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: leclerc produces the magic in melbourne to win the australian grand prix — as ferrari set the pace early on in this new season. as scottie scheffler closes in on his first major, what twists and turns can the chasing pack provide on the final day at augusta? and will it come down to this? manchester city face liverpool as the best two in the premier league go head to head. hello and welcome to sportsday. we start in melbourne where ferrari's charles leclerc has maintained his excellent start to the new formula one season — by winning the australian grand prix. after starting on pole, leclerc was always in control —

as world champion max verstappen was forced to retire midway through the race — meaning his red bull team—mate sergio perez snatched second. nick parrott was watching. melbourne has missed formula 1 after three years without a race. ferrari has missed success after 15 years without a world champion. leclerc is giving them hope of ending that weight. he made the perfect getaway from pole position but his team—mate sainz�*s race ended early. changing tyres saw... fate intervened for verstappen again. way out in front, leclerc, 20 seconds ahead of perez.

it is not a track that fits me very well. in qualifying a put everything together and drove in the race like i wanted to try. i think we have the best car. ., ., ., , ., best car. you have to be there at the end to _ best car. you have to be there at the end to have _ best car. you have to be there at the end to have a _ best car. you have to be there at the end to have a shot, - best car. you have to be there at the end to have a shot, a - best car. you have to be there at the end to have a shot, a bit - the end to have a shot, a bit fortunate. _ the end to have a shot, a bit fortunate, sometimes it goes against you, sometimes for you, fortunate, sometimes it goes against you, sometimes foryou, i fortunate, sometimes it goes against you, sometimes for you, i will take it. you, sometimes for you, i will take it if— you, sometimes for you, i will take it. ., ., , ., , , it. if would imagine george russell would be leclerc's _ it. if would imagine george russell would be leclerc's closest - it. if would imagine george russell would be leclerc's closest rival. - would be leclerc's closest rival. but the ferrari driver will be hard to catch. american scottie sheffler is the man to catch as the masters heads towards a thrilling climax — the final round getting under way in just over half an hour with the back markers teeing off. the world number one holds a three shot lead heading into the final round. he hit four birdies on his front nine, before four bogeys in the second half of the round gave the chasing pack some hope.

australia's cameron smith is his closest rival, while ireland's shane lowry is seven shots behind sheffler. a tremendous player, fantastic shotgun, huge win at the players, both in good form so i am definitely looking forward to the challenge of playing with him tomorrow. different conditions on the golf course. i'm sure that will keep the greens nice and firm. a little later, not sure how much later, the wind. we are both looking forward to the test and the challenge playing in the final group, overso the challenge playing in the final group, over so much fun so looking forward to it. in the women's six nations scotland are losing to france in glasgow. they're into the second half at scotstoun stadium. just before the interview france

captain gaelle hermet went over just before the break france captain gaelle hermet went over for her side's fourth try of the game to secure a bonus point. scotland are currently losing by 28—3. just have a ten minutes remaining. a huge day ahead in the premier league, with the title—race reaching a potential defining moment later, but there's also a key game in the battle for survival. norwich are bottom, ten points from safety and face burnley, who can go to within a point of fourth—bottom everton. as you can see, it is going well for norwich, not so for burnley. and in scotland, rangers avoided a third straight defeat for them. one of the most eagerly awaited

premier league games of the season takes place later. leaders manchester city take on second placed liverpool. it could prove a pivotal fixture. a win for either would see them end the day top of the table. joe lynskey looks ahead. the two best teams in england, perhaps the two best teams in the world. the premier league's modern rivalry is one built on quality, and they're both relentless. this time, city host liverpool with eight games to go and one point between them. one of them's won the league the last four seasons. and they've pushed each other on. sometimes 97 points hasn't been enough to win it. and for both these great managers, this has been the toughest match. the last five years had been the biggest opening. it's been an incredible and marvellous, you know, contender. jurgen have been as a manager, the bigger rival i ever had in my career. yeah, will be an incredible test. we will push each other to an incredible point tallies, madness.

i would have never thought that these kind of things are possible and especially not in this league. so the consistency both teams showed in that period is absolutely crazy. this season, it's got close late on. injanuary, city led by 1a points. commentator: and it is 12 i premier league wins in a row for manchester city. but then had slip ups — liverpooljust kept winning to now close the gap and with one more win, today they'd go out in front. we were 1a points behind city and now we've clawed that gap back to one point and i think we should all be really proud of how far they've come this season, winning and getting three points at the etihad. don't think it would get much better than that. liverpool have just kept on winning, and that's why that gap is shortened tojust one point because they've been so relentless. and it just shows that the standards of these two teams and how they're they're really pushing each other towards greatness. i think they are the two best teams in the world without doubt,

and it's going to be fascinating to see how it plays out. they've been so dominant, but so close. in four years of football and 144 games, there's one point between them. this year, one will lift the trophy with the fans back in to see it. it means so much to both of them in football's great modern rivalry. joe lynskey, bbc news. eclair surf has become the second equine fatality at the grand national, following discorama on saturday. trainer emma lavelle said the horse suffered a traumatic head injury during the race. it's the first time two horses have died in the grand national for ten years, after which safety changes were brought in. james given, director of equine health and welfare at the british horseracing authority, said safety in the sport was "an ever—evolving commitment" and that "every incident this week will be reviewed." horse welfare and safety is always obviously at the forefront of

everyone's�*s mines at a race like the grand national. and in the sport as a whole. but it is a dangerous sport. the fences were modified in 2013, they are largely thought to be as safe as they have ever been and possibly can be in the sphere of horse racing. it is obviously a real shame and very, very sad when they do lose a horse in this manner. now kabaddi has been a huge sport in india for many years — and it has been played in other countries too — including the united kingdom, although not at a serious level. until now. the sport is making a comeback in the uk with a new british kabaddi league made up of eight brand new teams and began this weekend. you can watch every game live on the bbc sport website and iplayer, and our sports correspondent srosh khan has been finding out more. a sport like no other. think dodgeball, chuck in a bit of wrestling and british bulldog and you may begin to understand it, so what is kabaddi?

it's a game of raiders and defenders. something like 5000 years old. it is embedded in the historical culture of minority so, you raid, you go across, you take something that belongs to your opponent and you bring it back. it allows you to be bruce lee when he goes up and faces eight, nine people from different angles. this is the same. you have to go up against seven opponents, seven against one, and it allows you to build your confidence up, it is team work, it is individuality. why is kabaddi so popular, especially in places like south asia? kabaddi has always been very popular because it was a sport that you didn't need anything for, you just needed a patch of land. you don't need a ball, you don't need a bat.