this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm joanna gosling. our top stories? ukraine is hoping that more people will be able to escape areas besieged by russian forces today, after agreeing ten humanitarian corridors with russia. western officials say moscow has re—organised its military leadership in ukraine to put a general who commanded russian forces in syria in charge. there's outrage after another atrocity in ukraine — at least 50 people are dead and hundreds more injured in a rocket attack on a railway station. angry scenes in pakistan's parliament between supporters and opponents of the prime minister, imran khan

ahead of a vote of no confidence. the wife of the uk finance minister rishi sunak says she will now pay uk taxes on her overseas income, after legally avoiding it for years. campaigning has ended in the first round of france's presidential election, which takes place on sunday. i'm tim wilcox — live in paris— will all the lastest on the upcoming french presidential election. the gap between emmanuel macron and his far—right challenger marine le pen is dramatically tightening. ukrainian officials say ten humanitarian corridors have been agreed for today,

to evacuate people from regions being besieged by russian forces. the routes include one for civilians to escape from the devastated southern city of mariupol. some who have already fled describe an increasingly desperate situation there. it's as russia is believed to have reorganised its military leadership in ukraine giving overall charge to this man — general alexander dvornikov — who western officials say has extensive experience of russian operations in syria. meanwhile president zelensky has called for a "firm global response" to friday's missile strike on a railway station in the eastern city of kramatorsk, which killed 52 people. russia has denied it was to blame for the attack. simonjones reports. they were trying to escape the conflict. as russia steps up its offensive in the east of ukraine, people already packed onto this train in kramatorsk, in the hope of travelling to safety, when the missile struck. translation: what did we do | to the russians to deserve this? we are civilians. described by ukraine as another

war crime by russia. translation: as soon as the shelling ended, | we ran here, and saw a terrible sight — people were running, screaming, crying, praying. it was scary. cars were exploding. there was panic everywhere. nearby, the remains of a missile — painted on it, in russian, the words "for the children". it's unclear whether it might have malfunctioned or whether it was shot down while heading for a different target, but western officials believe it's likely it was a russian missile fired indiscriminately. it is unclear as yet whether it was a war crime but we are conducting investigations to see exactly what happened here.

russia has denied any involvement, saying no missions were planned in the area at the time. but the ukrainian president says it shows the need for greater international support for his country. translation: russia's war against our nation may end | in victory for freedom much sooner than many in the world think — if ukraine simply receives the weapons we have asked for. any delay providing such weapons to ukraine, any excuses can only mean one thing — some politicians want to help the russian leadership more than us ukrainians. equipment is being sent, such as tanks from the czech republic, while britain has promised more anti—tank and anti—aircraft missiles. new russian offensives in the east are expected sooner rather than later. in kramatorsk, the human cost of the conflict is clear. the message from the ukrainian government is that russia will be held accountable. simon jones, bbc news. president zelensky has also 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're defending western values, and i always say, well, what are western values? someone who lives in the united states or europe, do they not like children? do they not want their children to go to university? do they not want their grandfather to live for 100 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'm using my rights. that right was given to me by god and my parents. what did you see in bucha? death. just death.

the zelensky. 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". the bbc�*s emma vardy is in the ukrainian city of lviv and has more now on all the latest developments. well, there has been worldwide condemnation overnight over that missile strike which caused such devastation yesterday at the train station in east ukraine where thousands of people had been fleeing for. it was very, very clear that there were thousands of people on the ground there waiting for trains. one of the main train stations that was still operating in east ukraine and there had been warnings two days previously telling people to get out while they could and people were following those instructions. so many people were lined

up with their bags, waiting for trains, and the scenes after those missiles hit were just devastating. bodies lying on the station forecourt, pools of blood, children's toys next to their suitcases and bags with their belongings where they'd been trying to escape from. and the ukrainian president, mrzelensky, has pointed the finger at russia saying unequivocally, this is more evidence of a russian war crime. the response from russia is the opposite, they're pointing the finger back at ukraine saying they're not responsible for this — it is another kremlin denial, but world leaders aren't buying it. we saw the sentiments of the ukrainian president echoed by the american presidentjoe biden calling it an appalling atrocity. of course, the ukrainian president, in recent days, has called for more aid to be sent he says thousands of lives depend on it and without it we will see more civilian deaths

and more atrocities as russia steps up its military action in the east of ukraine. and mr zelensky is highlighting this attack at the train station to really build his case powerfully for more military support. at the same time, there's is a difficult balance to strike by nato and by western allies. they don't want to escalate the conflict with russia, but nato is stepping up its military aid. we saw just today the uk prime minister borisjohnson announcing that they would be more missiles being given to ukraine and more defensive, heavier military equipment to help them counter the russian attacks. emma, we've seen the difficulty in getting civilians out of cities that are under siege — mariupol one of the main cities where there's been so much focus. there is an attempt, today, to get civilians out through ten humanitarian corridors. tell us about the extent of those and what the hopes are. that's right. there is a real effort to evacuate people from the east and the south of ukraine, while russian forces are regrouping and refocusing

their efforts. we heard from the deputy prime minister of ukraine today that there are these ten humanitarian corridors opening up today. one of them there'll be a lot of focus on, which it's hoped will help people escape from mariupol. there have been a few thousand people who have got out from there under their own steam and led by the red cross in the past week, but that's reallyjust a fraction of people who have been trapped there for so many weeks. tens of thousands of people trapped in a humanitarian crisis on the ground. we will have to wait and see if these new humanitarian corridors are successful. we've seen humanitarian corridors agreed in the past and then fall down. we've seen accusations of shelling of those humanitarian corridors, so it's always quite touch and go when it comes to these evacuations, but there is increased concern now, increased urgency, to get people out of areas where there is still heavy russian shelling. that attack on the train station yesterday just underlines the urgency of that. towards the north of ukraine is the city of chernihiv.

north of the capital, kyiv, it was occupied by russian soldiers for more than a month. as ukrainian forces reclaimed it, scenes of devastation were revealed. its mayor said more than 400 people had died there, and called it " hard to endure'. our correspondent anna foster has met one woman whose daughter and husband were brutally killed as they tried to escape from chernihiv, and a warning her report does include some graphic details. the rana kerr, a 12—year—old girl full of energy in promise. —— veronica. a life truly ended by a russian shell. nine days into the war, they tour via experienced unimaginable honour as her —— experienced unimaginable horror as herfamily fled chernihiv experienced unimaginable horror as her family fled chernihiv and their car was fired on. her daughter and husband were killed instantly. my husband were killed instantly. m daughter got husband were killed instantly. mg daughter got out of the car and i went to follow. as i got out, my

daughter fell. went to follow. as i got out, my daughterfell. and went to follow. as i got out, my daughter fell. and then went to follow. as i got out, my daughterfell. and then i looked under her head was gone. she was bleeding from her neck like a fountain. i was holding my baby and i needed to get her to safety. victoria held her baby daughter close and ran for her life but that wasn't the end of the ordeal because she was found by russian soldiers who took her to the basement of a school and held her there with more than 300 other people for 2h days. victoria watched people die around her as they struggled without medical help. there were a0 people in my room. mostly we didn't even move because there was no is based on move or walk. just too many people. the lack of movement made people ill. ewen of movement made people ill. seven da s after of movement made people ill. seven days after veronica _ of movement made people ill. seven days after veronica and _ of movement made people ill. seven

days after veronica and her - of movement made people ill. seven days after veronica and her husband were killed victoria ester russian captors to bring her remains to the school so she could bury them. there were two graves. _ school so she could bury them. there were two graves. one _ school so she could bury them. there were two graves. one box _ school so she could bury them. there were two graves. one box is - school so she could bury them. tl” were two graves. 0ne box is bigger. 0ne box was smaller. and who crosses with science. i started to cover the boxes with earth but knew shelling started, so we ran away before we had finished burying them. if i had the possibility of shooting pete and i would do it. my hand would not shake. —— shooting putin. this i would do it. my hand would not shake. -- shooting putin. this ring has become _ shake. -- shooting putin. this ring has become victoria's _ shake. -- shooting putin. this ring has become victoria's most - shake. -- shooting putin. this ring i has become victoria's most treasured possession, a gift from her beloved daughter and all she has left of her. anna frost to, bbc news, lviv. ——anna foster, bbc news, lviv. let's cross live to islamabad where pakistan's prime minister,

imran khan, is facing a no—confidence vote. it follows a legal ruling that khan's attempt to block to the vote and then dissolve parliament was unconstitutional. he has said that if he is ousted from power, he will not recognise an opposition government. in a late—night address on friday, mr khan insisted he was the victim of an international conspiracy orchestrated by the united states , an accusation that washington denies. translation: we have accepted the verdict of the supreme court, but i am very disappointed because unfair things are happening openly in pakistan and no—one is taking it seriously. i will not accept an imported government. i will go out to my people. i do not belong to a politicalfamily. neither my father nor any relative was in politics. i asked faraz khan, visiting professor at university of st mary's london what the consequences of a no—confidence vote would be for the prime minister. politically, it seems

like the opposition is going to win. imran khan has got two choices, either sit in opposition or probably call for elections in whatever seats he has got left and then call for a general election. that's the political permutation, combination. for opposition, it's a huge opportunity and a huge challenge at the same time. the opportunity is, if they can leverage and not artificially arrest the economy and create measures that actually takes it upwards, they're here to stay. the challenge is that it's a democratic alliance of eight or nine parties with different political manifestos. how to manage that in one year's time is a challenge for the opposition. faraz khan. our top headlines... ukraine is hoping that more people will be able to escape areas besieged by russian forces today

after agreeing ten humanitarian corridors with russia. that includes an evacuation route from mariupol. 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 russian forces in ukraine. campaigning has ended in the first round of france's presidential election, which takes place on sunday. most polls are suggesting this election could be more tightly contested than in 2017. the incumbent, emmanuel macron, is likely to come out on top but his closest rival marine le pen is gaining ground. if no candidate wins a majority in this first round, a second round runoff will be held on 2ath april. let's cross now to the bbc's tim willcox who is in paris for us. tim? joanna, thank you very much indeed. welcome _ tim? joanna, thank you very much indeed. welcome to _ tim? joanna, thank you very much indeed. welcome to a _ tim? joanna, thank you very much indeed. welcome to a bitterly - tim? joanna, thank you very much indeed. welcome to a bitterly cold j indeed. welcome to a bitterly cold and politically bitterly divided fence on this, the day before the first round of the presidential

elections. we are now in a process called last silent selectable which means none of the ten candidates can carry on campaigning and that stopped at midnight last night. there will be no exit polls her eyes until apm last night when official polling ends. traditionally, bats are the last few years, we thought of france and the political battles between the left in the fight setting out how the political landscape lies but not so in the last five years. remember that emanuel 0micron came as a man who had never been elected to any position before. he was the youngest ever elected president since napoleon. when he officiallyjoined this campaign, quite late, actually, he was some 20 points ahead of his far right rival marine le pen. now that gap has narrowed dramatically in the past few days with some polls suggesting that he might only be some four orfive points behind.

they met in the run—up in 2017 and 0micron crushed her but some people are saying now that she might have a much better chance. —— macron crusher. figs much better chance. -- macron crusher. �* , . much better chance. -- macron crusher. a ., ., , , crusher. as with and socialists then the were crusher. as with and socialists then they were to _ crusher. as with and socialists then they were to be _ crusher. as with and socialists then they were to be seen _ crusher. as with and socialists then they were to be seen and _ crusher. as with and socialists then they were to be seen and in - crusher. as with and socialists then they were to be seen and in fact . crusher. as with and socialists then | they were to be seen and in fact the socialist purvis might even lose their deposit. we can now look at some of these issues, in particular immigration which of course for the front national, the national party of marine le pen's father was a very divisive issue in france. she has now given a makeover to her party. we can discuss this with a journalist for info migrants an online publication here. it has been a makeover, as i say, of the national valley party but is immigration still a big topic for french voters?—

immigration still a big topic for french voters? ~ , ., ., french voters? absolutely and also in the years — french voters? absolutely and also in the years before _ french voters? absolutely and also in the years before it _ french voters? absolutely and also in the years before it is _ french voters? absolutely and also in the years before it is in - french voters? absolutely and also in the years before it is in even - in the years before it is in even more important topic because now we have a second far right candidate and he really put the fight against immigration at the very centre of his programme. consider the foreigners at the very reason why france is damaged and he'll seize this racist notion of the great replacement and also led all the candidates to have less moderate views on immigration. haw candidates to have less moderate views on immigration. how different is his language _ views on immigration. how different is his language and _ views on immigration. how different is his language and policies, - views on immigration. how different is his language and policies, given i is his language and policies, given he hasn't got a party behind him, for marine le pen? lt he hasn't got a party behind him, for marine le pen?— he hasn't got a party behind him, for marine le pen? it actually helps marine le pen _ for marine le pen? it actually helps marine le pen look— for marine le pen? it actually helps marine le pen look more _ for marine le pen? it actually helps marine le pen look more moderate| marine le pen look more moderate because she was more focused on spending power during this election... so she focused on the cost of living rather than immigration? yes, a bit more but her

programme of immigration are still very hard, very strong but they used a word which was so strong against foreigners living in france that it really made marine le pen look more moderate. ~ . , . really made marine le pen look more moderate. ~ . _ ., moderate. what is a policy on immigration? _ moderate. what is a policy on immigration? it _ moderate. what is a policy on immigration? it is _ moderate. what is a policy on immigration? it is mostly - moderate. what is a policy on l immigration? it is mostly based moderate. what is a policy on - immigration? it is mostly based on national preference _ immigration? it is mostly based on national preference meaning - immigration? it is mostly based on national preference meaning for i national preference meaning for those living in france should be expeued those living in france should be expelled from social housing in the welfare system, for example. ianthem expelled from social housing in the welfare system, for example. when it comes to ukrainian _ welfare system, for example. when it comes to ukrainian refugees - welfare system, for example. when it comes to ukrainian refugees there - comes to ukrainian refugees there has been a slightly different tack, hasn't there?— hasn't there? yes, marine le pen considered _ hasn't there? yes, marine le pen considered that _ hasn't there? yes, marine le pen considered that people _ hasn't there? yes, marine le pen considered that people fleeing i considered that people fleeing ukraine should be welcome in france because they get european and also she said they are fleeing war. according to afghan people, in her opinion, she considers that there is no war any more in afghanistan so these people should not be going to france. $5

these people should not be going to france. �* , ., , these people should not be going to france. ~ , ., , ., ,, france. as how big an issue immigration _ france. as how big an issue immigration was. _ france. as how big an issue immigration was. it - france. as how big an issue immigration was. it is i france. as how big an issue i immigration was. it is interesting looking at the statistics, isn't it, because the number of foreign—born residents in france is lower than in other european countries. yes. residents in france is lower than in other european countries.- residents in france is lower than in other european countries. yes, it is a bit lower— other european countries. yes, it is a bit lower and _ other european countries. yes, it is a bit lower and the _ other european countries. yes, it is a bit lower and the contradiction i other european countries. yes, it is a bit lower and the contradiction is | a bit lower and the contradiction is also that france needs foreign workers and emmanuel macron said it again yesterday. he said it is strong that france has been overwhelmed by migrants and five and is actually need foreign workers to help the country were —— it is wrong that france has been around. ls a that france has been around. is a manual 0micron's policy on immigration totally open doors? h0. immigration totally open doors? no, it is not epen — immigration totally open doors? iilf7, it is not open doors. we have seen a very different strategy with ukraine if it is compared to other refugees from other countries but he considers that a country like france cannot work without foreign workers.

it is interesting because emmanuel macron presents himself as aggressive against nationalist politicians but a loss of his critics would say that he is a shape shifter because if you look at what he's done since the pandemic and the credit crunch and everything else he has adopted different policies from different policies and electoral extremes of infants which is why he would say that he is a pragmatic progressive. and not a populist. shanghai officials plan to perform a new round of covid—19 testing on the city's entire population. a record 23,600 new cases were reported on saturday, as shanghai's 25 million residents remain under lockdown. china's zero—covid policy has recently come under strain with infections surging and signs

of public anger. the actor will smith has been banned from attending the oscars for ten years. it's after he hit the presenter chris rock at this year's event. the academy — which hands out the awards — stopped short of revoking his best actor award. saudi arabia will allow up to 1 million people to join 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 thousand saudi residents were allowed to take part. 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.

here in the uk, questions are surrounding the tax affairs of the wife of the british chancellor rishi sunak. she owns 700 million pounds in shares of the indian it giant infosys. thanks to her status as a non—domiciled uk resident, she's not required by law to pay uk taxes on her overseas income — but now she says she will. 0ur correspondent sean dilly gave me this update earlier. it is almost a £2.1 million u—turn. £2.1 million because that is what we, the bbc, estimate she'll be paying to the uk exchequer that she wasn't before. we've been at pains to point out that there is nothing illegal or unlawful in any way, shape or form about this non—dom status. it's quite common. because she was paying taxes in the uk for monies earned in the uk and international taxes on international earnings. the trouble for rishi and indeed

mrs murty is that it doesn't look good when he's the man who's responsible for setting taxes, he's the man who's responsible for pulling tax into the uk economy and exchequer, and more than that there have been other revelations overnight that he himself has retained a green card as late as october of last year while chancellor of the exchequer — a green card being the term for permanent residency in the united states, which means he was paying united states taxes at the same time. more than that, though, he was considered by many, if you look at the opinion polls, as the nice guy of british politics by people across the board, for the most part, who saw him as a popular man who was handing out money during the pandemic in furlough payments and other stimulus. now less so because it is an embarrassment of rishi's riches where people can see that he's actually living quite a comfortable

millionaire lifestyle. fishermen have saved a british man and french woman who went missing while diving in malaysia on wednesday. police are still searching for adrian chester's1a—year—old son nathan after they were separated from their boat during a training session. long queues and delays are expected this weekend at ports and airports in the uk as people head abroad for the easter holidays. airlines have cancelled more than 100 flights a day due to staff shortages and ferry operators are struggling to meet demand after p&0 suspended services. the transport secretary has urged operators to "redouble" their efforts to get people away as soon as possible. but the opposition labour party has accused the government of being "missing in action". 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 later today — and will spend eight days orbiting the earth. the three passengers, who are each reported to have paid 55 million dollars. it's been stressed they are not space tourists — they will carry out what's been

called �*meaningful research'. well, it was a cold but sunny start to saturday. how's the rest of the day looking? well, not bad at all. but clouds will be bubbling up in the afternoon and we are expecting a few showers, but the majority of the day is going to be dry and bright, at the very least. so here's the satellite picture. big weather systems out in the atlantic but clouds across the uk are coming in from the north at the moment and clipping scotland, and you can see the winds are also blowing in from the north. so it's a chilly source, so our air is cold. now, today we'll see clouds bubbling up right across the country. but i think the sunniest weather will be across the southwest of england and southern parts of wales and probably staying dry here. a few scattered showers elsewhere and then in the north of scotland,

most frequent showers, but disappointing temperatures — seven in aberdeen, no higher than 12 degrees in the south. now, tonight the skies are clear. the winds fall light, a typical recipe for a frosty night. this time of the year, i think in city centres early on sunday morning, it will be around freezing, maybe just below in rural spots. it will be colder than that. but it does mean that sunday gets off to a sunny, crisp start a beautiful sunrise tomorrow. but the winds are starting to shift direction out towards the west here, and also we see an advancing weather front, so it does mean clouds will thicken across the west, and, actually, elsewhere we'll see clouds bubbling up in the afternoon, so a bright rather than sunny day tomorrow. 0nto monday and tuesday, now. the winds really have changed directio by then. you can see they're coming in mostly from the south

or even the southeast. that means a lot of clouds spreading across the uk — outbreaks of rain, so two unsettled days monday and tuesday, but with this change in wind direction also comes a warmer atmosphere from the south. in fact, all the way from the azores and southern climes, you can see that stream of mild air coming our way, not just across the uk, but into scandinavia and other parts of europe. andm in fact, you can see the temperatures by midweek could be approaching 20 degrees celsius across england. so, let's summarize all of this — a bright but fairly chilly weekend. then monday and tuesday brings a lot more cloud and outbreaks of rain and then warmer from wednesday onwards. enjoy your day.

now on bbc news, dateline london with shaun ley. hello, i'm shaun ley. welcome to our weekly round table discussion between bbc specialists and the foreign correspondents who write, blog and broadcast to audiences in their home countries from the dateline london. with us this week — latika bourke, a columnist for two australian newspapers — the age in melbourne and the sydney morning herald. justin rowlatt, the bbc�*s climate editor.

and jeffrey kofman. jeffrey's been both a foreign correspondent and a news anchor for canadian and us broadcasters. first of all, lovely to have the three of you in the studio. i keep saying it every week and will keep saying it, it makes such a difference. "socialism", according to a british politician of the last century, "is the language of priorities". perhaps it's more accurate to say that politics in a democracy is about choosing between priorities. what happens, though, when those priorities conflict? no—one accused of war crimes in ukraine today will face justice any time soon, so ukraine's allies are punishing russia with further sanctions. some want to stop buying russian gas altogether. but that could mean shortages, bills higher than they are already, rationing. substitution means more carbon extraction, just as the united nations is warning that the world is way off the greening of energy needed to prevent the climate perhaps becoming, for us, intolerable. the response of borisjohnson's government has been an energy security strategy. justin, sustainability, affordability, security of supply — what does

this strategy tell us about where boris johnson's government's priorities lie?