ukraine's president says he wants peace without delay and would discuss a neutral status for ukraine as part of any deal with russia. attempts to get civilians out of areas under russian bombardment have stalled, with no humanitarian corridors set to open today. the mayor of mariupol warns the besieged port city faces humanitarian catastrophe and says it must be completely evacuated. and the premature babies born amidst the war — and the doctors dedicated to keeping them alive. translation: the smallest child was born three days ago - and weighsjust over 600 grams, a girl called polina. you can't take a child of 600 grams to the basement, it would be a one—way trip.

also on the programme... uh—oh...! oh, wow! real—life drama at the oscars, as will smith takes offence atjoke about his wife by the comedian chris rock. the actor later apologised. you got to be able to take...abuse. you got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. in this business, you got to be able to have people disrespecting you. the oscar goes to... 0k, coda! a film about the life of a deaf family took the top prize, winning best picture. and tougher targets in english and maths for primary and secondary school children in england. and coming up on the bbc news channel, the pressure builds onjoe root. the england test captain faces questions on his future, following the series defeat

against west indies. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the war here rages on, 33 days after russia's invasion, but there are peace talks in istanbul this week and ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, has said he's prepared to discuss formal neutrality for his country as part of efforts to end the conflict. but he says it would have to go to a referendum and be guaranteed by third parties. meanwhile, the mayor of the besieged port city mariupol says about 160,000 people are still trapped there without heat or power.

he's called for the city to be completely evacuated, describing it as an humanitarian catastrophe. 26 buses have been laid on to take people out, but ukraine's government says humanitarian corridors for civilians trying to escape towns and cities will stay closed today because of fears they could be attacked by russian troops. in the words of the mayor of mariupol, russia is "playing with us." our correspondent anna foster has this report. homes and lives reduced to rubble. for many in ukraine, leaving is not an option. it's difficult and dangerous. cities like mariupol and kharkiv remained under heavy fire. mariupol�*s mayor has called for the city to be completely evacuated, but today there are no plans to open any humanitarian corridors to help people escape. ukraine's deputy prime minister says intelligence sources fear that russia will attack civilians as they flee.

in a new interview with independent russian journalists, president zelensky said he was willing to consider neutral status for ukraine. translation: security guarantees and neutrali , translation: security guarantees and neutrality. we — translation: security guarantees and neutrality. we are _ translation: security guarantees and neutrality, we are ready _ translation: security guarantees and neutrality, we are ready to _ translation: security guarantees and neutrality, we are ready to go - translation: security guarantees and neutrality, we are ready to go for - neutrality, we are ready to go for it, this is the main point, this is why russia started the war. president zelensky says that a referendum would be a key part of any decision on neutrality, but how do you do that in a country where more than 3 million people have already fled and millions more have been displaced from their homes? logistically, it would be incredibly difficult, and how would it have any lasting future legitimacy? in the capital, kyiv, life has changed immeasurably in a few short weeks. irina travels here every day from her home in irpin, near the front line,

to sell meat on a street corner. translation: at night, i sleep with all my clothes _ translation: at night, i sleep with all my clothes on, _ translation: at night, i sleep with all my clothes on, except _ translation: at night, i sleep with all my clothes on, except the - translation: at night, i sleep with all my clothes on, except the code. | all my clothes on, except the code. even _ all my clothes on, except the code. even the _ all my clothes on, except the code. even the socks are on. at night, i wake _ even the socks are on. at night, i wake and — even the socks are on. at night, i wake and pray, again. new peace talks are due to start tomorrow in turkey. the first round, held in russian—allied belarus, delivered little. for ukraine's civilians, any small step towards peace gives hope, but after weeks of this conflict, actions feel far more important than words. anna foster, bbc news, lviv. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in the capital, kyiv. as we heard, the peace talks so far have not got a new outcome is this offer of neutrality from president zelensky likely to make any difference?—

zelensky likely to make any difference? ~ , ., ., difference? well, first of all, the timin: , difference? well, first of all, the timing. there — difference? well, first of all, the timing, there will— difference? well, first of all, the timing, there will be _ difference? well, first of all, the timing, there will be no - difference? well, first of all, the timing, there will be no real- timing, there will be no real progress at the table until president putin makes more progress with the territory, in other words until he achieves at least what for now the defence ministry says it is main priority for the moment, now that the first phase of the operation is complete, the donbas, the liberation of eastern ukraine, as the defence ministry in russia put it. and a land corridor as well, connecting the donbas with the crimean peninsula, also under russian sway since 2014. when it comes to neutrality, we have been hearing from turkish and israeli mediators for some time now, as you know, ben, that they believe that president putin and president zelensky are more realistic now that thatis zelensky are more realistic now that that is off the table, as is president putin's demand to, use the expression, to decapitate the current government. at issue is the issue of territory. president zelensky said in the interview that

russian forces should withdraw to the positions they were in before the positions they were in before the invasion began on february the 24th. then he said we can discuss a compromise. but right now it doesn't seem that president putin is likely to make a compromise and, frankly, everyone i speak to here, with this war, and with the sirens, are not ready to compromise on territory. all right, lyse, thank you very much, lyse doucet. we can talk to our russia editor, steve rosenberg, in moscow. steve, there was comments from president zelensky about the neutrality of this country is on offer, they were made in a detailed interview with independent journalists in russia. but our ordinary russian people ever going to hear those comments? weill. ordinary russian people ever going to hear those comments?- ordinary russian people ever going to hear those comments? well, it is a aood to hear those comments? well, it is a good question- — to hear those comments? well, it is a good question. i _ to hear those comments? well, it is a good question. i mean, _ to hear those comments? well, it is a good question. i mean, the - to hear those comments? well, it is. a good question. i mean, the russian authorities are going out of their way to make sure that the interview with president zelensky is not widely seen here. the state media regulator has issued a warning to

russian media not to publish, not to broadcast the interview, although it failed to provide a legal explanation for that warning. and i think that shows how determined the kremlin is to keep control of the narrative, of the messaging over events in ukraine, to prevent the public from getting access to alternative views, alternative sources of information that might discredit the russian military offensive in ukraine. now, about the question of neutrality, yes, president zelensky did say that he would be willing to discuss ukraine's neutral status, in other words discuss the possibility of ukraine giving up its aspirations to join nato. you would think that is something that russia would welcome, but, and there are a couple of putts here, president zelensky insisted there had to be a referendum on this. once russian troops had pulled out of his country, and this could take months, and it is sad to see the kremlin agreeing to wait. the

other thing is, the kremlin agreeing to wait. the otherthing is, i the kremlin agreeing to wait. the other thing is, iwonder whether ukrainian neutrality is enough now for vladimir ukrainian neutrality is enough now foeradimir putin, ukrainian neutrality is enough now for vladimir putin, because it is widely believed that all along his objective has been to force ukraine, to force russia's neighbour back into russia's orbit. polite all right, steve, thank you very much, steve rosenberg there in right, steve, thank you very much, steve rosenberg there— doctors in some parts of ukraine say they've seen a sharp rise in premature births since the conflict began. clinics in kharkiv and lviv are reporting double, or in some cases triple the number of premature births in recent weeks because of stress and medical issues linked to the fighting. our correspondent lucy williamson has this report from here in lviv. the incubators at lviv�*s perinatal clinic are home to some of ukraine's smallest refugees. like victoria, born weighing just 800 grams. her mother irina believes the stress of spending days in a bunker in kyiv contributed to the early birth.

doctors here are seeing a rise in the premature birth rate since the conflict began. and at one specialist clinic in the besieged city of kharkiv, it has jumped to three times the normal rate — 50% of all deliveries. a result, the director says, of the war. translation: infections, - lack of medical help, bad nutrition. war creates a risk of premature birth. the smallest child was born three days ago and weighs just over 600 grams. a girl called polina. you can't take a child of 600 grams to the basement. it would be a one—way trip. so we made the decision to stay with the children on the ward, and live through the bombings together, with them. victoria's twin sister veronika has already left intensive care. when the air—raid siren sounds, irina takes veronika down to the bomb shelter, but has to leave victoria behind on the ward,

because she is too fragile to move. translation: emotionally, it is really hard. _ it is like splitting my heart between them. one baby stays with me, another with doctors, and my heart bleeds, but i understand that in this situation we just have to be strong. hospitals like this have been hit before, and staff here are worried. they have sandbagged some of the upper wards, but they are also building this new underground bunker to house the most fragile babies in incubators. olga fled here from kyiv. it took three days, she says, during which she couldn't eat or drink from fear. translation: have you heard of saying animal fear? - it's a fear that makes your skin hurt. you are so scared you can't eat or think. when i arrived in lviv, the doctor said i lost three—and—a—half kilos, and that my babies lives were in danger because their development stopped. olga's twins have now

started growing again. her five—year—old son asks her every day when his brothers will come. olga is russian, her husband ukrainian. theirfamily a refuge, their countries at war. lucy williamson, bbc news, lviv. well, although the peace talks are due to resume tomorrow in istanbul, russia says the time is not yet right for president putin to talk directly to volodymr zelensky. and no—one here that i've spoken believes these latest talks have much chance of success. that's it from lviv — back to you in the studio. ben, many thanks for that, ben brown reporting there. the los angeles police department says it hasn't yet received a complaint to investigate an assault by the actor will smith

on the comedian chris rock at last night's oscars ceremony. shortly before collecting the award for best actor, mr smith climbed on stage and slapped mr rock, to the shock of the audience and millions of viewers around the world watching on television. the comic had made a joke about the actor's wife, jada pinkett smith. our north america correspondent david willis has more from hollywood. all smiles as will smith arrived at the oscars — this night was billed as his coronation as one of the greatest actors of his generation. an earlierjoke by host regina hall saw smith laughing along. jada, i love you. gi jane 2, can't wait to see it, all right?! but watch the reaction of wife jada pinkett smith when the comedian chris rock made fun of her hair—loss condition, alopecia. a remark that brought smith striding to the stage. oh, wow! audio of the live broadcast was cut as the actor screamed obscenities

obscenities from his seat. smith's open—handed slap left chris rock visibly shaken and the celebrity audience wondering how to react. that was...the greatest night in the history of television. minutes later, the actor was called back to the stage to collect the oscar for best actor. he blamed his actions on the pressures of fame. in this business, you got to be able to have people disrespecting you. you got to smile, you got to pretend like that's ok. i want to apologise to the academy. i want to apologise to all my fellow nominees. the evening began more conventionally. the first award of the night, best supporting actress, going to ariana debose, the first openly queer woman of colour to win an academy award for acting. so to anybody who has ever questioned her identity, ever, ever,

or find yourself living in the grey spaces, i promise you this — there is indeed a place for us. nominated eight times before in seven different categories, sir kenneth branagh is finally an academy award winner, belfast earning him a prize for best original screenplay. we earning him a prize for best original screenplay.- earning him a prize for best original screenplay. we will never for: et original screenplay. we will never foruet all original screenplay. we will never forget all of _ original screenplay. we will never forget all of those _ original screenplay. we will never forget all of those lost _ original screenplay. we will never forget all of those lost in - original screenplay. we will never forget all of those lost in the - forget all of those lost in the heartbreaking, heart—warming, human story of that amazing city of belfast on the fabulous island of ireland. jane campion was named best director for her work on the netflix western the power of the dog, becoming only the third woman in history to carry off that award. star—studded applause in sign language greeted troy kotsur�*s award for best supporting actor for his role in coda. he became the first deaf man to win an acting oscar. translation: this is dedicated to the deaf community, - the coda community, and the disabled

community, this is our moment! the oscar goes to... 0k, coda! and the apple tv+ film was named best picture, the first time a streaming service has won top prize at the oscars. whether the academy will penalised will smith for his actions here remains to be seen. the lapd has said it is aware of an incident involving two individuals at the academy awards but adding that neither individual has so far decided to file a police report. the evening was overshadowed by a slap that was seen around the world, and calls are growing for will smith to be stripped of his oscar and barred from taking part in the oscars again. this slap didn't come out of

nowhere, all award season will and jada pinkett—smith have been the but of all man perofjokes he jada pinkett-smith have been the but of all man perofjoke— of all man perof 'okes he has found himself the — of all man perof 'okes he has found himself the but — of all man perofjokes he has found himself the but of _ of all man perofjokes he has found himself the but of jokes _ of all man perofjokes he has found himself the but of jokes and - of all man perofjokes he has found himself the but of jokes and they i himself the but ofjokes and they concern his wife very often and they so—called open marriage, this one concerned her shaved head, the result of hair loss stemming from a condition known as alopecia she says but it has become too much now, for will smith. we have seen some strange scenes at the oscars over the year, a streaker on one occasion, the naming of the wrong film as best picture on another, but, a physical altercation between two of the stars, nobody here can remember anything quite like that. it is overshadowed some notable firsts not least the selection of a streaming service film, coda as the best picture, that is seen as a landmark moment for the film industry here. the oscar organisers haveissued industry here. the oscar organisers have issued a one sentence statement saying they do not condone violence

under any circumstances, but they may come under pressure to act more forcefully given this incident, this unfortunate incident is already looking to become one of the most talked about moments in oscars 94 year history, clive. david, thank you. there's to be a push to drive up attendance and improve behaviour in england's schools, according to plans set out by the government. tougher targets in english and maths for primary and secondary schools in england are also on the cards, as well as additional help for children who fall behind. by 2030, ministers want 90% of children leaving primary school to reach the expected standards in reading, writing and maths. in 2019, the figure was just 65%. there's a hope the national average gcse grade will rise from 4.5 to five by 2030. and schools will have to offer a minimum 32 and a half hours teaching a week. education unions have however criticised the plans, saying they lack ambition

and won't do enough to help disadvantaged children. here's our education editor, branwen jeffreys. so, we're going to have a look, first of all, at what histograms are. these birmingham teenagers face gcses this summer, so the school has been pushing hard on attendance. it is nearly back to normal here, but that's taken a lot of hard work and mentoring. families want to have their children closer to home, but for us, it's more about trying to get the children back into school, because i think, again, that relationship with the families is really important, but we need them in school, and that's something that we really work hard, to get the children back into school as soon as possible. councils will be asked to do more on attendance. while most pupils are back, there are fears some have lost the connection with school. new research shows some teenagers badly behind on reading. these plans are all about the basics of education, but there's very

little in them to address some of the biggest problem is coming out of the pandemic — the fact that the poorest children have fallen further behind, and that the learning loss is greater in parts of the midlands and the north than in the south of england. and that's why the government's critics say they could fail to meet their ambitions. primary maths is tougher now, as many parents know. the same is true of english. before the pandemic, two thirds of children left primary at the expected standard. by 2030, it's meant to be almost all. the standard that children are expected to get to at the end of year six has actually been raised quite recently, so children are already working at a much higher level than they were ten years ago, so they are already doing the work that children would have done in years 7 and 8. ask questions. and it helps you learn.

that was the best thing i ever did. after meeting some secondary pupils, the education secretary told me there will also be a push to raise gcse grades in maths and english. it's not about more pressure on the children, it's about i more support. if a child has fallen behind i in maths or english, that the teacher will support that child, and will then - engage with the parents. for parents who listen to this and who worry about more academic pressure going into schools, they may not have a child who is particularly academically focused — what do you say to them? we are looking to make sure that your child - leaves primary school able to read, write and do maths to a standard . that allows them to do well in secondary school. - schools have been trying to bring back thejoy. the government says its plans should not mean children being over tested. and many parents want a balance with academic pressures, too. branwen jeffreys, bbc news.

our top story this lunchtime: ukraine's president says he wants peace without delay, and would discuss a neutral status for the country, as part of any deal with russia. and coming up, the labour mp, dawn butler, urges women to go for breast cancer screening, after a routine mammogram, saved her life. coming up on the bbc news channel, new ground for cameron norrie. the british number one is into the fourth round of the miami open for the first time and is on the verge of breaking into the world's top ten next week. as energy costs are set to rise for millions of households, with a new price cap taking effect on friday, the bbc has discovered that the level of increase in bills, could depend on where you live.

on top of the gas and electricity we all use, there are also standing charges for connection to the network, and for the upkeep of infrastructure like electricity pylons. these costs vary region by region, as our consumer affairs correspondent, colletta smith, explains. energy bills are all going in one direction. i'm not too sure how much they're going up by, we just know they're going up. yes, it is going up about £700. that's mostly because of the rising price for the energy you use, but there's another figure lurking on your bill. something called the standing charge. that's the price that all of us pay every dayjust for the privilege of having your home connected to the grid. it's a bit like line rental for the telephone. and that cost is going up for everybody, but it is going up by different amounts, depending on where you live. you need more poles, more complicated infrastructure to get energy to more remote parts of the uk. that's why there's always been a difference in that standing charge level.

but these latest price rises are not going up by the same proportion. london's seeing the smallest increase, up 8 pence a day, while north wales and merseyside are seeing their standing charge double this week, up an extra 23 pence. the regulator sets a different maximum standing charge in each area. ofgem told us that some regions are increasing more than others because of a reallocation of network costs. that means people living here in liverpool will have to find an extra £50 a year compared to people living in london, just to cover that standing charge increase. surprise, surprise, it's liverpool again, isn't it. yeah, it's always being hit the hardest, ithink, and we just, we can't really rebel against it, you just have to make do with what we're told, don't we, so unfortunately i think there's people in poorer areas where we work who, you know, are choosing between food bills and energy bills at this stage. thankfully we are not in that position, but it's not too far from home. even if it's only an extra £50, £60, that makes a difference. we're already feeling it in so many areas,

this isjust another hit. and there is no ray round those high bills at the moment. yeah, we normally shop around every year when they come in, but at the minute, pointless really, isn't it? and those higher bills from april will look different, coletta smith, bbc news, in liverpool. the government is planning to force all ferry companies operating from uk ports, to pay at least the national minimum wage, in a bid to persuade p&0 ferries to reinstate 800 workers it sacked last week. our transport correspondent, katy austin, is here. so, on the part of the government on the payment of the minimum wage, national minimum wage for all ferry companies but a direct appeal in alert from the transport secretary, to p80 alert from the transport secretary, to p&0 to reverse their redundancies the transport secretary has written to the boss of p&0 ferries today, saying that he intended to block what p&0 was trying to do, including

paying less than the minimum wage with a package of measures to be brought before parliament this workers he called on the company to offer all 800 workers theirjobs back on the original terms and pay, arguing that with a change in the law coming any way, it might end up with no choice, and he will also suggested a thursday deadline for seafarers to respond to their redundancy offer should be dropped. meanwhile, most of p&0 ferries services are not running, one ship was detained on friday because it failed a safety inspection, another inspection by the maritime and coastguard agency is taking place today, this time on the pride of kent ferry, in dover, but that inspection is only to sail without passengers or cargo so at the moment, it doesn't look like the dover calais route will run until thursday at the earliest, now meanwhile today the industry, other ferry operators have been meeting with government officials to discuss keeping enough services running, we

are after all coming up to the easter holidays which you would expect to be a busy period. indeed. thank ou expect to be a busy period. indeed. thank you katie. _ the government no longer owns a controlling stake in natwest, after it sold £1.2 billion worth of shares back to the bank. the deal means state ownership is now atjust over 48%, the lowest level in more than a decade. the treasury took majority control to prevent the company from collapsing. the labour mp, dawn butler, has told the bbc a mammogram saved her life, after being diagnosed with breast cancer. she says without it, her condition wouldn't have been discovered. she's now undergone surgery, following the routine check—up in december. the charity breast cancer now estimates almost1 million women in the uk missed breast cancer screening during the pandemic, when the programme was paused. here's victoria derbyshire.

when i got the results, i was at an event, and i took a phone call, and i was told that i needed to come in the next day to see a surgeon, and i thought, "i need a surgeon? it means i've got cancer." what was your immediate reaction, then, when you knew? i mean, the first thing i thought was, "i'm dying." did you? yeah, i thought, "i've only got 24 hours to live." labour mp dawn butler was diagnosed with breast cancer in december. she hasn't spoken publicly about it until now. i shouldn't need chemotherapy because the cure is an operation to cut it out, so that's the cure. so... i knew there had to be tears. i haven't cried a lot, and i think, you know, probably the tears will come at some point. i think it was just all a blur, really.

ms butler's cancer was picked up after she had been for a routine mammogram. a number of international studies have highlighted that uptake of cancer screening like mammograms is generally lower amongst people of colour. women have said to me that they don't think it applies to them because the information that they get, they don't really see anybody that looks like them in the leaflet, for instance. overall, compared to where we were ten, 20, 30 years ago, yes, breast cancer treatment — very, very good. but we are still seeing, despite that, we are still seeing disparities, and so there is always work to do. after we spoke, dawn butler went in for life—saving surgery — a mastectomy — to remove the cancerous cells. she says it was successful, and she's been told she doesn't need chemotherapy or radiotherapy. they got all the cancer. a mammogram saved my life. without a mammogram, my cancer wouldn't have been discovered. and there's a million women who haven't had their mammogram. they missed it because of covid?

they missed it because of covid. and they estimate there's 9.000 women who are walking and they estimate there's 9,000 women who are walking around with breast cancer and they don't know it, and there will be women who will die if their breast cancer is not discovered, and needlessly so. please, go for your mammogram and just take it up and go for it, and don't hesitate. victoria derbyshire reporting there. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. hello there. this fine warm sunny weather is going to be coming to an end, huge changes on the way this week, it is going to turn much colder, right the way across the whole of the uk. today, though, in the sunshine, it is warm out there for the time of year, in the midlands, temperatures are getting up midlands, temperatures are getting up to 17 degrees but the really cold air is currently to the north of

scotland as we see a northerly