it's russia's most significant military success since may. and keeping up the fight for compensation — hundreds of sub—postmasters forced into bankruptcy are still demanding redress. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. we start with the latest on the death of alexei navalny, one of president putin's most prominent critics. his family says mr navalny�*s mother has tried and failed to collect her son's body from a morgue in the arctic circle. a spokesperson claimed it is purposely being withheld by russian authorities so they can "cover traces". demonstrations and vigils have taken place near russian embassies in many countries to express outrage at his death in prison. more than 100 protesters are reported to have been detained for attending memorials in russia. our first report this hour is from our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford. this was a walk towards the news

that navalny�*s mother didn't want to hear. way up in the russian arctic, at the prison where her son was held, she has now been informed officially of his death. but his spokeswoman told the bbc the family still don't have his body. we don't have any clue where he is now and what is happening to him and when it will be given to the family. alexei navalny died on friday at 14:17, an opposition politician who dared to speak out in a country where dissent is dangerous. but in moscow today, supporters came onto the streets to remember him. some were arrested, dragged to police vans. since the first reports of navalny�*s death, people have been leaving tributes at monuments to the victims of political repression — in stalin's time. the symbolism is deliberate.

however navalny died, he had been arrested and locked up because of his politics. he denounced vladimir putin and his team as "crooks and thieves". arresting him became almost routine. then three years ago, navalny fell desperately ill on a plane. tests in germany showed he'd been poisoned with novichok, a nerve agent. when he recovered, he returned to russia and was sent straight to prison. the criminal charges began piling up then to keep him there. navalny had been in courtjust a day before his death was announced, appearing via video link from prison. his persistent cheer was, in itself, an act of resistance. journalists used to ask navalny constantly whether he was afraid for his life and he would brush the question off. then two years ago, he was asked for his message to supporters if he were killed.

for the situation when i'm killed, it's very simple — not give up. without navalny, though, the future for all russians who hoped for change has never looked bleaker. sarah rainsford, bbc news. you saw kira yarmysh — mr navalny�*s spokesperson — in that report from sarah rainsford. my colleague azadeh moshiri has spoken to ms yarmysh, who told her the navalny team is still trying to learn what has happened to his body. we don't know anything about the location of his body because employees of his colony told his mother and his lawyer that his body is in salekhard and an investigative committee took the body and are conducting some sort of investigation with it, but they told them that the body is located in a morgue in salekhard.

the lawyer and his motherjust arrived to that place and the morgue is closed. there was just a phone number on the door and they tried to call this number and they were told that there... ..there are seven people who have already called the morgue today and the body of alexei isn't there, so alexei's prison just lied to his mother and his lawyer that the body is there, and so we don't have any clue where he is now and what is happening to him, and when it will be given to the family. so they have just been calling a morgue, trying to find out what has happened to the body, whether they have it? yes, because the employees of the colony said that the morgue is opened and the body was there, but the morgue was closed when they arrived, it's about two hours�* drive

from the prison to salekhard. they found the morgue closed and after they called, they were told the body wasn't there. what is your reaction when you hear about his death but also the conditions that are going on right now when it comes to the courtesy that his family is being shown? we know for sure that it wasn'tjust a death, it was a murder, alexei was killed and we are sure it was vladimir putin, president of russia, who gave direct order to kill alexei. we know this because he already tried to kill him three—and—a—half years ago. alexei was poisoned with novichok nerve agent, but he survived. now, putin was able to murder him and what is happening right now is that they are trying to cover traces.

this is why they are not giving the body to his family and this is why they are just hiding him from them. this is what putin's state looks like just now, it is hiding a body from his family. we demand that russian authorities should immediately give the body of alexei navalny to his family. world leaders and diplomats are in germany for high—level debates on the world's most pressing security challenges at the munich security conference. the meeting has been dominated by the sudden death of alexei navalny. also being discussed is the israel—gaza war and the looming ground incursion of rafah.

one of the focal points of today's discussions is the war in ukraine. us vice president, kamala harris, held a news conference alongside ukrainian president zelensky. she commented on her country's support for ukraine. political gamesmanship has no role to play in what is fundamentally about the significance of standing with an ally, as it ends years ——about the significance of standing with an ally, as it endures and unprovoked aggression. politics should play no role in standing for the fact that vladimir putin, through his leadership of russia, has shown himself to be fundamentally hostile to democratic principles, not to mention what we have learned about in the last 2a hours, in terms of the killing of navalny. our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, is at the munich conference, where world leaders and diplomats

have been sharing their concerns for global security. a concern about russia's full—scale invasion of ukraine that has only been deepened by the death of alexei navalny. of course, volodymyr zelensky addressed this conference and called on his partners in europe and canada and america to ensure they keep that vital support coming, lest, he said, ukraine is standing on its own against russia. this certainly is an issue for all members of nato, including a country which is, we believe, about tojoin nato, and that is sweden. we're joined now by sweden's defence minister, pauljohnson. has the death of alexei navalny deepened your already existing concern about your existing neighbour russia? of course, we think about his family and friends and relatives and the responsibilities for this is on russia and putin himself. sweden's own support for ukraine

in its war against russia... is yourjoining of nato imminent? you are sure that hungary, the last country whose support you need is forthcoming? yes, we are very helpful. already, of course, the other allies have ratified and what we're ——yes, we are very hopeful. already, of course, the other allies have ratified and what we're hearing now from budapest is that they are willing also to ratify us in the hungarian parliament, and that is very good for sweden, but we also think it is good for nato because sweden inside nato is going to strengthen the whole northern flank of the alliance. and it is good for nato's ability to deter and defend risk or aggression so we are determined to be a fully—fledged group member of the alliance soon. how real is that the risk of aggression? there was a huge amount of attention to a warning from defence chiefs to the population of sweden to prepare for war, is it that real?

it's not an imminent risk for an armed attack against us or any of the allies but the security environment has definitely deteriorated due to russia's full—scale invasion of ukraine, taking place on the doorstep of the allies and it is only 800 kilometres between the ukrainian—swedish borders. in addition, we take note of russia that is willing to take great political and military risks. russia has not been impressive on the battlefield but it has shown a high degree of resilience, it is able to generate new armed forces, new soldiers, new tanks, and this is something we have to take into account, too. and i always say supporting ukraine is the right and the smart thing to do because right now it is ukraine who is the shield against russian military expansion. how worried are you about comments by former president trump about the nato alliance and how already he is having an impact on holding up vital support to ukraine in the us congress? i think it is very important we are both in europe and the united states continue supporting ukraine, it is really an investment into our own security.

i think now is the time for unity in the euro—atlantic community. one thing is also crystal clear, europeans have to step up when it comes to our own defence and our ability to strengthen our armed forces. you will be able to meet the requirement of spending 2% of your gdp on defence? we are already 2.2% this year and we doubled our defence expenditure in four years and this year we increased the defence budget with 27% because we get it, defence investments are part of cohesion and solidarity within the alliance and we will do our share and continue to spend more than 2.2%. as a defence minister, you know how critical us support is, any diminishing in the us�*s involvement will have consequences for nato and for countries like you which are front—line states in the war in any tensions with russia. sure. there are good things coming out of nato, let me be clear,

i came back from nato two days ago. nato is adapting new regional defence planners. we can see now that when sweden joins, they will be 20 allies out of 32 who have reached 2.2%. that's a drastic increase in defence spending. the most important thing for nato now is to make sure those regional plans, that we have military assets and capability to make those regional plans are credible. are those plans there? is there enough support from other countries that are further away from the border area where you are? we are moving in the right direction and we are getting stronger every day and i think sweden inside nato will make the alliance even stronger. there was a warning from germany that it could take a decade before you have enough of the arms and ammunition you need, both to help ukraine and defend yourselves. certain things will definitely be lacking in europe, one is available ground forces, we know we are short on that, what we need to focus on is to put ourselves in the war footing when it comes to logistics,

maintenance and supplies for our ground forces, we are lacking long—range strike capabilities. we are learning from the war in ukraine that air defence is very important. satellite—based intelligence and communications. so, a lot of investors we have to do in europe in the coming years. the swedish foreign minister there talking to lyse doucet. ukrainian troops have withdrawn from avdiivka — a key eastern town besieged by russian forces for months. the fall of the town, which is almost completely destroyed, marks russia's biggest win for months. president zelensky says the decision was taken in order to save the soldiers' lives. he also repeated his request for more financial and military aid to help his forces against the russian invasion. our correspondent — james waterhouse — is in kyiv. avdiivka had become a ukrainian stronghold, really. this was a place which sits on the front line for the past decade. it separates ukrainian controlled territory

and the eastern city of donetsk, which russian forces have controlled since 2014. in that time, the ukrainians built real substantial fortifications, and yet in recent months the russians have launched wave after wave of attack, suffering significant losses. at one point, hundreds of soldiers were being killed weekly, if not daily. but crucially the ukrainians suffered losses as well. and because we are in a war of attrition, where both sides are trying to exhaust each other, size is starting to count for more, and i think this is what we have seen with avdiivka. a city, once an industrial hub, now drained of life and almost completely destroyed. some ukrainian forces were captured as they tried to escape, most made it out, we are told. president zelensky, speaking to world leaders in munich made the argument that his troops were not really defending anything so they had to move out to preserve life and move to new defensive

positions, and he had his own reasons as to why russia was allowed to make this type of advance. dear friends. unfortunately, keeping ukraine in an artificial deficit of weapons, particularly in deficit of artillery and long—range capabilities allows putin to adapt to the current intensity of the war. you notice he said the word "artificial". he believes the stuttering supplies of weapons from ukraine's allies is down to choice. it is mostly down to political disagreements in the us, and it is america which leads the way when it comes to aid to ukraine, because of the speed and scale with which it can manufacture weapons. a sizeable package, worth more than $90 billion, is still yet to be approved, and most of that includes weapons and ammunition for ukraine. any talk that you hear about liberation, of ukraine perhaps

repelling russia completely, i think that has been very much shelved for now. ukraine, by the admission of its own generals, is on a defensive footing and the hope is very much that avdiivka will not be the first of many. now it's time for a look at today's sport with gavin. hello from the bbc sport centre. liverpool went five points clear at the top of the premier league after a 4—1 thrashing of brentford at the g—tech in west london, in the early kick off. darwin nunez gave them the lead — before going off injured. jurgen klopp�*s side had theirfoot on the gas in the second half. alexis mac allister, and mo salah, on as a sub from the injured diogojota, had them three up and cruising. ivan toney pulled one back for brentford to continue his resurgence. cody gakpo made absolutely sure of the points for liverpool late on. all the rest was positive, the boys played an incredible game, definitely the best game we have played. we take it like it is.

as long as you don't know the extent of the injuries, you are obviously concerned and worried, for me it is no different to all our fans and so we will see when we get this information. but as long as we have 11 players on the pitch, we will fight and that is what i saw today. arsenal are looking to close that gap to just two points. they're winning comfortably at burnley. martin 0degaard, and bukayo saka with two goals... 0—3 up. fulham 0—1 aston villa . 0llie watkins with the goal. tottenham 1—1 wolves. . .. dejan kulusevski with the spurs equalisernewcastle1—1 bournemouth . dominic solanke with the goal, capitalising on a slip from dubravka... bayer leverkusen have the opportunity to stretch their lead at the top of the bundesliga

to eight points, in the latter stages of the second half, against heidenheim, it's 2—1 to leverkusen. borussia dortmund are also in action on saturday at wolfsburg. .. 1—1 there. in la liga, atletico madrid thrashed las palmas 5—0, marcos llorente scoring twice. barcelona later travel to celta vigo. in italy — juventus will look to close the gap on inter — who won 4—0 last night — at verona, while in france leaders psg are at nantes. in the women's super league, the attendance record was broken again at the emirates stadium as arsenal beat manchester united 3—1 to boost their title hopes. a crowd of 60,160 watched on as goals from kim little and cloe lacasse, along with an early own goal helped the gunners come away with the three points. that movesjonas eidevall�*s side just three points behind joint leaders chelsea and manchester city. it's the first time the emirates has been sold out for a wsl match. to cricket where india are very much in the ascendancy and will fancy their chances of victory after day three of the third test in rajkot.

england resumed overnight on 207—2 but slumped to 319 all out. ben duckett eventually out for 153. in reply, england got rohit sharma early on but a century from yashasvi jaiswal — who retired hurt — and an unbeaten 65 from shubman gill have put india in a strong position heading into day four. india lead by 322 runs. it was one of those days and i think it is one of those where you have to give credit to india. i thought right from this morning they were very good, they didn't make it very easy to score at all, it seems like their plans were a lot better than maybe last night. and unfortunately we kept losing wickets at the wrong time. and it was one of those days. the genesis invitational third round is under way — there's no tiger woods though — after he had to pull out of the event he's hosting, due to flu—like symptoms. the 48—year—old was driven off the course on a cart, after teeing off on the seventh hole of his second round. woods went to the clubhouse

for two hours and was given intravenous fluids. woods' compatriot, will zalatoris, had a much better day. the world number 5a hit a hole in one, on the par three 14th. as a result of his ace, zalatoris won both himself and his caddy a car for the first hole—in—one of the tournament. the american finished the day tied for sixth, seven shots behind leader patrick cantlay. he's back under way in around three hours. and that's all the sport for now. many sub—postmasters who were wrongly accused of theft and fraud are still fighting for compensation — despite the scandal now being recognised as one of the biggest miscarriages ofjustice in uk history. the cases taking the longest to solve, involve the victims who were forced to declare bankruptcy in order to pay back the losses they were accused of making. our business correspondent, emma simpson has more. tony downey is finally heading

back to his old home in the lake district. it has taken him 15 years to have the courage to return. tony bought the hawkshead post office in 2001. he said it was buzzing and a dream come true. it's a childcare centre now. what's it like to be back? 0verwhelming, to be honest. a lot of emotions after 15 years of not coming back here. now i live in spain in a rented apartment with no career, no money, no pension, no nothing. tony had £35,000 of shortfalls at his branch. he and his wife used their savings and credit cards to balance the books. when another £7,000 of losses appeared, they could not pay any more. tony resigned and sold up, advised to go bankrupt two months later. he is still nervous about who he might meet here, but not diane. she bought the post office from him and guess what — she had shortfalls too.

it was tony who encouraged her to claim for compensation. i've been on antidepressants ever since all this started. we had several audits, each time they were demanding money. the last one we had said you either pay £1,200 now or you are going to be prosecuted. you think, crikey, we will be led out of here in handcuffs! this is awful! we had £3,000 and they literally made my wife go to the bank, and she went to our friends to borrow money and we had to pay it by half past four. i thought it was me, you thought it was you, and it wasn't — it wsa the computer system. same post office. same problems. here's the thing — the post office has accepted that horizon was to blame for tony's losses at his branch but they won't admit causing his bankruptcy. so far, he has ended up withjust £10,000 worth of damages,

far less than he is owed. the rest of the £1a0,000 worth of compensation has gone straight to the official receiver to pay off his bankruptcy debts. in a statement, the post office said... tony is doing that. his legal team are dealing with most of the bankruptcy cases. the enemy is time. the fear and worry we have is that people are left in a situation where they have to throw the towel in because time is running out and they want some sort of resolution or some sort of access to money. he believes tony has

got a very strong case. just how long will it take to unravel? emma simpson, bbc news, hawkshead. the japanese space agency has launched its new flagship h—three rocket on a two—hour test flight, after years of delays and two aborted attempts. the h3 had a successful liftoff from kagoshima on saturday and the space agency says the rocket has already released one micro—satellite. compared to its predecessor, the h3 is cheaper and has a greater payload capacity. the agency hopes that will help it win launch orders from global clients. finally, this half hour it is world pangolin day. the insect—eating mammal is the world's most trafficked animal, with all eight species protected under international laws. conservationists in kenya working to save the animal are using the day

to highlight that three species of pangolin are critically endangered. they say their existence is becoming more precarious because their habitats are taken by humans.. and in some regions they are hunted down by traffickers. stay with us here on bbc news. good afternoon. it's still meteorological winter, but it's felt rather spring like at times over the last a few days. the mild air set to persist as we head through the rest of the weekend. we have seen some brightness around today, notably towards the north east of england, eastern scotland. but for most of us, this has been the story low cloud, mist, murk, outbreaks of drizzle, the wind picking up towards the west. and that's because this weather front is approaching for the rest of the day. you can see that nicely pictured on the satellite picture. there will be a lot of rain, particularly out towards the west as we head towards the end of the afternoon.

some heavy downpours at times. further east, it should stay mostly dry, 1a or 15 degrees celsius in the south. so very mild for the time of year. the wind picking up towards irish sea coast. a lot of this ground already saturated. so there could possibly be quite a lot of surface water flooding around. the rain turning more showery across northern ireland, western scotland later on. and it's sweeping eastwards overnight tonight. so we will see some clear skies develop, some showers towards the west. the rain lingering on across the south east of england and east anglia. temperatures in double figures still for many. so a very mild start to the day on sunday. now, there's still a lot of debate on the timing of the clearance of this rain from east anglia and from southeast england as we head through sunday morning. so if you have got plans, thenjust bear that in mind that this rain could linger on for some potentially into the first part of the afternoon. it will turn more showery, though. there will be some brightness, some sunshine developing for most showers, particularly out towards the north and the west. temperatures, again, very mild, 12 or 13 degrees celsius

for the majority. as we head through sunday night, there's another weather front approaching from the northwest that's likely to bring some more outbreaks of rain and that sinks southwards and eastwards as we head through monday morning. again, there will be some showers on this and brighter spells behind and a bit of sunshine, more of a northwesterly wind and a slight dip in temperature, too. so it won't feel quite so mild on monday. but still, temperatures just a little above the seasonal average, generally nine to 13 degrees celsius. a colder night on monday into tuesday. and the air will be turning chillier as we head through the rest of the week, too. but it stays very unsettled. it will be rather windy at times, especially in the west. bye.

this is bbc news. the family of the late russian opposition figure alexei navalny say they've been unable to collect his body. his spokesperson tells the bbc the authorities are hiding it. we know that law has been never applied to alexei, and so we have no doubt that they will try to hide his body as long as possible. more than 100 protesters are reported to have been detained for attending memorials in russia. in the us, the words "putin murderer" were projected on to the embassy building. the ukrainian president

says his forces had to abandon the eastern town of avdiivka because they'd been outgunned. rishi sunak calls for conservative unity after this week's two big by—election defeats to labour. now on bbc news, it's newscast. hello. it's adam in the studio. and it's chris in the studio. right, let's dive straight into today's big news, which came at 7am, which gives you a hint about what it was, because that's when big economic statistics come out. and we learnt from the 0ns that the economy shrank by 0.3% in the final three months of last year. now, if you add that to the 0.1% shrinkage in the three months before, we're now technically in a recession.

yeah, in an election year. and that r word,