welcome to bbc news. our top stories... killing for pleasure. ukraine's president says russian forces are carrying out the worst war crimes since world war ii. under the laws of war, killing civilians and wanton destruction are both crimes unless it can somehow be proved that that was a military target. satellite images show the nearby town of bucha littered with bodies. at the un, president zelensky�*s allegations are denied by russia. translation: the massacre in our city of bucha is only i one, unfortunately only one of many examples of what the occupiers have been doing on our land.

translation: during the time that the town was under - the control of russian armed forces, not a single - civilian suffered from any kind of violence. | and in other news, we report on the central american country — where tough measures to combat criminal gangs — are raising human rights concerns. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has told the united nations that russia has commited the worst war crimes since world war ii, accusing the country's military of creating mass starvation and raping and murdering civilians. it comes after images emerged from the town of bucha, following the retreat of russian forces, showing bodies of civilians lying in the streets,

and mass graves. moscow says the pictures are fake, and that no civilians suffered any kind of violence, while russian forces were in control of the area. president zelensky is also warning that the number of dead in kyiv�*s other surrounding towns and villages, like borodyanka, could be even higher. police there say they believe hundreds of people are buried beneath the rubble of civilian apartment blocks, destroyed by russian shelling, and survivors were prevented from escape. the bbc�*sjeremy bowen has been to borodyanka and sent us this report. the destruction in the centre of borodyanka is the worst for its size i've seen in any of the towns around kyiv, including much fought—over irpin and bucha. the worst killing in borodyanka might have come when these flats were destroyed. a line of them stood here. you can see the gaps. after you.

next door to the rubble, dmytro stashevskyi inspected his shop. this is your shop? medical, pharmacy, it's a pharmacy, yeah? destroyed, everything's gone. we went upstairs where his wife svitlana was trying to clean up his mother's flat. their family is safe, but not their friends in the destroyed building next door. translation: they were all our neighbours. - shortly after the air strike, people nearby heard some voices shouting for help. russian soldiers stopped them digging. they threatened to shoot if they tried. dmytro left 30 others in the cellar before the strike. when he went back in the morning, it was full of rubble. all 30 are missing. you're lucky to be alive, aren't you? "yes," he said, "my wife, mother and daughter were praying for me."

this is a civilian block of flats. now, only a ballistic missile or an air strike can do this sort of damage. under the laws of war, killing civilians and wanton destruction are both crimes unless it can somehow be proved that that was a military target. close by, local people were getting some food organised by their priest, who said he'd seen the russians shooting civilians. you saw civilians being killed by a russian sniper? translation: it was the 2nd of march near the petrol station. i we were driving along, followed by two civilian cars. theyjust shot them. it was an execution. most people here left during the russian occupation. svitlana said coming back made her empty and scared. tell us what the town was like before.

eventually, she said, "it was very nice, very green." hundreds of people could be lying dead under the rubble, say the police. once the heavy lifting gear arrives, they'll know more. jeremy bowen, bbc news, borodyanka. just 25 kilometres from borodyanka — in the town of bucha — ukrainian human rights officials say a mass grave near a church may contain as many as 300 bodies. yogita limaye has this report. destruction and death are expected during a conflict. but what's happened in bucha violates the rules of war and of humanity. irina abramova lived peacefully here with her husband until the 5th of march.

then a russian tank pulled up outside. their home was shelled. as it was burning, russian soldiers shouted, calling the couple outside. translation: they wanted | to know where the nazis are. they said we have an evil government with nazis in it and we should be punished for it. i said, "we're not guilty. we're just humans. " minutes later, her husband 0leg, a ao—year—old welder, was shot in the head. russia saying it's not killed civilians deliberately in ukraine. what do you want to say about that? translation: my husband wasn't a soldier. _ he'd never held a gun.

he was a peaceful man. they took him from our home in his slippers, asked him to take his shirt off, made him kneel on the ground and killed him. she wears 0leg's wedding band around her neck. she says it's all she has left of him now, along with the shirt and sweater he was wearing the day he died. translation: | want. the whole world to know that the russians are killers. they�* re not human. they're killing women, children, civilians. she shows us the spot outside their home where 0leg was killed, bloodstains still visible where his body lay for weeks.

translation: he was - the best man in the world. he was kind and caring. he was the love of my life. i could give anything to bring him back. the more you talk to people in bucha, the more you learn of the terror that this town lived through. a local resident told us that a woman riding a bicycle was shot on this street. in a house down this road, a man was trapped in his basement for weeks without much food. he dared not go anywhere because there was a russian tank standing outside. in the backyard of a church in bucha, the bodies of people who died here continue to pile up in a shallow trench. ukrainian and russian soldiers and ordinary people together in a single grave. more than 300 civilians have been killed here. only a few have so far had the dignity of a proper burial.

yogita limaye, bbc news, bucha. in an address to the united nations president zelensky�*s not only accused moscow of war crimes, but he said the un was proving ineffective because russia is abusing its veto as a permanent member on the security council. and that, he said, was preventing international action. here's our north america editor, sarah smith. horrific images of dead civilians lying in the streets of bucha shocked the world, but russia claims the scenes have been staged. analysis of satellite imagery taken in mid—march shows bodies lying in the precise positions corpses were later found, proving they were killed when russian forces controlled the area. ukrainian president zelensky told the un security council the most terrible war crimes since world war ii are being committed in ukraine, saying what's been revealed in bucha is also happening elsewhere.

translation: the massacre in our city of bucha is only i one, unfortunately only one of many examples of what the occupiers have been doing on our land for the past 41 days. there are many more cities, similar places, where the world has yet to learn the full truth. he lambasted the security council for failing to guarantee the security of ukraine and showed an extremely graphic video of dead civilians in several ukrainian towns which visibly shocked the council. we are appalled by what we have seen and reiterate our solidarity with ukraine. the us wants russia to be removed from the un human rights council in response to human rights abuses in ukraine. reports indicate that russian federal security agents - are confiscating passports and ids, taking away celll phones and separating - families from one another.

i do not need to spell out - what these so—called filtration camps are reminiscent of. it's chilling. russia denies that its forces have killed civilians, calling the pictures of dead bodies fake news. translation: during the time that the town was under - the control of russian armed forces, not a single civilian suffered from any kind of violence. that impassioned plea from president zelensky to the un, along with harrowing accounts coming out of ukraine, are piling pressure on world leaders to respond. further sanctions are expected to be announced tomorrow, and the us has committed to hold the russian leadership accountable for war crimes, but with no explanation as to how or when that might happen. the un needs to act immediately, president zelensky demanded. if it can't do anything beyond talking about the war in ukraine, he told them, then it might as well close down.

sarah smith, bbc news, washington. marti flacks is director of the human rights initiative at the center for strategic and international studies. in the last couple of hours, president zelensky has been speaking again about the un security council. he says the council exists and security in the world does not for anyone. he has got a point, hasn't he? history is about to repeat itself, they failed to prevent the massacre in rwanda, they failed to stop the death of thousands of bosnian muslims in srebrenica and they are failing again to stop the murder and rape and massacre of ukrainians.— rape and massacre of ukrainians. right now. absolutely. _ ukrainians. right now. absolutely. this - ukrainians. right now. absolutely. this is - ukrainians. right now. absolutely. this is as i ukrainians. right now. i absolutely. this is as you ukrainians. right now. - absolutely. this is as you said not the first time we have

faced fundamental threats to our international legal order. this situation is unique because of the perpetrating of these crimes by a permanent member of the un security council and so it is certainly understandable to call attention to both the russian presence on the security council and the veto power that russia has but frankly in my view, focusing on the role of the security council and its constraints are not the thing that will help ukraine at this time. , , «a time. president zelensky thinks exactly the _ time. president zelensky thinks exactly the opposite, _ time. president zelensky thinks exactly the opposite, why - time. president zelensky thinks exactly the opposite, why don't| exactly the opposite, why don't theyjust kick russia out? i know they cannot but russia has broken plenty of international laws and rules in recent weeks, why cannot the un throughout it's own rules and kick russia out? , ., . ., , , out? they would certainly be well deserved _ out? they would certainly be well deserved to _ out? they would certainly be well deserved to do - out? they would certainly be well deserved to do so - out? they would certainly be well deserved to do so but . well deserved to do so but there is no mechanism to expel russia from the security council, it is called a permanent seat for a reason and there needs to be a longer—term conversation about reforming the security council itself but in the meantime there lots of

the mechanisms available through the international system to take action in ukraine whether that's the general assembly, whether that's the human rights council or even the international criminal court which has opened an investigation and i expect will bring charges in the case of ukraine and i think more fundamentally it's important to remember the thing that is preventing or deterring international action, preventing or deterring internationalaction, more robust action in ukraine right now is not a lack of security council authorisation, it is the fact russia is a nuclear power and there is a real risk of escalation of this conflict if nato or other military forces become engaged. the us or nato or europe does not need a security council authorisation to intervene, they have the invitation of ukraine under the auspices of collective self—defence, they can certainly choose to do so consistent with international law but the very real geopolitical and military constraints are still there. there's options they can look at and there's been talk about removing russia from the human

rights council which is symbolic, i suppose. rights council which is symbolic, isuppose. i rights council which is symbolic, i suppose. i want to pick up on what you said. you said it is time for the un, particularly the security council to look at reform, is that your opinion or what you are hearing, that we will see a reform of the united nations because one wonders what it takes, how much lack of action and help many people have to die before the united nations takes a look at itself and says we are not working? we takes a look at itself and says we are not working?- we are not working? we have certainly seen _ we are not working? we have certainly seen those - we are not working? we have certainly seen those call - we are not working? we havei certainly seen those call from members, nonpermanent members of the un security council, the kenyan representative made a plea for this kind of consideration. i think this is something that will force back to the top of the agenda. but i think it is a longer term consideration, i think it is not a solution that will help the situation in ukraine in the short term but i think it will recall and require us to really think about how to strengthen these institutions but i think ultimately, the thing that will determine whether we continue to have a in international

system are not, is whether we are victorious and defending ukraine and its sovereignty and i think the strong international consensus that you see from the un general assembly resolution and from the actions of countries around the actions of countries around the world in support of ukraine, will help reinforce that international system. if we are victorious in the conflict itself.— conflict itself. it's not saving _ conflict itself. it's not saving lives _ conflict itself. it's not saving lives though, l conflict itself. it's not| saving lives though, is conflict itself. it's not - saving lives though, is it? everything you mentioned, it's not saving lives at all. unfortunately our international mechanisms do not have their own police force, as we have said many times. there's a lot of constraints because of the nature of this particular conflict but it is important to reinforce those international principles to hopefully deter others from doing the same. thank you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: tightening its grip: the white house announces plans for tougher sanctions on russia.

25 years of hatred and rage as theyjump up on the statue. this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power, of power to influence. today is about the promise of a bright future, a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past. i think that picasso's i works were beautiful, they were intelligent, and it's a sad loss - to everybody who loves art.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines... more evidence of possible war crimes is revealed in ukraine, as the russian retreat from towns around kyiv continues. at the united nations, president zelensky alleges the worst war crimes since world war ii have been committed — russia denies it. the white house has given more details of new sanctions it will impose against russia on wednesday. it said the us, european union and the g7 group of the most industrialised nations had worked together on the package. they will target russian government officials, their family members, russian on financial institutions, also state owned enterprises. it is

part of a continuation of our efforts to have consequences in place, hold russian officials accountable. let's get more on this from our correspondent peter bowes. they will hurt ultimately the russian people but i think it's also hoped that they will hurt those in the higher echelons of russian government and business as well with an immediate impact. there is a huge sense of urgency i think about this latest raft of sanctions that will be announced, a coordinated effort between the european union and the g7 which the white house says represents 50% of the global economy. jen psaki says it is hoped russia will be sent down the road of economic, financial and technical isolation and she talked about the financial institutions, the state—owned enterprises and perhaps most crucially those senior russian government officials and their families. we do not have details of individuals yet but i think

we can be sure these will be far—reaching sanctions, that is, it's hoped, have a quick impact, perhaps a faster impact than some of the sanctions already because it could be argued that clearly though sanctions were imposed to ultimately stop the war the war has not stopped and we are seeing more and more atrocities every day. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the international rescue committee has said that africa is facing its worst food crisis in a decade. the number of people in need of emergency assistance has quadrupled in the past seven years. islamist violence and climate change in the sahel region have led to poorer harvests and the war in ukraine is making things worse as many african countries import the majority of their grain. a nigerian man has been sentenced to 2a years in prison for blasphemy against islam. mubarak bala was arrested in the the northern state of kaduna in 2020 after he allegedly posted anti—islam messages

on social media websites. human rights groups condemned his detention and called for him to be released. the uk, us and australia have agreed to work together to research hypersonic weapons — and ways to counter them. hypersonic missiles, which travel at several times the speed of sound, were reportedly used for the first time in combat by russia in ukraine last month the united nations human rights watchdog says it's concerned over the measures el salvador has introduced to combat gang violence. suspects can be detained without a warrant, gang members given longer sentences — and president nayib bukele has even threated to deny them food. shelley phelps reports. rounded up, detained and under heavily armed guard, more than 6000 suspected gang members

have been arrested in the ten days since el salvador is government declared a state of emergency after a bloody weekend of gang violence that involved almost 90 reported killings. 0utside involved almost 90 reported killings. outside a jail in the country �*s capital, families waiting for news of detained loved ones condemned what they say are unjustified arrests. translation: it is a great injustice. in the case of my family, it was my niece who was unjustly taken from her home without an arrest warrant or anything. because supposedly she is the partner of a gang member. translation: we want to remove the president because we cannot longer stand him, what he's doing too much. if your son gets arrested, how is he not going to hurt you or your wife? is he not going to hurt you or yourwife? 0r is he not going to hurt you or your wife? or it hurt you to see her standing here, waiting, the sun? new measures including allowing authorities to detain suspects without a warrant had

provoked concern from the un human rights body. the maximum prison sentence for gang membership has also been increased to 45 years. speaking at a police barracks, the el salvador president went further, threatening to deny food to imprisoned gang members if they tried to take revenge for the crackdown. translation: , in total we have 22,000 gang members who have no mattresses, asleep on the floor and who are consigned to two meals per day and in such conditions that no members outside want to come in. it is important they know if they try to recover, we will go from two meals down to zero and we will see how long they last. for decades el salvador has suffered high levels of violence from criminal gangs and the president pledged to make tackling it a top priority after his election in 2019. his latest comments follow a stark

warning last week that gang members face two options, prison or death. shelley phelps, bbc news. archaeologists in peru have unearthed a mummy that could be a thousand years old. the preserved remains date back to before the incan empire. the discovery — which was made at an archaeological site near lima — has been described as one of the most important finds at both a national and international level. the bbc�*s tim allman reports. they call him the lord of cajamarquilla, extraordinarily well preserved, intricately tied with rope, his face covered by his hands. all according to what's believed to be ancient burial customs. whoever he was, he was likely to have been an important local figure. translation: it's one of the most important | finds at both a national and international level. what was his way of life? what was his cause of death? and above all, what was the treatment that was carried out so that his skin is preserved to this day? it was here, not farfrom lima, that his tomb was discovered in what used to be the middle of a town square.

along with the mummified body there were other offerings, including ceramics and stone tools. his burial dates back to before the time of the incas, to the days of the te whanake empire that stretched out across parts of what is now modern day peru and bolivia. translation: approximately, this person would _ have been buried between the year 800 to 1000 ad. when he died, he would have been buried along with about 30 people. many of them were sacrificed in his honour. the investigation of this site continues. there are more mummies to be unearthed. the tomb of the lord of cajamarquilla has more secrets to be revealed. tim allman, bbc news. before we go, a reminder that you can follow all the latest developments on the war in ukraine by going to our online live coverage. follow it on bbcnews.com or the bbc news app.

that is the very latest. hello. the weather looked very different between the top and tail of the uk on tuesday. across england and wales, the sun came out for many. and in the sunshine, temperatures got up into the low to mid teens. this was the isle of wight tuesday afternoon. here we are, though, in aberdeenshire tuesday afternoon, a very different picture — some fresh snowfall, temperatures barely scratching above freezing. arctic air to the north of the uk. to the south, atlantic air. the two mixing out towards the west, with this occlusion turning back behind an area of low pressure. slightly cooler air flooding in to all parts of the uk on wednesday. relatively milder air, though, just pushing into the far north of scotland. but that big area of low pressure does mean, for all areas, it's going to be windy and there will be some bands of punchy showers marching through. but we've lost the snow

from northern scotland, the cold air really confined to the northern isles, but mostly rain that we'll be seeing here. further south, some good spells of sunshine between the showers, but when the showers push through, they possibly could be accompanied by some hail, thunder and lightning. temperatures down a couple of degrees on tuesday. it was a very mild start to the week. wednesday into thursday, we start to pull colder air in, though, to the north of our area of low pressure once again. and through wednesday evening, but particularly overnight into thursday, the colder air mixes in with our weather fronts. and it looks like we could see some significant snow for northern scotland once again. a risk of ice here for first thing thursday, certainly, and potentially that wintry weather affecting the central belt of scotland through the morning rush hour. we will see the showers thinning out as they sink south through the course of the day, but still the chance of a wintry element across the pennines into thursday afternoon. sunshine for many come thursday afternoon, but it will feel chillier, especially in contrast to the start of the week.

and then cold air right the way across the uk for friday. i think there will be quite a bit of sunshine, some wintry showers in the north and east. biggest question mark — what this area of low pressure deepening to the south of the uk will do. at the moment, it looks like it will slide in to the continent, bringing some very wet and windy weather to northern france. but it also looks like it could bring some very wet weather to the south coast of the uk and be accompanied by strong winds. if it pushes a little further north, there's just the question about whether it will bring something more wintry. stay tuned.

this is bbc news, the headlines ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has told the united nations that russia has commited the worst war crimes since world war 2. russian troops have withdrawn from the town of borodyanka where its feared there could be hundreds of people trapped in the rubble beneath bombed blocks of flats. reports that bodies have been found on the streets in the nearby town of bucha have been rejected by moscow. russia has repeatedly denied committing any war crimes, saying so—called evidence has been repeatedly faked. it comes as nato's secretary—general has said more weapons should be sent to ukraine. the white house has given more details of new sanctions it will impose against russia on wednesday.

it said the us, european union and the g7 group had worked