this is bbc news, i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 5pm... after more powerful explosions in the ukrainian capital kyiv, the city's mayor imposes a 35—hour curfew from this evening. nearly three million refugees have fled ukraine. we report from poland, where a shopping centre is being used to house families. the journalist who interrupted russia's main tv news bulletin last night to protest against the invasion has been fined $280 by a court in moscow. ukraine's president tells the uk and other nations the west needs to do more to help his country fight russia, otherwise, he warned, "they will come for you". russia, otherwise, he warned, the world is silent after two nuclear power plants were captured. we are just hearing words, that is

not enough. in other news — british iranian national nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, detained in iran for five years, has been given back her british passport — raising hopes of her return to the uk. mask wearing on public transport and in shops will remain compulsory in scotland for a further two weeks, after a rise in covid cases. the number of people out of work in the uk has fallen again, and is now lower than it was before the pandemic. but wages are failing to keep up with the rising cost of living. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. the mayor of kyiv says ukraine's capital is entering a "dangerous moment" and has announced a continuous curfew from tonight until thursday. the authorities say four people

were killed this morning in fresh attacks on the city. peace talks between kyiv and moscow continue today, with ukraine warning that russia is likely to renew its offensive if there's no agreement. tim muffett reports. a ukrainian military target under attack. russia's defence ministry released the footage today. but this morning, it was a residential building in kyiv that bore the brunt of russia's attempt overwhelm ukraine. the shelling of this apartment complex killed four people, according to authorities, and prompted this announcement from the city's mayor, vitali klitschko. translation: today is a difficult and dangerous moment. - according to the decision of the military command, from today, 15 march, from 8pm, a curfew was established in kyiv. movement through the city is

prohibited without special passage. nato's secretary general, jens stoltenberg, dismissed claims coming from moscow and raised more concerns about russia's behaviour. they claim to be protecting civilians, but they are killing civilians. now they are making absurd claims about biological labs and chemical weapons in ukraine. this isjust another lie, and we are concerned that moscow could stage a false flag operation, possibly including chemical weapons. the ukrainian president discussed his country's nonmembership of nato in a video conference with military officials. translation: ukraine | is not a member of nato. we understand that. we are adequate people, we have heard for years that the doors were open — but we also heard that we could notjoin.

it's a truth, and it must be recognised. i'm glad that our people are beginning to understand this and rely on themselves and our partners who help us. meanwhile, the leaders of poland, slovenia, and the czech republic are visiting kyiv today, travelling by train. it's a trip that has surprised many — they said it was their duty to show solidarity with ukraine in the face of russia's invasion. tim muffet, bbc news. breaking news from the nato secretary—general, he says nato will hold a meeting in brussels on 2a march, that is — about nine days from now, so a lot could happen in nine days but it's an opportunity for all the member nations to come together to update on what exactly

is happening in the situation in the conflict in ukraine, and the role of course nato is playing. the american tv network fox news says one of its camera operators, pierre zakrzewski, has been killed in ukraine. the vehicle in which he was travelling was struck by incoming fire, fox news said on its website. the 55—year—old, who is pictured here in the foreground, was with another fox journalist, benjamin hall, on monday when they came under attack near the capital kyiv. hall remains in hospital. the journalist who interrupted russia's main tv news bulletin last night to protest against the invasion has been fined $280 by a court in moscow. marina ovsyannikova ran behind the newsreader carrying a sign with the text, "stop the war, don't believe the propaganda." just short of three weeks into this conflict, the kremlin is insisting that its so—called "special military operation" is going to plan. but some in moscow admit the campaign was not progressing as quickly as moscow wanted, and the united states saying it has pretty much stalled. so what is the current state

of the russian campaign, and how have the ukrainians managed to frustrate them? our security correspondent gordon corera reports. the russian offensive continues to make only slow progress. their original plan of a lightning strike failed, thanks partly to so much secrecy that some of the russian forces seem to have been unprepared. that, combined with bad intelligence of what reception they would get. they have moved most effectively across the south of the country. but around kyiv, there has been little change as the russians continue to regroup and slowly encircle the capital. they have not gone in on the ground, and it's not clear when they will, but they have launched strikes from the air, including these three districts overnight. in all, russia is thought to have fired around 900 missiles during the invasion, including a couple of dozen which hit this ukrainian training centre near the polish border on the weekend.

as well as faulty assumptions, the russian initial thrust also stalled due to ukrainian tactics and stiffer resistance than moscow expected. rather than head—on combat against a largerforce, ukrainian forces have been skilled at adapting, ambushing russian forces and targeting senior russian officers with snipers, using drones which can carry explosives to target convoys and using military aid from the west. so, what help is the west giving? it has supplied what is called defensive equipment, but some of it high—end. these are nlaws, valued for their ability to target russian tanks and armoured vehicles. britain sent 2,000 before the invasion, training ukrainian troops to use them here injanuary, and nearly as many again since it started. other countries have also supplied stinger anti—aircraft missiles as well as other equipment. but nato has ruled out direct involvement on the ground, or through creating a no—fly zone.

so the question is now, will the russians make a direct assault on kyiv even though it is heavily defended? an update on that meeting, mr stoltenberg — it looks like they've released a news release — he says he's convened an extraordinary summit on 2a march here in nato h0, "0ur strong support for ukraine and further strengthening nato deterrence defence will stop at this vertical time, deterrence defence will stop at this verticaltime, north deterrence defence will stop at this vertical time, north america and europe must continue to stand together." jens stoltenberg announcing that conference on 2a march. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, has said he is frustrated with nato — the military alliance of 30 nations — because it won't implement a no—fly zone over his country. in a video call to borisjohnson and representatives from baltic

and northern european countries in london, mr zelensky claimed some nato countries had been "hypnotised" by russia. earlier today, the uk government said it's imposed more sanctions against russia — 370 new measures against individuals, companies, and other bodies plus a ban on exports of luxury goods. 0ur political correspondent david wallace lockhart reports. that band has been matched by the eu. while economic battle rages here, president zelensky fights war in ukraine. this morning, after the uk announced further sanctions on russia, he addressed european leaders who make up thejoint expeditionary force security alliance. a plea for more action. translation: we would like to ask you to help yourself by helping us. i you know the kind of weapon we need — everyone knows. you know what kind of defence measures we need, you know what are needed,

the fighter jets, and without your support it would be very difficult. —— you know what our needs are. i am very grateful but i want to say that we need more. the prime minister is trying to economically isolate russia. he will travel to saudi arabia for talks on energy supply. a controversial he believes is necessary. dashed a controversial trip. it is vital if we're going to stand up to putin's bullying and avoid being blackmailed by him in the way that so many western countries, sadly, have been, we have to get ourselves off russian hydrocarbons. sanctions outlined this morning hit russian antiques, vodka and fur, just a few of the items that will now face additional tariffs of 35%. the uk's aim is to hurt russia economically, though it's likely to mean some extra costs for consumers here, too. alongside g7 allies, the uk will also ban luxury goods being exported to russia, and further sanctions on 370

individuals and entities, including the former russian president dmitry medvedev, have been announced in the past hour. in the commons this morning, the chancellor said this is the right approach. the treasury has been hard at work with our international partners putting in place the most comprehensive set of economic sanctions this country has ever done, that russia has ever experienced, and i am really proud of the job that we have done. but with energy price volatility, labour is worried about the cost of living. the package on energy announced by the chancellor last month has already been rendered obsolete by russia's invasion of ukraine. some estimates of average annual household energy bills suggest rises to £3,000 or even more from october, a ruinous figure for many of our constituents. the prime minister acknowledged that the west needs to do more for ukraine. for now, most of the action remains economic. david wallace lockhart, bbc news. let's speak now to emily thornberry, mp — she's labour's shadow

attorney general. thanks very much for being with us this hour. what do you make of the latest moves the government has made on sanctioning further individuals and companies?— on sanctioning further individuals and companies? well, it is all to be welcomed. — and companies? well, it is all to be welcomed. but _ and companies? well, it is all to be welcomed, but i _ and companies? well, it is all to be welcomed, but i think _ and companies? well, it is all to be welcomed, but i think really, - and companies? well, it is all to be welcomed, but i think really, the i welcomed, but i think really, the truth is, and it's obvious, that it's all rather too late. it could've been done much faster than this. we didn't the legislation in place — i don't really understand why, cameron had talked about introducing this sort of legislation, and yet the house of lords were up late last night passing the legislation. and we seem to be playing catch up with america and the rest of europe when i think we could've really been leading the way, if we had wanted to, and we had put our back into it. i do worry about some of this legislation, you know? i think it gives many of these people far too long and too much

it doesn't get frozen and we don't get sanctioned. they're doing it, it's not perfect, it could be much better, and ijust wish they had listened to us, we've been talking about this for such a long time. in terms of the legal challenges of this, you understand how complicated some of this could be — their suggestions in the us that quietly, some of the business interests have not been sanctioned, individuals have been personally sanctioned, and there is concern that they can cause companies to collapse and people to lose theirjobs, collateral damage to put it crudely. is that happening here as well, or are you confident that it's better late than never, but they will be effective? it certainly hasn't happened yet because i think our sanctions haven't been strong enough yet. and look, there's no doubt that if you impose sanctions on another country,

you are restricting trade with another country, so you will be affected yourself. yes, of course you will. but there's also a whole other generation of sanctions where you can focus your sanctions on individuals, and that has a much greater effect on those individuals and everyone else. when it comes to the putin regime, so many of these oligarchs are close friends of putin's, and they have his gold in his pockets. he doesn't keep his money abroad in his own name, he keeps it in the name of others — so clamping down on them is also a pretty good way of clamping down on putin. ., ., , , . ., , , putin. tom keating specialises in financial crime _ putin. tom keating specialises in financial crime and _ putin. tom keating specialises in financial crime and internationall financial crime and international consequences of some of this, and he said earlier that this is all fine, but in the end until you deal with money that's accruing to the russian states their oil and gas sales, all of this is nice to have bonuses on top, but that is the key element

thatis top, but that is the key element that is still funding the military operations, still funding the putin government. {iii operations, still funding the putin government-— operations, still funding the putin government. operations, still funding the putin covernment. , ., , government. of course we need to be realistic about _ government. of course we need to be realistic about this, _ government. of course we need to be realistic about this, i _ government. of course we need to be realistic about this, i believe - government. of course we need to be realistic about this, i believe the - realistic about this, i believe the british government has talked about stopping oilfrom russia ourselves. but yes, i mean of course, the rest of europe is so dependent on russian oil and gas, of europe is so dependent on russian oiland gas, and of europe is so dependent on russian oil and gas, and we shouldn't be in this position, we need to be much more self—sufficient in energy. energy security is a question of national security, we see this now, we've been talking about it. it is really imperative that countries are able to look after themselves much more and not be dependent on others, i get that. but i have to say that i'm sure tom would also accept that these sanctions, this sanction regime that's been introduced internationally is so much bigger and better than anyone ever thought would happen. in the way in which

countries have been working together is astounding, no one would've expected this. i mean, if anything, thatis expected this. i mean, if anything, that is a good thing coming out of this, the way in which international communities have worked as one. i'm just a bit disappointed that we are kind of pulling up the rear, really, when it comes to sanctions. fine when it comes to sanctions. one thin that when it comes to sanctions. one thing that may — when it comes to sanctions. one thing that may surprise a lot of people, and judging by your parliamentary activities, surprised he was well, was the fact that britain was offering up financial support to russian businesses. can you explain that? support to russian businesses. can you explain that?— support to russian businesses. can you exolain that?— you explain that? yes, so in the department _ you explain that? yes, so in the department for— you explain that? yes, so in the department for international - you explain that? yes, so in the - department for international trade, if there are any particular — if wheels need oiling, if someone might be getting a loan, etc, the british government can swoop in and say "we will guarantee this loan." and there's been a great deal of activity in terms of helping to facilitate trade with russia, and

that has been continuing until today — and i've been asking questions about it, saying, "what on earth is going on? we are talking about millions of pounds of taxpayer money which is now sitting in russia as a guarantee for countries to be able to export to russia." extraordinary that the government hasn't acted further to my professor than this, but they haven't. ijust further to my professor than this, but they haven't. i just wish they would get a grip — they are the government, they ought to be governing. let government, they ought to be governing-— government, they ought to be auovernin. ., ., government, they ought to be auovernin. ., i. ., ., governing. let me ask you about one ofthe governing. let me ask you about one of the stories — governing. let me ask you about one of the stories we've _ governing. let me ask you about one of the stories we've obviously - governing. let me ask you about one of the stories we've obviously had . of the stories we've obviously had news of this afternoon, and those are the reports that nazneen zagar hat roof decks ratcliffe has had her passport returned. nobody wants to jump passport returned. nobody wants to jump for joy passport returned. nobody wants to jump forjoy yet, but it's the first positive development in her case in a long time. we positive development in her case in a long time-— a long time. we had so many false dawns, a long time. we had so many false dawns. you — a long time. we had so many false dawns, you don't _ a long time. we had so many false dawns, you don't want _ a long time. we had so many false dawns, you don't want to - a long time. we had so many false dawns, you don't want to jinx - a long time. we had so many false dawns, you don't want to jinx it. i a long time. we had so many false. dawns, you don't want to jinx it. we dawns, you don't want tojinx it. we sit on the edge of our seats and hope that this mother's day, that little girl will have her mum back.

so many other mothers days when she didn't come home. but if she goes home, it's all credit to richard, her husband, and her mp who have been campaigning fearlessly and tirelessly for so many years to try to get her back.— tirelessly for so many years to try to get her back. emily thornberry, thank ou to get her back. emily thornberry, thank you very _ to get her back. emily thornberry, thank you very much. _ to get her back. emily thornberry, thank you very much. further - thank you very much. further breaking news on that nato summit, which i reported in the last few minutes has been announced for 2h march. president biden, according to the white house, will travel to brussels to attend that summit, which somewhat elevates the significance of it, because obviously if the president of the united states is coming, then there's a pretty good chance that pretty much every other leader who is a member of nato will want to be there for that old thing they call face time and international politics. not so much an opportunity

to high—five, norjust pose for the endless photos, but about actually the face time to talk about issues, not just the the face time to talk about issues, notjust the impending invasion but anything else they are concerned about. whether it indicates that the nato is getting feelers from the negotiations that are happening, it's not part of, but between russia and ukraine that there might be something to discuss more substantive? who knows, that can only be speculation, but it's something that wasn't planned and it is at least another opportunity for them to potentially reconsider their approach. no sign that the no fly zone will be imposed, they rejected that — weather perhaps what happened over poland's offer to the us to transfer its craft to the united states, and for the unites stomach united states so he could get them into the air space to use soviet era

weaponry which its pilots will be familiar with, weaponry which its pilots will be familiarwith, rather weaponry which its pilots will be familiar with, rather than having it off—the—shelf british helicopters or an american one, whether that might�*ve caused — there's clearly been some tension between warsaw and washington over that — washington slapped down warsaw very publicly, because it felt it had been dragged into a third world war. whether that has caused some tension in the alliance, and he needs to go and kiss up, that remains to be seen. but president biden will be attending the nato summit in brussels on 2a march, in just nine days' time. the detained british—iranian nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe has had her passport returned and a british negotiating team is in tehran, according to her mp tulip siddiq. mrs zaghari—ratcliffe has been detained in iran since her arrest in 2016 on charges of plotting to overthrow the government — allegations she has always denied.

nazanin's sister—in—law, rebecca ratcliffe, has been speaking to the bbc. she's quite apprehensive of going outside. her family have always been intimidated by her captors, the irgc. they often make threatening messages and things around her, so she doesn't really tend to go out, she doesn't trust many people. of course, covid's been problematic in iran, like it has been elsewhere, so there's not a lot of socialising. but, nevertheless, she is with her family and can see her family on a regular basis and has internet access, which she hasn't had for the last five years. this is such a roller—coaster for her, her emotions are up and down all the time, so when something like this happens, she is really on edge. she can't really... doesn't really want to sit and chat or anything. she just doesn't know what this means for her. there's so many false hopes over the last five, six years, where she's felt like she's about to be released and then it hasn't happened. she doesn't want to get her hopes up. it is just a constant state of high

anxiety she is struggling with. she obviously can't get out of iran until she's got a british passport, so this does seem to be a strong signal from iran that they are trying to get her home. what we don't know is how much this is negotiation between british and iranian governments, or if iran is posturing here, putting pressure on the british. it's difficult for us to interpret whether this is a really positive sign or the iranians are playing games here. 0ur diplomatic correspondent paul adams has been telling me today's news could be very significant. jeremy hunt, who spent a lot of time trying to resolve this case, he regards the fact that she's had the passport returned as significant in itself. does it mean that her release is imminent? well, as you just heard her sister—in—law saying, we mustn't get ahead of ourselves, there have been many, many false dawns

over the past 5—6 years. and perhaps it was not surprising that borisjohnson when he was asked about this earlier, answered it was best for him not to say anything while these negotiations were going on. of course, acutely conscious perhaps himself and remarked that he made back in 2017 which arguably at the time complicated her case. —— of remarks that he made back in 2017. as you say, it is quite right you have to be sensitive but also to be cautious, because there have been games played before, haven't there, with this case? if things look like they were getting better, then it was suddenly snapped back shut from the family. and the psychological warfare almost she has had to endure, never mind her relatives, her husband and daughter back, almost indescribable. 0n the broader picture, is it fair to say that she has been used, really, as a form as a sort of hostage to achieve a bigger objective about a large sum of money that the british over the iranians? dash owed the iranians? that is certainly the way her case is described by her husband richard

and others who have campaigned to get her release. the british government has a slightly more nuanced term for it. i think they say people detained, i forget what the term is now, not using the term hostages. in the case of this debt, the military debt, it seems to be absolutely key here. and againjeremy hunt was saying earlier today that every time he spoke to the iranians about this case, the waived this in his face. —— they waived this in his face. the british government has never acknowledged that there is a connection between her being held and the debt, that really would be to acknowledge that they were keeping her hostage. and effectively, they would look like they were paying a ransom. but that is apparently, we have not had this confirmed, that is apparently what has happened. there is a report from iran by a journalist regarded as quite respectable, who says that the debt has been paid, £400 million, which has been withheld since 1979, the tail end of a military deal that was cancelled after the islamic revolution.

if that debt has been paid, that is hugely significant, because that clearly is the thing that has exercised the iranian authorities more than anything else. the mum of the murdered toddler, star hobson, has had her eight—year prison sentence for causing or allowing her daughter's death increased to 12 years at the court of appeal. frankie smith, who's 20, was jailed in decemberfor her role in the death of the 16—month—old. 0livia richwald reports. star hobson was 16 months old when she was murdered by her mother's girlfriend, savannah brockhill. the toddler from keighley, in west yorkshire was taken to hospital in september 2020 with what were described as utterly catastrophic injuries. in december last year at bradford crown court, brockhill was jailed for life with a minimum of 25 years behind bars.

star hobson's mother, frankie smith, was also found guilty of causing or allowing her daughter's death and given an eight—yearjail term. but that sentence was described as unduly lenient and referred to the court of appeal by the attorney general�*s office. this morning, the appeal court heard there had been several aggravating factors, including the child's vulnerability and at least an 11—minute delay before an ambulamce had been called. three seniorjudges extended frankie smith's sentenced to 12 years. we quash the sentence of eight years' imprisonment and a substitute —— and we substitute for a sentence of 12 years' detention in a young offender institution. ms smith must serve half of that term before she can be released on licence. frankie smith appeared at the court via video link from new hall prison, where she is being held. 0livia richwald, bbc look north. nicola sturgeon has announced that scotland's rules on face coverings in shops and on public transport won't be scrapped next week as planned. the first minister said

it was "prudent" to keep the measure in place, given the current spike in covid cases in scotland. james shaw explains why. if you just view one set of figures, the number of people in hospital at the moment is 1,996 with coronavirus, and that is the highest figure that there has been in scotland since early last year. and it's certainly also true that infection rates are unusually high. there was a suggestion last month from the 0ns, or last week from the 0ns, that the infection rate was higher in scotland than in any other part of the united kingdom. and it is really in response to that that the scottish government has looked at these figures and decided that they want to exercise that principle of caution, which undoubtedly is going to be, as nicola sturgeon said, disappointing to some people and some businesses who had expected, i suppose, an historic change, in a sense, that from next monday,

all those legal restrictions would go. as it is, face coverings will remain. other restrictions which affect the way that businesses, services, places of worship operate, they will go. so all other restrictions will go, apart from face coverings, but that really is the one that people notice the most in their day—to—day lives. and it's probably fair to say that there will be some people — nicola sturgeon referred to vulnerable people — who will perhaps be glad that the mandate on face coverings is remaining because it is certainly true that there are a lot of infections, even anecdotally, in my own personal experience. i think i know more people now with covid that i have at other times during the pandemic. so it's the precautionary principle which nicola sturgeon is following. the conservatives, the opposition in scotland, douglas ross, he put it to nicola sturgeon

that she ought to be trusting people to do the right thing. but clearly she's not ready to do that yet. she may be, the scottish government may be, ready to do that around about the 11th of april. james shaw there. just to give you an illustration of the differential between the uk, at the weekend there were 200 people in hospital around the uk, 120 of them were in scotland, so perhaps an indication of why this precautionary principle is being adopted. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. plenty of dry weather out there this evening. not everywhere, but for most of us. towards the end of the night, it looks as though this weather front will spread further towards the east and we will see some damp weather across parts of northern england, perhaps the northwest of england, around merseyside and western whales, as well, and a couple of showers in the

southeast. but generally speaking is just a cloudy night. relatively mild, 5—7 c across england and wales, but colder in northern ireland and western and northern scotland. so here's the forecast for tomorrow — outbreaks of rain in the north and west of the country, than outbreaks of rain also developing across many central areas, and we expect the heaviest of the rain to fall across the southeast and east anglia second half of the afternoon. but despite that, temperature is still 14 but despite that, temperature is still 1a celsius in london. we will have slightly fresher, brighter weather in belfast and glasgow. bye—bye. hello, this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines: after more powerful explosions in the ukrainian capital kyiv, the city's mayor imposes a 35—hour curfew from this evening. the journalist who interrupted russia's main tv news bulletin last night to protest against the invasion has been fined

$280 by a court in moscow. ukraine's president tells the uk and other nations the west needs to do more to help his country fight russia. otherwise, he warned, "they will come for you." in other news, british—iranian national nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe — detained in iran forfive years — has been given back her british passport, raising hopes of her return to the uk. and mask wearing on public transport and in shops will remain compulsory in scotland for a further two weeks after a rise in covid cases. the number of people out of work in the uk has fallen again and is now lower than it was before the pandemic, but wages are failing to keep up with the rising cost of living. sport now — and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, jane dougall. hi there.

in the last hour, the fa has confirmed that chelsea have agreed to remove their request to play their fa cup quarterfinal against middlesbrough behind closed doors at the riverside. middlesbrough had called the request "bizarre" and "without any merit". it's after chelsea were told they wouldn't be allowed to sell more away tickets for the game. the club has had sanctions placed on it since russian owner roman abramovich had his assets frozen by the government. chelsea had asked for the match to be played without fans for matters of "sporting integrity." middlesbrough had said, "given the reasons for these sanctions, for chelsea to seek to invoke sporting "integrity" as reason is ironic in the extreme." the chelsea supporters trust also said they hadn't wanted the match to be played without fans. the court of arbitration for sport has announced that it's rejected russia's appeal against the suspension of all its teams and clubs from uefa competitions. the ruling only applies to uefa, with russia still looking to overturn a fifa ban that would allow them to take part

in world cup qualifying playoff matches at the end of the month. this follows russia's invasion of ukraine. christian erikson will return to play for his national team, denmark, less than a year after collapsing in their opening match at the european championship. eriksen, who signed for london club brentford injanuary, suffered a cardiac arrest injune while denmark were playing finland. he received life—saving treatment on the pitch before being fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator device. eriksen joins up with his team—mates fortraining in spain, prior to games against the netherlands and serbia at the end of the month. manchester united boss ralf rangnick has asked fans to bring the energy they had for the win over tottenham, to united's champions league match against atletico madrid later. it's the second leg of their last 16 tie, and with the sides level at 1—1, rangnick is keen to make home advantage count.

quite like in the game against spurs, we need both our players and our supporters to be on top form. 0ur supporters play a vital role. it is always a very special atmosphere at old trafford, and make a difference, so making it a very special esperance for everybody, but in the end, it is up to us. you have to create those moments. last year's winner of cheltenham's champion hurdle, rachael blackmore, has successfully defended her title, taking first place on board honeysuckle on the opening day of the festival. and this time, there were crowds cheering on the favourite. last year, no spectators were allowed due to the pandemic. more than 250,000 are expected over the next four days. blackmore described cheltenham as a special place and said she felt very lucky. honeysuckle's trainer, henry de bromhead, has been speaking to andy swiss about both blackmore and his very special mare. yeah, just brilliant. she's awesome.

0bviously rachael is as well. and, yeah, it'sjust incredible. as i said, it's a never ending sort of fairy tale for me. it's just mental, yeah, brilliant. fairy tale for me. it's 'ust mental, yeah, brillianth yeah, brilliant. quick word on rachael- _ yeah, brilliant. quick word on rachael. just _ yeah, brilliant. quick word on rachael. just some _ yeah, brilliant. quick word on rachael. just some of- yeah, brilliant. quick word on rachael. just some of what i yeah, brilliant. quick word on i rachael. just some of what she brings do not ride.— rachael. just some of what she brings do not ride. she's sublime, she's the ultimate _ brings do not ride. she's sublime, she's the ultimate professional, i brings do not ride. she's sublime, l she's the ultimate professional, and they're just a lethal combination, they're just a lethal combination, the pair of them. and honey loves her. look, it's great. congratulations to her. henrick stenson has been named as europe's ryder cup captain for next year's match in rome. the swede, known as the "ice man", succeeds padraig harrington, who presided over europe's defeat at whistling straits. stenson made his ryder cup debut in 2006, where he holed the winning putt in a dominant european victory. he was vice—captain to harrington at whistling straits and said being named captain was emotional and an honour. it's extremely humbling. it's something i don't think i could ever have imagined back in the day. i was

watching seve play in the ryder cup, and that sparks one day playing in the ryder cup, and now sitting here after a successful player in the ryder cup as the 2023 captain. so it's humbling and, yeah, emotional. leicester tigers have been fined more than £300,000 for breaching salary cap regulations, but have avoided a points deduction. premeirship rugby found that the league leaders had failed to disclose payments to image rights companies of the players. these third—party payments were found to be a breach of the salary cap in the 2016—17 season and the 2019—20 season. leicester has accepted the outcome and will not appeal. and ahead of wales' final six nations match against italy, head coach wayne pivac has confirmed that dan biggar will earn his 100th cap for his country, while alun wynjones will return from injury for his 150th wales cap in their last match of the tournament.

more details on all of those stories on the bbc sport website. and we'll have more for you in sportsday at 6.30pm. that's it for now. jane dougall there at the bbc sport centre. as she says, sportsday is the best way to catch up with the day's events. close to three million refugees have fled the fighting in ukraine. around 1.8 million have crossed into poland. pressure on cities close to the border is intense, with beds running out. in krakow, an old shopping centre is now being used to house refugee families, until they find longer term accommodation. from there, danjohnson reports. from desperation comes innovation. abandoned six months ago, but now it's the latest safe space for ukrainian families. empty shops refitted in record time to take the pressure off a city struggling to cope. there are 400 beds here and there's capacity to add even more. we've seen transit camps

for people fleeing wars time and time again, but this, it's the most modern of solutions to that age—old requirement, and it goes on and on. but how long will this be for? we are prepared to do this as long as it will be needed. so i can't say it will be one week, one month, nobody knows at the moment, unfortunately. it's warm, it's dry, it's relatively comfortable. businesses have volunteered to put in these showers and tiling... we bumped into this british volunteer who's helped with the conversion. it's going to help process... ..for those people who are displaced, and help kind of alleviate the pressures on the borders, so i think absolutely, i think it's great. i think it is what happens after this, and the logistical chain of how these people then relocate to somewhere a bit more permanent. the first ukrainian families are settling in, enjoying some space,

some peace and quiet after a journey that's left most of them stunned. normally i work as an emergency practitioner in bridgwater. this nhs doctor's here from somerset. this is a big improvement on what he saw at the border. they have showers, they have normal bathrooms, the rooms are actually separated. so far, what i've noted, mostly it's anxiety. general pains, they've been walking or standing in a queue to cross the borderfor hours. it's sad to see the children just with kind of like a... empty face. it's... yeah. it's something which i've never experienced before, so... kamila's volunteering here as a first—aider. she moved back to poland three years ago after living in manchester. are you able to help everybody? we would love to, but sometimes it's just... we can't do it. like, we try our best,

and actually one ambulance broke on us so we only have one ambulance now, so we do try to transport as many people as possible, because every life counts for us. and there's relief here in different forms for all ages. those under the stress and strain of running from war and for communities trying to look after them. danjohnson, bbc news, krakow. the families of the people who died in the mencius arena bombing says the acquirer should be... hearing from nearly 270 witnesses study findings referred to the slums by police impairment ex and asked whether security services could have stopped the bomber who murdered 23 people in 2017. this stopped the bomber who murdered 23 people in 2011— people in 2017. this is the end of a lona and people in 2017. this is the end of a long and forensic— people in 2017. this is the end of a long and forensic investigation - people in 2017. this is the end of a j long and forensic investigation into what happened on that dreadful night

in may 2017, on how the emergency services is funded and whether michael —— the ability brothers could have... 2a experts and it is producing hundred —— hundred 72,000 pages of documents. forthe families —— hundred 72,000 pages of documents. for the families of the people killed in the bombing, it has beenin people killed in the bombing, it has been in emotional and often distressing experience. many have given evidence themselves. they have heard about income black scive bravery from members of the public and responders who stepped in to try to help those injured and dying. but they've also learned about a catalogue of mistakes and missed opportunities from security staff, emergency services and m15. and the families want this inquiry to lead the change. to families want this inquiry to lead the change-—

families want this inquiry to lead the chance. ., . ., , the change. to all those who helped that niaht, the change. to all those who helped that night. our— the change. to all those who helped that night, our clients _ the change. to all those who helped that night, our clients want - the change. to all those who helped that night, our clients want to - that night, our clients want to express— that night, our clients want to express their sincere gratitude and thanks_ express their sincere gratitude and thanks for— express their sincere gratitude and thanks for everything they did. the families_ thanks for everything they did. the families we represent testily want something positive come from this inquiry— something positive come from this inquiry and — something positive come from this inquiry and real changes to be made committee — inquiry and real changes to be made committee keep members of the public safer from _ committee keep members of the public safer from acts of terrorism in the future _ safer from acts of terrorism in the future -- — safer from acts of terrorism in the future -- we — safer from acts of terrorism in the future —— we represent want. the... board recommendations through security— the... board recommendations through security in_ the... board recommendations through security in the future. 0n the... board recommendations through security in the future. on behalf of those _ security in the future. on behalf of those we _ security in the future. on behalf of those we are present, we urge the inquiry— those we are present, we urge the inquiry to— those we are present, we urge the inquiry to be equally clear—sighted and brave — inquiry to be equally clear—sighted and brave in its chapter two and pre—reports, dealing with the actions — pre—reports, dealing with the actions of— pre—reports, dealing with the actions of the emergency services and security services, to ensure that _ and security services, to ensure that real — and security services, to ensure that real change is affected in this country— that real change is affected in this country becomes a safer place out of this dreadful act of terror.— this dreadful act of terror. today is not quite _ this dreadful act of terror. today is not quite the _ this dreadful act of terror. today is not quite the end. _ this dreadful act of terror. today is not quite the end. as -

this dreadful act of terror. today is not quite the end. as we - this dreadful act of terror. today | is not quite the end. as we heard there, later this year, the inquiry will publish its final findings and recommendations, two reports on the way. the aim is always been to get to the truth of what happened to understand what mistakes were made and why and to learn the lessons, because what has been uncovered here over the last 18 months may well help stop a future terrorist atrocity or at the very least improve the way that the authorities respond if and when and attacked does happen again. —— if and when an attack does happen again. the high court in the indian state of karnataka has upheld a ban on wearing the hijab at school, following weeks of protests. muslim girls who were told they couldn't attend classes wearing their headscarves had gone to court to fight for the right to do so. but their case has been dismissed. 0ur south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan reports. this was a case that attracted a lot of attention in india. a number of young muslim women

in the southern state of karnataka were turned away at the gates of their school or college unless they removed their hijab or their headscarf. as this progressed, there were protests and also right—wing groups, who were also turning up at the school gates as well, arguing that they shouldn't be allowed to wear their headscarfs. and in the end, these women took this to the high court in karnataka and they deliberated for some time. and their decision came today. now, the key takeaways from that decision were that the court said that wearing a hijab was not an essential part of the practice of islam. now, these women had argued that it is a core part of their religious identity and therefore they should be allowed to wear these headscarves in their classes and in their exams. but that is not what the court ruled today. the court actually said that it was more of a cultural practice rather than a core religious one. the other thing that the court

ruled is that it is up to schools and colleges to set their own uniform policies. there was a lot of confusion and debate at the time when these girls were being turned away from their schools and colleges about what uniform policies existed in the state of karnataka. now, some of the young women took this case to the court have been speaking today. very upset, some said that they felt betrayed by the government and the country. others said that they would not go to school unless they had the right to wear their hijabs. and they all said that they will appeal, they will take this to the supreme court of india. now, this mattered because it also raised some of the current debate that is going on in india about religious freedoms. these young women say that in a secular country which enshrines the right to worship equally and the freedom for religious expression, their rights were taken away. and there is some concern the rise of hindu nationalism in this country is pushing those hindu nationalist

ideologies to the centre stage and, as these girls believed, eroding their basic secular freedoms. let's ta ke let's take a look at the headlines here on bbc news. it is 1a minutes to 6pm. powerful explosions again rock the capital of ukraine. russian air strikes hit residential apartment blocks in kyiv and a metro station. the mayor says four people were killed. nearly three million refugees have fled ukraine. we've reported from poland, where a shopping centre is being used to house families. "hooliganism" — how the kremlin describes the anti—war protest of the woman who interrupted a live news show. new figures show that wages are still failing to keep up

with the rising cost of living. the office for national statistics says that in effect that means average pay — excluding bonuses — shrank by 1% in the three months to january, compared with a year earlier. the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in the most recent quarter — as our economics correspondent andy verity reports. it's all go at this giant warehouse in corby, northamptonshire, which caters for the booming market in alcohol delivered to your home. existing staff are at full tilt, but what's holding business back is an increasingly intractable problem — they can't get enough new staff to cater for demand, even though they're using three different local recruitment agencies. what we've also done is launched a refer—a—friend scheme, which has been proved really, really popular. so if somebody introduces somebody into our organisation, after that person's passed their probationary review, the person that made the introduction will be given £1,000 by means of a reward. so that's proven very, very popular. in this sector with a now celebrated skills shortage made more acute by brexit,

pay has surged and you'll start on £10.34 an hour. in the private sector, the labour market is now more of a seller's market than it's been for decades. the number ofjob vacancies has hit a new record, 1.32 million. that's up by 100,000. before inflation, the average wage has risen by 3.8%, but because inflation is so high, you can't buy as much with it, a real terms pay cut of 1%. that renewed squeeze on living standards is now painfully tight for millions working in the public sector like gamu, a nurse with three kids to take care of and an energy bill that's set to double. once she donated to food banks, now she's having to turn to them herself. i felt worthless. i felt like i'm a failure, and i felt that i didn't deserve to have children because i can't look after them. and as a nurse, i actually felt,

is myjob even worth it, if i can't afford to look after myself and i've got to go and get charity from other people so that i can support myself? it was one of the most scary things that i've done. towns like corby had onlyjust left behind them the worst decade for improvements in living standards in 200 years. with wholesale gas and oil prices now falling one of the upward pressures on the cost of living may lessen in the coming months, but the inflationary squeeze is likely to get worse before it gets better. andy verity, bbc news. a man suspected of shooting five homeless men in washington, dc and new york city has been arrested following a multistate manhunt. two of the victims were killed, including a man found dead inside a burning tent. cbs news correspondent laura podesta has more. this is just a tragic story that many people... it's left many people on edge here in new york city, in dc, and in the cities in between such

as baltimore, because this man was clearly travelling from dc to new york and committing these murders over a two—week span, so he was essentially a serial killer on the loose. but now we're learning that police may have the man that they've been looking for in custody. this morning, officers with the atf washington field division arrested a suspect as he was walking in the capital. it's not confirmed, but it appears that these officers were alerted by someone who may have recognised him from the surveillance stills that police handed out yesterday, when they had a press conference. and the reason why i say that is because, in a tweet early this morning, the dc police department thanked people for their tips. so we still don't have any information this morning on the suspect�*s name or his age or perhaps the motive behind these gruesome shootings.

in a video, though, that has been circulating, we can sort of see how he operates. you see the man kicking a homeless person who was sleeping on the sidewalk in new york city. that homeless person doesn't wake up, and this man ends up shooting him in the head at point—blank range. so, really, it's been just a scary situation here in new york city and, again, in washington, dc. laura podesta there. there were lots of changes made during the pandemic, and being able to hold outdoor weddings and civil partnerships was one of them. now, they will be legalised permanently in england and wales. before, civil ceremonies had to take place indoors or outdoors within a permanent structure like a bandstand. jenny kumah reports. getting married during the pandemic. restrictions and social distancing moved many ceremonies outdoors. before, civil ceremonies had to be held indoors or, if outside, in a permanent structure

like a bandstand. during covid, that rule was relaxed. now, the change will be made permanent. before the change to the rules, we would have had to be inside the house here for the wedding, but now, rather excitingly, we can be completely open air and out here in the garden at shilstone. it's made such a big difference to how we'll feel about the wedding day. holly is getting married injune. she's delighted to know for sure she will be able to have her ceremony outdoors at this venue in devon. now we can be open air, it means we can come down into the garden with them so the ceremony itself can be that much more intimate, we can be close with our families and friends as we say "i do" to one another, so it's very, very exciting. the change follows a consultation which showed overwhelming support from faith groups, the wedding industry and the public. i think it's great news. the owner of this venue, which has extensive grounds, feels today's announcement is a win—win all round. in the past, we had

to have the bride and groom and the registrar actually in the house and the congregation outside, which made the weddings a little disjointed, but with this change, it brings it all together, makes it far more one, far more intimate. it gives us more freedom and gives our couples the opportunity of enjoying more of the open countryside in devon, the lovely hills and the trees, and be more part of nature. the law does not apply to religious ceremonies, but the government says reform will follow here too. the change should mean greater choice for how couples celebrate one of the most important days of their life — although one thing they cannot rely on is the weather. jenny kumah, bbc news. and there's no amount of legislation can change that! seven—year—old amelia anisovych touched hearts around the world, when a video of her singing let it go from the disney movie frozen in a bomb shelter in kyiv was posted on social media. amelia is now safe with her grandmother in poland and graham satchell has been catching up with her. girl sings "let it go"

a packed bomb shelterfalls silent as seven—year—old amelia starts to sing. her rendition of let it go from the film frozen, a moment of defiance and hope in the chaos of war. a week on, amelia is still singing. this time, a ukrainian folk song. amelia has made it out of ukraine and is now in poland with her grandmother vera, but her parents are still in kyiv. what was it like in the bomb shelter, amelia? translation: it was ok. there were other children there.

this is amelia in happier times, a seven—year—old girl at home with her cat, reading with her mum. she is now one of more than a million ukrainian children separated from their home, their country and, in amelia's case, her mum and dad, who have stayed to help fight the russians. vera, what do you think of your granddaughter and her singing? translation: | know - that she really loves singing. she really does sing from morning till night. and, amelia, what do you hope will happen for you and your family in the future? translation: i would be very happy to be with my mother and father. - the extraordinary resilience of ukrainian people embodied in one little girl, and the words of one song. she sings "let it go" bravo, bravo!

applause we are going to bejoining sophie raworth and the team for the bbc news at 6pm in a minute, but before that, with some good news for once, it is tomasz schafernaker! hello. a beautiful sky behind me with yellow, orange and pink hues. and across other parts of europe, orange skies of a different kind — in fact, caused by this storm system you can just see off the coast of morocco. that's brought wind and rain, but also stirred up the air currents across the sahara desert, and has also pushed the saharan dust deeper into spain, france, and other parts of europe. here's an example — the sky in alicante just in the last day or so, almost like a martian landscape. and that dust, which is spreading into france here, madejust about clip the southeast of england over the next day or so.

but for many of us, that will not be the case — in fact, a weather front is going to keep things fresh in the northwest of the uk, infact, colderairsetting in through the early hours of wednesday morning. so perhaps a touch of frost in western scotland and northern ireland. but to the east and south of that weather front, it'll be a frost—free night. seven celsius in london, no lower than around 5—6, for example, in hull or newcastle. now, the weather fronts on wednesday will be right across england and wales — that spells a lot of cloud, but also outbreaks of rain. i don't think it's going to be raining all day, the rain will wax and wane through the course of wednesday and, if anything, there could even be a little bit of brightness coming through, but we should be prepared for some heavier outbreaks of rain, i think, particularly later on in the afternoon across the south, southeast, perhaps east anglia, as well. the best of the weather, again, in scotland and northern ireland, but here, fresher, ten celsius in belfast, edinburgh and maybe only around seven in aberdeen. now, the weather map for thursday

shows a new weather front moving into northwest and parts of the uk, so again, rain and an increasing breeze here. whereas across england and wales, high pressure starts to build here — so things will settle down, light winds, really a very pleasant day the further east and south you are with temperatures around the mid teens. but colder with atlantic winds, so for our friends in the western isles, only seven celsius, wouldn't even rule out some wintry showers across the hills. but i think beyond that friday and into the weekend, the weather looks absolutely fine, high pressure builds and, in some spots, temperatures could even get into the high teens. that's it from me, bye—bye.

today at six... powerful explosions in the ukrainian capital kyiv. the city's mayor says they are facing a dangerous moment. four people died in the attacks, as the city goes into a 35—hour—long curfew. there is a real sense that the danger, the conflict, is coming closer, nowhere is safe. a court in moscow has fined the television journalist who staged a protest against the war live on air. i don't like russia's invasion, it was really terrible.

also on the programme...