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 frontline 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 after the prime minister and leader of the social democrats, sanna marin, conceded defeat after a nail—biting race.

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 frontline 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. earlier, i spoke to sergei goryashko from bbc russian who started

by telling us about what is known from what happened in the 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 she 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? 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 donetsk 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 colony. when donetsk was taken by russia backed forces. 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 supporters of the invasion, 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. at least 29 people are now believed to have died in the wave of tornadoes that's swept through southern and midwestern regions of the united states — from alabama and arkansas to indiana and illinois. presidentjoe biden has declared that a major disaster exists in arkansas, where the storms have flattened homes and destroyed communities. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. a trail of destruction across multiple states. scenes like this in little rock in arkansas are all too familiar.

homes reduced to piles of rubble, fallen trees and debris as far as the eye can see. in this state alone, almost 3000 structures have been destroyed or damaged by the storm. residents have been describing the terrifying moment the tornado hit. 0h. cody coombs was driving his company van when the winds suddenly whipped up and trees started to collapse around him. this video is from his phone and these images are from the vehicle's dash cam. the wind was just absolutely howling. it was constantly making almost like screaming noises. i could hear it blowing through the cracks and the van just kind of pushing it and shaking the whole thing. we have tornadoes in arkansas fairly often, especially around this time of year, but they almost never hit central city locations like that. so for it to actually

have a significant amount of damage on a high population area, it wasjust. i've never seen anything like it in the neighbouring state of tennessee. this view from the air shows entire communities destroyed by the fierce winds. the first thing he did when he looked out and he just because i wanted to know what this he don't even look we made her and the kids get in the bathtub, you know, because that's supposed to be the safest place. and we just all hunkered down because itjust all the doors blew out. she had double doors on the front, double doors in the back, all the glass in the windows. it all blew out. it was the wind started picking up and picking up and picking up. and when you standing, you could feel it. i mean, the whole house, you could feel it shaking. officials say due to the widespread nature of the damage, it could take several days to reach all the areas affected. president biden has promised financial assistance, including immediate help for those people who are now homeless. but recovering from this will take years. peter bowes, bbc news.

to finland now, and the prime minster sana marin has conded defeat to finland now, and the prime minster sanna marin has conded defeat in a tightly—fought election. with nearly all votes counted, the centre—right national coalition party currently hold 48 of the 200 parliamentary seats, with the far—right true finns party on 46 and marin�*s social democrats in third with a3. the ncp will have the first chance at creating a ruling coalition. speaking after the results, their 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. speaking to us shortly before sanna marin conceded defeat, her party's third vice chair, matias makinen told me how despite a swing to the right. 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. does any of the blame for their rise lay at the door of sanna marin,

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. i'm joined now by yussi pullinen, managing editor of the newspaper, helsingen sanomat. thank you very much for being with us. what were the key issues in this election and where did the prime ministerfor short? election and where did the prime minister for short?— election and where did the prime minister for short? election turned on economic— minister for short? election turned on economic issues. _ minister for short? election turned on economic issues. the _ minister for short? election turned on economic issues. the national i on economic issues. the national budget and balancing the budget dominated the discussion is around the election, and the current prime minister sanna marin really couldn't explain how she would go on and have

a believable economic policy going forward, and the national coalition party could do that and i think that is what carried them to victory. 50. is what carried them to victory. so, the national _ is what carried them to victory. so, the national coalition party tasked with forming a coalition, how difficult would that be, do you think? it difficult would that be, do you think? , . , ., ., , think? it will be exceptionally difficult. the _ think? it will be exceptionally difficult. the parties - think? it will be exceptionally difficult. the parties clashed l difficult. the parties clashed around a lot of issues, sanna marin ruled out many of the savings that the national coalition party is planning to do, perhaps in social security and other government spending, so a deal between those two parties looks unlikely. it is possible but with sanna marin needing the social democrats it is going to be difficult. they might have more common ground with the true finns party on the right but there are a lot of issues splitting there are a lot of issues splitting the right, especially by the european union —— european union.

what is their key message? who have they struck a chord with? i what is their key message? who have they struck a chord with?— they struck a chord with? i think they struck a chord with? i think they capitalised _ they struck a chord with? i think they capitalised the _ they struck a chord with? i think they capitalised the energy - they struck a chord with? i think. they capitalised the energy crisis, they capitalised the energy crisis, they talked a lot about it —— about they talked a lot about it —— about the rising energy prices in finland and also immigration, that has been one of the other issues dominating the election, immigration for, to get more labour into finland from other countries and from outside the eu and the true finns where the only party that was saying no, mostly no to these plans, that is also a thing that they are going to clash over with a national coalition party going forward. this with a national coalition party going forward-— with a national coalition party auoin forward. , ., going forward. this new government will of course _ going forward. this new government will of course take _ going forward. this new government will of course take your _ going forward. this new government will of course take your country - will of course take your country into nato, what impact will this new government have on that process, do you think? government have on that process, do ou think? , . you think? very little. there is broad national— you think? very little. there is broad national consensus - you think? very little. there is l broad national consensus around security policy and nato specifically so there is not going to be any major changes in that.

with this swing from the left progressive to the far right, do you think finland is a more divided country than it has been? to some extent, country than it has been? to some extent. yes- _ country than it has been? to some extent, yes. the _ country than it has been? to some extent, yes. the true _ country than it has been? to some extent, yes. the true finns - country than it has been? to some extent, yes. the true finns party i extent, yes. the true finns party has been baked before so this was not that big a step forward for finland but they gained more support, especially at scenes and areas around big cities, so there is some division there, but it strikes a chord especially in economics so there is issues around energy but it is mostly focused around economic issues and division between cities and the surrounding areas. jussi pullinen, thank— and the surrounding areas. jussi pullinen, thank you. _ paris has voted overwhelmingly to banish for—hire electric scooters from the streets of the french capital, delivering a blow to operators and a victory for road safety campaigners. the referendum means the city of light, once a pioneer

in embracing e—scooter services, is set to become the only major european capital to outlaw the widespread devices booked on apps such as lime. the cities residents were asked to weigh in for or against them in a referendum with over 99% voting against, according to official results. i'm joined now by hugh schofield, our paris correspondent. a pretty overwhelming response. yes, and completely predictable. they warmed from the start of the people who voted would not be their users, who voted would not be their users, who tend to be young people and tourists, the people who vote will be people who have a particular animus against these devices, that is what happened. the turnout was very, very, very low, something like

8% of voters turned out, but of them, nearly all were people who turned out simply because they can't stand these scooters, it has been widely reported, everyone in a city like paris has some story about how they were nearly hit by any scooter or in some cases had been hit by e scooters. they are not popular among a lot of people but they are used by an awful lot of people as well, but it was the people who don't like them who turned out to vote. around 100,000 them who turned out to vote. around 100.000 journeys — them who turned out to vote. around 100,000 journeys are _ them who turned out to vote. around 100,000 journeys are completed - 100,000 journeys are completed across the country on these scooters, so is that it for the e scooters, so is that it for the e scooter rental market in paris? yes. scooter rental market in paris? yes, i think s0- — scooter rental market in paris? yes, i think so- i — scooter rental market in paris? yes, i think so. i don't _ scooter rental market in paris? yes, i think so. i don't see _ scooter rental market in paris? yes, i think so. i don't see any _ scooter rental market in paris? yes, i think so. i don't see any way - scooter rental market in paris? 133 i think so. i don't see any way of wiggling out of it. the mayor doesn't like them, even though she introduced them, but she has decided she doesn't want them, there is a lot of politics in this, she is an unpopular mayor, but her sense that the wind on this one and can see that getting behind a ban is useful

for her, so even though she put this to the vote, she made it quite clear that she hoped that the result would be against the free—floating e scooters, and that is exact what has happened. so she will follow the result and that means that by the end of the summer, when the contracts end, we will see an end to these fleets of free—floating e scooters, but not, one has to sort of say immediately not easy scooters in general because privately owned scooters are perfectly allowed and will continue to be used and there are many of them. 50 will continue to be used and there are many of them.— will continue to be used and there are many of them. so a real blow for ease scooter— are many of them. so a real blow for ease scooter rental _ are many of them. so a real blow for ease scooter rental companies. - are many of them. so a real blow for| ease scooter rental companies. could this be replicated across the country? i this be replicated across the count ? ., ., , ., this be replicated across the count? ., .,, country? i am not sure about across the country _ country? i am not sure about across the country but — country? i am not sure about across the country but possibly _ country? i am not sure about across the country but possibly but - country? i am not sure about across the country but possibly but sadly . the country but possibly but sadly ran europe and around the world this is an issue which city authorities are wrestling with. some cities are going hell for leather into easily to services, others are much more reluctant, and i think when a big

city like paris, which was a pioneer in all this, decides to do a 180 degrees turn and stop them, that will obviously weigh in the balance of cities around the world, paris was a bellwether in this, and leading other cities into ease scooter services, and now potentially it is going to lead other cities out of it.- potentially it is going to lead other cities out of it. thank you for the update _ other cities out of it. thank you for the update from _ other cities out of it. thank you for the update from paris. - 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. this is a routine meeting that happens every month involving 23

members which includes saudi arabia, russia and the uae, so the fact that this announcement was made yesterday before is something that has come as a surprise, and what is interesting is it is not a decision taken by the group which is 0pec plus, these are voluntary cuts that have been made by the countries, and as we were mentioning, this amounts to 1 million barrels of oil per day, which, in a sense, translates to almost 1.6% of daily global supplies. we are in a scenario where the global economy is under pressure, the cost of living is rising, and what is going to happen now is this could lead to oil prices go now is this could lead to oil prices 9° up now is this could lead to oil prices go up further, which will put more pressure on inflation and worsen the cost of living crisis.— cost of living crisis. yes, so, it has a lot _ cost of living crisis. yes, so, it has a lot of— cost of living crisis. yes, so, it has a lot of potential - cost of living crisis. yes, so, it has a lot of potential fallout, l has a lot of potential fallout, hasn't it? what is going to happen at the meeting tomorrow if these countries have made this decision unilaterally? so countries have made this decision unilaterally?— unilaterally? so far we have seen six or seven _ unilaterally? so far we have seen six or seven countries _ unilaterally? so far we have seen six or seven countries that - unilaterally? so far we have seen six or seven countries that have i six or seven countries that have announced, these have done this

voluntarily, there is a good chance that more countries and more oil exporters could join in on an as voluntary cuts which means the content could go up, the amount could go up, further squeezing our supplies. 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 indicate that demand for oil will go up as it comes to an end. if we reach a scenario with less supply but going up, they could go up further. 0il but going up, they could go up further. oil prices had stabilised but now there are fears, according to many analysts, that prices could go to many analysts, that prices could 9° up, to many analysts, that prices could go up, ijy to many analysts, that prices could go up, by how much we don't know, but they could go up from where we are now. ~ ., ., ., ., ., are now. what fallout will that have for consumers _ are now. what fallout will that have for consumers like _ are now. what fallout will that have for consumers like you _ are now. what fallout will that have for consumers like you and - are now. what fallout will that have for consumers like you and me? - for consumers like you and me? absolutely, we have already seen what happened last year after the war in ukraine started, oil prices crossed the $100 barrel mark and

gasoline prices 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 is leading oil producers cut production is it basically sends a negative sentiment in the market which leads to higher prices. we have already seen that central banks around the world have been raising interest rates and so what is going to happen now is if oil prices go up, it is going to put more pressure on inflation and that could force central banks to keep interest rates higher, and this increases the risk of a recession, a global recession or at least recession in some parts of the world, so there are all these kinds of risks and we will have to see how the seven veils and what impact it will have in the weeks to come, probably. 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 maybe 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 cornwell, 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. we have 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 detention. 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. got into the queue about 2:30am and we were about number 33 and we are now down to 31 and we reckon we have 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 that paid good money for a holiday and basically i think some of them now want to go home. the blame game has begun. the port of dover said ferry companies accepted extra easter bookings, adding pressure to the system. the companies said they 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 is no longerfreedom of movement to the continent, so passport checks are much more rigorous and they happen here, on english soil. so, when you have 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 have seen an acute pressure of bookings of coaches and journeys across the channel. it is a very busy time of year. there has been bad weather but they have 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, 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 they know they can cope. there will be an early test of resilience in a few days, 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. thousands of people in st peter's square there. that is it from me for the moment. you can reach me on twitter, i will be back shortly with a reminder of the headlines.

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 1a 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 1a 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. sixteen 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. the bbc has been told there are �*positive updates' in the case of british men, who were arrested by the taliban in afghanistan earlier this year. in finland's general election, the centre—right leader, petteri 0rpo, has claimed victory after the prime minister and leader of the social democrats, sanna marin, conceded defeat after a nail—biting race. ms marin governed with a coalition of five parties, all led by women.