this is bbc news 7 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. a warning that cancer survival rates in england could go into reverse because of staff shortages in the nhs. two notebooks written by the scientist charles darwin have been mysteriously returned to cambridge university library — nearly 20 years after they were stolen. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. 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. it s as the us and european countries have warned of stronger sanctions on russia. uk 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. we arejust we are just hearing that ursula underlying and the eu �*stop diplomatjosep burrow will be travelling to kyiv this week to meet the ukrainian president, an eu spokesperson has said. there is the tweet. they will travel this week to meet president zelensky prior to the pledging event on saturday in warsaw. that is an exceptional

diplomatic mission to show solidarity, travelling to kyiv, the european commission president. moscow's denials that its forces tortured and killed civilians in the ukrainian town of bucha have been undermined by newly released satellite images. these are the original images — the new york times has done further analysis which it says shows 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 0ur correspondent emma vardy is in lviv in western ukraine. she told me more about the reaction to the alleged atrocities in bucha.

the footage 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, mr zelensky, 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 that's 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 where russian forces are now withdrawing from, and mr 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 shot 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 that city encircled, many still trapped inside. what is the latest on the humanitarian efforts to get people out? day after day, we have been watching particularly the efforts of the red cross with this large convoy of buses, who have 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 zaporizhzhia, 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. joining me now is 0leksandr popenko,

a photographer who lived in bucha and managed to get out of the area last month. he's now in southern ukraine with his family and girlfriend. thank you so much forjoining us. i gather you left on the 10th of march. and according to the new york times which is done analysis of those images, the satellite images of bucha, the massacre potentially happened there sometime between the ninth and the 11th. what was the situation at the point you left? i didn't have the full picture because my whole life was around the basement and the only time i really saw something, it was the day when we were leaving and actually, now analysing the pictures, i have seen in the media and those satellite images and so on, i have a clue may

be actually we were trying to escape, just going that direction when those bodies have been found. and so i think maybe they did not let us go there because of this but i am not sure about that. but actually, when we were leaving, we were going from the south, north—west of kyiv, south—west of kyiv, and on our way, we crossed a highway and we saw lots of destroyed civilian cars with the sign children on them and they were burned and we have now seen all those pictures, unfortunately, i am not surprised. it is shocking for the world to see these images and hear the stories

emerging of what happened in bucha. it is hard to imagine how you assimilate it, having lived there and having such a personal connection to the place? it is and having such a personal connection to the place? it is very stran . e connection to the place? it is very strange because _ connection to the place? it is very strange because i _ connection to the place? it is very strange because i have _ connection to the place? it is very strange because i have a - connection to the place? it is very strange because i have a very - connection to the place? it is very i strange because i have a very strong connection, ijust moved there in november, december. —— i do not have a very strong connection. for you to understand the picture, it is a place with no military objects and no one would ever expect this to happen in bucha and actually, it was very shocking but the only thing which we were thinking about is just to survive so we had no emotions when we were there and we had no emotions when we were leaving. to go into survival — emotions when we were leaving. to go into survival mode, _ emotions when we were leaving. to go into survival mode, obviously, - emotions when we were leaving. to go into survival mode, obviously, you do what you can, as you say and you

said you were in the basement, basically, so you were unaware of what was going on around you in bucha. can you tell us more about that, the moment you decided to go into hiding for your safety and what it was like once you're that environment?— it was like once you're that environment? ~ . ., ., ., environment? we decided to go to the basement just — environment? we decided to go to the basementjust on _ environment? we decided to go to the basementjust on the _ environment? we decided to go to the basementjust on the second - environment? we decided to go to the basementjust on the second day - environment? we decided to go to the basementjust on the second day of. basementjust on the second day of the invasion because bucha is very close to hostomel, that was one of the reasons we missed our opportunity to leave bucha on the first day, we did not understand how it was safe to get out. so we were living in the basement of a kindergarten which was a few blocks away from our building and actually,

the atmosphere was changing all the time. firstly, when we still had the power supply, time. firstly, when we still had the powersupply, heating, time. firstly, when we still had the power supply, heating, water, the life there was more or less comfortable, i would say. but on the 3rd of march, the russians entered our district, the 3rd of march, we heard the fights which were going on just to the centre of bucha and after that, when the russians entered, firstly they turned down all the power supplies. they mostly turned down the internet, we had a bad mobile connection of the days,

we did not have it at all inside the basement, if you tried to find somewhere outside, you could make a short call to someone, maybe. but actually, day by day, the humanitarian situation was becoming worse and worse because the food supplies were finishing and so on. you are somewhere safe now but not so very long ago you were in a situation where you did not know how it would end and getting out of it cannot have been easy. can you describe what it was like being there? ., ., .,

there? even though i am a few weeks alread in there? even though i am a few weeks already in a — there? even though i am a few weeks already in a relatively _ there? even though i am a few weeks already in a relatively safe _ there? even though i am a few weeks already in a relatively safe place - already in a relatively safe place and i have done lots of interviews and i have done lots of interviews and studied lots of materials which have been made from there, i still do not understand how, psychologically, i am not there but i have not relived it, maybe, somehow, i actually have no emotion. that is very understandable. are you in touch with people still in bucha? fortunately, all the people which work with us in the basement, we know they have also escaped. and my friend, my close friends have also escaped but we know that lots of people still remain there but actually, we do not have lots of

friends are because we did not live there for a long time. we did not get acquainted with people. we should just say that i know you proposed to your girlfriend in the bunker. was that a moment when you did not know where life was going? yes, it was totally unclear and it was a very strange moment, that actually she asks me, we were standing on the balcony and hearing all of the artillery and so on and she asked me, what are we doing next and i responded to her, and shejust said, ok, say it in the proper way! so i said, ok, will you be my wife?! it was quite a strange moment. and it helped us to stay, i don't know... it helped us to stay, i don't know - -_

it helped us to stay, i don't know... ., ,. ., , ~ it helped us to stay, i don't know... ., ,. ., , �* ~ ., know... conscious. and do you know where life goes _ know... conscious. and do you know where life goes now? _ know... conscious. and do you know where life goes now? do _ know... conscious. and do you know where life goes now? do you - know... conscious. and do you know where life goes now? do you have i know... conscious. and do you know. where life goes now? do you have any plans, any thoughts? it is where life goes now? do you have any plans, any thoughts?— plans, any thoughts? it is still unclear. bucha _ plans, any thoughts? it is still unclear. bucha has— plans, any thoughts? it is still unclear. bucha hasjust - plans, any thoughts? it is still unclear. bucha hasjust been l unclear. bucha hasjust been liberated and we do not know when the russians will regroup, will they return to bucha? we do not know. we will not hurry to return there, so we do not hurry to return to kyiv, we do not hurry to return to kyiv, we are staying at my parents apartment. we are doing our best with what we can, telling the story to the world. did with what we can, telling the story to the world-— to the world. did you lose everything _ to the world. did you lose everything when - to the world. did you lose everything when you - to the world. did you lose everything when you left. to the world. did you lose - everything when you left bucha, to the world. did you lose _ everything when you left bucha, the apartment, all of your property? 0bviously survival was the primary factor but now that life goes on, what other prospects in terms of what other prospects in terms of what you have to go on with?

hopefully i did not move all my stuff to bucha before i started to live there but of course, as i have seen it myself, our balcony somehow was half destroyed and what we know now from friends of our neighbours, we are getting used, very strange, this time, we know that our area is destroyed so we do not know what is inside the flat. we destroyed so we do not know what is inside the flat.— inside the flat. we thank you so much forjoining _ inside the flat. we thank you so much forjoining us _ inside the flat. we thank you so much forjoining us and - much forjoining us and congratulations to you and your fiance and we wish you all the very best.

and — a quick reminder — we'll be taking your questions on the war in ukraine, this thursday morning at eleven thirty. we'll have guests able to answer a range of aspects of the war — from how it is being fought; how it is being reported; and how it may end — to the human consequences. you can get in touch on twitter using the hashtag bbc your questions — and you can email us on yourquestions@bbc.co.uk 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. 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. 0ur health correspondent nick triggle explains more. this is a major stock—take of cancer services by the health and social care committee, headed by the former health secretaryjeremy hunt. in 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 and 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. we 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 16,000 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.

the department of health says it recognises that business as usual is not enough and it has a ten year cancer plan and it has 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 said, they promised a ten year cancer plan. the committee in particular warned about staffing shortages, they identified shortages of cancer doctors, 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, so what we've seen over the past couple of years, is when patients are diagnosed they have to wait longer to start the treatment, that performance has been declining for

some time but the pandemic has exacerbated that so there are huge challenges in cancer services and how quickly you are diagnosed and treated makes a huge difference to your chances. let's speak now to cancer specialist karol sikora. he's a consultant oncologist. welcome and thank you forjoining us. what is your reaction to this? it's something we have all known as oncologists, i have been a consultant for over a0 years and we pointed out 35 years ago was britain, far behind europe, it has got a bit better and we have caught up, europe has gone on faster and the key problem is how it was analysed in that report, it is catching cancer early, stage i tumours exist within a defined organ such as the breast or the colon, stage two spread outside but stage three and four spread far outside of the treatment results are so good with stage one and two but bad with

stage three and four and that is why the emphasis has be an early diagnosis and the fast flow through the system. diagnosis and the fast flow through the s stem. ~ _, . , the system. when the committee warns that more than — the system. when the committee warns that more than 340,000 _ the system. when the committee warns that more than 340,000 people - the system. when the committee warns that more than 340,000 people could l that more than 3a0,000 people could miss out on an early cancer diagnosis that will impact directly on the number of lives lost, will it? it on the number of lives lost, will it? ., ., ., it? it will, and if we forget covid which has _ it? it will, and if we forget covid which has created _ it? it will, and if we forget covid which has created a _ it? it will, and if we forget covid which has created a huge - it? it will, and if we forget covid which has created a huge blip i it? it will, and if we forget covid| which has created a huge blip on it? it will, and if we forget covid - which has created a huge blip on any and improvement in cancer services, if we ignore that, we have a long way to catch up without that. the problem at the moment is this is urgent, a lot of people out there waiting for something, the official number is 6.a million, it is probably around 10 million, whether it is a scan, operation, biopsy and until these pre—comic people are processed through the system we will not know how many missing cancer patients there are. very sophisticated back of the envelope calculation suggests there is between 80 and 100,000 people missing that you would expect,

unlike covid, cancer does not vary through the year, it is completely constant, 1000 new people every day should be presenting with cancer and they are still not which means there is a missing cohort of people. idisihen is a missing cohort of people. when the backlog — is a missing cohort of people. when the backlog is _ is a missing cohort of people. when the backlog is millions, _ is a missing cohort of people. when the backlog is millions, the - the backlog is millions, the government is putting money in and the government says it has a ten year cancer plan. and there are early diagnostic centres being opened up but how quickly can the system get to these people? i opened up but how quickly can the system get to these people? i think the problem — system get to these people? i think the problem pointed _ system get to these people? i think the problem pointed out _ system get to these people? i think the problem pointed out in - system get to these people? i think the problem pointed out in the - the problem pointed out in the report set out this morning as a workforce problem, an ecologist takes between five and ten years to train, a specialist radiographer cannot be trained in less than three years. there is no quick fix. there are two immediate solutions, use private sector, get them to have all the vacant slots they have for diagnostics, open them up, weekends, nights, the whole thing, that costs

money and staff, people would volunteer, we have seen huge initiatives with covid, in 2020, the nhs responded to covid so well, surely we can do the same with cancer and heart disease? it is a matter of motivating everybody and getting them to jump and rise to the occasion. we can do it. the second thing we must do is streamline the nhs. the whole nhs board and the top of nhs england has changed and they are people, when you look at their cv, they can change things, they have a background in commercial operations and the weakness of the nhs as it is so consumer unfriendly, we love it dearly and it is lovely, but you cannot get an appointment to see your gp which is the way into the system, you cannot get an appointment at the hospital for a scan, you're told it is a delay, it gets cancelled an hour before, this happens all the time. it does not

happens all the time. it does not happen in any consumer industry. professor, thank you. let me bring you some comments from liz truss. she is in poland. she has been having a conversation with a japanese foreign minister and has said they have agreed that the international community must increase pressure on vladimir putin and his war machine with further coordinated sanctions so there she is in poland. she is on a two—day visit there and of course later today the un security council is meeting in emergency session and will be addressed by the ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky when he will call for war crimes to be properly investigated and prosecuted in russia will also be at that hearing and says it will be presenting evidence that it has not committed atrocities. 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 1a—year—old son were taken to hospital with serious head and abdominal injuries. and her 15 year—old daughter was treated for shock. 0ur correspondent in sydney, phil mercer, has been giving us the latest. the mayor of the blue 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 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—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 where she was, given that she did not know her exact location. there 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 mountains, an unspeakable tragedy. an unspeakable tragedy. is it known,

where they british family visiting the country or is it a family that live there?— the country or is it a family that live there? ~ . . ., ., ,., . live there? according to the police in new south _ live there? according to the police in new south wales, _ live there? according to the police in new south wales, australia's i live there? according to the police i in new south wales, australia's most populous state, this is a family of five on holiday from the united kingdom here in 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. it is about three mile loop, but it can take several hours. it is steep and challenging. 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 that ground unstable. there were other walking tracks in the blue mountains that were closed, but national park authorities say that this particular track was checked

for safety just a few days ago this particular track was checked for safetyjust a few days ago and that spokesperson also adding that no one can predict. landslides of this nature. so at this moment, the focus very much on that 15—year—old girl and her mother and her brother, who are recovering in hospital. 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. 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.

tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped in the port city of mariupol which has been reduced to rubble by weeks of russian shelling. however, some refugees and made their own weight to safety, as our correspondent reports from the town of zaporizhzhia. —— way to safety. all they had to warn off the russian guns was a white scarf. they have survived the long journey through the front line, but now they're pleading for help for those left in mariupol. translation: ifeel pity for the kids, the women. how many homes were destroyed? you can rebuild houses, but you can't bring people back. hundreds are managing to make it to zaporizhzhia each day. their future is uncertain, the fate of many more unknown.

these people have had no choice but to get out by themselves, as that official aid convoy is still unable to make progress. and they are in a sense now the luckier ones because, of course, the fear is, south of here, behind the russian lines that they'ave come through, the war is likely to get much worse. russia has laid siege to mariupol for over a month now. nearly 5,000 people, including more than 200 children, have been killed, say ukraine officials. this is your home? lubov shows me what's left of where she lived. with her son and granddaughter, she sheltered in the basement for days. "this was my daughter's house," she says. and what do you feel when you look at these pictures? "what do i feel? i can't feel anything," says lubov.

"i love mariupol. russia being so big, people are scared of it. they shouldn't be. little ukraine is fighting back," she says. lubov and her son, valeri, walked for miles and drove for days. now, they're helped at this red cross centre. but others want to get back to mariupol. yevgeni left for a work trip just before the invasion. he texts his wife, svetla na, every day, but there's no answer. they last spoke a month ago, in a desperate call during the shelling, and now their home is gone. translation: it doesn't exist any more. it's been destroyed by shelling or an air strike. i don't have anywhere to go. and i still don't know whether my wife is alive or not. they're urgently trying

to track down the missing, as the world braces to see what else lies beyond the front lines here. but for some now, at least, it's the end of a journey of fear and survival. tom bateman, bbc news, zaporizhzhia, in eastern ukraine. in sri lanka, hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting against worsening shortages of fuel, food and medicines. the governor of the central bank has resigned, and senior government ministers have stepped down, because of the growing economic crisis. problems have been made worse by the collapse of the tourism industry during the pandemic. 0ur correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports from the capital, colombo. they're calling it sri lanka's arab spring — a mass uprising, in a country on the brink of economic collapse. people have had enough of food and fuel shortages and daily power cuts. a few moments ago,

the street lights went. people are waving their phones in the airfor light. this is another moment of solidarity, in a country which was once deeply divided by civil war. as the desperation has grown, so have the protests. why are you here today? to show the disbelief that the people of sri lanka have in this government. and to show how they have failed us as a nation. people can't afford their daily rice, their dhal, their basic necessities. people can't get on buses to come to work, to go to school. how much worse can it get? there is no petrol, there is no diesel. | kids can't sit their exams. because there is no paper. people have been queueing for hours just to get cooking gas. the country struggled to import basics after foreign currency reserves ran low — in part, due to a drop in tourism.

prices are now sky—high. at the local market, we met advertising executive rajeev. so, this is an apple. it used to cost, what, a year ago? a year ago, 30 rupees. 30 rupees an apple. now, how much are the apples? right now, one piece is 100 rupees, no? 150? so the price of this apple has gone up by five times in a year. sri lankans blame the country's president, gotabaya rajapaksa, for mismanaging the economy. seen as a ruthless politician, he's clinging on to power, even as the entire cabinet quit. tonight, protesters gathered outside his office in the capital, demanding he resign. an island nation in turmoil, running out of the basics and running out of patience. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo. north korea has issued a warning that it is prepared to strike south korea with nuclear

weapons if its neighbour launched an attack on it. the warning was made by kimjong—un's high—ranking sister, kim yo—jong, and is the second in as many days. it comes after south korea's defence minister said its military was capable of hitting any target in the north. the world health organization says almost the entire global population is now breathing polluted air. it found 99% of the world's population is exposed to air that breaches internationally approved limits. it also found that negative impacts on health occur at much lower levels of pollution than previously thought. the us senate will hold a confirmation vote on ketanji brown jackson's nomination to the supreme court by the end of the week. ifjudgejackson is confirmed, she would become be the first black woman to serve on the country's highest court. the uk culture secretary, nadine dorries, says the government

has decided to privatise the terrestrial tv station channel a. the broadcaster is currently publicly owned, but funded by advertising revenue. ms dorries said the sell off would put channel a in a better position to compete with netflix and amazon. channel a said it was disappointed with the decision. 0ur political correspondent damian grammaticas has been explaining the uk government's thinking. the government says its reasons for doing this is that channel a, government owned, but entirely funded by advertising, needs to change to sort of compete in the sort of modern streaming media environment. channela sort of modern streaming media environment. channel a was set up in 1982 by conservative government, margaret thatcher, with that model. it was 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 at all. and what the government says now is that the difficulty channel a has, it

believes, is that it cannot raise much finance to invest, it doesn't own the programme is that it produces and therefore profit from them and in a new environment, that needs to change. but there has been a lot of criticism already, a whole chorus of criticism from people saying, including we havejust chorus of criticism from people saying, including we have just had this morning ruth davidson, conservative, saying that channel a is publicly owned, it doesn't cost the taxpayer a money —— money, it commissions content and is one of the reasons we have a thriving sector in places such as glasgow, one of its production hubs. leeds, glasgow and bristol. many of the critics including the labour party are saying that rather than being able to compete with those big streaming giants, channel a could well be snapped up by a giant media company, quite likely a foreign one, and that would mean less programming, lessjobs being made in those hubs around the country. we'll get a better idea later today of how many children in england's state schools are absent, following the recent 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 that it's not going to be free for schools, for teachers, for pupils and for the whole environment, and that's 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's 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'll 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. off you go, 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. if you spend a lot of time 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're talking about into a context they like, enjoy, 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 about more than about building walls, 0k? it's about 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.

and steffan told me more about computer game manufacturers trying to push an educational message in their content. the famous game assassin's creed, for example, which recreates ancient cities for you to go and have sort of battles and what have you. well, actually, there's an egyptian one where you you can go round and explore ancient egypt and ancient greece. so video games are starting to leverage the fact that they create these worlds and these places so vividly that there's an educational side to them as well. you might argue there's a bit of a vested interest from the companies because they can flog more copies of their game, but if you're getting this reaction from children when they explore these places — notjust kids as well, but older people too — then no doubt, we'll be seeing more of it in future. so, i mean, it's really interesting. and as you say, it seems like it's something that will inevitably expand. who drives the content, then, currently? are the games companies working directly with educational bodies? yeah, it sort of comes both ways. so, in this example, you've got the environment agency pairing up with minecraft

to create this experience. but then, you've got companies seeing that gaming sort of in its cultural sense and in its sporting sense is almost reaching its peak, in terms of how many people play and its popularity. so, they're looking at other avenues to make it relevant to people's day—to—day lives, and so education is a clear part of that. and i think especially in schools for children with special educational needs, they�* re particularly successful. this idea that you are interacting with your lesson, rather than just taking it in passively, 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 be seeing more of this sort of content soon. 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 librarian's 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 way which may never be fully revealed. rebecca jones, bbc news, cambridge. elon musk, the billionaire chief executive of tesla and spacex, has floated the idea of having an edit button on twitter, hours after becoming the social media company's largest shareholder. he's just bought a stake in the platform and now owns more than 9% of it. he has tweeted a poll on the issue of an edit button, and twitter�*s chief executive officer has responded by saying users should "vote carefully". reports in the us say kanye west has pulled out of the coachella music festival in california. there have been no

official announcements from the rapper or the festival. coachella is being held for the first time since 2019, after being cancelled because of the pandemic. news from the international criminal court in the hague, where the first trial for crimes committed in court in the hague, where the first trialfor crimes committed in darfur for nearly 20 years ago has got under way under sudanese former military leader has pleaded not guilty to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, he is otherwise known as the colonel of the colonels. he is charged with 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity and he denies those charges against him. prosecutors have described how the militia went through darfur murdering, raping and torturing members of ethnic groups, so this is a significant moment, the first trialfor crimes so this is a significant moment, the

first trial for crimes committed in darfur nearly 20 years ago. thank ou for darfur nearly 20 years ago. thank you for your _ darfur nearly 20 years ago. thank you for your company _ darfur nearly 20 years ago. thank you for your company here - darfur nearly 20 years ago. thank you for your company here on - darfur nearly 20 years ago. thank| you for your company here on bbc news. the latest news is coming up at the top of the hour. hello again, a real variety of weather over the next few days, for some, rain, snow, and forsome weather over the next few days, for some, rain, snow, and for some of you, sunshine. for most of us today, it will be mild. the rain today continuing to push away from the south east. here, it brightens up. further north, more rain across northern ireland and heavier rain across scotland with snow in the grampians and the highlands. if you haven't seen this sea level, it is coming your way through the course of the afternoon. but as we come further south in the sunshine, temperatures could get up to 15 degrees. some patchy light rain and drizzle on and off across northern and western wales and into the south west during the day and still cold of course where we have got the

snow. that rain and snow continuing to push northwards, really hill snow by the time we get to the overnight period. a week where the front moving south brings rain and we get sharp showers over north—west england and north—west wales. for most, another mild night, but cold enoughin most, another mild night, but cold enough in parts of north—west scotland for the risk of ice —— a week where the front. the low pressure driving that weather pulls towards the north sea during tomorrow. so we start off on a windy note and for many, quite a windy day, but the potential of gales across parts of northern ireland and south—west scotland. rain clears the south—west scotland. rain clears the south early on and we have a lot of showers, some with hale, and still the rain across northern scotland curling into the north—west. it is as we head on into thursday, the cold air pushes further south. where we have the mild air is where we have a weather front and that is likely to be producing rain first thing in the morning across parts of south wales and southern england before clearing away. also in a

straight northerly winds, we are a in wintry showers, a mixture of rain, sleet and hill snow, but that wind accentuates the cold veal with temperatures that bit lower anyway. from thursday into friday, the cold front bringing that rain. if we follow it round, we have a warm front backing across southern areas. still a level of uncertainty as to its northern extent and if it travels further north, it will engage with colder and we will see some hill snow before it pulls away. for many of us, a dry day with sunshine, a few wintry showers around, but temperatures five to ten.

this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines at 11... 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 cancer survival rates in england could go into reverse 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. two notebooks written by the scientist charles darwin have been mysteriously returned to cambridge university library, nearly 20 years after they were stolen. hello and welcome to bbc news. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has warned that the worst atrocities committed by russian troops departing from the north of the country are yet to be discovered. horrific images of bodies lying in streets in towns such as bucha have generated shock and condemnation worldwide, but russia denies killing civilians and is accusing ukraine of staging the scenes.

moscow's denials have been undermined by newly released satellite images which appear to show bodies lying in the street in bucha three weeks ago, when russia forces were in control of the town. ukraine's president zelensky has accused the russian forces of committing genocide and later will address the united nations security council, in his first speech to any un body since the russian invasion began. vincent mcaviney has the latest. 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.

tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped in the south—eastern port city of mariupol, which has been reduced to rubble by weeks of russian shelling. however, some refugees have managed to make their own way to safety, as our correspondent tom bateman reports from the town of zaporizhzhia. all they had to warn off the russian guns was a white scarf. they have survived the long journey through the front line but now they are pleading for help for those left in mariupol. translation: ifeel pity for the kids, the women. how many homes were destroyed? you can rebuild houses but you can't bring people back. hundreds are managing to make it to zaporizhzhia each day. their future is uncertain, the fate of many more unknown. these people have had no choice but to get out by themselves as that

official aid convoy is still unable to make progress. and they are in a sense now the luckier ones because of course, the fear is, south of here, behind the russian lines that they have come through, the war is likely to get much worse. russia has laid siege to mariupol for over a month now. nearly 5,000 people, including more than 200 children, have been killed, say ukraine officials. this is your home? lubov shows me what is left of where she lived. with her son and granddaughter, she sheltered in the basement for days. "this was my daughter's house," she says. and what do you feel when you look at these pictures? "what do i feel? i can't feel anything," says lubov.

"i love mariupol. russia being so big, people are scared of it. they shouldn't be. little ukraine is fighting back," she says. lubov and her son valeri walked for miles and drove for days. now they are helped at this red cross centre. but others want to get back to mariupol. yevgeni left for a work trip just before the invasion. he texts his wife, svetla na, every day, but there is answer. every day, but there is no answer. they last spoke a month ago in a desperate call during the shelling, and now their home is gone. translation: it doesn't exist any more. - it has been destroyed by shelling or an air strike. i don't have anywhere to go. and i still don't know whether my wife is alive or not. they are urgently trying to track down the missing,

as the world braces to see what else lies beyond the front lines here. but for some now at least, it is the end of a journey, of fear and survival. tom bateman, bbc news, zaporizhzhia in eastern ukraine. ijust want i just want to let you know that we will be taking your questions on the war in ukraine. that is happening this thursday at 11.30. there will be a range of questions answered about various aspects of the war, how it is fart, how it might end and the human consequences. if you want to ask your question, you can get in touch on twitter and you can e—mail us as well... we can go live to lviv in western ukraine and our correspondent anna foster.

hello to you. president zelensky will be addressing the un security council for the first time today, the day after his own visit to bucha to see what has happened there the last few weeks. his aim, i suppose, is to build the pressure on russia, to build the strength of the international coalition. which he is calling on to investigate what has happened. calling on to investigate what has ha ened. . v calling on to investigate what has hauened. . v ., ., happened. that's right. throughout this he has used _ happened. that's right. throughout this he has used his _ happened. that's right. throughout this he has used his platform - happened. that's right. throughout this he has used his platform as - this he has used his platform as president and his background to really speak to people, to really get across what is happening here in ukraine. every night he addresses the ukrainian people, he does regular messages. we have seen him address parliamentarians around the world. we know now he has a background as an actor and comedian, and he has used his powerful operation skills to try and make sure the focus of the world really remains on this conflict here in

ukraine. i think today at the un security council, we can expect to hear more powerful and strong words from president zelensky, particularly i think after we saw him for the first time out of kyiv yesterday in bucha seeing for himself first hand some of the terrible images that have been shared around the world in the last a8 hours or so. he will have been no doubt deeply personally affected by that, and he will i think use his platform today at the un security council to further his appeal to the international community not to lose focus on what is happening here and to continue to give ukraine the backing he says it so badly needs. meanwhile international leaders talking about further sanctions on russia and its interests. do the ukrainian authorities think that will be helpful at this particular point in the conflict? i will be helpful at this particular point in the conflict?— will be helpful at this particular point in the conflict? i think they are prepared _ point in the conflict? i think they are prepared to _ point in the conflict? i think they are prepared to take _ point in the conflict? i think they are prepared to take anything i point in the conflict? i think they. are prepared to take anything that might help, even in some small way,

but president zelensky has been clear that sanctions are one thing but what he desperately needs is international weapons, international ammunition, international aid. physical, tangible ammunition, internationalaid. physical, tangible things is what he continues to appealfor. physical, tangible things is what he continues to appeal for. russia has now refocused its efforts in this conflict. it is moving very much in the east and the south away as we know now from parts of the north and the capital kyiv, but of course we are five and half weeks into this conflict now and ukrainian forces have performed better than i think a lot of people thought they would. they have really pushed back against russian forces in a way that even military analysts some of them thought ukrainian forces weren't capable of. but as the conflict extends, as ammunition becomes depleted and weapons are destroyed in the fighting, there's always the need for more of that to be brought in. while sanctions are appreciated, it is really tangible assistance that ukraine keeps pushing for.

anna, thank you for that. anna foster in lviv. the time is 11.11. 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 1a—year—old son were taken to hospital with serious head and abdominal injuries. her 15—year—old daughter was treated for shock. 0ur correspondent in sydney phil mercer has been giving us the latest. well, the mayor of the blue 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. this is a very popular tourist destination about 60 miles to the west of the opera house here in sydney, and they were walking down a track when a landslide let loose an unknown amount of rock. we know that a man and his

nine—year—old son were hit by rocks and they died. 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 that she called emergency services, being composed enough to guide or to give them hints as to where she was, given that she didn't know her exact location. there 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 two separate hospitals here in sydney. they've both undergone surgery. we don't know their condition at the moment. we also do know that earlier today, the bodies of her father and that other nine—year—old boy were also retrieved. so in the words of, as i say, the mayor of the blue mountains,

an unspeakable tragedy. 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 will 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. mps have said they are 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. 0ur health correspondent nick triggle explains more. this is a major stock—take of cancer services by the health and social care committee, and it's headed by the former health secretaryjeremy hunt. in 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, and that's deemed vital for increasing the chances of survival. up until the pandemic, little progress was being made, so the target, as i say, 75%, had been hovering below 55% for the past six years. we 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 check—ups. and there's 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. with me is shirley cochrane, who was diagnosed with cancer in both breasts at the end of 2016. i'm alsojoined by minesh patel from macmillan cancer support. welcome to both of you today. surely, tell us about your diagnosis first of all and your subsequent treatment. j first of all and your subsequent treatment-— first of all and your subsequent treatment. . ., treatment. i was diagnosed on the 1st of november _ treatment. i was diagnosed on the 1st of november 2016 _ treatment. i was diagnosed on the 1st of november 2016 with - treatment. i was diagnosed on the | 1st of november 2016 with bilateral breast cancer, and i had a different cancer in either breast. 0ne being triple negative which tends to be more aggressive, has a poorer

prognosis and a higher chance of re—occurrence, so i had chemotherapy. i had extensive surgery, and i had radiotherapy. following all of that, that took about a year, following that i was told i would be followed up at six months intervals with the oncologist or the breast surgeon and yearly mammograms. fiend or the breast surgeon and yearly mammograms-— or the breast surgeon and yearly mammograms. or the breast surgeon and yearly mammourams. �* ., _, , mammograms. and then of course the andemic mammograms. and then of course the pandemic happened — mammograms. and then of course the pandemic happened so _ mammograms. and then of course the pandemic happened so i _ mammograms. and then of course the pandemic happened so i presume - mammograms. and then of course the pandemic happened so i presume that| pandemic happened so i presume that that follow—up didn't happen as planned? that follow-up didn't happen as ianned? ., , �* ~ planned? no, they didn't. when the andemic planned? no, they didn't. when the pandemic happened, _ planned? no, they didn't. when the pandemic happened, i _ planned? no, they didn't. when the pandemic happened, i received - planned? no, they didn't. when the pandemic happened, i received a i pandemic happened, i received a letter to say that all my follow—ups were now cancelled and that i needed to self manage. which, as you can imagine, isjust devastating. it feels like someone has pulled the security blanket away from under your feet. security blanket away from under our feet. , . , , your feet. presumably with the tri - le your feet. presumably with the triple negative _ your feet. presumably with the triple negative cancer- your feet. presumably with the triple negative cancer you - triple negative cancer you mentioned, the very aggressive form,

those follow—ups are really important to keep a check on it? they are vitally important. 0bviously for your health but also your mental health as well because the fear of it returning is real and sometimes all consuming. let me brin: in sometimes all consuming. let me bring in minesh _ sometimes all consuming. let me bring in minesh now. _ sometimes all consuming. let me bring in minesh now. i _ sometimes all consuming. let me bring in minesh now. i want - sometimes all consuming. let me bring in minesh now. i want to - sometimes all consuming. let me| bring in minesh now. i want to look at the target, so there's been no improvement in six years, no improvement in six years, no improvement dating back to before the pandemic. presumably that combined with the staff shortages that mps have been talking about for cancer care, those two things are really worrying. cancer care, those two things are really worrying-— really worrying. today's report makes for _ really worrying. today's report makes for really _ really worrying. today's report makes for really hard - really worrying. today's report makes for really hard reading | really worrying. today's report i makes for really hard reading and really _ makes for really hard reading and really highlights the major challenges facing our workforce. we heard _ challenges facing our workforce. we heard from — challenges facing our workforce. we heard from shirley that some people

are really— heard from shirley that some people are really struggling to get a cancer— are really struggling to get a cancer diagnosis, but then getting that personalised quality care, and this is— that personalised quality care, and this is really important if we want people _ this is really important if we want people to — this is really important if we want people to have the best possible chance _ people to have the best possible chance of— people to have the best possible chance of not only surviving their cancer _ chance of not only surviving their cancer but — chance of not only surviving their cancer but also living well with cancer~ — cancer but also living well with cancer. we know government in england — cancer. we know government in england currently has plans to develop — england currently has plans to develop a ten year strategy for cancer— develop a ten year strategy for cancer services. that is great but without _ cancer services. that is great but without the — cancer services. that is great but without the work force there, without — without the work force there, without the work force there, without the right numbers of doctors and nurses, — without the right numbers of doctors and nurses, it will fall short to deliver— and nurses, it will fall short to deliver its— and nurses, it will fall short to deliver its ambition. the government is also talking — deliver its ambition. the government is also talking about _ deliver its ambition. the government is also talking about a _ deliver its ambition. the government is also talking about a network - deliver its ambition. the government is also talking about a network of - is also talking about a network of new diagnostic centre is being opened so those combined with the ten year plan, would that fix this if the staff are in place? would it fix the starling in the diagnosis rates we have been seeing over the last six years? i rates we have been seeing over the last six years?— last six years? i think it would definitely help. _ last six years? i think it would definitely help. it _ last six years? i think it would definitely help. it is _ last six years? i think it would definitely help. it is really - last six years? i think it would l definitely help. it is really good to see — definitely help. it is really good to see investment in diagnostic centres — to see investment in diagnostic centres and this ambition for improving outcomes of people living with cancer. what we haven't seen

yet is _ with cancer. what we haven't seen yet is the — with cancer. what we haven't seen yet is the credible plan to make sure _ yet is the credible plan to make sure we — yet is the credible plan to make sure we have people entering the workforce — sure we have people entering the workforce but also making sure we retain _ workforce but also making sure we retain people so that we have got doctors _ retain people so that we have got doctors and nurses to provide cancer care that _ doctors and nurses to provide cancer care that all — doctors and nurses to provide cancer care that all of us might need both now and _ care that all of us might need both now and in— care that all of us might need both now and in the future. we have done some _ now and in the future. we have done some research estimating that by 2030. _ some research estimating that by 2030, across the uk will need around 4000 _ 2030, across the uk will need around aooo additional cancer nurses so we really— aooo additional cancer nurses so we really need _ aooo additional cancer nurses so we really need to act on this and start investing — really need to act on this and start investing now. really need to act on this and start investing now-— really need to act on this and start investing now. surely, i know from readin: investing now. surely, i know from reading about _ investing now. surely, i know from reading about you _ investing now. surely, i know from reading about you that _ investing now. surely, i know from reading about you that you - investing now. surely, i know from reading about you that you are - reading about you that you are passionate about getting the message out there to get checked if you are concerned you have any symptoms of cancer. ijust want concerned you have any symptoms of cancer. i just want to talk to you a little bit more about that idea of living well with cancer that minesh was mentioning. and you have described to me a few moments ago about the impact on your mental health, not only of the disease but worrying about not being able to get checks in the correct time, in a timely way to stop any re—occurrence or to catch any re—occurrence. how

big an impact has that aspect had on you? big an impact has that aspect had on ou? �* , ,., , big an impact has that aspect had on you? absolutely massive. i have had sleeless you? absolutely massive. i have had sleepless nights _ you? absolutely massive. i have had sleepless nights where _ you? absolutely massive. i have had sleepless nights where i _ you? absolutely massive. i have had sleepless nights where i have - you? absolutely massive. i have had sleepless nights where i have laid i sleepless nights where i have laid awake worrying that i have found a lump, that the cancer may be back. not having access to my breast cancer nurse for reassurance has caused huge problems. and yes, i am very passionate. early diagnosis is the key to a good outcome for most people, and so i think it's really vital that things change now. ihtre vital that things change now. are appointment is easier to come by at the moment? the appointment is easier to come by at the moment?— appointment is easier to come by at the moment? the last time i saw my consultant would _ the moment? the last time i saw my consultant would have _ the moment? the last time i saw my consultant would have been - the moment? the last time i saw my consultant would have been about i consultant would have been about five months prior to the pandemic striking, and so no, i still haven't seen them. i have no idea when or if they will actually see me again. minesh, at macmillan cancer support, what advice do you give to someone

like shirley, really wanting to see her consultant and get the appointments but unable to access them at the moment? taste appointments but unable to access them at the moment?— appointments but unable to access them at the moment? we would say to an one them at the moment? we would say to anyone listening _ them at the moment? we would say to anyone listening first _ them at the moment? we would say to anyone listening first of— them at the moment? we would say to anyone listening first of all— them at the moment? we would say to anyone listening first of all if— them at the moment? we would say to anyone listening first of all if you - anyone listening first of all if you have _ anyone listening first of all if you have any— anyone listening first of all if you have any signs or symptoms of cancer, — have any signs or symptoms of cancer, please do come forward. your gp is— cancer, please do come forward. your gp is still— cancer, please do come forward. your gp is still there for you and should be prioritising you if you have suspected cancer. anyone struggling to get— suspected cancer. anyone struggling to get appointments and follow—up checks, _ to get appointments and follow—up checks, again do persist and speak to macmillan. we have advisers, we can help. _ to macmillan. we have advisers, we can help. we — to macmillan. we have advisers, we can help, we have support for people struggling _ can help, we have support for people struggling right now.— struggling right now. finally to ou, struggling right now. finally to you, minesh... _ struggling right now. finally to you, minesh... shirley, - struggling right now. finally to you, minesh... shirley, sorry, | struggling right now. finally to i you, minesh... shirley, sorry, did you, minesh... shirley, sorry, did you want to come in on that point? no, i agree with everything minesh hasjust said, and people do need to get to their gps and get checks. minesh, in terms of the numbers of specialist cancer staff that the nhs needs, you have talked about the figures you have looked at. what sort of investment is that going to

take from the government? taste sort of investment is that going to take from the government? we know it is not auoin take from the government? we know it is not going to — take from the government? we know it is not going to be _ take from the government? we know it is not going to be cheap _ take from the government? we know it is not going to be cheap but _ take from the government? we know it is not going to be cheap but this - take from the government? we know it is not going to be cheap but this is - is not going to be cheap but this is about— is not going to be cheap but this is about the — is not going to be cheap but this is about the longer term for the cancer services _ about the longer term for the cancer services. the nhs has had its budget set for— services. the nhs has had its budget set for the _ services. the nhs has had its budget set for the last three years, we want _ set for the last three years, we want to— set for the last three years, we want to see proper allocation of that funding to make sure we have the right— that funding to make sure we have the right investment but also thinking _ the right investment but also thinking about the additional money we might— thinking about the additional money we might need to make sure we have people _ we might need to make sure we have people at— we might need to make sure we have people at every stage diagnosed with cancer— people at every stage diagnosed with cancer and _ people at every stage diagnosed with cancer and also providing the follow—up care for cancer patients. minesh, _ follow—up care for cancer patients. minesh, thank you very much for your time. minesh patel, and also shirley cochran, very best wishes to you. thank you. the uk culture secretary, nadine dorries, says the government has decided to privatise the terrestrial tv station channel a. the broadcaster is currently publicly—owned but funded by advertising revenue. ms dorries said the sell—off would put channel a in a better position to compete with netflix and amazon. channel a said it was disappointed with the decision.

0ur political correspondent damian grammaticas has been explaining the uk government's thinking. the government says its reasons for doing this is that channel a — government—owned, but entirely funded by advertising — needs to change to sort of compete in the sort of modern streaming media environment. now, channel a was set up in 1982 by a conservative government, margaret thatcher, with that model. it was 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 a has, it believes, is that it can't raise much finance to invest, it doesn't own the programmes that 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

from people saying... including, we've just had this morning, ruth davidson, a conservative, saying that "channel a is publicly owned, it doesn't cost the taxpayer a penny. it commissions content, but it's one of the reasons we have a thriving independent sector in places such as glasgow." that's one of its production hubs. leeds, glasgow and bristol. and what is being said by many of the critics is that... including the labour party, is that channel a, rather than being able to compete with those big streaming giants, could well be snapped up by a giant media company — quite likely a foreign one — and then that would mean less programming, lessjobs being made in those hubs around the country. let's get more on this from labour's shadow culture secretary, the mp lucy powell. thank you forjoining us today to talk about this. you have described this as cultural vandalism. would you like to see a public consultation before anything else

happens? taste consultation before anything else ha ens? ~ . consultation before anything else hauens? ~ . . . , consultation before anything else hauens? . . ., ., , ., consultation before anything else hauens? e . ., ., , ., ., happens? we have already had one. 60,000 people _ happens? we have already had one. 60,000 people got _ happens? we have already had one. 60,000 people got involved - happens? we have already had one. 60,000 people got involved in - happens? we have already had one. 60,000 people got involved in that| 60,000 people got involved in that public consultation. we have still not heard the government response to that. , not heard the government response to that, , ., not heard the government response to that. , ., , , that. sorry to interrupt, but therefore — that. sorry to interrupt, but therefore do _ that. sorry to interrupt, but therefore do we _ that. sorry to interrupt, but therefore do we need - that. sorry to interrupt, but l therefore do we need another that. sorry to interrupt, but - therefore do we need another public consultation if i can put it that way? do we need further investigation and a sense of what the public thinks about this before anything happens to channel a? i think the previous consultation was overwhelming. the industry, the sector, the public, people who lose jobs —— whose jobs and businesses rely on channel a are overwhelmingly opposed to its sell—off and support its current model because it makes no economic sense to sell it off, as you have beenjust hearing in your package. it doesn't cost the taxpayer a penny. package. it doesn't cost the taxpayera penny. in package. it doesn't cost the taxpayer a penny. in all its money then reinvested into small, independent production companies creating jobs and opportunities

around the country. it is very much at the heart of the levelling up a gender the government says it wants to promote. it is there to take risks, to develop talent and home—grown production, british programmes for a british audience. selling it off to what undoubtedly would be one of the big american companies would diminish all of that. no question of that. nadine dorries, that. no question of that. nadine dorries. sorry _ that. no question of that. nadine dorries, sorry to _ that. no question of that. nadine dorries, sorry to interrupt, - that. no question of that. nadine dorries, sorry to interrupt, said l dorries, sorry to interrupt, said the sell—off would put channel a in a better position to compete with netflix and amazon, but do you think thatis netflix and amazon, but do you think that is what channel a is trying to do or needs to do? it that is what channel 4 is trying to do or needs to do?— do or needs to do? it sits in a different _ do or needs to do? it sits in a different part _ do or needs to do? it sits in a different part of _ do or needs to do? it sits in a different part of the - do or needs to do? it sits in a - different part of the world-renowned different part of the world—renowned broadcasting ecosystem that we have here in the uk. it is the envy of the world come with a mixed model we have in the bbc, with channel a, with itv and then all the other streaming services and so on. we are the envy of the world because they do differentjobs, and channel a is

there, set up by margaret thatcher, to come in and support independent production companies to give access to young people, to new and emerging businesses, give them access to the terrestrial television network. it being gobbled up and bought off by one of the american streaming companies, which is who will buy it, let's be under no illusion about that because they will want that prominence at the number four slot on our television sets, will diminish thatand on our television sets, will diminish that and we will see less home—grown british content. we will see fewer british jobs and less investment in uk creative industries. frankly, it isjust a distraction. this is going to take years for the government to get through parliament. there is a lot of opposition in their own benches as well, and frankly they should be focusing all their effort on the big issues the country faces today, dealing with the cost of living crisis, dealing with what is happening in ukraine and elsewhere

rather than picking a fight frankly which the only motive i can really see here is that theyjust don't like some of the channel a output. let me bring in this quote, julia night the chair of the culture committee has been tweeting in the last 15 minutes or so, and he says, "elephant in the room time. is this being done for revenge of channel a biased coverage and the likes of brexit and personal attacks on the pm? the timing coinciding with the channel a news was very telling," he goes on. what is your reaction to what he said?— what he said? you have got to auestion what he said? you have got to question the _ what he said? you have got to question the motive _ what he said? you have got to question the motive when - what he said? you have got to . question the motive when there what he said? you have got to - question the motive when there is no economic culture, levelling up all creative industry reason for doing it really. you really do have to question the motives and the timing and the way in which they have announced it. putting up no government minister to defend it on

the airwaves this morning, doing it during parliamentary recess. you have got to question the motives, there is no doubt about that. i think whatjulian knight, the point is going on to make is there might be an argument for the long—term strength of channel a and thinking about economies of scale. that is not what the government are doing here. they are looking for a quick fix to sell—off to the highest bidder, losing all the public interest, all the public value and losing that public support doing so. for money which they say they will redistribute in the creative industries, but channel a itself in its current form already invests around £1 billion a year every year in the uk creative industries, so let's carry on with that rather than one—off grants that the government might want to give out instead. it just doesn't make any sense. luci; just doesn't make any sense. lucy powell mp, _ just doesn't make any sense. lucy powell mp, thank _ just doesn't make any sense. lucy powell mp, thank you _ just doesn't make any sense. lucy powell mp, thank you very much. the shadow culture secretary lucy powell. now it's time for a look

at the weather with carole. hello again. the weather today is very mixed for some of us, we've got some heavy rain for some snow and some of us will see some sunshine. now we've got this snow across the highlands in the grampians today. increasingly, we'll see that getting down to lower levels. heavy rain moving in across scotland into northern england. and we'll see some more rain getting into northern ireland. this morning's rain in eastern england clearing and here it will brighten up with top temperatures up to 15 degrees. but we will have drizzle on and off through the day across north through this evening and overnight weather front sinking south weakens sharp showers for northern england, north and west wales and our hill snow increasingly pushing northwards into the far north of scotland. a chilly night in the north, but for most it's going to be mild. tomorrow then we lose the rain early on from the southeast. it will be followed by a lot of showers, some sharp, some with some hail in them. and we see a return to the rain across the north of scotland, calling in across the western isles

with top temperatures of 13. hello, this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh and these are the headlines: ukraine's president is due to address the united nations later for the first time since russia's invasion, where he will call for a full investigation into atrocities committed by president putin's forces. 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 cancer survival rates in england could go into reverse 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.

sport now and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. here's louisa. good morning. arsenal manager mikel arteta has apologised after his side were beatne 3—0 at crystal palace last night. arteta says the performance was not good enough for the north london club. the visitors had gone into the game looking to move back into the top four and strengthen their hopes of champions league football. but goals from jean—philippe mateta, jordan ayew and a penalty from wilfried zaha keep arsenal behind rivals spurs in fifth. it is time to accept the criticism, put your hand up, apologise because the performance wasn't good enough for this club. and now react because when everything goes well, everybody wants to be there and everybody wants to be supportive. so let's see who is there now. with arsenal continuing their battle to qualify for next seasons champions league, this year's competition has reached

the quarterfinal stage 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 club aren't getting carried away just yet. 0ne failure, one step over there and this one competition could be gone, so we have to make sure. it is no problem for us, by the way, because we don't feel that well about the situation, we don't feel that great, we just feel ready for the next challenge and that is all i need, but there is no big celebration over the development of the club over the last three years. the development of the club over the last three years. meanwhile, manchester city, who are on the hunt for their first champions league title, are at home to atletico madrid and the premier league leaders know

they are in for a tough match at the etihad. we don't know what to expect. we don't know if they will try to press high, go low and wait for us. we know that whatever —— whenever they try and impress us they will be very aggressive, they won't give us much space and it'll be very tight, so definitely not an open game, that is not athletic opus quality, so more details, little details that are going to be important that will decide these kind of games, so we don't expect an open game, no. chelsea women defender jonna andersson will leave the club at the end of the season to join swedish team hammarby. in four and half years at the club, andersson has won three women's super league titles, two fa cups, two continental league cups and the community shield. 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. after this long break that tiger had, i think he could get into contention. tiger is very special and very unusual. he never played a lot of tournaments in any years, evenin lot of tournaments in any years, even in his prime. i think it will be hard for him to win, but i think you could pop up on the leaderboard. plenty more sport over on the website, including news this morning that boxer lee selby has announced his retirement. that's bbc.co.uk/sport. but for now, that's it from me.

ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has warned that the worst atrocities committed by russian troops departing from the north of the country are yet to be discovered. horrific images of bodies lying in streets in towns such as bucha have generated shock and condemnation worldwide, but russia denies killing civilians and is accusing ukraine of staging the scenes. moscow's denials have been undermined by newly—released satellite images which appear to show bodies lying in the street in bucha three weeks ago, when russia forces were in control of the town. ukraine's president zelensky has accused the russian forces of committing genocide and later will address the united nations security council, in his first speech to any un body since the russian invasion began. 0ur correspondent in moscowjenny hill says the kremlin continues to deny any wrongdoing. the kremlin simply denies it all. it says the footage which has emerged, the witness accounts which we have heard, 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 their claims that this is all a pack of lies. we have heard official after official, politician after politician here in the last 2a hours, come 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 and 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 had been placed in the streets where 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 also during this conflict. the tactic is one of deny everything, dismiss it as fake 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.

i want to bring you this breaking news from plymouth crown court. a 2a—year—old man has pleaded guilty to the alleged murder of bobbi—anne mcleod. cody ackland is accused of murdering the 18—year—old student in november last year. bobbi—anne was last seen leaving her home to visit friends on the evening of november 20th last year. 0ur correspondent has the background to the case.

bobbi—anne mcleod, just 18 years old when she went missing. the student was last seen not far from her home at this bus stop on the 20th of november at around six in the evening. she was due to meet friends for a night out but never arrived. after three days of searching, police found her body in a wood near the coast, about seven miles from her home. cody ackland, guitarist and a local music fan, was arrested and a local music fan, was arrested and charged a few days later. police said there was no known link between him and the victim. at the time, her brother said on social media, until we meet again, sis, i love you. this song was made in tribute to the teenager. live and bobbi—anne mcleod have been friends since primary school. . e, , have been friends since primary school. ,, . , , , , school. she was funny, very funny. she had you _

school. she was funny, very funny. she had you in _ school. she was funny, very funny. she had you in stitches. _ school. she was funny, very funny. she had you in stitches. you - school. she was funny, very funny. she had you in stitches. you would j she had you in stitches. you would walk into a room and she would just light up the whole place. she was just brilliant, brilliant person. its, just brilliant, brilliant person. a number of vigils were held in plymouth for people to pay their respects and to raise concerns about women's safety. the city once again in shock at the tragedy, united in mourning. the murder camejust three months after the mass shootings which lead —— left five people dead. women were really scared, understandably so, because it was so random. a young girl going out to meet yourfriends in random. a young girl going out to meet your friends in the early evening and she ended up being murdered, it is absolutely shocking. it is not surprising that lots of people in the community were really scared about what happened. the council along with partner organisations set up a commission to tackle violence against women. lynn runs as an abuse and sexual violence charity and has submitted evidence to the commission. the charity and has submitted evidence to the commission.—

charity and has submitted evidence to the commission. the city has this safe streets — to the commission. the city has this safe streets three _ to the commission. the city has this safe streets three funding, - to the commission. the city has this safe streets three funding, so - to the commission. the city has this safe streets three funding, so there | safe streets three funding, so there is a lot of work going on all of that money, there is investment in things like cctv, cameras going around the city and improved lighting. to around the city and improved liuuhtin. ., . around the city and improved liuuhtin. e, . , around the city and improved liuuhtin. ., . , ., around the city and improved liuuhtin. e, . , ., , around the city and improved lighting. to date is not guilty plea now means _ lighting. to date is not guilty plea now means that _ lighting. to date is not guilty plea now means that bobbi-anne - lighting. to date is not guilty plea - now means that bobbi-anne mcleod's now means that bobbi—anne mcleod's friends and family have been spared the distress of a lengthy trial, but the distress of a lengthy trial, but the great continues for her loved ones, for a woman described this funny and brilliant by her friends. we will have more from jenny he was in court this morning in the next few minutes. president zelensky will be addressing the un security council later today. addressing the un security council latertoday. it addressing the un security council later today. it will be the first time he has addressed the un body since the russian invasion of ukraine. he is doing that day after visiting horrific scenes of bodies lying in streets, discoveries of

mass grades —— graves. ukrainian bodies have called on the international criminal court to investigate what is happening there as war crimes. investigate what is happening there as war crimes. joining me now is professor 0lympia bekou, head of the international criminaljustice unit at the university of nottingham's human rights law centre. very good to have you with us today. could you explain for our viewers what is the correct procedure for gathering and documenting evidence for a war crimes investigation? let me start by the fact that atrocities and war do happen, so it is very important at this stage even though the conflict is still going on, to collect the evidence which will then be used in any eventual prosecutions. that will take time and it will take a lot of work, so the office of the prosecutor of the international criminal court is already on the scene. last week the

prosecutor himself was in ukraine. it is important at this stage of the conflict to map, document, preserve but also authenticates the evidence thatis but also authenticates the evidence that is coming out of ukraine. he would have heard the russians are disputing the accuracy of the evidence, so this is a crucial moment. 0bviously, evidence, so this is a crucial moment. obviously, the technology helps and lots of people are documenting, using their phones. all of that needs to be covered, verified, and if it is proven that war crimes had been committed, that will be crucial in finding people guilty. will be crucial in finding people uuil . ., ' . , will be crucial in finding people uuil . e, m , ., ~' guilty. how difficult is it to link any evidence — guilty. how difficult is it to link any evidence gathered - guilty. how difficult is it to link any evidence gathered to - guilty. how difficult is it to link any evidence gathered to an i any evidence gathered to an individual or individuals? we have heard a couple of days ago the former chief prosecutor in the un war crimes tribunal is on rwanda and the former yugoslavia calling for an international arrest warrant to be issued for vladimir putin. how difficult is it to get proof that

will link any war crimes to individuals?— will link any war crimes to individuals? , . ,., , individuals? the starting point is to create a _ individuals? the starting point is to create a crime _ individuals? the starting point is to create a crime base, - individuals? the starting point is to create a crime base, so - individuals? the starting point is to create a crime base, so you i to create a crime base, so you collect as much evidence as possible to establish the facts, then slowly you start building up the case further up the chain of command. it is relatively easy to connect the evidence to the people who pulled the trigger, but a lot harder to the person who gave the order and even harder if you were to go up to president putin, for example. nobody gives an order like that and documented that easily, so it will take a lot of work to find that linkage evidence that will lead to the higher echelons of command. item; the higher echelons of command. any trials if they — the higher echelons of command. any trials if they happen, we know from experience, take a very long time. indeed. this is often a criticism of the international criminaljustice

trials, but let's not forget the situation is very complex, we are investigating from outside the country. it will take thousands of victims and witnesses to contribute to the process, so that takes years. but justice, to the process, so that takes years. butjustice, even if it is delayed, it will happen further down the line. its. it will happen further down the line. �* . . , it will happen further down the line. �* w, ,., ., line. a case in point, i would suggest. _ line. a case in point, i would suggest, professor, - line. a case in point, i would suggest, professor, is- line. a case in point, i would suggest, professor, is the i line. a case in point, i would i suggest, professor, is the fact line. a case in point, i would - suggest, professor, is the fact that the first trials over the atrocities in darfur, 20 years ago, are getting under way at the international criminal court. i suppose that is an example that justice eventually prevails, even if it takes a long time, and when i sayjustice i mean the process of a trial happening. it the process of a trial happening. ft is indeed. today it is the opening of the trial in the hague, and it is almost precisely 15 years to the day that the arrest warrant was issued. it does take a long time and these

are very complex trials. hopefully, we owe it to the victims and witnesses and affected communities to bring justice for them, even if it takes some time.— to bring justice for them, even if it takes some time. professor, thank ou for it takes some time. professor, thank you for your — it takes some time. professor, thank you for your expertise _ it takes some time. professor, thank you for your expertise today. - let's return to that breaking news from plymouth from within the last half hour. a 2a—year—old man has admitted murdering bobbi—anne mcleod. the 18—year—old student was last seen in november last year leaving her home to visit friends. her body was discovered three days later. jenny kumah is at plymouth crown court. this morning, cody ackland appeared in court. he was dressed in a grey jumper and bluejeans. in court. he was dressed in a grey jumperand bluejeans. he spoke in court. he was dressed in a grey jumper and bluejeans. he spoke only to confirm his name and date of

birth and he was asked to enter a plea and he pleaded guilty. there were a number of family members in the public gallery, some of them visibly moved by today's events. the case has been adjourned until next month, untilthe 19th case has been adjourned until next month, until the 19th of may. the judge said he will be receiving a life sentence, the only question being around the minimum term. this was a case that shocked the city, coming as it did just a few months after the fatal shootings were five people were left dead. bobbi—anne was last seen at a bus stop near her home on the 20th of november. the police search for three days and her body was found six miles away three days later. a few days later there were a couple of arrests and one of

them was cody ackland. a few days later he appeared in court. this is a case that has been shocking to the local community. there were a number of vigils held and people wait now for sentencing next month. jenny, thank ou for sentencing next month. jenny, thank you very _ for sentencing next month. jenny, thank you very much. _ if you spend a lot of time trying to get your children away from the computer screen to stop and games, they can sometimes be of use! 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 takeover 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 when you put what we are talking about into context they like, they enjoy it, it is fun, we think they are aware of and comfortable with, the interest is spartan they come alive. some people will be thinking, the environment agency has a big job on its hands, lots of pressing issues to tackle, why are you waiting time focusing on a video game instead of sorting out those other issues? our work is about more than building walls. it's about making places, but the degree isn't it worse

so we need to boost awareness and understanding of that and the part in helping us as a nation response. 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 introduce a topic or to allow a 3d model of a topic to be explored to bring it to life. back at school, there is only one question left to answer. is the city safe? together, we were able to save preston, online at least. 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. this 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 had been stolen. 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 and 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 way which may never be fully revealed. rebecca jones, bbc news, cambridge. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello, again. we've got a real variety of weather over the next few days. for some, there'll be rain. for some, there'll be snow. for some, there'll be some sunshine. but today, for most of us, it's going to be mild. the rain today continuing to push away from the south—east. here, it will brighten up. but as we push further north, we've got more rain coming in across northern ireland and some

heavier rain across scotland, with some snow in the grampians and also the highlands. if you haven't seen this at sea level, it is coming your way through the course of the afternoon. but as we come further south, in the sunshine, temperatures could get up to 15 degrees. there'll be some patchy light rain and drizzle on and off across northern and western wales and into the south—west throught the course of the day. and still cold, of course, where we've got the snow. that rain and snow continuing to push northwards. really hill snow by the time we get to the overnight period. a weak weather front moving southwards brings some rain and we'll see sharp showers develop across north—west england and north—west wales. for most, it's going to be another mild night, but it will be cold enough in parts of north—west scotland for the risk of ice. now, the low pressure driving our weather continues to pull towards the north sea during tomorrow, so we start off on a windy note. and for many, it will be quite a windy day, with the potential of gales across parts of northern ireland and south—west scotland. rain clears the south early on, and we then we've got a lot of showers —

some with some hale in them — some with some hail in them — and still the rain across northern scotland, curling into the north—west. it's as we head on into thursday, the cold air pushes further south. where we have the mild air is where we've got a weather front, and that weather front is likely to be producing rain first thing in the morning across parts of south wales and southern england, before clearing away. we're also in a straight northerly wind, we're dragging in wintry showers. that's a mixture of rain, sleet and hill snow. but that northerly wind will accentuate the cold feel, with temperatures that little bit lower anyway. then as we mobve from thursday into friday, you can see the cold front bringing that rain, but if we follow it round, we then have a warm front coming back in across southern areas. now, there's still a level of uncertainty as to its northern extent and, if it travels further north, it will engage with the cold air and we'll see some hill snow, before it pulls away. but for many of us, it's going to be a dry day with some sunshine, a few wintry showers around, with temperatures 5—10.

this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines... ukraine's president is due to address the united nations in just a few hours for the first time since russia's invasion, where he'll call for a full investigation into atrocities committed by president putin's forces. satellite images of the ukrainian town of bucha appear to show dead bodies lying on the streets for weeks, contradicting russian claims that the killings occurred after their forces had left. a 2a—year—old man pleads guilty to the murder of teenager bobbi—anne mcleod, whose body was discovered three days after she was last seen waiting for a bus in plymouth in november. 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 cancer survival rates in england could go into reverse because of staff shortages in the nhs. consoles in the classroom — how a special version of one of the world's biggest computer games will help children in england learn more about flood prevention. hello and welcome to bbc news. the ukrainian president will address the united nations today for the first time since the russian invasion. it follows growing evidence of atrocities, with the current focus on the city of bucha, near kyiv. new satellite images from maxar appear to show bodies in the streets during the occupation by russian forces.

analysis by the new york times highlights at least 11 bodies, and disproves suggestions they only appeared after russian soldiers left the area. unverified figures from ukrainian officials claim more than a00 bodies have been found in areas around kyiv. 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. meanwhile, the eu commission president, ursula von der leyen, and top diplomatjoseph borrell will visit kyiv this week to meet president zelensky. europe and the us have warned of stronger sanctions on russia. and uk foreign secretary liz truss has called for russia to face the maximum level of sanctions, as she meets her polish counterpart in warsaw. vincent mcaviney has the latest.

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. as we've been hearing, the european commission president ursula von der leyen will visit ukraine this week for talks with president zelensky. let's get more on this with our correspondent in brussels, nick beake. hello to you. clearly security considerations for her visit, nonetheless it speaks volumes and it is symbolic that ursula von der leyen will be going to the ukrainian capital. leyen will be going to the ukrainian caital. . �* , ~ leyen will be going to the ukrainian caital. . �*, . . capital. that's right. we have confirmation _ capital. that's right. we have confirmation from _ capital. that's right. we have confirmation from her- capital. that's right. we have confirmation from her chief i confirmation from her chief spokesperson here in brussels that

she will be making the trip later in the week, and as you say security concerns have been an important factor here. her team have made the decision now it is sufficiently safe for her to visit. we don't know the timings, we don't know the programme, we don't know whether she will be in the heart of the capital kyiv, orshe will be in the heart of the capital kyiv, or she will go bucha where president zelensky was and he is expected to talk about what he saw there. we know the russians have moved out and left behind a trail of devastation and destruction, and also these chilling accounts of what russian soldiers committed while they were there. we don't know if ursula von der leyen will see for herself some of these streets, but certainly she will leave behind in brussels this concerted diplomatic effort that continues, and they are talking about further sanctions that could be applied on the russian regime and i think we might get more information in the next 2a hours or so about what would be a fifth round

of sanctions targeting president putin and the administration in moscow. istate putin and the administration in moscow. ~ . , . ., ., moscow. we have seen a round of expulsions — moscow. we have seen a round of expulsions of _ moscow. we have seen a round of expulsions of russian _ moscow. we have seen a round of expulsions of russian diplomats, | expulsions of russian diplomats, haven't we, but picking up on the idea of further sanctions, what could those be? liz truss meeting her polish counterpart talking about the maximum level of sanctions. l the maximum level of sanctions. i think the problem now is that the maximum level of sanctions. u think the problem now is that having don four lots of sanctions, there are divisions which have emerged between the 27 member states and so specifically they are on energy. we have heard over the past few weeks that all the money that continues to go to moscow is effectively funding president putin's war chest, the money for oil and gas enabled him to perpetuate this war he has launched against the ukrainian people. on the one hand the uk strongly saying more needs to be done. in germany a0% of the gas comes from russia, and they would say they are in a difficult

position. any sanctions that harm eu members themselves are counter—productive, so it is tricky to get this agreement on further measures. 0ne to get this agreement on further measures. one thing we are hearing is that they may target coal, which would be easierfor is that they may target coal, which would be easier for germany because already in berlin they have said by the end of the summer they want to see the reliance on russian coal reduced and gone away completely. i think we will have to wait and see what happens there. also further sanctions of russian banks would make an impact. in terms of diplomats, yesterday we saw france and germany. today further measures from other countries, italy expelling 30 russian diplomats, denmark 15 russian diplomats, and sweden says it will kick out three russian diplomats, and already moscow is vowing retaliation for this. . ~ moscow is vowing retaliation for this. �* . ~ moscow is vowing retaliation for this. �* ,, , . ,, this. nick beake in brussels, thank ou. 0ur correspondent anna foster is in lviv in western ukraine.

she told me earlier that president zelensky�*s address to the un this afternoon will focus on war crimes. throughout this he has used his platform as president and his background to really speak to people, to really get across what is happening here in ukraine. every night he addresses the ukrainian people, he does regular messages. we have seen him address parliamentarians around the world. we know now that he has a background as an actor and comedian, and he has used his powerful oration skills to try and make sure the focus of the world really remains on this conflict here in ukraine. so i think today, at the un security council, we can expect to hear more powerful and strong words from president zelensky — particularly, i think, after we saw him for the first time out of kyiv yesterday in bucha seeing for himself first—hand some of those terrible images that have been shared around the world in the last a8 hours or so. he will have been, no doubt,

deeply personally affected by that, and he will, i think, use his platform today at the un security council to further his appeal to the international community not to lose focus on what is happening here and to continue to give ukraine the backing that he says it so badly needs. meanwhile, international leaders talking about further sanctions on russia and its interests. do the ukrainian authorities think that will be helpful at this particular point in the conflict? i think they're prepared to take anything that might help, even in some small way, but president zelensky has been very clear that sanctions are one thing but what he desperately needs is international weapons, international ammunition, international aid. physical, tangible things is what he continues to appeal for. and he has done for the last few weeks. russia has now refocused its efforts in this conflict.

it is moving very much in the east and the south, away as we know now from parts of the north and the capital, kyiv. but of course, we are five and half weeks into this conflict now and ukrainian forces have performed better than i think a lot of people thought they would. they have really pushed back against russian forces in a way that even some military analysts thought ukrainian forces weren't capable of. but as the conflict extends, as ammunition becomes depleted and weapons are destroyed in the fighting, there's always the need for more of that to be brought in. so i think while sanctions are appreciated, it is really tangible assistance that ukraine keeps pushing for. anna a n na foster anna foster reporting. and a quick reminder — we'll be taking your questions on the war in ukraine, this thursday morning at 11.30. we'll have guests able to answer a range of aspects of the war — from how it is being fought, how it may end and the human consequences.

you can get in touch on twitter using the hashtag bbc your questions and you can email us on yourquestions@bbc.co.uk. a 2a—year—old man has pleaded guilty to the murder of bobbi—anne mcleod. cody ackland is accused of murdering the 18—year—old student in november last year. bobbi—anne was last seen leaving her home to visit friends on the evening of november 20th last year. jenny kumah is at plymouth crown court. she has been in the court this morning, and tell us about what happened. morning, and tell us about what ha ened. , morning, and tell us about what happened-— morning, and tell us about what hauened. , ., , n~ ., ., ,, ., happened. yes, cody ackland appeared in court this morning _ happened. yes, cody ackland appeared in court this morning and _ happened. yes, cody ackland appeared in court this morning and pleaded - in court this morning and pleaded guilty. there were a number of bobbi—anne mcleod's family in the public gallery and some were visibly moved during the hearing. today the police and crime commissioner of devon and cornwall issued a statement, and alison hernandez

said, she is pleased the case has moved swiftly and the family will be able to get the answers they need concerning this deeply troubling case. bobbi—anne mcleod, just 18 years old when she went missing. the student was last seen not far from her home at this bus stop on the 20th of november at around 6pm in the evening. she was due to meet friends for a night out but never arrived. after three days of searching, police found her body in a wood near the coast, about seven miles from her home. cody ackland, a guitarist in a local music band, was arrested and charged a few days later. police said there was no known link between him and the victim. at the time, her brother said on social media, "until we meet again, sis, i love you."

# forever in my memories... this song was made in tribute to the teenager. liv and bobbi—anne mcleod have been friends since primary school. she was funny. very funny. she had you in stitches. you would walk into a room and she'd just light up the whole place. and she was just a brilliant, brilliant person. a number of vigils were held in plymouth for people to pay their respects and to raise concerns about women's safety. the city once again in shock at tragedy, united in mourning. the murder camejust three months after the mass shootings in keyham, which left five people dead. women were really scared, understandably so, because it was such a random crime. a young girl was going out to meet her friends in the early evening, and she ended up being murdered. it's absolutely shocking, so it's not surprising people... lots of people in the community were really scared about what actually happened. the council, together with partner organisations, have set up a commission to tackle violence against women. lyn gooding runs a regional domestic abuse and sexual violence

charity and has submitted evidence to the commission. the city's got the safer streets 3 funding, so there's an awful lot of work going on with that money. so there's investment in things like cctv, there's, you know, cameras going around the city and improved lighting. today's guilty plea means that bobbi—anne mcleod's friends and family have been spared the distress of a lengthy trial, but the grief continues for her loved ones for a woman described as funny and brilliant by her friends. jenny kumar, bbc news. there were a number of family and friends here today in the public gallery, visibly moved at a difficult time to be listening in on this hearing. thejudge adjourned the case until may the 19th. he said that the only sentence he could impose was a life sentence and the

only issue would be around the minimum term he must impose. jenny, thank ou minimum term he must impose. jenny, thank you very — minimum term he must impose. jenny, thank you very much _ minimum term he must impose. jenny, thank you very much for _ minimum term he must impose. jenny, thank you very much for that _ minimum term he must impose. jenny, thank you very much for that report. i thank you very much for that report. jenny kumar at plymouth crown court. 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 1a—year—old son were taken to hospital with serious head and abdominal injuries. and her 15 year—old daughter was treated for shock. 0ur correspondent in sydney, phil mercer, has been giving us the latest. well, the mayor of the blue 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. this is a very popular tourist destination about 60 miles to the west of the opera house here in sydney, and they were walking down a track when a landslide let loose an unknown amount of rock.

we know that a man and his nine—year—old son were hit by rocks and they died. 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 that she called emergency services, being composed enough to guide or to give them hints as to where she was, given that she didn't know her exact location. there 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 two separate hospitals here in sydney. they've both undergone surgery. we don't know their condition at the moment. we also do know that earlier today, the bodies of her father and that other nine—year—old boy were also retrieved.

so in the words of, as i say, the mayor of the blue mountains, an unspeakable tragedy. let's head to the bbc sport centre now. good afternoon. arsenal manager mikel arteta has apologised after his side were beaten 3—0 at crystal palace last night. arteta says the performance was not good enough for the north london club. the visitors had gone into the game looking to move back into the top four and strengthen their hopes of champions league football. but goals from jean—philippe mateta, jordan ayew and a penalty from wilfried zaha keep arsenal behind rivals spurs in fifth. it's time to accept the criticism, put your hand up, apologise because the performance wasn't good enough for this club. and now react because when everything goes well, everybody wants to be there and everybody wants to be supportive.

so let's see who is there now. to the champions league, where the competition has reached the quarterfinal stage. chelsea play tomorrow, but the two other british clubs are in action this evening. manchester city take on atletico madrid at the etihad, whilst liverpool are in portugal to take on benfica. managerjurgen klopp isn't getting carried away with a potentially record—breaking season. 0ne one little wrong step or whatever and this one competition could be gone, so we have to make sure. there is no problem for us by the way because we don't feel that well about the situation, we don't feel that great, we just feel ready for the next challenge and that's all i need, but there is no big celebration about the development of the club in the last few years. it is just really serious work and i'm very happy about that. 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, we've had some conversations and, man, i don't know how he's done it. it's very impressive. details of the 2022 draft for cricket's hundred competition is over on the website, but that's all from me for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. let's return now to the war in ukraine. more than four million people have left the country since the start of the russian invasion, 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.

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. ok. 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. joining me now is retired majorjohn spencer, who is chair

of urban warfare studies at us—based national security think tank the madison policy forum. thank you forjoining us on bbc news today. so much analysis of what might happen next, but a lot as well on what has happened already, and there seems to have been an expectation by the russian forces that they were going to be able to achieve their goals relatively quickly. that hasn't happened. how much has that been down to the smaller, more agile ukrainian units in comparison to those columns of russian tanks we have seen? yes. russian tanks we have seen? yes, it's been very _ russian tanks we have seen? yes, it's been very important. - russian tanks we have seen? yes, it's been very important. i - russian tanks we have seen? is: it's been very important. i think you had it right on the goals. the objectives of the ukrainians was to stop russians achieving their goals by taking kyiv and other areas that they fought hard using kind of what i study, the principles of urban defence. so they don't have to be bigger or even better than the

russian forces if the russians are attacking and they are defending. but they have also gone on amazing counterattacks using surprise to their advantage. counterattacks using surprise to theiradvantage. i counterattacks using surprise to their advantage. i think it is amazing. their advantage. i think it is amazing-— their advantage. i think it is amazinu. . , . , their advantage. i think it is amazin_ . ., , . , ., amazing. we have seen images of citizens making _ amazing. we have seen images of citizens making molotov _ amazing. we have seen images of citizens making molotov cocktails| amazing. we have seen images of. citizens making molotov cocktails to use as well, so it has been quite astonishing to see this in contrast to the scale of what russia has. yes, i think ukraine has been a reminder of something military analysts have known for centuries, that the most important thing in war is the will of people who fight. the volunteers in the territorial defence and the ukrainian citizens. they fought and had the will to fight, the russians didn't. harder fight, the russians didn't. how important _ fight, the russians didn't. how important is — fight, the russians didn't. how important is that _ fight, the russians didn't. how important is that sense - fight, the russians didn't. how important is that sense of morale, the sense of cause? because we know down in the south—east of ukraine,

where the russian military was already communicating well, they have been fighting more effectively. to the north of ukraine when they were coming in from belarus and in that section of the country, we heard of russian units that were told they were going out on training exercises and then being told to carry on into ukraine on this military operation. there seems to have been a less cohesive approach from those russian units. so how important is that sense of cause, that sense of morale? it is important is that sense of cause, that sense of morale?— that sense of morale? it is more important _ that sense of morale? it is more important than _ that sense of morale? it is more important than any _ that sense of morale? it is more important than any other- that sense of morale? it is more important than any other factor. that sense of morale? it is more i important than any other factor you can analyse in this war. as an old soldier, i know that things you just mentioned like morale and motivation, cohesion, i mean all wars are a contest of wills and russia didn't have the will, as you said most of them didn't know what they were doing. ukraine is our link to pay the ultimate price, and they are suffering and they need a lot of

help, but they are teaching the world that that fight and all the things it takes to keep that fight in soldiers is more important than the size or capabilities of the military. the size or capabilities of the milita . �* , . i. the size or capabilities of the milita . �* , . . military. and i understand you have written a manual _ military. and i understand you have written a manual on _ military. and i understand you have written a manual on warfare - military. and i understand you have written a manual on warfare for- written a manual on warfare for advice for soldiers heading into combat zones or indeed advice for civilians in the case of ukrainians, so many of them having to fight to defend their country heading into combat zones. that has been translated into ukrainian i believe? absolutely, and it's also been distributed by the ukrainian government to the people. i don't like civilians fighting in the war because once they pick up a weapon they are no longer civilians, they are combatants. but i wrote a mini manualfor are combatants. but i wrote a mini manual for the are combatants. but i wrote a mini manualfor the urban are combatants. but i wrote a mini manual for the urban defender which focuses on protection. the urban environment can provide so much protection, places to hide and places to attack if you want. they have used that and i'm very hopeful,

and i have seen it has been helpful to make sure that people fighting stay protected and defeat the russians using very basic principles. russians using very basic principles-— russians using very basic --rinciles. ~ . , principles. we have seen the russians retreat _ principles. we have seen the russians retreat in _ principles. we have seen the russians retreat in some - principles. we have seen the i russians retreat in some areas, principles. we have seen the - russians retreat in some areas, but looking forward, looking ahead, what are your concerns about what might come next in terms of russian strategy? t come next in terms of russian strate: ? ~ . , come next in terms of russian strategy?— strategy? i think what is most concerning — strategy? i think what is most concerning is _ strategy? i think what is most concerning is the _ strategy? i think what is most concerning is the russians - concerning is the russians attempting... well, it's going to be very hard for them, let's be clear. mariupol is a big concern but the ukrainian forces in the east, as russia failed it was defeated in their main objective of taking kyiv, now trying to get a win out of taking the eastern portion of ukraine, the donbas. my concern is russia is able to encircle those forces like they did in mariupol and achieve their goal. but there's a of fight still be had. this war is

nowhere near over.- fight still be had. this war is nowhere near over. ma'orjohn sencer nowhere near over. ma'orjohn spencer from h nowhere near over. ma'orjohn spencer from the h nowhere near over. majorjohn spencer from the madison - nowhere near over. majorjohn i spencer from the madison policy forum, thank you for your time. thank you. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. the weather is very mixed. some have heavy rain, snow, and some will see some sunshine. we have this snow across the highlands and the grampians today, increasingly we will see that at lower levels. heavy rain moving into northern england and we will see more rain getting into northern ireland. this morning's rain in eastern england clearing and here it will brighten up clearing and here it will brighten up with top temperatures up to 15 degrees. we will have this on and off through the west of wales and south—west england. this evening and overnight, sinking with hill snow increasingly pushing northwards into the five —— far north of scotland.

tomorrow we lose the rain from the south—east, it will be followed by a lot of showers. some sharp, some with hail in them, and we see a return to rain in the north of scotland curling in across the western isles with top temperatures of 13. hello, this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines: ukraine's president is due to address the united nations in just a few hours for the first time since russia's invasion, where he will call for a full investigation into atrocities committed by president putin's forces. satellite images of the ukrainian town of bucha appear to show dead bodies lying on the streets for weeks, contradicting russian claims that the killings occurred after their forces had left. a 2a—year—old man pleads guilty to the murder of teenager bobbi—anne mcleod,

whose body was discovered three days after she was last seen waiting for a bus in plymouth in november. 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 cancer survival rates in england could go into reverse because of staff shortages in the nhs. tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped in the south—eastern port city of mariupol, which has been reduced to rubble by weeks of russian shelling. however, some refugees have managed to make their own way to safety, as our correspondent tom bateman reports from the town of zaporizhzhia. all they had to warn off the russian guns was a white scarf. they have survived the long journey through the front line but now they are pleading for help for those

left in mariupol. translation: ifeel pity for the kids, the women. how many homes were destroyed? you can rebuild houses but you can't bring people back. hundreds are managing to make it to zaporizhzhia each day. their future is uncertain, the fate of many more unknown. these people have had no choice but to get out by themselves as that official aid convoy is still unable to make progress. and they are in a sense now the luckier ones because of course, the fear is, south of here, behind the russian lines that they have come through, the war is likely to get much worse. russia has laid siege to mariupol for over a month now. nearly 5,000 people, including more than 200 children, have been killed, say ukraine officials.

this is your home? lubov shows me what is left of where she lived. with her son and granddaughter, she sheltered in the basement for days. "this was my daughter's house," she says. and what do you feel when you look at these pictures? "what do i feel? i can't feel anything," says lubov. "i love mariupol. russia being so big, people are scared of it. they shouldn't be. little ukraine is fighting back," she says. lubov and her son valeri walked for miles and drove for days. now they are helped at this red cross centre. but others want to get back to mariupol. yevgeni left for a work trip just before the invasion.

he texts his wife, svetla na, every day, but there is no answer. they last spoke a month ago in a desperate call during the shelling, and now their home is gone. translation: it doesn't exist any more. - it has been destroyed by shelling or an air strike. i don't have anywhere to go. and i still don't know whether my wife is alive or not. they are urgently trying to track down the missing, as the world braces to see what else lies beyond the front lines here. but for some now at least, it is the end of a journey, of fear and survival. tom bateman, bbc news, zaporizhzhia in eastern ukraine. joining me now is scarlett errington. she is usually a care home manager in sussex, but is currently in poland, where she is delivering donations and supplies for those fleeing the conflict in ukraine.

thank you so much forjoining us. tell us how you came to take leave from yourjob and gather up aids and then travel to poland.— then travel to poland. well, originally. _ then travel to poland. well, originally. i— then travel to poland. well, originally, i know— then travel to poland. well, originally, i know quite - then travel to poland. well, originally, i know quite a i then travelto poland. well, j originally, i know quite a lot then travelto poland. well, i originally, i know quite a lot of ukrainian people, i've been in health and social careful quite a long time. it is knowing people that were back home in ukraine that had the conflict. i was sat at home and ijust the conflict. i was sat at home and i just felt like i the conflict. i was sat at home and ijust felt like i needed to do something, like i needed to try and get as many donations as possible together and travel to poland to deliver much—needed supplies. its, bit deliver much-needed supplies. a bit like an extension _ deliver much-needed supplies. a bit like an extension of _ deliver much—needed supplies. a bit like an extension of yourjob, really, you are a carer, so you thought you would deliver that care somewhere else. yes. you build up a car and a roof box? its, somewhere else. yes. you build up a car and a roof box?— car and a roof box? a lot of people that i

car and a roof box? a lot of people that i knew — car and a roof box? a lot of people that i knew in _ car and a roof box? a lot of people that i knew in poland _ car and a roof box? a lot of people that i knew in poland already, - car and a roof box? a lot of people that i knew in poland already, they had messaged me to say that they were desperate for baby food, nappies, childrenmy clothes, baby clothes, coats, shoes, everything we could manage to get, even colouring pencils, chocolate for children. fiend pencils, chocolate for children. and who did that _ pencils, chocolate for children. and who did that come from, friends, neighbours? its, who did that come from, friends, neighbours?— neighbours? a lot of my work colleagues — neighbours? a lot of my work colleagues were _ neighbours? a lot of my work colleagues were absolutely i colleagues were absolutely fantastic. i have been overwhelmed by the generosity of so many people. i put a post on facebook and the amount of response that i got from people, i travelled all over west sussex collecting items, collecting stuff, people dropping stop off at my house, it has been amazing. also my house, it has been amazing. also my daughter's school, they did a massive collection for me, as well. it was a bit of a struggle cramming everything in!— everything in! how quickly did that car and roof—

everything in! how quickly did that car and roof box _ everything in! how quickly did that car and roof box full— everything in! how quickly did that car and roof box full of _ everything in! how quickly did that car and roof box full of items - car and roof box full of items empty? car and roof box full of items em ? ~ , car and roof box full of items em . ? . , ., car and roof box full of items em 2. , ., . ., empty? we first went to warsaw, riaht at empty? we first went to warsaw, right at the _ empty? we first went to warsaw, right at the train _ empty? we first went to warsaw, right at the train station - empty? we first went to warsaw, right at the train station and - empty? we first went to warsaw, right at the train station and bus| right at the train station and bus station which are connected at the centre of warsaw, and we dropped off all the baby food, nappies, those kind of supplies. that emptied so quickly. it was just clothing that we had. there is a town not farfrom where we are now. they have a free shop for clothes and a lot of ukrainian nationals are coming in, going through the rails. we delivered a load of clothes there. it went really quickly. even when we were in warsaw, a lady said, do you have a coat? some shoes for my child. he said, yes, come and have a look. we opened the boot of the car and within seconds there was a group

of mums, grannies, looking for their children, grandchildren, just going through the clothes in the boots. it was incredible. they weren't taking anything that they didn't need. we said to one couple with a baby, please, please take baby clothes, take more, take more. they said, no, you have given us a blanket, you have kept our baby warm, that is enough for us, thank you. it have kept our baby warm, that is enough for us, thank you.- enough for us, thank you. it was incredible- _ enough for us, thank you. it was incredible. as _ enough for us, thank you. it was incredible. as a _ enough for us, thank you. it was incredible. as a mum _ enough for us, thank you. it was incredible. as a mum yourself, . enough for us, thank you. it was i incredible. as a mum yourself, you have a four—year—old, it must have been incredibly emotional to see other mothers in that situation. it other mothers in that situation. ft is absolutely heartbreaking. you can see the desperation and the gratitude of giving someone a coat. it gives me goose bumps, it touches my heart so much. giving a child a coat that i have literallyjust pulled out of my car. they are warm,

cosy, the gratitude and that mother's face for that tiny little gifts, it was heart—warming and extremely difficult at the same time. , , , , ., extremely difficult at the same time. , , , time. very briefly, when you came back home. _ time. very briefly, when you came back home. do _ time. very briefly, when you came back home, do you _ time. very briefly, when you came back home, do you plan _ time. very briefly, when you came back home, do you plan to - time. very briefly, when you came back home, do you plan to returnl back home, do you plan to return with another carload of items? idist’heh with another carload of items? when i aet home with another carload of items? when i get home i— with another carload of items? when i get home i plan _ with another carload of items? when i get home i plan to _ with another carload of items? when i get home i plan to get _ with another carload of items? when i get home i plan to get as _ with another carload of items? ii"ie:"i i get home i plan to get as many fans together as possible. we want to do it slightly differently when we come back to poland. we want to buy the supplies in poland to make it easier with the travel, and then hire a lorry or a van and deliver more supplies. we have a contact in warsaw now who is in the eight tent every day, seven days a week, so we want to be able to ask what's they need, we will get it and go and deliver it. . ., need, we will get it and go and deliver it— need, we will get it and go and deliver it. . ,, . ., deliver it. thank you so much for tellin: us deliver it. thank you so much for telling us your— deliver it. thank you so much for telling us your story. _

thank you so much for telling us your story. 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 takeover, 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 when you put what we are talking about into context they like, they enjoy it, it is fun, we think they are aware of and comfortable with, the interest is spartan they come alive. some people will be thinking, the environment agency has a big job on its hands, lots of pressing issues to tackle, why are you waiting time focusing on a video game instead of sorting out those other issues? our work is about more than building walls. it's about making places, but the degree isn't it worse so we need to boost awareness and understanding of that and the part in helping us as a nation response. 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 introduce

a topic or to allow a 3d model of a topic to be explored to bring it to life. back at school, there is only one question left to answer. is the city safe? together, we were able to save preston, online at least. 0ur gaming reporter steffan powell is here to explain more. lovely to have you in the studio. tell us more about how this game, minecraft, came to be used in this way. minecraft, came to be used in this wa . ~ . ., , ., ., , minecraft, came to be used in this wa. ., way. microsoft, the owners of minecraft. _ way. microsoft, the owners of minecraft, have _ way. microsoft, the owners of minecraft, have been - way. microsoft, the owners of| minecraft, have been investing way. microsoft, the owners of. minecraft, have been investing in different ways to make it applicable for some time. there is a business sense for it to be parts in people's lives in different ways. they created this education addition. it is true that the environment agency got involved. minecraft allows you

to build anything he wants. the environment agency thought, let“s use it to educate and raise awareness of issues around flooding. what is interesting about this application is the pupils resort in school could see there are streets, their home changing in front of their home changing in front of their eyes virtually. that is what sparked an interest in it. it is a blend between the environment agency without an educational message, and then microsoft itself. the interesting _ then microsoft itself. the interesting question - then microsoft itself. the interesting question then is watch at the other potential applications of this game or other games in education settings?— of this game or other games in education settings? there is another title with assassins _ education settings? there is another title with assassins creed, _ education settings? there is another title with assassins creed, which - education settings? there is another title with assassins creed, which is l title with assassins creed, which is a game about fighting back in ancient places. they have created a version where you can just experience ancient egypt in ancient greece. we will see more gaming in educational settings in the future.

games companies have a vested interest because the more you get people engaging with the content to pick a chance they will buy more and invest more themselves down the line. when you see the reactions from the pupils when they interact in this way and the results are to follow them, there is no doubt this will happen more in future. i follow them, there is no doubt this will happen more in future.- will happen more in future. i guess a lot of people _ will happen more in future. i guess a lot of people will _ will happen more in future. i guess a lot of people will be _ will happen more in future. i guess a lot of people will be paying - a lot of people will be paying attention to the results in educational attainment. thank you very much. we have some statistics just inches from the department for education on attendance. they estimate that a6,000 teachers and school leaders were absent from open schools on the sist were absent from open schools on the 31st of march, that is down from a8,000 on the 17th of march. this is 9% of teachers and school leaders, 9% of teachers and school leaders, 9% of teachers and school leaders, 9% of the workforce in terms of teaching assistants and other staff were also absent on the 31st of

march. 1,000 fewer than the fortnight before, to try to give you the shorthand of all these percentages and figures. the department for education is no longer collecting data for reasons for workforce absence, this is a name —— in england only. we are still —— they are still collecting reasons for pupils being absent and there were 179,000 pupils in state funded schools who did not attend schools for covid—19 related reasons on the 31st of march, 11% fewer than the previous set of data. of these, 120,000 were confirmed cases of coronavirus. secondary school attendance was 85% down from 87% on that date at the end of march. there are big exams coming up.

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. 0ur health correspondent nick triggle explains more. karol sikora is a consultant oncologist which is a cancer specialist. he says this problem has been around for some time. well, it's something we've all known as oncologists, we've seen. i've been a consultant over a0 years now, and we pointed it out 35 years ago that britain was far behind europe. and it's got sort of a bit better, and we've caught up. europe, of course, has gone on faster. and the key problem is exactly how nick triggle analysed it. it“s catching cancer. early stage one tumours exist within a defined role in breast, lung, colon and so on. stage two spread a little bit outside, but stage three and four, far outside. treatment results are so good with stage one and two,

but so bad with stage three and four. and that's why the emphasis has to be on early diagnosis and fast flow through the system. i spoke with shirley cochrane, who was diagnosed with cancer in both breasts, and minesh patel from macmillan cancer support. i started by asking shirley to tell us about her diagnosis. i was diagnosed on 1st november 2016 with bilateral breast cancer, and i had a different cancer in either breast. 0ne being triple negative, which tends to be more aggressive, has a poorer prognosis and a higher chance of re—occurrence. so i had chemo, i had extensive surgery and i had radiotherapy. following all of that, that took about a year, following all that i was told

i would be followed up at six—monthly intervals with the oncologist or the breast surgeon, and yearly mammograms. and then, of course, the pandemic happened so i presume that that follow—up didn't happen as planned? no, they didn't. when the pandemic happened, i received a letter to say that all my follow—ups were now cancelled and that i needed to self—manage. which, as you can imagine, isjust devastating. it feels like someone has pulled the security blanket away from under your feet. presumably, with the triple negative cancer you mentioned, the very aggressive form, those follow—ups are really important to keep a check on it? they are vitally important. 0bviously, for your health, but also your mental health, as well, because the fear of it returning is real and sometimes all—consuming. let me bring in minesh now.

welcome. i want to look at that key nhs target of diagnosing three—quarters of cancer cases in the early stages. so there's been no improvement in six years on that figure, no improvement dating back to before the pandemic. presumably, that combined with the staff shortages that mps have been talking about for cancer care, those two things are really worrying. today's report makes for really hard reading and really highlights the major challenges facing our workforce. we heard from shirley there and we hear regularly from people that some are really struggling to get a cancer diagnosis, but then getting that personalised quality care, and this is really important if we want people to have the best possible chance of, not only surviving their cancer, but also living well with cancer. we know government in england currently has plans to develop a ten—year strategy

for cancer services. that is great, but without the workforce there, without the right numbers of doctors and nurses, it will fall short to deliver its ambition. the government is also talking about a network of 160 new diagnostic centre is being opened, so those combined with the ten—year plan, would that fix this if the staff are in place? would it fix the stalling in the diagnosis rates we have been seeing over the last six years? i think it would definitely help. it is really good to see investment in diagnostic centres and this ambition for improving outcomes of people living with cancer. what we haven't seen yet is that credible plan to make sure we have people entering the workforce, but also making sure we retain people so that we have got doctors and nurses to provide cancer care that all of us might need both now and in the future. we have done some research estimating that by 2030

across the uk will need around a,000 additional cancer nurses. we are nowhere near that now, so we really need to act on this and start investing in that now. shirley, i know from reading about you that you are passionate about getting the message out there to get checked if you are concerned you have any symptoms of cancer. i just want to talk to you a little bit more about that idea of living well with cancer that minesh was mentioning. and you have described to me a few moments ago about the impact on your mental health, not only of the disease, but of worrying about not being able to get checks in the correct time, in a timely way to stop any re—occurrence or to catch any re—occurrence. how big an impact has that aspect had on you? absolutely massive. i have had sleepless nights where i have laid awake worrying that i have found a lump, that the cancer may be back. not having access to my breast cancer nurse for reassurance has caused huge problems.

and, yes, i am very, very passionate. early diagnosis is the key to a good outcome for most people, and so i think it's really vital that things change now. are appointments getting easier to come by at the moment? i still haven't seen my consultant at all. the last time i saw my consultant would have been about five months prior to the pandemic striking, and so no, i still haven't seen them. i have no idea when or if they will actually see me again. minesh, at macmillan cancer support, what advice do you give to someone like shirley, really wanting to see her consultant and get those appointments, but unable to access those at the moment? we would say to anyone listening, first of all, if you have any signs or symptoms of cancer, please do come forward. your gp is still there for you and should be prioritising

you if you have suspected cancer. anyone struggling to get appointments and follow—up checks, again do persist and speak to macmillan. we have advisers, we can help, we have support for people struggling right now. finally to you, minesh... shirley, sorry, did you want to come in on that point? no, i agree with everything minesh hasjust said, and people do need to get to their gps and get those checks. minesh, in terms of the numbers of specialist cancer staff that the nhs needs, you have told us about the figures you have looked at. what sort of investment is that going to take from the government? we know it is not going to be cheap, but this is about the longer term for the cancer services. the nhs has had its budget set for the last three years following the autumn budget. we want to see proper allocation of that funding to make sure we have the right investment

to grow our cancer workforce, but also thinking about the additional money we might need to make sure we have people at every stage diagnosed with cancer, trating people and also providing the follow—up care for cancer patients. in a moment, the bbc news at one with martine croxall, but first it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello again. for most of us, the afternoon looks fairly cloudy but on the mild side. a different story, though, for northern scotland, where through this morning we“ve seen some fairly reasonable falls of snow. the scene was set for this snowy spell of weather across the north of scotland yesterday, really, whereas most of the uk had this milder air moving in. across the north of scotland, we had the feed of cold, northerly winds and low temperatures. now, into that today has moved this weather system. it“s come in off the atlantic, bumped into the cold air and we've seen the snowfall even down to low levels across northern areas of scotland. and really, through the afternoon, there's going to be little in the way of change. it is just these northern areas

that will see the snow — about five to ten centimetres building up in places. certainly through the central belt, it“s mild and wet, with temperatures reaching double figures around 11 or 12. now, for many of us, it is going to be a cloudy day but the high ground in wales is breaking the cloud across the midlands, east anglia and southern england, so there will be a few bright or sunny spells coming through here. 0vernight, we get this very narrow, weak weatherfront, a band of rain pushing its way southwards and eastwards. the snow turns back to rain in northern scotland, even over the highest mountains, before clearing out of the way towards the end of the night. so, for wednesday, we're all into the mild flow of air. low pressure still in charge, so it's not going to be a dry day. there will be a number of showers around, most frequent across western areas, and this band of rainjust edges its way eastwards across wales and england through the day as well. now, temperature—wise, we're looking at highs typically stilljust about into double figures, around ten to 12 degrees, but starting to turn colder across northern scotland, and it will be quite gusty overnight in the northwest. eventually the colder air moves back

in to scotland as we go through wednesday night—time, so the rain will turn back to snow and we could see another five to ten centimetres of snow building in in places before that lot pushes its way southwards. what follows then for thursday is a flow of colder north—westerly winds slowly diving away southwards. many of us will see a mixture of sunshine and showers. some of those showers could be on the wintry side, particularly across the northwest of the country where we've got the coldest air really digging in. now, beyond that, for friday, still a few showers left over. one or two of those could be heavy. a bit of hail or sleet in the northwest. dry on saturday, but then rain returns into the north on sunday.

russia again claims reports of its forces killing civilians in the ukrainian town of bucha are fake. but satellite images taken two weeks before russian troops withdrew show what appear to be bodies on the roadside. refugees find safety after escaping from the besieged city of mariupol, where thousands remain trapped. one man tells us his home has gone. translation: it doesn't exist any more. - it has been destroyed by shelling or an air strike. i don't have anywhere to go. and i still don't know whether my wife is alive or not. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, will address the un later, as the eu considers further sanctions against russia. 18—year—old bobbi—anne mcleod, last seen waiting for a bus