welcome to bbc news — i'm lucy grey. imran khan is removed as prime minister of pakistan — after losing a vote of confidence in parliament. mr khan had earlier said he would not recognise any new opposition government, claiming that there was a us—led conspiracy to remove him. the vote took place in dramatic circumstances — with parliament sitting in the early hours after it initially appeared khan's party would not allow it to take place. the assembly will now meet on monday to choose a new prime minister. here's the moment the speaker

of the house announced the result. 174 members have recorded a vote in favour of the resolution. consequently, the resolution of a vote of no confidence against mr imran khan, the prime minister of islamic republic of pakistan, has been passed by a majority of the total membership of the national assembly. cheering our pakistan correspondent secunder kermani says the vote was an opportunistic move from his rivals. the forces of what used to be the opposition have been celebrating. you can perhaps hear them in the background. for a while it looked as though this vote of no confidence against imran khan would not happen, his party would block it from taking place for a second time despite an order from the supreme court, but instead after a day of delays in parliament and meandering speeches by imran khan's allies, shortly before midnight, mps from imran khan's party

walked out of parliament and a new speaker of the house said that the voting would start, and once it was clear that the voting was going to begin, the result was a foregone conclusion, and that is because a number of imran khan's political coalition allies had already publicly deserted him, giving the opposition a majority in parliament. they will now get to select and nominate their own candidate as prime minister. that will happen in the next day or two, and he will face real challenges in government, not least from imran khan, because imran khan still insists he is the victim of an international conspiracy, orchestrated by the united states in conjunction with his domestic political opponents, because of his foreign policy decisions, including a recent trip to russia. most analysts dismiss that. american officials and his political opponents deny there is any truth in the allegation but it is a narrative that is resonating with imran khan's voters.

he says he will not accept any kind of imported government. he has called for his supporters to take to the streets in peaceful protest from sunday evening. borisjohnson has become the latest western leader to hold face to face talks with ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky. during the meeting in kyiv, the british prime minister praised what he called the mr zelensky�*s "resolute leadership" and the "invincible heroism" of the ukrainian people. he also set out a new package of financial and military aid, our europe correspondent, mark lowen, has this report. how are you? you know how! little time for the niceties when you are a leader at war. volodymyr zelensky hosting boris johnson today. pressing the flesh of a key western backer. you are looking well. unbelievable considering which you have been through. you are strong. the strength of the underdog, ukraine's president battling for the survival of his country, welcoming and pleading for the outside world

to fight russian aggression. the unannounced talks came as britain pledged 120 armoured vehicles and new anti—ship missile systems. the two men were keen to suggest ukraine is on the front foot, a walkabout in kyiv inconceivable a fortnight ago. borisjohnson basking in praise for his support from the public and the president. translation: we have to exert pressure in the form of sanctions and i'm grateful to the united kingdom that continues and intensifies sanctions and also provides significant support to ukraine by reinforcing our defence capacities. the other democratic western countries should follow the example of the united kingdom. from borisjohnson, arriving as horrors are unearthed from neighbouring towns, warm words for a leader he called a lion. i thank you for what you

have been able to do. i think your leadership has been extraordinary. i think what putin has done in places like bucha and irpin, his war crimes have permanently polluted his reputation and the reputation of his government. borisjohnson was long keen to come here to kyiv but was waiting for the security situation to stabilise following the withdrawal of russian troops in the area and while this city has calmed, the renewed offensive in the east has made ukraine push even harder for more military aid. russian tanks pushed on today as a governor in the east urged civilians to flee immediately, warning of troops massing nearby. bucha near kyiv, now free of russian troops, shows what might lie in store elsewhere. 360 people are said

to have died here. ukraine, david against goliath, is still crying out for help. mark lowen, bbc news, kyiv. thousands of people have gathered in the sri lankan capital, colombo, to protest against the country's deepening economic crisis. the demonstrators are calling for the president, gotabaya rajapaksa, to step down. so far, the president and his brother, the prime minister, mahinda rajapaksa, have refused to resign. our correspondent, rajini vaidyanathan was among the protesters. thousands have gathered here in the sri lankan capital colombo for a day of mass protest. there is a real strength of feeling here, lots of anger, almost all of it directed at sri lanka's government, in particular the country's president gotabaya rajapaksa. throughout the afternoon, protesters have been shouting, chanting, calling for him to step down.

so far, the president and his brother, the prime minister, mahinda rajapaksa, are refusing to resign. they say that they will continue in government and get sri lanka through this crisis. but people here are not convinced, and that crisis is continuing to impact millions of people across this island nation. i talked to many families here today, middle—class families who have good jobs who say they are struggling to put food on the table for their children. they say the value of their salaries has gone down because prices have risen so much. and also they say that even when things are available and affordable, they are struggling to get their hands on them because everything is in such short supply — food, fuel, gas, diesel, everything. and so they say this movement is going to continue. and it has brought this country together, people from all backgrounds, rich and poor, young and old, all united. they say they will not stop their protests until the rajapa ksa

family leads power. —— leaves power. earlier, i wasjoined from sri lanka by human rights lawyer bhavani fonseka. it has gotten worse over the last few months. this is directly linked to the economic situation, where the government is unable to purchase essential items, and there are basically long queues on the road to buy medicine, fuel, gas, and it has also resulted in violence and several deaths as well in the last few weeks. but, what your reporter indicated yesterday was unprecedented, when many came out, in peaceful protest. one needs to recognise that ordinary citizens are facing severe hardships in different situations but they are coming to the streets because they want to be heard, and the situation is extremely dire at the moment on the ground.

in terms of president rajapaksa himself, his entire cabinet resigned last week, and a0 politicians defected and yet he is refusing to go anywhere, isn't he? that is the political crisis. so sri lanka is facing a political crisis as well as an economic crisis. last sunday, the cabinet of ministers resigned. several members of parliament subsequently said they would sit independently in parliament. so the question is whether the president and the prime minister has a majority in parliament. and in that we also have the opposition raising questions in terms of whether the government is in control, there was a no—confidence motion, there are calls for the abolition of the executive presidency, so you see a lot of movement

in the last few weeks as well at the political level but at the end of the day, many are coming out onto the streets with one call, that this government, the president, needs to go, they need to resign, so that is going to remain, regardless of what happens at a political level. as you said, so far the protests have been largely peaceful. are you worried that things may escalate? the protests have been largely peaceful and we have been in the streets for the past few weeks. it is amazing to see how many have come out, united, in their calls for change. there have been a few incidences where there was violence, and that raised concerns. there is a worry. but, what happened yesterday, for nearly 20 hours, people had been protesting and saying they would not go home until their call is met, so the government, when you hear the calls of so many now, so many that have come to the streets,

peacefully calling for change, and that needs to be seen. thank you for talking to us, we appreciate your time, bhavani fonseka, joining us from colombo. polls open in france on sunday for the first round of the presidential elections. recent polls have shown a dramatic fall in president macron�*s lead over his main challenger, the far—right leader marine le pen. our paris correspondent, lucy williamson says there's now not a lot between the two candidates. they are very close indeed, those two top contenders. there was one poll yesterday, it was the last day polls were allowed, which put them one point apart, macronjust one point ahead in the first round, just two points ahead of her in the second round. other polls putting them maybe a point or two further apart but it is really very close indeed. and what seemed to have changed has coincided with the war in ukraine. president macron tied up with that war, tied up with talking to president putin, didn't start campaigning until about three weeks ago. his rival, the far right leader marine le pen,

she has been campaigning for much longer than that, and she has been focusing on rising prices, that is something that is seen as really close to voters�* hearts here and something that they are even more concerned about because of the war in ukraine. slightly strange because marine le pen has quite close ties to russia, but she has been quite nimble in shifting her position since the war began, and i think she has really gained from the fact that mr macron had a late start and also that her nationalist rival eric zemmour hasn't been as fast on his feet and he has lost a few votes that have now gone to her. all of this is a snapshot, of course, we won't really know the mood of france until the votes come in tomorrow. there are 12 candidates for the vote, people will cast their votes and the two top candidates will go through to a run—off vote in two weeks�* time, and for a very long time, those two top candidates have been seen to be president macron and his far—right rival marine le pen, it is what almost all the polls have been saying. president macron promised five years ago

to remake french politics. he certainly has done. a recall of some kinder chocolate products has expanded from europe to the us. it comes as belgian health authorities ordered a factory making the products to close, after it was linked to dozens of salmonella cases. shelley phelps has more. coming off the shelves. a range of kinder chocolate treats have now been recalled in several countries over links to suspected salmonella cases. earlier this week people in the uk were told to return specific batches of kinder surprise eggs. but after that was extended to all products made at the ferrero factory in belgium, the authorities there ordered it to close. translation: at the moment the firm have not been able to provide full information so we have no

guarantee they are working in a food safe manner, that they're bringing safe products to the people and we absolutely cannot take any risks to the consumer which is why we have the authorisation. it won't be allowed to reopen until it proves the relevant regulations are being met. the product's abscence is being felt in stores. translation: kinder surprise, the supplies, all of the children want it for easter so we will have to fall back on other brands. we have other brands in store, but kinder is one of the big sellers especially in the easter period. italian confectionary group ferrero has apologised and acknowledged "internal failures". it previously described the recalls as "precautionary" and said none of its products had tested positive for salmonella. the company would normally expect a boost in sales around now, but this easter the shelves may be empty for all the wrong reasons. shelley phelps, bbc news.

this is bbc news, the headlines. imran khan is removed as prime minister of pakistan after losing a vote of confidence in parliament. borisjohnson pledges more british support for ukraine after meeting president zelensky in kyiv. let's have more on our main story — the political turbulence in pakistan. i'm joined now by ekta raghuwanshi who is south asia analyst with the intelligence risk company rane network. she's in newjersey. what is your reaction to the removal of imran khan, was what is your reaction to the removal of imran khan, was it inevitable?— inevitable? thank you for havin: inevitable? thank you for having yom _ inevitable? thank you for having you. yes, - inevitable? thank you for having you. yes, i- inevitable? thank you for having you. yes, i think | inevitable? thank you for| having you. yes, i think it inevitable? thank you for - having you. yes, i think it was inevitable. at least since the past two weeks. we knew that the political momentum had shifted and many of his partners and coalition had left the government and said they would work against him so they

knew that if it would happen he would most likely lose the vote, so the losing of the vote was not a complete surprise, with the majority of the community of pakistan. we exect community of pakistan. we meet the _ community of pakistan. we expect the government to be formed under the opposition leader shabaz sharif, what do you make of him and his ability to do what imran khan has not been able to do in terms of perhaps the economy? the whole olitical perhaps the economy? the whole political crisis _ perhaps the economy? the whole political crisis started _ perhaps the economy? the whole political crisis started in _ political crisis started in pakistan because of a huge economic mismanagement and allegations of economic mismanagement against imran khan. just to give you a little context, pakistan is a highly import —dependent country, it imports all of the natural gas from other companies and its

exports are not doing really good. injanuary, the inflation almost touched double digits, it was like 13%, and that was a cause that led to imran khan's removal and now we see a new government most likely to be headed by shabaz sharif, it is a coalition of opposition parties. what will be difficult for shabaz sharif going forward is that one, he still has all of the economic situation and economic crisis to deal with, pakistan's oil reserves are at historic lows, the pakistan rupee is at historic lows, and it has huge debt to service also so i don't think it will be very easy course for the new government from here onwards. it also has to undertake negotiations with the imf for the next tranche of the imap support package that pakistan is under since 2019, so the

economic situation in pakistan at least in the short term would not improve, because as long as the geopolitical crisis of the russian war stays, and the price of oil remains very high, i do not think that there is a short—term solution to the problems of the people. that may give forward to social unrest in the countryside, there could be a crisis for the new government, to consolidate itself politically, and then to deal with the economic issues in the country.— deal with the economic issues in the country. what about the relationship — in the country. what about the relationship of _ in the country. what about the relationship of shabaz - in the country. what about the relationship of shabaz sharif . relationship of shabaz sharif with a military? because imran khan's relationship with the military was widely quoted as one of the reasons for his demise. one of the reasons for his demise-—

demise. definitely. the military _ demise. definitely. the military would - demise. definitely. the military would not - demise. definitely. the military would not say i demise. definitely. the i military would not say this publicly, ever, but we have seen disagreements between imran khan and the military. there was a very public rift between the military and imran khan about appointments to the new pakistan spy chief, and that little crisis that happen gave us a little preview into what could now be very well established, that their relations were not ok. and also as this political crisis started and this vote of no confidence was in the parliament, the military publicly said that it would remain neutral to the political crisis, that it could not intervene. that was another indication that imran khan has indication that imran khan has in fact fallen out with the favour of the military. in the case of shabaz sharif, i think

what we can expect is a certain realignment especially in case of foreign policy with the us. i could really go ahead and say maybe with india, because the military chief a few days ago said that he would like to see some of some sort of talks with india, so i think that in the last few weeks, with imran khan, it was very anti—american, which i did not think the military appreciated, because the military itself is mostly responsible, which mostly responsible, which mostly drives the foreign policy of the country, i think that it wants good relations with both the us and china and somewhat with india. qm. with both the us and china and somewhat with india. 0k, thank ou ve somewhat with india. 0k, thank you very much _ somewhat with india. 0k, thank you very much for _ somewhat with india. 0k, thank

you very much for talking - somewhat with india. 0k, thank you very much for talking to - you very much for talking to us, ekta raghuwanshi from rane network, joining us from new jersey. let's go back to the situation in ukraine. earlier i spoke tojohn herbst, a former us ambassador to ukraine and director of the eurasia center at the atlantic council about the latest developments there. putin's huge offensive from february 2a to seize the capital kyiv has failed. russian troops have been defeated. the number of russian deaths may be as high as 15,000 out of a force of 200,000, that is enormous and they have retreated from kyiv, retreated in the north and they are trying to resupply their forces in the east. but, they are still there, still attacking areas in ukraine. we keep hearing president zelensky asking for more supplies, despite the promises that we have heard today and in recent days. what would be enough for him to be able to push russia out completely?

we need to supply steadily all the equipment he is asking for. that means javelins to kill tanks, stingers to take out helicopters, high altitude anti —aircraft, to take out planes flying at 30,000 feet. the brits have sent anti—ship missiles to help protect odesa and they are asking for multiple rocket launchers and mobile artillery and tanks and armoured personnel carriers so that they can deal with the russian offensive in eastern ukraine, we should give them all of that, this is essential for security of the best because if putin wins in ukraine his next target will be our baltic nato allies. which country in particular would you like to see doing more? i think the united states which has done a fair amount needs to step up and take leadership. i have to say that mrjohnson and the uk has been the most forward— leading of countries in the west. the us has done ok, needs to do

better, and of course our other nato allies have to step up, germany, france, etc. what does russia's targeting of civilians, increasing targeting of civilians, in terms of their tactics? it suggests that they have failed to deal with the ukrainian military so they cannot beat zelensky by beating the military they try to sap the will of the ukrainian people by attacking, intentionally, civilians, which is only making the ukrainians more angry and less willing to make peace, especially on putin's terms. you have not mentioned sanctions, are your thoughts that they are not having the desired impact? no, i think the sanctions are very important. the principal importance is to make the russian economy stall and, over time, to thereby weaken the ability maintain a first class military, so the sanctions we

are seeing today will make the russian people doubt whether this is all worth it and over 6—12 months, weaken the russian military, and that is important because mr putin is a serial provocateur and aggressor. john herbst, former us ambassador to ukraine. the prime minister of australia, scott morrison has called a general election for next month. speaking in canberra after asking the governor general to formally dissolve parliament, mr morrison emphasised his economic track record saying his government had cut taxes and laid a strong foundation for australia to prosper. polls suggest that mr morrison will be defeated by his labor party rival. the first all—private mission to the international space station has docked. the crew — consisting of a pilot and three passengers — have been welcomed inside the international space station. they are due to spend eight days orbiting the earth. the flight is being hailed as a milestone in the commercialisation of space flight.

well earlier i spoke to kathy leuders who leads nasa's human space flight programme. i asked her what these particular astronauts will be doing in the international space station. they have a tonne of experiments and different research and outreach that they have lined up. this private astronaut crew is going to be working their butts off. they have a good ten hours of work every day lined up to make sure that they are able to reach as many people as they can with the work that they are planning to do. and i are paying $55 million for the privilege of working those ten hour days. how do you feel about this commercialisation of space travel? this is part of our plan. when nasa was set up 60 years ago it was about how you enable and use the space economy so here we are, 60 years later,

embarking on our first full private astronaut mission to the international space station, flying cargo commercially, flying crew commercially, and one day we are hoping, after 2030, after we retire the space station, that we will become passengers on a commercial lead destination. is it about the money? we were talking to one lady who was describing her space lego, micro—robots that would assemble themselves in space. things like that you would have to wait a long time to get approvalfor and you might not be selected for the next mission and that sort of thing, but these opportunities that come with the money are what it is all about. it is just like you said, it is about not having one ride, but about opening up the opportunity for multiple people, and so if you just have governments do this you are kind of limiting the opportunity, so, we are trying to be an accelerator, and enable

the potential, maybe not next year or ten years from now but maybe 50—60 years from now we are not waiting so long for a ride. $55 million, right, that would be great, too! it is kind of exclusive. are they a bit of a hindrance these people come on the iss? i know that they go through months of training but do the other people on the iss feel like they are having to carry them for a few days? first of all, i think they are happy to see them. if you saw the welcome ceremony, the other seven folks were happy to bring four more crew members up on board. they do have to figure out, we have had to plan very carefully the work that we are going to be doing with our government astronauts who are doing critical work and making sure that we are fitting in where to do the private astronauts' work to make sure that it does not interfere with the work we need to do, but that is kind of part of what we do.

we make sure that we can do hard stuff and figure it out and we are very excited to have them there. you, kathy leuders from nasa. let's have a look at the weather with louise lear. hello there. we've got a little ridge of high pressure moving in and that is killing off saturday's daytime showers, allowing those skies to clear and temperatures to fall away so do expect a frosty start to sunday, lots of blue sky and sunshine to begin with but quickly clouding over from the west. so here is that little ridge of high pressure moving over into europe and all eyes focused on this area of low out in the atlantic, this beautiful bass clef swirl of cloud which is going to gradually spill in cloud and eventually some rain from the west. so, enjoy the early morning sunshine, yes, a frosty start. unusual now for mid—april but as we push into the afternoon, the sunshine turning increasingly hazy, there will be showery outbreaks of rain into northern ireland, a bit more of a breeze here as well. highs in northern ireland,

england and wales, ten to 13 degrees. a little bit colder, still, in the far north—east of scotland and the northern isles. now, as we move through sunday evening and overnight, we will continue to see quite a lot of cloud pushing in. that low pressure is really taking its time before it brings in potentially heavy rain but nevertheless, that cloud acting like a blanket, preventing those temperatures from falling quite as far. so, monday morning won't be quite as chilly, we'll see overnight lows, generally, between three and seven degrees. so, a slightly greyer start to the day, and we will see some outbreaks of sharp, showery rain pushing in from south—west england, wales, into northern ireland. some of these showers could be quite heavy, with the odd rumble of thunder mixed in there but if you dodged the showers and keep some sunshine around that low pressure, the wind direction coming from the south—easterly, so not quite as cold, highs of 17 degrees. we still keep the cold air in place into the far north of scotland but not for long because that southerly wind driving around that low pressure will push milder air a little bit further north as we go through the next few days.

so, on tuesday, yes, still the risk of some showery outbreaks of rain, again some of it heavy, possibly even thundery, but if you dodged those showers and you keep that sunshine, particularly across east anglia and south—east england, once again we could see 19, possibly 20 degrees. so, the rain, the dividing line between that slightly colder air sitting in the far north of scotland but it will head in your direction. and you can see, as we head towards the easter weekend, once that rain eases away, it will be drier and relatively milder in comparison to the last few days.