welcome to bbc news, i'm nuala mcgovern. our top stories. us intelligence suggests president putin feels misled by his armed forces, resulting in tensions with top generals. ukraine's military warns russia is regrouping its forces — we've a special report from the south of the country. shells land in these fields periodically and the next village, down the road, is occupied by russian troops and civilians have been killed in these villages. one of hollywood's biggest stars, bruce willis, is retiring from acting due to a brain condition. and a distant sun — we'll tell you about the newly—discovered star that dates back almost to the dawn of time.

british and us intelligence say russia's invasion of ukraine has been hampered because president putin is not being given an accurate picture of events on the ground. this, the white house says, has led to tensions between mr putin and his generals. it added that the russian president also did not fully understand the extent to which western sanctions were damaging his country's economy. more on that in a moment, but first to moscow, where there are further signs of a clampdown on political dissent. here's our russia editor steve rosenberg. there were peace talks this week, but there's no peace yet. the russian military released these images of it launching ballistic missiles towards ukraine. an army spokesman said russia was continuing its special

military operation, and had destroyed fuel storage sites, arms depots, and ukrainian drones. continuing in russia, encouraged by the authorities, public displays of support for the offensive. these buses form the letter z, that's painted on russian military vehicles in ukraine. you will find zs on billboards, on government buildings, even on the side of theatres. and here, this is the home of human rights activist oleg orlov. those who criticise russia's onslaught in ukraine have become targets of abuse. translation: russia is heading towards, in fact has almost - arrived at, something very similar to what we saw in germany in the 1930s. everything feels very familiar. and that's important. in russia right now, there is no room for alternative views,

for public expressions that contradict official opinion. and that is particularly true of events in ukraine. the kremlin wants the public here to believe that the russian offensive there is both necessary and just. the russian authorities have banned the word "war", in relation to ukraine. so, when dmitry reznikov took part in an anti—war protest, he didn't use any words at all. he was still arrested, though, and fined for "discrediting the russian army". translation: i was detained within 30 seconds. _ i don't think it would have mattered what was written there. some people have been arrested just for holding up a plain piece of paper. because everyone knows what it means and what it stands for. in vladimir putin's russia, even the slightest hint of dissent is seen by those

in power here as a significant threat, to be eliminated. but, in a country where opposition to the government has been crushed, where critical voices are being silenced, where the media is under almost total state control, for now, the kremlin doesn't feel under any public pressure to make peace in ukraine. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. well for more on that intelligence, that putin is being misled, here's the bbc�*s mark urban. from the outset there have been different messages from the spokespeople, from president putin himself, it hasn't been a coherent picture, and now the new evidence, a us intelligence briefing this evening suggesting putin was being kept

in the dark by the military. this from the pentagon spokesman.— this from the pentagon sokesman. ~ ., . spokesman. we would concur with the conclusion _ spokesman. we would concur with the conclusion that _ spokesman. we would concur with the conclusion that mr— spokesman. we would concur with the conclusion that mr putin - the conclusion that mr putin has not _ the conclusion that mr putin has not been fully informed by his ministry of defence at every— his ministry of defence at every turn over the last month. i want — every turn over the last month. i want to— i want to caveat that. we don't have access to every bit of information he has been given or every— information he has been given or every conversation he has had~ — or every conversation he has had~ in — or every conversation he has had. . ., ~ ., or every conversation he has had. . ., 4' ., ., had. in addition, we know from the daily telegraph, _ had. in addition, we know from the daily telegraph, gchq - had. in addition, we know from the daily telegraph, gchq will| the daily telegraph, gchq will be having more on that point, as well as evidence they have gathered about the russian military accidentally shooting down their own aircraft, that sort of mishap. the key point, there seems to be a deep rift between senior military command and putin himself. presumably they have detected the recriminations. other signals,

the chechen warlord who is putin's go to figure, for example the clearance of mariupol, said he thinks the russian negotiators are conceding too much in peace talks. so definitely signs of disagreement and tensions within the leadership. john herbst served as us ambassador to ukraine from 2003—2006. a little earlier, i asked him whether western intelligence reports on the quality of information being provided to mr putin hold water. the increasingly authoritarian and isolated putin does not get reliable advice from his advisers. they try to figure out what he wants to hear, so this is a serious problem. i like the sound of the cuckoo clock we can hear in the background! but with this, if somebody

cannot give him a true assessment of what's happening on the ground, how might that affect negotiations? i'm just thinking, if they are negotiating on april the 1st, if mr putin hasn't got a clear picture of what's happening on the ground, maybe his demands would be, how would i say, not achievable? i suspect he has some idea now that his grand plans have failed, and russian forces are bogged down. but it may well be that he is getting overly optimistic reports about what might happen next. it's very clear those negotiations are something putin has permitted but not endorsed. so nothing the russian negotiators say have any meaning until we know putin himself is behind it. where do you see it

going from here? we see the pictures coming out, the reports from my colleagues in moscow or on the ground, of what people are experiencing, the lack of information going through to moscow... how do you see mr putin progressing from this point? i believe he still hopes his military can deliver a knockout blow. but we know the claims coming not from putin but in this case from senior ministry of defence officials and senior russian officers, that they were going to be pulling forces away and stopping the offensive against kyiv and other cities in the centre and the west, and focus on the east, has not happened. there might have been a slight withdrawal of troops, but only slight, and the bombing of kyiv and other cities continue, again not in the east, so we have a no true indication

of a change in russian tactics, but we are waiting to see if it happens. with that, does it have to be seeing the actions on the ground to actually believe anything said by the kremlin? i think you have to see things on the ground that match their commitments and promises. when it comes to the spoken or written word, if putin doesn't say it, we should assume it is not authoritative. and if he does say it, he may be lying. the only flexibility we have heard from russians have not come from the mouth of the leader, putin himself, so they should be taken with a great deal of scepticism. the other thing is the war of narratives as well as the war taking place on the ground. some will ask, can you believe what the us is saying? well, information from government always has a certain proprietary interest. but there is a vast difference

in the information that comes from the russian government or the us government, ukrainian government, british government. we know senior russian officials including putin were saying there would be no invasion of ukraine, before he launched the invasion on february 2a, so we know they lied. putin said up until he decided not to say it that the russian troops wouldn't seize crimea in 2014, so there is a clear pattern of huge deceit coming from the kremlin. i don't think you can see clearly such a pattern from washington or western capitals, orforthat matter from kyiv. the only trial in the us involving a member of one of the most infamous terrorist organisations in the world has begun. 33—year—old el shafee el sheikh, from the uk, was part of an islamic state group cell nicknamed the beatles by captives because of their english accents. el sheikh is accused of murdering american and british hostages in syria.

our north america correspondent nomia iqbal reports. they were once considered one of the most brutal terrorist organisations on the planet. the islamic state group, the self—declared caliphate, controlled huge parts of syria and iraq in 2014, claiming responsibility for acts of terror across the world, including the 2015 paris attacks. a group of men became infamous as part of is propaganda. the so—called beatles were given their nickname by their captives due to the fact all four were from the uk. they were a cell of is and filmed gruesome and horrific beheadings ofjournalists and aid workers on camera. the chief member was mohammed emwazi, nicknamedjihadijohn. today, your military air force is attacking us daily in iraq. he was eventually killed by a drone strike in 2015. aine davis is injail in turkey, convicted on terrorism offences.

alexanda kotey and el shafee elsheikh were captured in 2018 by syrian kurds. they were asked by the bbc at the time about their involvement with the so—called islamic state. do you still deny that you are a member of the group known as the beatles, which carried out executions and beheadings? yes, of course. el shafee? same question? yes _ the uk eventually agreed for the men to be tried here in the us, after the death penalty was taken off the table. the entire united states government remains committed to bringing to justice anyone who harms our citizens and today we are demonstrating that resolve by bringing to our shores two men who left britain to become isis terrorists. now they are going to face justice in an american court of law for crimes against american citizens. but last year, kotey

pleaded guilty in a us court to all the charges. el shafee elsheikh maintains his innocence. he is charged with the murders ofjournalists james foley, steven sotloff and aid workers abdul—rahman kassig and kayla mueller. he is also accused of being involved with the deaths of british aid workers david haines and alan henning. none of their bodies have been found. this is a huge moment for the families of those who died. they will be attending the trial and looking for answers. they have long wanted this once—feared terror group to finally face western justice. nomia iqbal, bbc news, virginia. stay with us on bbc news, still to come. an image that was 13 billion years in the making — we'll tell you about hubble's latest amazing discovery.

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 - 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 news, the latest headlines. us intelligence suggests president putin feels misled by his armed forces, resulting in tensions with top generals. ukraine's military has warned that russia is regrouping its troops, a day after moscow said it would scale down its operations. to another story now for you — about the australian journalist cheng lei, who is going on trial today in beijing, on state secrets charges. she worked as a television anchor for chinese state media, but was detained in 2020 and formally arrested a year ago on suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets overseas. our correspondent stephen mcdonnell is outside the court the court in beijing.

what has been happening this morning? what has been happening this mornin: ? . , ., morning? here at the number two intermediate _ morning? here at the number two intermediate people's _ morning? here at the number two intermediate people's court - morning? here at the number two intermediate people's court in - intermediate people's court in beijing, the trial of australian journalist cheng lei is going on behind closed doors. people will want to know what she has been accused of, what she has been accused of, what her lawyers are saying, what her lawyers are saying, what her lawyers are saying, what her defence might be. we know none of that, none of the detail at all, other than she has been vaguely accused of supplying state secrets to somebody overseas. in china, a state secret can be many things. it can be a piece of information, a photo, who knows what it is? it's very vague. as i say, we would only be guessing as to what that might be. because none of this is

available, even to representatives of the australian government. today, the australian ambassador and other diplomats from the australian embassy were here, they tried to go in, to have access to the trial, but were denied entry. they were told they couldn't go in. after that, graham fletcher, the australian ambassador, came out and said this was totally unacceptable, that the australian government has no confidence in a process like this, which is completely secret, behind closed doors. how can you have any confidence in this? and so, you know, you can imagine how distressing this is for her friends and family. she has two small children in australia. she has not been able to be with them since she was picked up here in august 2020. the australian government has also been very critical of her treatment while in detention. she was held for

six months in this kind of secret three prism stage without access to a lawyer, and now a whole trial behind closed doors. i now a whole trial behind closed doors. . ., ., now a whole trial behind closed doors. . . ., ., doors. i am imagining no one has heard _ doors. i am imagining no one has heard directly _ doors. i am imagining no one has heard directly from - doors. i am imagining no one has heard directly from her? | has heard directly from her? -- this secret _ has heard directly from her? » this secret prison stage. no, the only people who have been able to talk to her have been able to talk to her have been from the embassy, once a month due to a consular agreement, they can talk to her via video link about very specific things, to do with her well—being inside the prison where she is being held. but other than that, no. and because of that consular agreement, i should add that is

one of the reasons why the ambassador today said he should have been able to get access to this hearing, because according to that agreement, the australian government believes, she is an australian citizen, they should have been able to sit in on the trial. but the court system here is controlled by the party, and for the party. it's not really a rule of law country here. so despite the calls by the australian government for china to uphold its own processes, its own legal processes, the australian government would argue that has not been the case here today. thank you, from a fairly windy beijing. president biden has become one of the first us citizen to receive a second covid—19 booster vaccination. it comes as health officials authorised a second jab for those over the age of 50 citing data showing waning immunity and the risks posed by omicron variants of the virus.

we have enough supply to give booster shots to those eligible, but if congress fails to act, we won't have enough shots available in the fall to make sure they are free and easily accessible for all americans. it is critical to our ability to protect against new variants. one of hollywood's biggest stars, bruce willis, is to retire from acting after struggling to work while suffering with a brain condition. willis is best known for starring in the die hard film series as well as cult movie hit pulp fiction. his family released a statement saying he had been diagnosed with aphasia, a neurological disorder caused by damage to the portions of the brain responsible for language production or processing. let's speak to clayton davis, senior film awards editor at variety. sad news about bruce willis. what is the reaction you are seeing?

what is the reaction you are seeinr ? . , , what is the reaction you are seeina? . _ what is the reaction you are seein? . _ �* . seeing? incredibly sad, bruce willis in arguably _ seeing? incredibly sad, bruce willis in arguably one - seeing? incredibly sad, bruce willis in arguably one of- seeing? incredibly sad, bruce willis in arguably one of the l willis in arguably one of the biggest stars of the 80s and 90s, and even 20005. stepping 905, and even 20005. stepping away from acting for a really sad reason, developing a language disorder, aphasia, brought on by brain damage. it hurts your ability to hurt5 your ability to communicate, and also received communication. so everyone is pretty bombed about this because he was still working on a lot of movies last year, and he has many movies are ahead on the docket that we have yet to see released.— see released. rumer, his daughter. _ see released. rumer, his daughter. a _ see released. rumer, his daughter, a very - see released. rumer, his daughter, a very close i see released. rumer, his- daughter, a very close family unit, has been very public with support. we don't know what caused the aphasia in this particular case.—

caused the aphasia in this particular case. no. but what this brings — particular case. no. but what this brings into _ particular case. no. but what this brings into focus - particular case. no. but what this brings into focus is - particular case. no. but what this brings into focus is an i this brings into focus is an appreciation for bruce willis. too often he was labelled as an actor that couldn't act, and was just known for his action films. he was a lot more than that, a two—time emmy winner, for his television role on moonlighting in the late 805, and then again for a guest spot on the classic 5erie5 friend5 on the classic 5erie5 friends in 2000. he 5tarred on the classic 5erie5 friends in 2000. he starred in the sixth sense, nominated for best picture. the famous die hard 5erie5. even though he wasn't doing the amount of quality we wanted to see in the later stages, he was still iconic in 5tages, he was still iconic in a big piece of cinema. stages, he was still iconic in a big piece of cinema.- stages, he was still iconic in a big piece of cinema. yes, and i'm wondering, _ a big piece of cinema. yes, and i'm wondering, will— a big piece of cinema. yes, and i'm wondering, will he - a big piece of cinema. yes, and i'm wondering, will he speak i i'm wondering, will he speak out? very hard to know. but he does have a real legacy left in hollywood, a5 does have a real legacy left in hollywood, as you say. absolutely. pulp fiction, one

of the most iconic films of all time. written and directed by quentin tarantino, won an oscar for original screenplay. he has been a part of that legacy. i remember him famously getting roasted on the comedy central roast. great to see him up there with the likes of edward norton and his ex wife demi moore. again, he is a staple of cinema history, and it is sad to not see as much of him as we would like, and we wish him the best. ., ~ would like, and we wish him the best. . ,, , ., would like, and we wish him the best. . ,, i. . would like, and we wish him the best. . . �* . best. thank you so much. bruce willis did sell— best. thank you so much. bruce willis did sell his _ best. thank you so much. bruce willis did sell his avatar, - best. thank you so much. bruce willis did sell his avatar, so - willis did sell his avatar, so we may see him in future movies in that guise. will smith was asked to leave the oscars after hitting comedian chris rock, but refused, according to organisers. they released a statement saying that his actions at the oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event and they apologised to other nominees, guests and viewers.

the academy says it has initiated disciplinary proceedings against the best actor winner. now to a new record for capturing a picture of a single, distant star. tim allman reports. the light from the giant sun has taken nearly 13 billion years to reach us. for more than 30 years, the hubble space telescope has been orbiting the earth, scanning the cosmos, looking for the unknown, the extraordinary, the seemingly impossible. its latest discovery, perhaps its most amazing yet, a celestial object that is a long, long, long way away. you see that red stripe in the centre of the screen? it is a crescent of light that has been dubbed the sunrise arc. almost hidden away inside it, barely a smudge, is a star, the most distant star

we have ever seen. they have called it earendel, old english for morning star. and it came into creation less than a billion years after the big bang. the hubble can see that far back in the distance and so it is seeing the light that is basically being emitted right now by that star, where the light that we are seeing here on earth was created 12.9 billion years ago. normally, a single star at that distance would be impossible to see, but a phenomenon called gravitational lensing played its part. if a cluster of galaxies happen to be in the way, they can bend and increase the light of a more distant object, effectively becoming a cosmic magnifying glass. there is speculation earendel may be what is known as a pioneer star, one of the first stars to shine in the universe — a mystery, a marvel. practically from the dawn of time. tim allman, bbc news.

amazing images. hello there. spring is on hold as we edge towards the end of march. cold air has been sweeping southwards. some of us have seen some sleet and some snow. and through thursday, the day starts off with a widespread frost and some ice. it's going to turn into a day of sunny spells and wintry showers. this cold front has been ushering in the cold air. along the line of this weather front, a band of cloud, rain, sleet and snow. behind it, speckled shower clouds in cold air. that's where we have some wintry showers feeding in from the north. so the very first part of the morning, we'll tend to clear that rain, sleet and snow away from the far south. some of those wintry showers continuing to push into especially eastern scotland and northeast england, but there will be one or two elsewhere. temperatures widely falling below freezing, “4 or —5 to start the day across some

rural northern areas, and ice a potential difficulty across parts of eastern scotland and northeast england. through the day, it's a mix of sunny spells and wintry showers, the showers a mixture of rain, sleet, hail and snow, most accumulating snow, i think, confined to the hills. could be a few more showers just easing into southeast england at times, where it will be windy. around some of these eastern coasts, could see gusts of 40—50 miles per hour, just adding to that cold feel. temperatures for most between 5 and 8 degrees, maybe 10 in parts of south wales and southwest england. through thursday night, we will see further wintry showers streaming in from the northeast, potentially some more persistent rain, sleet and hill snow clipping the far southeast of england, and temperatures again widely below freezing. a widespread frost for friday morning. could well be some icy stretches here and there. for friday, for most, it's a similar day, a cold day, a bright day, with plenty of sunshine but some further wintry showers. we will see some slightly more widespread rain,

sleet and snow pushing into western scotland, maybe getting into parts of northern ireland as we go through the afternoon. temperatures, well, maybe just a notch higher, but still disappointing for what will be the 1st of april, 6 to 10 degrees. and those temperatures don't climb an awful lot through the weekend — they may climb a little. there's quite a lot of dry weather on the way, but there will be some showers as well. but as we head into next week, signs of a more significant change. the winds turn to westerlies, and that will bring milder air from the atlantic. with that, though, some rain at times.

this is bbc news. the headlines... british and us intelligence agencies say russia's invasion of ukraine has been hampered because president putin is not being given an accurate picture of events on the ground. the white house says it's led to tensions between mr putin and his generals. there's been no response yet from the kremlin. ukraine's president zelensky has warned that russia is moving its forces away from the capital and the north to prepare for new strikes on the donbas area in the east of the country. he added that this redeployment was a consequence of the ukrainian military�*s defence of kyiv and chernihiv. one of the biggest stars in hollywood — bruce willis — is to retire from the acting profession. a statement from the 67—year—old's family said he had been diagnosed with a language disorder caused by brain damage.

his cognitive ability is said to have been impaired.