this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories... hope that more people in ukraine will be able to escape areas besieged by russian forces: giving safe exit to tens of thousands trapped in the shattered port city of mariupol. the brutal story of one family trying to flee from chernihiv north of the capital kyiv — we have a special report western officials say moscow has re—organised its military leadership in ukraine to put a general who commanded russian forces in syria in charge. 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. and live in space — the first all—private mission to the international space station is docking shortly. ukrainian officials say ten humanitarian corridors have been agreed for today,

to evacuate people from regions being besieged by russian force. 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. this 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 as t was heading for a different target, but western officials believe it's likely it was a russian missile fired indiscriminately. obviously, the targeting of civilians would certainly be a war crime, and we've already called a range of the actions we've seen to date a war crime, but we're going to be supporting efforts to investigate 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. volodymyr zelensky. the russian general who has been put in charge of moscow's operations in ukraine, has say western officials, extensive experience in syria. 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. 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 really just 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. north of the ukrainian capital, kyiv, is the city of chernihiv. 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. veronika kutz, a 12—year—old girl full of energy and promise. a life cruelly ended by a russian shell. nine days into the war, viktoria kovalenko experienced unimaginable horror. as herfamily fled chernihiv, their car was fired on. viktoria's daughter, veronika, and husband, petro, were killed instantly. translation: my daughter got out i of the car and i went to follow. i as i got out, my daughterfell. and then i looked and 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. viktoria 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. viktoria watched people die around her as they struggled without medical help. translation: there were 40 people in my room. - mostly we didn't even move because there was no space to move or walk. just too many people. the lack of movement made people ill. seven days after veronika and petro were killed, viktoria asked her russian captors to bring their remains to the school so she could bury them. there were two graves. 0ne box was bigger,

one box was smaller. and two crosses with signs. i started to cover the boxes with earth, but new shelling started, so we ran away before we had finished burying them. if i had the possibility of shooting putin, i would do it. my hand would not shake. this ring has become viktoria's most treasured possession — a gift from her beloved daughter and all she has left of her. anna foster, bbc news, lviv. during the war, the chernobyl former nuclear power site, was occupied by russian troops, but is now back in ukrainian hands. there were concerns the plant may have been damaged in fighting. 0ur correspondent, yogita limaye, is one of the first journalists to reach the site, north of the capital kyiv, since russian forces left. access to chernobyl has onlyjust

opened up on an off—road track. the bridge to it was destroyed to stop the russian advance. this is the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, among the first parts of ukraine to be captured when russia invaded. "they surrounded us with tanks and there were aircraft flying overhead", security officer petro says. russian forces broke into monitoring and control stations. electricity was cut off for a few days — a major threat. translation: we store nuclear waste. if we'd lost power, it would have been catastrophic. radioactive material could have been released. i wasn't really worried for my life, i was scared of what would happen if i wasn't here. it's not possible for us to go any further because it could be risky but, if you walk down here,

in that direction is an area of very high levels of contamination known as the red forest. and drone video has now come out which officials here have seen and they've confirmed to us the russian soldiers not only built trenches there, but they appear to have stayed there as well. this is evidence of how little they knew about nuclear safety. the soldiers were exposed to significant doses of radiation, ukraine says. below the plant is a basement, where 170 members of the national guard securing chornobyl were held captive. no—one still knows where they are. they were taken by russian forces. former ukrainian president petro poroshenko visited chornobyl today, with a warning for the world. are we sure that tomorrow, russian troops cannot appear here? my answer would be no. putin is completely unpredictable. and nuclear, the nuclear smoke can reach eastern europe, central europe and even

great britain. for now, there's relief here, but also a sense of unease. the threat is just ten miles away, across the border. yogita limaye, bbc news, chornobyl. we will return to the situation in ukraine throughout the course of the next few hours. let's cross live to islamabad where pakistan's prime minister, imran khan, is facing a no—confidence vote. these are live pictures of the pakistan parliament. the forthcoming no—confidence vote follows a legal ruling that khan's

attempt to block to the vote and then dissolve parliament was unconstitutional. mr khan 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. addressing the speaker in parliament, the opposition alliance leader, shehbaz sharif, asked him to go ahead with the vote of no—confidence. take up this agenda item and no other item! that is the intent of his order. you cannot deviate from this and therefore i conclude my submissions. shabar sharif, there. in a late night address on friday, imran 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. we hope to shortlist —— we hope to talk in a short while to somebody from the institute for strategic studies in a slammer that, pakistan, about what is happening in pakistan's parliament. —— in islamabad. the wife of the british finance minister, rishi sunak, says she will pay uk taxes on her world—wide income — which she had legally

avoided until now. it follows days of questions about the financial arrangements of akshata murthy — who is a multimillionaire. mr sunak is also facing criticism after he admited holding a type of us residency while chancellor. 0ur political correspondent, rajdeep sandhu, reports. reporter: is there more pain to come, chancellor? - he's in charge of our taxes, but questions have been raised about his taxes and his wife's. akshata murty owns shares in an indian company founded by her father. last year, she received more than £11 million from it. because she has a special non—dom tax status she was not required by law to pay uk taxes on her overseas income. but, after criticism, she's going to pay more uk tax, adding millions to the treasury every year, all so her finances don't cause a distraction for her husband. and it's notjust her first put his own. it's emerged that the chancellor had a us green card, giving him the right to live permanently in america, where he also had to pay taxes. he gave it up about six months ago, but even in the united states, there's questions about the arrangement. does the president see it

as a problem that it is possible for someone to serve at a high level in a foreign government and maintain lawful permanent resident status in the us? , what if this was someone who was serving in the russian duma? it wasn't but i would also again point you to the portions of the government that oversee green cards. labour say the chancellor needs to be transparent. the labour say the chancellor needs to be transparent.— be transparent. the chancellor has told peeple — be transparent. the chancellor has told peeple that — be transparent. the chancellor has told people that they've _ be transparent. the chancellor has told people that they've got - be transparent. the chancellor has told people that they've got to - be transparent. the chancellor has | told people that they've got to have this tax hike at the moment and it sounds like him and his immediate family have been using whatever ways they can to not pay as much as they possibly should do, you know, and this is a moral issue more than anything. this is a moral issue more than an hina. , , , this is a moral issue more than an hin. , ,, ., , anything. despite the bad headlines, the prime minister _ anything. despite the bad headlines, the prime minister said _ anything. despite the bad headlines, the prime minister said he _ anything. despite the bad headlines, the prime minister said he was - the prime minister said he was backing his chancellor. ijust stressed that the chancellor that she is doing an absolutely outstanding job and as far as possible as i think i said yesterday i don't think people's family should be dragged into things. scrutiny of the chancellor's personal finances

comes in the week he raised taxes and everyone is watching the pennies. 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 24th april. let's cross now to the bbc's tim willcox who is in paris for us. tim, hello to you. i had one commentator yesterday asked whether marine le pen could wind describe it as possible but not probable. so why is marine le pen gaining ground in a way she didn't last time around? well, i think way she didn't last time around? well, ithink it way she didn't last time around? well, i think it is too close to call and i think what you should realise and i think most people have here is that france is a bitterly

divided, politically, country. emmanuel macron, when he came to power in 2017, was relatively unknown, had no political party, came in and set up his political party. he was the youngest political leader since napoleon and he has struggled to deal with the pandemic and now, of course, the biggest conflict on european soil since the second world war. now, he entered this race very late about a month ago when he did enter and finally officially threw his hat into the ring he was leading marine le pen by about 20 points. since then, that lead has shrunk to about four or five points and that is why some members of the 0micron supporters are more worried about marine le pen this time. now why is she getting more traction this time? may be because there is a far right leader who is taking some of the poison out of the immigration debate and marine

le pen has concentrated on the cost of living crunch here, retirement age and other economic issues apart from immigration. it is interesting, also, that when you look at what perhaps traditionally we would have considered the traditional battleground in france between left and right, that has now gone. it is, as emmanuel macron would describe it, the practical progressives that he represents against the extremes in france. we can now speak to alexander of nsp polling who can help unravel some of this for us. let's just look at the latest polls here and what it suggests about that comeback by marine le pen who has done a makeoverfor comeback by marine le pen who has done a makeover for her party. comeback by marine le pen who has done a makeoverfor her party. might back as you said, there was a big surge for emmanuel macron with the start of ukraine while was surge for emmanuel macron with the start of ukraine while— start of ukraine while was a valley around the _ start of ukraine while was a valley around the flag — start of ukraine while was a valley around the flag effects _ start of ukraine while was a valley around the flag effects but - start of ukraine while was a valley around the flag effects but since l around the flag effects but since

then everything has dropped for him and since _ then everything has dropped for him and since the start of this campaign with a _ and since the start of this campaign with a very— and since the start of this campaign with a very right—wing proposition like the _ with a very right—wing proposition like the age should be higher and monetary— like the age should be higher and monetary work. just like the age should be higher and monetary work.— like the age should be higher and monetary work. just to be clear the retirement age _ monetary work. just to be clear the retirement age is _ monetary work. just to be clear the retirement age is 62 _ monetary work. just to be clear the retirement age is 62 and _ monetary work. just to be clear the retirement age is 62 and he - monetary work. just to be clear the retirement age is 62 and he wants l retirement age is 62 and he wants why is at a 65 and on the far left they say should be 60. there was a reform just before covid—19 started in france and it was controlled because of covid and so he wants to make that again and he also proposed that there should be mandatory work for people receiving low income allowance and so it was a very right—wing campaign and i think it could have helped him... not helped, but helped him losing his advance in his support. his but helped him losing his advance in his su ort. ,. ., ., his support. his critics and even his support. his critics and even his sunporters _ his support. his critics and even his supporters would _ his support. his critics and even his supporters would say - his support. his critics and even his supporters would say that i his support. his critics and even | his supporters would say that he his support. his critics and even i his supporters would say that he is a political shape shifter. it can dip into the left, he can dip into the rightand in dip into the left, he can dip into

the right and in certain aspects he has taken very socialist and even communist policies and terms of payouts. how big do you think the threat is from marine le pen? kabaddi a political earthquake here in this first round? to kabaddi a political earthquake here in this first round?— in this first round? to answer in a very short — in this first round? to answer in a very short time. _ in this first round? to answer in a very short time, we _ in this first round? to answer in a very short time, we are _ in this first round? to answer in a very short time, we are going i in this first round? to answer in a very short time, we are going to. in this first round? to answer in a i very short time, we are going to see tomorrow with turn out how it goes and if it is low it can be bad for marine le pen but if it is high it can be good for her and they lots of her supporters could go to the polls tomorrow. it is interesting that now most of the left—wing supporters and voters don't want to vote in the republican front, which was the rule for most of the election before that. you vote against the far right, whatever the candidate is. thank you much indeed. that is a crucial point. has marine le pen done enough to de—demonise her party to be taken seriously now in the second round, if indeed she gets

through. tim, thank you very much. tim wilcox in paris. let's return to the situation in pakistan and you will remember last weekend supporters of imran khan blocks in a confidence vote was on thursday the supreme court ruled that was unconstitutional which brings us back to today and imran khan facing another no—confidence vote. joining me is mir sher baz khetran a research fellow, institute of strategic studies in islamabad. thank you forjoining us today. members of mr khan's party have said they would try to delay this no—confidence vote as much as possible but is thatjust avoiding the inevitable? h0. possible but is that 'ust avoiding the inevitable?_ the inevitable? no, they cannot avoid it any _ the inevitable? no, they cannot avoid it any more _ the inevitable? no, they cannot avoid it any more because i the inevitable? no, they cannot avoid it any more because the l avoid it any more because the supreme court clearly asked them to hold vote of no confidence and so they have to do or they will face contempt of court. 50 they have to do or they will face contempt of court.—

they have to do or they will face contempt of court. so that is going to ha en contempt of court. so that is going to happen and _ contempt of court. so that is going to happen and it— contempt of court. so that is going to happen and it looks _ contempt of court. so that is going to happen and it looks like - contempt of court. so that is going to happen and it looks like imran l to happen and it looks like imran khan is going to lose. 0pposition politicians have blamed imran khan for failing to revive the economy and clearly this political crisis is affecting the economy too put you thinking what has always been a pretty fractious relationship between politicians in pakistan that is the real reason behind this move to oust him?— to oust him? no, in fact i personally _ to oust him? no, in fact i personally believe - to oust him? no, in fact i personally believe that i to oust him? no, in fact i i personally believe that there to oust him? no, in fact i - personally believe that there was to oust him? no, in fact i _ personally believe that there was no economic mismanagement or bad governance because inflation is on its highest, about 13%. we have been witnessing this devaluation of the pakistani rupee against the dollar on a daily basis and there is rapid growth in our population and our resources are shrinking and, unfortunately, the middle classes

so, yes, economy, the current imran khan government couldn't play well at the economy because they miserably failed on this point economy. what about the role of the military and the army has always been hugely important in pakistani politics. of course, when imran khan came to power in 2017 he had the military�*s support. what is that relationship and i now? very friendly, i think. the establishment wants to —— the military establishment wants to distance itself from the current government because they couldn't deliver. there were many more expectations from the current government but only rhetoric is there and use were expecting a lot, there and use were expecting a lot, there would be jobs and be like we have manyjobs and there would be economic growth in pakistan. all these winds only and better work,

there weren't any practical things happening in pakistan. just finally and very briefly — happening in pakistan. just finally and very briefly if _ happening in pakistan. just finally and very briefly if you _ happening in pakistan. just finally and very briefly if you would, i happening in pakistan. just finally and very briefly if you would, if. and very briefly if you would, if shabazz sharif becomes the prime minister imran khan has said he won't recognise his government, his leadership. what does that mean for pakistan? i leadership. what does that mean for pakistan? ., �* ~' leadership. what does that mean for pakistan? ., �* ~ ,., leadership. what does that mean for pakistan? ., �* ~ , , pakistan? i don't think so because if sharif becomes _ pakistan? i don't think so because if sharif becomes the _ pakistan? i don't think so because if sharif becomes the prime i pakistan? i don't think so because i if sharif becomes the prime minister he has the majority with the other coalition partners and before there was political instability in pakistan. due to changes in the government there would be political stability and economic growth in pakistan. i personally believe that there would be political stability ijy there would be political stability by change of this government and, frankly, i don't think people will buy any more rhetoric by the prime minister imran khan any more. manger minister imran khan any more. mayor from the institute _ minister imran khan any more. mayor from the institute of _ minister imran khan any more. mayor from the institute of strategic - from the institute of strategic studies in islamabad, thank you very much for your thoughts on this story

today. do stay with us through the neck sure is the latest on all today's main news. 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, notjust 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.