this is 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 it, it is empty but this morning it was packed with people, many of them women and children, trying to lead this city to safety. —— trying to flee this 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? emanuelle macron faces a tightening race ahead of the first round of the french presidential election. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. 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 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, wherej 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. air raid 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 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. western officials say a russian general with extensive experience in syria has been put in charge of moscow's operations in ukraine. general alexander dvornikov has been given the job of improving co—ordination between russia's forces. commentators say they expect new offensives in the south and the east of ukraine "sooner rather than later". and you can find out more on that story on our website and app, where you'll also find our live page, updated around the clock with the very latest news lines as they happen. in other news: the hollywood actor will smith has been banned from all academy events or programmes for 10 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. entertainmentjournalist perez hilton gave me his reaction to the ban. 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 won

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. as you mentioned, there was criticism of the way everyone handled it at the time and afterwards for not dealing with this swiftly enough. was this a 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. so, will smith keeps his 0scar. let's get some of the day's other news. pakistan's prime minister imran khan has warned that if he is ousted from power, he will not recognise an opposition government. he was speaking ahead of a no—confidence vote

in parliament on saturday, which he is expected to lose. saudi arabia will allow up to one million people tojoin this year's week—long haj pilgrimage injuly, greatly expanding the numbers allowed into the kingdom after two years of covid restrictions. state media reported pilgrims to mecca must be under the age of 65 and fully vaccinated against coronavirus. last year, just 60,000 saudi residents were allowed to take part. the wife of the british chancellor rishi sunak says she has volunteered to pay uk tax on her multi—million 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. latest polling suggests the french president emmanuel macron isjust two 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, with 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. this is bbc news. the main headline: condemnation after another atrocity in ukraine: at least 50 people are dead and hundreds more injured in a rocket attack on a train station. russia invaded ukrainejust six weeks ago but in that time, we've seen entire districts

destroyed, there's possible evidence of war crimes being committed, and more than ten million people have been forced to leave their homes. the war is transforming this nation. jeremy bowen has been reporting on the conflict for more than a month, and he's sent us this report. a warning — it does contain some upsetting scenes. yuri went back to the place where his daughter ina was killed. the war has changed everything for ukrainians. "why did you burn her?" these ashes, he says, are all that's left. ina was a doctor, his only child. she was picking up medicines at a humanitarian centre when it was destroyed in one of russia's last attacks before the retreat from kyiv. explosions.

it took hard fighting for the ukrainians to win the battle of kyiv — the first battle. there could be another. ukrainian willingness to fight and die upended every prediction of a swift russian victory. men under 60 have to stay to fight, but everyone i've met is a willing volunteer. we followed two students, maxim, aged 19, and his friend, demetro, who is 18, since they signed up just after the invasion. i am studying economy. and i am studying biology. they looked like friends off to a festival, except they had weapons. kyiv was turned into a fortress in a remarkable feat of national mobilisation. demetro and maxim's military career started on the checkpoints. since then, they have seen active service fighting on the front line.

and there's the volodymyr zelensky effect. that's why i ask you to stand against the war. the ukrainian president ditching his suit for army green and sharing the people's dangers is sharpening ukrainian identity and independence in the eyes of the world. just before russia pulled back from kyiv, it hit a big food warehouse. the invasion means ukraine, once on the edge of europe and european minds, is now centre stage. this is a world crisis notjust because the russians have driven a tank through international law or because of what they're doing to civilians — though that matters a great deal — it's because the world's biggest military powers, armed with nuclear weapons, have come closer to a potential direct confrontation than at any time since the cold war.

the world has seen the damage inflicted on the russians by motivated, well—led ukrainian troops armed with nato weapons. this was bucha. butjust as plain are the risks of escalation if nato gives the ukrainians the much more deadly weapons they've requested. the head of ukrainian military intelligence says the dangers of not confronting putin's russia are much worse. translation: this is the war of aggression in the heart - of europe that completely destroys the world's existing political and military institutions. —— political and military security systems. if the world swallows putin's aggression and offers no radical solution, it will be repeated over and over again. russian atrocities are helping ukraine win the argument

in the west. we saw dead bodies, some definitely civilians, left where they were killed by the russians. and after they killed irina's only son alexei, she had to bury him in the garden on her own. the young soldiers, maxim and demetro, are back in kyiv. like all ukrainians, they believe they're in the fight of their lives. i think we are fighting not only for our country's life, we are fighting for the life of the whole civilised world. have you changed ? yeah, i've become, like, more systematic, probably. and, unfortunately, more ruthless. they're buying the new gear they'll need when they're rotated into the battles of the east in a few days. it really fits him.

a warrior. morale is high. so are the risks. this was the funeral for a volunteer who did not survive the battle for kyiv. this war looks as if it will be long and hard. gunfire. if it's a fight to the finish between putin's presidency and ukraine's independence, everyone — the wider world included — faces even worse danger. jeremy bowen, bbc news, kyiv. 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 and flooding

a mining camp in colombia's antioquia province. —— 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. in el salvador, the government has passed new laws criminalising the publication of gang messages. measures include banning gang—related graffiti and 10—15 year prison sentences for those caught vandalising property. it's part of a crackdown on gang violence that's seen more than 6,000 alleged gang members arrested in recent days. but the treatment of detainees has raised concern amongst human rights groups. let's get some of the day's other news. the supreme court in honduras has given a green light to the extradition to the united states of the former chief of police. juan carlos bonilla faces charges over alleged involvement in drug

trafficking, alongside ex—president juan 0rlando hernandez. his extradition is also being sought. a former goldman sachs banker in new york has been found guilty of corruption and laundering money from the malaysian government's investment fund, 1mdb. 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. 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. 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—1 crew as they exit the suit—up room... and what typifies that more than a fully commercial mission to space? 0ne 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. mission control: three, two, one...

zero. ignition. liftoff. go, falcon. go, dragon. godspeed, axiom—1. 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.

you can reach me on twitter. i'm @richpreston. 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 with us into the start of the weekend. 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. 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, 7—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 climbjust 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.