this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm celia hatton. our top stories... the future of switzerland's second largest bank credit suisse hangs in the balance, but the financial times reports its rival, ubs, is prepared to buys the company is prepared to buy the company for more than $2 billion. ukraine condemns vladimir putin's visit to mariupol, a devastated city which was captured by russian forces. environmental scientists prepare to unveil eight years of work, showing the scale of the climate crisis. and a charity helping british muslims with financial problems says it's overwhelmed by demand. we'll have a special report.

the financial times is reporting that the swiss bank ubs has offered to buy its rival, credit suisse, for more than $2 billion. the swiss government is due to hold a press conference in about half an hour's time in bern. credit suisse had been caught up in the market uncertainty triggered by the collapse, nine days ago, of america's silicon valley bank. it had been offered an emergency credit facility of more than $50 billion by switzerland's central bank, but that had not prevented a sharp fall in its share price. let's get more on this with our business correspondent, marc ashdown. mark, what you make of the announcement, the possible announcement? the possibility that ubs might be buying? fix,

announcement? the possibility that ubs might be buying?— announcement? the possibility that ubs might be buying? a deal has been aareed u- ubs might be buying? a deal has been agreed up and — ubs might be buying? a deal has been agreed up and it _ ubs might be buying? a deal has been agreed up and it values _ ubs might be buying? a deal has been agreed up and it values credit - agreed up and it values credit suisse at 2 billion us dollars. it hasn't been confirmed yet, but it's starting to look out. the swiss government are hosted to host —— suspected it was a press conference at 6:30pm uk time. the country's two biggest banks, all because credit suisse has seen money and confidence pour away from it. it was triggered by the silicon valley issues kind of, but it identifies some material weaknesses in reporting as well. it's been a guessing game all weekend. a $1 billion offer was on the table. the question i guess now is what shape will that deal take. it has a big investment arm, runs a

lot of money for a lot of high net worth individuals and institutions. that's all likely to be separated, so a complete restructuring. about 50,000 employees who work for credit suisse, right here in london.— suisse, right here in london. people have been working _ suisse, right here in london. people have been working throughout - suisse, right here in london. people have been working throughout the l have been working throughout the weekend to reach a deal, but this presumably is a massive deal. are you surprised that they were able to reach a deal in time before the markets open tomorrow? time has been absolutel a markets open tomorrow? time has been absolutely a critical _ markets open tomorrow? time has been absolutely a critical here. _ markets open tomorrow? time has been absolutely a critical here. last _ absolutely a critical here. last week saw stocks sliding across the world. notjust banking. credit suisse's troubles have become the troubles of the financial world. i think we had a pause for a couple of days to sort this out. it's all been done at breakneck speed. the swiss government for example, stepping into fast—track this. normally this

would need six week of consultation. this could go through straight away. they're going to inject another $100 billion to smooth the deal along. the problem is to restore credibility and stability. we'll find out when the market opens overnight. find out when the market opens overniaht. ., , ., , find out when the market opens overnight-— overnight. two big words there. thank you _ overnight. two big words there. thank you very _ overnight. two big words there. thank you very much, _ overnight. two big words there. thank you very much, marc. - i'm joined now by mohamed el—erian, who is president of queens' college, cambridge, and chief economic adviser at allianz, an international financial services provider. thank you so much forjoining us. what do you make of the news of this deal? £31 what do you make of the news of this deal? . ., , ., deal? of the alternatives that were available, this _ deal? of the alternatives that were available, this is _ deal? of the alternatives that were available, this is the _ deal? of the alternatives that were available, this is the least - deal? of the alternatives that were available, this is the least bad. - deal? of the alternatives that were available, this is the least bad. it l available, this is the least bad. it is not great, but it's the least bad. that's the first element. mira; bad. that's the first element. why is it the least _ bad. that's the first element. why is it the least bad? _

bad. that's the first element. why is it the least bad? because - is it the least bad? because the other two were _ is it the least bad? because the other two were either _ is it the least bad? because the other two were either a - other two were either a nationalisation of credit suisse and the assumption by the swiss government of alternatives. splitting —— shutting down credit suisse, which is very difficult. so, among the three possible options, this is the least bad. haifa among the three possible options, this is the least bad.— this is the least bad. how difficult will it be for— this is the least bad. how difficult will it be for credit _ this is the least bad. how difficult will it be for credit suisse -- - this is the least bad. how difficult will it be for credit suisse -- ubs| will it be for credit suisse —— ubs to take over credit suisse? these are two huge banks. what's going to go into this kind of merger? it’s a go into this kind of merger? it's a short-term _ go into this kind of merger? it's a short-term problem _ go into this kind of merger? it's a short-term problem and - go into this kind of merger? it's a short-term problem and a - go into this kind of merger? it�*s —. short—term problem and a longer—term problem. the short term problem starts tomorrow, which is to make sure that the market accepts this deal. and a lot will depend on what we hear in the press conference. how much support is ubs getting from the swiss government? what are the indemnities like? because ubs is taking on a troubled bank with legal issues. will ubs be protected from

that? there's lots of issues. hopefully they will be addressed in half an hour. a longer—term issue is whether ubs, what they will do with the bank. there are a lot of overlaps, so this will not be easy to digest. this is a big bite, and ubs will need time to digest it. what is in this for ubs? why would ubs want to take over what you've just described as a troubled bank with legal issues? this just described as a troubled bank with legal issues?— with legal issues? this is not a voluntary _ with legal issues? this is not a voluntary marriage, _ with legal issues? this is not a voluntary marriage, this - with legal issues? this is not a voluntary marriage, this is - with legal issues? this is not a voluntary marriage, this is a i with legal issues? this is not a - voluntary marriage, this is a forced marriage. this is a shotgun wedding. this is what's going on. ubs is being pushed very hard by the swiss authorities, and i suspect the authorities, and i suspect the authorities are being pushed very hard by the regulatory authorities and in the uk and us where credit suisse has a presence. what and in the uk and us where credit suisse has a presence.— suisse has a presence. what does this mean. _ suisse has a presence. what does this mean. do _ suisse has a presence. what does this mean, do you _ suisse has a presence. what does this mean, do you think, - suisse has a presence. what does this mean, do you think, for- suisse has a presence. what does this mean, do you think, for the l this mean, do you think, for the employees of credit suisse? around 50,000 globally. it

employees of credit suisse? around 50.000 globally-— 50,000 globally. it means uncertainty. _ 50,000 globally. it means uncertainty, it _ 50,000 globally. it means uncertainty, it means - 50,000 globally. it means| uncertainty, it means more headaches, and it probably means slamming it down even more than what credit suisse management had announced. credit suisse management had announced-— credit suisse management had announced. ., ,, , ., , . credit suisse management had announced. ., ,, , . ., announced. thank you very much for s-ueakin announced. thank you very much for speaking with _ announced. thank you very much for speaking with us. — announced. thank you very much for speaking with us, mohamed - announced. thank you very much forl speaking with us, mohamed el-erian. speaking with us, mohamed el—erian. chief economic the russian president, vladimir putin, has visited the ukrainian city of mariupol, believed to be his first time inside territory seized by russian forces since the start of the war more than a year ago. the visit provoked a furious response from some ukrainian officials. mariupol�*s exiled mayor told bbc news that mr putin was a "criminal who'd returned to the scene of the crime". our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, reports from ukraine's capital, kyiv. vladimir putin arrived in mariupol by helicopter, at least according to pictures broadcast by russian state television. then he drove himself into the city amid tight security on what's

thought to be his first known visit to parts of ukraine seized by russian forces after last year's invasion. in the darkened streets, he met what were described as local residents. the kremlin said it was a "spontaneous visit". they seemed happy to see him. "we need to start getting to know each other better," mr putin said. "we pray for you," one woman said. "finally, you are here. we have waited for you so long." mr putin was invited inside to see one of their homes, seemingly a new apartment — the aim, it would appear, to show a city being rebuilt after last year's devastation. for this is what mariupol looked like last year after three months of russian bombardment, during which ukrainian fighters held out here at the azovstal steel plant — their long defence a symbol

of ukrainian resilience. it was here, too, where russian forces bombed a maternity hospital — an early alleged war crime — along with a theatre where hundreds of civilians were sheltering and died. here in kyiv, the mayor of mariupol told me how he felt seeing mr putin in his city. translation: like all ukrainians, like all mariupol residents, - i feel that today, a war criminal whose name is vladimir putin visited the scene of the crime he committed for several months — destroying the city of mariupol. the only city russian aviation is carpet bombing is mariupol. this is what parts of mariupol actually look like — contemporary images from local residents showing still—ruined tower blocks.

long lines of people queuing for food. all in stark contrast to the reconstruction that mr putin did get to see, including a theatre that had been rebuilt. under bright streetlights, he was also shown a playground. only days after he was accused of illegally deporting thousands of children from occupied parts of ukraine to russia. and jamesjoins me now from kyiv. james, what about the reaction to this visit and the rest of ukraine? we heard from the mayor, but what are others saying?— are others saying? well, the point of mariu -o are others saying? well, the point of mariupo is _ are others saying? well, the point of mariupo is it _ are others saying? well, the point of mariupo is it hasn't _ are others saying? well, the point of mariupo is it hasn't so - are others saying? well, the point of mariupo is it hasn't so much - of mariupo is it hasn't so much symbolism for both sides of the war. for the russians, it's clearly a notable victory that took place last year. but for ukrainians, this city is a place that they remember for

its resilience, the fact that its defenders held out for so long and desperate circumstances. they also remember as a place where they say war crimes took place. the bombing of the maternity hospital, the bombing of the theatre, where civilians were sheltering. so, they think mr putin has chosen deliberately to come to this city, and many of them have followed the mayor, essentially saying they claim, they alleged that war crimes took place at the instigation of mr putin. they say he is like a criminal returning to the scene of the crime. that is the prism through which they view this as it. is the crime. that is the prism through which they view this as it.— which they view this as it. is there an wa which they view this as it. is there any way to — which they view this as it. is there any way to tell — which they view this as it. is there any way to tell how _ which they view this as it. is there any way to tell how big _ which they view this as it. is there any way to tell how big this - which they view this as it. is there any way to tell how big this scale l any way to tell how big this scale of the reconstruction is inside mariupol, in contrast to the rest of the city that is still severely

damaged?— the city that is still severely damaged? the city that is still severely damaued? ~ ._ ., ., damaged? well, the mayor, who i interviewed _ damaged? well, the mayor, who i interviewed earlier, _ damaged? well, the mayor, who i interviewed earlier, said _ damaged? well, the mayor, who i interviewed earlier, said he - interviewed earlier, said he reckoned about 90% of the city was still in ruins. there are reports that this building that mr putin visited, a specific area that has been rebuilt, and there are a number of tower blocks that have been rebuilt. huge swathes of the city have not been repaired. the mayor said he reckoned it would take a few months to repair the city, but 20 years, because of the scale of devastation that was brought up on it by russian bombardment last year. if you look at some of those images that are sent from people still living there that are sent to people here in kyiv, you do see images of some devastated tower blocks that remain in ruins. you also see pictures, as i showed, of people queuing in the streets for food because there are shortages of food,

water, and electrics. conditions are still... some way before any normal life can resume. still. .. some way before any normal life can resume.— life can resume. james landale, thank you _ life can resume. james landale, thank you very _ life can resume. james landale, thank you very much _ life can resume. james landale, thank you very much for - life can resume. james landale, l thank you very much for speaking life can resume. james landale, - thank you very much for speaking to us from kyiv. environmental scientists around the world have spent the last eight years analysing evidence about the climate crisis. their work for the united nations will be revealed tomorrow, in the town of interlaken, high in the swiss alps. the report will become the benchmark for all discussions by politicians and governments on how to respond to the growing threat the planet faces. and as our climate editor, justin rowlatt, has been discovering, there's already clear evidence of dramatic change in the surrounding alpine environment. dave is claiming an ice face high in the alps. it's, like, super exciting, and there's so much happening and going on. his safety depends on the strength of the ice.

you're listening for a good thunk, and making sure that the ice axe isn't wobbly. but the ice in the highest mountains of europe and the world is changing. for me, it's been quite shocking how fast it's been developing. the winters are just much more mild. we're getting rain higher up the mountain. the greenhouse gases emitted since the industrial revolution have have already raised global temperatures by a little over1 degrees, but the effects are even greater in the alps. the temperature up here is rising by about twice the global average. it has already increased by 2 celsius, and it is having a devastating effect on the snow and ice up here. at an observatory 3.5 km up this swiss mountain, they've been monitoring the change in alpine climates for decades.

30 years ago, it never rained, but now there is, and summer, very often, there is rain, even up here at 3500 metres. wow. yep. last year, the ice melts heat a new record. last year, the ice melt heat a new record. the glaciers of the alps lost 6% of their total volume. the very best forecast - for the future of our alpine glaciers is that we can save about one third i of the ice falling. this is the best case. in the worst case, we'rel going to lose everything. look how the glacier below the weather station is expected to retreat over the next few decades and that worst—case scenario. so, what does this doctor think the message from the un scientists should be? action is now urgently needed. for the glaciers, we see the effects of climate change. for the glaciers, we see - the effects of climate change. this is illustrating how| urgent it is to act now. this landscape appears eternal.

this landscape appears eternal — literally frozen in time. but without dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. in greenhouse gas emissions, the ice up here at the top of europe will be lost forever. justin rowlatt, bbc news, in the swiss alps. let's get some news from here in the uk. a charity that specialises in helping british muslims with financial problems says it's been overwhelmed by people needing assistance. the national zakat foundation has received up to 2,000 applications a month for crisis grants — double the figure it was getting last year. michael buchanan reports. for a few hours a day, two—year—old ali has his house and his mother to himself, before his four siblings return from school. berlin is separated from the children's father. the family live off £236 a week. it's not enough, and she has built up large debts trying to raise it's not enough, and she's built up large debts trying to raise

five children alone. they don't understand. they will ask me everything, "can you buy this, can you buy that?" they have to ask me for something, they want it. sometimes i say, "ah, tomorrow, we will do tomorrow," and they forget sometimes. muslim communities in britain are disproportionally poorer than the rest of the country. poverty levels are particularly high among people of bangladeshi, pakistani and black african heritage. this charity distributes zakat — money donated by muslims to help fellow muslims in need. demand for its hardship fund is greater than ever — some months, they're seeing over 2,000 applications. zakat, especially, has always been seen in the muslim psyche in britain, certainly, as for people who are homeless, foodless, in some far—off land. and just to overcome that, some people say, "ok, the community is here for you, zakat is yours, as well," that's difficult for us. we're seeing a record number of people accessing support. i at the east london mosque,

what started as a response to the pandemic has become an ongoing lifeline. a lot of our families, - they live in very overcrowded housing situations. it is a community that has always | been an poverty, that has reallyl struggled with employment. and it doesn't really help, the fact that things - are really expensive. for this woman, her rent�*s the big problem — it's increased by £200 to 1500 per month. translation: i have two children who i need - to feed, but i can't work. it's so cold and chilly out there and i have no alternative but to come here. there's a huge stigma in muslim communities around asking for help from charities. but when bills are rising this rapidly, faith and family can only go so far. michael buchanan, bbc news. staying in the uk, a 17—year—old boy has been stabbed

to death at a house party in leeds, in northern england. west yorkshire police said officers were called to a disturbance at a property the city where a "large number of people" had been gathered in the early hours of sunday morning. officers dispersed people from the area and said no arrests have been made. police are treating the death as murder. the leader of the uk's forth biggest political party, the liberal democrats, sir ed davey, says his party would seek a closer economic relationship with europe if it was in government, in order to "fix britain's trade". speaking at the party's spring conference, he also pledged to fix the nhs, reform social care, and tackle the cost of living crisis. yes, we need immediate solutions to the cost—of—living crisis engulfing so many families and pensioners, like using a proper windfall tax to cut energy bills. but we need far more than that, too. here in the uk, the historic john lewis chain of department stores is looking

into selling a minority stake of the business for the first time. the high street retailer, which first opened in 1864, is currently jointly owned by its staff. but the bbc understands the company's chair, sharon white, is looking into changing the business model in order to attract new investment. it's believed the plan is in its very early stages, and no agreement has been made. john lewis says staff will be the first to hear about any changes. serbia's president has declined to sign an eu proposal to normalise relations with kosovo. aleksandar vucic claimed his decision was based on kosovo not being an internationally and legally recognized state. earlier, the european union's top diplomatjosep borell announced an agreement between the two nations towards normalising relations. despite this belgrade has refused to recognise kosovo's independence, despite this, belgrade has refused to recognise kosovo's independence, since it was declared 15 years ago.

at least 1a people have been killed after an earthquake in ecuador. 13 of the casualties were in and around the southern province of el oro — and one young girl also died in northern peru, when her family home collapsed. the us geological survey says the tremor had a magnitude of 6.8. the effects were widespread — including the collapse of this building, a museum, which was mounted on a pier at the seaside. it had stood on the same spot for more than 60 years. the uk has sent a search and rescue team, as well as medical staff to malawi, in the aftermath of cyclone freddy. their support will provide emergency shelter and give access to safe drinking water. more than 400 people have been killed and thousands of homes destroyed in one of the worst storms to ever hit southern africa. doctors working on the front line in ukraine say thousands of lives are being saved, by an "anti—bleeding fabric",

manufactured in somerset in southwest england. the bandages are coated with an extract taken from shrimp shells, which can stop heavy bleeding within a minute. matthew hill has been to see how they're made. dr irnya rybinkina puts her life in danger every day in ukraine, helping the victims of the war. at times, she has to treat very traumatic injuries. the first thing you do is put a tourniquet on, and then you try and stop the bleed by packing the wound. this production line in bridgwater has been playing a vital role in helping medics like dr rybinkina save lives. the bandages, made by the firm nonwovenn, are then incorporated into first—aid kits by another british company. we manufacture millions of these, our customer—made trade have sent tens of thousands, that we know of,

out to the ukraine already. the secret of their success is down to this tiny shellfish, the shrimp. mariners have known for hundreds of years that shrimp shells are good at stopping bleeding, and the extract from them, known as chitosan, is woven into the company's bandages. i can demonstrate. if ijust dip it into water, it's infused with shrimp extract from shells, and that gradually becomes very sticky to the touch. ultimately, that forms an artificial clot. the ukrainian military rang nonwovenn shortly after the invasion and began asking for as many bandages as they could make, and the demand continues. so, it has been saving lives, you think? it's been saving a lot of lives, thousands of them. we get a lot of feedback from the people who are using them. they send a message saying, "you know what? "yourfirst—aid kit, it did save lives. "someone got there and we used the tourniquet and the celox

"and the gauze and everything, and the person actually arrived "alive at the evacuation point." since i interviewed dr rybinkina, she was involved in a serious road traffic accident on her way back from duties, and is now being treated for a broken arm. but she remains undaunted, and hopes to be back on the front front line treating more casualties with these bandages as soon as possible. a lot of friends have been lost in this war, and the human toll is horrendous. matthew hill, bbc news. emergency warning messages will be sent by the government to people's mobile phones across the uk next month to test a new public alert system. phones will vibrate, sound a siren—noise and the nature of the warning will flash up on the home screen. the system had been originally due to go live in october. the late queen elizabeth has been publicly remembered by her son,

king charles, on mother's day. in a twitter post, the king showed an image of the young queen with him as baby on her lap. the message also included a picture of his wife camilla with her late mother, rosalind shand. catherine, princess of wales also marked the day posting images with her three children princes george and louis, and princess charlotte. a reminder of our top story —a deal to rescue the troubled bank, credit suisse, looks increasingly likely to be confirmed this evening. we can see live pictures of a press conference due to start soon in bern switzerland held by the swiss government. reports claim ubs has agreed to pay more than $2 billion to buy its rival, which is seen as value plummet over the past week of her fears about the company's financial health. the concerns have also sparked falls in stock markets around the world. we're going to be bringing more

information from that conference at the top of the hour. you're watching bbc news. hello again. this month has already been quite a wet month. there are quite a few areas across the uk that have already seen more than the march average rainfall, even though we're nowhere near the month's end. the wettest place, shoeburyness, where we've had nearly 1.5 times as much rainfall as would see in an average march, and there's loads more rain to come as well. over the next five days, the wettest weather, the largest rainfall totals, would be across western and particularly north western areas of the country. i suspect by the end of the month, there'll be some areas that have seen more than twice the average march rainfall. now, today's not been a bad day. we have seen some sunshine, although the cloud thickened up with these weather fronts approaching from the west, bringing some rain to end the day.

and, indeed, that rain is still going to be and, indeed, that rain is still going to he's still going to be with us overnight tonight, so a wet night for northern ireland, northern england and scotland. further southwards, might see a bit of drizzle falling from the cloud that works across the rest of england and wales. it's a mild night — temperatures 6—7 for most, cold air just about still hanging on in shetland, where it should be some heavy rain moving from northern ireland across scotland during the day and another batch of rain for wales and western areas of england through the afternoon. you might find a few brighter spells across eastern england and generally not much in the way of rain expected in eastern england. temperatures could reach about 16. now, we've got more heavy rain for scotland on tuesday. elsewhere, it's a day of sunshine and heavy showers, those showers with thunder mixed in with them. the next band of rain quickly moves into northern quickly moves into northern ireland late in the day, so we've got more rain on the way. that rain through tuesday night pushes its way northwards and eastwards across scotland, where it's going to be quite slow—moving. and then a windy day on the cards for wednesday — a day of sunshine, blustery showers, hail and thunder mixed in with these, and some

of the showers across western areas could merge together to give some longer spells of rain. all the while, it'll be windy with gusts perhaps 40, 50, even 60 mph across northwestern areas. it stays windy through thursday and again, it's another very unsettled day. showers will be widespread — again, some of them with hail and thunder, but it will be a bit of sunshine between those heavy downpours. temperatures for the most part still into double figures, but it's starting to get a little bit cooler in scotland — might see a bit of snow returning to some of the highest scottish hills. and then through friday, and the weekend it stays unsettled with more rain on the way. those rainfall totals continue to mount up.

this is bbc news, the headlines .switzerland's largest bank ubs is prepared to buy its struggling rival credit suisse for more than $2bn, according to the financial times. the swiss government have been focused on reaching a deal before the stock markets reopen on monday. .ukraine condemns president putin after he visits the devastated city of mariupol — captured during the russian invasion. an aide to president zelensky called him a criminal returning to the scene of his crime. environmental scientists prepare to unveil eight years work showing the global scale of the climate change. this report is expected to become the benchmark for world governments on how to respond to the growing crisis. serbia's president, aleksandar vucic, says he has

"declined" to sign a proposal by the european union intended