this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. russia says a pro—kremlin military blogger has been killed in an explosion at a cafe in st petersburg where he was holding a meeting. 16 others have been injured. vladlen tatarsky wrote blogs on the telegram platform from the front line supporting the russian invasion of ukraine. and at least 26 people are now known to have died after severe storms batter the north—east of the united states. several of the world's largest oil exporters, including saudi arabia, have announced cuts in production to maintain prices as demand decreases. in finland's general election, the centre—right leader, petteri orpo, has claimed victory the bbc has been told there are "positive updates"

in the case of british men, two of whom are pictured here, who were arrested by the taliban in afghanistan earlier this year. in nomine patris, et filii, et spiritus sancti. amen. pope francis presides over palm sunday mass at the vatican — just a day after leaving hospital in rome for treatment for bronchitis. russia says a pro—kremlin military blogger has been killed in a blast in a cafe in st petersburg. police say several others have been injured in the incident. the city is the second largest in russia after the capital, moscow. vladlen tatarsky was one of a handful of reporters writing blogs on the telegram platform from the front line and was a vocal supporter of russia's war in ukraine. these are pictures before the explosion. tatarsky was a guest speaker at an event hosted by the cafe in st petersburg

when the bomb went off. it is not clear at this time who's responsible for the blast. the russian foreign ministry has paid tribute to victim. i'm joined now by sergei goryashko, journalist at bbc russian. welcome to you, what more do we know about this incident, what happened in that cafe. minutes ago we received an update from russian state news agencies, according to their sources, a person who allegedly has given a statue, small statue to vladlen tatarsky and it is believed after that, the blast went off, so that person is a woman, she is like in her 20s and she has been detained already in st petersburg, the investigators are checking whether is responsible for the attack or not, it is not clear yet,

whether she has been responsible and that the bomb was exactly in that statue. but, nevertheless, the blast occurred just minutes after it was presented, that gift. tell us more about vladlen tatarsky, who was he, what hid he do?— what hid he do? vladlen tatarsky, whose real — what hid he do? vladlen tatarsky, whose real name _ what hid he do? vladlen tatarsky, whose real name is _ what hid he do? vladlen tatarsky, whose real name is maksym - what hid he do? vladlen tatarsky, i whose real name is maksym fomin, what hid he do? vladlen tatarsky, - whose real name is maksym fomin, is a military blogger, and actually competent in ukrainian—russia conflict. he has been born in the bon nets region, has been living and working in donetsk region, most of his life, and just before 2014, he has been accused of bank robbery and he has been serving his sentence in a peanle colony. when donetsk was taken bin russia backed forces. vladlen tatarsky has been released

and hejoined the vladlen tatarsky has been released and he joined the separatists military unit. he has been also fighting in the russian ukrainian war on the side of russia since the early days, as a part of russian military forces, then, he started his career as a military blogger, he is one of the most vocal support terses of the invasion, —— supporters, he has passed something like 500,000 subscribers on his telegram channel. this is a social network popular in russia, and there he is vocally criticising those who oppose the invasion, he is one of the most well—known pro kremlin supporters, so he has been a popular blogger, and quite a well—known soldier, of the russian backed military units.— soldier, of the russian backed military units. thank you for the u date.

authorities in the united states have been assessing the damage caused by severe storms and tornadoes. at least 26 people are now known to have died, as the storms ripped through the south and the midwest, leaving a trail devastation. hardest hit were tennessee, arkansas and indiana. in illinois, one person was killed — when a theatre roof collapsed in chicago. earlier i asked our north america correspondent, peter bowes, about whether the scale of the storms have taken people by surprise. people living in these communities are used to tornadoes, but nothing on this scale. i think the most frightening thing is that these tornadoes come very quickly. i think a couple of days ago, some video that went viral of a local weather forecaster in arkansas noticing a tornado sweeping through a town as he was live on air. clearly, he hadn't predicted it in that moment. and that is the problem for people living in these places, that there's very little to do, in terms of preparation. we hear a lot about hurricanes. hurricanes sometimes, of course, much wider in terms of the strong winds. and we see them coming — the forecasters see them coming.

people have some warning, these tornadoes in many cases that have come out of the blue, and that's why the devastation and tragically the loss of life is so bad. and the question always remains, what can be done to prevent these situations from arising? and it seems the answer to that is really very little. yeah, and president biden has been speaking and giving his reassurances of help. yes, and the phrase that we always hearfrom president biden situations like this is that he is going to help communities to "build back, better". what he means is provide the financial resources to build homes again and make them more rigid, make them more sustainable, in terms of perhaps resisting some of these strong winds. but that's a very big ask, and especially when we're talking about some of the poorest communities in the united states, some of these structures that have been blown down have been quite flimsy.

so the task for local authorities and the federal government, in terms of providing that assistance, that practical assistance over the very long term, is huge. quite honestly, it's going to take years and years for some of these communities to recover. yeah, just moments of destruction, as you say, will take many, many months to repair. and a major disaster has actually been declared in arkansas, hasn't it? what does that mean, in effect? yeah, exactly. that's the terminology that that is used that really kickstarts the financial process. so there'll be financial aid for people in those communities people that in a moment, in a heartbeat have been made homeless. so there'll be assistance for those people. but then of course longer term there'll be low cost loans, in terms of rebuilding under the financial assistance. one of the problems we're hearing about in that community, and in other places like tennessee,

is the widespread nature of these tornadoes means it's actually very difficult for local officials to get in to assess the damage and to determine what kind of assistance is needed. so this is going to go on for several days. and we're hearing from the federal government as well, that while those inspections are going on, there is a very strong likelihood that similar announcements will be made, in terms of major disaster zones for other towns and cities in a wide number of different states. to finland now, and the centre—right national coalition party have claimed victory in a tightly fought election. with nearly all votes counted, the ncp currently hold 48 of the 200 parliamentary seats, with the far—right true finns party on 46 and prime minister sanna marin�*s social democrats in third with 43. the winner of the vote will have the first chance at creating a ruling coalition. speaking after the results, the ncp leader, petteri 0rpo told of the change his government

would bring in. this was great victory, i think the finnish people want change, they want change and now i will start negotiations, open negotiations with all parties, and i have one crucial issue, and it is, we have to fix our economy, we have to do reforms to boost our economy and growth. sustainable growth and at the same time, because our campaign, you saw how difficult it was, the discussion between the parties it was, i want to build trust and cooperation between parties, and build up the strong majority government. i'm joined now by matias makynen, third vice chair of the social democrats party. welcome to you, thank you for being with us, it looks like your party

has lost, the prime minister is out, has lost, the prime minister is out, has she conceded defeat? h0. has lost, the prime minister is out, has she conceded defeat?— has she conceded defeat? no, we haven't conceded _ has she conceded defeat? no, we haven't conceded anything - has she conceded defeat? no, we haven't conceded anything yet, i has she conceded defeat? no, we| haven't conceded anything yet, we are still waiting for the last result, we are happy with have been added mandates in different constituencies but we are still waiting for the result. haw constituencies but we are still waiting for the result. how long are ou waiting for the result. how long are you prepared _ waiting for the result. how long are you prepared to _ waiting for the result. how long are you prepared to wait, _ waiting for the result. how long are you prepared to wait, as _ waiting for the result. how long are you prepared to wait, as we - waiting for the result. how long are you prepared to wait, as we saw . you prepared to wait, as we saw there, a victory speech from your opponents?— there, a victory speech from your o- onents? ., ., _, , , opponents? yeah, of course, there is is a aa- opponents? yeah, of course, there is is a gap already. _ opponents? yeah, of course, there is is a gap already, and _ opponents? yeah, of course, there is is a gap already, and we _ opponents? yeah, of course, there is is a gap already, and we are - opponents? yeah, of course, there is is a gap already, and we are now- is a gap already, and we are now seeing the final results coming in quite soon. what has gone wrong, though, for sanna marin�*s election, whatever happens it is not going to be a resounding victory, everyone if it is possible for her to snatch one now? it is possible for her to snatch one now? ., , , is possible for her to snatch one now? . , , ., , is possible for her to snatch one now? ., , , ., , ., now? it has been really tough, eriod, now? it has been really tough, period. in _ now? it has been really tough, period, in whole _ now? it has been really tough, period, in whole of— now? it has been really tough, period, in whole of the - now? it has been really tough, | period, in whole of the europe, now? it has been really tough, - period, in whole of the europe, now we are seeing a big inflation of course, and it has been a great debate on election, now we see debate on election, now we see debate about the economic policies,

national coalition party is running on, austerity measure, and we rebelieving more in growth, investing in green new deal and growth, and these are the alternatives that people have had to be chosen in this election. 50. alternatives that people have had to be chosen in this election.— be chosen in this election. so, you not conceding _ be chosen in this election. so, you not conceding defeat _ be chosen in this election. so, you not conceding defeat but - be chosen in this election. so, you not conceding defeat but the - not conceding defeat but the national coalition party are claiming victory. would you be prepared to work with them and form a coalition if that is what it comes to? , ., ., ._ , a coalition if that is what it comes to? , . ., ~, a coalition if that is what it comes to? , . . . , ., to? yes, we are always ready for negotiation _ to? yes, we are always ready for negotiation and _ to? yes, we are always ready for negotiation and to _ to? yes, we are always ready for negotiation and to form - to? yes, we are always ready for negotiation and to form a - to? yes, we are always ready for - negotiation and to form a government after this kind of result, is not going to be easy for anyone, but we are ready to negotiate of course. what would the negotiations look like, do you have any red lines, with dealing with this party? fiur with dealing with this party? our riorities with dealing with this party? oi" priorities have been with dealing with this party? qij' priorities have been in investing and social and welfare service and education, if there will be tough cuts and austerity measures on education an social and health care, that will be our red line. the education an social and health care, that will be our red line.— that will be our red line. the far riaht that will be our red line. the far right have _ that will be our red line. the far right have gained _ that will be our red line. the far right have gained a _ that will be our red line. the far right have gained a lot - that will be our red line. the far right have gained a lot of - that will be our red line. the far| right have gained a lot of ground that will be our red line. the far i right have gained a lot of ground in

this, how divided is your country? i wouldn't say that finland is divided, we see quite hard times and our security policy is the main topic on the discussion, and on these theme, finland is united, but of course, seeing a far right movement, rising in these times is a bit worrying but we think it is because of the inflation and the hard times people are having, with energy prices and food prices and so on. , ., , energy prices and food prices and so on. h, i. energy prices and food prices and so on. h, , ., h, ., on. does any of the blame for their rise la at on. does any of the blame for their rise lay at the _ on. does any of the blame for their rise lay at the door— on. does any of the blame for their rise lay at the door of _ on. does any of the blame for their rise lay at the door of sanna - on. does any of the blame for theirj rise lay at the door of sanna marin, not uniting the country? i rise lay at the door of sanna marin, not uniting the country?— not uniting the country? i haven't seen anything — not uniting the country? i haven't seen anything like _ not uniting the country? i haven't seen anything like that, - not uniting the country? i haven't seen anything like that, it's - not uniting the country? i haven't seen anything like that, it's more of the people's economies, the economy, and the hard economic times that have been affecting the election debate. these are the choices that people make and we will

be negotiating with these parties any how. thank you very much for being with us from helsinki.— several of the world's largest oil exporters have announced cuts in production amounting to more than a million barrels per day. the announcements by saudi arabia, iraq and several gulf states come amid fears of a global economic slowdown reducing demand for oil. earlier i spoke to bbc middle east business correspondent sameer hashmi, and asked him how much of a surprise the decision was. it has come as a huge surprise, because on monday, 0pec plus, the oil cartel, was supposed to have a formal meeting to discuss productions. this happens every month, involving 23 members, which includes saudi arabia, russia, the uae. so the fact this announcement was made just a day before is something that has come as a surprise, and what is interesting it is not a decision taken by group, which is 0pec plus, these are voluntary cuts made by the individual countries.

as we were mentioning it amounts to one million barrels a day, which translates to almost 1.6% of daily global supplies. now we are in a scenario where the global economy is under pressure, the cost of living is rising, and what will is this could lead to oil prices going up further, which will put more pressure on inflation and worsen the cost of living crisis. yes, so it has a lot of potential fall out, hasn't it? what is going to happen at the meeting tomorrow, if these countries have made this decision unilaterally? so, so far we have seen about six or seven countries that have announced, and they have done this voluntarily, so there is a good chance that more countries, more oil exporters could join in and announce cuts, which means the quantum could go up, the amount could go up, further squeezing oil supplies. now we are in a scenario

where oil production supplies are already tight, which means less supply, and there are multiple reports that indicate that demand for oil will go up as the year comes to an end. so if we reach a scenario where there is less supply but demand is going up, that means oil prices could go up further. we have seen in the last few months that oil prices have kind of stabilised, but now there are fears, according to many analysts that prices could go up. we don't know by how much, but they could go up. what fall out will that across the world for ordinary consumers like you and me? absolutely. we have seen what happened last year, after the, the war in ukraine started, oil prices crossed the $100 barrel mark, oil and gas were up across the globe. it is difficult to say where will the prices go from here, but usually what happens in a scenario like this, if leading oil producers cut production, that it basically sends a negative sentiment to the market, which in turn leads to higher

prices, and we have seen that central banks around the world have been raising interest rates, and so what is going to happen now is, which a lot of analysts are talking about, if oil prices go up it will put more pressure on inflation, and that could force central banks to keep interest rates high, and this increases the risk of recession, a global recession or at least recession in some parts of the world. so there are these kind of risks and we will have to see what impact it will have in the weeks to come probably. huw has all the sport. hello, and thanks forjoining us. chelsea have sacked manager graham potter after less than seven months in charge, following saturday's 2—0 home defeat by aston villa. they're the second premier league team to part company with their manager on sunday, after brendan rodgers left leicester city. for potter, saturday's loss to villa was his 11th in 31 games since replacing thomas tuchel at stamford bridge in september. chelsea have spent nearly

£600 million on new players since the end of last season, including a premier league record deal for argentinian enzo fernandez. but they're in the bottom half of the league with ten games to go of the season, 12 points off the top four. meanwhile, there were two matches in the premier league on sunday, with newcastle united gaining a little revenge for their league cup final defeat to manchester united, winning 2—0 to go above them into third in the table on goal difference. elsewhere, west ham won the battle of the bottom two. their 1—0 win over southampton takes them out of the relegation zone, while their opponents stay at the foot of the table. but newcastle's win firmly puts them in the hunt for a champions league place. important win, think it was most importantly, a really good performance from the player, i thought from start to finish, really high energy, real quality, a lot of chances created so delighted. we kept knocking on the door, tribute to our fitness level, we got

stronger throughout the game even though we were giving so much and our substitutes made an impact, and that was and that was a huge part. world champion max verstappen won a chaotic and controversial australian grand prix that finished under a safety car after a number of crash—affected restarts. george russell actually took the lead at the start from second on the grid, overtaking verstappen. a couple of early collisions mixed things up, and soon enough, verstappen was into the lead. russell's race came to a fiery end on lap 18. the race had three red flags, and two grid restarts — the last of which saw no fewer than three separate incidents, with both alpine cars taking each other out. it meant the race was effectively done then, with only one processional lap to go — giving verstappen his second win of the season, ahead of lewis hamilton. the second red flag, think that was really unnecessary today, that could have easily been solved with a virtual safety car or a safety car at most, but, yes, we got that red

flag and then, you basically create more trouble, because then you go out on cold tyre, the safety car is driving superslow and you arrive, you know, to the grid with stone cold tyre, and you could see everyone in turn one was having trouble, especially the cars in dirty air, nobody crashes on purpose, but everyone went wide or had a touch, and it was very chaotic. and that's all the sport for now. the bbc has been told there are "positive updates" in the case of the british men, arrested by the taliban in afghanistan. the government said it had been in negotiations following the news of their detention. yetunde yusuf has more. back under taliban control since the summer of 2021, now it's emerged that three british men are being held in custody

by the taliban in afghanistan. so it may be i might be evacuated tonight, maybe next week, maybe a month. it's understood one of them is miles routledge, who had to be evacuated in the final days of the occupation in 2021. he's gained a social media following visiting countries deemed dangerous by the authorities. two other british men have also been arrested — kevin cornwall, a 53—year—old charity worker and paramedic, and another man who hasn't been named. the organisation supporting the families of the two men say after three months, they finally had contact. we're not really talking about a hostage situation with controlled language. they were able to discuss personal matters, able to confirm the health and well—being of the individuals. and this is really the first time that we've seen this in any of this style of detentions. it was also an enormous

diplomatic step forwards. meanwhile, the home secretary says people should be cautious about travelling to dangerous countries. if there are risks to people's - safety, if they're a british citizen abroad, then the uk government is going to do whatever it takes i to ensure that they're safe. the presidium network say negotiations are still under way, and that there's hope for a positive outcome. yetunde yusuf, bbc news. passengers arriving at dover for the easter getaway to france have faced lengthy waits, despite extra ferries being laid on overnight to clear a backlog. a statement from the port of dover says all of the weekend's coach traffic is now contained in the port ready for processing through immigration controls. marc ashdown reports. inch by inch, things are slowly moving at the port of dover, but coachloads of schoolchildren destined for easter breaks have faced lengthy delays.

we got here, down into the queue, about 2:30am this morning. we were about number 33, we're now down to 31, and we reckon we've probably got another 12 hours left waiting. this group are en route to luxembourg but have been queueing since yesterday. i've got mostly elderly passengers on that have paid good money for a holiday, i think some of them now want to go home. now the blame game has begun. the port of dover said ferry companies accepted extra easter bookings, which added pressure to the system. the companies say they've shared all booking information in advance and have laid on extra crossings overnight to help get things moving. the port is also blaming french border processes. since the uk left the eu, there's no longer freedom of movement to the continent, so passport checks are much more rigorous. and they happen here on english soil, so when you've got, say, a coachload of 80 schoolchildren, every single person has to get off,

have their passport examined and stamped. freight traffic and cars haven't been affected. the home secretary said the delays are not down to brexit. they've seen an acute pressure of bookings, of coaches and journeys across the channel. it is a very busy time of year. there's been bad weather, but they've been putting on extra journeys overnight. last summer, there were huge queues at the start of the school holidays, and the christmas getaway saw problems because of strikes. how, then, to prevent a repeat in the future? i can imagine ministers are going to call in the port of dover, - the ferry companies, and say, "right, we can't have this again," so therefore there will be mandated capacity limits, which will be carefully worked out by the port, by the ferry companies, so that they know that they can cope. there will be an early test of resilience in a few days' time, with large numbers expected to travel over the easter bank holiday. pope francis has led

palm sunday mass at the vatican, just a day after being discharged from hospital, following treatment for bronchitis. the pontiff, who's 86, appeared before worshippers in st peter's square, at the start of one of the busiest weeks in the christian calendar. 0ur europe correspondent, jenny hill, has that story. there was a determination about pope francis this morning, a desire, perhaps, to get back to work. butjust a day after he left hospital, he cut a rather frail figure, his voice at times rather hoarse as he led the palm sunday mass. translation: i thank you for “oining me and also for your prayers, _ which intensified in recent days. i truly thank you. applause. for worshippers here, a prayer answered. it's the most important time of the church year.

and pope francis is now expected to preside over a gruelling schedule of easter services. but his hospital stay has intensified speculation about his longer term future. pope francis has indicated repeatedly that he would stand down were his health to fail him. he's 86 years old, he has a number of significant health complaints, and many here wonder whether that time might come sooner rather than later. for now, celebration. the pope clearly delighted to be back amongst his people, reassuring the faithful of his devotion. jenny hill, bbc news, rome. don't forget, you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @samanthatvnews. i will be back a little late ever

with more. thanks for watching. hello there. good evening. high pressure dominated today, and there was a lot of spring sunshine, plenty of blue skies, always best across england, but also some sunshine across much of wales, too, but cloudier across scotland and northern ireland. and for north sea—facing coasts, there was a chilly and a brisk north—easterly wind blowing. we've still got that onshore breeze blowing tomorrow. but generally, over the next few days, it's dry and it's fine, very settled with high pressure dominating, particularly away from the north and the west. so, here's our high out towards the east. it's blocking all of these weather fronts trying to make inroads from the west, but they will eventually push eastwards through the middle of next week. until then, it is looking largely dry. certainly dry tonight with clear skies. temperatures are likely to drop below freezing. but a frost into tomorrow morning, particularly for parts

of england and wales. you can see that marked in the blue on the map. but it's milder for scotland and for northern ireland, where there is a bit more cloud around, a bit more of a breeze blowing too. as we head throughout the day on monday, there will be a lot of sunshine. yes, it's a cold and a frosty start, but it will feel pleasantly warm in the best of the sunshine. it's got a bit more strength to it now at this time of year. there's still that onshore breeze out towards north sea—facing coasts, so, here, it will feel a little cooler, but temperatures generally between 10 and 14 celsius. more cloud building throughout the day out towards the north and the west. and that's because we've got an approaching weather front, of course, introducing outbreaks of rain through the day on tuesday to the western isles, throwing a bit more cloud further eastwards, into eastern scotland. the best of the sunshine on tuesday, again, for england and wales. temperatures peaking between 11 and 14 celsius. now, as we head through the middle part of the week, then, our weather fronts gradually start to ease their way eastwards, giving us a lot more clouds and outbreaks of rain, most of the rain in

the west on wednesday. but the rain transfers further eastwards, fizzling out generally as it goes through the day on thursday. there could be some sunshine out towards the west, perhaps, on thursday. here's the outlook for the rest of the week for our capital cities. temperatures around about orjust slightly above the seasonal average, bit of rain through the middle of the week. and then as we head into the easter bank holiday weekend, things settle down again. we've got high pressure building back in, probably a bit more cloud, but still some sunshine. temperatures just above the seasonal average, possibly some rain on easter monday.

this is bbc news, the headlines. the russian government says one of it's leading war bloggers has been killed in an explosion at a cafe in st petersburg, russia's second largest city. 16 other people were injured. vladlen tatarsky was a vocal supporter of russia's war in ukraine and was holding a meeting at the venue. authorities in the united states have been assessing the damage caused by storms and tornadoes. at least 26 people are known to have died and dozens are missing — after the severe weather left a trail of devastation. the bbc has been told there are �*positive updates' in the case of british men, two of whom are pictured here, who were arrested by the taliban in afghanistan earlier this year. several of the world's largest oil exporters, including saudi arabia, have announced a surprise