this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories: this is bbc news. our top stories: aus a usjournalist a us journalist pleads a usjournalist pleads not a us journalist pleads not guilty after appearing on trial on spying charges in moscow. king charles addresses the german parliament — expressing his shock over the destruction caused by the war in ukraine. translation: since i last spoke

in this building, the scourge - of war is back in europe. the unprovoked invasion of ukraine has inflicted the most unimaginable suffering on so many innocent people. brazil's ex president — jair bolsonaro — has returned to the country after three months of self imposed exile in the united states. the vatican says pope francis' health is �*improving' — as he continues to be treated in hospitalfor a respiratory infection. a blood test is being trialled that could spare thousands of bowel cancer patients unnecessary chemotherapy. and the uk's police watchdog has referred the case of an unarmed black man shot dead by an officer to the crown prosecution service.

hello and welcome to bbc news. hearing it has taken place in the last hour after evan gershkovich was arrested. a russian foreign ministry spokesperson said they believe evan gershkovich was conducting activites �*not related to journalism' on �*assignment from the americans'. in a statement, the wall streetjournal said... the lawyer of evan gershkovich said he was not admitted to the hearing but he said that the journalist would be held until the end of may. for more on this we can talk

to sergei goryashko, journalist at bbc russian. how did the arrest come about? we knew how did the arrest come about? - knew about the detention of evan gershkovich just this knew about the detention of evan gershkovichjust this morning, and we were told that he was caught at a cafe, and afterwards he was taken to moscow city and he was put under arrest until the end of may for an ongoing investigation. the press was not allowed into the court room and neither was the lawyer of evan gershkovich. apparently the only lawyer present was the one provided

by the fsb who is from the russian security service.— security service. how transparent our russian _ security service. how transparent our russian court _ security service. how transparent our russian court hearings - our russian court hearings generally?— our russian court hearings aenerall ? . , . generally? kate is connected with es - iona . e generally? kate is connected with espionage and — generally? kate is connected with espionage and high _ generally? kate is connected with espionage and high treason - generally? kate is connected with espionage and high treason are i espionage and high treason are usually heard behind closed doors —— cases connected. the public usually does not know what the person has been accused of or what the evidence is and what it is all about. we only hear about some people being arrested for high treason but we don't know exactly how many people have been arrested on the grounds of high treason and espionage because those cases are all secret. this is a grim example of how the cases are dealt with in russian court so there will be no statements from the fsb and the kremlin, with any

information about what is inside the case. this is a very sad day for russian journalists and all those who are working inside russia. this is a clear signal that they are all under attack and they are all in danger. under attack and they are all in dancer. . ., ., , king charles has addressed germany's federal parliament — the budestag — as part of his first overseas tour as monarch. the king used his speech to highlight relations between the uk and germany. he also thanked the german people for their kindness after his mother queen elizabeth's death. the speech marks the first time a british monarch has addressed germany's parliament. let's hear some of what he had to say. translation: to the president of the budestag,

since i last spoke in this building, the scourge of war is back in europe. the unprovoked invasion of ukraine has inflicted the most unimaginable suffering on so many innocent people. countless lives have been destroyed. freedom and human dignity have been trampled in the most brutal way. the security of europe has been threatened as are our democratic values have been threatened but the world is not sitting by it. and even as we see the appalling scenes of destruction, we can take heart from our unity and

defence of ukraine and of peace and freedom. �* �* ,, germany and the united kingdom have shown vital leadership. figs germany and the united kingdom have shown vital leadership.— shown vital leadership. as europe's two laruest shown vital leadership. as europe's two largest donors _ shown vital leadership. as europe's two largest donors to _ shown vital leadership. as europe's two largest donors to ukraine, - shown vital leadership. as europe's two largest donors to ukraine, we i two largest donors to ukraine, we have responded decisively and taken decisions which might previously have seemed unimaginable. germany's decision to send such significant military support to ukraine is remarkably courageous, important and appreciated.

our berlin correspondent jenny hill reflected on whether we were seeing a more political monarch? i think he's certainly more outspoken than his mother, the late queen, of course. and i suppose there are two things going on here. ukraine and climate change are real focuses of this trip, and that's because they are challenges which he can say britain and europe want to work closely together on. they face both countries. so, both the eu and britain face those challenges. they are united problems. and he said today, you know, both have been united in their response. that's helpful. but i think, too, this is a chance for king charles iii to start showing us what kind of monarch he's going to be. and i think we've got a bit of a taste of that. you know, what i've been struck by is the energy and enthusiasm exhibited so far on this tour. he's got a packed programme of events, but, you know, he can't hold back from going to talk

to people. he wants to meet the people of berlin today before he goes to hamburg tomorrow. and you can see that sort of natural enthusiasm coming through in his speeches and his jokes and the way he's approaching people from all different kinds of backgrounds. and people here in germany are, i think, responding very warmly to that. jenny hill in germany there. brazil's former president jair bolsonaro has returned from the united states after three months of self—imposed exile in the united states. he was welcomed back by hundreds of chanting supporters at brasilia airport. bolsonaro, who never conceded defeat in last year's election, is expected to lead the opposition to leftist president luiz inacio lula da silva. there are fears the government won't meet its carbon reduction targets, part of commitments made in the run up to the un climate conference in glasgow, two years ago. it comes as the government unveils details of its climate strategy, showing how the uk will meet its goal, of reducing greenhouse

emissions to net zero, by 2050. the strategy suggests the government will only "make progress towards" the targets it promised. here's our climate editor, justin rowlatt. the secretary of state for energy security and zero the secretary of state for energy security and net zero was channelling his inner churchill when he announced his new plan. today with president putin weaponising energy across europe, our energy security has become critical. the plan gives more detail on how the government will cut emissions after it lost a legal challenge by activists last summer. it was grant shapps who decided to locate it to a world war ii bunker and rebrand it as a battle for the country's energy security. i think it is the flip side of the same coin, so as you get to more renewables, including nuclear, you do decarbonise the whole energy economy. it's two parts to the same thing.

the problem is, the new report does not make clear whether the uk will meet the targets for carbon reductions it set itself before the global climate meeting in glasgow back in 2020. there are some weasel words. they don't say they are going to meet the targets they set out with great fanfare at cop 26. they said they were going to cut their uk emissions by 68% by 2030, compared to 1990. all the document can say is they will make some progress towards it. the government told the bbc that it fully expects to meet the commitments it made to the un to cut carbon. so what is in this new report? the focus will be boosting renewable energy, mostly offshore wind and solar power. but there will also be more of this, nuclear power.

mr shapps says he wants a quarter of future electricity to come from atomic energy in future. there will also be an effort to boost hydrogen production and technologies to capture and permanently store carbon dioxide emissions on the ground. there will be some new money for electric vehicle chargers and to boost the heat pump industry in the uk and the government says it will expand the effort to insulate draughty homes. the green party claimed today there were very few new policies in the document. the greenest thing about this document is the fact it is full of recycled ideas, from literally years ago. this is a document that completely fails to rise to the challenge of this moment. mr shapps claims his new plan will drive down emissions, as well as cutting electricity prices and ensuring the uk is not dependent on autocrats like president putin for its energy. but don't hold your breath — he admits it will take a while before the new measures lower our bills. justin rowlatt, bbc news, uxbridge. i'm joined now by bob ward. he is policy director,

grantham research institute on climate change at the london school of economics. thanks forjoining us. how has the uk managed to lose a decade in planning? what has it not been doing? it planning? what has it not been doin: ? . , planning? what has it not been doin: ? ., , ., planning? what has it not been doin:? ., , ., , doing? it has not prioritised the transition we _ doing? it has not prioritised the transition we need _ doing? it has not prioritised the transition we need to _ doing? it has not prioritised the transition we need to be - doing? it has not prioritised the| transition we need to be making doing? it has not prioritised the - transition we need to be making and as described, especially in terms of our supply of energy, and dependence on fossilfuels our supply of energy, and dependence on fossil fuels especially natural gas has led to us being not only more dependent and exposed to the risk associated with the reduction of supply which followed the russian invasion of ukraine which led to a spike in the cost of energy but it is also made it more difficult for us to make progress towards our target which is to reduce all of our emissions in our economy essentially

to zero by 2050. we made progress in the 90s and in the last 20 years towards getting cold out of power generators and shifting more from gas to renewables but we have not taken further steps. —— coal out of power generators. the government has put forward plans but i do not think they have put enough plans and most crucially it is not provided an investment plan. because to make these targets and policies come true it is going to need to have investment both by government and private sector and consumers and thatis private sector and consumers and that is lacking at the moment. haw that is lacking at the moment. how can it be compatible to have a net zero target while also potentially we might be hearing, the government announced it is going to allow drilling for oil and gas in the

rosebank field north west of shetland?— rosebank field north west of shetland? , ., ., ., shetland? there is a fundamental contradiction _ shetland? there is a fundamental contradiction here _ shetland? there is a fundamental contradiction here and _ shetland? there is a fundamental contradiction here and we - shetland? there is a fundamental contradiction here and we have i shetland? there is a fundamental - contradiction here and we have known now for a long time that we already have enough reserves of fossil fuels in the world, if we burn them all, the existing reserves, we would exceed the temperature threshold for warming the planet of 1.5 degrees which we have been working towards, and so trying to bring newly developed oil and gas fields is incompatible with that global aim and i'm afraid that the government is right to be focused on the transition to clean energy but it has also got to do the other thing which is to stop our dependence on dirty energy and it does not make any sense to do further development of oil and gas and coal in this country. it is a backward step and it does not make much sense to be promoting green energy on the one hand and then promoting dirty energy on the other hand. investors will

say, where is the government on this? it seems to be hedging its bets, that kind of uncertainty will put off investment which is exactly what we need, we need more investment across the board. 2? investment across the board. 27 years away until 2050 which sounds a long time but it isn't really. how possible, is it possible for the uk to meet those targets if we get our skates on? we to meet those targets if we get our skates on? ~ . ., , ., ~ skates on? we can certainly make much more _ skates on? we can certainly make much more progress _ skates on? we can certainly make much more progress with - skates on? we can certainly make much more progress with the - skates on? we can certainly make l much more progress with the things we know we can do, so we can bring on more renewables, so that is investing but also sorting out the planning system which makes the structure projects much slower. that does not mean getting immunity concerned butjust generally speeding up the pace. —— community consent. we need to make it cheaper and more affordable for households and more affordable for households and businesses to make the switch is we need and we need to get a large—scale switch of people away from gas central heating to other

forms of low carbon heating especially heat pumps and the government has not put forward the money to do that and at the moment it has a scheme which makes buying a new board of the same cost as getting a new air pump which is not going to get that moving and similarly we have to bring down the price for switching from petrol and diesel vehicles towards electric vehicles on the government needs to provide upfront help to consumers to buy these because in the long run through the cost of production, it will come down at the prices will come down anyway, and will be below those of petrol and diesel cars, but in the short term we need the government to do more and they are just not doing enough at the moment. thanks forjoining us. the vatican says pope francis' health is improving after he was taken to hospital with a respiratory condition. he was admitted to gemelli hospital on wednesday, for what was initially said to be a scheduled check—up. it is not known how long

he will stay there. this is the busiest time of the year for pope francis, with many events and services scheduled ahead of easter weekend. a potentially life changing blood test that could affect 1000s of cancer patients is being tested in a major uk wide trial at a hospital in london. doctors hope bowel cancer patients can avoid unnecessary chemotherapy by taking a blood test that detects if surgery has removed all of the tumour. the trial at the royal marsden hospital in london will involve around sixteen hundred people after promising results from a smaller study in australia. 0ur medical editor, fergus walsh, has the details. the c—word is a big word to live with. it's a year since ben cooke was diagnosed with bowel cancer. i haven't taken a single day off work, which has been incredible. after successful surgery, patients like ben are usually offered intravenous chemotherapy to mop up any cancer cells

that might be remaining. but a new type of blood test showed he was cancer free. right, what shall we do? big, enormous chelsea blow dry? so ben, who runs this hair salon in chelsea, was spared the toxic side effects, which can include nerve damage to the hands and feet. work for me is my therapy as such. like, i love going to work, i love myjob, i'm very lucky to do what i do. and if i'd have had the intravenous, i'd feel like i wouldn't have been able to have carried on. but the fact that i didn't have any tingling or anything in my hands has just been an absolute blessing. ben has regular check—ups at the royal marsden, which is leading a trial of the blood test across dozens of hospitals. your cancer was diagnosed in the cecum, in the right colon. the results could transform the way

thousands of bowel cancer patients are treated in the uk every year. i hope through this trial that we generate the evidence to show that this technology, liquid biopsies, can be used to spare patients with stage three bowel cancer unnecessary chemotherapy after the bowel cancer surgery because they don't need it. deep breath in, sharp scratch. so how can a blood test tell if a patient like ben is free of cancer? it looks for tiny fragments of tumor dna circulating in the bloodstream. if there's none present, there's a low risk the cancer will return. these blood tests or liquid biopsies are part of a revolution in the diagnosis and monitoring of cancer. they're being trialled in the uk across lung, breast, as well as bowel cancer, and can detect minute fragments of tumor dna months, even years before they'd show up on a scan.

after she had bowel cancer surgery, artist susanne winter was also spared chemotherapy as a result of the blood test. i just feel incredibly lucky. i know how toxic it is, i know that i would feel terrible. and also your whole everything is you're getting ready for it. you're psyching yourself up for it. so to suddenly hear that you aren't going to need it is just unbelievable. chemotherapy still has a vital role in treating cancer, but if blood test trials are successful, it will mean a brighter future for thousands of patients every year. as well as saving the nhs money. fergus walsh, bbc news. the former brazilian presidentjair bolsonaro has returned from his self—imposed exile in the united states. he landed in the capital on a commercialflight from florida a commercial flight from florida this a commercialflight from florida this morning, the first time he has

been back in brazil since his supporters stormed congress on the 8th of january. 0ur reporter camilla mota is following events from sao paolo. how many people turned out to greet him? a, how many people turned out to greet him? �* ., ., , how many people turned out to greet him? �* ., ._ ., ,., him? a lot, actually, dozens of bolsonaro _ him? a lot, actually, dozens of bolsonaro supporters - him? a lot, actually, dozens of bolsonaro supporters in - him? a lot, actually, dozens of bolsonaro supporters in the - him? a lot, actually, dozens of. bolsonaro supporters in the lobby him? a lot, actually, dozens of- bolsonaro supporters in the lobby of the airport and they were wrapped in the airport and they were wrapped in the brazilian flag and wearing the brazilian national football team jersey and they were chancing the national anthem and jingles against lula but bolsonaro did not show up and he left a private exit and he went straight to the headquarters of his liberal party, the party to which he has been affiliated for the last couple of years. he which he has been affiliated for the last couple of years.— last couple of years. he is facing an investigation, _ last couple of years. he is facing an investigation, tell _ last couple of years. he is facing an investigation, tell us - last couple of years. he is facing an investigation, tell us about i an investigation, tell us about that. , . . an investigation, tell us about

that. , , ., that. he is facing several investigations, _ that. he is facing several investigations, actually, | that. he is facing several. investigations, actually, 60 lawsuits against him in the brazilian superior electoral court and one of them investigates into the 8th of january attacks in brazil where thousands of his supporters stormed government buildings but some of the probes also investigate him spreading disinformation and casting doubt on brazil's electoral system in the 2022 elections and he has also been entangled in this very controversial case involving saudi arabia where he received some very expensive jewellery from the saudi government and he has actually a deposition scheduled for next thursday to explain himself in that case. ~ ., ., , thursday to explain himself in that case. ., ., i, case. what sort of activity is exnected — case. what sort of activity is exnected to _ case. what sort of activity is expected to engage - case. what sort of activity is expected to engage with - case. what sort of activity is expected to engage with in l case. what sort of activity is - expected to engage with in politics from now on? this

expected to engage with in politics from now on?— from now on? this is still a question — from now on? this is still a question that _ from now on? this is still a question that we _ from now on? this is still a question that we are - from now on? this is still a l question that we are waiting from now on? this is still a - question that we are waiting to have answered and in an interview yesterday he said he is too young to retire, he 68, but to the surprise of many he also said he would not leave the opposition against lula, the current incumbent, so i guess it depends how much he will be involved in all the legal trouble that he will face from now on. to see how much he will be able to dive into politics because this is the first time in 32 years that he does not have political immunity so he will be tried by the system and this is a big change for him.— be tried by the system and this is a big change for him. where people are surrised big change for him. where people are surprised he — big change for him. where people are surprised he chose _ big change for him. where people are surprised he chose to _ big change for him. where people are surprised he chose to came _ big change for him. where people are surprised he chose to came back - surprised he chose to came back because he does not have the immunity? —— were people. irate

because he does not have the immunity? -- were people. we are t in: to immunity? -- were people. we are trying to find _ immunity? -- were people. we are trying to find out — immunity? -- were people. we are trying to find out what _ immunity? -- were people. we are trying to find out what led - immunity? -- were people. we are trying to find out what led to - immunity? -- were people. we are trying to find out what led to the i trying to find out what led to the decision and there are a few factors, the brazilian economy has been moving at a slow pace so maybe he thought this was a good time to come back and the opposition still... ~ , �* still... inaudible and he _ still. . . inaudible and he could - still. . . inaudible and he could also j still... inaudible i and he could also be still... inaudible _ and he could also be beginning to strategise for the local campaigns in brazil in the 2024 elections so he went straight from the airport to the headquarters of the liberal party and he has come back, and so his comeback could be him setting up his comeback could be him setting up his strategy for the next month. thanks forjoining us. much more on the background to that story and why bolsonaro put himself into exile in the us on the bbc news website. and on the bbc news app.

hello there. good afternoon. for the last couple of days of march, the generally unsettled theme just doesn't change. more wet, really quite windy weather to come in the forecast for the next couple of days or so for many of us. more rainbows to be spotted today, too. it's a day of sunny spells and heavy, possibly thundery downpours. the showers will tend to move quite quickly along with this brisk south—westerly wind, but we could see some lines of showers set up, particularly from the south—west of england, up through to north london. if you're underneath one of those lines of showers, it's going to be wet. but some dry sunny spells in between. drier across much of scotland today. and it's mild, too, with highs of 13—16c, maybe 17 across the east of england. turning wet and windy across much of southern britain overnight tonight. this deep area of low pressure, strong gusty winds, particularly towards the south coast. some heavy rain. but it's drier for northern england and for scotland, where we see the night's lowest temperatures.

low single figures but a lot milder further south. this deep area of low pressure is going to wind its way northwards and eastwards, out into the north sea by the time we get to the end of the day tomorrow. as you can see, some strong gusty winds for southern coastal areas. and also some rather heavy rain. there are localised weather warnings in force. gusts of wind of around 50—60 miles an hour for the south coast and also the channel islands. exposed coastal areas could see gusts of wind of around 70 mph. the strongest winds transferring further east as the day wears on. some heavy rain, possibly some thundery showers for central, southern england. it's cloudy, it's damp and it's quite cold towards north sea—facing coasts. the best of the sushine on friday for western areas of scotland the best of the sunshine on friday for western areas of scotland and eastern areas of northern ireland. temperatures are a lot lower, peaking between 9 and 12 or 13c in the best of the sunshine. over the weekend, it's going to feel cooler, will tend to be a bit drier on sunday.

on saturday, there's still plenty of wet weather around from this trailing weather front. north sea—facing coasts again see a rather cloudy day. plenty of low cloud, some outbreaks of rain, and still some showers from our trailing front. temperatures only between 8 and 12c with that easterly wind, it's going to feel quite cold again towards eastern—facing coasts. but on sunday, there will be lots of drier, brighter weather. high pressure building in. still rather cloudy, though, across much of scotland and northern ireland.

is europe's cost of living crisis starting to ease? spanish inflation halves in a month and germany also sees a fall. and kuna nostalgia. we report from croatia on why many people thinking ditching their own currency for the euro has led to higher prices. welcome to world business report. i'm jonathan josephs. let's start in europe, where, like the majority of the world, millions of people are struggling with rising prices and the cost of living crisis that has triggered.