attack on western allies for net the attack on western allies for not providing his country with the same level of support as they have with israel in the middle east. also tonight, the scottish government is to ditch a key climate change target. this despite the scottish greens being in government with the snp. the actor hugh grant settles his press intrusion case against the sun for what he calls an "enormous sum of money." are a brilliant save but it is in the second time around from rodrygo. and real madrid take an early lead against manchester city — but was it enough to knock them out of the champions league? and on newsnight at 10:30pm... we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to key players on today's big stories. plus a first look at tomorrow's front pages.

good evening. what is the true cost in blood on the battlefield to russia of vladimir putin's decision to invade ukraine? well, a bbc investigation, alongside the independent russian website mediazona, reveals that more than 50,000 russian soldiers have died so far in the war. the official kremlin figure is much lower. in truth, the dead on both sides pile up. overnight, a russian missile attack killed several people in the northern ukrainian city of chernihiv. more than 70 others were injured. meanwhile, presidentzelensky, has called again for ukraine to get the same international military support as israel. lawmakers in america have now confirmed they'll soon be voting on a massive aid package. more on russia's war dead in a moment, but first james waterhouse is live in kyiv

for us tonight. clive, there is nothing new about russia launching widespread missile attacks on ukraine, but there are four key had some disturbing familiarity is where moscow is once again targeting the country's energy infrastructure and it is also looking to overwhelm ukrainian air defences with massive missile and drone attacks. there are also differences in terms of how ukraine is able to defend itself. after a missile attack today in the city of chernihiv, president zelensky does notjust chernihiv, president zelensky does not just see chernihiv, president zelensky does notjust see it chernihiv, president zelensky does not just see it as a chernihiv, president zelensky does notjust see it as a devastating strike but as a symbol of twinkling western support. bus passengers dive for cover after two missiles hit nearby. what follows is the haunting sounds of a third. low rumbling. in chernihiv, air strikes happen with little notice. russia tried and failed to take this city, but with its border only 60 miles away, the skies bring

a constant threat. the force of the blast did this to anastasia's home. translation: it will be very cold to spend the night here. - i have the children, so i will go to the neighbour's, and then we will repair this. but i don't know if it makes sense at this stage of our lives. a familiar recovery routine followed. for ukrainians, there is no escaping russia's invasion, and after watching western allies unite behind israel, their leader wants the same for his country. translation: allies have shown in the middle east i what they can really do when there is enough determination. ukraine is increasingly fighting this war on its own. its chances of victory have become more remote, and instead of planning to liberate all of its territory, kyiv is calculating how much of it

could be conceded to russia. president zelensky is being more frank about the chances of losing in an attempt to restore a much—needed sense of urgency. nato is continuing to posture with sea and air drills along its eastern european flank. its members are still promising military aid. wejust had an important and timely discussion on how to step up further our support to ukraine, in particular on how to provide more air defence systems to ukraine. because the situation on the battlefield remains very difficult, and we have all heard ukraine's clear and urgent appeal for more air support. what kyiv is really hoping for is a £49 billion package to be signed off in the us congress. after months of delay, that's set to be voted on this weekend. if it passes, ukraine might do more than hold on.

if it doesn't, the talk may shift to compromise or defeat. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. there has always been global scepticism of the official count of russia's war dead given by the kremlin, with independent analysis suggesting the figure is much higher. one obvious marker is the changing state of russia's cemeteries, like this one in a city south of moscow, pictured here four months before the outbreak of war in october 2021. and this is the same burial ground 18 months later. today, the kremlin responded to the bbc�*s investigation into the numbers of war dead, and neither confirmed or denied our reporting that at least 50,000 troops have died. officials say they're bound by laws on state secrets. olga ivshina reports. in russia, the number of

war graves is growing fast. 5th of november. 9th of november. listing the dates of death, volunteers have sent us this video from the city of vladivostok. and here is the same cemetery from above. in the last two years, it has grown twice in size — a pattern seen in graveyards all over russia. since the start of the invasion, the bbc and its partners have been verifying photos of graves, social media posts and news articles to track down the number of russians killed fighting in ukraine. so far, we have verified 50,000 names. our data shows that russia has lost 23% more troops in the second year of invasion compared to the first. this increase reflects a shift in tactics. at first, russia relied on its professional soldiers deployed to carry out complex operations. but since january 2023, russia began sending thousands of inexperienced troops forward

in waves, to weaken ukrainian positions and expose their location to russian artillery. soldiers themselves call it the "meat grinder." the russians are now able to bring a lot more firepower to bear against ukrainian positions when they go into the offensive. as long as the ukrainians are unable to shift that balance of firepower, the meat grinder tactics will very likely continue to be quite successful in taking limited areas of ground across the front. prisoners, recruited and sent to war, have been crucial to these tactics. in return for six months on the frontline, they were promised freedom — if they survived. we have tracked down more than 1,000 russian inmates from the day they signed up till the day they died. of that number, more than half the prisoners were killed within just 12 weeks of arriving

at the front line. whilst our account only includes deaths recorded publicly, data from cemeteries across russia suggests the true figure is likely to be twice as high. and as russian forces continue to push on, pictures of new graves keep coming every day. olga ivshina, bbc news. it's emerged tonight that the scottish government will ditch one of its flagship climate change targets. this is despite the scottish greens being in government with the snp. james cook is in glasgow. james, this was a signature policy, wasn't it? , . �* , ., , wasn't it? yes, that's right, it was a signature _ wasn't it? yes, that's right, it was a signature policy _ wasn't it? yes, that's right, it was a signature policy for _ wasn't it? yes, that's right, it was a signature policy for the - wasn't it? yes, that's right, it was a signature policy for the scottish | a signature policy for the scottish government which, to try to tackle climate change, has set a target of reducing emissions of gases which warm the planet, getting to net zero

emissions by 2045. that target remains, but tomorrow we expect the snp cabinet minister marie mccallan to confirm she is scrapping an interim target of a 75% ofjon culture of emissions by 2030. the uk government net zero target is net zero by 20 50, five years later than scotland. why is this happening? the short answer is the scottish government knows it will not now meet its 2030 target. this report from the climate change committee last month that the scottish government's policies and plans fall far short of what is needed. expect some criticism of the scottish government tomorrow, in particular the snp�*s partners in power the scottish greens. and environmental campaigners will want to hear specific details and evidence of how the scottish government plans to get to that 2045 net zero target while

missing the 2013 milestone. james cook, thank you. the actor hugh grant has settled his long running privacy case against the publisher of the sun newspaper. his lawyers told him he could face legal costs of up to £10 million even if he won, and he says he's been offered what he calls "an enormous sum of money" to settle. katie razzall is here with me. he has been campaigning on issues of press intrusion for years. now this? he has clearly done it reluctantly but it is down to money. he put out the statement after it emerged that this had happened which was heavy on the irony, in reference to rupert murdoch's news group newspapers.

evenif even if you are a renowned movie star, an oompa—loompa to boot, £10 million is a lot of money. he regrets not having his day in court, he says he will use this payout to continue his campaign for press freedom. this is part of a wider campaign involving others too about unlawful gathering of information by news group, including by prince harry. does the duke of sussex had deep enough pockets to take this to trial? my instinct is in his battle with the tabloid he wants to have the biggest scalp, and what better than rupert murdoch, but news group are settling all of these cases without any admission of liability when it comes to the sun, it disputed claims and says it is in the financial interest of both parties to settle rather than have an expensive trial.

katie razzall, thank you. an israeli woman who was taken hostage by hamas in the october 7th attacks, has been describing the horrifying conditions she had to endure in gaza. aviva siegel was released in november but her husband, who was also kidnapped from their kibbutz, is still being held. lucy manning has been speaking to her in tel aviv, and a warning, her report contains distressing details. when the hamas gunmen came to kfar aza on october 7th, they murdered and kidnapped. two of those taken, husband and wife keith and aviva siegel. she was freed. he is still a hostage. i'm not speaking, i'm screaming. i need help from the whole world. i was there for 51 days and know what it's like. can you tell me a bit about the conditions that you were held in? keith and i were moved 13 times, so with the different conditions. we met lots of terrorists, and they acted brutally in every place we went to.

one of the times, they took us down to a tunnel and there was no oxygen there, and theyjust left us there. and i can't explain what the feeling is of not being able to breathe and you know that it might be your last hours. keith and aviva were also held in houses with other hostages, where she witnessed beatings and was aware of sexual assaults. they were so mean to us. they just starved us for days and ate in front of us. we weren't allowed to even stand and we weren't allowed to talk. one of the days, one of the girls went to the toilet, and while she came back, i could see on the face that something happened. and only after a couple of hours, she came and she told us. she said, "he touched me." and that was one of the terriblest moments,

because i felt that i couldn't even look after this little girl. she'sjust a child. you were aware, were you, that sexual assault was taking place on some of the female hostages? yes, because i was there. and i saw the girls coming after those things happening and telling us what happened. screaming after 51 days, in november, aviva was released — but without keith. i said that, "i'm not going without keith." and i begged him. it didn't help. and they didn't even let me go and say goodbye to keith until i pushed them. luckily, i could give keith a hug, and i told him to be strong for me and i'll be strong for him. but i don't know. i'm starting to lose my hope. and i'm sure that keith is.

when i was there, i was just thinking to myself, i'd rather be dead than to go through what i'm going through. it wasn't until her release that she discovered her son, shai, who she thought had been killed, had survived the attack. why do you think it is that keith and the others are still held after all this time? i think that hamas is getting the pleasure of them being there and seeing us suffer. i think that everybody, the whole world needs to do more. just get them out, just get them out. aviva siegel, talking to lucy manning. there's concern at westminster tonight amongst campaigners who've been trying to get compensation for those affected by the contaminated blood scandal. mps had previously inflicted a defeat on the government

to ensure the creation of a new body within three months to oversee payments. that could change. hugh pym is here. what happened tonight. it hers that could change. hugh pym is here. what happened tonight.— what happened tonight. it has been described as — what happened tonight. it has been described as the _ what happened tonight. it has been described as the biggest _ what happened tonight. it has been described as the biggest treatmentl described as the biggest treatment disaster in history of the nhs with thousands infected because of their treatment with blood products infected with hiv and hepatitis c. they have campaigned for years for a full inquiry and compensation scheme. the inquiry has been running a few years in the final report is due next month. dane diana johnson, the labour mp, to put forward an amendment to the government bill at the end of last year, the government was defeated on it and her amendment that was passed required ministers to set up the compensation scheme within three months of the bill becoming law, and that is likely in the next month or so. and for a high courtjudge to chair the compensation body. the government set out its own plans today with its own amendment and this says that legally the compensation body will be set up the minute the bill

becomes law, but there is no mention of a timetable, no mention of a high courtjudge. dame diana told me tonight she is concerned about this and they have had to fight every step of the way to get this far and now this has emerged and one campaigner said there was the suspicious there was some watering down going on. hugh pym, thank you. a fall in the price of some meats, crumpets and chocolate biscuits has helped push down inflation to its lowest level for two and a half years. the rate at which consumer prices rose was 3.2% last month, down from 3.4% in february. food prices were the main reason for the fall — it is slightly less than had been expected. inflation has been gradually coming down since its peak 18 months ago. the chancellor welcomed the news and what it means for the economy. i think that the statistics we've had this week demonstrate that inflation is coming down. it's now lower than the united states. but the bigger picture is that the fundamentals for the uk economy are actually very strong.

i think people can start to have confidence that after a very difficult period, things are beginning to improve. he was speaking to faisal islam, our economics editor, whojoins he was speaking to faisal islam, our economics editor, who joins us live in washington. he is in a better mood but inflation hasn't come down as quickly as people were suggesting. as quickly as people were suggesting-— as quickly as people were suggesting. as quickly as people were su~aestina. . . , suggesting. yeah, actually the chancellor _ suggesting. yeah, actually the chancellor went _ suggesting. yeah, actually the chancellor went further - suggesting. yeah, actually the chancellor went further than . suggesting. yeah, actually the | chancellor went further than he suggesting. yeah, actually the - chancellor went further than he has before, in saying that the uk economy has achieved a soft landing, thatis economy has achieved a soft landing, that is to say that inflation has come down pretty much close to target without seeing on employment shoot up. that's a big claim, you might say he would say that, wouldn't he, but he is trying to point to the public, draw the line under rolling economic and cost of living crises. he was pointing to the certainty that with next month's inflation figures, the cut in the energy price cap will force the overall inflation rate closer to 2%.

shadow chancellor rachel reeves is pointing out prices are still very high in the shops and mortgage bills are rising. with the inflation figures for march release today there were signs underlying, things like mobile phone bills, broadband bills, record rises in rent, or sticky, stubborn prices, and that's one of the big themes here at the imf meeting of central bankers and finance ministers. here in the us it is true to say that inflation is coming up hotter than expected with expectations of interest rate cuts being pushed out and the question is, how much does that logic applied to the uk? important for households, businesses and electoral prospects too. faisal islam in washington. sussex police has apologised for mistakes in its investigation into the murders of two nine—year—old girls in 1986. nicola fellows and karen hadaway were sexually assaulted and strangled in woodland in brighton by russell bishop. he was acquitted at the end of his first trial,

but convicted 32 years after the killings in 2018. a man who set fire to two elderly worshippers as they made their way home from mosques in london and birmingham has been given an indefinite hospital order. mohammed abbkr, who's 29 and has paranoid schizophrenia, was convicted of two counts of attempted murder last year. both victims required hospital treatment, with one man suffering life—changing injuries. heavy rain has been battering gulf states, causing flash floods that have killed 20 people and disrupted flights at the world's second—busiest airport. second—busiest airport in dubai. 270 flights to and from the airport were cancelled today — a further 370 flights were delayed. in the streets, cars were washed away and several buildings were flooded. more than a year's rainfall fell in less than 24 hours. the ministry ofjustice says the government is planning to change the law, ensuring paedophiles who

are convicted of the most serious offences lose parental rights over their own children. the proposed move follows a report from our correspondent sanchia berg, which shone a light on the issue. family courts handle sensitive areas of families' lives and they've held hearings in private for decades. but over the last few months, journalists have been allowed to report from some of them, provided we keep the families anonymous. one case i followed in cardiff exposed a problem with the law. a young mother, who we've called bethan, was asking the judge to take away her ex—husband's parental rights because he had been convicted of serious paedophile offences. he had been barred from contact with all children, except his own daughter. the mother won, but told me how it cost more than £30,000 in legalfees. my report prompted the labour mp harriet harman to try to change the law. although we've been protecting other people's children from sex offenders since the 1990s, that we haven't challenged

the patriarchal right of fathers to have responsibility over their own children. but as soon as you see a case and you realise how it's working, it's obvious that action needs to be taken. her amendment to a bill passing through parliament has cross—party support and the backing of the lord chancellor, so has a good chance of becoming law. it would mean those found guilty of the most serious child sex offences would lose their parental rights as soon as they were convicted. parents like bethan would not have to pay thousands in legal fees to keep their child safe. we've revoiced the clip to protect her identity. without reporting, people, politicians, policymakers, no—one is aware of what's going on in family courts. and because this case was reported on, those issues were brought to a wider audience, those experts can actually weigh in and say, this isn't right. and that's why they could produce an amendment, because now they understand what the need was.

it's a tremendous victory. we could report this case because the cardiff family court has been part of an experiment in openjustice that's now been expanded to cover almost half the family courts in england and wales. sanchia berg reporting. officials in myanmar say the jailed democracy leader aung san suu kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest. it comes amid a heatwave prompting emergency measures to protect inmates. the nobel laureate, who's 78, is serving a 27—year sentence for various offences including corruption. but her supporters say they're trumped up charges aimed at legitimising a coup back in 2021. opponents of the military takeover, along with ethnic insurgents, have been gaining ground in a civil war. thousands of members of the myanmar army have died, deserted their posts or surrendered following a string of defeats.

a new conscription drive has prompted thousands of young men to also flee the country. jonathan head has been to the border town of mae sot in thailand to meet some of those escaping the draft. thailand is bracing for the impact of a civil war in myanmar which has come right up to the border. across the river, ethnic karen insurgents have now taken control of the main crossing between the two countries. the fighting is driving even more people to seek sanctuary over here. mae sot has become a warren of safe houses, sheltering the fugitives. but some of the families here are fleeing something else. this boy's eldest brother is 19, a dangerous age. he was about to be a matter up under the army's new conscription law. his anti—military parents were horrified and chose to flee from yangon, making a 15—day trek over the mountains to get here, carrying very little.

"i could not accept my son being forced to fight other young men," says his father. there are thousands of young men now hiding out in this part of thailand, who fled the military�*s call—up in myanmar. very few of them have proper paperwork, so they live in constant fear of being sent back. i've come to meet one 23—year—old man who arrived here only three weeks ago and who's now made his temporary home among these fields. nine fugitives from conscription are living under this leaf—thatched shelter, together with assorted livestock. sanjay — not his real name — has already seen his father jailed for supporting the resistance. so, when his call—up papers came, his mother helped him escape. translation: back home, i felt afraid every day - that they would come to take me into the army.

even though we have very little food here, just rice and vegetables, no—one will come to harm me. ifeel free here in thailand. it's a precarious existence, though. without documents, most of those sheltering in mae sot cannot leave the town and have had to give up any hope of good jobs or education. mental stress is rife among the refugees. their education is stopped, they cannot support their family, they cannot support themselves, there is nojob for them so they are instead thinking, "i'm useless, my future is stopped." a lot of young people are attempting suicide in this situation. this month, it's the traditional new year water festival, an exuberant time to let off steam in the searing heat. but there are thousands unable

to join the fun this year, either because they are hiding over here or because they're fighting against the militaryjunta on the other side of the border. jonathan head, bbc news, mae sot, thailand. scientists believe they've identified the largest marine reptile ever on earth. a gigantic ichthyosaur measuring around 25 metres long, the length of two double decker buses, that lived 202 million years ago. the remains discovered by amateur fossil hunters in somerset will now go on display at the bristol museum and art gallery, it's been a crucial night for both manchester city and arsenal in the champions league. with the latest, here's andy swiss. the manchester city bandwagon has seemed unstoppable recently, but in real madrid, it faced the heftiest of obstacles. level at 3—3 after the first leg,

it was real that soon struck. commentator: real madrid draw first blood in manchester! _ second time lucky for rodrygo, and the visitors were ahead. city surged forward. erling haaland and then bernardo silva. oh, so close. the faces said it all, though, as city trailed at the break. after it, real so nearly gifted them an equaliser, nacho almost putting the ball in his own net, but not quite, as the visitors clung on to their advantage. but with just 15 minutes left, step forward kevin de bruyne. there's the equaliser! in the nick of time, city were level, and relief was etched all around the etihad. moments later, de bruyne could and perhaps should have won it, but he didn't and this enthralling encounter headed into extra time. arsenal, meanwhile, travelled to bayern munich, 2—2 after the first leg. again, all to play for. and although bayern had the pick of the first half chances, it remained all square at half—time.

with just over an hour gone, though, their pressure finally told — and how! stands up a good cross. the most emphatic of headers from joshua kimmich and bayern were ahead. could arsenal somehow find a way back? well, sadly for them, the answer was no. martin odegaard went close, but not close enough. bayern through, delight for their england star harry kane but arsenal's hopes have ended in disappointment.

the battle in parliament between the lords and