this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories... ukrainian fighters in besieged mariupol ignore a deadline set by russia to lay down their arms. five people are reported to have been killed in russian shelling of the city of kharkiv. we have a special report from the east of ukraine, about those who have decided to stay put and face an impending russian offensive. also coming up, the archbishop of canterbury strongly criticises the uk government's plan to send asylum seekers to rwanda. the details are for politics and politicians. the principle must stand the judgment of god, and it cannot. and a43 people are now known

to have died in south africa following heavy flooding, with a warning of more rain on the way. ukraine's prime minister says his forces are still fighting in the besieged city of mariupol, defying russia's ultimatum to surrender or be killed. denys shmyhal says the port city has not fallen, despite weeks of relentless attack by russia. fighting has also continued in other areas of the east. officials in kharkiv say five people have died and 13 have been injured in shelling in the city. our correspondent tom bateman is in dnipro where a rare evacuation by train has taken place of civilians wounded

in the fighting. and a warning, his report contains some distressing images. president putin said his goal is the liberation of this country's east. he is showing the world what that means in mariupol. street battles have intensified for days, pushing back ukraine's defenders to a last holdout in the giant steelworks. moscow's forces told them they had until 1pm today to surrender or die. but there is no sign they have submitted, and ukraine says it will pull out of peace talks with russia if their troops are killed. mariupol�*s fate could determine the next phase of this war. in the east, people had already been urged to get out over fears of russia's advance. but for some, the warnings came too late. on the platform in dnipro, tanya grieves for her eldest daughter marina. she was killed in a crash in their rush to escape the bombardment.

i'm scared for my children, says tanya. we didn't want to leave, and i'm very sorry for the price i had to pay for leaving my own home. now they have to bear a journey west on rail lines that have themselves been attacked, and they take with them the traumas of this invasion. on board soviet—era carriages, they flee russia's advance. many men have stayed behind, except those that have to hold their children alone. these patients now face a 20—hour journey to the west of here. with the kind of injuries they have. and what that tells you is the critical need the ukrainians have to free up hospital space here and to the east where they are getting ready for a major russian assault. and in the suburbs, i am told of an extraordinary story of rescue from mariupol. this woman drove 200 miles south

through russian lines in search of her parents trapped in the siege. it was seeing the hopelessness and despair that made her go, she says. she found a city in ruins, and people were reduced to scavenging to survive. the family managed to escape underfire. now her mother, oksana, safely in another city called her daughter a hero. when we were together in dnipro, i said i want to kneel before you. we hugged each other and cried, says oksana. she says their escape got them back from hell. but tens of thousands of others remain trapped as russia's control of mariupol tightens. tom bateman, bbc news, dnipro. ukrainian's foreign minister says the situation in mariupol is both dire and heartbreaking. dmytro kuleba has been speaking

to margaret brennan from cbs news face the nation. how long can ukranian forces resist russian control of that city? the situation in mariupol is both dire, militarily, and heartbreaking. the city doesn't exist any more. the remainings of the ukrainian army and large group of civilians are basically encircled by the russian forces. they continue their struggle, but it seems, from the way the russian army behaves in mariupol, they decided to raze the city to the ground at any cost. what exactly are you expecting in the coming weeks? intensification of heavy fighting in eastern ukraine, in donbas, large—scale offensive of russia in that part of ukraine, and also desperate attempts

of the russian forces, as i said, to finish with mariupol at any cost. these are my expectations, and of course missile attacks on kyiv and other cities across ukraine seem to continue. as we have been hearing, russia is now focusing on the east of ukraine, and people living in these areas are under constant threat. since the war began, thousands have fled but many mainly elderly people have decided to stay put. clive myrie has been to the village of serhiivka near donetsk to talk to some of them. there is a storm brewing in the east. the ukrainian military are on the move in defence of the homeland. the landscape flat, open country, perfect for heavy armour.

as russia readies to seize the donbas region. the road signs proving useless guides by design. it is mid—morning in the village of serhiivka. our presence piques the interest of the local territorial defence force. an army of volunteers ready for the russians. maksim is 26 and the local commander, born and bred in the village. are you worried about the coming battle in the east, in this area? are you worried that the russians are going to come here? we will be ready to greet the russians, he tells me. they came to us with weapons, not the other way round. we live in ukraine. this is our land. donbas is the ukraine, and i was born in ukraine. and i will die in ukraine.

so many have left the village since the start of the war. a population of 1,400 is now down to just 300, and the vast majority who remain are elderly, clinging on to what they know, despite the threat. valeriy duhelnyy is head of the local municipality. he has watched his village leach its young since russia invaded ukraine, but he understands why many older residents want to stay. they are afraid to leave their houses and households behind, he tells me. it is hard to go. people think that they have lived their share and want to die at home. raisa is one of the villagers who chose not to leave.

raisa, clive. the great absence in her life is her own sister who lives in donetsk, closer to the russian border. her sister does not believe russia has committed war crimes in the conflict. she believes the invasion isjust. translation: at the moment, i am not in touch with her due l to political reasons. we didn't find common ground. we lost touch, so i don't know what she's thinking right now. since march 27th, we haven't spoken. i haven't wanted to. march 27th? that's very sad. translation: that's how it is. the local cherry blossom heralds the onset of spring, but no—one is under any illusions that winter is coming. to the village of serhiivka,

right across eastern ukraine. clive myrie, eastern ukraine, in donbas. our corespondent anna foster has also been giving us the latest from the ukraine capital, kyiv. of course, we do hear stories from people who have managed to escape from mariupol but not many other tens of thousands who have been trapped have managed do that. what we do know, and what the ukrainian government have confirmed is that there are just a fairly small number now if ukrainian troops who are holding out in that city, but that they will continue to fight. russia announced last night that they would open this window for surrender this morning, where they told the ukrainian troops, who was still based in mariupol, still fighting for places like the huge steelworks, russia said that if they came out during a certain period of time this morning, that they

would let them live. they would treat them as they should under the geneva convention. but that window came and went, and what we heard from ukraine was that their fighters were still there and continue to fight and will do until the end. this is a hugely sim alec and strategically important city for both of them. russia and ukraine both desperately want mariupol. it looks like this battle might not have too long to go. most people acknowledge that russia have the upper hand there, but until we know for sure, we keep watching what is a vital battle in mariupol. president zelensky has said again today, he has talked about the idea of giving up territory, those areas that we know russia is fighting for in the east, rather donbas, places like the hanson and don s, presidents lenski has that is not willing —— willing to give up any of that territory to the russians. he also said as well that if those remaining fighters in mariupol were killed, then that would mean an end to peace talks as well, so i think

there is real resolve on both sides now, we have seen the russia have not taken from this war so far what they wanted to, they did not manage to capture places like kyiv, the capital, they have pulled back to the east like mariupol, to try and salvage something from it, to save face at home by the ukrainian resistance and resolve are still strong as well and that is why we see this fierce fighting that continues in mariupol, in the east, in the north—east, and places like kharkiv, where we hearfive people were killed today in shelling, that really is the focus of this one. despite warnings from the mayor of kyiv not to head back to the capital city, increasing numbers are returning — either to visit family or to go back to their homes. the latest figures from the polish border service show that on thursday, 26,000 people left ukraine, but 22,000 went the other way. danjohnson is on the border and has been talking to some ukrainians heading back.

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 because children are already in polish schools, they have a vacation 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. here in the uk, the archbishop of canterbury has strongly criticised the government's plan to send some people who've arrived illegally in the uk to rwanda. in his easter sermon, justin welby said it posed serious ethical questions, and was the opposite of the nature of god. but the cabinet minister jacob rees—mogg said the archbishop had misunderstood the government's aim, which was to combat people—smugglers. our religion editor aleem maqbool reports. 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 "the uk has a proud history of supporting those in need of protection." but that "change is needed to prevent vile people smugglers putting lives at risk." in his sermon, the archbishop of york said that in law there is no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker. he has been talking

about compassionate immigration policy for years, so i asked him, is anyone listening to what the church had to say? i suppose i'm going to say with a smile...it�*s hard to be held responsible for the fact that people don't listen. i think we've all woken up and thought, this is not how the world is meant to be. it's not how i want it to be. i want it to be a different world. in the queen's absence from windsor, the duke and duchess of cambridge led the royals at their service. in his easter message, the prince of wales said he had been profoundly moved by those ready to open their homes to people fleeing conflict. the mostjoyous 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, calling this an easter of war.

translation: may there be peace in war-torn ukraine. _ so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged. may a new dawn of new hopes appear. tidings of hope this easter have undoubtedly been tinged with the sense that more empathy and understanding would be welcomed, both at home and abroad. aleem maqbool, bbc news. a43 people are now known to have died in devastating floods 443 people are now known to have died in devastating floods in the province of kwazulu—natal in eastern south africa. teams of rescue workers are continuing to search for dozens of people who are still missing, but their efforts have been hampered by yet more rain. pumza fihlani reports. this was no ordinary easter

for the people of kwazulu—natal. church services have been disrupted across the province after severe floods damaged scores of places of worship. south of durban, community members have gathered to pray with this grieving family who have lost two people. a week ago, five homes stood here, but injust minutes, everything was gone. this three—year—old and her mother were asleep when flash floods ripped through this homestead. the toddler's body was found days later in a nearby river, but the mother is still missing. translation: the lord - was showing off when he blessed me with this child. in the mornings, she would kiss me and ask me, am i your grandchild? and i would say, yes. you're my baby. i loved these children. thousands of people have been displaced by the floods. in this small village alone, 15 homes have been destroyed.

a handful of families have found temporary shelter here. we are in a small church now that has been turned into a temporary shelter for about 25 people. these are people whose homes were washed away in the last few days by floods, who lost all their worldly belongings. they are currently being housed here. everything that we see, from the food and the mattresses, and the blankets that we see inside here were donated by neighbours who were lucky to survive what has happened. the local pastor says the need for extra support for this traumatised community is evident. we do have counselling. we still need a lot of counselling, but people are together, are hands—on together to help those who are in desperate need. but the people here tell me that the church is not home. there has been no help for them yet from the state, and so they do not know where or how they will rebuild their lives.

pumza fihlani, bbc news. riots have broken out for the fourth night in a row after the apparent burning of a koran in sweden by a far—right, anti—immigrant group. there've been several recent clashes in sweden between police and counter—demonstrators after rallies by the stram kurs or hard line movement. the uk parliament has been asked to investigate comments made by prime minister borisjohnson and his chancellor, rishi sunak, about lockdown gatherings in downing street and whitehall. the green party mp caroline lucas has asked the house of commons speaker to look into whether they made misleading statements to the house. the prime minister is expected to update mps on his fine for breaching lockdown rules after they return from their easter break on tuesday. i'm joined now by alice lilly, a senior researcher at the institute for government think tank.

welcome to bbc news. so, the prime minister will face mps for the first time since his find this week, how do we expect that to go down? so far, do we expect that to go down? sr far, what we are hearing is speculation that the prime minister will make some kind of statement to mps on tuesday, perhaps offering some kind of explanation or context or apology. some kind of explanation or context orapology. now some kind of explanation or context or apology. now that these fixed penalty notices have been issued. and he may be hoping that he can try and take some of the political heat out of this issue, but at the same time, what we also have our members are various other parties in the house of commons who are, as you mentioned, interested in looking at whether the statements made by the prime minister and the chancellor may have constituted misleading parliament and they are looking, it seems, to try and for some kind of vote on that. seems, to try and for some kind of vote on that-— vote on that. whatever the prime minister will _ vote on that. whatever the prime minister will say _ vote on that. whatever the prime minister will say to _

vote on that. whatever the prime minister will say to those - vote on that. whatever the prime minister will say to those mps, i vote on that. whatever the prime | minister will say to those mps, we should not forget that there could be more fines forthcoming, and therefore it might pre—empt anything that we see later on so he is sort of in a very difficult position about what he can say, knowing full well they could be further fines to come. , ~' well they could be further fines to come. , ~ ., , come. yes, i think that is absolutely _ come. yes, i think that is absolutely right. - come. yes, i think that is absolutely right. it - come. yes, i think that is absolutely right. it also l come. yes, i think that is - absolutely right. it also means that it will be important that the prime minister chooses his words quite carefully, given that there is still an awful lot of uncertainty about this. we know that the investigations by the middle at and police are continuing, there may be further fixed police are continuing, there may be furtherfixed penalty police are continuing, there may be further fixed penalty notices and of course parliament and the public are still waiting for the final version of the sue gray report that we were all talking about so much earlier this year, so there is the potential that this could run and run for quite some time. find that this could run and run for quite some time.— that this could run and run for quite some time. and i suppose a fundamental _ quite some time. and i suppose a fundamental point _ quite some time. and i suppose a fundamental point of _ quite some time. and i suppose a fundamental point of discussion i quite some time. and i suppose a i fundamental point of discussion here is whether the prime minister lied to parliament that is what caroline lucas is trying to get at. and other mps are calling for a more serious

investigation to determine whether the prime minister lied to fellow mps and to the house, and that is what underlies all of this isn't it? it is, absolutely. the prime minister and all ministers are covered by the ministerial code and thatis covered by the ministerial code and that is very clear that if any minister inadvertently misleads parliament, they must seek to correct the record as soon as possible, but if any minister knowingly misleads parliament then they would be expected to offer their resignation. ultimately, what this will all come down to next week and perhaps in the week to come is the views of mps in the house of commons, because any vote on whether the prime minister perhaps should be held in contempt, any vote to decide whether in their view he has misled parliament, that will be up to mps to make that decision. and the government at the moment has a very large majority in the house of commons so you would expect that if any vote happens, the government will carry the day. find

any vote happens, the government will carry the day.— any vote happens, the government will carry the day. and we have also heard from — will carry the day. and we have also heard from the _ will carry the day. and we have also heard from the crossbench - will carry the day. and we have also heard from the crossbench peer- will carry the day. and we have also | heard from the crossbench peer lord hennessy, he described what we have been talking about is the most severe constitutional crisis involving the prime minister. do you agree with that and how has he come up agree with that and how has he come up with that assessment? weill. agree with that and how has he come up with that assessment?— up with that assessment? well, i think what lord _ up with that assessment? well, i think what lord hennessy - up with that assessment? well, i think what lord hennessy is - up with that assessment? well, i - think what lord hennessy is probably alluding to there is that this whole incident, eversince alluding to there is that this whole incident, ever since the stories about alleged lockdown parties began late last year, this raises an awful lot of questions about the kind of standards and behaviour that we expect of ministers, of mps, of people across our public life, and it also raises all sorts of questions about how we policed those rules, how we uphold them, you know, including in what we may see next week over discussions about whether the prime minister has misled the house. so, ithink the prime minister has misled the house. so, i think ultimately this is something that is right now in the hands of mps. it is is something that is right now in the hands of mps.— is something that is right now in the hands of mps. it is really good to have your _ the hands of mps. it is really good to have your thoughts, _ the hands of mps. it is really good to have your thoughts, thank - the hands of mps. it is really good to have your thoughts, thank you | the hands of mps. it is really good i to have your thoughts, thank you for being with us this evening.

you are right up—to—date, will have all the headlines for you at the top of the hour. clive myrie will be live in ukraine with the latest. hello, there. for much of the country, easter sunday was a fine, dry, and sunny day, and quite warm again across the south—east, but we have seen some changes at west with a weather front pushing in, bringing outbreaks of rain and cloud and also increasing breeze. and that's how it is going to be for easter monday, a coolerfresher feel to things with a few showers dotted around. here's the frontal system continuing to work its way towards the east of the country during this evening and overnight. barely anything on it by the time it reaches the eastern side of the country, but it will leave a legacy of cloud, a few showers dotted around, particularly across the northern half of the country where it will be quite blustery as the winds feature. further south, we should see some lengthy clear spells. so, low pressure anchored to the north—west of the country for easter monday, more isobars on the chart, it will be breezy, and we are also dragging in some cooler air of the atlantic around

the area of low pressure, as you can see from the blue hue there. so, a fresher start to easter monday but there will be quite a bit of sunshine around. into the afternoon, we could start to see the cloud beginning to build up pretty much anywhere with the odd shower developing. most of the showers across the north—west of the country, the weather here will be quite blustery as the winds will be a feature here, particularly for the northern and western isles and into northern ireland. the wind is a little bit lighter further south and east. so, temperatures will be noticeable, we've been used to the low 20s across the south—east of the country, 16 or 17 degrees for easter monday afternoon and the low teens further north and west. now, through monday night, further showers continue across england and wales, there will be some clear spells, too, this weather front pushing into the north—west of the country to bring outbreaks of rain. it is going to be a chilly night, i think, northern and western areas under clearer skies, could even see a touch of frost, so gardeners, farmers, just take note. into tuesday, we are in between weather systems, this area of low pressure pulling away to the north, it means

the winds will be turning lighter again so it is a chilly start to the day for tuesday, will have that weather front across western scotland, northern ireland, bringing thicker cloud, outbreaks of rain. england and wales, some sunshine through the morning but then into the afternoon, a few showers could develop, some of these could be heavy and they will be slow—moving because the winds will be light. and a cooler day to come as well, 12 to 15 degrees. looks like high pressure wants to take charge again from wednesday onwards so there will be a lot of dry weather around towards the end of the week, winds coming in from the east so it will tend to be a little bit warmer towards the west of the country.

this is bbc world news, the headlines. ukrainian fighters in besieged mariupol ignore a deadline set by russia to lay down their arms. five people are reported to have been killed in russian shelling of the city of kharkiv.

ukrainian fighters in the east of the country are preparing for a russian onslaught in the coming days. the archbishop of canterbury strongly criticises the uk government's plan to send illegal asylum seekers to rwanda. now on bbc news, amol rajan interviews dame sharon white, chairman ofjohn lewis partnership. a warning this programme contains language some viewers may find offensive. the last decade has been a grim time for british retailers. cut price competition from online sellers has seen chain couple, accelerated by successive lockdowns. just over two years ago, weeks before the pandemic changed our lives forever, dame sharon white entered into the world of diminishing returns.