this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories: the head of russia's wagner group claims its forces now surround most of bakhmut — the eastern ukrainian city that's been the focus of intense fighting. we have practically surrounded bakhmut. only one route out of the city remains. a failure we were fighting against the professional army, now we are increasingly seeing old people and children. police in australia say they've made one of their biggest ever drug busts, seizing cocaine worth one billion us dollars. the british government is preparing to announce where the uk's first "carbon capture" power station will be built, but will the technology make a difference? with the oscars a week away —

we hear from some of those involved in the nominated british film �*living'. for me the concept wasn't a remake of another film. it was this thing with bill in it. i of another film. it was this thing with bill in it.— with bill in it. i did not feel daunted — with bill in it. i did not feel daunted or _ with bill in it. i did not feel daunted or oppressed - with bill in it. i did not feel daunted or oppressed by i with bill in it. i did not feel. daunted or oppressed by the with bill in it. i did not feel- daunted or oppressed by the original film about_ daunted or oppressed by the original film about the situation ijust felt that i_ film about the situation ijust felt that i was— film about the situation ijust felt that i was very fortunate. we begin in ukraine — where a senior official in the besieged city of bakhmut has said that there is fighting on the streets, but that russia hasn't taken control. the city, in the eastern donetsk region, has been almost destroyed over more than seven months of shelling. despite having little strategic value, its capture would mark moscow's first notable victory in half a year. oleksandr marchenko,

the deputy mayor of bakhmut, told the bbc the city was not safe: i talk to the general staff of the armed forces of ukraine every morning and evening and right now, there is fighting city and there are also street fights but, thanks to the ukrainian armed forces, they still haven't taken control over the city and thanks to the ukrainian armed forces, ukraine are still having control of the city. approximately, there are 4000 or a500 civilians in the city. but this is a very approximate count and we do not know for sure. it is very unsafe in the city and the entire population that is staying there

right now is living in shelters. there is no water or gas or electricity and we have given heaters to everybody who stays in the city so that we can support the local population. meanwhile the authorities have ordered some residents in nearby kupiansk to leave, because of russian shelling from across the border. our reporter has the story. russia is getting closer to its first major victory in half a year. in eastern ukraine it is the wagner group made up of tens of thousands of mercenaries and ex—convicts that has spearheaded the defensive. they have cold on president zelensky to remove his troops from the city of bakhmut. translation: we have practically surrounded bakhmut, only one route out remains,

if earlier we were fighting against a professional army, now we are increasingly seeing old people and children. give them a chance to leave the city. the city is surrounded. bakhmut is a fairly small town. set in farmland. before the invasion it had a population of around 73,000 people. but moscow sees it as a stepping stone to seize bigger cities further west. president zelensky has admitted that the situation in bakhmut is becoming more and more difficult. in another blow for ukraine, kyiv has ordered the immediate partial evacuation of a town in the north—east. families with children, people with disabilities, and those with mobility problems must leave, because of constant shelling by russian forces.

the city was liberated from russian occupation last september, but russia is trying to take it back. but there is some good news for kyiv. the us just announced another military aid package for ukraine, worth $400 million. together we work lockstep to supply critical security assistance to ukraine, and everything that we have done in lockstep, ammunition, artillery, military, air defence systems. after one year of relentless war kyiv says it urgently needs more weapons from the west to fight off russian aggression. this is crucial. ukraine fears that russia has amassed thousands of troops in the east, and is getting ready to launch a major new offensive. our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, is in kyiv

with the latest on the situation in bakhmut. according to the british ministry of defence ukrainian forces are now coming under what it calls severe pressure, particularly in the north of the city. they say that, at the moment, ukrainian special forces are being deployed to dry to reinforce what increasingly look potentially like a rearguard action that is taking place in the city. at the same time, the institute for war, an independent us research group that looks at open source data, satellite communications and the like, they now say that the scene is set for ukraine to carry out what it calls a controlled fighting withdrawal. it notes that a couple of bridges in key locations have been destroyed by ukrainian forces, presumably with the intent of slowing the russian progress. at the same time there are reports of ukrainian forces digging trenches in the west and bringing other reinforcements up there. what we are seeing here i think is clearly an evolution in a battle for the city that has taken

place over the last seven months at the cost of many thousands of lives. what would be the significance if it fell? if you talk to ukrainians, talk to western military analysts, they all say there is little strategic value in bakhmut. it is not a massive military hub, ora massive transport links, that if it were to fall, if ukrainian forces were to withdraw, then it would be a rare piece of good news for the kremlin. they would make the most of that. they would call it a victory. at the same time they would claim that it gives them a stepping stone to further territorial gain in eastern

ukraine, in the donbas. that is challenged by military analysts who say it does not automatically mean that, you know, other cities will follow. but it clearly will be a piece of good news that the russians have sorely needed for many months. but it will come at a huge cost. it is widely understood that one of the strategic reasons for ukraine holding on to the city so hard is because of the sheer number of russian casualties that have been inflicted there. one of ukraine's senior commanders said recently, that their estimate is that for every seven russian deaths, there has been one ukrainian. if that is an accurate ratio that means that many thousands of russian soldiers have died there. speaking of the russians, the russian defence minister has visited the front line, is that right? yes. there are reports that the russian defence minister has visited parts of russian forces in the donbas in eastern ukraine. the reason this is noteworthy, it is

quite unusual for a very senior russian commander to pay a visit to their troops. it is not something that is done a great deal, but clearly the russians are making the most of it, they are putting out pictures of the general putting medals on soldiers chests, things like that. but it shows an increasing focus, they want to give the impression that things are beginning, the tide spinning to turn in their way, that is the impression they want to give. it is not one that is being reflected on the ground. police in australia say they've made what's thought to be the country's biggest ever drug bust, seizing cocaine with a street value of a—billion us dollars. the joint operation with the united states has led to 12 arrests linked to a mexican cartel. australian police had been following the delivery for months and at the last minute substituted the cargo with fake drugs.from sydney phil mercer reports.

us authorities intercepting a huge consignment of cargo allegedly bound for western australia. the authorities here in australia then substituted that cargo for fake drugs and dropped it out into the indian ocean about 1t0 nautical miles from the city of perth, western australia. over a number of weeks our officers from the organised crime squad and other officers assisted to reconstruct those identical packages and got 1.2 tonne of those drugs into the ocean 1t0 miles off the coast. into the ocean 40 miles off the coast. , into the ocean 40 miles off the coast. ._ , ,., i into the ocean 40 miles off the coast. , i i, i coast. few days, the police watched as a criminal — coast. few days, the police watched as a criminal syndicate _ coast. few days, the police watched as a criminal syndicate with - coast. few days, the police watched as a criminal syndicate with alleged | as a criminal syndicate with alleged links to mexican cartel used two boats to find and retrieve the consignment. surveillance images show one of the vessels towing the

other after it had washed up on a beach where two men were arrested. other suspected members of the gang were later detained at a harbour in perth. the western australian state capitol. the police also stopped a vehicle on a highway several hundred kilometres away where they found a large amount of cash. 12 people have been arrested including a 39—year—old man from the united states. though enforcement authorities say australia's appetite for illegal drugs makes it a potentially lucrative destination for traffickers but not this time. this hole is estimated to be about half of australia's annual consumption of cocaine. —— this let's get some of the day's other news. the white house says president biden

had a cancerous skin lesion successfully removed from his chest last month. the president's doctor says no further treatment is required. the lesion was spotted during a routine health check and a biopsy confirmed it was a common form of skin cancer which does not normally spread. the roman catholic church in portugal has promised to take steps to deal with its history of child sex abuse. it follows a highly critical report that found that nearly 5,000 children had been abused by clergy since 1950. the head of the united nations nuclear watchdog, rafael grossi, is meeting officials in tehran, after un inspectors detected samples of uranium that had been enriched to near weapons—grade level, at iran's underground fordo nuclear plant. tehran says it restricts uranium enrichment, but acknowledged that what it called "unintended fluctuations" may have occurred. diplomats say mr grossi hopes to persuade iran to increase its cooperation with un inspectors. the academy awards takes place next weekend. as acting royalty gather

in hollywood, among them will be veteran british actor — bill nighy, who has been nominated for an oscar for the first time for his role in "living". british author kazuo ishiguro who wrote the screenplay has also been nominated. if he wins, ishiguro will be only the third person to ever win both a nobel prize and an oscar. they've been talking to our la correspondent, sophie long. mr williams, a bureaucrat in 1950s london, has resigned himself to an ordinary, repetitive life. it's only when he's told he'll soon die that he realises he's forgotten how to live. it's an adaptation of a film made in kazuo ishiguro's native japan more than 70 years ago, with the lead role written by the nobel

prize—winning novelist specifically for bill nighy. i thought, oh, what if bill nighy was in this film? notjust in it, but in the centre of it? i could suddenly see how the whole film could work. if bill was not going to be part of it, i couldn't have been persuaded to do it. for me, the concept was not a remake of this kurosawa film, it was this thing with bill in it. the other thing was that it should feel like a british movie from the 1950s. that was the other interesting aspect. for you, bill, was that a dream come through, to have a part written for you, or is that a huge amount of pressure? it is more of the former and a little bit of the latter.

i didn't feel, weirdly, because i'm quite good at manufacturing pressure, i didn't feel daunted or oppressed by the original film or by the situation. ijust felt that i was very fortunate. beyond lucky to be considered in those terms, not least by kazuo ishiguro. the result is a quintessentially british study in restraint from the written word to delivery. a sleekly sentimental drama unfolds as mr williams befriends a young employee whose effortless exuberance and spirals into leave something lasting and give life meaning in the face of death. it's led to first—time oscar nominations for both men, and careers that collectively spanned more than eight decades. you have been very well recognised in your work on we won the booker prize, the nobel prize for literature. how does an oscar nomination compare?

it compares pretty well, actually! i think the nobel prizes like a european fairy story. you go to some sort of european palace and meet kings and queens. this is the real kind of hollywood dream kind of thing, and it feels like we have somehow come to the middle of the american dream. it feels very, very good. it's a great thing, it's exciting for myself and for my family and for everybody back home. i had an invasive medical procedure recently, just before he performed this invasive medical procedure, the doctor said, i've never done this to— an oscar nominee before, and then he did something truly invasive, which i'm not going to describe, because — it would make you a very uneasy. but that's the sort of effect it's had in my life. this man, until yesterday, was living a shell - existence. i so very much do not

wish to do that... in the next few weeks the british government will announce where the uk's first "carbon capture" power station will be built. the carbon dioxide created by the gas fired plant will be captured, and transported under ground. our environment correspondent, jonah fisher, has been to one of the possible locations. it doesn't bother me. i am quite happy to have a power station on my doorstep. this story is of the uk's energy past, present and future. if the chimneys were smoking, you had an idea of what you would be doing the day. he used to work at a coal power station, grinding the coal down for use in the furnaces. it sounds like every dirtyjob. very dirtyjob. the washing machine had a pretty hard life. three, two, one! in 1991, as the uk phased out coal,

the iconic towers of the power station, the cricket stump so they were known, were brought tumbling down. in its wake, an era of cheap gas dawn. now, second gas plant is about to come on stream, and we were given a look around. they pass through the turbine. much cleaner than coal, it still emits the carbon dioxide that is warming up planets. from here on top of the cooling tower you get a real sense of the energy transition here. over there on the horizon,

those mountains are the leftovers from when there was a coalfired power station. you can see the wind turbines along the horizon. just down there, well, that could very well be the site for the uk's first ever gas—fired power station where the carbon dioxide is captured. the idea behind a carbon capture power station is that instead of releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere where it contributes to climate change, the gas is captured and transported underground. we are looking at probably double the cost. it is expensive, but later this month, a decision is expected on whether the new uk's first carbon capture power station is here, or further north on teesside. on those days when the wind isn't blowing, the sun isn't shining, when it is cold, and it is dark and still, there are going to need to be other sources of power that will keep the light switched on, and that is the role that low carbon solutions like carbon capture play. so, will it work?

there are plenty of scientists and activists deeply sceptical of any climate solution that involves burning more fossilfuels. if you translate pound for pound, you will get a better output from a power plant based on renewables and supported by storage than a power plant that has carbon capture attached to it. even former coal worker andy has his doubts. whatever we do, we have to reduce the amount - of pollution that we are creating, better manage the waste, etc. i but you don't think that capturing the carbon is a way to clean up ouract? i think we have to reduce i the carbon that we produce. for now, the government seems intent on giving carbon capture a try. gas may still have a role to play in could be and in the renewable revolution. jonah fisher, bbc news. with rising energy bills, many of us are looking at how we can cut costs.

one option is swapping an oven to a slow cooker. a uk charity in the east midlands is teaching people how to use them. our correspondent navtej johal, went along. dinner time in derby, but these are no ordinary meals, they have been made in a slow cooker. these women from the local community are learning how the appliance could help them save time and money. this workshop has been set up by a local charity which runs a food bank. we really want to help people have a place to come, have people to speak to, but also we want to help people with this awful cost of living crisis, and one way that we know we can do that is by talking about slow cookers. because they are on a slow heat consistently throughout the day the use far less energy than the oven. it builds up the heat and it stays consistent throughout the day,

which means it uses a lot less energy than if you put on the oven for 20 minutes, add to hundreds degrees, to then turn off 20 minutes later. i hear that there might be a surprise at the end of today's workshop. the ladies think they are coming for an educational tour, what they don't know is they have got all three meals, they have got all the ingredients to make them, as a surprise, and they will all be taking home a brand new slow cooker, for free. among the women attending is lucy, she has a chronic illness, and struggles to make food at home for her ten—year—old son, something has become even more difficult recently because rising costs. my bills and electric has gone up silly amounts. literally nothing left any more in order to cook for the family. for my son to sit there and enjoy a meal i have cooked, and my sister has made stuff for us,

and he goes, this is so yummy. it would be nice to see mummy has cooked something for a change. beth was in care and has just got a place of her own for the first time, she has twojobs, she is here because time and money is tight. i spend a lot of money grabbing food on the way home because i'm too tired to cook. it is expensive. how useful have you found this session? really useful. it has made me want to make it. it did not take a lot of effort all the time. the session is almost over. before we let you go, we have a little bit of a surprise for you. i am going to hand over tojess. ready? you are all going awake with a slow cooker and all the ingredients for the meal you have

been tasting today. thank you. we appreciate it. did you expect that? no. how do you feel about the fact you have been given all this? lam happy, iappreciate it. it is sweet. how do you feel now? i feel amazing. i feel so happy to see the reveal, and see the look on peoples faces, it is emotional. a rare moment ofjoy at a time when so many are finding it tough. a ceremony has taken place injerusalem to consecrate the oil that will be used to anoint king charles during his coronation in britain in may. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell reports: it is the most sacred moment of the coronation service. at the coronation of the late

queen elizabeth she was shielded from view by a canopy, as she was annointed with holy oil. yesterday at the church of the holy sepulchre injerusalem, the oil to be used at the coronation of king charles was consecrated. it has been made from olives harvested from the mount of olives, and perfumed with traditional oils and orange blossom. it was brought to the church, built on the spot where it is believed christ was crucified, to be blessed by the patriarch and the anglican archbishop ofjerusalem. the consecration of the oil for the enthronement and the coronation brings about something of the deep and profound meaning both to king charles, to the church injerusalem, to the holy land, and i think to the whole world. the oil will be brought to westminster abbey in london, where at the coronation service, and in line with ancient tradition, it will be used to anoint

the king and queen consort. it is staying chilly through the rest of the weekend, colder weather to come next week. today we hang on to cloud for the rest of the day. a few light showers for scotland, coming to eastern parts of england. other areas may well be dry, but there will be a lot of cloud. temperatures much where they have been over the past few days or so. we keep cloudy skies for much of the country overnight. maybe a few more showers arriving. if the cloud does break here and there then we will see some frost. for the most part, temperatures by early sunday morning, will be a chilly two or three celsius. expect a good deal of cloud tomorrow. may be a few more showers breaking

out through the day. we could see something a bit brighter, with some sunshine for a while. central and southern scotland, perhaps into northern ireland, and later in the north—west of english. winds will be light tomorrow. pictures will be a shade lower, 6 or 7. next week will feel colder. the stronger wind arriving. that will bring the risk of snow and ice. a northerly wind strengthening over the next week, air coming all the be down from the arctic will push southwards across the uk, bringing with it a wintry chill as well. that colder air starts to arrive in northern scotland on sunday night. a mixture of rain, sleet and snow, that will move across scotland, away from northern ireland on monday, into northern england and north wales. to the south, temperatures nine celsius. moved to the north, much colder, showers turning more wintry. at the time we get to tuesday, that is what is left of that weather front across

southern parts of england. otherwise, sunshine. snow showers coming in on that strong winds from the arctic. many parts of the country may be dry with some sunshine. factor in the strength of the winter, it will feel significantly colder. and we have the risk of some snow and ice as well. widespread frost as we head into next week. most of the snow and ice expected to be across northern and eastern parts of scotland, and the north—east of england, that could lead potentially to some travel disruption.

the bbc has just revealed its 2022 list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world. so this week, we're celebrating the achievements of female tech innovators. shiona meets an absolute legend of the sporting world to find out how tech is transforming her game.

hello. i go to the world's biggest start—up campus in paris,