this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories... the russian defence ministry says it has cleared the entire urban area of mariupol of ukrainian forces, claiming that ukraine has lost more than 4,000 fighters in the city. the bbc has not been able to verify these claims. russia warns the us and its allies against supplying further weapons to ukraine, saying it's adding fuel to the conflict. missile attacks resume near kyiv. moscow says it targetted a factory making anti—ship weapons and threatens more to come. in his easter address the archbishop of canterbury criticises the government's plan to send asylum—seekers to rwanda saying it is the opposite of the nature of god. disaster teams

in south africa are on high alert forfurtherfloods as more rain is expected over the weekend. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky has said if his remaining troops in the besieged city of mariupol are killed by russian troops, peace negotiations would be over. his warning comes as the mayor of kyiv cautioned residents to be wary of further russian missile attacks on the capital. vitali klitschko has urged those who have fled the city not to return following another strike on saturday morning. 0ur correspondent mark lowen reports from kyiv. russian revenge. an early morning strike on a military factory in kyiv by long—range missiles.

a message from moscow that russian troops may have retreated from the capital, but they can still hit hard. it came after ukraine says it struck and sank the russian warship the moskva, though russia claims it was caused by a fire. its pride of the black sea, now buried beneath it. well, the industrial complex that was hit is behind this wall. you can still see the smoke there in the distance from the explosion. now, ukraine shows every intention in this war of continuing and stepping up its fightback, and the fear here in kyiv is that russian retaliatory strikes might now intensify. a hint of normality was creeping back to this city, with shops reopening and people emerging from shelters. but now a reminder that the threat is still present, even from afar. tatiana hoped her customers would soon start to return, but she and her neighbourhood have

had a terrifying wake—up call. translation: the floor was shaking and it felt like an earthquake. - it was very frightening. these days, we sleep fully clothed with our bags packed, so we are ready to flee. translation: | woke up - all of a sudden, like i was jolted out of a nightmare. we wanted to leave kyiv, but we trust our military so decided to stay. but now i think i'll always feel nervous when i hear explosions. despite the onslaught, ukraine's resolve remains. its defender in chief rewarding those who have stepped up to the fight. the president at war, boosting morale, and again appealing for arms today, though russia warned the west to stop the supply. translation: the more and the sooner we get i all the weapons we have requested, the stronger our position will be and the sooner there will be peace. gunfire

but any hope of that is being drowned out by the ferocious assault in the east. this, the city of lysychansk, a foreshadowing of what ukraine fears will be even greater battles ahead. warning siren here in kyiv, the city is back on high alert. danger from a distance still lethally close. well, mark has been more now on the ukrainian government's response to russia's claims of the takeover of mariupol. they haven't confirmed it or denied it either way. it's the russian defence ministry that says it has cleared the entire urban area of ukrainian forces, and they say there are just a handful of ukrainian troops who are holding out in this crucial steel plant in the city. but ukraine's president has warned moscow that there will be an end to peace talks if the last ukrainian defenders in mariupol are killed. that is clearly an attempt by president zelensky to try to exert pressure on russia not to completely take the city and not to completely kill everybody

there but is it going to full on deaf ears? well, quite possibly. it would be a huge prize for russia to get mariupol, to establish a land corridor from russia through eastern ukraine to occupied crimea. in terms of the toll that has been exacted on mariupol, it is absolutely devastating. ukraine's president said tens of thousands could have died there in that city alone. we have seen images of a city that has been completely gutted, completely devastated. so, we wait to hear the fate of mariupol, but as your previous speaker was saying, it could have already fallen or it could fall in the coming days, and if it does, that would be a major gain for russia and a significant loss for ukraine. we have to see whether russia continues to pound on after that or whether it settles with that land corridor and then tries to get to the negotiating table. nothing is known, of course, in this war. brendan kearney is a retired colonel in the us marine corps, previously chief of staff of the

us marines in europe. hejoins us from san francisco. reuters is quoting the russian defence ministry saying that if ukrainian forces still fighting in mariupol lay down their arms, starting at 6am moscow time, that is sam gmt on sunday, their lives will 3am gmt on sunday, their lives will be spared. this is from reuters, we cannot confirm this but reuters is reporting this line. pressure has said the remaining fighters which it claims are ukrainian and foreign are blockaded in the steelworks. it is said that the situation in the plant is catastrophic. those lines coming to you from reuters but we cannot confirm it and they are just simply

passing on which has been reported in pressure. we will get more on that if we can in the coming minutes. but of course, the question of mariupol has been looked out for the last couple of days because we can now speak to brendan kenny. thank you for your time today. we don't know exactly the situation on the ground in mariupol as we speak but if it does full company to pressure or has effectively fallen, how significant was that moment be? i think it would be very significant for the russians because it would be the first victory that they will have encountered in their campaign over the last seven weeks. what have encountered in their campaign over the last seven weeks. what does it mean,

over the last seven weeks. what does it mean. in — over the last seven weeks. what does it mean, in terms _ over the last seven weeks. what does it mean, in terms of— over the last seven weeks. what does it mean, in terms of the _ over the last seven weeks. what does it mean, in terms of the geography? l it mean, in terms of the geography? the geography itself is critical. sitting on the north coaster the sea, marielle pull right now —— marital... marie apolle is important, not only psychologically but logistically to the russians to gain complete compile and that is a complete caveat i am giving you there they need to gain complete control over that area. anything lacking that will be a thorn on their side fighting a guerrilla regular campaign that i expect is going to be conducted. 50. regular campaign that i expect is going to be conducted.— regular campaign that i expect is going to be conducted. so, if there are still pockets _ going to be conducted. so, if there are still pockets of _ going to be conducted. so, if there are still pockets of ukrainian - are still pockets of ukrainian resistance, that is going to be still causing russian troops difficulty, even if they vastly outnumber them?— difficulty, even if they vastly outnumber them? that is exactly

ri . ht. you outnumber them? that is exactly right. you know, _ outnumber them? that is exactly right. you know, the _ outnumber them? that is exactly right. you know, the russians i outnumber them? that is exactly| right. you know, the russians are well experienced historically with this type of thing, fighting in an industrial city, stalingrad, during world war ii, the russians held out for months against the german army, and you could find exactly the same thing being replicated by the ukrainians that are left in what is left of mariupol.— ukrainians that are left in what is left of mariupol. when you look at this, do you _ left of mariupol. when you look at this, do you see _ left of mariupol. when you look at this, do you see potentially - left of mariupol. when you look at this, do you see potentially a - this, do you see potentially a negotiation if pressure does take this territory and the donbas area and the eastern territories, is it possible to say at that point whether they might be prepared to negotiate and whether kyiv will be prepared to negotiate? you negotiate and whether kyiv will be prepared to negotiate?— negotiate and whether kyiv will be prepared to negotiate? you know, i think the russians _ prepared to negotiate? you know, i think the russians are _ prepared to negotiate? you know, i think the russians are looking - prepared to negotiate? you know, i think the russians are looking for i think the russians are looking for some type of victory they could essentially validate this terrible error they have embarked on here a couple of months ago. so, under the

circumstances you describe, i think the russians might be willing to go ahead and say, ok, we want declare winning and then go ahead and offer to enter in serious negotiations. but whether or not the ukrainians are willing to do that, i think the big? —— a big question. the ukrainians are on the brink of victory here, not maintaining the status quo but actually going ahead and ejecting significant portions of russian occupiers from their country and if i was them, that is what i would be advising them to do. you really think— would be advising them to do. you really think they can push them completely out?— really think they can push them completely out? yes, i do. i think there might _ completely out? yes, i do. i think there might be — completely out? yes, i do. i think there might be certain _ completely out? yes, i do. i think there might be certain parts - completely out? yes, i do. i think there might be certain parts in - there might be certain parts in luhansk areas where you have a significant number of russian sympathisers, a lot of these are ethnic russians that came in during the great movement that stalin pursued during world war ii it might

not be worth occupying those areas because they will just not be worth occupying those areas because they willjust become a painful abscess to the ukrainians but i think for the most part, they can accomplish what they want here fairly quickly. can accomplish what they want here fairly quickly-— fairly quickly. how long do you think that _ fairly quickly. how long do you think that could _ fairly quickly. how long do you think that could happen? - fairly quickly. how long do you | think that could happen? well, fairly quickly. how long do you - think that could happen? well, we are talking. _ think that could happen? well, we are talking. i _ think that could happen? well, we are talking, i think— think that could happen? well, we are talking, i think in _ think that could happen? well, we are talking, i think in military - are talking, i think in military terms, at that very soonest, we are talking weeks. but it may be months and depending on the russian ability to defend and the ukrainian ability to defend and the ukrainian ability to go ahead and run a good offensive programme against them, it could be years. programme against them, it could be ears. ., years. 0k, we will leave it there, brendan years. 0k, we will leave it there, ltrendan key _ years. 0k, we will leave it there, brendan key any, _ years. ok, we will leave it there, brendan key any, thank- years. 0k, we will leave it there, brendan key any, thank you - years. 0k, we will leave it there, brendan key any, thank you very| years. 0k, we will leave it there, - brendan key any, thank you very much forjoining us. russia has banned borisjohnson and other senior members of his government from entering the country, citing the uk's "hostile" stance on the war in ukraine. along with the prime minister, who met with president zelenksy in kyiv last weekend, ten other senior politicians have also been blacklisted.

the archbishop of canterbury says the plan to send some asylum seekers from the uk to rwanda is the opposite of the nature of god. in his easter sermon at canterbury cathedral on sunday, justin welby will say that this should be a time for repentance and renewal, not subcontracting our responsibilities. ministers insist the move will deter people from crossing the channel from france in small boats. about 6,000 migrants have arrived in the uk by that route so far this year. responding to the commenst from the archbishop of canterbury, a home office spokesperson said rwanda is a fundamentally safe and secure country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers. figures from the ministry of defence show more than 6,000 people have been brought ashore by uk authorities so far this year, as they tried to cross the english channel. 0ur correspondent simonjones has been giving us the latest from the port of dover. yes, it has been another really busy day out there in the channel for the border force

and the lifeboat. we have seen several boats being brought to shore. 0n those boats were a number of women and children and several babies. the vast majority have been young men. we haven't had any figures confirmed but i am hearing 300 plus people made the journey today taking the total to more than 6000 people. that is why the government says it needs to act to do something radical. it understands the idea of sending people 4000 miles away from kent to rwanda is going to be controversial, particularly as they are sending them on a one—way ticket. we know that some of the concern over this is being expressed within the home office itself. some civil servants have questioned just how much this is going to cost and whether it represents value for money. the home secretary is pushing through this idea and she is convinced it is cost—effective, but concern expressed from the pcs union he say this whole idea is utterly inhumane. simonjones reporting.

south african president cyril ramaphosa has postponed a working visit to saudi arabia on sunday to focus on his government's intervention in the kwazulu—natal flood disaster. the authorities say the number of people known to have died is 298 with 27 people still reported as missing. further flooding is possible as rain falls on saturated ground. the government has allocated $68 million for emergency relief. these are the deadliest storms to strike the coastal city of durban in living memory. desperate rescue operations have been underway today across kwazulu—natal. our team witnessed an attempt to recover two bodies, including that of an eight—year—old child. the bbc�*s vumani mkhize was there. this is an informal settlement in reservoir hills just north of durban. behind me, there is a recovery operation by a rescue team that is from outside of the province. i am told by the community that two

people are missing, a youngster, around eight years old, and someone who is also over the age of 30. so, the rescue team has also got a dog that has been sniffing and i am told that the dog has been able to identify that there are remains down there. so, it is quite a sombre moment or a sombre situation right now. we've got members of the community who are looking on, and it is quite sad to witness. just looking around here, all of the cars and the debris that has been strewn all over here is just an indication of how violent the waters must have been when they were coming through all along this community. it has been utterly, utterly devastating. just looking at all the houses as well, you can see that this is quite a poor and impoverished area and they're not really well—built, and they could not actually sustain the torrent of the waters that came through here.

i am also told that there are a number of other search and rescue operations also taking place all around this area and this community, and so the number of dead is steadily rising, and it is just an unfortunate consequence of the violence of the floods that took place here in kwazulu—natal. the floods have left many people homeless and some are spending another night without shelter or food. the spokesperson for the salvation army in south africa, captain velani buthelezi, gave us the latest from their team on the ground in durban. our members, members of the salvation army, in the area of durban and some other areas around durban, they are out there and like just now, i am hearing from our team members who have been in a place called clermont, it's one of the townships, they went to a shelter there just to give out soup, bread,

and the situation is very bad. you see children crying, really, out of hunger because this has just disturbed them. their homes have been washed away by these storms so the situation is bad, i can say to you. but we, as the salvation army, our members, they are out there, we are trying what we can do with the help from the public, just to give them your clothing, your blankets, and food, and food parcels as well to the families there. and more help is needed, i can say to you. the government has just opened some shelters where people are but definitely we see some people are still out there with no food. we still have a problem. we have just passed covid—i9 which frustrated everything, as you know, so some people there... unemployment is still high in this country. due to covid—i9, people have lost their work, you know.

they are suffering already so these storms brought difficulties, more difficulties to people. there's been a shooting at a shopping centre in the us state of south carolina. police say 12 people were injured, 10 of them from gunfire. the police held a media breifing a short while ago. what we know currently, and i will say, this is very preliminary, we have 12 injured. no fatalities. i repeat, no fatalities. ten suffered gunshot wounds. eight were transported to area hospitals. of the eight gunshot wounds, two are in critical but stable, six are stable, we had two that were injured during the stampede, and none gunshot wounds that were injured.

again, we transported folks to three area hospitals, park ridge, richmond, and lexington. one of the uk's most senior criminal lawyers has called for the post office to be stripped of its ability to bring private prosecutions. it comes as the public inquiry into the treatment of former subpostmasters is expected to come to an end next month. the post office used its power to take more than 700 branch managers straight to court, when faulty software made it look like money was missing from their branches. 0ur correspondent colletta smith has the story. i don't get it. i really don't get it. they were aware that horizon sense and case were having issues but they still chose to prosecute me. and that is just malicious, nasty. pauline was sacked, made homeless and given a criminal conviction

when her youngest daughter was only two. the computer system had shown a shortfall at her branch. she'd asked for help, but instead, the post office sent in their team of investigators. considering they're not the police, but they made you... they made you feel like they were the police. what got me was the way they went about it. it was... it was, it was... they were so aggressive. the same happened to marion's husband, peter, and more than 700 others investigated and taken to court, not by police, but by their employer. the problem with the post office, or the problem from our point of view, with the post office is they do all their own prosecution, so basically, they were judge, jury and executioner. the subpostmasters have been on the back foot from the very beginning because the post office held all the information and, crucially, rather than the police, it was the post office who investigated and then brought the prosecutions. but testimonies at the inquiry have shown big problems with the way post office investigators treated subpostmasters. i felt humiliated, scared to death.

tony edwards is one of the uk's most senior criminal lawyers and has spent decades training the police how to carry out investigations fairly. the post office should have followed those same rules. those investigators either didn't know or chose not to observe the rules about making clear that people were not obliged to do anything. they were free to go. we all were made out to believe we were the only ones. everybody was told no—one else has got a problem, must be you. - the lie that you are the only one saying horizon is to blame is entirely undermining. and there must have been a point very early on when post office investigators knew it was not true. peter died in 2015, but it took marion another six years to clear his name. the post office say victims' testimonies have reinforced their determination to ensure that wrongs of the past are put right.

but marion is hoping the next stages of this public inquiry will hold post office bosses to account for the treatment peter received. colletta smith, bbc news, in leeds. football, and liverpool are through to the english fa cup final after a thrilling 3—2 win over manchester city in their semi—final at wembley. they'll take on the winners of sunday's showdown between chelsea and crystal palace. matt graveling reports. it is never boring between city and liverpool ended i was definitely no different. fantastic to have the fans back in the stadium because when man city were here a year ago, no fans due to covid but they made their voices heard today. it didn't take long for livable to open the scoring in a game which they dominated the first half, a big strong powerful header to make it 1-0 to strong powerful header to make it 1—0 to liverpool. then an absolute howler from american goalkeeper zach

stefan to give sadio mane a second goal. shades of henderson from last week, if you remember, just a mist, sanyo mana didn't. then the senegal striker struck again, the second. if the first was ridiculous, the second was sublime, and absolutely fantastic strike, taking jurgen klopp's meant 3—0 at the half. all manchester city needed was a pep talk and that was it likely what they got because the £100 million record signing jack greyish came 0ut, record signing jack greyish came out, 31 as he dispensed his first goal of the disclaimer. however, that is really how it stayed until the 90th minute. he coolly slotted home to give a shaky last few minutes for the reds but it is now going to be liverpool nudging into their first going to be liverpool nudging into theirfirst finalfor ten going to be liverpool nudging into

their first final for ten years. the duke and duchess of suxxex have opened the invictus games in the netherlands. it's the first time the couple have appeared in europe in public together, since stepping back as senior royals in 2020. the games, founded by the prince, involve injured military veterans competing in a range of events. anna holligan reports. hollywood royalty came to see the real stars of this show, wounded veterans and serving soldiers, sharing stories of resilience to inspire and unify, while their children gave prince harry and meghan a unique perspective. if there is anywhere in europe that prince harry and meghan can be guaranteed a warm reception then it's here at invictus. these games, of course, created by harry as a celebration of comradeship and that is exactly what they are experiencing here in the hague today. it is about inspiring others to get out there, no matter what their injury

or illness is, to get out there and take part in sport because it is amazing for people's mental health. my two young boys can see me run for the first time, and no matter where i come, if i cross the finish line, that is it. that is what i'm here for, to prove to them that mummy's good, mum can do stuff. invictus competitors are selected by their countries, not on account of their competitors are selected by their countries, not on account of their ability, but the degree to which taking part can help their recovery. team ukraine has lost four members in combat since the start of the russian invasion. many of those here today will return to front line duties straight after invictus. anna holligan, bbc news, in the hague. the world—renowned pianist lang lang has been hitting the high notes — during a performance that could give you goosebumps. the chinese pianist was playing at europe's highest train station in the swiss alps.

a grand piano was taken to the mountaintop 3,400 feet above sea level. hello. saturday was a day of more widespread warmth across the uk, and for many, easter sunday is a repeat performance. for many, not all, because this would suggest there is some different weather on the way the further west you are. and that initially the case in northern ireland and in north—west scotland, with cloud and some outbreaks of rain as the day begins. it will be coolest in east anglia, down to two or three degrees in places. for most, it is clear to begin with, there will be a few mist and fog patches around. but we do have this atlantic weather front with cloud and outbreaks of rain in northern ireland, initially in the western counties in the morning, slowly moving further east into the afternoon before it gets into belfast, and affecting parts of western scotland initially the north—western western isles butjust edging a little further east

going through the afternoon and into the evening, though glasgow could well stay dry until then. and some rain into cornwall and westernmost counties of wales. cooler with the rain, but elsewhere, 20, may 21 degrees in plenty of sunshine. more of wales, the western side of england, western scotland seeing the rain in the evening, there will be clearing to showers in northern ireland. it does push east overnight and into monday morning, but look how it weakens, so if you do want some rain in central and eastern parts of england, you are likely to be disappointed. now, as the weather front clears on throw into easter monday and it is behind it, well, still perhaps some spells of rain towards north—west scotland where it will be quite windy, and windy, too, in northern ireland. but they will just be a few showers moving on behind this front. it is, though, ushering in cooler air, not cold, just temperatures closer to average for the time of year on monday. but as it has gone through, they will be quite a bit of fine weather around on monday, still. broken clouds, sunny spells, the chance of a shower, more especially in the north and west and mainly for northern ireland, and into western scotland. north—west scotland could well see some longer spells of rain.

it will be blustery across north—western parts, breezy elsewhere, and, yes, those temperatures are closer to average, though still above in the east and south—east of england. a greater chance for showers on tuesday in wales in the southern half of england. some could be quite heavy, we could see some rain into parts of northern ireland and western scotland. and then beyond that as the week goes on, and easterly wind moves in. that is still with a lot of dry weather around, just a few showers, but it will keep temperatures close to average, if not below, especially in eastern areas.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the russian defence ministry says it has cleared the entire urban area of mariupol of ukrainian forces, claiming that ukraine has lost more than 4000 fighters in the city — the bbc has not been able to verify these claims. russia has formally warned the united states and its allies against supplying further weapons to ukraine. russia said us arms shipments were adding fuel to the conflict and could lead to what it called "unpredictable consequences". missile attacks resume near kyiv. moscow says it targeted a factory making anti—ship weapons — and threatens more to come. disaster teams in the south african

province of kwazulu—natal are on high alert for further floods — as more rain is forecast