welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... 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. finland's centre—right leader, petteri orpo, has claimed victory in the general election after the prime minister and social democrat leader, sanna marin, conceded defeat. at least 29 people are now known to have died after severe storms batter the north—east of the united states. parisians vote by a huge margin to end on—street rentals of e—scooters.

hello and welcome to the programme. we start today with russia. it says a pro—kremlin military blogger has been killed in a blast in a cafe in st petersburg. police say 16 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. i'm joined now by sergei goryashko, journalist at bbc russian. thank you so much forjoining us on the programme. i know information is coming in fast and fluid but if you could talk us through what we know at this point. for could talk us through what we know at this point-— at this point. for now we know that the explosion _ at this point. for now we know that the explosion was _ at this point. for now we know that the explosion was around _ at this point. for now we know that the explosion was around 6pm - at this point. for now we know that | the explosion was around 6pm local time in st petersburg at a cafe where dozens of people gathered to meet vladen tatarsky and to listen to his account on the ongoing russia ukraine war. the blast went offjust after vladen tatarsky received a gift from one the visitors. he was given a statue, a small statue of himself covered with gold paint. he put it on the table and right after that, minutes after, the blast went off. russia reports that the statue

had been given to him by a woman in her 20s who is actually participating in anti—war protests in st petersburg. however, it has not yet been confirmed that she is anyhow responsible for this attack, and there were reports from the russian state media that she has already been detained, but they were not confirmed yet. this already been detained, but they were not confirmed yet.— not confirmed yet. as you point out, lots of information _ not confirmed yet. as you point out, lots of information coming _ not confirmed yet. as you point out, lots of information coming in, - not confirmed yet. as you point out, lots of information coming in, some | lots of information coming in, some of it unconfirmed at this point in time and i know you and your team must be sifting through the details but can you give a sense of who this blogger was and how important he was in political life in russia. fledgling tatarsky whose real name is maxim fighting —— he lived there for most of his life and in 2014 he

was serving a prison sentence in a penal colony for a bank robbery. just right after pro—russian separatist forces took control over donetsk, maxim was liberated and he joined the palo —— paramilitary separatist forces of the so—called donetsk people's rep. he has been fighting with the ukrainian military —— against the military since 2014. when the invasion started, he joined the russian army and was on the front line. he afterwards he started his telegram channel and became popular in russia. he is one of those vocal pro—kremlin supporters who actually supports the war and who actually supports the war and who would like the kremlin to be even harder on ukrainians and to be

hard in this war so vladen tatarsky has often criticised the russian ministry of defence for not being really hard on this invasion. he has been quite a popular figure amongst those vocal supporters of the invasion but i cannot say that he was anyhow popular, politically. he didn't run a party, he didn't try to run for elections are anything like that. g , , ., run for elections are anything like that. , , ., , , run for elections are anything like that. , ,.,, , ., ., that. just give us a sense of what ha--ens that. just give us a sense of what happens next. — that. just give us a sense of what happens next. if _ that. just give us a sense of what happens next, if you _ that. just give us a sense of what happens next, if you don't - that. just give us a sense of what happens next, if you don't mind, | happens next, if you don't mind, briefly. happens next, if you don't mind, briefl . ~ , ., , briefly. well, it is a very important. _ briefly. well, it is a very important, of _ briefly. well, it is a very important, of course, i briefly. well, it is a very i important, of course, what briefly. well, it is a very - important, of course, what has happened today, it was an attack in the second largest city in russia and i would believe that the security forces will try to do everything in their power to bring someone to justice everything in their power to bring someone tojustice and everything in their power to bring someone to justice and to create the sense that their case has been solved. 0f

sense that their case has been solved. of course, they will probably blame the ukrainians. however, the ukrainian authorities deny any involvement in this attack. thank you so much forjoining us on new state with that story. —— newsday. to finland now, and the prime minster sana marin has conceded 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 43. 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 earlier, matias makynen, third vice chair of sanna marin�*s social democrats party said that he does not believe finns are divided despite a swing to the right. i wouldn't say that for land is divided. we see quite hard times, and our security policy is the main topic on discussion. ——i wouldn't say that finland is divided. we see quite hard times, and our security policy is the main topic on discussion. on these themes, finland is quite united.

of course, seeing the far right movement rising in these times is a bit worrying, but we think it is because of inflation and the hard times people are having with energy prices and food prices and so on. jussi pullinen is the managing editor of the helsingin sanomat newspaper. he explained why the ncp may have trouble forming a governing coalition, despite the right winning the majority of seats. it is going to be exceptionally difficult. the parties clashed around a lot of issues. sanna marin ruled out many of the savings 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 leading 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 the right, especially around the european union.

the other issue dominating the election was immigration, to get more labour into finland from other countries and from outside the eu. the true finns where the only party that was saying no, mostly no to these plans, and that is also a thing that they are going to clash over with the national coalition party going forward. 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, bleep. 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 hejust... because i wanted to know. he said, "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 at once. the wind started picking up and picking up and picking up. 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.

i'm joined now by robert medley, senior reporter at the fort smith times recorder, the local newspaper for western arkansas. it's great to great you on the programme, robert, andjust it's great to great you on the programme, robert, and just to say, the community right now must be reeling from the devastation we have just seen in that report there. what are the urgent priorities for people on the ground? give us a sense of the situation on the ground. weill. the situation on the ground. well, for little rock, _ the situation on the ground. well, for little rock, there _ the situation on the ground. well, for little rock, there are - the situation on the ground. well, for little rock, there are two - for little rock, there are two elementary schools tomorrow, the buses are going to run because they need to test to see the buses can get through certain areas, on 17 bus routes that are affected, because of trees. and being an afternoon tornado that caused destruction,

there was time, because of alerts, to get people to safety on friday, and only one fatality has been now confirmed, it was in north little rock. but it is they clean—up of the streets, the tree debris. power is on. furtherto streets, the tree debris. power is on. further to the east and up to memphis where the memphis commercial appeal steam has been covering what happened in arkansas, i am covering that entire other end of the state and to the west, but when four people died and it was a direct hit. as this hit in the afternoon and the most populated city in the state, 2:30pm, and 200,000 people, it may have more video and pictures on

social than ever. the alet�*s have helps, i believe, save lives and all the media is commended, and as the governor said in news conference earlier, arkansas is like a big small town and so people really help each other, there is a town of volunteerism, relief, and nonprofit and getting food to people. and it is almost like the people in arkansas, this is a derail. they have been drilled and they are putting it into action.- putting it into action. robert, those heart-warming - putting it into action. robert, those heart-warming tales i putting it into action. robert, l those heart-warming tales are those heart—warming tales are wonderful to hear in the midst of this devastation but if you don't mind, just briefly, is more bad weather expected ahead? what mind, just briefly, is more bad weather expected ahead? what are --eole weather expected ahead? what are peeple worried _ weather expected ahead? what are people worried about? _ weather expected ahead? what are people worried about? so, - weather expected ahead? what are people worried about? so, yes, - people worried about? so, yes, tuesday, it is interesting with more schools could start closing or going remote in advance of tornado

predictions. the outlook, the national weather service, the outlook in advance almost a day or two of what could be an outbreak, and i think we are hearing tuesday now, so, you know, that is mostly schools close when there is going to be ice, not tornadoes yet. and in little rock, some schools did let out early in central arkansas, little rock public schools did not cancel events but i have heard parents complained they were children going home with tornado sirens going off.— children going home with tornado sirens going off. goodness. robert medley there. _ sirens going off. goodness. robert medley there, senior _ sirens going off. goodness. robert medley there, senior reporter, - sirens going off. goodness. robert l medley there, senior reporter, thank you so much forjoining us on the programme, iam you so much forjoining us on the programme, i am sorry to cut you off that way because we do need to move onto another item the show.

i want to bring you an update on the case of the british men arrested by the taliban in afghanistan. the bbc has been told there are �*positive updates'. 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. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... amen.

pope francis presides over palm sunday mass at the vatican just a day after leaving hospital in rome for treatment for bronchitis. the accident that happened here was of the sort that at cannes at worst produced meltdown. in this case, the precautions did not work well enough to prevent old fears. the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine.

the president was out of the hotel where he had been addressing a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become a symbol of paris. the eiffel tower's birthday is being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by mr pfeiffer. this is newsday on the bbc. parisians have voted by a big margin to end on—street rentals of e—scooters. the city's mayor put the question to a popular referendum on sunday following a growing number of complaints. for more, our paris correspondent, hugh schofield. this result is not at all expected. the people who turned out to vote other people who hate e—scooters and

the people who use them who tend to be younger and many tourists as well, didn't turn out to vote so we have this very strong vote of 99% of people turning out and saying they want to ban them. it fits with what the mayor herself wanted and it should mean by the end of the summer that there are no more of these free—floating e—scooters on the streets of paris. this does not mean a ban on e—scooters in general, there are many, many people who privately owned e—scooters and they are able to continue using them as long as they obeyed the general rules set by the government and the city and so on, so this is only about the free—floating fleets of e—scooters which have been cluttering up the streets and which many people think are dangerous and are recklessly driven by young people, often two of them on it and skidding down pavements in the wrong way down roads and so on. that.. and i think it is an important decision

and a bad one for the operators because paris has always been the kind of leader, the bellwether in all of this, paris went into e—scooters before other cities and when paris went in, the operator said, look, paris has adopted e—scooters like ours, what a great thing it is, now you should do the same. well, now, paris is leading the way out of them and the great fearfor the way out of them and the great fear for the operators must be that it sets a trend on the other direction now as well. 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. the renowned japanese composer and producer ryuichi sakamoto, admired for his electronic music experimentation, has died aged 71. his film score for the last emperor, in 1987, won him an oscar, a grammy and a golden globe. he also acted in the film merry christmas, mr lawrence with david bowie in 1983. sakamoto had been diagnosed with cancer for a second time in 2021. two years ago, to celebrate queen elizabeth's platinumjubliee, a project began called the queen's green canopy, planting trees, in celebration of her reign. the initiative has now seen

three million new trees taking root, across the uk, and the scheme is now drawing to a close, as sean dilley reports. it has been two years since the late queen and her son planted the first tree at windsor great park, when the queen's green canopy was launched, the royal family said they hoped one million trees would be planted to mark the platinum jubilee. when the queen died, the initiative was extended and communities were invited to plant more trees in her memory. as well as planting three million new trees, the project helped to deliver more than 30 urban planting projects in areas of social and environmental need. it has trained more than 70 young people to work in the green sector and contributed to the environment. what we know is trees are just wonderful for the environment. they are a critical way of mitigating climate change, they enhance biodiversity, we know how much they do for individuals, people's own health and well—being.

i have spoken with his majesty, i can honestly say he has been incredibly supportive all the way through. he has been our patron from the start. the planting of this acer tree in sandringham by the now king charles and the new prince of wales, william, of the project, but not, they hope, the memory and legacy of queen elizabeth ii. let us ensure that in her name we can now protect and strengthen this wonderful living canopy for the next 70 years and hopefully way beyond. and before we go — glitz and glamour in mumbai as bollywood and hollywood celebrities attended if anyone was offended by the language used by the guest on our tornado story, we do apologise. and before we go — glitz and glamour in mumbai as bollywood and hollywood celebrities attended the launch of indian tycoon nita

mukesh ambani's cultural centre. the stars walked the red carpet on the second day of the opening of the centre for a fashion exhibition. the showcase features works of pioneering indian designers and international names. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. for the vast majority, sunday turned out to be the drier and brighter day of the weekend as cloud continued to melt away. and for monday, the prospects are largely dry. there will be some lengthy spells of sunshine, but with those clear skies overhead, we are getting off to a decidedly chilly start. the chilliest morning many of us will have seen for quite some time. however, this time of year the sun has got some strength to it, so the frost should tend to lift pretty quickly. many of us will see lengthy spells of sunshine. just a bit of patchy cloud. more cloud generally, i think, getting into northern ireland through the afternoon. certainly the sunshine here will turn rather hazy. the wind is picking up here as well. also getting quite breezy in the

west and the northwest of scotland. temperatures, well, nine degrees in aberdeen, not as chilly as it has been for these north sea coasts and the highest values out west up to around 13 or 14. but as soon as the sun goes down, again where we keep clear skies, we will see those temperatures dropping and a touch of frost, particularly across england, wales and eastern scotland. northwestern scotland and northern ireland, not getting quite as cold because here we will see more in the way of cloud and some splashes of rain thanks to this frontal system. now, this is going to be a very weak affair. it's running up against this area of high pressure. so this front willjust bring some areas of cloud and some splashes of rain into northern ireland, western and northwestern parts of scotland. eastern and southern scotland likely to see the sunshine turning quite hazy as cloud amounts increase. but for england and wales, another bright day with sunny skies overhead and it will feeljust a little bit warmer, 13 or 14 degrees. that's not too bad if you do get yourself into any sunshine. now, on wednesday, we will see a more active frontal system that

will bring some heavier and more persistent rain across northern ireland and scotland. that rain may well slump down into northern england, wales and the south west through the day. the south east corner likely to hold on to at least a little bit of brightness. temperatures, again, up to 13 or 14 degrees. now, some of that rain will get down into the south east corner as we move through into thursday. this frontal system becoming quite slow, moving for a time. but then high pressure is set to build once again as we head into the start of the easter weekend. so as we move through friday, many places will be dry and through the weekend, a lot of dry weather around as well. there will be one or two showers and the increasing chance of rain in the north west of the uk by easter monday.

time for some sport here on bbc news. hello, i'm hugh ferris. afterjust seven months in charge, graham potter has been sacked by chelsea. losing again yesterday saw them drop to 11th in the premier league and they weren't the only top flight team to part company with their manager today. here's nesta mcgregor. a 2—0 defeat to aston villa at stamford bridge a result that salt chelsea drop it to the bottom half of the premier league fans far from

happy and 11th defeat in 31 games. although graham potter was optimistic.