this is bbc news with the latest headlines ukraine's president is due to address the united nations later for the first time since russia's invasion — where he'll call for a full investigation into atrocities committed by president putin's forces. president zelensky claims more than 300 people were tortured and then killed in bucha, near the capital kyiv. russia denies being involved in the deaths. a british father and his nine—year—old son have died in a landslide while on holiday in australia. two members of the same family are also in a critical condition in hospital. a warning that hundreds of thousands of cancer patients in england face being diagnosed late because of staff shortages in the nhs. channel 4 says the government has

failed to recognise "significant public interest concerns" over its decision to privatise the publicly owned broadcaster. and consoles in the classroom — how a special version of one of the world's biggest computer games will help children learn more about flood prevention. good morning. the ukrainian president will address the united nations today — for the first time since the russian invasion — following growing evidence of atrocities. world leaders have reacted in horror to the latest reports, centred around the town of bucha 7 near kyiv. ukrainian officials say bodies of more than 400 civilians have been found in areas around the capital, although that figure hasn t been independently verified by the bbc.

russia has denied any killings and accused ukraine of fabricating evidence. volodymyr zelensky is due to speak to an emergency meeting of the un security council — which includes russia — later today. we re expecting to hear from him around 3pm. its as the us and european countries have warned of stronger sanctions on russia. foreign secretary liz truss is meeting her polish counterpart in warsaw, having called for russia to face the maximum level of sanctions. meanwhile, western intelligence believes russian forces have retreated from the north of ukraine, aiming to regroup and focus on the east of the country. vincent mcaviney reports. the destruction left behind by the russian invaders in bucha, a town in an area reclaimed by the ukrainians, is visible from space in these new satellite images. but to see the destruction wrought on thousands of lives, president zelensky visited himself.

the pictures are too graphic to show, but what he found was streets and graves filled with the bodies of ordinary citizens, many with their hands tied behind their backs and gunshot wounds. for vlad, his town is now haunted. translation: people have been shot in the head by russian snipers. - people on bicycles, people delivering potatoes. i can tell you so many stories, but i don't want to. i want to forget them. the kremlin claim these scenes and testimonies are fake. from the very beginning, it has been clear that this is nothing else but yet another staged provocation aimed at discrediting and dehumanising the russian military, and levelling political pressure on russia. but today, president zelensky will tell an emergency meeting of the un security council his country wants a complete and transparent

investigation into what he's calling a genocide. in washington, president biden is convinced putin should pay a price. you may remember, i got criticised for calling putin a war criminal. well, the truth of the matter — you saw what happened in bucha. this warrants him, he is a war criminal. world leaders know the chances of putin ever facing international justice are slim, so for now the focus is on ramping up sanctions to thwart him. the eu is considering action on russian oil and coal, but not gas, due to its heavy dependence, and foreign secretary liz truss has promised tough new measures will be announced at a g7 meeting later in the week. bucha may now be free of russian soldiers, but the people have paid a heavy price with the lives of loved ones. their only hope of solace now is to try to help war crimes investigators secure the evidence. but in cities, towns and villages

across this country, where russians still patrol the streets, the suspected atrocities are ongoing and they may not be as careless with the evidence any longer. vincent mcaviney, bbc news. moscow's denials to accusations that its forces tortured and killed civilians in the ukrainian town of bucha have been undermined by newly released satellite images. these images have been further analysed by the new york times — who say that many of the civilians were killed more than three weeks ago when russian forces were in control of the town. the newspaper says that before and after analysis of the imagery show objects of a similar size to a human body between march 9 and 11th in the precise positions where bodies were found after ukrainian forces reclaimed the town last week. russia's envoy to un says evidence will be presented to the un security council later today saying forces

were not involved in events in bucha president biden has led calls for vladimir putin to be tried for war crimes. 0ur north america correspondent, peter bowes, has been assessing the significance of the us president's comments about the russian leader and the atrocities. this is significant because it tells us that there is a process underway with the support of the us president, a process that could lead to a war crimes trial with president putin as the defendant. president biden describing what's happened in bucha as outrageous but stopping short of describing it as genocide, a term which president zelensky has used. but president biden saying he's not prepared to go that far yet because there's an evidence gathering process that needs to go ahead. the state department here in the us and allies in the west gathering evidence as to what's actually happened on the ground. jake sullivan, the national security adviser here, gave a little bit more detail.

he said that the us hadn't yet seen what he described as systemic deprivation of human life that would support genocide. but the key word there is "yet" — the process is underway to gather that evidence that could possibly be used against president putin by prosecutors. we arejust we are just hearing that denmark is expelling a number of russian diplomats, eight ads to other countries expelling diplomats, france expelling 35, germany a0 russian diplomats. france announcing its decision yesterday. said it had decided to expel diplomats because of their activities being against security interests. the latest country to announce the expulsion of diplomats is denmark.

moscow's ambassador to the un says russia will present what he called "factual evidence" to the un security council demonstrating that western statements on events at bucha are lies, and that the shocking images of bodies in the streets of bucha were staged. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg reports. this is how russia wants its soldiers in ukraine to be seen — as heroes and humanitarian workers, a caring, sharing army, spreading goodness and light to those it claims to be liberating. but moscow knows the international community doesn't believe that. mr lavrov, the us president has called your president a war criminal and said he must be held accountable. what does that tell us about russia's international reputation right now? translation: what this says is many american politicians | who started the iraq war, destroyed syria, invaded libya.

their conscience is in a bad way. our main interest is what the russian people think about this situation. as for evidence of apparent russian atrocities, the kremlin calls those provocations and fakes. whenever russia is accused of anything, be it the poisonings in salisbury or, in this case, atrocities in ukraine, the reaction from the authorities is much the same — deny everything and point the finger back. because the kremlin has total control of the media here, it's able to persuade many russians that it's right. and the kremlin is receiving spiritual support. the russian patriarch led prayers in the cathedral of the russian armed forces. he told soldiers they were heroes defending the motherland and russia's freedom.

from the church, no hint of criticism of methods or aims. but some russians disagree with both. ruslan dostavolov was a senior manager at one of russia's largest banks, but he's resigned in protest at russia's offensive in ukraine and the bank's support for it. translation: russia has created a huge area of chaos _ and lawlessness in ukraine. of course, the russian government is responsible for what's happening there. before the war, i was proud of being russian. there was lots to be proud of, but the war has cancelled all of that out. ruslan took a moral stand, but he has no illusions. the russia he thought he knew has gone. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. the us has for the first time seized a yacht owned by a russian oligarch linked to president putin, under sanctions imposed

following the invasion of ukraine. the tango was boarded by us federal agents in the spanish port of palma de mallorca. the us treasury department says the luxury vessel is among assets linked to viktor vekselberg, the billionaire head of a moscow—based mining conglomerate. and we can go live to lviv in western ukraine, and our correspondent emma vardy. those concerns around what has been happening in butcher in particular but also allegations of mass occurs elsewhere and today volodymyr zelensky will be addressing the un. —— bucha. zelensky will be addressing the un. -- bucha. ., , zelensky will be addressing the un. -- bucha. . , ., -- bucha. that is right, the footage and images — -- bucha. that is right, the footage and images coming _ -- bucha. that is right, the footage and images coming from _ -- bucha. that is right, the footage and images coming from bucha - -- bucha. that is right, the footage and images coming from bucha has| and images coming from bucha has sparked outrage from world leaders, condemnation around the world, it is having a real impact and the ukrainian president really has the

attention of the world, he will be addressing the un security council and will be calling for help from the international community to help document and build the evidence on the ground to support his claims of these alleged war crimes being carried out by russian forces and the picture is still emerging hour by hour as journalists gain access to different parts of towns and cities were russian forces are now withdrawing from an president zelensky has called out for help from experts, from war crimes deems to be on the ground working with ukrainian officials, to build the evidence here and that process has already begun. he has put a team together, the us says it has sent over a team of experts to work with ukrainian officials, the eu says it will get a team of war crimes experts on the ground to do this but of course it can take years to bring people to justice for war crimes. as we've seen in wars elsewhere in the world. using the international criminal court, it can be easier to

prosecute specific military figures than say a president like vladimir putin and it can take a long time. but mr zelensky says he is already getting his officials to compile a list of whatever they know about the actual russian military figures who have been in these areas and of course the scenes are terrible, civilians, the bodies of civilians strewn in the streets, hands tied, appearing to be short and satellite images of mass graves and i expect we will see more in the days to come because there are other cities around ukraine that are still under russian occupation and many questions about what will be found there in the days to come. ukrainian officials say what we have seen in bucha and around the capital kyiv is just the tip of the iceberg. mariupol remains a very concerning situation with the city encircled, many still trapped inside, what is the latest on the humanitarian efforts to get people out? dar;

the latest on the humanitarian efforts to get people out? day after da we efforts to get people out? day after day we have — efforts to get people out? day after day we have been _ efforts to get people out? day after day we have been watching - day we have been watching particularly the efforts of the red cross with this large convoy of buses, who had made a number of attempts to get to the city. yesterday the red cross teams were being held by police in russian held territory, i understand the last hour or so word has come that they have been released, sent back to the town they had set off from so still no success in breaking through to the besieged city of mariupol. there are still people managing to escape under their own steam in private cars and getting out through humanitarian corridors that way but still tens of thousands of people trapped and the situation gets more desperate by the day.— desperate by the day. emma, thank ou. the headlines on bbc news... ukraine's president is due to address the united nations later for the first time since russia's invasion — where he'll call

for a full investigation into atrocities committed by president putin's forces. president zelensky claims more than 300 people were tortured and then killed in bucha, near the capital kyiv. russia denies being involved in the deaths. a british father and his nine—year—old son have died in a landslide while on holiday in australia. two members of the same family are also in a critical condition in hospital. and we will stay with that story. two members of a british family have died and two others are critically injured after a landslide in australia. the man and his nine—year—old son were killed by falling rocks in the blue mountains near sydney. a woman and her ia year—old son were taken to hospital with serious head and abdominal injuries. and her 15 year—old daughter was treated for shock. let's get more from our correspondent, phil mercer, in sydney. this sounds unbelievably awful, what happened here? the

this sounds unbelievably awful, what happened here?— this sounds unbelievably awful, what happened here? the mayor of the blue mountains to — happened here? the mayor of the blue mountains to the _ happened here? the mayor of the blue mountains to the west _ happened here? the mayor of the blue mountains to the west of _ happened here? the mayor of the blue mountains to the west of sydney - happened here? the mayor of the blue mountains to the west of sydney is - mountains to the west of sydney is describing this as an unspeakable tragedy. a family of five set out yesterday, monday, on a hike near wentworth falls, a very popular tourist destination about 60 miles tourist destination about 60 miles to the west of the opera house here in sydney. they were walking down a track when a landslide let loose an unknown amount of rock, we know a man and his nine—year nine—year old son were hit by rocks, a woman aged 50 and a teenage boy suffered very serious head and abdominal injuries and the authorities are praising the courage and the composure of that 15—year—old girl, she escaped physically unharmed and we understand she called emergency services, being composed enough to guide or give them a hint as to her she was, given that she did not know

her exact location. there are then unfolded a very complex and delicate operation to rescue her mother and her teenage brother who suffered those critical injuries. they were winched out by a rescue helicopter and taken to separate hospitals here in sydney. they have both undergone surgery, we do not know their condition at the moment, we also know that earlier today the bodies of her father and the other nine—year—old boy were retrieved so in the words of the mayor of the blue mountain, an unspeakable tragedy. is blue mountain, an unspeakable traced . , blue mountain, an unspeakable traced. , ~ ., ., , ., tragedy. is it known, are they a british family _ tragedy. is it known, are they a british family visiting _ tragedy. is it known, are they a british family visiting the - tragedy. is it known, are they a. british family visiting the country on holiday? is it a family that live there? ~ , ., ., . . ., ., there? we understand according to there? we understand according to the olice there? we understand according to the police in _ there? we understand according to the police in new— there? we understand according to the police in new south _ there? we understand according to the police in new south wales, - the police in new south wales, australia's most popular state, this is a family of five on holiday from the united kingdom and australia. and the early indications are that in the words of a senior ambulance

officer that this was a freak accident, that this particular hike is pretty steep, pretty challenging, about a three mile loop but it can take several hours, it is steep and challenging and it also goes through some very rugged country below very large sandstone cliffs and it appears likely that weeks if not months of torrential rain here in australia has almost certainly made up australia has almost certainly made up ground on stable. there were other walking tracks in the blue mountains that were closed, the national park authorities say this particular track was checked for safety just a few days ago particular track was checked for safetyjust a few days ago and that spokesperson also adding that no one can predict or stop landslides of this nature. so at the moment, the focus very much on that 15—year—old girl and mother and her brother who are recovering in hospital. phil mercer, thank _ are recovering in hospital. phil mercer, thank you. mps have said they're

concerned by what they call the lack of serious effort to tackle gaps in the nhs cancer workforce in england. the health and social care committee fears staff shortages combined with the disruption to services during the pandemic could undo the progress made in the cancer survival rate. let's get more from our health correspondent nick triggle. tell us more about what this is indicating. tell us more about what this is indicating-— indicating. this is a ma'or stock-take d indicating. this is a ma'or stock-take of i indicating. this is a ma'or stock-take of cancer i indicating. this is a major- stock-take of cancer services by indicating. this is a major— stock-take of cancer services by the stock—take of cancer services by the health and social care secretary, headed by the former health secretaryjeremy hunt. in particular, they've been looking at theissue particular, they've been looking at the issue of early diagnosis. the government has set a target to ensure that 75% of cancer cases are diagnosed at stage one or two that's deemed vital for increasing the chances of survival. up until the pandemic, a little progress was being made so the target, 75%, had been hovering below 55% for the past six years. they haven't got updated

figures yet for 2020 or 2021 but what we do know is over the last two years, fewer people have come forward for cancer checkups. and there is estimated to be a missing a5,000 diagnoses across the uk so the concern is these will be cancers that are spotted later and that could actually make the performance in terms of early diagnosis even worse. , ,. in terms of early diagnosis even worse. , _, ., . in terms of early diagnosis even worse. , ., . worse. the department of health says it recognises — worse. the department of health says it recognises that _ worse. the department of health says it recognises that business _ worse. the department of health says it recognises that business as - worse. the department of health says it recognises that business as usual i it recognises that business as usual is not enough and it has a ten year cancer plan and it's also been opening a network of new diagnostic centres. is it considered that is an adequate response to the challenge? much will depend on the details, as you say, they promised a ten year cancer plan, the committee in particular warned about staffing shortages, they identified shortages

of cancer doctors and specialist cancer nurses and radiologists and they said until those shortages are rectified, the government is going to struggle to make progress but obviously, training these staff takes many years so there's not an easy overnight solution and what we have seen over the past two years with the pandemic is even when patients are diagnosed they then have to wait longer to start the treatment, that has been declining for some time but the pandemic has exacerbated that so there are huge challenges in cancer services and how you are diagnosed and treated makes a huge difference to your chances. . ., makes a huge difference to your chances. . ~ , ., let's get more on the ukrainian president addressing the united nations today — for the first time since the russian invasion. volodymyr zelensky will speak to an emergency meeting of the un security council — which includes russia — following growing evidence of atrocities. the kremlin continues to deny any wrongdoing. let's get the latest from our

moscow correspondentjenny hill. what does moscow say in terms of why it says it is not behind these killings? it says it is not behind these killinus? , , , , killings? the kremlin simply denies it all. it killings? the kremlin simply denies it all- it says _ killings? the kremlin simply denies it all. it says the _ killings? the kremlin simply denies it all. it says the footage _ killings? the kremlin simply denies it all. it says the footage which - it all. it says the footage which has emerged, the witness accounts which we have heard and some of our colleagues have listened to, are all fake news, that they are all fabricated by ukraine and spread by western media and what's more, the russians say this afternoon, at the meeting of the un security council, they are going to produce evidence which supports the claims that this is all a pack of lies. we have heard official after official, politician after politician in the last 2a hours coming out and parroting the kremlin line that this is a fabrication and a deliberate provocation, they say, by ukraine, the latest to do so is the former

president, prime minister of russia who says vast amounts of money have been spent concocting this pack of lies. russia's contention is that the ukrainians staged those terrible scenes, that look as though civilians have been killed. and that

they have actually gone as far as to suggest some of those bodies have been placed in the streets for western media could film them. increasingly, evidence is emerging to suggest that are simply not true. but the kremlin is sticking to its guns and i think what is really interesting and we ought to point out of course that the kremlin uses this tactic time and again, in previous conflicts in other countries but during this conflict. the tactic is one of deny everything, dismiss it aspect news and when that does not work start to blame someone else and already we are starting to see that surfacing in state media here with at least one journalist suggesting that

ukrainian militants and nazis, a familiar narrative here, might have been responsible for the killing of civilians rather than russian troops, so keep an eye on that. it will be interesting to see if that develops as a kremlin narrative but for now the kremlin sticking to its guns, saying that ukraine effectively is the aggressor, aided and abetted by the west, it is waging an information war, the kremlin says, against russia. fin waging an information war, the kremlin says, against russia. on the information war, _ kremlin says, against russia. on the information war, in _ kremlin says, against russia. on the information war, in terms _ kremlin says, against russia. on the information war, in terms of - information war, in terms of coverage there in russia, as you have indicated, state media is tightly controlled. is it possible to gauge whether there is, how much is getting through, away from the official reporting of what is going on? , ~ , official reporting of what is going on? , �* , 4' ., on? very little. as you know, the russians have _ on? very little. as you know, the russians have really _ on? very little. as you know, the russians have really cracked - on? very little. as you know, the | russians have really cracked down on? very little. as you know, the - russians have really cracked down on independent media, most russian independent media, most russian independentjournalists have fled the country, there have been changes

to the law which make it almost impossible for russian journalist to tell the truth about what is happening in ukraine. state media continues to parrot the kremlin narrative and that narrative is that this is an honourable special military operation, that russian troops have simply gone into ukraine to protect the interests of the russian speaking population in the east of the country who the kremlin says are being abused and attacked by government forces, in effect. but also that the russian troops are there to protect russian security, ukraine has consistently been betrayed by the kremlin and in state media as an aggressor which is trying to acquire nuclear weapons with the help of the us, and to develop biological once again with the help of the us, to use against russia, that is the narrative people here are being sold and i think it's very difficult for a lot of people, perhaps particularly older people who are not necessarily conversing with getting around, with bars on

social media and that kind of thing, to get any other source of information and there are stories here of families really split over this because the younger generations who are able to access social media platforms, many of which have been officially banned but they access them nonetheless and see what is happening in ukraine, saying to their parents and grandparents, look at what is happening and the parents and grandparents say you're being brainwashed the west, very difficult for lots of families here. plenty of russians, difficult to quantify, oppose what is happening in ukraine but then there are equally an awful lot of russians who get their only source of information via state media and they support vladimir putin. difficult to quantify, as i say, because a lot of the opinion pulls our state opinion polls and people are not necessarily going to tell the truth when a state opinion poll taker rings them up to ask them what they think about vladimir putin, nevertheless his approval ratings remain extremely high and

support for him and for his special military operation have grown in recent weeks.— military operation have grown in recent weeks. , , . ~ , ., the culture secretary, nadine dorries, says the government has decided to privatise channel a. the broadcaster is currently publicly owned but funded by advertising revenue. ms dorries said the sell off would help channel a better compete with netflix and amazon. channel a said it was disappointed with the decision. let's get more on this with our political correspondent damian grammaticas. why has the government decided to do this? the why has the government decided to do this? ., , why has the government decided to do this? ., _ , , this? the government says its reasons for— this? the government says its reasons for doing _ this? the government says its reasons for doing this - this? the government says its reasons for doing this is - this? the government says its reasons for doing this is that i reasons for doing this is that channel four, government owned but entirely funded by advertising, needs to change to compete in the sort of modern streaming media environment. channel four was set up in 1982 by the conservative government, margaret thatcher, with

that model, the second commercial channel in the uk. provides a service that is a public service, funded by advertising so not funded from the government at all and what the government says now is that the difficulty channel four has, it believes, is that it cannot raise much finance to invest, it does not own the programmes it produces and therefore profit from them and in a new environment that needs to change. but there's been a lot of criticism already. a whole chorus of criticism already. a whole chorus of criticism from people saying, including ruth davidson this morning, conservative, saying channel fours publicly owned and does not cost the taxpayer a penny, it commissions content and it is one of the reasons we have a thriving independent sector in places such as glasgow and that is one of its production helps, leeds, glasgow, bristol, and many of the critics including the labour party have said channel four rather than being able to compete with big streaming giants could well be snapped up by a giant

media company, quite likely a foreign mum and dad would mean less programming, lessjobs being made in those hubs around the country. is those hubs around the country. is the government 's mind made up? as the government �*s mind made up? as you say, lots of criticism including from the channel four chief executive. from the channel four chief executive-— from the channel four chief executive. , w , executive. yes, making exactly the same point. _ executive. yes, making exactly the same point, channel— executive. yes, making exactly the same point, channel four- executive. yes, making exactly the same point, channel four sustains| same point, channel four sustains these creative industries, you might like, love or loathe or indeed never watch its programming but it has that crucial place in the media landscape in the uk and it is thought a sale could go for something like £1 billion so a lot at stake here. but what channel four saysis at stake here. but what channel four says is that it believes it can continue with that model and is in the middle of a process of spreading morejobs around the the middle of a process of spreading more jobs around the country. ruth davidson said this is the opposite of levelling up, the government talks about funds coming from the sale could be reinvested. it says it

is going to be an announcement in the queen's speech, a white paper to lay out what it wants to do and legislation to make all of this happen before the next election so that gives it a pretty short timetable, couple of years. the government seems pretty set on it but the question i think will be how much a sort of opposition does this generate, we are hearing some conservative voices, it would have to get through parliament, will there be a row, will it slow things down, will the process of putting out a tender and getting the sail through all happened within that timeframe? there are many defenders of it, the industry coming out and saying it does not believe this is a good idea, it would damagejobs as well. good idea, it would damage “obs as well. . ~ , ., good morning, everybody. a bit of everything in the forecast for the next few days. this rain in the east will clear. behind it, some

brightness in the sky developing, patchy light rain on and off in west wales and south—west england and then rain returning across northern ireland. some heavy rain across parts of scotland and across the highlands and grampians is, we are looking at some snow even to sea level today. 2 degrees in aberdeen is the top temperature, 15 in london. this evening and overnight, the band of cloud and rain and snow moves northwards increasingly in the hills and we have a weather front weakening, sinking southwards. we are likely to see sharp showers develop across north—west england in north—west wales. another mild night in prospect, but cold enough in the north—east of scotland for the risk of ice on untreated surfaces. tomorrow, we say goodbye to the first weather front quite smartly and then we have an array of showers coming our way interspersed with some sunshine, don't be surprised to see some hale, and we have rain across the north of scotland curling into the north—west with top temperatures of 13.

hello. this is bbc news, with me, joanna gosling. the headlines: ukraine's president is due to address the united nations later for the first time since russia's invasion, where he'll call for a full investigation into atrocities committed by president putin's forces. volodymyr zelensky claims more than 300 people were tortured and then killed in bucha, near the capital, kyiv. russia denies being involved in the deaths. a british father and his nine—year—old son have died in a landslide while on holiday in australia. two members of the same family are also in a critical condition in hospital. a warning that hundreds of thousands of cancer patients in england face being diagnosed late because of staff shortages in the nhs. channel a says the government has failed to recognise "significant public interest concerns" over its decision to privatise the publicly—owned broadcaster. and... consoles in the classroom.

how a special version of one of the world's biggest computer games will help children learn more about flood prevention. time for a sports update, with the latest from jane. good morning. the arsenal manager, mikel arteta, has apologised for his team's performance, after they lost 3—nil to crystal palace. the defeat at selhurst park meant arsenal missed the chance to move back into the champions league qualification places. nick parrott was watching. many a team has seen their ambitions thwarted at selhurst park. it has one of the most intimidating atmospheres in the premier league and it got to arsenal early on. this free kick gave crystal palace the perfect opportunity. jean—philippe mateta's goal was significant because they had not lost this season after scoring first. 0n the 1st of april, mikel arteta was named manager of the month for march, but palace were fast making his side look like fools.

less then ten minutes after going a goal down, arsenal's defence slipped up again and the home side went 2—0 up. you couldn't tell from the finish that this was onlyjordan ayew�*s second goal of the season. it didn't matter what arsenal did, this wasn't going to be their night. they felt this should have been a penalty. it wasn't given. but when wilfried zaha went down, it was, and arsenal's hopes went with it. palace fans delirious, but so too will be tottenham's, as they stay ahead in the race for fourth place. nick parrott, bbc news. the champions league quarter—finals get under way tonight, with liverpool in portugal to take on benfica. jurgen klopp's side are the big favourites to progress and, with the league cup already won, they have their eyes on an unprecedented quadruple. but the players aren't getting carried away just yet. we just want to make this season hopefully an unforgettable one.

for us as players, for the staff, but as a whole club, you know. i think the things that have been going on at the moment with liverpool is something that no—one should take for granted. you know, we are, as a group, very stable, we have a fantastic squad, with the manager, the whole relation with the club. meanwhile, manchester city, who are on the hunt for their first champions league title, are at home to atletico madrid in the first leg of their quarter—final. manager pep guardiola has been criticised in the past for "overthinking" his tactics in big games and, yesterday, hejoked that he planned to do it again. i overthink a lot. and is that fair? absolutely. that's why i have had very good results in the champions league. i love... it would be boring, myjob, if we had to be the same way against opponents. they face different ways to play.

tonight, i take an inspiration and i'm going to do an incredible tactic tomorrow, so... we play with 12 tomorrow. i don't think they will be! cricket now. cricket now. the future ofjoe root as england's test captain is still up in the air, after their loss to the west indies last month. england have now gone five series without a win, but root still has the support of his team mates. i thinkjoe's brilliant. i feel like everyone forgets how many runs he scores and how much he contributes and how actually fantastic he is with the bat. i think it's actually down to a lot of us as other players, whether it's batters, bowlers, or in the field or anything like that, it's for us to put in the performances. and then, it is a performance—based sport, so if everyone puts their hand up and performs, we'll start winning more games. it's not necessarily always onjoe. now, with the masters just two days away, tiger woods has been continuing his preparations for a potential comeback. the 15—time major winner was back on the course at augusta on monday, with a decision still to be announced on whether he takes part or not. it's just over a year since he almost lost his right leg in a car accident.

we could hear the loud roar when he came out of the clubhouse on that first tee. that was pretty special to see, or to hear, at least. and...couldn't be more happy for him, in the place he's at right now, coming back, and proud of him too. i mean, shoot, coming back off of that injury, you know, it's very impressive. really looking forward to hopefully seeing tiger woods compete again. that's all the sport for now. thank you. the ukrainian president will address the united nations today — for the first time since the russian invasion — following growing evidence of atrocities. world leaders have reacted in horror to the latest reports, centred around the town of bucha, near kyiv. ukrainian officials say bodies of more than a00 civilians have been found in areas around the capital, although that figure hasn't been independently verified by the bbc.

russia has denied any killings and has accused ukraine of fabricating evidence. volodymyr zelensky is due to speak to an emergency meeting of the un security council — which includes russia — later today. we're expecting to hear from him at around 3pm. it comes as the us and european countries have warned of stronger sanctions on russia. foreign secretary liz truss is meeting her polish counterpart in warsaw, having called for russia to face the "maximum level" of sanctions. meanwhile, western intelligence believes russian forces have retreated from the north of ukraine, aiming to regroup and focus on the east of the country. more than four million people have left ukraine since the start of the war, but tens of thousands have also returned to try to defend their homeland. the bbc�*s stephanie hegarty met denis, a ship—building engineer, who was making the journey from the netherlands to the city of mykolaiv, just as it came under attack. well, my family is my wife and i have two daughters, 15—years—old and 10—years—old,

so they're waiting for me. when russia invaded ukraine, denys was working as an engineer in the netherlands. he's from mikolaiv. the morning we met, this had happened. just yesterday night, my city was under attack. it was bombing, it's inside the city. his family's apartment has no bomb shelter. they use a tape, you know, to protect the windows, that's it, what they can do. but you know, nothing can be safe against the bombs, so they hope nothing will happen. that's it. denys�*s plan was to drive to ukraine, deliver these supplies and rescue his family. 0il, food, medicine. how do you feel about seeing your daughters? i miss them. it's... and i'm worried, and i will see them soon. i'm sure. i will bring them to the border, but i have to stay, and i'm going tojoin the ukrainian defence forces.

i feel that i have to do it, so it's a one—way ticket for me. but anyway, i'm ready. but he was stuck on the romanian border, waiting for paperwork for the van, and every second was painful because things were getting worse in mikolaiv. two days later, denys told me to meet him at the border. they still haven't got the paperwork and things are getting so bad in mykolaiv, where his family are, he's going to cross on foot and just try and get there however he can. nervous. the worst case, of course, is that i can be killed, can die, whatever. not the best situation when i want to see my country. there was some good news. his wife and daughters had found an evacuation convoy out of mykolaiv. i'm waiting to cross the border to moldova.

have they left mykolaiv? yes. 0k. denys was still determined to go back. i'll go. 0k, good luck. thank you. bye— bye. to help his mother and to defend his country. can't imagine what must be going through his head right now. denys hasjoined ukraine's territorial defence forces. the ukrainian army has pushed russian forces away from mykolaiv for now, but missiles continue to hit the city. stephanie hegarty, bbc news, on ukraine's border. we'll get a better idea later today of how many children in england's state schools are absent, following a surge in covid cases. a couple of weeks ago, when the figures were last updated, just under 90% of students were in school, meaning more than one in ten was off. almost a quarter of those were absent because of coronavirus. and it's notjust pupils. almost a quarter of state schools

had more than 15% of their teaching staff absent in mid—march. 0ur education correspondent, elaine dunkley, has been to see what effect those absences have been having in the classroom. the end of term and the children at stapeley broad lane primary in cheshire are excited about making easter treats. what colours might we use at easter? and teaching assistant miss morris is glad to be back, after being off sick with covid. it's been a difficult term. is that where you're going to put it? it's just been really hard work for teaching staff. we saw it come through the classroom like a wave. and as members of staff, mrs ackerman and myself, we were like, oh, we'll be fine, we've been fine throughout. and it got both of us at the same time. draw me a rabbit, then. there is no support. there's no extra staff. we can'tjust call on somebody to come from another classroom because with eight members of staff off, there is nobody else to call on. the school hasn't had to shut or send year groups home this term, but learning and catching up is still being disrupted. it's had quite a big impact

on learning and what we've been doing with our friends in school. but at the moment, i think i'm doing fine because the teachers have _ helped us get back to the places that we were. we've been doing some catch—up on, like, stuff that we missed. _ we're about to start doing our sats, which is quite nerve—racking, - but we have been working up to them. children are super—excited. this afternoon, we've got what we call our easter egg hunt. we're going to do it outside. we haven't been able to do this for three years. for the children, there are more fun events planned, but for the head, the concerns are all too familiar. most of the disruption had been in spring terms, so that curriculum that we've devised to teach during the spring term has been disrupted for the past three years. it's about almost second—guessing whether we... how far we can get back to what is typical. next term, there will be more changes. in england, children with covid can return to school after three days. however, they're advised to stay

at home if they are unwell or have a high temperature. the government has also confirmed that schools will no longer be able to order free lateral flow tests. it's this attitude that it's just disappeared, covid's gone and, therefore, we can move on. but it's not gone and it is a real issue in schools. these parents still have concerns. i think one of the biggest issues with the testing is the fact it's not going to be free for schools, for teachers, for pupils and for the whole environment, and that is going to have a big impact. for me, it's only going to get worse. for my son, he's in year 6, so he is expected to do his sats exams. he has had time off where he's had covid. you can't get the true measure of his ability based on the last few years with the pandemic. so, how is tension created here? just down the road at malbank school and sixth form, tests and exams are also weighing on the minds

of pupils who have just received results for their mock exams. in just a few months, they will be sitting gcses and a—levels. myself having covid, that took a few, like, three weeks out of what... like, before the mocks. so that was pretty hard to deal with. teachers being off didn't really help at all because this is one of the most important years we're going to have. i think exams need to go ahead as normal, but i think it would have been nice to have a bit of a mixture of teacher—assessed grades. year 9 was only half the length it should have been and, obviously, in year 10, we lost probably three months. see you later, have a good evening. whilst pupils are preparing to sit exams, the head is worried about getting the staff to ensure they go ahead. typically, we would have quite a lot of the retired community eager to come and support us as exam invigilators, and that is proving incredibly difficult because... quite understandably, they're very concerned about coming into a school setting. come on, guys, let's go. that, balanced alongside the fact that lots of the students are anxious because exams, you know, are something they have

not done for a while. and the fact, therefore, that we have to put on additional rooms to cater for their needs means that actually, the demand is quite difficult to meet. she pleaded with the court not to impose it... relaxing the rules and learning to live with covid is part of the government's plan, but high numbers of absences in some schools has meant no let—up from the pressures of the pandemic. elaine dunkley, bbc news, in cheshire. let mejust bring let me just bring you some news on covid and covid deaths, we arejust getting news from our head of statistics that the number of covid deaths in the uk is rising again. the overall context is that in the week ending the 25th of march in the uk, 12,3aa deaths for any reason were registered. that is slightly above the five year average, it is aa8 more deaths based on the years 2016 to 2019 and 2021. and of those

deaths that have been recorded, 1005 involved covid—19, that was 176 more than the week before. so we will dig a little bit deeper into those figures perhaps with robert a little bit later. if you spend most days trying to drag your children away from their computer screens, you might not be feeling all that positive about computer games. they can, however, be a force for good, with some children learning about flood prevention by playing the survival challenge minecraft. 0ur gaming reporter, steffan powell, has been finding out more. boxing day, 2015, in lancashire — roads turned to rivers, a reminder of the power and devastation of flooding. how to stop it from happening again is a question people have been asking ever since. today, in preston, the next generation is looking for an answer somewhere new — in a video game. what i'm looking for you all to do today is to defend preston from flooding for me, please.

parts of the city under threat from rising river levels have been carefully recreated in one of the most popular titles in the world, minecraft. we've set up a simulation that will test to see if your barrier will work or doesn't work. so is everybody up to the challenge? working with specialist teachers who use video games in class, the environment agency is hoping that, thanks to the power of play, these pupils will better understand why their local community floods and what can be done about it. it's more interactive and people can understand it more. and it's, like, really fun to do. it's like we get to actually learn whilst playing something that. will make us understand how to do it and how to help the _ world with climate. it's streets like this one in preston that the kids at archbishop temple school have been saving — virtually — from the dangers of flooding all morning. and if this pilot project is deemed a success, then other streets,

towns and cities across england could soon be having a minecraft makeover as well. i'm just an old git. you know, if i turn up as a middle—aged man talking about this stuff, they're probably not going to listen to me — or if they are, they might take a little bit of it. but suddenly, when you put what we are talking about into a context they like, it's fun, things that they know and are aware of and are comfortable with, suddenly, their interest gets sparked and they come alive. some people will be looking at this and thinking the environment agency has a big job on its hands, lots of pressing issues, why are you wasting time focusing on a video game, instead of sorting out those other issues? our work is more than about building walls, it's making places. but the degree of flood risk we face is going to get worse, so we need to boost awareness and understanding of that among people and their part in helping us respond to that as a nation.

learning to save these streets from flooding is the challenge today, but some think that, tomorrow, gaming could be the answer when it comes to tackling a whole host of big subjects. young people do find it immersive. teachers are becoming more comfortable with using games to address a topic, or to introduce a topic, or to allow a 3d model of a topic to be explored, to bring it to life. back at school, and there's only one question left to answer — is the city safe? together, we were able to practically save preston — on minecraft, at least! so, yeah! steffan powell, bbc news. 0ur gaming reporter, steffan powell, is here to explain more. it seems like a no—brainer of an idea to get kids to engage with subjects they might otherwise not find that exciting.— find that exciting. yes, it is the interactive _ find that exciting. yes, it is the interactive nature _ find that exciting. yes, it is the interactive nature of— find that exciting. yes, it is the interactive nature of video - find that exciting. yes, it is the l interactive nature of video game offers you to perhaps a more traditional lesson with a powerpoint screen behind you or a teacher at the front of the class and that is what they have used in this example

with minecraft and flooding. we're also seeing it in other games being used in different ways as well. assassins creed which recreates ancient cities to go and have battles and what have you, there is an egyptian one you, you can explore ancient egypt and ancient greece, so video games are starting to leverage the fact they create these places so vividly, there is an educational side and you might argue there is a vested interest from companies because they can sell more copies of their game. if you are getting this reaction from children when they explored these places, and older people as well, no doubt we will be seeing more of it in the future. it seeing more of it in the future. it is really interesting and it seems like it is something that will inevitably expand. who drives the content currently, the games companies, are they working directly with educational bodies? it companies, are they working directly with educational bodies?— with educational bodies? it comes both ways. _ with educational bodies? it comes both ways. and — with educational bodies? it comes both ways, and this _ with educational bodies? it comes both ways, and this example, - with educational bodies? it comes both ways, and this example, the | both ways, and this example, the environment agency is pairing up with minecraft to create this experience and you have companies

seeing that gaming in its cultural and sporting sense is almost reaching its peak in terms of how many people play and its popularity. they are looking at other avenues to make it relevant to people's day—to—day lives and education is a clear part of that. especially in schools for children with special educational needs, they are particularly successful. this idea you are interacting with your lesson rather than taking it impassively can have real life—changing results for some of these children. and of course, there is the financial side for the games companies themselves. so no doubt schools up and down the uk will see this sort of content. thank you. two notebooks written by the scientist charles darwin stolen from cambridge university library have been returned, nearly 20 years after they were stolen. the books — worth millions of pounds — were in a gift bag, with a note. but exactly who took them remains a mystery. 0ur arts correspondent

rebecca jones has the story. they're safe, they're undamaged, they're home. charles darwin's precious, priceless notepads, which have been missing for more than 20 years. but their return couldn't be more mysterious. they were left anonymously at cambridge university library in this pink gift bag, containing the box the notebooks were originally stored in and an envelope with this simple message. inside, the two notebooks, wrapped tightly in clingfilm. this is where the gift bag was left, outside the librarians�* office. but with no cctv, the library doesn't know who put it there, or, indeed, where the notebooks have been and why they've been returned now. like many other buildings, we don't have cctv in places where people are just regularly passing through. 0ur cctv monitors the front of the building and the back of the building. so, we have passed the cctv that we have available to the police, and that's a matter for their live investigation. cambridge university library is huge. there are 130 miles of shelving, and the notebooks are tiny. they were last seen in

november 2000, when they had been removed to be photographed. despite various searches, they never turned up. and 15 months ago, the bbc first highlighted that dr gardner thought they'd been stolen, and she launched a worldwide appeal to find them. your help could be critical in seeing the notebooks safely returned. and i would ask anyone who thinks they may know of the notebooks' whereabouts to get in touch. please help. one of the notebooks features darwin's "tree of life" sketch, which helped inspire his theory of evolution. they're some of the most remarkable documents in the whole history of science, i honestly think. i mean, the theory of natural selection and evolution is probably the single most important theory in the life and earth environmental sciences, and these are the notebooks in which that theory was put together. professor secord is one of many experts to examine the notebooks and confirm they're authentic. where the clasp is on the notebooks,

you can see little bits of copper, where it's actually been eroded away. these are the tiny tell—tale signs that the whole team of researchers at the university library can use to tell if they're genuine. so, while darwin's ideas helped enlighten the world, the notepads now carry a secret story of their own — a secret which may never be fully revealed. rebecca jones, bbc news, cambridge. more russian diplomats being expeued more russian diplomats being expelled from europe and italy's foreign minister says 30 russian diplomats are being expelled on national security grounds following on from denmark a while ago saying it is expelling 15. france has expeued it is expelling 15. france has expelled 35, germany a0. we have had a response to these moves from russia saying it will retaliate, it has put out that after the expulsion we reported earlier of the diplomats from denmark, so russia saying it will retaliate to those expulsions of diplomats. the latest headlines coming up at ten o'clock. right now,

time for a weather update. now it's time for a look at the weather, with carol kirkwood. this morning, we have started off in a mild note and we will hang onto that during the day, represented by the yellow in the chart, and we also have blue. cold on the northern side of this weather front. any rain turning readily to snow whereas on the milder side, we have rain across central and southern scotland. there is also rain this morning across parts of eastern england, that will clear. but the rain persisting through the day across scotland, with snow down to even sea level. so if you haven't got it yet and you live in the highlands or parts of the grampians, you are likely to come especially during the afternoon. these are the values you can expect, perhaps a little bit more on the highest ground. of course, it will be cold where we have got the snow, but for the rest of the uk, we are looking at temperatures up to 15 degrees. in any sunshine that develops. especially across england and. across the north and west of wales

and into south—west england, at times, we will have some patchy, light rain or drizzle on and off throughout the day and we will see a return to more rain coming in across northern ireland through the afternoon. this evening and overnight, we pick up this band of rain and you can see how it sinks south, weakening all the time. behind it, sharp showers developing across north—west england and wales. and a weather front moving northwards, taking its no increasingly in the hills as it does so. temperatures on the mild side once again tonight except for across the north—east, where it will be cold enough for some ice on untreated surfaces. so that takes us into tomorrow. low pressure continues to pull away towards the north sea. you can see from the isobars it will be windy. the strongest winds will be across northern ireland and south—west scotland through the day, potentially touching gale force. but as the low pressure moves towards the north sea, the wind will strengthen across northern england. we will lose the rain in the south

east quite quickly and then for most of us, it is a day of sunshine and showers. some of those could be sharp and with hale in them as well. and we still have a weather front draped across the north of scotland curling into the north—west, with some hill snow and mist and turning colder behind it. the temperatures, fourin colder behind it. the temperatures, four in lerwick and 12 towards london, so temperatures slipping a little bit. then as we head on into thursday, the blue pushes all the way south, except for in the far south, where we have of the weather front. that producing rain early on, but that will clear. and we have straitened northerly that will accentuate the cold feel. so a frosty start in scotland, then wintry showers, which is a mixture of rain, sleet and hill snow, and these are the temperatures. five to 11 degrees.

this is bbc news ? these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. ukraine's president is due to address the united nations later for the first time since russia's invasion — where he'll call for a full investigation into atrocities committed by president putin's forces. president zelensky claims more than 300 people were tortured and then killed in bucha, near the capital kyiv. russia denies being involved in the deaths. a british father and his nine—year—old son have died in a landslide while on holiday in australia. two members of the same family are also in a critical condition in hospital. chanting.

following continuing protests over the worsening shortage of basic supplies, including food and fuel, the sri lankan governing coalition loses its majority in parliament.