this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories... ukrainian soldiers defending mariupol ignore the russian deadline to surrender in order to save their lives. elsewhere in ukraine, five people are reported to have been killed in russian shelling of the city of kharkiv. pope francis urges the call of peace to be heard, in what he called, an "easter of war". translation: may there be peace for war-torn ukraine, _ translation: may there be peace for war-torn ukraine, so _ translation: may there be peace for war-torn ukraine, so sorely— translation: may there be peace for war-torn ukraine, so sorely tried - translation: may there be peace for war-torn ukraine, so sorely tried by i war—torn ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and the destruction of the violence and the destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged. the archbishop of canterbury — the most senior cleric in the anglican church — condemns uk government plans to send asylum seekers to rwanda.

and the death toll rises in south africa — following heavy flooding — with a warning of more rain on the way. there's no sign yet that fighting has stopped in the beseiged ukrainian city of mariupol — despite russia's ultimatum that remaining ukrainian forces there surrender or be killed. ukraine's deputy prime minister has demanded that russian forces open humanitarian corridors from mariupol today to allow citizens and wounded ukrainian troops to be brought out. and in this afternoon, there have been reports that a series of strikes in the northern city of kharkiv has killed at least five people and injured 13 more. this report from anna foster, in ukraine's capital, kyiv. ukrainian soldiers have fought for mariupol for weeks.

this morning, russia gave them just hours to surrender. it said local fighters could choose to admit defeat and leave the city alive, but there is no sign yet the defending forces did that. translation: | want| to be heard right now. there has not been a single day since the blockade of mariupol that we have not sought a solution, military or diplomatic, anything to save people. finding this solution is extremely difficult. ukraine's east is still being pummelled by russian attacks. since pulling its forces back from kyiv, it's focused its fire on the donbas region, but it hasn't forgotten the rest of ukraine. here in the capital, there's been a third night of strikes. russia says it destroyed an ammunition factory in brovary early this morning. and that is one reason why the mayor, vitali klitschko, is warning people not to come back to this cityjust yet.

east of the capital, this is what safety looks like. entire families moved underground. lives for now put on hold as the battle for ukraine rages above. anna foster, bbc news, kyiv. pope francis has called for peace in what he described as this "easter of war". delivering his traditional easter message from the central balcony of st peter's basilica, the pope said ukraine had been dragged into a cruel and senseless conflict. translation: brothers and sisters, let us allow the peace _ of christ to enter our lives, our homes, our countries. may there be peace

for war—torn ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and the destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged. in this terrible night of suffering and death, may a new dawn of new hope soon appear. let there be a decision for peace. may there be an end to the flexing of muscles while people are suffering. please. that was pope francis a little earlier. you can get more on that story and others on our website or app. go to bbc news. you can see the latest on mariupol. we will continue

to be updating that story as well as other battles that are taking place all around ukraine. you are watching bbc world news. charles kupchanjoins me now, he's a senior fellow at the council on foreign relations and professor of international affairs at georgetown university. good to have you with us. i would love to get your thoughts first on whether you think mariupol will fall to the russians.— to the russians. unfortunately the situation does _ to the russians. unfortunately the situation does not _ to the russians. unfortunately the situation does not look _ to the russians. unfortunately the situation does not look good. - to the russians. unfortunately the i situation does not look good. unlike in other cities in eastern ukraine where the russians will were rebuffed, here they have largely enveloped the city, there is a small contingent of ukrainian fighters left, many hunkered down in a steel factory. unfortunately it only looks like a matter of time before the russian succeeded in taking over the

city. russian succeeded in taking over the ci . ~ . ., , ., russian succeeded in taking over the ci ~ . “ city. what do you think the consequences _ city. what do you think the consequences will - city. what do you think the consequences will be - city. what do you think the i consequences will be when city. what do you think the - consequences will be when you think it happens because michael those of us who have been watching this conflict since 2014 have always worried about this scenario and that is the russians have a chunk of land in donbas controlled by russian supporters. in donbas controlled by russian sunporters-_ in donbas controlled by russian su orters. , . ,, ., , supporters. they have russians in the south and _ supporters. they have russians in the south and many _ supporters. they have russians in the south and many of _ supporters. they have russians in the south and many of us - supporters. they have russians in the south and many of us were . the south and many of us were worried they would try to connect these two territories together to get strategic continuity and that appears to be what is happening. russian forces have pushed upwards from crimea, downwards from donbas and they want to connect their forces. that would enable russia to take a larger bite out of eastern ukraine, it would be easier to defend and they would have control of the sea and the port in mariupol which gives him a strong strategic positions should they end up in a

new frozen conflict with ukraine. it new frozen conflict with ukraine. it is so interesting if you think about that geographically. do you think it may return yet again to the capital which was such a focus the first six weeks? we are seeing people returning to their homes trying to recreate their life there. do you think that kyiv is still in danger? it is difficult to say. i spoke to a friend of mine who is there an life is almost normal they the restaurants are opening, the cafes are open and that is in part because the russians have concentrated their attention on the far east of the country. one big question we do not know is if they concede in consolidating the territory do they stop? 0r consolidating the territory do they stop? or do they hunker down and start pushing towards the west? at this point we do not know the

answer. , ,.,,, , ., this point we do not know the answer. , , , ., ~ ., ., answer. yes, impossible to know and of course hindsight _ answer. yes, impossible to know and of course hindsight is _ answer. yes, impossible to know and of course hindsight is 2020. - answer. yes, impossible to know and of course hindsight is 2020. when i answer. yes, impossible to know and| of course hindsight is 2020. when we think about crimea being annexed. what do you think nato should do as they watch? it could be in the coming hours or days that there could be a change of power in the city of mariupol. i could be a change of power in the city of mariupol.— city of mariupol. i think nato is auoin to city of mariupol. i think nato is going to continue _ city of mariupol. i think nato is going to continue supplying - going to continue supplying significant weapons, qualitatively and quantitatively to ukraine. ukraine has done an amazing job of fighting back, much better than many people predicted. i think one question that will be before us is how much encouragement should we give to the ukrainians to push back and to go after russian forces in eastern ukraine? 0r and to go after russian forces in eastern ukraine? or should we encourage them to settle for a frozen conflict? 0bviously, one issue that looms on the horizon is escalation. if the ukrainians were

to push back against russian troops in mariupol or in donbas, if nato were to supply fighter aeroplanes or other high—end weaponry, could this turn into a bigger war between nato and russia is met perhaps world war iii? that conversation is always in the back of people's minds. yes. the back of people's mind's. yes, and this continues. _ the back of people's mind's. yes, and this continues. thank- the back of people's mind's. yes, and this continues. thank you so much forjoining us on the bbc. the death toll in the flooding in the south african province of kwa—zulu natal has risen to 443 — and that total now includes a rescuer. the south african president, cyril ramaphosa, has postponed an official visit to saudi arabia in order to focus on the devastation. specialist rescue teams are searching for dozens more who're still missing. more than 13,000 homes have been damaged in the disaster. vumani mkhize reports. a deadly flash flood swept through this informal settlement north of durban in the middle of the night on tuesday. people here ran for their lives as the rising floodwaters engulfed everything in its path.

the mangled remains of debris are what's left. sombre residents look on as a rescue team searches for the missing. a recovery operation is underway here at the informal settlement just north of durban. members here of the rescue team are essentially looking for two people, a youngster aged eight years old and someone who's also aged around 30. and as you can see over here, there are cars and debris that have been strewn all along along the river. and it'sjust an indication of the severity and the violence of the water that was cascading along here. the search and rescue team can't get heavy machinery into the area. they painstakingly use their bare hands. so currently we've got two community members missing in this area. we brought in canines because, as you can see, it's a very big debris pile. a lot of material to move. a lot of heavy logs, vehicles, household items so we can't exploit the whole area.

community members are traumatised by the floods and are finding it difficult to come to terms with what happened. translation: we are in pain. we can't even sleep properly at night. every time i close my eyes, i can just see the rain and water coming. i can't sleep and i can't eat. this woman who lost her house tells me she wants the government to help herfind shelter because she can't live here any more. up on the hill, this man shows me where the informal settlement used to be. the floodwaters swept through this area first, and there were people that are also found there as well right at the top? yeah. wow. there was something like seven people. seven people were found and they were found alive, though, right? yes. the search and rescue operations are continuing throughout the kwazulu—natal province as more

remains are being found. virmani mkhize, bbc news, durban. let's return to ukraine, where despite warnings from the mayor of kyiv not to head back to the city, increasing numbers are returning — either to visit family or to go back to their homes. for the first time since the start of the war in ukraine, more people have come into the country from poland than have left. increasing numbers have been returning. the latest figures from the polish border service show yesterday 19,200 people left ukraine, but 22,000 went the other way. over half a million have crossed from poland since the start of the invasion. danjohnson has been talking to some of those heading home. this is where millions have said goodbye. to their families, their country, and the life they knew. but some are now coming back, and being reunited. "my little boys," volodymyr says, after seven weeks apart.

"no, dad," boris tells him, "we're grown up now." because children are already in polish schools, they have no education for a few days because of easter, and we decided to choose this chance to see our family. but it's a return not without trepidation. i'm really afraid. when i talk to the kids and say we are going to visit father, they were also shocked. but we promised them that we will not go into other regions. but others are going further. this family back together and heading home to kyiv for good. yeah, we will go home. and we don't want to stay in poland for a long time. translation: it was a complicated decision but definitely, _ 100% we want to go home. in lviv, others are on the move, heading east, buying tickets against the tide.

tatiana's ready to go home, close to dnipro, after more than a month here. translation: we miss our home very much and we need to do _ some work on the garden. this morning we woke up and thought, shall we go or not? but we really had the tickets. are you brave? i was when i was young. i used to do parachute jumps for sport, but this is completely different. i'm really afraid of what's happened and what could happen next. and that's the point, these are journeys into the unknown. most aren't looking too far ahead. just being together, having it together, it's the best that we can have. what's it like to see your family again? it's a big value to have family, and to see each other today. sure, i love them. danjohnson, bbc news, on ukraine's border with poland.

sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's holly hamilton. good afternoon. it's a huge day in the fa cup. the second men's fa cup semi—final is taking place at wembley. chelsea are xxx against crystal palace at half time. and defending champions, chelsea beat arsenal 2—0 to reach the final of the women's fa cup where they'll face manchester city at wembley next month. jane dougall reports. standing room only at a sell—out crowd for the semifinal. arsenal 14 time winners facing defending champions chelsea in a repeat of last year's final. both managers hoping for the chance of silverware. it took a while for the match to light up. arsenal started the better team. layers on both sides were keen to impress the watching national manager. herfinish was

to impress the watching national manager. her finish was agonisingly wide. no one close down... arsenal looked lost. a loose ball was pounced on. disappointment for arsenal, but emma hayes's side now faces manchester in the final to successfully defend the cup. it's gone to extra time at hampden as celtic and rangers battle it out for a place in the final of the scottish cup. after a goalless first half, celtic broke the deadlock after greg taylor's effort clipped defender calvin bassey and found its way into the net. and just as rangers looked to be on their way out, scott arfield crashed in the equaliser to put them back on level terms and take it to extra time. it is still 1—1. two games in the premier league this afternoon... burnley drew 1—1 with west ham

despite leading most of the game, but newcastle have just beaten leicester 2—1 with an injury time winner. leicester took the lead at st james' park from a corner in the 19th minute — ademola lookman scored his eighth goal of the season. but newcastle also scored from a corner to equalise. bruno guimares' shot was initially stopped by kasper schmeichel, but the brazilian kicked the ball between the goalkeeper�*s legs and across the line. the goal given after var had a good look at it. the game was heading for a draw until guimares struck again with a flying header, in the fifth minute of injury time. it's day two of the world snooker championship in sheffield and ronnie 0'sullivan is in action, looking to book his place in the second round. he led dave gilbert by six frames to three after their opening session and the first four this afternoon have been shared, with 0'sullivan being aided by a massive fluke here in frame 13. you can watch the conclusion

over on bbc1 now. let's go live to the crucible then — 0n table 0ne, it's an all welsh battle between three times champion mark williams and michael white with willians 5—0 up. remember it's best of 19 in these early rounds. you can watch live coverage of this match over on the bbc sport website. dylan van barler has won the paris—roubaix cycle race for the british—based ineos grenadiers team for the first time they were founded by sir dave brailsford in 2010. the dutch rider attacked with 11 miles to go and managed to make it stick on the famous cobbles of northern france. as team sky and then as ineos, they've won the tour de france, giro d'italia and vuelta a espana. and they can now add the one—day cobbled classic to their list of victories. brailsford was on hand at the finish

to congratulate van barler. saracens are through to the last eight of the european challenge cup, after beating cardiff by 40 points to 33. it was 16—13 at half time but sarries ran in four tries in the second half, including two from scotland international sean maitland. they'll play gloucester in the quarter—finals. rob key is the new managing director of england men's cricket. key played for england and kent, and has been a television pundit and commentator since retiring from the game. he takes on the role from andrew strauss, who had stepped in on an interim basis following the sacking of ashley giles in february. that's all the sport for now. it isa it is a busy day. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport

i will have more for you throughout the day. thank you so much, holly. great to have you with us. the archbishop of canterbury has strongly criticised the government's plan to send some people to rwanda who've arrived illegally in britain. in his easter sermon, justin welby said the policy did not stand the "judgment of god". the home office said the the uk has a proud history of supporting those in need and change was needed to prevent people smugglers putting lives at risk. 0ur religion editor, aleem maqbool, has the latest. happy easter to all of you, lovely to see you. in his most important sermon of the year, the archbishop of canterbury dealt very directly with the issues of the day, drawing attention to the pressures felt by many here struggling with the cost of living and calling on russia to commit to a ceasefire and withdrawal from ukraine. but he also talked of serious ethical questions about the government plan to send asylum seekers overseas. it cannot carry the weight of our national responsibility, as a country formed

by christian values. because subcontracting out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well, like rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of god. in response tojustin welby�*s remarks, a home office spokesperson said... it was the duke and duchess of cambridge who led the royals at the service at windsor. though in his easter message the prince of wales also talked of those forced to flee conflict and persecution, saying he had been profoundly moved by those ready to open their homes to people in need. the most celebratory scenes of the day were in a st peter's square packed for the first public

easter mass there since the pandemic began. but the pope's message focused on events in ukraine, criticising russia for what he called a cruel and senseless conflict. translation: our eyes, too, are incredulous - on this easter of war. we have seen all too much blood, all too much violence. our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing. tidings of hope this easter have undoubtedly been tinged with the sense that more compassion would be welcome, in an interconnected world. aleem maqbool, bbc news. let's speak to our political correspondent nick eardley. thank you forjoining us. an awful lot of discussion today throughout the uk about the comments made by the uk about the comments made by the archbishop of canterbury on the

rwanda policy. the conservatives are beginning to hit back, talk us through it. i beginning to hit back, talk us through it— through it. i don't think it is comfortable _ through it. i don't think it is comfortable for— through it. i don't think it is comfortable for any - through it. i don't think it is comfortable for any prime l through it. i don't think it is - comfortable for any prime minister to be chastised by the archbishop of canterbury on easter sunday. the criticism has been growing, we have heard it from unions, charities, opposition politics as well as some conservative backbenchers, but not many. i think the government knew this was coming and they relish this debate because they want to be on the front foot when it comes to immigration. borisjohnson knew this was controversial and he wanted the public to think he had a plan to take back this. the argument we've been hearing from rees—mogg is that the archbishop has misunderstood the policy and has taken on a lot of responsibility to stop people

smugglers. that is the argument from the government. i think we are going to continue to hear debate on this. the mps are back from their easter break on tuesday and so this debate is not going away. it is not one that the government is shying away from, they want to talk about this, they want to be seen on the front foot with immigration and it's quite popular. i foot with immigration and it's quite --oular. ., .,, foot with immigration and it's quite --oular. ., , popular. i wonder if those comments by rees-mogg _ popular. i wonder if those comments by rees-mogg that _ popular. i wonder if those comments by rees-mogg that the _ popular. i wonder if those comments by rees-mogg that the archbishop i popular. i wonder if those comments| by rees-mogg that the archbishop of by rees—mogg that the archbishop of canterbury did not understand, i wonder how that will go down with the electorate. said wonder how that will go down with the electorate.— wonder how that will go down with the electorate. said in rees-mogg's affable tone- _ the electorate. said in rees-mogg's affable tone. he _ the electorate. said in rees-mogg's affable tone. he prays _ the electorate. said in rees-mogg's affable tone. he prays the _ affable tone. he prays the archbishop of canterbury, but i suspect what you will see over the next few weeks is a lot of debate about the implementation of this policy, whether it gets caught up in the courts, it seems inevitable. the government thinks there will be a

long legal battle. and then they will have to answer if the policy worked. and many people think that this is a stunt, the government trying to look tough, not an idea that will make much of a difference. remember the conservative government for the last 13 years have all promised to get tough on immigration particularly on the small boats crossing the channel. the test for borisjohnson is whether if this has any impact at all. he is adamant that he will do whatever it takes to make it happen, but there are some who are sceptical. that make it happen, but there are some who are sceptical.— who are sceptical. at the heart of it, i who are sceptical. at the heart of it. i guess. _ who are sceptical. at the heart of it. i guess. is _ who are sceptical. at the heart of it, i guess, is whether— who are sceptical. at the heart of it, i guess, is whether this - who are sceptical. at the heart of it, i guess, is whether this policy| it, i guess, is whether this policy will be a deterrent for those who are seeking to cross the channel. there was some discussion recently about a lack of evidence that it would be. what do we know? this about a lack of evidence that it would be. what do we know? this is a letter that was — would be. what do we know? this is a letter that was sent _ would be. what do we know? this is a letter that was sent to _ would be. what do we know? this is a letter that was sent to the _ would be. what do we know? this is a letter that was sent to the home - letter that was sent to the home secretary by the top civil servant at the home office. this is not very

common, but the civil service is basically saying we do not have enough evidence to go through with this policy. what priti patel was told is that there is no evidence or there is insufficient evidence that this would be a deterrent for people who are currently crossing the channel on small boats. the argument that priti patel used to say go ahead is to sayjust because we don't have more information doesn't mean we should not try this out. i suppose this puts the pressure back on priti patel. she has made the decision and is well within her rights to do so to say to the civil servants, i have heard you, but let's go ahead. and now it is on her to prove it can be a success and the money which could be substantial is worth it. . money which could be substantial is worth it. , ,': :: money which could be substantial is worth it. . g; :: ., worth it. yes, hundred £30 million, i think is worth it. yes, hundred £30 million, i think is what — worth it. yes, hundred £30 million, i think is what was _ worth it. yes, hundred £30 million,

i think is what was said. _ never gonna take a look at the weather. —— now we are going to take a look at the weather. hello there. it has been another glorious day for many places. we have a fine, dry, sunny day for easter sunday. a bit more of a breeze from the southeast, but we are seeing changes taking place out west. this low pressure seems to be pushing in through the day, bringing outbreaks of rain to western scotland, northern ireland. that is travelling across the irish sea into western parts of england and wales and moving across the rest of scotland as we move through this evening and overnight. but it will be a dying feature as it pushes towards the east, barely anything on it by the time it reaches the east coast. behind it, there is clear skies, but also a scattering of showers particularly across the northwest. it will remain quite breezy as well. temperatures falling to lows of around 4—6 . 0ur easter monday, a little bit of a change to the weather. it will feel cooler for most of us and there will be some showers around, thanks to this area of low pressure which will be sitting to the northwest of the country. quite a few isobars around. it will be very breezy and even windy in the northwest. and it will introduce

some cooler air to most of the country as you can see from the blue hue here. a fresher start to easter monday, barely anything on that band of cloud as it pushes its way into the north sea. and then it is sunny spells, variable cloud, one or two showers, most of the showers will be in the northwest of the country where they will be blustery because it will be windy there. a breezy day to come further south. and temperatures a little bit lower. the low teens in the north. we could see something in the mid—teens across the southeast, probably highs around 16 or 17. as we move out of easter monday into tuesday, that area of low pressure pulls away to the north and then we are in between weather systems. it could be quite a chilly start on tuesday. the winds will be lighter, we will see a bit of sunshine around for england and wales. variable cloud. one or two showers developing into the afternoon. it will be slow moving and some of them could be heavy as well. for scotland, northern ireland here, weather fronts will bring more cloud and outbreaks of rain. temperatures 13—15. it will feel cooler particularly where you catch the showers. as we move beyond tuesday, high pressure wants to start to build in again across the north of europe and that should deflect

this area of low pressure away towards the southwest of the country. i think from wednesday onwards, we will pick up more of an easterly breeze, variable cloud and a bit of sunshine. it will be cooler along the north sea coast. probably the best of the sunshine and warmth the further west that you are.

this is bbc world news, the headlines ukrainian soldiers defending mariupol have ignored the russian deadline to surrender in order to save their lives. elsewhere in ukraine, five people are reported to have been killed, and 13 injured, in russian shelling of the city of kharkiv. pope francis has urged the call of peace to be heard, in what he called, an "easter of war" — as he delivered his urbi et 0rbi address in st peter's square. the archbishop of canterbury — the most senior cleric in the anglican church — has condemed uk government plans to send asylum seekers to rwanda.

now on bbc news, weather world. sarah keith—lucas and nick miller