hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones this is outside source. russia will stop supplying gas to european countries it deems "unfriendly" — unless they pay for it in roubles. vladimir putin has signed the decree which will take effect on the first of april, european states are calling it blackmail. the financial system of western countries is being used as a weapon. assets in dollars and euros are present, so it makes no sense to use the currencies of these countries. russia's attack on ukraine continues — a humanitarian convoy has been sent to rescue civilians from the besieged city of mariupol — but does vladimir putin know how badly his invasion is going?

even though we believe put in's advisers — even though we believe put in's advisers are afraid to tell him the truth, _ advisers are afraid to tell him the truth, what — advisers are afraid to tell him the truth, what is going on and the extent— truth, what is going on and the extent of— truth, what is going on and the extent of these misjudgments must be crystal— extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime. we talked to crystal clear to the regime. - talked to more victims of the failings of maternity services, ministers promise sweeping reform. welcome to the programme. we're going to start with that big news from russia — president putin says russian gas must be paid for in roubles from friday and international contracts will be halted if the payments aren't made. this was the moment. translation: we suggest - to our counterparties from those countries that clear and transparent scheme in order to purchase russian natural gas, they should open rouble accounts in russian banks. it's exactly from those accounts that payments will be executed for the gas supply starting

from tomorrow, the 1st of april. in case such payments fail and are not executed, we'll consider them as non—payments from our counterparties. vladimir putin's announcement seems to be an attempt to boost russia's currency, which has been hit by western sanctions. here's jane foley from the dutch bank rabobank. behind this is put in�*s want to strengthen the rouble. now, we saw a massive sell—off and the value of the rouble at the start of the war. it has got back quite a lot of ground, but it's still around about 17 or so percent weaker than it was at the end of last year, and we've got to consider with what's happening in the russian economy, there is a lot of inflation. economists now predicting that the economy could contract, in terms of the size of its gdp, for two consecutive years. that's a huge recessionary backdrop. russia supplies about a third of europe's gas.

so, what does this mean for europe? here's our business presenter victoria fritz. this is, sort of, almost for europe, the worst april fools joke ever. nobody is laughing because what putin is saying here is if you don't effectively pay for our gas in roubles, whichever which way you want to do it, and via our own bank accounts, we will not give you gas. we've heard from germany and france — who have rejected russia's demands. the german economy minister says... and the french finance minister said... let's speak now to nikos safos, chair for energy and geopolitics at the think tank — centre for strategic and international studies. thank you forjoining us on the programme. thank you for “oining us on the programme.— thank you for “oining us on the rouramme. . ., ., m programme. thanks for having me. do ou think it programme. thanks for having me. do you think it is — programme. thanks for having me. do you think it is a — programme. thanks for having me. do you think it is a chance _

programme. thanks for having me. do you think it is a chance here _ programme. thanks for having me. do you think it is a chance here that - you think it is a chance here that president clinton will turn off the taps? i president clinton will turn off the ta s? ~ president clinton will turn off the tas? ~' , , , taps? i think the probability is low. -- president— taps? i think the probability is low. -- president putin. - taps? i think the probability is low. -- president putin. the | taps? i think the probability is - low. -- president putin. the odds are higher — low. -- president putin. the odds are higher than _ low. -- president putin. the odds are higher than they've _ low. -- president putin. the odds are higher than they've ever- low. -- president putin. the odds| are higher than they've ever been, but i don't thank you will go and cut off gas tomorrow stop by the probability is low, but still a probability, we have a line in from the afp news agency, just a quick line saying that the liis the afp news agency, 'ust a quick line saying that the— line saying that the us will deny putin the ability _ line saying that the us will deny putin the ability to _ line saying that the us will deny putin the ability to weapon - line saying that the us will deny putin the ability to weapon eyesj putin the ability to weapon eyes energy resources. what do you think that means?— energy resources. what do you think that means? well, the real ob'ective here is to make fl that means? well, the real ob'ective here is to make sure i that means? well, the real ob'ective here is to make sure that _ that means? well, the real objective here is to make sure that energy - here is to make sure that energy flows continue to europe which is highly dependent on them, i think the overall objective of the west is to make sure that the trade with russia continues on western terms, and that right now, those energy flows are essential for the european economy and european livelihood, so they must continue, but it is absolutely clear from europe they must continue, but it is absolutely clearfrom europe in particular would like to get out of this relationship as quickly as

possible and will use all tools at its disposable to do that. i think what this message from the us says this will be an escalation from russia if they cut off gas supplies. it's probably going to require a response of some type, what kind of response? we don't know. serra; response of some type, what kind of response? we don't know.— response? we don't know. sorry for askin: a response? we don't know. sorry for asking a silly _ response? we don't know. sorry for asking a silly question _ response? we don't know. sorry for asking a silly question here, - response? we don't know. sorry for asking a silly question here, but - response? we don't know. sorry for asking a silly question here, but i i asking a silly question here, but i am still trying to get my head around if you think the probability is low of putin switching off the taps, but we have heard from european countries that they are not going to pay in roubles. does that mean there is some kind of fudge compromise in the middle that will actually happen here? so compromise in the middle that will actually happen here?— actually happen here? so what the russians have _ actually happen here? so what the russians have signalled _ actually happen here? so what the russians have signalled is - actually happen here? so what the russians have signalled is that - actually happen here? so what the | russians have signalled is that they are willing to open these accounts and you essentially pay in euros and gas from bank turn them into roubles which pays for the gas, i read this as a way to step back from the threat and pretend that you have

upheld the air objective when in fact from a european customer perspective, you are still sending over euros, now whether that turn zeros into roubles or someone else does it from european perspective, doesn't really matter. i think that is a compromise that is likely to emerge where you have a technicality of when those heroes turn into roubles that allow russia to claim victory that they have somehow accomplished something when in fact they've accomplished nothing. interesting. we will see if that does indeed play out. thank you so much for coming onto the programme.— let's take a look at what's happening on the ground in ukraine now. over the past few weeks we've been telling you about the besieged port city of mariupol, in the south. tens of thousands of civilians are still trapped there. they've endured weeks

of russian bombardment. according to the international red cross, russia agreed to open a humanitarian corridor to the city. the un's human rights mission in ukraine says... earlier, the city's mayor made this plea. translation: food and water are running out. . we are calling on the international community to speak out loudly. we want them to unite forjust one aim. i'm pleading with them to save the people here. these drone pictures show the scale of the devastation in mariupol. you can see what remains of the theatre hit by a russian air strike. we know hundreds of people died in that attack. and as you heard from the mayor, food and water are running out. have a look at this satellite image. it shows hundreds of people queueing outside a supermarket. many who've managed to escape are now in zaporeezhia. it's the last big city in ukrainian held territory in the south. our correspondent wyre davies is there.

there is now this plan to get aid into and civilians out of mariupol and to get civilians out. has been put together hastily, and there is no guarantee it will work, but there is tremendous need. the ukrainian government thinks there's as many as 100,000 people still trapped inside the city. they've been there for four weeks as the fighting around them continues with heavy russian shelling. there a shortage of water, food and other basic needs, so there is a tremendous need to get aid in and people out. of course, they have been efforts before to try to establish a humanitarian corridor in and out of the city, but those have failed, either because the warring parties can't agree between themselves are because vehicles on their way out going past those russian checkpoints have been attacked from the air and from the ground. this plan which will place over the weekend may not work, but

it's the best chance yet to get some aid into the stricken port city will earlier this week, we heard a promise from russia to scale back its military activity. particularly around the ukrainian capital kyiv and the northern city of chernihiv. there's been some scepticism from the west as to whether that's actually happening. this is footage from a local news outlet in chernihiv, showing the aftermath of what it says are russian attacks on a book store and a market area. one person who lives there told us this. we are hearing bomb sounds, we can't sleep at our homes. we are continuing to sleep in the basement. these last two nights were just really terrible. we heard bombs, in central parts as well. yesterday was damage to central parts, central market, shops,

the model, the post office, as well as the children's library. so how can we say that they've reduced military action here? so, that is a lie. and the uk ministry of defence said this. "despite russian statements indicating an intended reduction and it's a similar assessment from the head of nato. according to our intelligence, russian units are not withdrawing, but repositioning. russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive and the donbas region. you heard jens stoltenberg mention the donbas region. it's central to all this — and specifically two areas: donetsk and lu ha nsk. they're in the east of the country. and remember, russia has recognised them both as quote independent.

in recent days, we've heard that russia's focus has shifted there. here's one expert explaining why. yeah, i think they have had to in light of the logistical problems that they've had and the fact that, you know, many of their forces need to now regroup. i think they've had to scale down their operations. now that they've failed to take quite a lot of key cities and we are now a month into the war, it makes sense that they'd had to revise that down. so, those attempts to kind of encircle and bombard kyiv are now being refocused onto southern and eastern ukraine. the question now is are they going to do that forjust the separatist republics, the dnr and the lnr, and the contact line there has not really moved since 2015, or are they going to try to push into the rest of eastern ukraine and take the entire of the donetsk and the luhansk regions, which is a rather bigger territory.

anna fosterjoins us live from lviv. thank you so much for talking to us. i do want to just bring you this one line before i ask you a question, it says very quickly thatjoe biden, us president, says there is no clear evidence putin is pulling back his troops. is that something that matches with assessment there? i matches with assessment there? i think if there is one thing to take away from this conflict at the moment, it's that you cannot predict what russia are going to try to do next. evenjust what russia are going to try to do next. even just over what russia are going to try to do next. evenjust over the what russia are going to try to do next. even just over the last week or so, we had russia saying it was going to focus its aspirations in the east, then we had an air strike where i am in the west. we heard just a few days ago russia saying again that it was going to reduce its forces around kyiv, and yet, since that happened, and as you heard from that resident, it has continued. there has been very little change. we have seen some shift of russian surveys —— process.

chernobyl taken by russian prices, they had made the residence, the people who actually work there and that they had kept them at their positions for a long time. there was some concerns, because obviously chernobyl is still a very dangerous site, we heard about some potential power outages. today, we were told two columns of russian forces like chernobyl. there are here and there are some moments that look like withdrawal, but what president zelensky has said is that in his assessment and in the assessment of ukrainian intelligence, anything that looks like a withdraw at the moment is probablyjust a regrouping, and they expect us russian soldiers to come back, if not in the same place, then somewhere else. , �* , somewhere else. interesting. let's cuickl somewhere else. interesting. let's quickly talk— somewhere else. interesting. let's quickly talk about, _ somewhere else. interesting. let's quickly talk about, how _ somewhere else. interesting. let's quickly talk about, how i _ somewhere else. interesting. let's quickly talk about, how i put - somewhere else. interesting. let's quickly talk about, howl put mary | quickly talk about, how i put mary opal now, about the chances of this humanitarian corridor to try to save people there. how much optimism is there that that is actually going to

work? —— mariupol. there that that is actually going to work? -- mariupol.— there that that is actually going to work? -- mariupol. there is an awful lot of scepticism _ work? -- mariupol. there is an awful lot of scepticism here, _ work? -- mariupol. there is an awful lot of scepticism here, really, - lot of scepticism here, really, whatever russia says, people tend not to believe, because russia has changed its mind so many times during this conflict. it's so vital to get those trapped people out of mariupol at the start of the week in ukraine said that it couldn't do those humanitarian corridor is because it believed that russia was going to attack civilians as they fled. just today, plan seems to come together, facilitated by the international committee of the red cross. 45 buses have been dispatched from denny brought towards mariupol and what they need to do now is arrange this thing. they need to make sure they arrange small details like what time it will start. —— 45 buses have been dispatched for dnipro. they need an absolute guarantee from russian forces that they will not fire. because if you think about it, there is still over 100, maybe 150,000 people stuck in mariupol. the 25 buses will only evacuate a very small number of

that, but if you think about all of those people leaving that city. —— 45 buses. and the potential for disaster of russia do not cease fire as they leave, the condition to come to the organisation of this humanitarian corridor is incredibly important, and, yes, ithink at humanitarian corridor is incredibly important, and, yes, i think at the moment, there are hopes that it will go ahead, but people have seen russia change its mind before, and they really do believe it could again. yes, of course, we will be keeping a close eye on that. let's switch to the west where you are. give us a flavour of what life is like, because i'm intrigued that's been going on for over a month. are people going out to work as normal? what is daily life like they are? shy, what is daily life like they are? lot of people are going out to work as normal. you often hear the sirens here, although, i have to say we haven't had any today, but yesterday we had a few. you get them in the night coming at them in the day, and people try as far as they can to live their everyday lives, but it's also worth saying that this is a

city that is under martial law at the moment. there isn't anybody out in the streets here because after ten p:m., that is banned. you are not allowed to go out, not allowed to buy alcohol, for example, some peoples lives have changed here, but interestingly what you do still see is people arriving in lviv from other parts of the country. there were those huge numbers, those images of people at the train station, crowds of people trying to get on trains and leave the country. the numbers have lessened, but people are still arriving. i spoke to one woman today, a family who just arrived here from mariupol, they managed to escape, but it took them a week to get here, so all the time, people from the other side of the country are arriving, often after a very long and difficult journeys. sometimes they spend a day or two in temporary accommodation. i remember them —— a lot of them, remember, don't want to leave ukraine. they don't want to leave their country altogether. there are many new residents of western ukraine at the moment, sometimes people staying with friends and

family, sometimes people being taken in by strangers, finding new homes. we know that 4 million people now have left ukraine altogether, but there are many, many millions more who are still in this country but not in their homes. {lila who are still in this country but not in their homes.— who are still in this country but not in their homes. 0k, thank you so much for painting _ not in their homes. 0k, thank you so much for painting a _ not in their homes. 0k, thank you so much for painting a picture _ not in their homes. 0k, thank you so much for painting a picture there - not in their homes. 0k, thank you so much for painting a picture there of. much for painting a picture there of life in lviv for us. thank you. in the last hour, we have been hearing from president biden. he says that president putin may be in isolation. it spend questions about what's been happening inside the russian government after american —— an accurate picture of how the word is actually going. they say his advisers are too scared to tell him just how bad the situation as on the ground. here's sirjeremy fleming, head of the uk's security and intelligence agency gchq. it increasingly looks like putin has massively misjudged the situation.

it's clear he's misjudged the resistance of the ukrainian people. he underestimated the strength of the coalition his actions would galvanise. he underplayed the economic consequences of the sanctions regime. and he overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory. the pentagon spokesperson, john kirby, echoed those words. we would concur with the conclusion that mr putin has not been fully informed by his ministry of defence at every turn over the last month. now, i want to caveat that — we don't have access to every bit of information that he's been given or every conversation that he's had. and this was us secretary of state, antony blinken, also speaking about putin's government.

one of the achilles heels of autocracies is that you don't have people in those systems who speak truth to power or who have the ability to speak truth to power. and i think that is something that we are seeing in russia. the kremlin has hit back. its spokesperson, dmitry peskov, said... let's take a look at the current russian military postition. one thing we know is russia hasn't had the strategic wins it would've hoped for. here you can see the areas under russian control in red and places where ukraine is focusing its counterattacks circled in green. russian forces have lost ground around kyiv in recent days and their advances in the south have stalled at mikolyiv. the recent setbacks in the northern and southern fronts may have forced russia to focus its forces in eastern ukraine with the chief of the russian army saying its aim is to achieve the "complete liberation" of the donbas.

shashankjoshi is the defence editor at the economist newspaper. here's his take. disfunction in intelligence agencies and military organisations is very common in authoritarian countries, because there is an incentive not to give your boss the whole truth if the results may be you are losing yourjob, losing your livity or losing your head, and we've seen this in many, many places from stalin's russia, stalin's soviet union facing operation barbarossa, the nazi invasion, all the way to saddam hussain in iraq. and this process and it russia began before the invasion. the fsb, which is one of the russian intelligence agencies that is a successor to the kgb, which of course we all know and have heard about, the fsb exaggerated the scope of its networks and its influence inside ukraine at every level, and so by the time these assessments landed on the desk of

vladimir putin, it was very clear indeed that he had exaggerated picture of what was possible, and when that proved catastrophically wrong, of course, he himself having made such an astonishing misjudgment, would be looking for scapegoats, and that's probably what we are now seeing as well. let's hear what president biden had to say. let's hear what president biden had to sa . . , . let's hear what president biden had tosa. . ,., let's hear what president biden had tosa. . a to say. that is an open question. as a lot of speculation, _ to say. that is an open question. as a lot of speculation, but _ to say. that is an open question. as a lot of speculation, but he - to say. that is an open question. as a lot of speculation, but he seems l a lot of speculation, but he seems to become i'm not saying this with certainty, he seems to be self isolating, and there is some indication that he has... fired or put under house arrest some of his advisers. but i don't want to put too much stock in that at this time because we don't have that much hard evidence. so that's the west's view of what's

happening in the kremlim — for ordinary russians, the crackdown continues. serge is a police officer, their family is originally from ukraine. a few days ago, sergei was arrested and charged under a new with spreading fake news about the russian army. he suspected of criticising the russian offensive on the telephone. translation: this russian offensive on the telephone. translation:— translation: this is a very heavy blow for me. _ translation: this is a very heavy blow for me, for _ translation: this is a very heavy blow for me, for the _ translation: this is a very heavy blow for me, for the family, - translation: this is a very heavy blow for me, for the family, the i blow for me, for the family, the little children. suddenly, their dad just disappeared. he never went to protests, he has no social media. hejust spoke to he just spoke to friends on the phone. i can't rule out that he said

something like war is bad, people are dying, homes are being destroyed, and that is bad. she dying, homes are being destroyed, and that is bad.— and that is bad. she still cannot believe this _ and that is bad. she still cannot believe this is _ and that is bad. she still cannot believe this is happening - and that is bad. she still cannot believe this is happening to - and that is bad. she still cannot believe this is happening to her| believe this is happening to her family. and she is still struggling to understand why. 0k, ok, let's talk about that memorable oscars ceremony now because its organisers say they asked will smith to leave after he slapped the comedian, chris rock, onstage, but he refused. disciplinary proceedings have now been launched by the academy against the actor who has since apologised for his actions. so the actor who has since apologised for his actions. so be long reports. chris rock arriving in boston for his first show since being slapped ijy his first show since being slapped by will smith. he his first show since being slapped by will smith-— by will smith. he got a huge standin: by will smith. he got a huge standing ovation _ by will smith. he got a huge standing ovation fire, - by will smith. he got a huge standing ovation fire, like i by will smith. he got a huge standing ovation fire, like to| by will smith. he got a huge - standing ovation fire, like to make you think a five—minute one. i went on and on. limit can you imagine

being in as a performer and coming out and you don't know if you are going to be ridiculed or applied people gave him a standing ovation, thenit people gave him a standing ovation, then it died down, and then another standing ovation? the then it died down, and then another standing ovation?— then it died down, and then another standing ovation? the comedian told the audience — standing ovation? the comedian told the audience he _ standing ovation? the comedian told the audience he was _ standing ovation? the comedian told the audience he was still _ standing ovation? the comedian told the audience he was still processing | the audience he was still processing what had happened. he didn't say whether he accepted will smith's apology. was it acceptable for the actor to strike another man in the name of protecting his wife? that's the question that's prompted an outpouring of passionate polarised opinion in hollywood and beyond. some who wear in the room say it was a deeply shocking traumatic event that overshadowed the historic achievements of others, like the cast and crew, the big winner of the night. cast and crew, the big winner of the ni . ht. ~ ., , cast and crew, the big winner of the niuht. ~ .,, ., ., night. when i was in the room, it felt uuite night. when i was in the room, it felt quite shocking _ night. when i was in the room, it felt quite shocking and _ night. when i was in the room, it felt quite shocking and quite - felt quite shocking and quite violent. ifelt like it took felt quite shocking and quite violent. i felt like it took away the energy of the room, but now i feel like people should sort of let

the academy and deal with the consequences and we shed actually celebrate the films that one. the academy has _ celebrate the films that one. the academy has apologised to chris rock for what he experienced on the oscars stage and thanked him for his resilience. will smith could be expended or even expelled from that academy, a sanction on the ever applied to a few of its members. so be long, bbc news, los angeles. that is at. i will be back at half past the hour. we will have plenty more our top story, of course, that news from president putin and the kremlin saying that russia will stop supplying gas to european countries it deems unfriendly unless they pay for it in roubles. that will kick in, according to vladimir putin, and the 1st of april. plenty more on that and lots more to come will stop if you are online, if you are on social media, get me there. i'm on twitter. this is outside source on

bbc news. bye—bye. hello there. well, it may well have felt like we've gone back a season from spring into the middle of winter, with some snow around. we started off with around six centimetres of snow in parts of west yorkshire, one of the snowiest parts of the uk. and, with snow showers continuing to feed in through the day, often they have big, chunky flakes of snow like these, with temperatures a few degrees above freezing — that helps snowflakes kind of stick together. so for quite a few areas, we have seen some snow, and there's more of that to come as we look at the forecast overnight, as well, particularly for eastern scotland, eastern areas of england, and especially kent, where we're looking at a zone of heavy, persistent showers moving in here. so there could be several centimetres of snow in places overnight, with temperatures diving below freezing —

a widespread and sharp frost. well, we're looking at the risk of some icy stretches to take us into friday. now those showers across the southeast are reluctant to pull away. across the northwest of the uk, we've got a weather front that'll be bringing some snow to highland scotland, but, as that pushes to the southwest of scotland and northern ireland, there's a tendency for it to turn more to sleet and to rain. otherwise, sunshine and showers, those showers wintry pretty widely. temperatures similar, but the winds not as strong across eastern areas, so perhaps not feeling quite as bitterly cold. now, looking at the forecast through friday night now, our weather front continues to push southwards, bringing some hill snow into wales. again, with temperatures diving below freezing, we've got a risk of icy stretches once again, but perhaps not quite so cold in the west, with temperatures perhaps not quite so low here. now saturday morning, we start off with hill snow in wales — that feature moves southwards, bringing a mixture of rain, maybe a little bit of sleet and snow across the moors. otherwise, it's another day of sunshine and showers,

perhaps then the showers turning heavy with a bit of hail mixed in with them. temperatures generally coming up an odd degree, but still pretty chilly for april, 9—10 celsius your top temperature. second half of the weekend sees some further changes, though. we start the day with some sunshine — however, it turns cloudier for the north with a weather front moving into northern scotland, bringing outbreaks of rain here through the day. cloud builds elsewhere. could see a few areas of mist and fog around the coast in the hills, and maybe an odd patch of drizzle, as well. temperatures still disappointing, but coming up to about 11 at best.

hello, i'm lewis vaughan—jones, this is outside source. russia will stop supplying gas to european countries it deems "unfriendly" unless they pay for it in roubles. vladimir putin has signed the decree which will take effect on the first of april, european states are calling it blackmail. translation: the financial system of western countries _ translation: the financial system of western countries is _ translation: the financial system of western countries is being _ translation: the financial system of western countries is being used - translation: the financial system of western countries is being used as - translation: the financial system of western countries is being used as a i western countries is being used as a weapon. assets in dollars and euros are frozen, so it makes no sense to use the currencies of these countries. russia's attack on ukraine continues — a humanitarian convoy has been sent to rescue civilians from the besieged city of mariupol. but does vladimir putin know how badly his invasion is going?

we believe hooton's advisers are afraid _ we believe hooton's advisers are afraid to — we believe hooton's advisers are afraid to tell him the truth. what's going _ afraid to tell him the truth. what's going on— afraid to tell him the truth. what's going on and the extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the _ misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime —— putin's advisers. and we talk to more victims of the failings in england's maternity services — ministers are promising sweeping reforms. more than 100,000 people are still thought to be trapped in the ukrainian city of mariupol. it's been under heavy russian bombardment for weeks. the ukrainian government is sending dozens of buses to the city in a new attempt to bring people out and deliver humanitarian aid. our correspondent wyre davies is in the town of zaporeeszhia, north—west of mariupol, and he sent this report. the latest footage from mariupol shows a city in ruins, reminiscent of previous russian

campaigns in syria and chechnya. it is against this backdrop that aid agencies and the ukrainian government say there is a humanitarian crisis — tens of thousands of desperate people trapped with little food or water. after some success delivering aid to stricken cities elsewhere in this conflict, the red cross is now trying to coordinate an urgent mission to mariupol, and with the port city surrounded by russian troops, it won't be easy. we're waiting, basically, for the green light from the parties to go in, to be able, one, of course, to facilitate safe passage for the civilians in a convoy, and two, also bring humanitarian aid in. so here we have got two trucks, two trucks which are loaded with very much needed supplies, medicine, food, water. in recent days, hundreds of people have been able to flee mariupol, often in bomb damaged cars, through mined roads and russian checkpoints.

but this will be the first mass evacuation of the city. gunfire there is a lack of clarity over where this conflict is heading. russia says it's wants to focus its military efforts on the eastern donbas region, but as attacks continue, even in the capital, kyiv, ukraine says moscow's words are worthless. translation: we do not believe anyone. - we do not trust any beautiful verbal constructions. there is a real situation on the battlefield, and now this is the most important thing. we will not give up anything, and we will fight for every metre of our land and for every person. while ukrainian troops are taking back ground in the north, it is a different story in mariupol. being pounded by russian artillery, and a population on its knees. but help, of sorts, may be on its way. translation: we are dog-poor, standing by the fire, homeless. l how long is it going to take?

we have nowhere to take a shower. we are drinking water from god knows where. this plan to get aid into and civilians out of mariupol has been put together hastily, and there is no guarantee it will work, but there is tremendous need. previous attempts to establish a humanitarian corridor have failed, either because the warring parties couldn't agree or because vehicles were being attacked on the way out. wrye davies, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. we're going to talk about india now, and its relationship with russia. that's because the uk foreign secretary, liz truss, is in india, trying to pursuade it to condemn russia's invasion. here she is meeting her indian counterpart, subra—munyum jay—shanker. but her arrival coincides with russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov. he's in india the first time since the war broke out. both are visiting in competing efforts to strengthen ties. india has been criticised by the west for not taking a tough enough line against russia

during this war. its position has been described as "nonaligned neutrality". that means, for example, it abstained from un votes condemning russia's invasion and hasn't taken sides. the us presidentjoe biden described the indian position on the ukraine war as "somewhat shaky". and if want you a clue as to why it hasn't condemned russia's invasion, look to the past few decades. the two countries have long standing diplomatic and defence ties dating back to the cold war. russia supplies around 50% of india's military equipment — it's india's largest arms supplier. that includes key defence missiles. but the uk hopes to persuade india to shift its position. here's our diplomatic correspondent james landale. liz truss is there to try it, and i thinkjust sort of, at least make the case that the west is making at the moment, that there is an issue of principle here, and that countries around

the world, liberal democracies such as india, have to make a choice, really, and decide whether they need to be as strategically dependent on countries like russia. the question, of course, is whether she will succeed in shifting india's position, or whether or not india will politely listen to her and nod, then carry on business with russia as accordingly. there's another argument the uk government may use in its attempts to persuade india to abandon its alliance with russia, and that's territorial integrity. here's james landale again. india is very concerned about territorial integrity and sovereignty, because of its tensions and clashes with china over the years. and i think that is an argument and place where the british want to have some sort of discussion and say, "look, if you believe in territorial integrity and countries not invading one another, then you have an interest in supporting that principle

elsewhere in the world." strengthening ties with india has been a priority for this uk government. this is liz truss' third visit there, in just over a year. the uk wants to increase cooperation in defence, cybersecurity — a new treaty on that was signed today, thursday. and of course, trade. there's a future uk—india trade deal on the cards, hailed as a post—brexit prize. this former british diplomat thinks that trade deal won't be enough. i'm doubtful about whether this prize is really available anyway. various british governments have tried to do free trade deals with india — the eu has tried to do one. none of them have succeeded, and here's why — we take a warm, nostalgic, and fuzzy view of relations with india. i think the indians are ruthlessly unsentimental and totally driven by national interest when it

comes to deals with us. we could do a free trade deal with them, but only one heavily weighted in their favour. and that's why we haven't had free trade deals with them in the past, eitheras members of the eu or nationally. and i doubt very much whether that will change. so what is russia's aim in its visit to india? sergei lavrov will push for closer trade links to help reduce the impact of the sanctions imposed on moscow. earlier this month, india agreed to import three million barrels of heavily—discounted russian oil. let's discuss this now with michael kugelman, deputy director of the asia programme and senior associate for south asia at the wilson center. thanks so much for coming on the programme. thanks so much for coming on the programme-— programme. good to be here with you. so what's your — programme. good to be here with you. so what's your assessment _ programme. good to be here with you. so what's your assessment of - programme. good to be here with you. so what's your assessment of this - programme. good to be here with you. so what's your assessment of this uk l so what's your assessment of this uk charm offensive in india? do you think it'll make any difference? i don't think it'll work. india has had a very principled long—standing position on russia. whenever there's been russian aggression over the

years, india has taken the very position it's taken now. and the big reason is the arms dependence, which you mentioned. it is notjust that india relies so heavily on russian arms, but also that many of these russian arms that come to india are used by india to help strengthen its capacities to deter its main rivals, pakistan and china. it doesn't want to jeopardise access to russian arms, meaning india will not go against russia, it won't turn against russia, it won't turn against russia, it won't turn against russia, even its close partners like the uk, us and others try to convincing to do otherwise. it's unfortunate... if try to convincing to do otherwise. it's unfortunate. . .— it's unfortunate... if that's the case, if it _ it's unfortunate... if that's the case, if it won't _ it's unfortunate... if that's the case, if it won't give _ it's unfortunate... if that's the case, if it won't give up - it's unfortunate... if that's the case, if it won't give up its - it's unfortunate... if that's the | case, if it won't give up its ties with russia, what role can it play here then? i with russia, what role can it play here then?— with russia, what role can it play here then? ~' , , .,, , here then? i think the best hope is to urue here then? i think the best hope is to urge india _ here then? i think the best hope is to urge india to _ here then? i think the best hope is to urge india to play _ here then? i think the best hope is to urge india to play the _ here then? i think the best hope is to urge india to play the role - here then? i think the best hope is to urge india to play the role of. here then? i think the best hope is to urge india to play the role of a l to urge india to play the role of a mediator, a third—party mediator. that would allow india to maintain its position of neutrality, but give india an opportunity to push putin

to de—escalate. and the indians have called for russia to de—escalate and use the dialogue and diplomacy throughout this crisis. india has a very special relationship with india, a close and long—standing one that's much deeper than the relationship between russia and any of the other countries that sought to mediate, like israel and turkey. india is always looking for ways to show the world it has global clout and can make a difference. this would be a great opportunity, so i think that's the more realistic pitch to make to india than to push india to reduce its reliance on russian products and arms. as nice as it would be if india were to do that, ijust don't as it would be if india were to do that, i just don't think as it would be if india were to do that, ijust don't think it's realistic. that, i just don't think it's realistic.— that, i just don't think it's realistic. , ., , ., realistic. interesting does that mean you _ realistic. interesting does that mean you don't _ realistic. interesting does that mean you don't think - realistic. interesting does that mean you don't think there's l realistic. interesting does that i mean you don't think there's any particular leverage that the uk and the west could or would use on india to try to persuade it?— to try to persuade it? that's correct. _ to try to persuade it? that's correct. just _ to try to persuade it? that's correct, just because - to try to persuade it? that's correct, just because i - to try to persuade it? that's correct, just because i don't to try to persuade it? that's - correct, just because i don't see india changing its position. russia

is a country that, in india's view, has always gone to bat for the indians on the global stage, including the un, where russia's voting pattern has benefited india's issues democrat interests, particularly on kashmir. there's nothing the west can offer to india when it comes to convince india to change its position on russia. india does not benefit from its war on ukraine than more than any other country does, but that won't cause it to change its opinion. that's why it's important to urge india to do everything it can to get the russians to de—escalate and bring this terrible war to an end. briefly, just because we've been mentioning earlier in the programme, this buying of oilfrom russia clearly helping the russian coffers. how significant is that, is it an amount we should be worried about or not? it’s amount we should be worried about or not? �* , ., ,

amount we should be worried about or not? �*, ., , ,, . not? it's not, 'ust because india relies very — not? it's not, just because india relies very little _ not? it's not, just because india relies very little on _ not? it's not, just because india relies very little on indian - relies very little on indian oil. this is a relatively small amount of oil india as pledged. india is much more dependent on oil from the middle east and the us. so i think of countries like the us and others can offer cheap oil to india, that is something that could conceivably ween india away from these efforts to acquire russian oil. that's a lot easier to do than to ween india away from its dependence on russian arms just because there's so much more indian dependence on russian arms then on russian non—security products. abs. then on russian non-security products-— then on russian non-security roducts. . , . ., products. a fascinating distinction, thank ou products. a fascinating distinction, thank you so _ products. a fascinating distinction, thank you so much _ products. a fascinating distinction, thank you so much for— products. a fascinating distinction, thank you so much for coming - products. a fascinating distinction, thank you so much for coming on l products. a fascinating distinction, l thank you so much for coming on the programme. thank you so much for coming on the programme-— the future of pakistan's prime minister, the former cricket star, imran khan, looks very uncertain — with oppostion parties calling for him to resign ahead of a no confidence vote. in recent days several of imran khan's allies deserted his pakistan tehreeka

in saaf — or pti party — that puts the opposition in a strong position. the biggest partner in his coalition government, the mom party, switched sides. the no—confidence vote looks set to be held on sunday. he would be ousted if a simple majority vote against him — that would mean 172 votes in the 342—seat national assembly. and since mom joined the opposition on wednesday, it looks like they will have the numbers. a key factor in all this is a rift between imran khan and pakistan's military. secunder kermani explains. there has been public resentment about, for example, the rising cost of living in pakistan, the poor state of the economy — and much of that has been directed against imran khan's government, although they can point to successes in combating covid, pakistan hasn't done as badly as many feared they would during the pandemic. he can also point to an expansion of the social welfare system. but really, the key thing that's

changed in pakistan over the last year or so is the position of the military. politics in pakistan always revolves around the country's powerful army, and it's widely believed that they helped imran khan's party come to power in 2018 — although both of them deny that. but late last year, we saw a rift emerged between the army and imran khan's government, and many analysts now say the reason the opposition feel emboldened now and able to take on imran khan's government is because the army has dropped him and is no longer supporting him in the way that they were. joining me live is dr ayesha sidiqqa, a seniorfellow at the department of war studies at king's college london and an expert on the politics of pakistan. thanks for coming on the programme. thanks for coming on the programme. thanks for coming on the programme. thanks for inviting me. let’s thanks for coming on the programme. thanks for inviting me.— thanks for inviting me. let's start with imran _ thanks for inviting me. let's start with imran khan, _ thanks for inviting me. let's start with imran khan, does _ thanks for inviting me. let's start with imran khan, does he - thanks for inviting me. let's start with imran khan, does he have i thanks for inviting me. let's start. with imran khan, does he have any chance of surviving this?—

chance of surviving this? doesn't look like it- _ chance of surviving this? doesn't look like it. he _ chance of surviving this? doesn't look like it. he continues - chance of surviving this? doesn't look like it. he continues to - chance of surviving this? doesn't look like it. he continues to stay| look like it. he continues to stay on the breeze despite he knows the game is over. but that's precisely what he wants to do, polarise the country even further by sending a message that he was a strong man who stood. ., , . a stood. you use the cricketing metaphor — stood. you use the cricketing metaphor there, _ stood. you use the cricketing metaphor there, and - stood. you use the cricketing metaphor there, and we - stood. you use the cricketing i metaphor there, and we should explain a bit of background, just tell us briefly for people who aren't familiar, what a big name he is. ., aren't familiar, what a big name he is. . . , aren't familiar, what a big name he is. imran khan is a cricketer, 1992 he won the _ is. imran khan is a cricketer, 1992 he won the world _ is. imran khan is a cricketer, 1992 he won the world cup _ is. imran khan is a cricketer, 1992 he won the world cup for - is. imran khan is a cricketer, 1992| he won the world cup for pakistan, and since then gradually he was groomed by several generals and brought into politics. for 20 years, he struggled to come into power and he struggled to come into power and he couldn't manage it until 2018. but he is a star even before he joined politics. and that's also his main claim and critical argument —

he continues to say that he came into politics because he cared for people, not because he wanted fame like other politicians. he already had fame. so that's his claim. but he is a character who known throughout the world, especially in the uk where he was married to his first wife, jemima goldsmith, daughter of a rich british millionaire. he has two sons with her, and so a family in the uk. but he's a known face around the world. but despite the popularity around the world, it isn't enough it seems to save his political career right now at the moment. we touched on it a second ago, the role of the military here — can you just explain that? military here - can you 'ust explain that? ~ ., ~ , ., �*, military here - can you 'ust explain that? , ., a ., , military here - can you 'ust explain that? , that? well, pakistan's military is the main kingmaker_ that? well, pakistan's military is the main kingmaker in _ that? well, pakistan's military is| the main kingmaker in pakistan's

politics. three eras of political leadership, the prime minister who came to power in 1981, sharif, who is currently sitting in the uk, and now imran khan are all a product of the military. they were groomed by the military. they were groomed by the military. they were groomed by the military is in one way or the other. and there are other parties like the mom, the leader of the mom who also sits in london was produced by the military. the military has great influence on both the state and society. it is truly the kingmaker when it comes to pakistan's politics. and people alwaysjoke pakistan's politics. and people always joke that the biggest political party in pakistan is the pakistan army itself, which is very true. so they are annoyed with imran khan, which is what has led to the

current state of affairs. so khan, which is what has led to the current state of affairs.— current state of affairs. so the military has fallen _ current state of affairs. so the military has fallen out - current state of affairs. so the military has fallen out of - current state of affairs. so the l military has fallen out of favour that she's fallen out of favour with the military. so what happens next? the game goes on. there are two things, a monk on has accused the us of trying to conspire against his government, his supporters are talking about an israeli american conspiracy to ensure that imran gets out, his government loses power. and his claim is that because he decided to have independent foreign policy right when putin was invading ukraine, that was the day imran khan was visiting russia, he was in moscow. so he's trying to promote

himself to the youth, to the public as a politician above all. what he's trying to say is, like donald trump, he's lost desk you may lose the vote of no—confidence in parliament, but he wants to continue with his politics. he wants to continue with his olitics. ., , , politics. can i 'ust “ump in, the idea thatjust h politics. can ijustjump in, the idea thatjust because - politics. can ijustjump in, the| idea thatjust because he might politics. can ijustjump in, the - idea thatjust because he might lose this vote at the weekend and his tenure will be over, it is your assessment that it is not the end of him in public life altogether? i mean, there's a great comparison here with donald trump. donald trump tries to stir confusion — and what imran khan has achieved his he's completely polarised the nation. people are receptive towards what he's telling them. it's been a very

popular message in pakistan's history that america is trying to conspire against the government. he also tried to do it. he is trying to do it again, imran khan. many people don't believe it, but this is his way of staying in politics. doctor, absurdly fascinating _ way of staying in politics. doctor, absurdly fascinating to _ way of staying in politics. doctor, absurdly fascinating to get - way of staying in politics. doctor, absurdly fascinating to get your l absurdly fascinating to get your analysis. thanks for coming on the programme —— absolutely fascinating. here in the uk, the health secretary sajid javid says he's determined to pursue the people responsible for decades of problems with maternity services in shropshire. an official report says that over 20 years — failings at shrewsbury and telford nhs trust led to babies being stillborn — dying after birth — or being left severely brain—damaged. the trust has apologised,

but sweeping changes to maternity services across england are now expected. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has been following the story from the outset. and a warning, his report contains some distressing details. # here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush... - she still says, "i miss mummy." we do try and share some of the fun times her mum used to have. four—year—old ellie had just nine hours with her mother. becky wood, also known as boo or becks, died shortly after her daughter's birth in 2017. i mean, once she found out it was a little girl, that room was filled with so much love, you know? because the year before, she'd been told she couldn't have children. the 26—year—old fine arts student haemorrhaged blood after giving birth in a midwife—led unit in shrewsbury. as she stepped up towards us, she glanced back and said, "that's a lot of blood." and i stepped forward and there was a lot of blood in that pool. not knowing what a pool birth is like, i had no idea. i glanced over to this midwife and she didn't seem to be bothered, wasn't looking. with no doctors present, she rapidly deteriorated. her arms were waving around,

her eyes were rolling. i grabbed her, i said, "mum's here." and she was cold and clammy. i could tell she was in shock. becky died within hours. her family have significant concerns about her care and treatment. when i first lost her, i didn't know whether i wanted to be here or not. there was nothing there to live for, except for the little one. we had to grab her and hold onto her, and go forward. a push for vaginal births, poor basic skills, and an unwillingness to investigate errors contributed to catastrophic failures at this trust. the review found nine of the 12 mothers who died might have survived with better maternity care. some of the meetings that i've had with the families, - where they have suffered from a maternal death, l have been amongst the saddest days of my career. _ there were days when i simply went back to my hotel room and cried. i the trust have apologised for the failings, errors that ten chief executives over 20 years

failed to tackle. she was lovely. stubborn as hell. she was... just quite a force of nature. susanna regan died in 2002, along with her baby, amelie. despite having a history of blood clots, her sister says susanna wasn't offered consultant care and was poorly monitored. when she was 32 weeks pregnant, susanna died of a blood clot. we went into the room. susanna was lying there. dead. with her babyjust cuddled up to her, her side. baby dead, as well. what has been the legacy for you of your sister's death? i have lived with that struggle for 20 years. emptiness, when we all get together as a family,

is still so much very felt. michael buchanan, bbc news, shropshire. as the war in ukraine had unfolded, we have all relied more than 4 million people have left the country since the invasion began five weeks ago. the biggest exodus in europe since the second world war. have worked together. kasia madera is at a school. one of those cities where they have had such a quick response when it comes to the war. within five hours, the local ngos, the local municipality, the local volunteers came together to create a community, a committee

to support ukrainian refugees. and schools like this have opened up their classrooms to ukrainian refugee children, and in fact, this school, very, very uniquely, has opened up its doors to teachers as well. so a number of teachers, who just a month ago or teaching in a school like this in ukraine, a busy school like this in ukraine, are now teaching in this busy, busy school here. this is tatiana babchuk, a ukrainian refugee, who is now teaching in eastern poland. the kids are the same. they want to live in peace, they want to be happy, they want to smile, too. what else can i say? why am i at the school? my son registered me to the city hall where this organisation would help all the teachers from ukraine to find a job.

take a look at these delicate of the strong footage from mariupol. there's hope it could be a status on friday to help thousands of people escape. our correspondent ellen foster says there may be optimism, but also a certain amount of realism about the prospect of this humanitarian corridor or being able to help. —— alan foster. we'll keep right across that. that's it for now, get me any time on twitter. this is outside source on bbc news. hello there. well, it may well have felt like we've gone back a season from spring into the middle of winter, with some snow around. we started off with around six centimetres of snow in parts of west yorkshire, one of the snowiest parts of the uk. and, with snow showers continuing to feed in through the day, often they have big, chunky flakes of snow like these,

with temperatures a few degrees above freezing — that helps snowflakes kind of stick together. so for quite a few areas, we have seen some snow, and there's more of that to come as we look at the forecast overnight, as well, particularly for eastern scotland, eastern areas of england, and especially kent, where we're looking at a zone of heavy, persistent showers moving in here. so there could be several centimetres of snow in places overnight, with temperatures diving below freezing — a widespread and sharp frost. well, we're looking at the risk of some icy stretches to take us into friday. now those showers across the southeast are reluctant to pull away. across the northwest of the uk, we've got a weather front that'll be bringing some snow to highland scotland, but, as that pushes to the southwest of scotland and northern ireland, there's a tendency for it to turn more to sleet and to rain. otherwise, sunshine and showers, those showers wintry pretty widely. temperatures similar, but the winds not as strong across eastern areas, so perhaps not feeling quite as bitterly cold. now, looking at the forecast through friday night now,

our weather front continues to push southwards, bringing some hill snow into wales. again, with temperatures diving below freezing, we've got a risk of icy stretches once again, but perhaps not quite so cold in the west, with temperatures perhaps not quite so low here. now saturday morning, we start off with hill snow in wales — that feature moves southwards, bringing a mixture of rain, maybe a little bit of sleet and snow across the moors. otherwise, it's another day of sunshine and showers, perhaps then the showers turning heavy with a bit of hail mixed in with them. temperatures generally coming up an odd degree, but still pretty chilly for april, 9—10 celsius your top temperature. second half of the weekend sees some further changes, though. we start the day with some sunshine — however, it turns cloudier for the north with a weather front moving into northern scotland, bringing outbreaks of rain here through the day. cloud builds elsewhere. could see a few areas of mist and fog around the coast in the hills, and maybe an odd patch of drizzle, as well. temperatures still disappointing,

but coming up to about 11 at best.

hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones this is outside source. russia will stop supplying gas to european countries it deems �*unfriendly�* — unless they pay for it in roubles. vladimir putin has signed the decree which will take effect on the first of april, european states are calling it blackmail the financial system of western countries is being used as a weapon. the assets in toddlers and heroes are frozen so it makes no sense to use the currencies of these countries. russia's attack on ukraine continues — a humanitarian convoy has been sent to rescue civilians from the besieged city of mariupol — but does vladimir putin know how badly his invasion is going?

even though we believe that america within's advisers are afraid to tell him the truth what is going on and the extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime. and we talk to more victims of the failings in england's maternity services ministers are promising sweeping reforms. welcome to the programme. we're going to start with that big news from russia — president putin says russian gas must be paid for in roubles from friday or international contracts will be halted. this was the moment. in order to approach this they should offer russian banks, it's from those accounts payments will be

secured for the gas and supply starting from tomorrow from april the 1st in case such payments fail and consider them as a nonpayment from different parties. vladimir putin's announcement seems to be an attempt to boost russia's currency, which has been hit by western sanctions. here's jane foley from dutch bank rabobank. behind this is put in's wants to strengthen the rouble. we saw the start of the war it has one back by a lot of ground but it still 17 or so percent weaker than it was at the end of last year. consider what's happening in the russian economy, there is a lots of inflation. economists predicting that the economy could contract in terms of the size if it's gdp for two consecutive years. it is a huge recessionary backdrop.

russia supplies about a third of europe's gas. so, what does this mean for europe? here's our business presenter victoria fritz. this is almost a year up the worst april fools this is almost a year up the worst aprilfoolsjoke ever. nobody april fools joke ever. nobody is laughing because what putting a saying here is if don't effectively pay for gas in robles whichever way you want to do it and buy our own bank accounts we will not give you gas. we've heard from germany and france — who have rejected russia's demands. the german economy minister says "it is important for us not to give a signal that we will be blackmailed by putin." and the french finance minister said "contracts are contracts" and they are preparing for the possibility "there is no longer any russian gas". i've been speaking to nikos safos , chairfor energy and geopolitics at the think tank — center for strategic and international studies — about whether russia will go through with the threat to cut gas supplies.

i think the odds are higher than ever but i still think he is not going to go through and cut off gas tomorrow. ., , , , ., . . tomorrow. probability is low. we've not a line tomorrow. probability is low. we've got a line in — tomorrow. probability is low. we've got a line in from _ tomorrow. probability is low. we've got a line in from the _ tomorrow. probability is low. we've got a line in from the afp _ tomorrow. probability is low. we've got a line in from the afp news - got a line in from the afp news agency. a quick line saying the us will deny putting the ability to weapon eyes he energy resources. what do you think that means? the real what do you think that means? tie: real objective here what do you think that means? ti9: real objective here is to what do you think that means? ti9 real objective here is to make sure that energy flow is continuing to europe which is highly dependent on that. i think the overall objective of the rest is to make sure they trade with russia continues in western terms and that's right now those energy flows are essential for the economy and so they must continue much it's absolutely clear that europe in particular would like to get out of this relationship as quickly as possible and will use tools as disposal to do that. i

think this says this will be an exclamation for russia if they could of gas supplies and it will require a response of some type. what kind of response? irate a response of some type. what kind of response?— a response of some type. what kind of response? we do not know. sorry for askin: of response? we do not know. sorry for asking silly _ of response? we do not know. sorry for asking silly questions _ of response? we do not know. sorry for asking silly questions but - of response? we do not know. sorry for asking silly questions but i - of response? we do not know. sorry for asking silly questions but i am i for asking silly questions but i am trying to get my head around if you think is no of poutine switching off the tops. we've heard from european countries that they are not going to pay in roubles. does that mean there is some kind of compromise in the middle that will actually happen here? ~ :, middle that will actually happen here? :, ,, :, , middle that will actually happen here? 9 :, ,, :, , :, here? what the russians have siunalled here? what the russians have signalled is — here? what the russians have signalled is that _ here? what the russians have signalled is that they - here? what the russians have signalled is that they are - here? what the russians have i signalled is that they are willing to open these accounts of gas and you to open these accounts of gas and wu pay to open these accounts of gas and you pay in euros and gas turns them into roubles and a piece for the class. i read this as a way to step back from the threat and pretend that the upheld their objective

which p.m. roubles. when in fact from a european customer perspective you are still sending over a year else. with a gas turns those heroes into roubles or someone else does it from a european perspective it does not matter. i think that is the compromise that is likely to emerge when you have a technicality of windows heroes are turned into roubles that are now rushing to claim victory that they have somehow accomplished something when they accomplished something when they accomplished nothing. let's take a look at what's happening on the ground in ukraine now. over the past few weeks we've been telling you about the besieged port city of mariupol, in the south. tens of thousands of civilians are still trapped there. they've endured weeks of russian bombardment. we know that the red cross is gearing up to lead an operation on friday to evacuate them. the situation there is critical. the un's human rights mission in ukraine says: "there could be thousands of deaths, civilian casualties, in mariupol". earlier, the city's mayor made this plea.

translation: food and water are running out. i we are calling on the international community to speak out loudly. we want them to unite forjust one aim. i'm pleading with them to save the people here. these drone pictures show the scale of the devastation in mariupol. you can see what remains of the theatre hit by a russian airstrike. hundreds of people reportedly died in that attack. and as you heard from the mayor, food and water are running out. have a look at this satellite image. it shows hundreds of people queueing outside a supermarket. many who've managed to escape are now in zaporeezhia. it's the last big city in ukrainian held territory in the south. our correspondent wyre davies is there. there is this plan to get humanitarian and medical aid there is this plan to get humanitarian and medicalaid him there is this plan to get humanitarian and medical aid him to marry apple and also to get civilians out. but it's been hastily

put together and there is no guarantee it will work but there is a tremendous need. the ukrainian government think there's as many as 100,000 people if they are trapped inside the city. he had been there forfour inside the city. he had been there for four weeks inside the city. he had been there forfour weeks as inside the city. he had been there for four weeks as the fighting around them continues with heavy russian shelling as a shortage of water, food, and other basic needs. so there is a tremendous need to get paid in and people out. of course, there have been efforts before to try and establish the humanitarian corridor in and out of the city but does have failed either because the warring parties cannot agree between themselves by because vehicles on themselves by because vehicles on the way out going to jet planes had been attacked from the air and the ground. so this plan which will take place over the weekend may not work but it's the best chance yet to get some aid into the stricken port city of mariupol. earlier this week, we heard a promise from russia to scale back its military activity. particularly

around the ukrainian capital kyiv and the northern city of chernihiv. there's been some scepticism from the west as to whether that's actually happening. this is footage from a local news outlet in chernihiv, showing the aftermath of what it says are russian attacks on a bookstore and a market area. one person who lives there told us this. we are hearing bomb sounds, we can't sleep at our homes. we are continuing to sleep in the basement. these last two nights were just really terrible. we heard bombs, in central parts as well. yesterday was damage to central parts, central market, shops, the model, the post office, as well as the children's library. so how can we say that they've reduced military action here? so, that is a lie. and the uk ministry of defence said this. "despite russian

statements indicating an intended reduction of military activity around chernihiv, significant russian shelling and missile strikes have continued." it adds that "heavy fighting will likely take place in the suburbs of kyiv in coming days." and it's a similar assessment from the head of nato. according to our intelligence, russian units are not withdrawing, but repositioning. russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive and the donbas region. you heard jens stoltenberg mention the donbas region. it's central to all this — and specifically two areas: donetsk and luhansk. they're in the east of the country. and remember, russia has recognised them both as quote independent. in recent days, we've heard that russia's focus has shifted there. here's one expert explaining why. yeah, i think they have had to in light of the logistical problems that they've had and the fact that, you know,

many of their forces need to now regroup. i think they've had to scale down their operations. now that they've failed to take quite a lot of key cities and we are now a month into the war, it makes sense that they'd had to revise that down. so, those attempts to kind of encircle and bombard kyiv are now being refocused onto southern and eastern ukraine. the question now is are they going to do that forjust the separatist republics, the dnr and the lnr, and the contact line there has not really moved since 2015, or are they going to try to push into the rest of eastern ukraine and take the entire of the donetsk and the luhansk regions, which is a rather bigger territory. anna foster is in lviv. she gave us her observation of what's happening on the ground. i think it is one thing to take away from this conflict at the moment. is that you cannot predict what russia are going to try to do next. we have

had test over the last week or so russia saying it was going to focus from its operations in the east and we had an air strike where i am here in the west. we heard just a few days ago russia saying again that it was going to reduce its forces around kyiv, and yet, since that happened, and as you heard from that resident, it has continued. there has been very little change. we have seen some shift of russian process. chernobyl taken by russian forces, they had made the residence, the people who actually work there and that they had kept them at their positions for a long time. there was some concerns, because obviously chernobyl is still a very dangerous site, we heard about some potential power outages. today, we were told two columns of russian forces like chernobyl. there are here and there are some moments that look like withdrawal, but what president zelensky has said is that in his assessment and in the assessment of ukrainian intelligence, anything that looks like a withdraw at the moment is probablyjust

a regrouping, and they expect us russian soldiers to come back, if not in the same place them somewhere else.— if not in the same place them somewhere else. :, :, , , : :, somewhere else. how optimistic are eo - le somewhere else. how optimistic are --eole in somewhere else. how optimistic are people in mariupol _ somewhere else. how optimistic are people in mariupol about _ somewhere else. how optimistic are people in mariupol about the - somewhere else. how optimistic are | people in mariupol about the chances of that humanitarian corridor try and see people there? how much optimism is going to work? irate and see people there? how much optimism is going to work? we had a stick is the best _ optimism is going to work? we had a stick is the best way _ optimism is going to work? we had a stick is the best way to _ optimism is going to work? we had a stick is the best way to use _ optimism is going to work? we had a stick is the best way to use in - optimism is going to work? we had a stick is the best way to use in the - stick is the best way to use in the circumstances. there is a lot of scepticism here. whatever russia says people tend not to believe because russia has changed its mind so many times during this conflict. it is so vital to get those trap people out of mariupol. at the start of the week ukraine said it could not do those humanitarian corridor is because it believed russia was going to attack civilians as they fled but to be a pain seems to have come together facilitated by the international committee of the red cross and we are told 45 buses have

come together facilitated by the international committee of the red cross and we are told 45 buses had been dispatched towards mariupol and what they need to do now is really arranged for staying. they need to make sure they arrange details. small details like what time it will start and what time it will finish and what the conditions are. they need an absolute guarantee from russian forces that they will not fire because if you think about it, there is still over a hundred, maybe 150,000 people stuck in mariupol. these 45 buses were only evacuate a very small number of that. but, if you think of all of those people leaving that city and their potential for disaster, if russia potentialfor disaster, if russia do not cease fire as they believe, the conditions here, the organisation of the humanitarian corridor is important and yet i think at the moment there are hopes it will go ahead. but people have seen russia change its mind before and they really do believe it could again. irate really do believe it could again. we will be keeping a close eye on that. at the switch to lviv, the less where you are. give us an idea of

what life is like. i'm intrigued it's been going on for a month. are people going out to work as normal? what is daily life like? a lot of people are going out to work as normal. he often hear the sirens here although i have to say today we have not had any but yesterday we had a few. it get them in the night and day and people try as far as they can to live their everyday lives. it's also worth saying this is a city that is under martial law at the moment. there is not anybody out in the streets because after 10pm that is bound. you are not allowed to go out or buy alcohol for example. people's lives have changed here. interestingly what you do still see if people arriving in lviv from other parts of the country. there were those huge numbers and those images of people at the train station. crowds of people trying to get on trains to leave the country. the numbers have lessened by people i still arriving. i spoke to one family whojust i still arriving. i spoke to one family who just arrived here from

mariupol and they managed to escape but it took them a week to get here. all the time people from the other side of the country are arriving often at the very long and difficult journeys. sometimes they spend a day or two in temporary accommodation. moment of them don't want to leave ukraine. he had to leave the area they live in. but they don't want to be their country altogether. so there are many new residents of western ukraine at the moment sometimes people staying with friends and family. sometimes people taken in by strangers and finding your homes. we know that 4 million people have left ukraine altogether but there are many millions more who i stayed in this country but not in their homes. in the last hour, we've been hearing from president biden — he says vladimir putin seems to be self—isolating in russia and may have fired or put under house arrest some of his advisers. have a listen(sot) have a listen. that's an open question. there's a

lot of speculation. he seems to be, and not seeing this is a certainty, he seems to be self isolating and there is some indication that he has fired or put under house arrest some of his advisers but i don't want to put too much stock in that at this time because we don't have that much hard evidence. there have been questions about what's happening inside the russian government, after american and british intelligence officials say president putin is not being given an accurate picture of how the war is going in ukraine. they say his advisers are too scared to tell him just how bad the situation is on the ground. here's sirjeremy fleming, head of the uk's security and intelligence agency gchq. it increasingly looks like putin has massively misjudged the situation. it's clear he's misjudged the resistance of the ukrainian people. he underestimated the strength of the coalition his actions would galvanize. he underplayed the economic consequences of the sanctions

regime, and he overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory. the pentagon spokesperson, john kirby, echoed those words. we would concur with the conclusion that mr putin has not been fully informed by his ministry of defence at every turn over the last month. now, i want to caveat that — we don't have access to every bit of information that he's been given or every conversation that he's had. and this was us secretary of state, antony blinken, also speaking about putin's government. one of the achilles heels of autocracies is that you don't have people in those systems who speak truth to power or who have the ability to speak truth to power. and i think that is something that we are seeing in russia. the kremlin has hit back.

its spokesperson, dmitry peskov, said "they simply don't understand what's happening in the kremlin, they don't understand president putin, they don't understand how decisions are taken and they don't understand the style of our work. let's take a look at the current russian military postition. one thing we know is russia hasn't had the strategic wins it would've hoped for. here you can see the areas under russian control in red and places where ukraine is focusing its counterattacks in green. russian forces have lost ground around kyiv in recent days and their advances in the south have stalled at mikol—eyeev. the recent setbacks on the northern and southern fronts may have forced russia to focus its forces in eastern ukraine with the chief of the russian army saying its aim is to achieve the quote "complete liberation" of the donbas. shashankjoshi is the defence editor at the economist newspaper. here's his take. disfunction in intelligence agencies and military organisations is very

common in authoritarian countries, because there is an incentive not to give your boss the whole truth if the results may be you are losing yourjob, losing your livity or losing your head, and we've seen this in many, many places from stalin's russia, stalin's soviet union facing operation barbarossa, the nazi invasion, all the way to saddam hussain in iraq. and this process and it russia began before the invasion. the fsb, which is one of the russian intelligence agencies that is a successor to the kgb, which of course we all know and have heard about, the fsb exaggerated the scope of its networks and its influence inside ukraine at every level, and so by the time these assessments landed on the desk of vladimir putin, it was very clear indeed that he had exaggerated picture of what was possible, and when that proved catastrophically wrong, of course, he himself having made such an astonishing misjudgment, would be looking for scapegoats, and that's probably

what we are now seeing as well. so that's the view of what's happening in the kremlim. for ordinary russians, the crackdown on dissent continues. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, sent this report. the kremlin continues to claim that attacking ukraine was the right decision. many russians agree but not everyone. her son, decision. many russians agree but not everyone. herson, serge, is a police officer. their family is originally from ukraine. a few days ago sergei was arrested and charged under a new law with spreading fake news about the russian army. he is suspected of criticising the russian offensive on the telephone. this suspected of criticising the russian offensive on the telephone.- offensive on the telephone. this is a very heavy _ offensive on the telephone. this is a very heavy blow _ offensive on the telephone. this is a very heavy blow for _ offensive on the telephone. this is a very heavy blow for me, - offensive on the telephone. this is a very heavy blow for me, for- offensive on the telephone. this is a very heavy blow for me, for the i a very heavy blow for me, for the family. the little children.

suddenly their dad just disappeared. he never went to protest, he has no social media, hejust he never went to protest, he has no social media, he just booked a friends on the phone. i cannot rule out that he said something like war is bad, people are dying, homes are being destroyed and that's bad. she still can't believe this is happening to her family. still can't believe this is happening to herfamily. and she is still struggling to understand why. an international pledging conference for afghanistan has taken place in geneva with the un calling for more than $4 billion, the largest ever appearfor a country. so far $2.4 billion has been pledged. over 20 million people, about 60% of the population are said to be facing acute levels of hunger as international funding to the government was stopped following the taliban takeover in the countries

foreign reserves frozen. it does talk about that memorable oscars ceremony. let's talk about that memorable oscars ceremony now, because its organisers say they asked will smith to leave after he slapped the comedian chris rock on stage — but he refused. disciplinary proceedings have now been launched by the academy against the actor, who's since apologised for his actions. sophie long reports from los angeles. chris rock, arriving in boston for his first show since being slapped by will smith. he got, like, a huge standing ovation. for like, it was like a five minute one, i mean. it went on and on and on. he, like, got all teared up and stuff. like, can you imagine being him as a performer, and coming out and you don't know if you are going to be ridiculed or applauded or what, and people gave him a standing ovation for forever, and then it died down, and then another standing ovation, then tears came out of his eyes. the comedian told the audience he was still processing what had happened. he didn't say whether he accepted smith's apology. was it acceptable for the actor to strike another man in the name of protecting his wife?

that's the question that's prompted an outpouring of passionate polarised opinion in hollywood and beyond. some, who were in the room, say it was a deeply shocking, traumatic event that overshadowed the historic achievements of others, like the cast and crew of coda, the big winner of the night. when i was in the room it felt quite shocking and quite violent, and i felt like it took away the energy of the room. but now i feel like people should sort of let the academy deal with the consequences, and we should actually celebrate the films that won. the academy has apologised to chris rock for what he experienced on the oscars stage, and thanked him for his resilience. and it said will smith could be suspended or even expelled from the academy, a sanction only ever applied to a few of its members. sophie long, bbc news, los angeles.

one last bit of means to bring you. for me and are welcoming the announcement of a third race in the us from next year after securing a deal for us from next year after securing a dealfor a las us from next year after securing a deal for a las vegas grand us from next year after securing a dealfor a las vegas grand prix. the six km trek will include a portion of the resort city famous trip and it will be a night race in the eight hour time difference will mean it's broadcast early on sunday morning in europe and the governor says it will have a $1 billion impact on the local economy.— have a $1 billion impact on the localeconom . , :, :, : local economy. they are anticipating 170,000 visitors — local economy. they are anticipating 170,000 visitors to _ local economy. they are anticipating 170,000 visitors to town _ local economy. they are anticipating 170,000 visitors to town to - local economy. they are anticipating 170,000 visitors to town to watch i 170,000 visitors to town to watch this race. they will accommodate 400,000 room nights which is absolutely amazing and an app —— economic impact is approaching half $1 billion and indirect impact will be over $1 billion by the time we are done. we could not be more proud

of this. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones hello there. well, it may well have felt like we've gone back a season from spring into the middle of winter, with some snow around. we started off with around six centimetres of snow in parts of west yorkshire, one of the snowiest parts of the uk. and, with snow showers continuing to feed in through the day, often they have big, chunky flakes of snow like these, with temperatures a few degrees above freezing — that helps snowflakes kind of stick together. so for quite a few areas, we have seen some snow, and there's more of that to come as we look at the forecast overnight, as well, particularly for eastern scotland, eastern areas of england, and especially kent, where we're looking at a zone of heavy, persistent showers moving in here. so there could be several centimetres of snow in places overnight, with temperatures diving below freezing — a widespread and sharp frost. well, we're looking at the risk of some icy stretches to take us into friday.

now those showers across the southeast are reluctant to pull away. across the northwest of the uk, we've got a weather front that'll be bringing some snow to highland scotland, but, as that pushes to the southwest of scotland and northern ireland, there's a tendency for it to turn more to sleet and to rain. otherwise, sunshine and showers, those showers wintry pretty widely. temperatures similar, but the winds not as strong across eastern areas, so perhaps not feeling quite as bitterly cold. now, looking at the forecast through friday night now, our weather front continues to push southwards, bringing some hill snow into wales. again, with temperatures diving below freezing, we've got a risk of icy stretches once again, but perhaps not quite so cold in the west, with temperatures perhaps not quite so low here. now saturday morning, we start off with hill snow in wales — that feature moves southwards, bringing a mixture of rain, maybe a little bit of sleet and snow across the moors. otherwise, it's another day of sunshine and showers, perhaps then the showers turning heavy with a bit of hail

mixed in with them. temperatures generally coming up an odd degree, but still pretty chilly for april, 9—10 celsius your top temperature. second half of the weekend sees some further changes, though. we start the day with some sunshine — however, it turns cloudier for the north with a weather front moving into northern scotland, bringing outbreaks of rain here through the day. cloud builds elsewhere. could see a few areas of mist and fog around the coast in the hills, and maybe an odd patch of drizzle, as well. temperatures still disappointing, but coming up to about 11 at best.

hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. this is outside source. russia will stop supplying gas to european countries it deems �*unfriendly�* — unless they pay for it in roubles. vladimir putin has signed the decree which will take effect on the first of april, european states are calling it blackmail. the financial system of western countries is being used as a weapon. the assets in dollars and euros are frozen so it makes no sense to use the currencies of these countries. russia's attack on ukraine continues. a humanitarian convoy has been sent to rescue civilians from the besieged city of mariupol, but does vladimir putin know how badly his invasion is going?

even though we believe putin's advisers are afraid to tell him the truth, what is going on and the extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime. and we talk to more victims of the failings in england's maternity services, ministers are promising sweeping reforms. hello, welcome to the programme. more than 100,000 people are still thought to be trapped in the ukrainian city of mariupol. it's been under heavy russian bombardment for weeks. the ukrainian government is sending dozens of buses to the city , in a new attempt to bring people out and deliver humanitarian aid. our correspondent wyre davies is in the town of zaporizhia, north—west of mariupol, and he sent this report. the latest footage from mariupol shows a city in ruins, reminiscent of previous russian

campaigns in syria and chechnya. it is against this backdrop that aid agencies and the ukrainian government say there is a humanitarian crisis — tens of thousands of desperate people trapped with little food or water. after some success delivering aid to stricken cities elsewhere in this conflict, the red cross is now trying to coordinate an urgent mission to mariupol, and with the port city surrounded by russian troops, it won't be easy. we're waiting, basically, for the green light from the parties to go in, to be able, one, of course, to facilitate safe passage for the civilians in a convoy, and two, also bring humanitarian aid in. so here we have got two trucks, two trucks which are loaded with very much needed supplies, medicine, food, water. in recent days, hundreds of people have been able to flee mariupol, often in bomb damaged cars, through mined roads

and russian checkpoints. but this will be the first mass evacuation of the city. gunfire. there is a lack of clarity over where this conflict is heading. russia says it's wants to focus its military efforts on the eastern donbas region, but as attacks continue, even in the capital, kyiv, ukraine says moscow's words are worthless. translation: we do not believe anyone. - we do not trust any beautiful verbal constructions. there is a real situation on the battlefield, and now this is the most important thing. we will not give up anything, and we will fight for every metre of our land and for every person. while ukrainian troops are taking back ground in the north, it is a different story in mariupol. being pounded by russian artillery, and a population on its knees. but help, of sorts, may be on its way. translation: we are dog poor, standing by the fire, homeless. i how long is it going to take? we have nowhere to take a shower.

we are drinking water from god knows where. this plan to get aid into and civilians out of mariupol has been put together hastily, and there is no guarantee it will work, but there is tremendous need. previous attempts to establish a humanitarian corridor have failed, either because the warring parties couldn't agree or because vehicles were being attacked on the way out. wrye davies, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. we're going to talk about india now and its relationship with russia. that's because the uk foreign secretary liz truss is in india — trying to pursuade it to condemn russia's invasion. here she is meeting her indian counterpart subra—munyum jay—shanker. but her arrival coincides with russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov. he's in india for the first time since the war broke out. both are visiting in competing efforts to strengthen ties. india has been criticised by the west for not taking a tough

enough line against russia during this war. its position has been described as non—aligned neutrality. that means, for example, it abstained from un votes condemning russia's invasion and hasn't taken sides. the us presidentjoe biden described the indian position on the ukraine war as "somewhat shaky". and if want you a clue as to why it hasn't condemned russia's invasion, look to the past few decades. the two countries have long—standing diplomatic and defence ties dating back to the cold war. russia supplies around 50% of india's military equipment. it's india's largest arms supplier, that includes key defence missiles. but the uk hopes to persuade india to shift its position. here's our diplomatic correspondent james landale. liz truss is there to try it, and i thinkjust sort of, at least make the case that the west is making at the moment, that there is an issue of principle here, and that countries around the world, liberal democracies such

as india, have to make a choice, really, and decide whether they need to be as strategically dependent on countries like russia. the question, of course, is whether she will succeed in shifting india's position, or whether or not india will politely listen to her and nod, then carry on business with russia as accordingly. strengthening ties with india has been a priority of this uk. this is liz truss' third visit there, in just over a year. she wants to increase cooperation in defence, cybersecurity — a new treaty on that was signed today, thursday — and of course trade. there's a future uk—india trade deal on the cards, hailed as a post—brexit prize. this former british diplomat thinks

that trade deal won't be enough. i'm doubtful about whether this prize is really available anyway. various british governments have tried to do free trade deals with india — the eu has tried to do one. none of them have succeeded, and here's why — we take a warm, nostalgic, and fuzzy view of relations with india. i think the indians are ruthlessly unsentimental and totally driven by national interest when it comes to deals with us. we could do a free trade deal with them, but only one heavily weighted in their favour. and that's why we haven't had free trade deals with them in the past, eitheras members of the eu or nationally. and i doubt very much whether that will change. so what is russia's aim in its visit to india? sergei lavrov will push for closer trade links to help reduce the impact of the sanctions imposed on moscow. earlier this month, india agreed to import three million barrels of heavily discounted russian oil. michael kugelman is deputy director of the asia programme at the wilson centre. he told me more about india's relationship with russia.

india has had a very principled long—standing position on russia. whenever there's been russian aggression over the years, india has taken the very position it's taken now. and the big reason is the arms dependence, which you mentioned. it is notjust that india relies so heavily on russian arms, but also that many of these russian arms that come to india are used by india to help strengthen its capacities to deter its main rivals, pakistan and china. it doesn't want to jeopardise access to russian arms, meaning india will not go against russia, it won't turn against russia, even its close partners like the uk, us and others try to convincing to do otherwise. it's unfortunate... if that's the case, if it won't give up its ties with russia, what role can it play here then? i think the best hope is to urge india to play the role of a mediator, a third—party mediator. that would allow india to maintain

its position of neutrality, but give india an opportunity to push putin to de—escalate. and the indians have called for russia to de—escalate and use the dialogue and diplomacy throughout this crisis. india has a very special relationship with russia, a close and long—standing one that's much deeper than the relationship between russia and any of the other countries that sought to mediate, like israel and turkey. india is always looking for ways to show the world it has global clout and can make a difference. this would be a great opportunity, so i think that's the more realistic pitch to make to india than to push india to reduce its reliance on russian products and arms. as nice as it would be if india were to do that, ijust don't think it's realistic. interesting, does that mean you don't think there's any particular leverage that the uk and the west could or would use on india to try to persuade it?

that's correct, just because i don't see india changing its position. russia is a country that, in india's view, has always gone to bat for the indians on the global stage, including the un, where russia's voting pattern has benefited india's issues democrat interests, particularly on kashmir. there's nothing the west can offer to india when it comes to convince india to change its position on russia. india does not benefit from its war on ukraine than more than any other country does, but that won't cause it to change its opinion. that's why it's important to urge india to do everything it can to get the russians to de—escalate and bring this terrible warto an end. briefly, just because we've been mentioning earlier in the programme, this buying of oilfrom russia clearly helping the russian coffers. how significant is that, is it an amount we should be worried about or not?

it's not, just because india relies very little on indian oil. this is a relatively small amount of oil india as pledged. india is much more dependent on oil from the middle east and the us. so i think if countries like the us and others can offer cheap oil to india, that is something that could conceivably ween india away from these efforts to acquire russian oil. that's a lot easier to do than to ween india away from its dependence on russian arms just because there's so much more indian dependence on russian arms then on russian non—security products. the future of pakistan's prime minister, the former cricket star, imran khan, looks very uncertain — with opposition parties calling for him to resign ahead of a no confidence vote. in recent days, several of imran khan's allies

deserted his pakistan tehreeka in saaf — or pti party — that puts the opposition in a strong position. the biggest partner in his coalition government, the mom party, switched sides. the no—confidence vote looks set to be held on sunday. he would be ousted if a simple majority vote against him — that would mean 172 votes in the 342—seat national assembly. and since mom joined the opposition on wednesday — it looks like they will have the numbers. a key factor in all this is a rift between imran khan and pakistan's military. secunder kermani explains. there has been public resentment about, for example, the rising cost of living in pakistan, the poor state of the economy — and much of that has been directed against imran khan's government, although they can point to successes in combating covid, pakistan hasn't done as badly as many feared they would during the pandemic. he can also point to an expansion

of the social welfare system. but really, the key thing that's changed in pakistan over the last year or so is the position of the military. politics in pakistan always revolves around the country's powerful army, and it's widely believed that they helped imran khan's party party come to power in 2018 — although both of them deny that. but late last year, we saw a rift emerged between the army and imran khan's government, and many analysts now say the reason the opposition feel emboldened now and able to take on imran khan's government is because the army has dropped him and is no longer supporting him in the way that they were. i'v e i've been speaking to a senior fellow at the department of war studies and an expert on the politics of pakistan. ii studies and an expert on the politics of pakistan.- politics of pakistan. if he continues _ politics of pakistan. if he continues to _ politics of pakistan. if he continues to stay - politics of pakistan. if he continues to stay on... i politics of pakistan. if he i continues to stay on... he politics of pakistan. if he - continues to stay on... he knows the game is over. he wants to polarise

the country even further by sending a message that he was a strong man that stood strong to the very end. you use the cricketing metaphor there. should explain a bit of background. briefly tell us for people who are not familiar what a big star, what a big name he is. yes, imran khan is a cricketer, he won the world cup for pakistan. since then, he was groomed by several generals and brought into politics. for20 several generals and brought into politics. for 20 years he struggled to come into power and he could not manage it until 2018. but he is a star even before hejoined politics. and that is also his main claim, his critical argument. and that is also his main claim, his criticalargument. he and that is also his main claim, his critical argument. he says he came into politics because he cared about

people not that he wanted fame because he already had fame. he is a character who is known throughout the world, especially in the uk where he was married to his first wife. who was the daughter of a rich british millionaire. he has two sons with her. and so of family in the uk. he is popular, he is a known face around the world. despite that -o - ulari face around the world. despite that popularity around _ face around the world. despite that popularity around the _ face around the world. despite that popularity around the world, - face around the world. despite that popularity around the world, it - face around the world. despite that popularity around the world, it is i popularity around the world, it is not enough, it seems, to save his political career right now at the moment. we touched on itjust a second ago, the role of the military here. can you just explain that? well, the military in pakistan is the main kingmaker in the politics here. three eras of political leadership. starting in 1971, and

then later... in somewhere the other, less or more and now with imran khan, they are all products of the military. they are ruled by the military in one way or another. and there are other parties like mom. the leader of mom sits in lender. was produced by the military as well. military has great influence. it is truly that kingmaker when it comes to pakistan's politics. people always joked that the biggest political party in pakistan is the pakistan army itself. it is very true. and so, they are annoyed with imran khan which has led to his current state of affairs. so imran khan which has led to his current state of affairs.- current state of affairs. so the military has — current state of affairs. so the military has fallen _ current state of affairs. so the military has fallen out - current state of affairs. so the military has fallen out of - current state of affairs. so the l military has fallen out of favour current state of affairs. so the - military has fallen out of favour -- military has fallen out of favour —— so imran khan has fallen out of

favour with the military. so what happens next?— favour with the military. so what happens next? favour with the military. so what ha ens next? :, , happens next? that is something, the name voes happens next? that is something, the game goes on- — happens next? that is something, the game goes on. there _ happens next? that is something, the game goes on. there are _ happens next? that is something, the game goes on. there are two - happens next? that is something, the game goes on. there are two things. i game goes on. there are two things. imran khan has accused the united states of trying to conspire against his government. his supporters are talking about an israeli american conspiracy to ensure that imran khan gets out. that his government loses power. and his claim is because he decided to record... imran khan was visiting rush of the day the war in ukraine started. he is trying to present himself to the public as a politician above board. what he is

aiming for is like donald trump, incidentally, he may lose the confidence vote in parliament, but he wants to continue with his politics, that is his aim. i’m he wants to continue with his politics, that is his aim. i'm 'ust avoin to politics, that is his aim. i'm 'ust going to jump in i politics, that is his aim. i'm 'ust going to jump in lastly �* politics, that is his aim. i'm just going to jump in lastly because | politics, that is his aim. i'm just| going to jump in lastly because i going tojump in lastly because i wanted to finish off on the idea thatjust because he may lose this vote at the weekend, and his tenure will be over, is it your assessment that this is not the end of him in public life altogether? it is that this is not the end of him in public life altogether?— public life altogether? it is a great comparison _ public life altogether? it is a great comparison here - public life altogether? it is a great comparison here with l public life altogether? it is a - great comparison here with donald trump. donald trump tries to stall —— tries to install confusion. and what imran khan has achieved as he has complete the polarise the nation. people are receptive to what he is selling them. it has been a very popular message in pakistan's history that america is always trying to conspire against

governments. imran khan is trying to do it again, many people don't believe it, but this is his way of staying in politics. next palestinian officials say that two people were killed in an israeli raid in the west bank. israeli troops came underfire raid in the west bank. israeli troops came under fire while making arrests there. this latest violence comes after 11 israelis were killed in attacks over the past two weeks. here is more. the in attacks over the past two weeks. here is more-— here is more. the israeli military said that the _ here is more. the israeli military said that the soldiers _ here is more. the israeli military said that the soldiers entered - here is more. the israeli military said that the soldiers entered to | said that the soldiers entered to carry out several arrests including those of two people who were suspected of helping a palestinian man who carried out and attack in a tel aviv suburb earlier this week, shooting down five people. in the clashes, as well it as those killed, several people were injured. it has led to fresh threats from a palestinian militant group. there's

been condemnation from the palestinian president as well. in the south of the west bank, a palestinian was... stabbed an israeli man on a bus with a screwdriver close to a jewish settlement before he was actually shot by another passenger. here in the uk, the health secretary sajid javid says he's determined to pursue the people responsible for decades of problems with maternity services in shropshire. an official report says that over 20 years, failings at shrewsbury and telford nhs trust led to babies being stillborn, dying after birth, or being left severely brain—damaged. the trust has apologised, but sweeping changes to maternity services across england are now expected. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has been following the story from the outset. and a warning, his report contains some distressing details. # here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush...# - she still says, "i miss mummy." we do try and share some of the fun times her mum used to have.

four—year—old ellie had just nine hours with her mother. becky wood, also known as boo or becks, died shortly after her daughter's birth in 2017. i mean, once she found out it was a little girl, that room was filled with so much love, you know? because the year before, she'd been told she couldn't have children. the 26—year—old fine arts student haemorrhaged blood after giving birth in a midwife—led unit in shrewsbury. as she stepped up towards us, she glanced back and said, "that's a lot of blood." and i stepped forward and there was a lot of blood in that pool. not knowing what a pool birth is like, i had no idea. i glanced over to this midwife and she didn't seem to be bothered, wasn't looking. with no doctors present, she rapidly deteriorated. her arms were waving around, her eyes were rolling. i grabbed her, i said, "mum's here." and she was cold and clammy. i could tell she was in shock. becky died within hours. her family have significant concerns about her care and treatment. when i first lost her, i didn't know whether i wanted to be here or not.

there was nothing there to live for, except for the little one. we had to grab her and hold onto her, and go forward. a push for vaginal births, poor basic skills and an unwillingness to investigate errors contributed to catastrophic failures at this trust. the review found nine of the 12 mothers who died might have survived with better maternity care. some of the meetings that i've had with the families, - where they have suffered from a maternal death, i have been amongst the saddest days of my career. _ there were days when i simply went back to my hotel room and cried. i the trust have apologised for the failings, errors that ten chief executives over 20 years failed to tackle. she was lovely. stubborn as hell. she was... just quite a force of nature.

susanna regan died in 2002, along with her baby, amelie. despite having a history of blood clots, her sister says susanna wasn't offered consultant care and was poorly monitored. when she was 32 weeks pregnant, susanna died of a blood clot. we went into the room. susanna was lying there. dead. with her babyjust cuddled up to her, her side. baby dead as well. what has been the legacy for you of your sister's death? i have lived with that struggle for 20 years. emptiness, when we all get together as a family, is still so much very felt. michael buchanan, bbc news, shropshire.

back now to the war in ukraine. more than four million people have left the country since the russian invasion began five weeks ago. it's the biggest refugee exodus in europe since the second world war. many of those fleeing the conflict in ukraine are arriving in poland. this is the daily scene at the polish—ukrainian border. the un says over two million refugees have now crossed the border between the two countries. so, how has poland coped with the refugee crisis? the city of lublin in eastern poland has been widely praised for how charities, local government and volunteers have worked together. it has integrated refugees into schools, workplaces and life in the city, both immediately after the invasion and now more than a month on. the bbc�*s kasia madera is at a school in lublin. it's one of those cities where they have had such a quick response when it comes to the war. within five hours, the local ngos, the local municipality,

the local volunteers came together to create a community, a committee to support ukrainian refugees. and schools like this have opened up their classrooms to ukrainian refugee children, and in fact, this school, very, very uniquely, has opened up its doors to teachers as well. so a number of teachers, who just a month ago or teaching in a school like this in ukraine, a busy school like this in ukraine, are now teaching in this busy, busy school here. this is tatiana babchuk, a ukrainian refugee, who is now teaching in eastern poland. the kids are the same. they want to live in peace, they want to be happy, they want to smile, too. what else can i say? why am i at the school? my son registered me to the city hall where this organisation would help all the teachers from ukraine to find a job.

that is it for me. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @lvaughanjones this is outside source, goodbye. hello there. well, it may well have felt like we've gone back a season from spring into the middle of winter, with some snow around. we started off with around six centimetres of snow in parts of west yorkshire, one of the snowiest parts of the uk. and, with snow showers continuing to feed in through the day, often they have big, chunky flakes of snow like these, with temperatures a few degrees above freezing — that helps snowflakes kind of stick together. so for quite a few areas, we have seen some snow, and there's more of that to come as we look at the forecast overnight, as well, particularly for eastern scotland, eastern areas of england, and especially kent, where we're looking at a zone of heavy, persistent showers moving in here. so there could be several centimetres of snow in places overnight, with temperatures diving below freezing — a widespread and sharp frost. well, we're looking at the risk of some icy stretches

to take us into friday. now those showers across the southeast are reluctant to pull away. across the northwest of the uk, we've got a weather front that'll be bringing some snow to highland scotland, but, as that pushes to the southwest of scotland and northern ireland, there's a tendency for it to turn more to sleet and to rain. otherwise, sunshine and showers, those showers wintry pretty widely. temperatures similar, but the winds not as strong across eastern areas, so perhaps not feeling quite as bitterly cold. now, looking at the forecast through friday night now, our weather front continues to push southwards, bringing some hill snow into wales. again, with temperatures diving below freezing, we've got a risk of icy stretches once again, but perhaps not quite so cold in the west, with temperatures perhaps not quite so low here. now saturday morning, we start off with hill snow in wales — that feature moves southwards, bringing a mixture of rain, maybe a little bit of sleet and snow across the moors. otherwise, it's another day of sunshine and showers, perhaps then the showers turning

heavy with a bit of hail mixed in with them. temperatures generally coming up an odd degree, but still pretty chilly for april, 9—10 celsius your top temperature. second half of the weekend sees some further changes, though. we start the day with some sunshine — however, it turns cloudier for the north with a weather front moving into northern scotland, bringing outbreaks of rain here through the day. cloud builds elsewhere. could see a few areas of mist and fog around the coast in the hills, and maybe an odd patch of drizzle, as well. temperatures still disappointing, but coming up to about 11 at best.

hello, i'm maryam moshiri. you're watching context on bbc news. russia says it will stop supplying gas to european countries it deems �*unfriendly�* — unless they pay for it in roubles. vladimir putin has signed the decree which will take effect on friday. european states are calling it blackmail. the financial system of western countries is being used as a weapon. the assets in dollars and euros are frozen so it makes no sense to use the currencies of these countries. meanwhile, president biden orders a major release of oil from america's strategic reserves in a bid to bring down prices at the pump. tonight with the context, orysia lutsevych, head of chatham house s ukraine forum and angela stent, senior fellow at the brookings institution and author of putin s world .