this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm annita mcveigh. our top stories... polls have opened in france — in the first round of the french presidential election, with president macron facing a strong challenge from marine le pen. britain says there's further evidence that russian troops have a deliberate strategy of targeting civilians in ukraine. "put the weapons down" — pope francis calls for an easter truce in ukraine, leading to negotiations and peace. opposition parties in pakistan are preparing to form a new government, after the removal of imran khan in a late—night confidence vote. our motivation is to conduct electoral reforms and move towards a more democratic pakistan.

an inquiry into how the tax arrangements of the uk's chancellor's wife became public is now under way. hello. voters go to the polls today in the first round of the french presidential election. in what could be the closest contest in many years president emmanual macron is facing a strong challenge from the far right candidate marine le pen. 12 candidates are standing, with the top two — expected to be macron and le pen — going through to a run—off in a fortnight. from paris, nick beake reports. it feels like a president macron has only just turned up to this selection. he's been spending much of his time on the war in ukraine, many french say he's been missing in action at home. the far right candidate marie le pen

has been gaining ground in this, her third presidential race, honing a softer image this time. retired secretary janine tells us le pen is now ready for the highest office. i think she would be not so bad. not so bad as macron. many people coming here to vote today will have seen the very latest polls suggesting le pen is onlyjust behind macron now. and so more people asking the question whether france is on the verge of own brexit moment, or trump moment, in other words a political earthquake, something which has huge repercussions, not just in this country but across europe and beyond. but le pen appears less in cosmopolitan paris and emmanuel macron remains the frontrunner in the national polls. he tells us he is voting for macron

because he has proved himself on the world stage, dealt with covid and shown he is a president who rises to the challenge. in this first round, the french have many candidates to choose from. but only two go through, meaning lots of voters will have to think again in a fortnight�*s time. if the polls are right and it is between macron and le pen, then what do you do? just not living in france any more! seriously? yeah. no, really, the worst thing that can happen. did you vote for macron last time? yeah, yeah, but never more. so, can president macron hang on, as his appeal seems to wear thin. nick beake, bbc news, paris. the bbc�*s tim willcox is in clichy for us on the latest. todayis

today is the first round of the french presidential elections. there are 12 candidates in the race but the focus very much on two principal candidates this year. two will go forward to the second round on april the 24th. the two in question emanuel macron, the incumbent president, and his far right challenger marine le pen of the national rally party. now, in the past few weeks, the gap between these two leaders has narrowed significantly. emanuel macron at the start of this race was some 20 points ahead. that lead has now been reduced to two or three points and the big question for french voters now is marine le pen fit to go forward into the second round and take

the keys to the elysee palace? for years, she has been associated with an extremist far right racist party. has that changed now with another candidate in the poll today, eric zemmour, who has perhaps taken some of the poison out of the immigration debate that she formally represented. let's just see where we are now with matthieu tardis. he is from the french institute of foreign relations. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. i want to just focus on the immigration debate which eric zemmour has taken and made his own. what is the situation in terms of immigration in france? how big an issue is it in reality? good afternoon. in reality, immigration in france, it is quite stable for the last decade, actually. there was a rise in arrivals of asylum seekers for the last five years, like everywhere in europe, as you know, but besides that, we are talking about professional working immigration, family immigration, it has been quite stable except for refugees and students who we all want to get in the country.

so the situation with immigration, it is nothing very peculiar right now, even compared to other european countries. france may be the oldest immigration country in europe but at the same time immigration is much lower than germany or spain or italy or other european countries. marine le pen and eric zemmour have always maintained that migrants here are given first place in the queue when it comes to housing, schooling, medical care, is that borne out in reality? they are not first in the queue. they are in the same line as everyone here, at least for those who have resident permit. they have a bunch of social benefits almost the same as nationals but they are not going before the french nationals and most of the time, in fact, there is still a lot of discrimination and sometimes burden that make it even more difficult forforeign nationals to have access to those rights.

but this idea that we give more to migrants, to foreigners, is wrong. more analysis of this first round of the french presidential election. let us make sure you these live pictures from a polling station in paris. polling stations are closing in five hours when the first exit polls will be made public. around a quarter of voters had turned out by midday french time and that is about 3% down compared with the same period in the 2017 contest. the british ministry of defence says it's uncovered more evidence that russian forces have adopted a deliberate strategy of targeting civilians in ukraine. it says there's clear evidence of mass graves and the fatal use of hostages as human shields. moscow denies the claims. ukraine has welcomed the uk's offer of extra weapons. our correspondent danjohnson has

the latest from lviv. now that russian forces have cleared those areas around kyiv and local officials are able to examine those areas more closely, they are finding evidence that civilians have been targeted, hostages have been used as human shields and there is evidence of mass graves. we know some have been discovered already. in the last hour or so, there is a report of another mass grave having being found in a village near kyiv that has been under russian occupation for weeks. the number of bodies there hasn't been confirmed but apparently two dead bodies have been pulled from a ditch there and there are believed to be more to be recovered. we wait for more information on that. the bbc has not confirmed that report as yet. but it is a sort of thing that the ukrainian officials are finding as they go back into areas that were under russian occupation for so long will stop there are also mines in many of those areas and they are warning people not to return because of the risk their —— there is risk

of the risk their —— there is risk of further loss of life and damage to infrastructure. given that russian forces have left areas around kyiv, they are believed to be reorganising and refocusing for an intensive attack in the east of ukraine, in the donbas. people here are volunteering to receive more evacuees heading west to escape that intensification of the fighting. we have seen more people die in shelling their already overnight and there are nine evacuation trains being laid on today to bring people from the east to safe places. i have been meeting some of the people who have arrived in lviv in the last couple of days. this woman left two days ago but not for the first time. the people of the donbas region have lived with conflict for years now.

translation: in lived with conflict for years now. translation:— lived with conflict for years now. translation: ii' ., . translation: in 2014 we were forced to leave our home _ translation: in 2014 we were forced to leave our home in _ translation: in 2014 we were forced to leave our home in the _ translation: in 2014 we were forced to leave our home in the first - translation: in 2014 we were forced to leave our home in the first war. - to leave our home in the first war. it is really scary when you run under fire so i already knew what it was like eight years ago. she under fire so i already knew what it was like eight years ago.— under fire so i already knew what it was like eight years ago. she took a train with her— was like eight years ago. she took a train with her daughter _ was like eight years ago. she took a train with her daughter on _ was like eight years ago. she took a train with her daughter on friday - train with her daughter on friday and they onlyjust missed the rocket attack on their train station. mai; attack on their train station. may be my town _ attack on their train station. may be my town will _ attack on their train station. may be my town will be _ attack on their train station. 1— be my town will be destroyed or not, i don't know, but that is my home. i don't want to go back. tel i don't know, but that is my home. i don't want to go back.— don't want to go back. tel aviv is a lona wa don't want to go back. tel aviv is a long way from _ don't want to go back. tel aviv is a long way from the _ don't want to go back. tel aviv is a long way from the fighting - don't want to go back. tel aviv is a long way from the fighting and - long way from the fighting and normal life —— lviv is a long way from the fighting but normal life is not continuing here and it could mean more refugees heading this way. russian�*s military is building in the east with a new command structure and more firepower in the air and on the ground. they are launching strikes from the black sea as well, claiming to target ukrainian armed forces. president zelensky has welcomed more weapons to defend against this sort of

attack but he warned the fight is notjust his country's. translation: russian aggression was not aimed only at ukraine and the destruction of our freedom and our life. the whole european project as a target for russia. elena is sheltering in a theatre for now. families wondering what to do next and what more fighting will mean for hopes going home. and just how many more people will be caught up how many more people will be caught up in the conflict? how many people will have to flee their homes? president zelensky has welcomed the announcement of military aid that is being delivered by the uk government and many other european nations. the ukrainian defence forces are able to re—equip with some of that heavy military kit that is arriving. resident zelensky says it is needed to keep up that fight against the

renewed russian attacks in the east of the country, which he said would be a great battle to come. dan johnson there in lviv. meanwhile, pope francis has used his palm sunday address to call for an "easter truce" in ukraine addressing the crowds in st. peter's square the pontiff spoke of senseless acts of cruelty in war and a truce to achieve peace through real negotiations. this was the first palm sunday mass with the public in attendance since the start of the covid pandemic. you can keep across all the developments on the russia—ukraine war by visiting our website. our live page is updated with all the latest reports from our correspondents on the ground. that's all on the bbc news website — or download the bbc news app. let's get some of the day s other news. 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 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. mexicans are voting in an unprecedented referendum on whether their president, andres manuel lopez obrador, should stay in office. mr lopez obrador said it was vital to give voters a chance to confirm his democratic mandate half way through his six year term. polls suggest he enjoys the support of the majority of mexicans but critics suspect he may use a victory to extend his mandate beyond the single six—year term, permitted by the constitution. 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, to step down. so far, the president and his brother, the prime minister, mahinda rajapaksa, have refused to resign. 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. 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. members of pakistan's parliament are due to decide on monday who should succeed imran khan, who was ousted as prime minister in a late—night confidence vote after he was deserted by coalition partners. they blame him for a crumbling economy and failure to deliver on campaign promises. analysts say the new prime minister is almost certain to be the opposition leader,

shehbaz sharif. mr khan has said he is the victim of an international conspiracy. shelley phelps reports. amongst the crowds gathered outside pakistan's parliament, there wasjoy and anguish at the news of imran khan's removal. it was a night of intense political drama. this is the moment to speak of the house announced the results. 13�*s moment to speak of the house announced the results. 174 members have recorded _ announced the results. 174 members have recorded their— announced the results. 174 members have recorded their votes _ announced the results. 174 members have recorded their votes in - announced the results. 174 members have recorded their votes in favour . have recorded their votes in favour of the resolution, consequently, the resolution for the 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 the opposition erupted. front runner as next prime minister, shehbaz sharif, is hailing the moment as a chance for a new beginning.

translation: is chance for a new beginning. translation:— chance for a new beginning. translation: , ., ., , translation: is a new dawn has started, a translation: is a new dawn has started. a new — translation: is a new dawn has started, a new day _ translation: is a new dawn has started, a new day is _ translation: is a new dawn has started, a new day is coming. - translation: is a new dawn has. started, a new day is coming. allah has answered the price of millions. former cricket star says he will not recognise... public opinion is divided. translation: —— imran khan has been removed by... we do know want these thieves as politicians. transition mac this is a victory of democracy. palestinians need a —— pakistan needs a chance at economic recovery. it need a -- pakistan needs a chance at economic recovery.— economic recovery. it will inherit a manner economic recovery. it will inherit a manger economic _ economic recovery. it will inherit a manger economic crisis, _ economic recovery. it will inherit a manger economic crisis, they - economic recovery. it will inherit a j manger economic crisis, they have also been — manger economic crisis, they have also been a — manger economic crisis, they have also been a resurgence in terrorist attacks_ also been a resurgence in terrorist attacks and — also been a resurgence in terrorist attacks and imran khan will go back

to the _ attacks and imran khan will go back to the opposition, a role that he played _ to the opposition, a role that he played for— to the opposition, a role that he played for so long, and he will try to be _ played for so long, and he will try to be disruptive.— to be disruptive. pakistan's parliament _ to be disruptive. pakistan's parliament will _ to be disruptive. pakistan's parliament will meet - to be disruptive. pakistan's parliament will meet to - to be disruptive. pakistan's. parliament will meet to vote to be disruptive. pakistan's - parliament will meet to vote for the country's new leader on monday. the bbc�*s secunder kermani has been following all the developments and has the latest now from islamabad. for much of the day, it seemed as if the vote of no confidence against imran khan would not be held, as if imran khan's party would prevent it, block it for a second time in spite of a supreme court order saying that it should go ahead. in fact, we were getting reports that the supreme court was ready to open its doors at midnight, possibly to issue a contempt of court notice against imran khan's allies if they did not go ahead with that vote of no confidence. of course, it did, and the result was a foregone conclusion, because a number of imran khan's allies had already publicly deserted him. opinion here is really quite heavily polarised.

if you are a supporter of imran khan, you are heartbroken. we were outside parliament late last night at around 3.00 in the morning, and a woman from a poor working class background came up to us, everyone else had pretty much left the scene at that point, and she just poured out her heart, saying that she thought imran khan was the best thing that had ever happened to pakistan, and she did not know how the country would continue without him. but if you are a supporter of the opposition, or what until now was the opposition, you see this as a great victory for democracy, and that imran khan was endangering the constitution of pakistan by refusing to hold this vote of no confidence, refusing to accept the decision of parliament, and even now, as you heard in that report, he has said he will not accept any government that comes out of this process, and he has called for his supporters to come out into the streets after evening prayer later tonight and register their protest peacefully.

secunder kermani reporting. i've been speaking to bilawal bhutto zardari who is the son of former prime minister, benazir bhutto, and former president, asif ali zardari. he's also been the chairperson of the opposition pakistan peoples party since the age of 19. he explained what he wants for his country's future. my party, the pakistan people's party, will indeed support mr shehbaz sharif in his bid to be prime minister on monday. the reason party led the effort to bring a no—confidence motion in parliament was notjust to elect mr shehbaz sharif. our motivation is to conduct electoral reforms and move towards a more democratic pakistan after suffering under three years of a government that we contend, came to power through a rigged election. can you confirm you will be

the next foreign minister if your plans come to fruition? no, i cannot confirm that. my goal in this struggle was to bring progress in pakistan's democracy, to ensure electoral reforms, and undo the damage done to our constitution, our democratic systems, to human rights, to media freedoms, to economic rights over the last three years. imran khan would absolutely refute the suggestion he did come to power in a rigged election, given the climate in which he was removed from office through this vote of no confidence and the difficulties facing the economy, which will persist no matter who is in power, can the people expect, as mr sharif said yesterday, that a government formed of two parties who have, at times, been

bitter rivals will be able to heal the wounds of pakistan, as mr sharif said? i believe the answer to pakistan's problems is democracy, democracy and more democracy and while following the assassination of benazir bhutto in 2007, pakistan's democracy made immense progress for the preceding ten years. the last three years saw a fundamental undermining of the constitutional structure of not just the freedom, notjust political freedoms but the freedoms of every single pakistani. and we believe unless you have political and democratic freedoms, we cannot progress and achieve the economic rights we do for our people. this was a very important first step to right the wrongs of the past, but we have a long way to go. the bbc understands in inquiry

into how the tax arrangements of the british chancellor's wife, akshata murthy, became public is now underway. labour has suggested that there may a conflict of interest between rishi sunak�*s role as chancellor and ms murthy�*s tax status, as a non—domiciled uk resident. they insist all laws were followed. joining me now is political commentator, jo phillips. hello. are you surprised the chancellor has been pushing for this inquiry which we understand is now happening, in a time of some unfavourable coverage for him? it keeps this particular story in the new cycle. keeps this particular story in the new cycle-— keeps this particular story in the new cle. , ., ,, ., , new cycle. yes, and i think, to be erfectl new cycle. yes, and i think, to be perfectly honest, _ new cycle. yes, and i think, to be perfectly honest, it _ new cycle. yes, and i think, to be perfectly honest, it underlines - new cycle. yes, and i think, to be l perfectly honest, it underlines what many commentators have been saying that actually he has shown astonishing elliptical naivety. however, it is against the law to leak someone's tax status, so from that point of view, you can see why.

he is obviously furious because it is about his wife and it is against the law. there is a big possibility, i suppose, of some criminal proceedings following. my experience and i think both of us might have been around long enough to have heard of umpteen leaks and what happens after them, not very much, with the notable exception of gavin williamson who was sacked by theresa may for a leak from the national security council in 2019. i think it probably would have been betterfor the chancellor to let this go away. he has obviously been forced, he and his wife, have been forced into a u—turn which is always embarrassing. there are two schools of thought in politics. when something goes wrong, you either brazen it out or you react quickly. what they did is a classic mistake of trying to brazen it out, then having to go on the back foot, so the story has lasted longer. we know that his rating had already slipped after the spring

statement and the timing of this could not be worse. as the rest of us are getting our increased energy bills, our counciltax us are getting our increased energy bills, our council tax bills, are struggling to pay for fuel costs on the four courts, the cost of living crisis is engulfing everybody, so to have this, right nowjust feeds into the narrative that this is a chancellor who is completely out of touch and that, in turn, feeds into the notion that, along with party gate, which borisjohnson would love to go away, this is a government thatis to go away, this is a government that is out of touch with ordinary people because it is one rule for them and one for the rest of us. do ou them and one for the rest of us. do you think this will have a wider political impact, jo? we are a way off now from the next general election, there are elections in may, of course, do you think this will really hit home with voters and will really hit home with voters and will they show that by casting their vote somewhere else than the conservative candidates? i think

there is a general— conservative candidates? i think there is a general discomfort - conservative candidates? i think| there is a general discomfort and conservative candidates? i think. there is a general discomfort and i think the government has got it wrong if it thinks that most people think party gait, as jacob rees—mogg described it, is a piece of political flow. described it, is a piece of politicalflow. it is not, it is important to many people who feel very bitter about the sacrifices they made while people were boozing it up and having fun in downing street. i think there are obviously bigger issues, obviously the war in ukraine which we have just been hearing about which just gets worse by the day, and there is no sign of that coming to a peaceful and happy ending any time soon. so there are bigger issues but there is no doubt that right at home the biggest issue is going to be the cost of living and that is where you get this disconnect. if people feel that the government is out of touch and doesn't understand the pain they are going through, then that is when governments can lose and opposition parties can get the benefit from

that. we have been hearing throughout the day reports from france as france goes to the first stage of its presidential elections and that is the same narrative that many people in france feel that le pen is closer because she is addressing the cost of living crisis. , ., , ., crisis. jo, we must leave it there. thank you — crisis. jo, we must leave it there. thank you very — crisis. jo, we must leave it there. thank you very much. _ crisis. jo, we must leave it there. thank you very much. it - crisis. jo, we must leave it there. thank you very much. it is - crisis. jo, we must leave it there. thank you very much. it is time i crisis. jo, we must leave it there. i thank you very much. it is time now to take a look at the weather. hello there. we've got somewhat springlike weather it over the week ahead. todayis weather it over the week ahead. today is still on the cold side as it has been over the past few days. we have low pressure sitting to the west of the uk are spiralling around is cloud turning the sunshine hazy. a lot of high cloud as you can see in north somerset but also some fair weather cumulus bubbling up as well. temperatures are a shade higher than they were yesterday, still the odd shower in the north—east of scotland, and the cloud big enough in the west to give a little rain here and there are northern ireland.

the bruises picking up in western areas and turning —— the breeze picking up in western areas and other places. that means it will be milder than last week with temperatures typically four or five celsius. early in the week, the chance of rain but temperatures will be continuing to rise as well. there won't be much rain in the forecast on monday. we have a few bands of short lived rain sweeping northwards, mainly of the western side of the uk, through the midlands, much of eastern england, it may be dry and there will be sunshine here as well. temperatures beginning to lift them up to 17 celsius in the south—east of england. we are seeing temperatures rise because the cold air is being pushed away to the north of scotland, a southerly breeze heading our way early in the week but at the same time as temperatures rising, we have this zone of cloud and rain all the way from spain, up across france and heading into the uk, bringing a

pulse of rain. we will see rain overnight, working its way northwards into scotland and still quite windy in the north—east. this rain could be heavy and possibly thundery. where it brightens up after that, that could trigger a few sharp showers as well. still quite chilly in the north—east of scotland but to the south—east of england, temperatures getting up to 17 or 18 celsius. the weather front will take the rain a way out into the north sea overnight, things calm down as we head into wednesday. light winds across the whole of the country because start off misty and murky across western areas but that will lift. some sunshine coming through now and again could trigger light showers. most places will be dry with a little bit of sunshine. temperatures lifting in the central belt.

this is bbc world news, the headlines: french voters are taking part in the first round of the presidential election, with president macron facing a strong challenge from marine le pen. britain says there's further evidence that russian troops have a deliberate strategy of targeting civilians in ukraine. an inquiry into how the tax arrangements of the uk's chancellor's wife became public is now under way, the bbc understands. the frontrunner to become pakistan s next prime minister says the removal of imran khan in a late—night confidence vote is a chance for a new beginning for the country. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's sarah mulkerrins. hello and welcome to sportsday.

coming up: