welcome to bbc news — i'm nuala mcgovern. our top stories... in the aftermath of intense fighting in ukraine, the bbc uncovers evidence of civilian killings, that could amount to war crimes. this is more thanjust a collection of terrible deaths, this is a crime scene because under the laws of war, civilians are supposed to be protected. a convoy of buses carrying residents of the besieged southern ukrainian city of mariupol reaches the relative safety of the nearby city of zaporyzhzhia. cheering. celebrations by union workers in new york as amazon is dealt a major defeat — being forced to recognise a trade union for the first time. will smith says he s resigning from the body that awards the oscars following his attack on chris rock at this year s ceremony.

and we meet some of the people and horses from the household cavalry who will take centre stage at the queen s platinum jubilee. a bbc team has gained access to a highway outside kyiv where russian troops have been pushed out. a stretch of the e40 highway was where shocking images from the early days of the war emerged — showing russian troops firing on civilians trying to escape. jeremy bowen and his team have now reached the scene of the attack, and found evidence that raises the possibility that war crimes may have occurred. a warning, his report contains some graphic and distressing images.

on a stretch of road that runs between two villages with names that translate as "dream" and "sweetheart" is all the savagery and waste of war. ukrainian forces had just recaptured it, their troops moving in after a heavy bombardment from their artillery. this was only a few hours after the russian retreat. in the early hours of this morning, this was recaptured? absolutely correct. so, basically, around 2am today, our reconnaissance team report that they start to see movement. oleksandr, a ukrainian volunteer who's back home from england to fight, showed a position where a russian tank had been dug in. so that's where the russian tank was and that's exactly where he... this is the line of fire, that's how they shoot. on 7th march, oleksandr�*s drone unit filmed the tank in action. the drone showed civilians trying to get to kyiv to escape the russians.

and then they saw the tank. one of the cars was forced to stop. the driver tried to show he was harmless. and the russians shot him dead. they also killed his wife. the dead couple were maksim and his wife, ksenya. they were travelling with their six—year—old son and a friend, who both survived. she said maksim had been shouting that they were with a child when he was killed. almost four weeks later, maksim's badly burned body lies next to the hulk of their car. his wedding ring is still on his finger. ksenya's remains are inside. her mouth is open, as if in a scream. the car and the back seat are riddled with bullets. the vehicle and their bodies were not burnt when they were killed. the hypothesis is that russian soldiers tried to destroy the evidence

of what they'd done. the drone operator who filmed their death says the russians must have known maksim's car was not a threat. so they were trying to say that they were civilians? yes, yes, they know it. you can see it, the whole car is civilians, not an army car, and they shoot it. in the woods near the road, there's evidence the russians left in a hurry. you can see the place where, in the trees, the russians were living. there's a dug—out. there's beer bottles. it's like the marie celeste, half—finished meals. they were here for a month. the camp is full of the soldiers�* rubbish. on a front line, that is usually the sign of an ill—disciplined unit. they tried, unsuccessfully, to hide another tank in the trees. that was punished by the ukrainians, who destroyed it.

a much bigger question is whether there will be a reckoning for what happened on the highway. maksim and ksenya were not the only ones who were killed near the tank dug into the roadside. more bodies here? yes. one, two, three bodies, i think. yes. you're absolutely right. in a couple of hundred yards, with oleksandr from the ukrainian army, we counted 11 other dead bodies. it's ukrainian. three were wearing recognisable ukrainian military uniform. the others wore civilian clothes. some of the dead were piled up and surrounded by tyres. they deliberately burned them. they set on fire to hide their... to hide what they did. in the desolation are a mass of questions about who they were and how they were killed. it's hard to imagine the fear

these people must have gone through in the last few moments of their lives or, indeed, the anguish survivors, families, must be feeling now. but this is more than just a collection of terrible deaths. it's a crime scene. because under the laws of war, civilians are supposed to be protected. we drove to the next village to confirm a ukrainian claim that they'd destroyed more russian tanks. the russian armour was broken and, except forsoldiers, the village was deserted and still. the russians could be redeploying to the eastern battlefields, but just a few hours after they had left this strategic area close to the capital, it was clear they were being forced out. many civilians are mourning relatives and friends they say were killed by russian troops. as and when they retreat, they might leave behind more

evidence that could add up to war crimes. jeremy bowen, bbc news, outside kyiv. well, just a few miles from the e—iio highway where jeremy was reporting, lies the town of irpin. now the ukrainians say it's been liberated, and our international correspondent, orla guerin has been there, with ukrainian troops. again, her report contains some upsetting images. underforeboding skies, we entered the town of irpin. it now stands as a testament to ukrainian resilience and russian defeat. we travelled under armed escort. a tense journey along a carefully chosen route. we were warned russian forces might still be in the forests on the outskirts. they occupied about a fifth of

irpin and have left their mark. but ukrainian troops have driven them out and reclaimed the ruins. the damage here gives a sense of how fierce the fighting has been. this was a key battleground and ukraine's victory here was critical. if the russians had been able to push through here, they would have been on the way to kyiv. the capital is just a short drive down the road. where is the child who cherished this toy? and where are the families who were shelled, day and night? most had to flee, but irpin withstood the assault and has been given the honorary title hero city of ukraine. the troops here are savouring their victory, but know the enemy may be back. "they need kyiv," says this

man, "because putin will lose "if he doesn't take kyiv, so perhaps they will try. "but we are prepared, in case they come back." his dayjob is tv presenting. just up the road, in tree—lined suburbia, a powerful message to the russian leader. his losses are mounting here. his original battle plan has failed. well, you can see here what happened to this russian tank. it's been ripped to shreds. this is an example of the defeat that was inflicted on the russians, and they are gone for now, but in the future they may try to regroup and make another push for the capital. now, irpin can begin to recover its dead, to reclaim bodies from the rubble. there could be no proper burials under shelling.

the mayor says up to 300 civilians were killed here. as supplies are going in, bodies are coming out. some were targeted even as they tried to flee. cat meows. today, another trickle of civilians making the difficultjourney out. troops carrying what they could not leave behind, their much loved pets. all here are scarred — those who stayed and those who fought. how do you feel about the russians who did this? no obscenities? no. i hate them, i hate them from the depths of my heart. i used to treat them normally. i had friends from russia, i

don't believe i have any more. there are no excuses for this. an ambulance waits for a frail survivor of a merciless and failed russian attack. and ukrainian soldiers leave the battlefield with the swagger of victory. orla guerin, bbc news, irpin. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has announced more than 3,000 people have fled the besieged city of mariupol in a convoy of buses and private cars. the convoy travelled from the occupied port of berdiansk to the relative safety of zaporyzhzhia with about 2,000 people, who had managed to make their own way out of mariupol. however, red cross efforts to bring in aid and evacuate residents from the shelling in mariupol were frustrated for a second day in a row. earlier, i spoke to our news reporter azadeh moshiri. the icrc for a second day has

been trying to evacuate people from mariupol, they were doing that in coordination with the ukrainian government. the plan was they would escort a convoy of at least a0 ukrainian buses and take with them medical supplies from zaporyzhzhia to mariupol but they failed as they tried to get there, they could not make it to the city and so instead, separately, mariupol residents who were trapped in the city that has been besieged by russian forces, and thousands of them took the risk themselves and ended up fleeing from mariupol to a town nearby still in russian held territory called berdiansk. and it is there a convoy of at least a0 ukrainian buses, 300 private cars, managed to get to these residents and take them to the relative safety of zaporyzhzhia. the fact is this is positive, you have president zelensky saying they have managed to save 3,000 people from a city that is without food

and water but you still have more than 100,000 residents trapped there, some estimates put it up to 170,000. it is a success, there are still challenges and as far as the icrc are concerned, they will try tomorrow. what is it with the operation that makes it so difficult? there are a number of challenges and the first time, the fact russia gave them a one—day ceasefire and to get to zaporyzhzhia, there are so many russian checkpoints and so many agreements that need to be made between the ukrainian government and russia that strategically, it was going to be quite difficult anyway. there's also the question about russian willpower because while they did allow the residents to leave berdiansk, they did not keep it safe enough in mariupol, that ceasefire was not completely respected and we have a spokesperson from the red cross who spoke to the bbc earlier about the

logistical challenges faced. the stumbling block is the lack of very precise and concrete agreements in respect of this agreement on all levels. they have to be respected and communicated through the chain of command and everyone must be aware, this is notjust a choice, this is the responsibility on both sides of this conflict, under international humanitarian law. the fact is this is still a war zone and that is what she is pointing to, the fact that just getting to a city which is so strategically important to russia, where so much of their military operation is being focused, because it's a key port city that allows russia to accomplish that goal of creating a land corridor between russia and crimea. the whole operation is so difficult and so the result is you have more than 100,000 people trapped, who are in desperate need of help

and the ukrainian government and the icrc are going to have to try again. more on that story on the bbc news website with constant updates. a state of emergency has been declared in sri lanka where a deepening economic crisis has sparked violent protests. a curfew is in place in the capital, colombo and surrounding areas for a second consecutive night. there's growing anger at shortages of fuel, medicine and other basics caused the country running out of foreign currency to pay for imported goods.. archana shukla has more on the latest protests from colombo. a day after hundreds tried to storm sri lankan president's house calling for his ouster, the president declared a state of emergency in the country today. explosions. protests on thursday quickly turned violent, with multiple rounds of tear gas fired and stones pelted in retaliation. injuries on both sides,

but protests continued. it's very obvious, the people are here distressed. you need the people who actually can do something. 0k? and just leave the country because it is enough. translation: people l are in the queue for gas, for milk powder and fuel. we have never been this unhappy. - this is right outside president gotabaya rajapa ksa house and a crowd of about 1000 people have gathered here protesting prolonged power cuts in the country, the economic crisis, rising prices and demanding that the government step down. the desperation has been palpable, as sri lankans have been spending their days on the streets, in queues, to buy life's daily essentials at sky high prices. translation: i haven't had cooking gas for - the last two weeks. my husband is sick. i have to leave work to wait here.

if i lose myjob, it's all over. i'm so tired. a dire shortage of fuel, food and even medicines have caused prolonged power cuts and prices to skyrocket as the government, with negligible foreign reserves and a massive debt burden, is unable to pay for imports of even the essentials. vegetable prices have increased 2.5 times since december. rice now costs double, and milk powderfour times more expensive than before, forcing many families to even skip meals. now, amidst the state of emergency, as government invokes tough laws giving sweeping powers to military, desperate citizens are uncertain of what the future holds for them. archana shukla, bbc news, colombo, sri lanka.

workers at an amazon warehouse in the us have taken the unprecedented step of voting to set up a trade union. staff at the site in new york predicted that amazon workers elsewhere would follow suit. the online retailer has always fiercely opposed unionisation of its million— strong workforce. michelle fleury reports. cheering. history in the making for american workers. this, the moment union organisers celebrated. to the first union in american history. cheering. after amazon workers in new york voted to unionise — the first successful attempt since the retail giant was founded in 1994. this will be the catalyst for the revolution. that's exactly what this is, y'all just witnessed that. an independent group just took on one of the world's biggest companies and won. 55% of workers at this staten island warehouse voted in favour of union of a union.

chris smalls, the fired amazon worker leading the fight, had this message for the e—commerce giant. they'll have to negotiate with their workers now. you know, my message is that now we have a union they'll have to collectively bargain with. this victory all the sweeter, after a second vote on a union in alabama appears headed for defeat. how does it feel to have made history? we showed the power, i guess, that individual workers can have when they come together and try to improve their working conditions. it's something that the company's spent millions and millions of dollars to stop because they know how powerful it is. yet amazon isn't about to give up. america's second—biggest employer said it was evaluating its options and implied it might not accept the results, citing what it perceives as the undue influence of the national labour relations board. those involved in the successful union effort here in new york hope this will embolden others to do the same. this was a call to action not i just for amazon workers here, but for amazon workers around the us. - and for workers around the us in the world to come _ together and take back

what is actually ours i and what we deserve. but anotherfight awaits the amazon labour union. right now, they are savouring their historic win, but perhaps their biggest challenge lies ahead — negotiating with amazon for better pay and conditions. cheering. after decades of decline, american unions are having a moment — and there's no bigger prize than amazon, given its size and impact. michelle fleury, bbc news, new york. will smith says he s resigning from the body that awards the oscars following his attack on chris rock at this year s ceremony. the actor said he was heartbroken by his actions which were "shocking, painful, and inexcusable. our north america correspondent is peter bowes. well, you know, i think this takes the sting out of the tale to some extent of this saga.

we knew that the academy had launched disciplinary proceedings, which apparently will be continuing. they have accepted his resignation, so they still have some decisions in the future to make. but he has decided to resign of his own accord right now, and i think that at least stops the speculation for the next few weeks as to what might happen to him. of course, it means he'll no longer be an oscar voter, which is the main role of academy members, really. the open questions will he be invited back to next year's oscars, as is tradition to announce and present the award for best actress? i think that seems quite unlikely. will he get to keep his oscar for best actor for his lead role in king richard as the father of the williams sisters? the mood in hollywood is that that is less likely to occur, that it will be taken away from him, because it was for a body of work that had nothing to do with the events of the other day. and i'm wondering as well, peter, you know, as this filters on a number of days later, the feeling in la,

about the harm, if it has done will smith, i mean, in terms of future career prospects, jobs? i mean, i believe he would still be able to win an oscar, even not being a member. well, you know, hollywood is a very forgiving place, so i wouldn't rule out will smith in terms of his future career. yes, i think it's done him harm because of that split second decision, clearly a wrong decision that he made to march on the stage and use violence to hit someone, to hit a comedian, because he didn't like the tone of his joke. and it's interesting in the statement, which is a very contrite statement that he's just released, talking about his actions being shocking and painful and inexcusable. he doesn't address the issue of violence and of what he did slapping another man in the face. and that's what a lot of people have been talking about over the last few days.

the oscars are supposed to be a family show. there were children watching and how perhaps parents have been trying to explain what their children were watching on tv. those are the kinds of issues that are still swirling around and i think are quite negative for will smith. ahead of the queen s platinumjubilee injune, the bbc has been given rare access to the household cavalry and their barracks in central london. asad ahmad met some of the people and horses that will take centre stage. unmistakably british and a source of national pride for over 350 years. the household cavalry is made of the two most senior regiments in the british army. and arguably, their most importantjob? they're the queen's official bodyguard. that's quite a responsibility? it is a huge responsibility and one we do, yeah, one we do with pride and vigour and one we look forward to. making their way towards the base. blues and royals first and then the life guards. it's why, when it comes to the biggest state

occasions — weddings, funerals, trooping the colour and state visits — the household cavalry are there. notjust looking immaculate on horseback but, first and foremost, as highly—trained fighting soldiers. but come the platinum jubilee injune, even the household cavalry are looking to raise their game. every time we do anything, we try and top what we've done before. you're only as good as your last parade and we always try and make each parade better, sharper, smarter. but looking immaculate isn't easy or comfortable. the highly—polished boots hardly bend because there are two kilos of beeswax on each boot to get that military shine. the helmets and chest plates are polished to perfection, and any movement on the head has to be a careful balancing act. it's not overly comfortable. but the helmet does mould to the shape of your head in time. the cuirasses are big, but they can be beneficial

when the weather is cold. not so beneficial when the weather's hot. but at the centre of any parade are the horses. specially selected, they are well looked after, have a special diet, and even get a holiday by the beach once a year. but when it comes to the serious stuff, they know how to perform. they're trained exactly the same as the soldiers are. so they're, from the start of their career to the end of their career, and we retire them in places all over the country. these are the final preparations ahead of the platinum jubilee parade in june. the regiment will perform in front of the queen, on what will be a historic day. asad ahmad reporting there. lots more in the coming weeks about thejubilee lots more in the coming weeks about the jubilee celebrations. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @bbcnuala.

thank you for watching. hello there. yesterday was another cold day, we had further wintry showers around. we saw some snow even on the sea front of hastings, in east sussex. and at the moment, the radar picture's also picking up plenty of showers, many of them in scotland are actually falling as rain. greater chance of wintry showers across parts of eastern england. then we've got this zone of patchy rain working across northern ireland, just fringing into western—most areas of wales. now that'll also be rain, but over the hills in the far west of wales, you might see a little bit of snow for a time. and the risk is there for some of the moors in the southwest early saturday morning, perhaps over the tops of bodmin, for example. but otherwise, a widespread frost around, it's going to be a cold start to the day and, where we've seen those showers, an icy start to the day, as well. now, for many of us,

there'll be lots of sunshine through the morning, this zone of rain easing away from the southwest, any hill snow also working out of the way. showers then that start off near the east coast will migrate inland — many of them will be of rain by the time we get to the afternoon, but there could be a bit of hail, maybe an odd wintry one left over. temperatures generally a degree or so higher, about 7—10 celsius — but crucially, it won't be as windy, so it won't feel anywhere near as bitter now for sunday. this area of high pressure stays to our west. we get this weather front toppling around the top side of it — that will bring another change to our country. now for sunday, it'll be a cold, frosty, but lovely, sunny start to the day. however, the cloud will tend to build and fill across the skies across much of the uk. then we've got this weather front moving into scotland and northern ireland — that will to be bringing outbreaks of rain through the afternoon, the rain turning quite heavy into the highlands and the western isles. but again, the temperature's just coming up by an odd degree, 10—11 celsius pretty widely. now, looking at the night—time forecast through sunday night and into monday, our weather front pushes its way southwards and eastwards. behind that, the air turns a lot milder — it's coming in off

the atlantic, for the most part coming in on a west—northwesterly airflow. however, we are going to start seeing cooler conditions just coming back into northern scotland as we head through monday afternoon. so the temperatures in lerwickjust six celsius, but otherwise a much milder day, 13—111, rain at times. now, deeper into next week, we get this battle zone between the mild atlantic air, the cold polar air, and that means we'll see rain — but also, the prospect of hill snow hasn't entirely gone away.

this is bbc news. the headlines: in the aftermath of intense fighting in ukraine, the bbc has uncovered evidence of civilian killings that could amount to war cimes. meanwhile, russian forces near kyiv have been forced to pull back from positions they held at the start of the invasion five weeks ago. a convoy of buses carrying residents of the besieged southern ukrainian city of mariupol has reached the relative safety of the nearby city of zaporyzhzhia. the convoy travelled from the occupied port of berd—yansk with about 2000 people, who had managed to make their own way out of mariupol. for the first time, workers at an amazon warehouse

in the us have voted to set up a trade union.