this is bbc news, i'm geeta guru—murthy with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the siege of mariupol may be nearing its end. russia claims it's taken control of almost all of the city. president zelensky warns if his remaining troops are killed, peace negotations with moscow will be over. the mayor of kyiv urges people to stay away from the capital, as further missile attacks could take place. the death toll rises in south africa, following heavy flooding, with a warning more rain may be on the way. and harry and meghan make theirfirst public appearance together in europe since stepping back as senior royals.

hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. 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. meanwhile, we've heard in the last hour via the tass news agency that russia's defence ministry has said that if ukrainian forces still fighting in mariupol lay down their arms at 6am local time, their lives will be spared. our 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 i like an earthquake. it was very frightening. these days, we sleep fully clothed with our bags packed, so we are ready to flee. translation: iwoke 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. i've been speaking to brendan kearney. he's a retired colonel in the us marine corps — previously chief of staff of the us marines in europe. he's now a military affairs analyst. i asked him what it would mean for russia if it took over mariupol. they haven't confirmed it or denied it either way. it would be significant for the russians because it would be the first victory, quote unquote, that they will have encountered in the campaigns over the last seven weeks. and what does it mean, in terms of the geography?— the geography? well, the geography _ the geography? well, the geography itself - the geography? well, the geography itself is - the geography? well, the| geography itself is critical. sitting on the north coasted the sea as aslef, mariupol right now interdict any potential ad bridge between the crimea and south—west russia in

the rostov region, so it is important, not only psychologically but logistically to the russians to gain complete control, and that is an important caveat i am giving you there. they need to gain complete control over that area. anything lacking that, it is going to be a thorn in their side fighting a guerrilla regular campaign that i would expect is going to be conducted.— expect is going to be conducted. ., conducted. so, if there are still pockets _ conducted. so, if there are still pockets of _ conducted. so, if there are still pockets of ukrainian i 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 right. you know, the russians are well experienced, historically, with this type of thing, fighting in and industrial city, stalingrad, during world war ii, the russians held out for months against the german army. and you could find the exact same thing being replicated by the

ukrainians that are left in what is left of mariupol. when ou look what is left of mariupol. when you look at — what is left of mariupol. when you look at this, _ what is left of mariupol. when you look at this, do _ what is left of mariupol. when you look at this, do you - what is left of mariupol. when you look at this, do you see i you look at this, do you see potentially negotiation if russia does take this territory and the donbas area and, you know, 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?— whether kyiv will be prepared to negotiate? you know, i think the russians _ to negotiate? you know, i think the russians are _ to negotiate? you know, i think the russians are looking - to negotiate? you know, i think the russians are looking for- the russians are looking for some type of victory they could essentially validate this terrible error that they embarked on here a couple of months ago. so, underthe circumstances you describe, i think the russians might be willing to go ahead and say, ok, we will declare winning and 0k, we will declare winning and go ahead and offer to enter into serious negotiations. but whether or not the ukrainians are willing to do that i think is a big question. i think the

ukrainians are on the thing —— brink of victory here. not maintaining the status quo but actually going ahead and ejecting significant portions of russian occupiers from the country. and if i was them, thatis country. and if i was them, that is what i would be advising them to do. you anything _ advising them to do. you anything they _ advising them to do. you anything they can - advising them to do. you anything they can push i advising them to do. you anything they can push them completely out?— completely out? yes, i do. i think they — completely out? yes, i do. i think they might _ completely out? yes, i do. i think they might be - completely out? yes, i do. i think they might be certain l think they might be certain parts in the dough hands, 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 and subsequent to world war ii and subsequent to world war ii and subsequent to world war ii. so, it might not be worth occupying those areas because then they will just become a painful abscess to the ukrainians. but i think for the most part, they can accomplish what they want here fairly quickly. what they want here fairly cuickl . ., ., ., what they want here fairly luickl . ., ., ., “ quickly. how long do you think that could _ quickly. how long do you think that could happen? _

quickly. how long do you think that could happen? well, - quickly. how long do you think that could happen? well, we i quickly. how long do you think i that could happen? well, we are talkin: , that could happen? well, we are talkinu, i that could happen? well, we are talking, i think _ that could happen? well, we are talking, i think a _ that could happen? well, we are talking, i think a military - talking, i think a military terms, at the very soonest, we are talking weeks, but it may be months and depending on the russian ability to defend, and the ukrainian ability to go ahead and run a good offensive programme against them, it could be years.— 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 british prime minister, who met with president zelenksy in kyiv last weekend, ten other russia has banned borisjohnson and other senior members along with the british prime minister, who met with president zelenksy in kyiv last weekend, ten other senior politicians have also been blacklisted. rescue teams in south africa are battling with more rain as they search for dozens of people who are missing after floods devastated the province of kwazulu—natal. at least 398 people have died and more than 4,000 homes have been destroyed over

the past week. at least 27 people are reported as missing. furtherflooding 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 isjust 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, has 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.

this is bbc news — a reminder of the headlines. the siege of mariupol may be nearing its end. russia claims it's taken control of almost all of the city. president zelensky warns if his remaining troops are killed, peace negotations with moscow will be over. the hollywood actor liev schreiber is currently in lviv after launching an ngo initiative to help those in need. my colleague reeta chakrabarti asked him what inspired him to get involved. i think like a lot of people back home, i've been watching the news in ukraine and feeling a degree of helplessness. i don't think there is any doubt that there is a huge groundswell of support in the us for ukraine and the rest of the world as well. but it seems like people just don't know what to do. not everyone can justjump on a plane and come to lviv. some friends of mine who have some experience in humanitarian relief... they identify, verify and fast

track financial support to people who are working on the ground in ukraine, to support them. anybody who donates in the us or even elsewhere, you help to get that money to people who are working on the ground? yes, part of ourjob and part of our mission here is to identify groups, prioritise the ukrainian ones, we are getting the help where it is needed most. and, liev, you have ukrainian ancestry, i think, is that what partly made you feel bound to this cause? i have ukrainian and polish grandparents so yes. so it felt close to your heart? it does, it does indeed feel close to my heart. i think also... i think people are looking for ways they can help and one of the ways that we are offering through our group is if you go to usukraine.org/bucha,

you can donate and also find out who you are donating to. i spent the past week working with organisations and now i am an lviv meeting with people from the lviv symphony who rehearse by day and pack medical aid by night. a mental health initiative and another group trying to create safe spaces for women, children and orphans, and many other groups. what do you feel when you talk to people working in these groups? it is really difficult to describe. i'm sorry. it has been a very emotional couple of days for me. it is such a beautiful place, you know, lviv. and the ukrainian people and ukraine, it is very hard to witness some of this stuff so to keep your mind focused on the task at hand

and to try to avoid any distractions, you know, or to avoid a lot of emotion that takes over when you see what is happening to people here. do you feel that your celebrity status is helping in raising awareness of what is going on? i hope so. it's probably the best use of it i can find right now. residents have begun returning to devastated towns on the outskirts of the ukrainian capital following weeks of russian occupation. 0ur correspondent anna foster has been to meet some of them to learn how a community, like those in the town of bucha where forensic experts are investigating a mass grave, begin to recover in the wake of a brutal occupation. as life returns to bucha, the signs of death are still everywhere. by the roadside, vladimir

putin's tanks lie in ruins. russia took this town and tried to destroy it — notjust its buildings, but the spirit of its people. denys davidoff stayed in bucha throughout the occupation. when the russians left, he walked these streets and filmed the horrors he found. translation: when i arrived, i saw the street _ with dead bodies. corpses were lying all over the place. ijust walked around them and they were everywhere. i wasn't scared, but it was intense. you got used to it, during the month of occupation. bucha is now known as a crime scene. forensic experts are gathering its evidence. but it's also a community, a place people called home and want to again. translation: you always want to come back home. | so we used our first chance to return, as well, and we used our chance to make

sure that all property is safe, even from locals that might come and steal something. sergei shows me an open grave. his neighbour, killed by russian soldiers, lay here. when sergei returned home, he wanted to finally give him a dignified burial. the people of bucha are dealing with what they've been through. but they aren't entirely safe just yet. this spent casing of a huge rocket is only about 30 metres from the nearest house, and you see sights like this all over this part of ukraine at the moment. and as people start to come back and re—establish their lives, there is now a big job to be done to clear away things like this and make this area safe. for now, the remains of the russian occupation are part of life here. sights like this — a curious tourist attraction. eventually, the physical reminders of the cruelty that

was inflicted will be gone. but for the people of bucha, the memories will remain. anna foster, bbc news, kyiv. let's bring you some breaking news now. the state run media in north korea de —— korea says there have been weapons tests. the new type of guided weapons system would improve the firepower of its artillery, its short range tactical nuclear arms would also be boosted. analysts say the launch was probably timed to coincide with the and advisory on friday of the and advisory on friday of the birth of north korea's leader. they have carried out their biggest ability to style —— test missile test for five years. we have seen more

weapons tests carried out by north korea, as reported by the official news agency. as soon to get further confirmation, we will bring you the details. 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. there's been a shooting at a shopping centre in the us state of south carolina. police say 12 people were injured, ten 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 critical but stable, six are stable, we have two that were injured during the stampede, non—gunshot wounds but were injured and we transported folks to three area hospitals, park ridge, ridge, lexington. let's get some of the day's other news. eight days out from a crucial run—off vote, president macron of france has offered supporters five years of national renewal, if he's re—elected. at a campaign event in marseille, mr macron warned people of the dangers he said were posed by his far—right rival marine le pen, saying the country risked turning inwards and becoming divided. parliament has been asked to investigate comments made by borisjohnson and the chancellor, rishi sunak, about lockdown gatherings in downing street and whitehall.

the green party mp caroline lucas has asked the commons speaker to look into whether they made misleading statements to the house. the prime minister has promised to "set the record straight" after initially insisting no rules had been broken. harry and meghan have opened the invictus games in the netherlands, following their visit to see the queen. it's the first time the couple have appeared in europe in public together since stepping back as senior royals in 2020. speaking at the opening ceremony, prince harry said the world was united with ukraine. 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 have seen 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 invictus games 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. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ geetagurumurthy. hello. it was another glorious day across many parts of the uk, for across many parts of the uk, many, easter sunday repeat for many, easter sunday is a repeat performance of today. for many, not all. there is some different weather on the way the further west you are and that is initially the case in northern ireland in north—west scotland with cloud and some abrasive of rain the day begins. it will be coolest in east anglia, down to two or three degrees in places. for most, declared to begin with, if few mist and patches around. we have this atlantic weather front with cloud and outbreaks of rain in northern ireland, initially western counties in the morning, slowly moving further east before getting into belfast and affecting parts of western scotland, initially the north—western western isles but edging

further east was into the evening though glasgow could well stay dry till then. some rain into cornwall and westernmost counties of wales. cooler weather rain, elsewhere 20 or 21 degrees and plenty of sunshine. wales, western scotland has seen rain in the evening, claiming to showers in northern ireland, 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. it is a weather front that glares into easter monday and behind it still perhaps some spells of rain towards north—west scotland where it will be wendy and wendy two in northern ireland but they will be a few showers living on behind this front. it is ushering in cooler air, not cold, just temperatures back closer to average for the time of year on monday. 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 are mainly for northern

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

this is bbc news — the headlines. russia says its troops have completely cleared ukrainian forces from the besieged and heavily bombarded city of mariupol after weeks of intense fighting — apart from one location. president volodymyr zelensky has warned peace talks with russia would come to a halt if the remaining troops in mariupol were killed. the mayor of kyiv has told people who've fled the ukrainian capital not to return yet. vitali klitschko warned of further russian missile attacks in northern parts of the city. he said at least one person had been killed and several others were wounded in strikes early on saturday.