and a big fight in the big apple. katie taylor and amanda serrano square up, ahead of the most important women's boxing match in history. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. as heavy fighting continues in eastern ukraine, an adviser to the country's president volodymyr zelensky has acknowledged that ukrainian forces have suffered serious losses. he said ukraine had lost control of some towns and villages but claimed that russia's casualties had been "colossal". this report from our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford contains some images you may find distressing. vera gyrych was carried from the wreckage of her home in a body bag. she'd been found buried beneath rubble after a russian missile strike on central kyiv. vera was 55, a journalist for the american broadcaster radio liberty. it says it's shocked and outraged by the meaningless manner of her death. we saw forensic workers bring out what looked like fragments of the missile. russia's defence ministry claims it was firing precision weapons. only the military factory opposite the apartment block is scorched, but still standing. this couple feel lucky to be alive today, even able to salvage something from the ruins. misha said they'd just got home when they heard the first blast. "if we'd been in a lift a minute longer," he tells me, "we'd have been burned or killed." russia may well have been aiming at a military facility across the road here, but once again it's civilians who are the casualties of this strike. the mayor here in kyiv now says 100 civilians have been killed in ukraine's capital alone in a war that russia began over two months ago and still shows no sign it wants to stop. and down in mariupol, the besieged city by the sea, there are still civilians and fighters under fire, surrounded at the giant azov steelworks. the rest of the shattered city is now under russian control. olia's husband and natalia's brother are both soldiers there. trapped, with supplies running out. so, the women came to kyiv to urge the government to do more to save them. they're talking about civilians, but not about military, and i'm really worried about it because the military are also people. they don't want to die in that city that is already destroyed. why do they have to do it? i don't understand. they have been holding the whole ukraine and even europe for two months, and they deserve to come back alive. kyiv itself has begun to come alive again now that russian force have retreated from its suburbs. but even this half normality is fragile when moscow has shown it can strike at any time. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv. well, in the past hour, john kirby, the us defence department's spokesman, has accused russian president vladimir putin of "depravity" in his invasion of ukraine. apparently becoming emotional, john kirby paused to collect himself during his remarks. it is hard to look at what he's doing in ukraine, what his forces are doing in ukraine, and think that any... ethical, moral individual could justify that. it's difficult to look at the... sorry. it's difficult to look at some of the images and imagine that any well thinking, serious, mature leader would do that. earlier, russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov has said that his country does not consider itself to be at war with nato over ukraine. he also blamed ukraine for the failure of peace talks to achieve any results yet. in comments quoted in russian state media, he said... he added... as he walked into court, his tie in the wimbledon colours that had always brought him fame and fortune, boris becker was no doubt contemplating how it came to this. three weeks ago, a jury found him guilty of four of the 2a counts against him, including transferring cash to avoid paying creditors from his 2017 bankruptcy and failing to disclose a property in germany. in her sentencing remarks, judge deborah taylor said he'd shown no remorse, no humility and had failed to heed the chances he was given from his past conviction for tax evasion 20 years ago in germany. the court was packed. becker looked shocked and red—faced as he was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison, with half on licence. well, as you can see, this case has generated considerable interest across europe. a picture was painted in court of a man with nothing to show for his glittering sporting career, a man with chaotic finances, with no future earning potential, whose reputation lies in tatters. unknown and unseeded, becker forged an instant bond with the british public in 1985 when he won wimbledon atjust 17, the youngest man to then do so. during his 1a—year career, he won a total of 49 singles titles, six of them grand slams. it made him a rich man, with a successful stint as a pundit and novak djokovic's coach afterwards. but boom boom was soon bust. expensive lifestyle commitments, including a high—profile divorce and payments for a child conceived from one night at a london restaurant, saw him in financial trouble. career earnings of £38 million were gone, and a tax evasion and bankruptcy case followed. i think today, the tennis world is a little bit sad about what's happened. when you see someone who was such a great talent, had so much to offer and is still a very lovable, likeable character, and i think it's very sad thinking about where he's at tonight. his partner left tonight to begin life without him. he will now spend more than a year in prison. a successful career on court ended swiftly inside one. natalie pirks there. let's get some of the day's other news. a usjudge has thrown out a motion to overturn the conviction of ghislaine maxwell for sex trafficking, for her role in helping jeffrey epstein to sexually abuse teenage girls. maxwell sought a retrial after one of the jurors in the case admitted he had falsely stated he was not a victim of sexual abuse. a member of the infamous group of islamic state extremists known as the beatles because of their british accents has beenjailed for life in america. alexanda kotey admitted more than half a dozen charges linked to the abduction, torture and the murder of hostages in syria. the pakistani government has issued a heat warning after temperatures in parts of the country reached highs of 47 degrees celsius. the increased demand for energy due to the intense heat, combined with poor infrastructure and fuel shortages, has led to regular power cuts, with some regions reporting blackouts for between ten and 1a hours a day. the head of a mosque in the afghan capital, kabul, says at least 50 worshippers have been killed by a powerful explosion that struck just after friday prayers. the attack is believed to have been detonated by a suicide bomber. taliban authorities say only ten people have died. it's the latest in a spate of attacks in the holy month of ramadan. with me is our news reporter azadeh moshiri. welcome to you. so conflicting figures being reported. what more do we know about what happened?— more do we know about what ha ened? ., , ., , ., happened? religious leaders are -lacin~ happened? religious leaders are lacin: it happened? religious leaders are placing it at _ happened? religious leaders are placing it at a — happened? religious leaders are placing it at a much _ placing it at a much higher death toll. what we do know is attendance was higher because it was the friday of the last tell holy month of ramadan. it is said a suicide bomberjoined the did congregation and then detonated some explosives. he also said there were more wounded and, because of that high attendance, many were sent to hospitals nearby. the un has said they had two of their staff members, along with their families, in attendance and the special raptor for families, in attendance and the special raptorfor human families, in attendance and the special raptor for human rights in afghanistan richard bennett has put out a statement, calling for an investigation by the taliban. he says... because right now, no one has claimed any responsibility for the attack. and this isn't the only attack we have seen? there have been several during the month of ramadan, haven't there? that's riaht, ramadan, haven't there? that's right. afghans — ramadan, haven't there? that's right, afghans have _ ramadan, haven't there? that's right, afghans have gone - right, afghans have gone through much instability since the taliban takeover last summer, and during the month of ramadan, there been speeds of attacks. many of these tacks have claimed by the islamic state, many have attacked the sunni and sufi communities. many have taken place in schools. it was only on thursday that two passenger vans had bombs explode and they were carrying she muslims, and in a northern city, mazar—e—sharif, people died. there are blasts through high school last week in a predominantly hazara area, and so while the taliban said they have a handle on the security situation in afghanistan, the deaths, the attacks are continuing.— deaths, the attacks are continuinu. �* . continuing. azadeh moshiri, thank yon _ stay with us on bbc news. still to come: celebrated after sunset, but there's something a bit brighter about iftar as pandemic restrictions see more people reunite during ramadan. nothing, it seemed, was too big to withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government help to build better housing. internationally, there have already been protests. sweden says it received no warning of the accident. indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. only when radioactivity levels began to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war for them. they've taken the capital, which they've been fighting for for so long. it was 7.00 in the morning. on the day when power began to pass from the minority- to the majority, when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony. - this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a ukrainian presidential advisor warns of heavy losses as fighting intensifies in the east of the country. two britons who travelled to ukraine to help with aid distribution and the evacuation of refugees are now feared to have been captured by the russians. dylan healey and paul urey had travelled to the city of zaporizhzhia in a car. they said they were going to help a woman and her children get out of the country, but on monday, contact with them was lost. danny savage has the latest. dylan healy and paul urey, two british humanitarian workers who it is understood have been detained by russian forces in ukraine. they were stopped at a russian—controlled checkpoint as they tried to assist a mother and her children leave a village near zaporizhzhia. we have had contact with the lady they were evacuating, south of zaporizhzhia. and we have a statement from her to say, actually, three hours after they were supposed to get there on monday, that the russian soldiers were interrogating her and her family about these two british guys they had picked up, said that they were trying to evacuate, and why are they talking to these british spies and things like that. paul urey is in his mid—40s, diabetic and usually cares for his mum linda. at her home near preston this afternoon, she talked of herfears and had a message to those holding her son. please give him back. he's a family man. his my carer. he helps me. and he has been gone two weeks now and a week they've had him. imiss him. i can't cope with it. i've not ate, i can't sleep. dylan healy�*s friends at his local football club in cambridgeshire tonight talked of their concerns. he was always committed to the team. never, ever harmed anybody. no one would expect that someone you know, someone you played football with for years, had been captured by russian forces. families also say the men are not spies or mercenaries, and want to know they are being treated well. danny savage, bbc news, preston. let's bring you some breaking news now. federal prosecutors in miami have charged british virgin islands premier andrew fahie and two others with cocaine trafficking and moneylaundering conspiracies. andrew fahie was detained on thursday by us agents posing as members of a cocaine cartel. a british mp for the governing conservative party has been suspended over allegations he watched pornography in the house of commons chamber. neil parish, the member of parliament for a constituancy in devon, has referred himself to the parliamentary standards commissioner and says he'll cooperate fully with any investigation. here's our political correspondent, ben wright. having told his wife, he faced the cameras waiting on his driveway. not a well known name before today, the conservative neil parish has been identified as the mp accused of watching pornography in the house of commons chamber. you have had the conservative whip removed _ where does that leave you? it leaves me still as the member of parliament for tiverton and honiton. i havejust come back from a surgery in honiton. i will maintain my duties very much as the mp and while i remain chair of the environment, food and rural affairs select committee, i will also keep up my work there. is this embarrassing? of course it's embarrassing and it's embarrassing for my wife, and the family, and so that is my main concern at the moment. i have a very supportive wife and i thank her for that. at a meeting of tory mps on tuesday, two women said they had seen a male colleague viewing porn on his phone. first, the conservative party said the matter should be investigated by parliament's independent complaints and grievance scheme. the mp involved had still not been named when neil parish himself was asked about the allegations in an interview on wednesday. i think the whips' office will do a thorough investigation and we will wait and see that result. and now we have it. after meeting the tories�* chief whip today, mr parish was suspended from the parliamentary party and referred himself for investigation by the commons standards commissioner. labour said it should have happened much sooner. the conservatives have obviously known for days who this mp was. having known, they should have done something about it, they should have acted swifter. we can boost production... neil parish has represented the devon seat of tiverton and honiton since 2010 and is chair of the environment, food and rural affairs select committee, a seniorjob for a backbench mp. but now he is under pressure to explain what he was doing with his phone. neil, was it a mistake? i will await the findings of the inquiry. i'm talking about, did i you open something up by error in the commons? i did, but let the inquiry look at that. there has been a chorus of cross—party condemnation about this and it has renewed claims that westminster has a problem with misogyny and sexism, a parliamentary culture that needs to change. i'm shocked, as most people are shocked, that that would happen. and, you know, we have got inquiries going on, but i'm really pleased that the chief whip has acted quickly. these things should not be left to fester. but the investigations may not be quick and for now mr parish shows little sign of retreating. ben wright reporting there. anti—government protests continue to grow in sri lanka. demonstrators are calling on the government to step down — amid a major economic crisis brought on by shortages of fuel, food and medicines. 0ur south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan brings us this report from colombo. the anti—government protest here in colombo has been gaining momentum, with people from different walks of life. these are students of medical institutions and hospitals, and they are taking part in these protests and they want the government of president gotabaya rajapaksa to step down. these people, they accuse the government of mismanaging the economy. the cost of living has gone up for many families. the cost of milk powder, rice, cooking gas has gone up by many folds, putting these things out of reach for some of these families. the government, as a way of appeasing these protesters, offered to form an all—party interim government today, but these protesters are not happy. they're calling for a wholesale change in the political system. they say the country was ruined by this economic crisis, because they are now struggling to pay for imports of essential items like fuel and food and medicine. the government says resignations are not an answer and they need time to set the economy right, and that is why they are talking to the imf about a bailout programme. but these protesters are not listening to the government's argument. they are asking the government to step down immediately. anbarasan ethirajan in colombo there. ramadan is the most important month in the muslim calendar. each night, people come together at sunset to eat after fasting during the day — called iftar. but the social side of that was lost over the past two years because of the pandemic. but now it's back. the bbc was invited to join the celebrations in the english town of scunthorpe in north lincolnshire. imam recites prayer iftar is a very important time of the day because you get to break your fast after 15 hours of fasting, long days with no water and no food. it'sjust amazing. the fact that we are able to do this now once again after maybe two years of not being able to do it _ just breaking the fast, having the food that we get to have, j meeting people we have not seen for a while — it's been amazing that we have been able to gather round this year and break the fast together, bring friends and family and community spirit back together again. it's henna. in arabic, we call it mehndi, and there are lots of flowers and lots of patterns. it's like a fake tattoo. in the past two years, i haven't been able to have henna painted on. during covid, we lost a lot of loved ones. it's quite sad for the community. it affected us really badly because we were not able to participate in the funeral prayers. last year and the yearl before, we've not been able to do it as often. it makes me feel happy that people have - the opportunity to come. i'm looking forward, too, to having the dessert, for example, cupcakes. for me, it's the dessert that is really... i like the dessert the most. probably rice and chicken. i'm looking forward to that. the dessert is the best part of the food. - because if you fast, you open your meal at the start of the prayer. and, yeah, you basically eat. the world's first permanent nft art museum has opened in seattle, aiming to demystify blockchain—based digital art. non—fungible tokens are a type of digital asset that has exploded in popularity recently, with nft artworks selling for millions of dollars. the museum says it's an outlet for artists, creators and collectors to display their work in a physical setting, while aiming to educate the public about this new market for digital art. peter hamilton is the co—founder of the seattle nft museum. a nft is reallyjust a contract that signifies the ownership of an asset of some kind. it is getting used a lot for digital arts because there has not been arts because there has not been a place for storing that ownership for digital art in a way that was excepted across a wide range of people. and so, yeah, these tokens — or non—fungible tokens — or basically contract or smart contract, is what we call that on the block chain, that says, this serial number belongs to this serial number belongs to this piece of art and if you own this token, you are the rightful owner. saturday will see one of the most anticipated boxing matches in history between two female fighters — katie taylor and amanda serrano. they're top of the bill at the iconic madison square garden, where the undefeated taylor will put her lightweight titles on the line against world champion serrano. ade adedoyin reports from new york. the best facing the best. katie taylor. amanda serrano. neither wanted to blink first. the weigh—in was like an event in itself. both have had their names in lights all week. the pair reach a new height here in new york... ..a photo op on the empire state building ahead of this landmark moment in boxing. i think saturday night could definitely well be the best night of my career. there's something different about this fight, this is a moment in history. ireland's former 0lympic champion is the crossover star. amanda serrano a seven weight world champion the co—star looking to steal the show. 13 years as a pro fighter, i've struggled, i've fought my way to this spot right now and i want to go out there and just secure that victory. and the target, the undisputed lightweight title and a place in history. so what can we expect on fight night between katie taylor and amanda serrano? we have a clash of styles, and after about a round, katie taylor can box no longer, she has to brawl. and that's we get what i call the rocky moment, when everybody stands up, you can hear the tunes in your head and theyjust hit each other for ten rounds. this blockbuster bout is notjust significant, but also lucrative. both will earn over $1 million — that's double the challenger�*s career payday. and youtuberjake paul, who promotes serrano, is putting his money where his mouth is. i bet amanda wins for $1 million. and the bookies agree with him. let's shake up on it, let's go. well, the last time katie taylor fought here at madison square garden, she unified the division. all those belts are up for grabs on saturday, and the odds—makers are backing the local favourite amanda serrano to dethrone the champion. ade adedoyin, bbc news, new york. i'm sure we'll have plenty more on that after the match.- on that after the match. that's it from me _ on that after the match. that's it from me for _ on that after the match. that's it from me for now. _ on that after the match. that's it from me for now. i'm - on that after the match. that's it from me for now. i'm on - it from me for now. i'm on twitter, though. thanks very much for watching. hello there. there's some rain in the forecast for this bank holiday weekend. not that much for england and wales, but certainly for scotland and northern ireland, it could be quite heavy at times. for gardeners and growers, that will provide some good news as it's been so dry for this month of april. there'll also be quite a bit of sunshine around, particularly on saturday across england and wales under this area of high pressure, which is slowly declining as this low pressure system continues to sweep into scotland and northern ireland. we start off on a mainly dry and quite chilly note for england and wales, plenty of sunshine here. much brighter day for eastern england after the recent cloudy days. but for scotland, northern ireland, it will be turning windy, cloudy and wet. and some of that rain will be quite heavy at times. certainly western scotland could even hear the odd rumble of thunder there. that will impact the temperatures. it will be cooler here than the last few days. further south, we could see 17 or 18 degrees and a little bit of fair weather cloud just bubbling up here and there. the cloud will increase across northern and western england and wales as we head into the latter part of the day and into the evening. that area of low pressure will continue to drift its way southwards, tending to weaken as it does so. but there will be a lot of cloud around for saturday night, so that means it will be a mild one, with the temperatures no lower than seven to ten degrees. so for sunday, then, our area of low pressure will continue to weaken, pushing towards the southern half of britain, so that means it will be the south which will see the thickest of the cloud with outbreaks of rain. so some wet weather for wales, south west england through sunday. some of that light and patchy rain and drizzle will drift its way eastwards. further north, it will be brightening up, the clouds will tend to break up and we'll see some sunny spells, bar the odd shower around, so it will be a bit warm here, 16, maybe 17 degrees. a little bit cooler further south, low to mid teens. that area of low pressure clears away, so for bank holiday monday, it's looking a bit drier across the board. there will be quite a bit of cloud around here, one or two showers developing across northern and central areas but also some sunny spells. and where that happens, we will see temperatures reaching highs of around 18 degrees. gurther north, the low to mid teens. very little change as we move through the new week. it looks like pressure will remain high with very little wind, so again the air will be quite stagnant. we'll have variable amounts of cloud, a bit of sunshine, maybe one or two showers around, and possibly tuesday could see most of the showers through central and northern areas. butjust a hint of it turning perhaps a little bit brighter and warmer towards the south by the end of the week. this is bbc news, the headlines. a ukrainian presidential adviser has warned of heavy losses as fighting with russia intensifies in the east of the country. in the us, the pentagon's spokesman was visibly upset saying it was hard to look at some of the images of what he called president putin's brutality and cruelty. here in the uk, the six time tennis grand slam champion boris becker has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison, after being found guilty lying about three million dollars of assets during bankruptcy proceedings. ajudge in london said he showed no remorse. a british mp for the governing conservative party has been suspended over allegations he watched pornography in the house of commons chamber.