welcome to bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: there's outrage after another atrocity in ukraine: at least 50 people are dead and hundreds more injured in a rocket attack on a train station. as you can see, the station outside is empty but this morning, it was packed with people — many of them women and children trying to flee the city to safety. more help is on the way with countries sending weapons — including, for the first time, an air defence system. after hitting the comedian chris rock, the actor will smith is banned from the oscars for ten years. at least 13 people are killed

following torrential rains and a landslide in a mining area of north—west colombia. and he can still pull a crowd, but will he get enough votes? emmanuel macron faces a tightening race ahead of the first round of the french presidential election. hello. welcome to the programme. very good to have your company. at least 50 people are now known to have been killed, including five children, after a rocket hit a railway station in the east of ukraine. the station, in the city of kramatorsk, had become a major hub for civilian evacuations from the donbas region, which is now the focal point of russia's offensive on ukraine. it's thought around 4,000 people were in the vicinity of the station when the attack happened — most of them women, children and the elderly. russia denies any involvement, and blames ukraine for the attack.

0ur defence correspondent jonathan beale has this report — and a warning, you may find some of it distressing. screaming. all they were trying to do was to flee their city for safety, but many never made it out. these were the scenes outside kramatorsk�*s train station soon after the explosion, killing dozens, including children, and injuring many more. the emergency services were soon on the scene, collecting the bodies and taking the wounded to hospital. among the bodies, their belongings still scattered across the station — a mobile phone and a children's toy. translation: ijumped into the passage, wherei there are walls. everyone was panicking. people were screaming and crying. then, i saw a wounded woman. she was bleeding heavily. she was taken

somewhere into a room. there were also several wounded people there. i saw people lying in front of the building. i don't know whether they were wounded or dead. translation: people - were panicked and stressed. some of them were badly wounded and we tried to help them. the remains of a missile lay close by. painted on the casing — in russian — the words "for the children". but why? questions, too, as to why no crater and why so much was still intact. did it malfunction, or could it have been shot down? western officials still believe it's likely it was a russian missile fired indiscriminately. sirens wail in distance. with the sound of air raid warnings, this has been the scene at kramatorsk station over the past few days — thousands of people trying to get out. they've been told to leave as russia steps

up its offensive in the east. kramatorsk has already been targeted. as you can see, the station, outside it, it's empty. but this morning, it was packed with people, many of them women and children, trying to flee this city to safety. you can see the effects of the blast on these parked cars behind me, now burnt out. and on the pavement, you can see bags of food that they were taking for their journey to safety, along with dried blood that's smeared across the pavement. russia says it wasn't responsible — it even claims that it wasn't its missile — but ukraine's president has dismissed those denials. the region's governor believes this was a cluster munition designed to kill and maim over a wide area. if this was a deliberate attack on civilians, then the british government says it's another russian war crime. jonathan beale, bbc news, kramatorsk.

international efforts to step up pressure on russia are continuing. the uk's sending $130 million worth of military equipment to the ukrainian army, including surface—to—air missiles and anti—tank weapons. slovakia became the first country to donate a major air defence system to ukraine, with the us confirming it will replace the one donated by ukraine's neighbour. here's our diplomatic correspondent paul adams. in bucha, a chance to ponder the brutal realities of this war. ursula von der leyen, president of the european commission, in the town where ukraine says hundreds of civilians were killed by russian troops. the whole world is mourning with the people of bucha and they are the ones who are, as you said, defending the border of europe, defending humanity, defending democracy and, therefore,

we stand with them. but how much more are ukraine's friends willing to do to help? today, slovakia became the first country to send a major air defence system. with another russian offensive looming, this is the kind of equipment ukraine says it badly needs. in downing street, with germany's new chancellor by his side, borisjohnson said britain was also doing more. today, i can announce that the uk will send a further £100 million worth of high—grade military equipment to ukraine's armed forces, including more starstreak anti—aircraft missiles, which fly at three times the speed of sound, another 800 anti—tank missiles and precision munitions capable of lingering in the sky until directed to their target. supplies are coming in from all over the world. the czech republic has sent a fleet of russian—made battle tanks — the ukrainians know the t—72 well and can use it with no extra training.

russian military wreckage litters the roads where they've been and gone. ukraine's armed forces have fought tenaciously and with great skill, but most believe sterner tests lie ahead. will all the new equipment arrive in time, and will it be enough? and could the west do more on the economic front? the german chancellor facing difficult questions about his country's continued reliance on russian oil and gas. reporter: do you really think that germany has gone far - enough, fast enough to move away from russian energy? i can give you the very clear answer — we are doing the strongest investments and we are doing the hardest activities feasible to get independent, and we will be successful. britain is also bolstering nato. the defence secretary ben wallace in romania today, offering two more raf typhoon jets. whoever wins the war in ukraine, nato's presence in eastern europe has been utterly transformed by this war. paul adams, bbc news.

and we'll be hearing from the ukrainian president a little later in this bulletin. in other news: a former goldman sachs banker in new york has been found guilty of corruption and laundering money from the malaysian government's investment fund, imdb. roger ng helped embezzle hundreds of millions of dollars from the fund and bribed officials to win business for goldman. the guilty verdict marks the latest chapter in one of the biggest financial scandals of recent decades. let's go to europe now. latest polling suggests the french president emmanuel macron isjust 2 percentage points ahead of his main rival, the far—right candidate marine le pen, as france prepares to vote in the first round of its presidential election on sunday. there are nine candidates, mr macron and ms le pen the favourites to win the most votes and go through to a deciding run—off vote in two weeks' time.

0ur correspondent lucy williamson reports from the campaign trail. he won the presidency last time by standing out from the crowd. five years on, emmanuel macron, seen by many as arrogant and out of touch, is keen to show he is close to the people. a classic defence when your far—right rival is right behind you in the polls. the message here in brittany — he's notjust a president for capitalists, but for left—wing voters, too. translation: it's europe that allows us to reform excessive l and sometimes crazy capitalism. if we want to put social and environmental concerns at the heart of the market economy, it's europe that allows us to act. left—wing territory like this backed mr macron five years ago against his far—right rival, marine le pen. many left—wing voters are more disillusioned now, but polls suggest that marine le pen is closer than ever to winning this election and mr macron

is hoping that's enough to get the left to vote again. down the road in the local boulangerie, sophie said she voted for president macron five years ago because she was nervous about voting for marine le pen. not this time. translation: she's evolved. she learnt from her mistakes. she is very human. we understand her when she speaks. i think, this time, the right person will win. i hope so, because i made a bet with my customers. marine le pen has worked hard to soften her image. she still wants to ban muslim headscarves in public places and give french nationals priority in benefits, housing and jobs but her focus in this campaign has been rising prices, made worse by the war in ukraine. at a rally in the southern city of perpignan this week, 18—year—old anwar flores said le pen was right to focus

on the things that matter to french people and less on security issues. mr macron still has the edge in this election but he has warned that nothing is impossible. as the man who broke the political mould here five years ago, if anyone should know that, it's him. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. let's get some of the day's other news. the prime minister of pakistan, imran khan, says if he's ousted from power, he will not accept what he called an "imported government". he was speaking ahead of a no confidence vote in parliament on saturday, which he is expected to lose. the wife of the british chancellor rishi sunak says she has volunteered to pay uk tax on her multimillion—pound income. akshata murty, who is exempt from paying uk tax because of her status as a non—domiciled uk resident, has been criticised as the cost of living in the uk continues to rise.

boris becker has been found guilty of concealing cash and property following his bankruptcy in the uk in 2017. the former wimbledon champion was convicted of four offences but cleared of 20 others in a london court. he'll be sentenced later this month and could face jail. two hollywood now. —— to hollywood now. the actor will smith has been banned from all academy events or programmes for ten years after he hit the comedian chris rock at the oscars. it happened after mr rock made a joke about will smith's wife, jada pinkett smith. less than an hour after the incident, mr smith was given the best actor award. he has since apologised for his actions and has already resigned from the academy. we can now speak to the celebrity entertainment journalist perez hilton. hejoins us live he joins us live from la, hejoins us live from la, and a good evening to you on the us west coast. what is your reaction to this?-

west coast. what is your reaction to this? well, i think that the academy _ reaction to this? well, i think that the academy and - reaction to this? well, i think that the academy and board | reaction to this? well, i think. that the academy and board of governors who decided to ban will smith for a decade did what little they could do. you know, you mentioned just a moment ago that will had previously resigned from the academy. there is precedent, however, to let people that have done awful things keep their 0scars. for example, harvey weinstein, who is currently in prison, still has his 0scars. roman polanski and others. so, they were not going to take away the academy awards that he had just one for best actor but this is more than anything symbolic and i think quite powerfully, they acknowledged, the academy themselves, their own wrongdoing in this handling the situation, unprecedented as it was, when it occurred live at the academy awards. figs

was, when it occurred live at the academy awards. as you mentioned. _ the academy awards. as you mentioned, there _ the academy awards. as you mentioned, there was - the academy awards. as you l mentioned, there was criticism of the way everyone stuff handled it at the time and afterwards for not dealing with this swiftly enough. was this a anatomy —— a unanimous decision by the academy board members? it was not a unanimous decision, from what i am hearing. in fact, there was debate, and it was quite vigorous. many proponents of taking away will smith's 0scar, however, they ended up on this decision instead. 50. however, they ended up on this decision instead.— decision instead. so, will smith keeps _ decision instead. so, will smith keeps his - decision instead. so, will smith keeps his oscar. i decision instead. so, will. smith keeps his oscar. what decision instead. so, will- smith keeps his oscar. what is smith keeps his 0scar. what is the future for him when it comes to the academy, being nominated for future award and, indeed, his wider career? i indeed, his widercareer? i mean, will smith has been acting for 30 plus years and only now won his first 0scar. that is telling. i also think that even though he will be able to be nominated as an actor and producer, able to be nominated as an actorand producer, i able to be nominated as an actor and producer, i don't

think he will be getting any acting nominations in the next decade. and this has already impacted his future work. will smith had a movie lined up with netflix and that film has since been put on hold indefinitely in the wake of his violent outburst against chris rock at the oscars. is outburst against chris rock at the oswe— the oscars. is this the end of the oscars. is this the end of the story? — the oscars. is this the end of the story? this _ the oscars. is this the end of the story? this is _ the oscars. is this the end of the story? this is the - the oscars. is this the end of the story? this is the end - the oscars. is this the end of the story? this is the end of| the story? this is the end of the story? this is the end of the story — the story? this is the end of the story for— the story? this is the end of the story for now. _ the story? this is the end of the story for now. of- the story? this is the end of| the story for now. of course, the story for now. of course, when chris rock finally addresses this, it will reignite the story. when will smith or even data pinkett smith or even data pinkett smith sit down in whatever form they choose to that will bring more attention to it and will likely snowball —— jada pinkett smith. 0k, chris rock speaking out will get more reaction and that might prompt will smith to speak out again and vice—versa so it's put a pin in it for now but it's definitely not the end of the story. we

but it's definitely not the end of the story-— of the story. we will leave it there. thank _ of the story. we will leave it there. thank you _ of the story. we will leave it there. thank you very - of the story. we will leave it there. thank you very much | of the story. we will leave it i there. thank you very much for making the time for us.- making the time for us. thank ou. this is bbc news, a reminder of the headlines: condemnation after another atrocity in ukraine — at least 50 people are dead and hundreds more injured in a rocket attack on a train station. more help is on the way, with countries sending weapons including, for the first time, an air defence system. more now on the situation in ukraine, and president zelensky has been talking to cbs news in the united states, following his visit to bucha and address to the united nations security council. here's a little of what he had to say. what must the world understand? translation: we are defending the ability of a person to live in the modern world. they say we are defending western values, and i must always say, what are western values? someone who lives in the united

states or europe, today not like children? are they not want their children to go to university? do they not what their grandfather to live for a hundred years? we have the same values. we are defending the right to live. i never thought this right was so costly. these are human values, so that russia doesn't choose what we should do and how i am using my rights. that right was given to me by god. and my parents. what me by god. and my parents. what did ou me by god. and my parents. what did you see _ me by god. and my parents. what did you see in _ me by god. and my parents. what did you see in bucha? _ did you see in bucha? translation: death. just death. earlier this week, my colleague clive myrie spoke to the ukrainian prime minister, denys shmyhal. he first asked about the killing of civilians in the town of bucha. it was something terrible, absolutely terrible. i can't even imagine that these crimes,

these terrible things could happen in the 21st century in my country, near kyiv, 15—20 miles from here. it isjust terrible feelings and now i understand it is a game changer for all of the world, for absolutely, i think, for all of the world, for absolutely, ithink, every person who sees those photos, these video pictures, will change the mind of thinking, of understanding russians�* crime here in ukraine. did understanding russians' crime here in ukraine.— understanding russians' crime here in ukraine. did you expect that kind of _ here in ukraine. did you expect that kind of thing _ here in ukraine. did you expect that kind of thing to _ here in ukraine. did you expect that kind of thing to happen? i that kind of thing to happen? absolutely not.— absolutely not. you didn't even, after _ absolutely not. you didn't even, after the _ absolutely not. you didn't even, after the invasion . absolutely not. you didn't even, after the invasion is before the war and even after the invasion, it was absolutely impossible to imagine such kind of crimes which can make humankind... i of crimes which can make humankind. . ._ of crimes which can make humankind... i can't even imagine _ humankind... i can't even imagine this. _ humankind... i can't even imagine this. it _ humankind... i can't even imagine this. it is - humankind... i can't even imagine this. it is terrible j imagine this. it is terrible things, they raped children,

girls, women, they killed civilians, they burned them. it is terrible things, absolutely terrible. 50 is terrible things, absolutely terrible. ., ., terrible. so how do you explain it? given _ terrible. so how do you explain it? given that— terrible. so how do you explain it? given that the _ terrible. so how do you explain it? given that the reason - it? given that the reason moscow says it has invaded ukraine, is to unite fellow slavs? i ukraine, is to unite fellow slavs? ~ ., slavs? i think that their reasons _ slavs? i think that their reasons are _ slavs? i think that their reasons are just - slavs? i think that their reasons are just to - slavs? i think that their reasons are just to kill. slavs? i think that their i reasons are just to kill the ukrainian nation, to erase us, because they have state policies that they should just clean our nation from the face of the earth. i am absolutely sure that this is genocide against the ukrainian nation from russia side. absolutely. do you think now there is a moral imperative to stop buying russian oil and gas?— russian oil and gas? paying money to —

russian oil and gas? paying money to russia, _ russian oil and gas? paying money to russia, and - russian oil and gas? paying | money to russia, and paying money to russia, and paying money to russia, and paying money to russian budget, to finance this genocide, these crimes, these killings from russia side. 50 crimes, these killings from russia side.— crimes, these killings from russia side. so they have to sto - . .. russia side. so they have to stop... absolutely. - russia side. so they have to stop... absolutely. because j stop... absolutely. because bu in: stop... absolutely. because buying this. _ stop... absolutely. because buying this, they _ stop... absolutely. because buying this, they pay - stop... absolutely. because | buying this, they pay money stop... absolutely. because - buying this, they pay money for killings which we have seen in ukraine. is killings which we have seen in ukraine. , , ., , , ukraine. is it blood money, is that what— ukraine. is it blood money, is that what it _ ukraine. is it blood money, is that what it is? _ ukraine. is it blood money, is that what it is? absolutely. i that what it is? absolutely. for me. — that what it is? absolutely. for me. for _ that what it is? absolutely. for me, for our _ that what it is? absolutely. for me, for our people, - for me, for our people, absolutely because russian budget is budget of terrorism. and not only against ukraine, against all the civilised world. it is blood money, because they use this money to buy weapons from which they kill ukrainians.— buy weapons from which they kill ukrainians. how would you sum u- kill ukrainians. how would you sum up how— kill ukrainians. how would you sum up how well— kill ukrainians. how would you sum up how well ukraine - kill ukrainians. how would you sum up how well ukraine has i sum up how well ukraine has coped with the war? haifa sum up how well ukraine has coped with the war?- sum up how well ukraine has coped with the war? now is more than 40 days _ coped with the war? now is more than 40 days of— coped with the war? now is more than 40 days of the _ coped with the war? now is more than 40 days of the war, - coped with the war? now is more than 40 days of the war, and - coped with the war? now is more than 40 days of the war, and we | than 40 days of the war, and we still fighting, we still have support all over the world, we still have strong motivation to

protect our country, to protect ourfamilies, to protect our land. and we will protect democracy on the european continent. let�*s go to south america now. at least 13 people have been killed following torrential rains and a landslide in a mining area of north—west colombia. the flooding surprised a group of miners as they were eating dinner on wednesday evening. shelley phelps reports. seen from above, the destruction and devastation caused by rain flooding a mining camp in colombia�*s antioquia province. rescue workers began scouring for survivors, and helping miners to evacuate. but the effort to recover the missing had to be delayed until friday morning, due to inclement weather. family and friends joined in a frantic search for missing loved ones, fearing the worst. translation: as the hours go by, we, as family members, i get the idea that we may not find him alive.

translation: ferney - was approximately between 20 and 21 years old. he was a young man who liked to go out a lot. he liked to go out to pick coffee. ferney was a very good worker, a good guy. rains in antioquia have caused more than 100 deaths so far this year, according to authorities. translation: we have 12 rescued, lifeless bodies, l ten male, two female. on wednesday, at night, | we removed eight injured people. around 20 families were evacuated from a nearby town, due to the risk of further flooding. colombia�*s president ivan duque has expressed solidarity with the families of the victims. shelley phelps, bbc news. four astronauts have left earth on the first all—private mission to the international space station. the crew took off from florida�*s kennedy space center on a spacex falcon rocket. they�*re expected to dock at the station on saturday, and will spend eight

days on board. tim allman reports. it�*s often been said the business of america is business. the axiom one crew as they exit the suit—up room... and what typifies that more than a fully commercial mission to space? one pilot and three very wealthy men, each paying a reported $55 million to spend a week or so orbiting the earth. this is our first step. we're working with a commercial company to have them come to our international space station, and we're learning to work together and figuring out how to work together. and this is going to be an important step for us. three, two, one... zero. i ignition. liftoff! go, falcon, go, dragon. godspeed, axiom one. i axiom space is the private company leading the mission, but it�*s elon musk�*s spacex

that provided the rocket that took them into orbit. it�*s been stressed these men are not space tourists — they will carry out what�*s being called "meaningful research". and this could be the beginning of something big. we would like, by the early 2030s, for us to be flipping the roles and have our professional astronauts going up and focusing on the research and technology we need for exploration, but allowing commercial providers to be doing the hard work of maintaining the laboratory. this is the laboratory they�*ll have to work out of for now — the international space station. axiom space are thinking big — someday soon, they want to build a station of their own. one small step for man, one giant leap for commercial space travel. tim allman, bbc news. queen elizabeth has pulled out of attending the annual royal maundy day church service. buckingham palace said she would be represented for the first time

by the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall. here�*s our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. i don�*t think it signifies any significant change in the health situation, she has been doing virtual audiences from windsor in the past few days. the maundy service is one of the fixtures in the royal calendar, and it involves rather more participation, whereas the service of thanksgiving for the duke about right at westminster abbey, she was able to sit through the service. at the maundy service there is more standing, distributing the maundy money. a decision taken today she would not attend, her place will be taken by the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall. golf, and the second day of the masters in augusta has come to a close with america�*s scottie scheffler leading the way at eight—under par. he was five—under for a second round score of 67, giving him a three—shot lead at the halfway stage. behind him is a group of four players, including ireland�*s shane lowry, all on three—underfor the tournament. as for tiger woods, in his big comeback event, he dropped a couple of shots and finished the day one—over for the tournament.

that�*s it from us for now. today wasn�*t quite as cold as yesterday, because the wind wasn�*t as strong, but we have still ended the week with temperatures below par for the time of year. we take that chilly arctic air into the start of the weekend with us. however, as we move into next week, a shift in the pattern, southerly winds delivering some warmer conditions across the uk. so, for this weekend, it will be chilly, particularly at first. some cold and frosty nights, often dry, just a few showers. next week, it will feel warm, where we get some sunshine, but it won�*t be sunny all the time. there will also be some outbreaks of rain. talking of rain, we saw some heavy downpours across southern england and the channel islands during this morning. that clearing away, then some sunny spells, but also, as you can see from the radar picture, lots of showers, some thunderstorms, some wintry showers, especially

across northern areas. now, most of those showers will slowly fade, as we head through the night. clear skies overhead. that will allow for quite a widespread frost, temperatures even, in the towns and cities, down around or below freezing. we could see lows of around —4 out in the countryside in parts of northern england. so into tomorrow, a cold, frosty, but bright and sunny start. through the day, we will see some showers once again, but these most plentiful up towards the north and the east, where it will stay breezy. further south and west, lighter winds, not as many showers, more dry weather and plenty of sunshine. temperatures still a touch below the average for this point in april. seven to 12 degrees. now, as we move through saturday night, this little ridge of high pressure topples its way eastwards again. that will allow it to get cold and frosty, but this frontal system pushing in from the west will start to introduce a little more cloud. so temperatures out west, in belfast and plymouth for example, may stay above freezing. most places again having a cold start to sunday morning,

but a bright start, with plenty of sunshine. through the day, as that weather system approaches, we will see more cloud building in from the west. the majority will stay dry. a bit of rain could just splash into parts of northern ireland later on, but the winds starting to come up from the south, so temperatures will climb just a little, a trend that will continue into next week. if we do get some sunshine, we could see highs of 18, 19, maybe close to 20 degrees, but there will also be some rain at times, especially in the north and west.

this is bbc news. the headlines: ukraine says at least 50 people are dead and dozens wounded after a rocket hit a train station in the eastern city of kramatorsk, which had become a major hub in the war for civilian evacuations from the donbas region. it�*s now the focal point of russia�*s war effort. ukraine�*s neighbour slovakia has donated its entire s—300 surface—to—air missile system to ukraine. the country�*s prime minister said it would save many innocent lives from moscow�*s aggression. the british prime minister borisjohnson says the uk will send another $130 million worth of military equipment to help ukraine. the body that hands out the oscars has banned the actor will smith from all its events for ten years after he hit the presenter chris rock. the academy stopped short of revoking his best actor award.

it called his behaviour "unacceptable" and "harmful".