welcome to bbc news, i'm david eades. our top stories. was the russian billionaire roman abramovich poisoned as he attended russian—ukrainian peace talks earlier this month? it does appear that there are organophosphates, aka nerve agents, involved, and we really need to see the medical records. as russia continues to hit targets across the country, a new round of face—to—face negotiations are due to take place on tuesday in turkey. will smith says sorry to chris rock for slapping him at the oscars — he admits his behaviour was unacceptable and inexcusable. and lockdown shanghai—style, as the authorities there try to stamp out a worsening covid outbreak.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the russian billionaire roman abramovich reportedly suffered symptoms of poisoning at peace talks on the ukraine—belarus border earlier this month. the chelsea football club owner, who has now recovered, suffered sore eyes and peeling skin according to the reports. two ukrainian peace negotiators were also said to have been affected. mr abramovich is on the sanctions list of both the uk and the eu for his supposed links to vladimir putin. here's our security correspondent, frank gardner. recent pictures of roman abramovich at tel aviv�*s ben gurion airport.

but 11 days earlier, on march 3, something happened to him and two others following peace talks on ukraine's border with belarus. hours after these russian and ukrainian delegates met, three of them, including mr abramovich, suffered searing pain in the eyes, dimness of vision and inflamed, reddened skin. later that night, in the ukraine capital kyiv, according to the investigative website bellingcat, all three were suffering symptoms of intentional poisoning with a chemical agent. it is potentially very serious, and hopefully the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons will be called in to investigate. both ukraine and russia are signatories to the chemical weapons convention, so that would be within the remit of both, particularly ukraine, to bring in. there was no immediate comment from moscow and no proof that russia was behind this.

but back in 2020, the russian opposition activist alexei navalny was hospitalised and nearly died in siberia after being poisoned with the nerve agent novichok. he recovered, but bellingcat�*s investigators were able to prove it was the work of russia's federal security service, the fsb. two years before that, the same nerve agent, novichok, was used in an attempt to murder the former kgb officer sergei skripal in the town of salisbury. he was saved by an antidote — atropine. roman abramovich's associates say he's fine now and he intends to continue trying to broker a peace between his native russia and ukraine. it's thought that whoever poisoned him and the other delegates was looking to sabotage those peace talks by sending a sinister warning. frank gardner, bbc news. andy weber served as assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs from 2009—2014, and is now senior fellow at the council

on strategic risks. no proof as frank was saying with regard to the poisoning. plenty of suspicion. how convinced would you be? we have minimal information _ convinced would you be? we have minimal information at _ convinced would you be? we have minimal information at this - minimal information at this point. it is a pattern of the russian intelligence services, using chemical weapons and other poisons for assassinations. it other poisons for assassinations. . , assassinations. it always raises the _ assassinations. it always raises the question - assassinations. it always raises the question as i assassinations. it always raises the question as to i assassinations. it always - raises the question as to how easy it is to transmit these things as well. what would need to have happened in orderfor mr abramovich and any others to suffer this way? it’s mr abramovich and any others to suffer this way?— suffer this way? it's fairly eas to suffer this way? it's fairly easy to deliver _ suffer this way? it's fairly easy to deliver these - suffer this way? it's fairly l easy to deliver these types suffer this way? it's fairly - easy to deliver these types of poisons. it could be as simple as giving them a chocolate bar

with the chemical agent on the wrapper. ora with the chemical agent on the wrapper. or a handshake. with the chemical agent on the wrapper. ora handshake. oran aerosol delivery. so lots of ways to deliver chemical weapons covertly or discreetly, in a way that they wouldn't know. in the case of alexei navalny, they put it on his underpants.— navalny, they put it on his underpants. the opposition leader. underpants. the opposition leader- as _ underpants. the opposition leader. as for _ underpants. the opposition leader. as for roman - leader. as for roman abramovich, playing some sort of mediating role, we understand, within these peace talks. would you see him as a real target or perhaps an accidental victim of an operation like this? well, it depends- — operation like this? well, it depends. there _ operation like this? well, it depends. there are - operation like this? well, it depends. there are certain| depends. there are certain details about the meeting in kyiv in early march that i am not aware of. but if he were planning to meet with president zelenskyy subsequent to these negotiations, which i understand he did meet with him

at some point, he could have been used as a delivery system to get to the president. because we know putin wants to see president zelenskyy did. so the decision perhaps for this operation to have taken place would have to come from pretty much the top, you would think? —— he wants to see president zelenskyy did. putin approves these operations conducted by these operations conducted by the gru or the fsb. these operations conducted by the gru orthe fsb.— the gru or the fsb. does this lead ou the gru or the fsb. does this lead you to — the gru or the fsb. does this lead you to think— the gru or the fsb. does this lead you to think the - the gru or the fsb. does this lead you to think the broader| lead you to think the broader picture of the use of chemical weapons, which we have talked about time and again in the past few weeks, hose interview even closer? does it feel ever more likely always about overstating the case? lie overstating the case? us intelligence _ overstating the case? ii’s

intelligence believes russia plans to use chemical weapons. —— hose into view even closer? it fits with the syrian use of chemical weapons with russian support during the civil war there. so i wouldn't be surprised if they are planning to use chemical weapons against civilians, soft targets, military targets or even ukrainian military and political leadership. andy, thank you _ political leadership. andy, thank you very _ political leadership. andy, thank you very much - political leadership. andy, thank you very much for l political leadership. andy, i thank you very much for your analysis. peace talks will resume on tuesday in turkey. and just ahead of them, ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky has made an offer to russia. he said his country could adopt the status of neutrality, if that would help end the war, though it would have to be agreed in a referendum. on the battlefield, russian advances have stalled recently. this map shows the areas of ukraine currently

under russian control. russian troops still haven't been able to encircle the capital kyiv. the closest they are is about 15 miles away. elsewhere, ukraine has set up humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians, but some of those corridors haven't opened yet because of fears russian forces might attack people who are fleeing. this report from jeremy bowen in kyiv contains some distressing images. the russians attacked an oil storage depot in western ukraine. the war is settling into a deadly daily grind. medics live and sleep at the hospitals. there's no time to get home. in one in kyiv, the patients include a ukrainian diplomat. viktoria said it was ironic that she was wounded in her own home when she came

back from belarus, russia's ally. "but i won't lie," she said, "i'm very scared." gennady�*s home was also hit. "the russians thought they'd be greeted with hugs," he says, "but if we don't get weapons to take the offensive, "missiles and planes, the war is going to drag "on for a long time." president zelensky hinted at compromise to russian journalists on ukrainian neutrality and territory. translation: i understand it's impossible to force - russia completely from the ukrainian territory. it would lead to the third world war. i understand it, and that is why i'm talking about a compromise. in kyiv, a few cafes are open, and it is less tense than a month ago. slava and katarina were intrigued by what the president had said. translation: nobody's saying we should give i

up the territories, but there should be some compromise or concession. translation: we hope that putin is a sane person. i but it's a very small hope. in boryspil, people risk a trip to the market. but the mayor shows off his ukrainian—made assault rifle and says that nato's only choice is to give them the planes and the tanks they need to beat the russians. i think if putin wins this war, they don't stop. next will be poland, maybe romania, bulgaria and other countries in the european union. i think. biden and some of the other leaders have said that if they intervened in the war,

if there was a no—fly zone, it could be world war iii. maybe, maybe, but if they don't close the sky, they will be next. ukraine's president was right to talk about compromise. but it may never happen. ceasefire agreements that work generally require either two sides fighting each other to exhaustion, or the weaker side making concessions because it fears defeat, or an outside intervention. none of those conditions applies in ukraine at the moment. so the most likely option is a continuation of a war of attrition. jeremy bowen, bbc news, kyiv. jeremy bowen there. and in a few minutes, we'll be looking in more detail at the next round of talks between russia and ukraine. hollywood actor will smith has

apologised to chris rock for slapping him during the oscars ceremony on sunday night. in a statement posted on his instagram account, he described his behaviour as "unacceptable and inexcusable", and said he "deeply regretted" his actions. well, we can speak now to steven gaydos, executive director of variety magazine, whojoins me via skype from los angeles. 21: 2a hours on, it's still one of those aghast moments. what do you make of it, having had time to diejust the you make of it, having had time to die just the episode itself and see what the academy and will smith himself has had to say? —— to diejust the episode. i say? -- to die 'ust the episodah say? -- to die 'ust the episode. say? -- to die 'ust the eisode. ., ., , episode. i welcome the apology of mr smith- — episode. i welcome the apology of mr smith. you _ episode. i welcome the apology of mr smith. you can _ episode. i welcome the apology of mr smith. you can imagine i of mr smith. you can imagine the high level huddle happening

in hollywood at the academy, trying to figure out, what do we do about this, and how do we not overreact, but how do we seem firm? mr smith and his team, how do we not created a career of a $1 billion business called will smith enterprises? —— destroy the career. called will smith enterprises? -- destroy the career.- called will smith enterprises? -- destroy the career. what do ou do -- destroy the career. what do you do when — -- destroy the career. what do you do when an _ -- destroy the career. what do you do when an a-list - -- destroy the career. what do you do when an a-list black- you do when an a—list black actor does this? it plays into actor does this? it plays into a nightmare scenario. it’s actor does this? it plays into a nightmare scenario.- a nightmare scenario. it's a total nightmare. _ a nightmare scenario. it's a total nightmare. in - a nightmare scenario. it's a total nightmare. in my- a nightmare scenario. it's a. total nightmare. in my view, a nightmare scenario. it's a i total nightmare. in my view, it was a bad show, terribly done. they don't seem to know what to do with the oscars any more. and in the middle of it, you have three minutes of complete after chaos. i have talked to a lot of people who were inside the building, men and women, and i have been on social media. i think the consensus is

that it was absolutely the wrong thing to do, and not acceptable on any level, no matter that he was upset that the jokes were at his wife's expense. it'sjust, he crossed a line... you know, there is a thing called impulse control which he seems to have lost completely. he which he seems to have lost completely-— which he seems to have lost completely. which he seems to have lost comletel . ., ., ., completely. he won an oscar for -la in: completely. he won an oscar for playing the _ completely. he won an oscar for playing the role _ completely. he won an oscar for playing the role of— completely. he won an oscar for playing the role of richard i playing the role of richard williams, the father of the williams, the father of the williams sisters, serena and venus. not only a first offender and champion of his daughters, but a pretty rugged character as well, prepared to stand up for himself. was there a little bit of will smith just taking on that persona at that moment? ~ ., taking on that persona at that moment?— taking on that persona at that moment? ~ ., , moment? well, i have been in this industry — moment? well, i have been in this industry and _ moment? well, i have been in this industry and this - moment? well, i have been in this industry and this town i moment? well, i have been in this industry and this town a i this industry and this town a long time. i think you find everybody is taking on way too many personas way too deeply, way too much of the time.

taking themselves too seriously, you are saying? that's exactly what i am saying. when you have everyone running around treating you like you are some sort of legend... and in fact, you are, you are a big business to everybody, they treat you like you are special. you get to the point where you can stand up in millions of people —— in front of millions of people and talk about god using you as an instrument of peace and love, after you have punched somebody on the face on tv. you after you have punched somebody on the face on tv.— on the face on tv. you put it very well! — on the face on tv. you put it very well! i _ on the face on tv. you put it very well! i was _ on the face on tv. you put it very well! i was reflecting i on the face on tv. you put itj very well! i was reflecting on when ricky gervais hosted the oscars a few years ago and he said to the audience, you are nobodies, just come up, say thank you to your god and push off, in so many words. is it perhaps an opportunity for the academy... they talk about having a review, have a full tilt change of attitude? have

ou ever tilt change of attitude? have you ever been _ tilt change of attitude? have you ever been to _ tilt change of attitude? have| you ever been to hollywood? laughter. my silence tells it all! thanks very much indeed. stay with us on bbc news, still to come. millions of people in china are sealed into their homes and waiting to be tested, after a surge in covid cases. the accident that happened here was of the sort that can, at worst, produce a meltdown. in this case, the precautions worked, but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of these stations from resurfacing. the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting up

in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel, where he had been addressing a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become i a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians| wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthday is- being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustav eiffel. i this is bbc world news, the latest headlines. the russian billionaire roman abramovich is reported to have suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning during russian—ukrainian peace talks earlier this month. for more on those talks later today in istanbul, i'm joined by our reporter azadeh moshiri.

we are looking at the prospects for those talks. lots of chat going on, and then we have the talks again. going on, and then we have the talks again-— talks again. that's right, they are still at — talks again. that's right, they are still at the _ talks again. that's right, they are still at the ministerial- are still at the ministerial level. the first time delegations from russia and ukraine are meeting fa ce—to —fa ce ukraine are meeting face—to—face in more than two weeks. partly because the last time the foreign ministers met, it didn't go well, so both countries feel that before president zelenskyy and president zelenskyy and president putin can meet, they need more progress. unfortunately both sides have warned not to expect any major breakthroughs, but obviously we are hoping for a ceasefire. major breakthroughs would be one thing, nonetheless, possibly the kernel of some eventual arrangement coming out largely from the things volodymyr zelenskyy have had to say. volodymyr zelenskyy have had to sa . , ., , ., ., say. yes, there are still ma'or stickinu say. yes, there are still ma'or sticking points. i say. yes, there are still ma'or sticking points. presidenti sticking points. president zelenskyy has said he will compromise on some pretty big points. he said ukraine is

prepared to be neutral. security guarantees for its safety, and give up the idea of receiving any nuclear weapons. they are willing to make compromises neutrality. that is the idea of ukraine seeking to ally itself with the west, with any application for the eu and nato, but that is a big one. only three years ago, ukraine adopted that aspiration into its constitution, so it may not come as a surprise that zelenskyy saying, if it were to be that compromise, it would need to be in a referendum. territory, sovereignty, it is extremely important to ukraine, ukrainian foreign minister has laid out some of those red lines for ukraine. translation: the president of ukraine gave — translation: the president of ukraine gave clear— translation: the president of ukraine gave clear instructions. ukraine gave clear instructions for our delegation. we do not

trade land, people or sovereignty. this is not for negotiation. our position is reinforced concrete supported ljy reinforced concrete supported by international law and ukraine's armed forces. that's fairly uncompromising, - ukraine's armed forces. that's fairly uncompromising, and i fairly uncompromising, and compromise in a time of war is extremely difficult to achieve. we have the russian side as well, any hints to the overdue they might make?— they might make? this is the ruestion they might make? this is the question that _ they might make? this is the question that has _ they might make? this is the question that has dogged i question that has dogged diplomats since before the invasion and after, what is president putin thinking? what does he want. we know the issue of territories and boundaries is extremely important to him, he has said he sees the ukrainians and the russians as one people, so that will be a major sticking point, as are the terms around neutrality and allying itself with the west. but according to us defence officials and ukrainian ones, the war is stalling, and that might be why we are seeing a

shift in rhetoric from russian defence ministers, so the goal may be changing.— defence ministers, so the goal may be changing. perhaps they are now focusing _ may be changing. perhaps they are now focusing more - may be changing. perhaps they are now focusing more on i may be changing. perhaps they are now focusing more on the l are now focusing more on the areas held by pro—russian separatists. let's see if any of that emerges in the talks, thank you. the bbc understands that the first fines relating to parties held in downing street while coronavirus restrictions were in place are about to be issued. it's believed at least 15 fines will be handed out initially to have been present. foreign ministers from four arab league countries have held an historic meeting in israel, in a continuing effort to normalise relations. us secretary of state antony blinken also attended the two—day summit, and said that better relations between israel and arab states should not be a substitute for progress between israel and the palestinians. the delegation from the united arab emirates, morocco, egypt and bahrain reiterated their demands for a two—state solution in israel.

gunmen in northern nigeria are reported to have abducted an unknown number of passengers from a train in kaduna state. the gang put explosives on the track between the capital abuja and kaduna city and forced the evening train to a halt. many of the 970 passengers on board took shelter as shots were fired. one man is reported to have been killed after the gunmen boarded the train. the supreme court in honduras has upheld its decision to extradite the country's former president, juan orlando hernandez, to the united states, where he's facing drug smuggling charges. the former ally of washington could face a life sentence if convicted. mr hernandez�*s brother is already serving 30 years in an american prison on similar charges. the chinese city of shanghai has reported close to 11,500 new cases of coronavirus, a new record, just as half of the country's financial hub enters a second

day of lockdown. the city is being closed in two halves, east and west, as authorities carry out covid—19 testing. our china correspondent stephen mcdonell reports. panic buying led to fights, as shanghai's 25 million residents prepared to go into lockdown. from today, the east side of the financial capital is a ghost town. the west side will follow on friday. across china, the daily covid tests are mostly orderly, but at times chaotic. in the third year of this crisis, the government's complete elimination strategy is under huge strain, with signs of pandemic exhaustion. those who break the rules are being taken away by the police. some are forced to make public confessions. here, a woman pleads to be allowed to leave home so her husband can receive urgent cancer treatment. from the north—east to the south, tens of millions of people are now confined to their homes.

beijing, as a city, is not under lockdown, but if you live in this compound right now, you can't leave. that's because there has been a case here. now, these are the deliveries of food and other provisions. you can see they are marked up according to the flat number, and the staff here will take these provisions and deliver them to people, and that way, everybody can stay inside for the next two weeks. in hong kong, 6,000 mostly elderly and non—vaccinated people died in two months. yet, it is thought nearly half the population was infected, boosting herd immunity. china, by, you know, learning from the mistakes that hong kong have made, they will be upscaling the vaccination, especially among the elderly. on the mainland, officials say the vaccine booster rate for those over 80 is at only 19.7%.

one 85—year—old tells us she and her husband have only just been vaccinated. translation: i'm not worried. we just need to be careful. i translation: chinese people do what they are told. - they listen to the government. yet it's hard for the party to shift when it's making political mileage attacking other countries for sacrificing lives by opening up. translation: if we chose to lay down now, our efforts _ will have come to nothing. we unswervingly insist on zero covid. blue fences mark communities under strict isolation. the world's covid emergency started here. it looks like this will be the last country to emerge from it. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing.

under a500 cases in 2a hours, but almost all of them asymptomatic. there is a change on the way, and for some, it will come as a shock to the system, especially in those parts of the uk where temperatures on monday afternoon got up to 18 degrees, especially across some western areas. up to the north, in shetland, just 6 degrees, and that colder air will be sweeping southwards over the next few days. it will turn cold enough for some of us to see some snow. now, tuesday morning starting off with a lot of cloud, some mist and fog in places, rain for a time across southern counties of england. in fact, some showery rain will continue here through the day. rain with some sleet and snow mixing in in northern scotland. elsewhere, some brighter skies developing, a scattering of showers, although eastern counties are likely to stay quite cloudy. for most, temperatures will be between 9—1a degrees, but in northern scotland, just a—7 degrees,

the colder air starting to make more progress southwards. the cold air tucking behind this band of cloud, rain, sleet and snow, which will continue to journey southwards as we go through tuesday night and into wednesday. behind that, the temperatures really dropping away, with a frost into wednesday morning. ahead of our weather front, still relatively mild to start the day. our weather front will be making some more progress southwards during wednesday, some rain along it, yes, but also some sleet and some snow. now, much of the snow along the weather front will initially be falling over the hills, but we could see some getting down to low levels, say, across parts of northern england. and behind that, a mix of sunny spells and wintry showers following on behind — in fact, mainly snow showers across northern scotland. temperatures across the north of the uk just 5—8 degrees. and that weather front ushering in the colder air continues to journey southwards during wednesday night into thursday. there could be a covering of snow, even down south, especially over the hills,

possibly at low levels. we'll have to keep an eye on that. sunny spells and wintry showers into thursday, a brisk north or northeasterly wind, so it'll feel cold. temperatures, at best, between 5—10 degrees. so, the days rather chilly as we head through the rest of the week. there will be some showers of rain, sleet and snow, some sunny spells as well. but i mentioned the chilly days. there will be some cold nights as well, with a widespread frost developing in many areas from midweek onwards. bye for now.

this is bbc news — the headlines. sources close to the russian billionaire — roman abramovich — say he suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning at peace talks earlier this month — though ukrainian officials have urged people not to trust unverified information. mr abramovich reportedly suffered sore eyes and skin inflammation. he has now recovered. peace talks are expected to resume on tuesday in turkey. ukraine's president zelensky has made an offer to russia — he said his country could adopt the status of neutrality if that would help end the war — though it would have to be agreed in a referendum. the hollywood star — will smith — has apologised to the comedian — chris rock — for slapping him during the oscar ceremony on sunday.