburg. they have cleared out because the prosecutor now wants the whole navalny network banned as extremists. translation: the risks are high, | because we just don't know how this law will be applied, how hard they want to crack down. destroying our movement is already a huge thing, but they can still come after whoever they want, and that's frightening. the door here is shuttered, the office is empty. it's as if alexei navalny's team were never even here. and it's the same story now right across this country, as a whole opposition movement, the most prominent and organised in russia, has suddenly vanished from sight. last august, alexei navalny nearly died on a flight from siberia, poisoned with a nerve agent. when he recovered and returned to russia defiant, he was arrested on arrival. since then, his offices have been raided constantly,

team members targeted with searches and arrest. with searches and arrests. despite everything, crowds took to the streets throughout russia once again last week, demanding navalny's release. but the price of such dissent is rising all the time — this is the man the kremlin wants silenced and forgotten, and any attempt to challenge that is obliterated. sarah rainsford, bbc news, st petersburg. let's bring you the latest on controversy surounding britain's prime minsiter and who paid for the renovations to his downing street flat. today, the argument centred on one particular investigation into the affair, set up by the government. that's going to be headed by this man, lord geidt. the questions being asked today are whether it's right that,

when lord geidt finishes his investigation into the prime minister's flat, the person who'll decide whether any standards have been breached, is the prime minister. there are now three different investigations into who initially footed the bill for refurbishments, including one by the electoral commission, which says there are reasonable grounds to suspect an offence may have been committed. the prime minister was asked about that investigation today. iwill, you know, comply with whatever they want. i don't think there's anything to see here or to worry about. but what we are doing is focusing on the stuff that really matters and, you know, i... again, look at what the priorities of the people of this country really are. the labour party have been lagging behind borisjohnson�*s conservatives in the polls and this controversy is an opportunity for them. labour's leader kier starmer is a former head of public prosecutions — the images of him grilling borisjohnson at the despatch box yesterday were a big moment

in the story. today, away from parliament, he had more questions. i think this is getting a bit farcical. i think the prime minister could actually deal with this very, very quickly. all he's got to do is answer a very simple question, which is who paid, initially, for the redecoration of your flat? now, i'm thinking of people who are watching this, i think most people would say, if i had my flat redecorated, i'd be able to answer that question. labour has also pointed out that the previous adviser on ministerial standards quit his post last year because boris johnson rejected his advice. lord geidt is his replacement. this was liz kendall from labour earlier. the new one, who's onlyjust been appointed because the prime minister is under pressure, doesn't have the power to even initiate investigations. you know, it's notjust that borisjohnson would be marking his own homework, he would be deciding he doesn't have any to do at all.

committee on standards advisers should have the right to initiate investigations and then to report the facts to the prime ministen — the prime minister has not accepted that recommendation on this occasion, although he has said that the adviser can recommend it to him that there should be an investigation. we still believe that full independence, so that the adviser can advise the prime minister on the basis of his own initiative, is valuable and we will be continuing to keep that under review. labour also think it's wrong that borisjohnsons should get to decide if standards have been breached. others argue if the prime minister had to accept the results of lord geidt�*s investigation — whatever the outcome — that might give an unlected adviser too much power. the vaccines minister, nadim zahawi, makes another argument on why that shouldn't happen.

the individual tasked with this has to report to the prime minister, because we, as ministers, only are able to do ourjob because we carry the confidence of the prime minister. when that confidence goes, because lord geidt finds against a minister in terms of breaking the code, then in terms of my role, i would have to obviously step away from being a minister. jonathan blake is at westminster. going back to the start, remind us why who paid for the wallaper in the prime minister's flat has become such a big issue? it isa it is a fundamental principle of public service and political life at westminster that elected politicians need to and are expected to declare any donations or are loans that they are given whilst in office. the reason for that is if it goes undeclared and undocumented, then political donations or loans could be used as a way for people to gain

influence over politicians and perhaps a win favours from them. that is why there are a few different sets of rules in place. one of them is that the rule that mps need to declare any donations they receive to the mps register of interest every 28 days. beyond that, there is a register of ministerial financial interest for serving government ministers. that is published usually twice a year and the last time it came out was in july 2020, so perhaps like the original, but now at the new independent adviser on ministerial standards, lord geidt, you'rejust talking about there was appointed, we can expect an update that register of ministerial interests. underpinning both those are sets of rules that politicians at westminster are expected to comply with is at that principle that politicians should not be unduly influenced by people who are donating money to them. it is cufious donating money to them. it is curious that _ donating money to them. it is curious that there _ donating money to them. it is curious that there is _ donating money to them. it is curious that there is so much noise

around this issue of who initially paid when the prime minister, of course, knows the answer to that. what are other conservative sing about his decision not to put that in the public domain and end all the speculation? i in the public domain and end all the speculation?— speculation? i think that is a frustration _ speculation? i think that is a frustration among _ speculation? i think that is a frustration among some - speculation? i think that is a - frustration among some conservative mps, at least, that there is dragging on as long as it has done. evenif dragging on as long as it has done. even if they dismiss it as an issue of huge importance among their constituents and voters, and one tory mp i spoke to a couple of days ago said they simply had not had any correspondence on this issue at all and that seems to be a reflection of whether it is registering out there among the general public. but some do express frustration at the fact that the prime minister has not said more than he has done on this to date and has not sought to clean up the whole thing and come forward with more information about where the money that paid for the renovation of the downing street that initially came from because he has always said he has met the cast

personally, he said that downing street and conservative party funds are not being used to pay for the renovation of the funds. it leaves the facility that an donation was initially used and then was repaid. —— the possibility. presidentjoe biden is in georgia where he's holding a drive—in rally to mark his first 100 days in office. the president and first lady jill biden touched down atjimmy carter regional airport a short while ago. they've just been meeting with former presidentjimmy carter and his wife, rosalynn carter. later, mr biden will be pitching his plans to spend trillions of dollars to rebuild the us economy, which he laid out last night in his first speech to a joint session of congress. he called it a "once in a generation investment in america itself". here's our north america editorjon sopel. the president of the united states. applause because of covid and social distancing, the audience was much smaller.

but the pandemic has givenjoe biden the space to come up with a set of radical proposals that are a break with a0 years of economic orthodoxy. the government, tax and big spending are back. but one thing is totally new... madam speaker, madam vice president... applause no president has ever said those words from this podium. words, and it's about time. a lot of people thought the 78—year—old would be a transitional president. wrong. he's set on transformation. with his plans for european—style welfare policies, a green agenda, and the thing he kept on repeating last night — creating newjobs. that's why i propose the american jobs plan. a once in a generation investment in america itself. this is the largestjob plan since world war ii.

a lot of those jobs will be found in the construction industry. he wants to spend $2.1; trillion on a rebuild of america's motorways, airports and railways. there can be no argument that america's crumbling infrastructure is in urgent need of repair. butjoe biden�*s ambition goes well beyond roads and bridges. it's about welfare, it's about the role of the state, but republicans say he's more interested in social engineering than in civil engineering. in congress, he spelt out who was going to have to foot the bill. those earning under $1i00,000 a year would be untouched. but the wealthiest would see their taxes rise. but it's time for corporate america and the wealthiest i% of americans to just begin to pay theirfair share. just theirfair share. i think you should be able to become a billionaire and a millionaire, but pay yourfair share. this is the first major set piece in congress since the january 6th riots.

but the president wanted to turn a page, exhorting americans to come together. folks, as i told every world leader i've ever met with over the years, it's never ever been a good bet to bet against america, and it still isn't. there's not a single thing, nothing, nothing beyond our capacity. joe biden also made a plea with lawmakers to work together to get things done. let's agree on what we can, he told them. fine words, but in divided america they are likely to fall on deaf ears. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. larry madowo is in atlanta. help me to understand how the president is planning to build on last night's speech. he president is planning to build on last night's speech.— last night's speech. he needs to beain last night's speech. he needs to begin selling — last night's speech. he needs to begin selling that _ last night's speech. he needs to begin selling that package. - last night's speech. he needs to begin selling that package. he l last night's speech. he needs to | begin selling that package. he is calling it the blue—collar blueprint for america to reinvest trillions of

dollars into the us economy and create good paying jobs. but republicans are really pushing back and their immediate response after that, the only black republican senator called it a radical left wish list which will killjobs and raise taxes. he believes that this is popular. when you bypass the republicans in washington, they want betterjobs, the americans, and he is starting here in georgia because georgia is at the first democratic president to have won the state and 28 years and at the state also delivered to democratic senators who were crucial in giving the democrats at the thinnest of margins in the us senate. d0 at the thinnest of margins in the us senate. ,, at the thinnest of margins in the us senate. , ., ~ at the thinnest of margins in the us senate. ,., ,., ~ , senate. do you think it is reasonable _ senate. do you think it is reasonable to _ senate. do you think it is reasonable to say, - senate. do you think it is reasonable to say, some | senate. do you think it is - reasonable to say, some critics have, that the president is now going beyond what he promised to do during the campaign, that he is being more radical, expanding the role of the state further than perhaps he told us last year? that has really come _ perhaps he told us last year? that

has really come up _ perhaps he told us last year? that has really come up that he has become the big government guide. but he is pitching there's a big government plan as a necessary reinvention of the state after the devastation economically of covid—i9, but also the last four areas of president donald trump. he sees base of the only way to do it —— for years are present donald trump. in some ways, he is more transformational and is making bigger bets and even now than i did. joe biden, who are supposed to be the president, is really starting to make big marks on the presidency, on american life, much more than anybody expected of a 78—year—old. larry, talk to me about politics in atlanta, georgia because i remember us talking a few months back about the present�*s victory there in the election and also surprise senate victories by the democrats as well —— present�*s victory. this is a pivotal state for the future of

american's politics. absolutely. the fact that he — american's politics. absolutely. the fact that he carried _ american's politics. absolutely. the fact that he carried the _ american's politics. absolutely. the fact that he carried the state - american's politics. absolutely. the fact that he carried the state and . fact that he carried the state and then voted for two democratic senators is critical. there are still a lot of people who believe what has come has become to be known as the big lie, the conspiracy theory spread by some in the right that a donald trump president of the united states and that there was a fraud or some other weird and unusual thing that happened with the election to deny donald trump of that. also, the state of georgia, the legislature has recently passed voting restrictions that many have criticised, including president biden, as a new criticised, including president biden, as a neinm crow, as un—american, that will make it harderfor black brown un—american, that will make it harder for black brown people to vote here. in his speech yesterday, speaking about systemic racism and how to stamp it out, —— they need to stamp it out, that will be responded with on the right, of stowe stocking the culture wars.—

in terms of foreign policy, president biden said, he was not seeking conflict with china or russia. but he also pledged to be firm against both powers and identified competition with china as one of the greatest challenges faced by the us. in discussions with president xi, i told him, we welcome the competition, we are not looking for conflict. but i made absolutely clear that we will defend america's interest across the board. i also told president xi we will maintain a strong military presence in the indo pacific, just as we do for nato and europe. not to start a conflict, but to prevent one. let's listen to the analysis of the bbc chief international correspondent. with so many people now talking about what they see as the asian century and certainly chinese and

other south asian leaders thinking when they watch from afar with how countries in the west dealt with the pandemic, divisions in the united states, they talk of how this gives greater strength to their idea that democracy simply doesn't work. the regimes that they have put in place, are the ones that are best suited to tackle the problems of our time, and joe biden took this on in his state of the union address, which, of course, was largely focused on domestic policy, but he talked about how countries like china expected the united states, expected democracy, to fail and how he said they were now proving, in his 100 days and the days to come, he believes, that america was on the right side of history, that the confidence in america about how america had the stronger system of ideas.

every day on outside source, we bring the bigger stories around the world. let's go to turkey now. its first nationwide lockdown to try and curb a surge in coronavirus infections and deaths came into force a couple of hours ago. this drone footage shows istanbul in the hours leading up to the restrictions — heavy traffic as thousands of turks planned last—minute travels to their holiday homes. the new restrictions will last 17 days, and people must stay at home except for essential shopping trips and urgent medical treatment. alcohol sales will be limited and all travel between cities will require official approval. let's speak to ozge ozdemir from bbc turkish. why no? tell us about how the situation is becoming more serious. turkey has lifted some restrictions in march and after that, at the beginning of this month in april, we have seen a record number of cases and deaths in turkey. that is the reason that now the government has to have these precautions to struggle with the new cases. and to have these precautions to struggle with the new cases. and i do eo - le

struggle with the new cases. and i do peeple sunport _ struggle with the new cases. and i do peeple sunport a _ struggle with the new cases. and i do people support a lockdown? does the government had people on its side? �* . . , the government had people on its side? a ._ .,., side? actually, the psychological and financial— side? actually, the psychological and financial burden _ side? actually, the psychological and financial burden has - side? actually, the psychological and financial burden has been i side? actually, the psychological and financial burden has been so j and financial burden has been so harsh on the people. yes, they are supporting because cases are high and the health system is ok for now, but if the cases will be rising, it will be hard to deal with, but the financial and economic support, even by the government to the people is so limited and the spring is coming and europe is opening now, but people in turkey will have to be staying in their homes. that is the reason there is much more confusion and also may be anger about this lockdown. 50 and also may be anger about this lockdown. , ' ._ , lockdown. so there is 17 days, if i have not lockdown. so there is 17 days, if i have got that _ lockdown. so there is 17 days, if i have got that right. _ lockdown. so there is 17 days, if i have got that right. what - lockdown. so there is 17 days, if i have got that right. what is - lockdown. so there is 17 days, if i have got that right. what is the l have got that right. what is the government's plan after 17 days? they will look at the numbers. they have not announced or what will be happening after 17 days, but the aim of the government is to limited daily cases to 5000, so they will see if it will be working and there

are some saying in anchor and the capital that maybe it will be one more week for the lockdown to —— in ankara. more week for the lockdown to -- in ankara. �* . . ., ankara. and what evidence our scientists offering _ ankara. and what evidence our scientists offering that - ankara. and what evidence our scientists offering that the - ankara. and what evidence our. scientists offering that the second wave is more serious, is it connected to variants of covid—19? they are saying that turkey was doing welljust before march. instead of lifting these precautions, step—by—step, the government has decided to just left of the precautions in a match immediately. so the cases have increased so that is also one of the reasons and also the scientists are saying, especially in istanbul, actually we had any third way because the second wave, according to scientists in turkey, was before november —— the third wave. now they are saying we are living through the third way. one of the reasons is that they did not let percussion step—by—step. that they did not let percussion step-by-step-_

that they did not let percussion ste-b -ste. . , ., ~ step-by-step. finally, i would like to ask about _ step-by-step. finally, i would like to ask about the _ step-by-step. finally, i would like to ask about the turkish _ step-by-step. finally, i would like to ask about the turkish economy. are your thing the amount of assistance being offered to turks is limited is how is the economy during the pandemic? iii limited is how is the economy during the pandemic?— the pandemic? if you look at the data, the imf — the pandemic? if you look at the data, the imf data, _ the pandemic? if you look at the data, the imf data, last - the pandemic? if you look at the data, the imf data, last year - the pandemic? if you look at the . data, the imf data, last year turkey has given just 1% of its gdp to financial support for covid—19. and tourism is very important for turkish economy. that is one of the reasons why they want to deal with the cases because they want to open summer for the foreign tourists who will come from the uk are rational. so turkish economy, according to the gdp, has been doing well in the covid—19 either, but unemployment is very high right now. covid-19 either, but unemployment is very high right now.— very high right now. thank you very much indeed- _ very high right now. thank you very much indeed. thank— very high right now. thank you very much indeed. thank you _ very high right now. thank you very much indeed. thank you for - very high right now. thank you very much indeed. thank you for our - much indeed. thank you for our colleagues in a bbc turkish for carrying that sorry and more broadly. we are indebted everyday to bbc world service and it has extraordinary expertise. there is much more on the pandemic online from bbc news. in the second half,

we will bring you the fourth in our series of on brexit. coming up any minute. it was a pretty chilly day today by the time of year. over the next few days we will hold onto this typical late april weather pattern with showers and sunny spells. winds will remain light, as you can see here on any pressure charts. one thing we will hold is that cold arctic air. will sit across any country, bringing pretty chilly days and also cold nights with overnight frost continuing even as we head into the bank holiday weekend. we are then seen some changes taking place for a bank holiday monday. more and that any moment. as we had written it, most of the showers or tent to fade away. with lengthy clear skies and light winds, that

killer must, it is going to be a cold night with a patchy frost developing in rural areas. these figures... we start friday morning in a cold night, frost around, mist and fog too. that authentically and there will will be lows of sunshine around, but again, is that strong april sunshine gets going on the temperatures, they slowly rise into the afternoon. cloud will bubble up and showers will develop. some of them could turn out to be heavy with a bit of hail and thunder mix centre. a disappointing temperatures, single figure by these unearthly course again. maybe highs of around 13 agrees scratch to graze across southern it is possible very nature is fairy again, and it will turn drier i lengthy clear sky so it will be another cold one. frost developing out of town across northern and central and western areas. forthe northern and central and western areas. for the bank holiday weekend, the weather pattern will be pretty similar with a cold mornings, sunshine and showers by day. both saturday and sunday. you can see on

the pressure chart, very little change there. very few isobars around. we will start to seek significant change, something we have not seen very well, that's pretty deep area of low pressure which will spin up over the atlantic and head towards our shores. as we move through the day on bank holiday monday. it starts off chilly, dry and bright. cloud build up and it turns wet and windy and across western areas. this rain splashing its way eastwards through the course of the day. temperatures pretty similar to what we have seen over the weekend, generally into the low teens.

hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. russian opposition leader alexi navalny gives a defiant message in court against president putin. days after ending his hunger strike, navalny said vladimir putin's crown was slipping and accused him of turning russians into slaves. india has set another record for a new coronavirus cases with another 380,000 in one day. in hospitals, they are doing all they can. doctors are saying. — they are doing all they can. doctors are saying. i _ they are doing all they can. doctors are saying. i can — they are doing all they can. doctors are saying, i can save _ they are doing all they can. doctors are saying, i can save this - they are doing all they can. doctors are saying, i can save this light - are saying, i can save this light but they— are saying, i can save this light but theyjust cannot because of a lack of— but theyjust cannot because of a lack of equipment and oxygen. and the final part _ lack of equipment and oxygen. fific the final part in our series on brexit promises, looking at how far away the uk can move from eu rules

and regulations. and china has taken and regulations. and china has taken a step closer to having a permanent space station, with the first parts of it on their way into orbit. let's get the latest on the covid—19 outbreak in india. and, again, we've seen a record daily number of new cases. in the past 2a hours, almost 380,000 cases have been recorded. and more than 3,600 deaths. it's certain the real figures will be higher still. these pictures are from a delhi hospital today. you can see the pressure it's under. dr sunil mittal is a psychiatrist in delhi. they are exhausted, they are working nonstop, the hospitals are working nonstop but then, in private, they come and break down, they have never seen so much of death and doctors and medical personnel feeling,

i can save this life butjust cannot because of lack of medical equipment or oxygen. or basic equipment. they are so stressed out, because the health care system can take only so much, it can't take beyond. and, you know, we are a large, large population with a large amount of a sick number of people today. and, yes, there is anger and frustration, too, because we have failed to really invest into health care over the last many decades, which we ought to have done. while that's happening in delhi, in the state of west bengal, millions of indians have been voting in state elections — and cases are rising sharly. this is in the state's largest city kolkata — as people wait to vote. and the large rallies during the campaign are suspected of spreading the virus. rallies like this in kolkata. up to 500 people could attend them and covid protocols appeared non—existent. amitabha bhattasali has more.

the election did send strict instructions, everyone should wear a mask and get their hands sanitised before entering a polling booth but physical distancing is needed as well. we have seen that not done by workers and political party members. this is nothing new, we have seen enlarged rallies organised by the political parties, attended by leaders of the country and thousands of people, most of them not wearing masks and physical distancing was out of question. and we are already experiencing the effect. at least four candidates have died from covid and several others have tested positive. and a section of people also now blame the election campaign rallies for the spread of covid. we can see the figures. around 4,000 people have been tested positive here in kolkata in the last 24 hours

and though the situation is not as distressing as deli, but, here in kolkata, there is a massive crisis of hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, as well as maxines. —— vaccines. and as this crisis intensifies — there's an urgent need for vaccines. here are people queuing for theirjabs today in delhi and mumbai. so far only front line workers and adults over 45 are eligible — but from this weekend, any adult can sign up. this will be india's largest ever vaccination drive. in the meantime, international aid is arriving. this is today in delhi, where more ventilators and oxygen concentrators from the uk and russia have arrived. but the hospitals will need more help. here's arunoday mukharji in dehi. india was projecting itself as the pharmacy of the world. india is home to the serum institute of india, which is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, but look at the situation now,

where it is hard to imagine that citizens have to struggle for even basic medical facilities, like accessing a bed at a hospital, and that's a reality that has been playing out on the ground in several cities for the past nearly two weeks now. but there is hope that the medical aid that is on its way from countries like the uk, the us, singapore and many others which have pledged support will help boost a very, very stretched and exhausted medical infrastructure, but many experts are also pointing out that the speed with which the virus is spreading, it may not match the kind of support that is coming in. so concerns that the situation is so bad, this aid won't be enough — particularly to fill the acute gap in supplies of oxygens. we know this has been a problem in india for the last fortnight. but what is the reason behind india's oxygen shortage? here's arunoday mukharji again. india did not plan as well as it should have put a second wave, should have for a second wave, is what experts are pointing out. in a sense, they lifted all restrictions, they didn't plan

for this second wave. so the logistics weren't in place. also, in cities like delhi, where you are seeing this maximum shortage of medical oxygen, it does not have its own plant, so it needs to get it ferried in from other states. now, what happened, we saw, many other states looking at their soaring coronavirus numbers decided to keep the oxygen supply for their hospitals. so it's been a bit of a logistical mess as well which people have reported, and that's something that we continue to witness on the ground. in fact, as far as oxygen is concerned, in ten days this month, the oxygen demand has gone up to 67% and that really is a staggering figure. but some states are denying they have an oxygen shortage . uttar pradesh, india's most populous state — nearly 250 million people live there, the government says the hospitals haven't run out of oxygen. but in the city of ghaziabad — you can see it's east of delhi — people have in desperation turned the outside

of a sikh temple into a drive through oxygen centre. piyush nagpal has the story. another new arrival, struggling for breath. this woman has just arrived in a rickshaw. but it's not long before she's given help. car after car lining up in this makeshift oxygen drive through. each of them contains someone in desperate need of help. with shortages across the country, the cost of an oxygen cylinder has surged.

but outside the sikh gurdwara temple, worshippers are helping people forfree. the volunteers have given oxygen to more than 1600 people so far. increasing numbers of countries are sending oxygen and supplies to india. russia, the uk and the us are all sending aid. but, in the meantime, indians are looking to help themselves.

the bjp is in power there — prime minister narendra modi's party. it denies these oxygen shortages. and the state is also clamping down on any criticism of the government. this man, shashank yadav, used twitter for trying to find oxygen for his dying grandfather. state police have charged him with spreading a false rumour "to cause fear". he could now face jail. this censorship is happening nationally — the government has been putting pressure on social media companies to remove critical posts around mr modi. reports say twitter, facebook and instagram took down about a hundred posts. in their words, "to curb misleading content." here's an example of one. a tweet from indian politician who accuses modi of underplaying the crisis and blaming deaths on his mismanagement. if you are in india, you can no longer see this.

and this was shared after on instagram — posts with the hashtag #resignmodi have been hidden. let's speak now to rana ayuub. she is global opinions writer at the washington post. very well known commentator in india. thank you forjoining, what is your reaction to the government defence that these measures are necessary to contain this information about covid—19? necessary to contain this information about covid-19? well, nothin: information about covid-19? well, nothing better— information about covid-19? well, nothing better could _ information about covid-19? well, nothing better could be _ information about covid—19? -ii nothing better could be expected of a party which has failed to protect its own citizens, especially at a time when indians are left to fend for themselves. the chief of the largest estate in india has told hospitals there will be no access requests for oxygen, while patients are lying on pavements. today, i saw are lying on pavements. today, i saw a video from a localjournalist saying there were 40 cremations in a single crematorium and many other people are posting the video at the same time, the government fears it is exposing the extent of the

devastation and at the government is doing this on facebook and twitter seem to have been enabling the modi government as always. but seem to have been enabling the modi government as always.— government as always. but the government — government as always. but the government isn't _ government as always. but the government isn't disputing - government as always. but the government isn't disputing the | government isn't disputing the severity of the crisis right now in india, most of the debate is about whether it should have done more several weeks ago but who in india was predicting a spike of this scale? lots of indians, notjust the government, didn't see this coming. the indian government is still not conceding there is a problem. the health minister today went on television and said the rate is 0.3% but every day when we speak to officials and cc local reports, including a regional newspaper, that death toll has gone to something as close as 20,000 and we still have election rallies in various parts of the countries, news channels are running relentless election coverage, so i do think there is a huge problem at times. let me remind

you, all of the reports so far are still talking about india, we have not spoken about the rural devastation yet.— not spoken about the rural devastation et. ., ., . ., devastation yet. you are criticising tv news covering _ devastation yet. you are criticising tv news covering elections - devastation yet. you are criticising tv news covering elections but - devastation yet. you are criticising tv news covering elections but i i tv news covering elections but i think of the us presidential election, that took place during the pandemic, there were just restrictions in place. surely you are not suggesting the elections should be cancelled? flit are not suggesting the elections should be cancelled?— are not suggesting the elections should be cancelled? of course not, elections are — should be cancelled? of course not, elections are over _ should be cancelled? of course not, elections are over but _ should be cancelled? of course not, elections are over but at _ should be cancelled? of course not, elections are over but at a _ should be cancelled? of course not, elections are over but at a time - elections are over but at a time like this, when people are dying of oxygen shortage and channels are running 24—hour exit polls results, these are the results on the 2nd of may, you're talking about exit polls, how do you expect the government to act responsibly when the media is not acting responsibly and the government of the state is still holding election rallies and prime minister narendra modi �*s party is posting videos of the crowds on social media while people are requesting oxygen and thousands are requesting oxygen and thousands are dying on a daily basis? there is not a single family in india which has been unaffected by this

devastation, has lost somebody. so has been unaffected by this devastation, has lost somebody. 50 i devastation, has lost somebody. so i can hearyour— devastation, has lost somebody. so i can hearyouranger devastation, has lost somebody. so i can hear your anger with the prime minister and his government and with the bjp party. from this point onwards, what do you want the government to do to help all of the indians, you say all indians, who are affected by this pandemic? the government _ are affected by this pandemic? tie: government really needs to are affected by this pandemic? ti9 government really needs to up the ante, really needs to proactively go towards providing oxygen, ensure ventilators are in place in hospitals and dedicating every possible resource, the doctors are overstretched. we do not have facilities like this in the villages that also the government needs to act quickly before it is too late, because the virus cases are exploding in india. 1 million cases in three days. the prime minister really needs to act instead of focusing on elections right now. thank you very much indeed and, as you finish that point, people can see on the screen your latest column in the washington post about the

crisis. a thai village on the border with myanmar has been evacuated after it was hit by stray bullets from fighting between ethnic rebels and mynamar military forces. insurgents linked to the karen national union have stepped up their attacks on government forces since the military coup in myanmar in february. the knu is the dominant political organisation representing ethnic minority karen communities in southwestern karen state, officially known as kayin state — which borders thailand and is roughly the size of belgium. their objective is self—determination for the karen people in a region of about 1.6 million people, where they are the ethnic majority. it has been battling myanmar�*s government since 1949, and has felt marginalised in the post—independence political process of the country which was then known as burma —

along with several other ethnic groups which are also fighting for sovereignty. in 2012, there was a ceasefire — but that was broken when the military began launching air strikes on kayin state in march. our correspondent laura bicker has been at the selawin river on the border between myanmar and thailand which has been the scene of further clashes between the knu and the military over the last few days. we are on the thai side of the border, over the river there is myanmar and if you can see that shoulder, that is the outpost taken by the karen national union in the last few days. now we understand, a number of myanmar soldiers have been killed and some are on the run. since then, the military has fought back, they've dropped a number of strikes, some by helicopter, or drone, we understand. when it comes to what the knu are doing, they have been patrolling some of this area, they have been clearing out the outpost and taking it for themselves. on this side of the border,

they had to evacuate this village, because a stray bullet hit here, so you can see how close it has come to the fighting. in terms of the bigger picture, the knu are the biggest supporters of the civil defence movement within myanmar. what you are seeing in the towns and cities right across myanmar, in what the knu have dealt with for decades, the kind of brutal military, and when it comes to how this fits into the overall picture, the knu are thought to be protecting many members of the civil defence movements, some activists, and we understand that there is also renewed fighting within the north and other parts where ethnic armed organisations are deciding to take on the tatmadaw, take on myanmar�*s military. now, this is a very strong military, but it does mean that they are now dispersed on many fronts. they are trying to disperse

the protests that are going on within the cities and towns, and also they are renewing this fighting between ethnic armed organisations notjust here, but further in the north. in terms of where this goes, we will have to see. there is a certain fear that if the tatmadaw take any retaliatory action, there is going to be a number of aerial strikes. there have already been several aerial strikes within the last few days and there are fears that many of the karens who are hiding in this area will come to the border, as we've seen before. that is something we will have to wait and see over the next few days. stay with us on outside source — still to come... we will see the final part in our series on brexit promises, looking at this time at how far the uk can move away from eu rules and regulations now that it has left. a new fire safety law

has come into force — but campaigners argue it does nothing to help leaseholders whose homes have dangerous cladding and are having to bear the huge cost of removing it from properties they bought in good faith. sarah corker reports. who should pay to fix britain's broken buildings? from london to leeds, merseyside to manchester, thousands of leaseholders are facing huge bills to remove dangerous cladding and to fix other fire safety faults. i have spent days and weeks crying about it, worrying about our future. in manchester, this was rachel and her partner's first home together. now they feel trapped. declaring bankruptcy at this age, you know, what does that do to us for our future? it decimates it. so, yeah, it's... yeah, it's terrifying. and these are real discussions about bankruptcy that you're having now? yes. yeah, obviously it's not the wisest thing to do, but we have sat there at night

and had conversations, "what would it mean?" the fire safety bill was introduced to strengthen building regulations following the grenfell tragedy. peers in the lords and some conservative backbench mps tried to make changes to the bill to protect flat owners from cladding costs, but those attempts failed and the bill became law today. the fire safety bill, which has received royal assent, will actually help to save lives by changing some of these awful regulations and guidelines that existed previously and this will help to save lives. and the prime minister previously made this pledge. we're determined that no leaseholder should have to pay for the unaffordable costs of fixing safety defects that they didn't cause and are no fault of their own. but, today, cladding campaigners say they feel betrayed. it is an unbelievable situation. i

think a lot of people don't actually believe this is going on and this could be happening in the uk. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story comes from russia where opposition figure alexei navalny has spoken out against the rule of president putin. he was appearing in court via video link days after ending a three week hunger strike. we've followed the story of brexit since 2016, and all this week we've been looking at whether promises have been kept. in the last of our special reports, today we're turning our attention to how much the uk has moved away from european union rules. brexit�*s message of taking back control rested on the idea that the uk should make its own rules. with the majority of our laws now made in brussels by politicians and bureaucrats not elected by you, not accountable to you, we can only truly be masters of our own destiny if we vote to leave the eu on the 23rd ofjune.

and to support this, two arguments were repeatedly used. first, that eu regulations got in the uk's way. no one has made this case more than borisjohnson. in this example, he talks about an exporter. after decades of sending kippers like this through the post, he has had his costs massively increased by brussels bureaucrats who have insisted that each kipper must be accompanied by a... this, a plastic ice pillow. that wasn't true, by the way, nor were numerous other examples mrjohnson gave over the years. but it is true that he and brexit supporters didn't want eu rules. and then there was this argument. the european court ofjustice in luxembourg is telling our home secretary that she may not deport people with serious criminal convictions to other european countries. this court, the ecj, enforces the rules of the european union when they are disputed. brexiteers wanted it

out of uk affairs. and, now brexit has happened, borisjohnson is making this claim. we've taken back control of everyjot and tittle of our regulations in a way that is complete and unfettered. but is that right? well, in preparation for brexit in 2018, the uk transferred all eu laws into uk law. the institute for government describes a giant copy and paste exercise, where laws and regulation made over the past 40 years, while the uk was a member of the eu, will continue to apply after brexit. though, of course, the uk can now change them if it chooses to. next, let's look at the brexit trade deal. brexiteers hoped to get great access to the eu's market and to be free of eu rules. in reality, getting both was always going to be hard. on goods, there is tariff free and quota free trade between eu and the uk,

but there are some things, like safety standards, which are no longer shared, so more checks are needed. the uk isn't following eu rules but it's got more bureaucracy in return. there is also a so—called level playing field agreement in the trade deal. this addresses standards on things like workers' rights. under this arrangement, if one side changes its rules and potentially gives itself an advantage, it may become subject to tariffs in return. again, the uk doesn't have to follow the eu but there are consequences if it doesn't. and there can be no doubt that the uk's desire to be apart has had an impact. trade deals are about bringing the parties closer. this particular deal is a dynamic deal and it's one that tries to manage divergence. so, in principle, yes, we can do a number of things, but potentially there is cost to be had. then what about the european court ofjustice? well, at the uk's insistence, the ecj will not enforce the brexit trade deal, but, once again, northern ireland is different to the rest of the uk.

its special arrangements mean it is aligned to the eu single market and the ecj can rule on some disputes there. so not all of the uk is free from the ecj. and that arrangement could be indefinite. so does the uk have complete control of every part of the uk's regulation, as the prime minister suggests? in theory, it's true. in practice, it's not the case. the uk controlled its choice to be in the eu, it controlled its choice to leave and now it controls its choice to copy some existing eu law, to have some equivalent standards, to accept some ecj jurisdiction. brexit has delivered more control but as the academic jonathan zeitlin puts it, this will be a never—ending story of further negotiations and agreements. and, in this story, the need to trade ensures that the uk will, to some degree, have to forgo complete control. on this, you can't have your cake and eat it.

you can see more of our reports on the promises of brexit on twitter. we've done others on fishing, northern ireland and trade. i'm @bbcrosatkins just before we go, some news from space. for over20 just before we go, some news from space. for over 20 years, the international space station was the only place to be continuously inhabited by humans, but very soon the ifs will be joined inhabited by humans, but very soon the ifs will bejoined by inhabited by humans, but very soon the ifs will be joined by a inhabited by humans, but very soon the ifs will bejoined by a new neighbour. earlier today, the ifs will bejoined by a new neighbour. earliertoday, china neighbour. earlier today, china successfully launched neighbour. earliertoday, china successfully launched into orbit the first module of its planned space station. the core module, attached to a long march 5b rocket launched from huanhe. china hopes to have its own space station up and running within the next two years. that is

it for this edition, thanks for watching as ever and i will see you next week. goodbye. hello, it was a pretty chilly day for the time of year, we saw a mixture of sunshine and april showers. the next few days, we will hold on this typical late april weather pattern, with showers and sunny spells and the winds will remain light, as you can see on the pressure charts. one thing we will hold on to is this cold arctic air, it is going to sit across the country bringing pretty chilly days and also cold nights, with overnight frosts continuing even as we head on into the bank holiday weekend, but then we are seeing some changes taking place for bank holiday monday. more on that in a moment. as we head through tonight, most of the showers will fade away although if you will continue, mainly across parts of scotland and north—east

england but with lengthy clear skies and light winds in the cool air mass, it will be a cold night with a patchy frost developing. in rural areas, these figures are towns and cities. we start friday morning on a cold night, some —— note, some fog and mist but that will clear and some sunshine around and as that strong april sunshine gets going, temperatures will slowly rise into the afternoon and clouds will bubble up the afternoon and clouds will bubble up and showers develop again, some could turn out to be heavy with a bit of hail and thunder mixed in. pretty disappointing temperatures, single figure values on north sea coasts thanks to the light of north—easterly wind, highs of 13 or 14 across southern areas. through friday night, the showers fade away again across most areas and it will turn dry with lengthy clear skies, so that means it will be another cold one with frost developing, particularly out of town across central, northern and western areas. what a bank holiday weekend, the weather pattern will be pretty similar with cold mornings and sunshine and showers by day, both

saturday and sunday. you can see on the pressure chart, very little change and with very few isobars around, the winds remain light. then we start to see significant changes as we head into a bank holiday monday, something we haven't seen for a while, keep area of low pressure which will head towards our shores as we move through the day on bank holiday monday, so it starts off chilly, dry and bright, clouds build up and it turns wetter and windier across western areas. this rain slashing its way eastwards through the course of the day. temperature is pretty similar to over the weekend, generally into the low teens celsius.

hello — you're watching bbc news. welcome to an election special across of polls opening across england and scotland next week. the political leaders will be taking part in a bbc debate making their case to the government in the welsh assembly. we will be looking at the keyissues assembly. we will be looking at the key issues for voters to consider in all the elections which take place next thursday. they include the scottish parliament elections and we will hear the thoughts of the political scientists and pollster sirjohn curtis on how hollywood could change and the issues most concerning voters. and in england polls will decide who runs more than 140 councils and districts and as a by election in hartlepool and there

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