this is bbc news 7 welcome if you re watching here in the uk or around the globe. i m lucy grey. our top stories... imran khan is removed as prime minister of pakistan after losing a vote of confidence in parliament. armoured vehicles and new missiles — borisjohnson pledges more british support for ukraine after talks with president zelensky in kyiv. there is a huge amount to do to make sure that ukraine is successful, that ukraine wins and that putin must fail. people in luhansk are being urged to flee, following the attack on a railway station in kramatorsk — where at least 50 people were killed. translation: when you see our future being killed, _ the future of ukraine, you can't control your|

emotions, you understand it's genocide and they are killing. usjust because we're - ukrainian and you see that when you look at the bodies of the women and children. | campaigning ends in the first round of france's presidential election — polls are due to open in a few hours. and there we are. and mission accomplished — as the first all private astronaut team ever launched to the international space imran khan has been removed as pakistan's prime minister, after losing a confidence vote in parliament following weeks of political turmoil. 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. supporters if 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. earlier, i spoke to michael kugelman who is south asia senior associate at the wilson center. i asked him to run through what happens next in pakistan. the plan on monday is for the parliament to elect a new prime minister back that next government will face major will face major challenges, inheriting a major economic crisis, there have been a resurgence in terrorist attacks and imran khan will go back to the opposition, a role that he played for so long before becoming prime minister, and he will try to be disruptive,

try to have his supporters come out in protest, will try to make life difficult for this next government, so i don't think we can rule out the possibility of early elections. we will see how far this next government gets but the honeymoon will not last long for the next government, that is for sure. it is sort of expected that the new prime minister will be shabaz sharif. will people get behind this new coalition? he will likely be the choice, the next prime minister but what is important about shebaz sharif as of all of the major opposition leaders, he has long had the full support of the pakistani military which is very important in a country where the military is such a powerful political player. but major economic woes, soaring inflation, there is a lot to deal with. yes, and this next government

will want to stick around at least until november, when the army chief's term is up and the next government will be in a position to select the next army chief which is a key position but it is going to be a very tough ride for this next government, particularly with an angry new opposition, it is going to be a very hyper partisan environment, divided, and it will be very difficult for this next government. a difficult end to his tenure, but imran khan was brought in on a ticket of tackling corruption and dealing with the economy, wasn't he? what will his legacy be? how will he be remembered? he will be remembered for some good things, including some major anti—poverty programmes and social welfare programmes that he put out. he tried to do a lot on the front of bringing more awareness to climate change but at the end of the day he will be remembered for his inability to address an economic crisis thatjust continue to get worse and worse and he will be remembered

as a leader who burned a lot of bridges. he alienated members of his own party, he lost coalition partners, and he lost the support of the pakistani army chief so he burned all of these bridges at the moment he needed all the help he could get and there wasn't anyone to turn to, so that will be what lingers in terms of his legacy going forward. thank you for your time, michael kugelman. 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, including an offer of 120 armoured vehicles and new anti—ship missile systems, for the war with russia. mr zelensky ordered other

european allies to intensify the pressure on moscow. our europe correspondent, mark lowen, has this report. 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 defence capacity. 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, is now free of russian troops and 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. in the east of the country, civilians have been urged to leave the area immediately, because russian forces are increasing their shelling and may be planning a mass assault. two missiles hit a train station in the city of kramatorsk on friday, killing more than 50 people, who were trying to escape fighting in the area. at least four of the dead are children. our defence correspondent, jonathan beale, has sent us this report. they were supposed to be taking a train to safety

but instead they were leaving kramatorsk by ambulance. most of the severely injured in yesterday's missile attack had already been taken west to larger hospitals. these, the walking wounded. still needing surgery to remove the pieces of shrapnel from their bodies, and still clearly traumatised. translation: | heard a lot | of explosions and i fell down. when i got up a lot- of people were already dead. there was only me who stood up from the floor. _ it's a wonder. i god saved me. i have a penetrating chest injury from i one side and my legs- are wounded, like everywhere. i got the shrapnel into my groin, into my artery. i fainted twice, lost a lot of blood. medical staff worked day and night to save the lives of the dozens injured. not all made it. six died before they had

a chance to operate, including a young child. translation: there were life- threatening injuries, _ amputations, torn limbs, i torn feet, stomach wounds and brain injuries. _ those were the severe cases. it's surreal what's happened, itjust can't be explained. - i can't imagine what kindl of person takes a decision to launch a missile into a place where| civilians are gathering. screaming these were the chaotic scenes after the strike. thousands had gathered at kramatorsk station, hoping to get a train to safety. many of them women and children. they were among the dozens of bodies lying on the ground. aleksei was still looking through the wreckage this morning. normally, he helps recover the bodies of ukrainian troops killed in battle. but, yesterday, he was having to gather the remains of unarmed civilians —

the innocents of this war. translation: when you see our future being killed, _ the future of ukraine, you can't control your| emotions, you understand it's genocide and they are killing. usjust because we're - ukrainian and you see that when you look at the bodies of the women and children. | investigators were still examining the remains of a missile nearby. eyewitnesses say they saw multiple explosions, raising the possibility that it may have contained cluster munitions. it's still not clear what exactly happened here, whether this missile might have been shot down and that's why some of it is still intact, but the state railway company says that a number of missiles were fired at the railway station, and despite russia's denials of responsibility, people here think it was a deliberate attack. jonathan beale, bbc news, kramatorsk. 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. 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 0desa 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 west 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 0k, 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, suggest in terms of their tactics? it suggests that they have failed to deal with the ukrainian military so they cannot beat zelensky by destroying 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. john herbst there. you are watching bbc news, the headlines... imran khan is removed as prime minister of pakistan — after losing a vote of confidence in parliament. you 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. 0ur correspondent, rajini vaidyanathan was among the protestors. 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 leaves power. 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. 0ur 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. the prime minister of australia, scott morrison has called a general election for next month. speaking in canberra after asking the goveror speaking in canberra after asking the governor general to formally disolve the 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 anthony albanese. 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 absence is being felt in stores. translation: kinder surprise, 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 during 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. the bestselling novelist known as jack higgins has died — he was 92. he wrote 85 novels but is best known for his 1975 book, the eagle has landed, about a nazi plot to kidnap winston churchill during the second world war. it sold more than 50 million copies and was adapted into a film starring michael caine. his publisher said the passing ofjack higgins — whose real name was henry patterson — marked the passing of an era. now a moment of space history — as the first all—private crew has arrived at the international

space station. this is their arrival earlier. the all male crew are called the axiom—1. let's have a look at a few more details. the first all—private mission flight is being hailed as a milestone in the commercialisation of space flight. the four men are led by a former us space agency astronaut, michael lopez—alegria. passengers include a us real estate entrepreneur and aerobatic pilot larry connor, israeli investor eytan stibbe and canadian entrepreneur, mark pathy. the mission set off from florida kennedy space center and is expected to last eight days. they'll undertake some scientific research, as well as conduct a number of outreach projects. the firm is planning a series of similar missions to the iss. the next one, axiom—2, will take place either later this year or in early 2023 and will include a crew member chosen through a reality tv series. earlier i spoke to kathy leuders who leads nasa's human spaceflight programme. i asked her what these particular astronauts will be

doing. 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 they 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 led 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.

kathy leuders from nasa. 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.

this is bbc news. the headlines: imran khan has been removed as prime minister of pakistan after losing a confidence vote. mr khan said he wouldn't recognise a new opposition government, after claiming that there was a us—led conspiracy to remove him. an assembly will meet on monday to choose a new leader. the british prime minister, borisjohnson has pledged more support for ukraine after holding face to face talks with president zelensky in kyiv. mrjohnson praised what he called the "invincible heroism" of the ukrainian people. mr zelensky urged other western allies to intensify the pressure on moscow. campaigning has ended in the first round of france's presidential election. president emmanuel macron's lead over his main challenger, the far—right leader marine le pen has fallen dramatically in recent weeks. the polls are due to open

in a few hours' time.