in this town its second anniversary. in this town there is despair, _ its second anniversary. in this town there is despair, what _ its second anniversary. in this town there is despair, what unites - its second anniversary. in this town there is despair, what unites it - its second anniversary. in this town there is despair, what unites it now is a sheer exhaustion, the knowledge this wear will not be quickly won. and after being given just days to live by doctors, how conjoined twins from senegal are defying the odds. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live. the widow of alexei navalny — the russian opposition leader who died injail last week — has accused the russian president, vladimir putin, of killing her husband. in a video statement, yulia navalnaya said, the russian authorities are hiding his body. she promised that she would continue her husband's fight for a free russia. our correspondent bethany bell reports from brussels, where mr navalny�*s widow is meeting european foreign ministers. alexei navalny�*s widow yulia says she will continue

to fight for a free russia. she said her husband was killed because the russian president vladimir putin couldn't break him. translation: another person should l be here in my place but that person l was killed by vladimir putin. we know exactly why putin killed alexei three days ago. we will tell you soon. but the most important thing we can do for alexei and for ourselves is to go on fighting. i will continue alexei's work. alexei navalny died in this prison camp in the arctic circle. prison authorities say he suffered sudden death syndrome. the kremlin has denied involvement in his death, calling the accusations "frankly obnoxious". it says there are no results yet in the investigation into the death. earlier, mr navalny�*s mother was blocked from entering a mortuary where his body was believed to be.

today yulia navalnaya is in brussels meeting with eu foreign ministers. the eu's foreign policy chief says they are considering new punishments against those responsible for mr navalny�*s treatment. member states will consider sanctions against those responsible. the person responsible is putin himself. other ministers said mr navalny�*s death underlines the wider threat posed by russia in ukraine. eu ministers are keen to support the political opposition in russia and honour mr navalny�*s memory. there are also calls for measures to punish those responsible for his treatment. but with so many other sanctions already in place, their options are somewhat limited. bethany bell, bbc news, brussels. let's talk to mark sabah, the former head of communications

for the global magnitskyjustice campaign — a group that seeks to impose asset freezes on human rights abusers and corrupt officials. welcome to the programme. estonia's prime minister has said at the west should consider seizing russia's frozen assets. is that a viable option, do you think? as the international communityjust looks at what it can do to respond. i at what it can do to respond. i think it is very viable. i think assets have been frozen around the world since the start of the war with ukraine. those assets should be collected and actually given to ukraine to help with their own rebuilding and reconstruction. there is very little that can be done, as history has shown in the last few years, to pressure president putin to change the way he is running his country and behaving, so let's exert pressure from the outside. flint? pressure from the outside. only ractical pressure from the outside. only practical level, _ pressure from the outside. only practical level, to _ pressure from the outside. only practical level, to seize - pressure from the outside. only practical level, to seize there was a frozen assets, give to ukraine, how easy or difficult is that

practically?— how easy or difficult is that racticall ? ., , , , ., ., practically? the assets are frozen by individual _ practically? the assets are frozen by individual countries _ practically? the assets are frozen by individual countries who - practically? the assets are frozen by individual countries who seize | by individual countries who seize houses, yachts, bank accounts, state assets and so on, and what you can have its intermedia account set up managed by an international consortium where the money goes to and is distributed to ukraine for its own reconstruction —— an intermediary account. 50 its own reconstruction -- an intermediary account.- its own reconstruction -- an intermediary account. so if there was a well. _ intermediary account. so if there was a well. you _ intermediary account. so if there was a well, you could _ intermediary account. so if there was a well, you could do - intermediary account. so if there was a well, you could do this, i intermediary account. so if there l was a well, you could do this, you think, relatively easy like? you need to have the will, there are a lot of countries have the will to do it. you need to have those cooperating to have it done, but no doubt the frozen assets should be given in some way to ukraine for reconstruction. in terms of the amount of money we are talking about, assets frozen. what is that roughly is a figure? we about, assets frozen. what is that roughly is a figure?— roughly is a figure? we think it is approximately — roughly is a figure? we think it is approximately 300 _ roughly is a figure? we think it is approximately 300 billion - roughly is a figure? we think it is approximately 300 billion us - approximately 300 billion us dollars. i believe in the uk it is around £22 billion that have been frozen and that is everything from state assets, houses, yachts, who knows what other assets and bank accounts and savings and so on. there is a rough estimate of around

300 billion around the world. we heard in the piece of eu leaders talking about consequences. without defining what those consequences could be. that is one key area. i have seen a lot of comment about this whole area of using frozen assets. if there were other things, we had sanctions since the start of this war in ukraine, what else could be done that isn't being done? there are a few things. _ be done that isn't being done? there are a few things. first _ be done that isn't being done? there are a few things. first of _ be done that isn't being done? there are a few things. first of all, - be done that isn't being done? ii” are a few things. first of all, the sanctions regimes it should be tightened for those who killed navalny, but also there should be some sort of penalty for organisations who continue to work for sanctioned individuals and companies. there are public affairs agencies, logging firms, media organisations, pr firms and so on who continue to take money from sanctioned individuals. that should be stopped. we should also look at expelling russia from some multilateral institutions. there comes a point where you have to say, enough is enough when it comes to

this behaviour, but the really important thing is this, the will pit authoritarian states are looking at russia to see how it behaves and how it will handle all of this, the more the western democracies do not have a cohesive and a firm policy towards it, it gives a green light towards it, it gives a green light to countries like china, venezuela, iran to do what they want, knowing that western countries do not have a strategy for dealing with it. just a cuick strategy for dealing with it. just a . uick final strategy for dealing with it. just a quick final thought _ strategy for dealing with it. just a quick final thought about - strategy for dealing with it. just a quick final thought about what is happening inside russia because the official explanation around a cause official explanation around a cause of death keeps flip—flopping in all sorts of things being thrown out there. do you think that is a deliberate strategy if there is no set line, becomes harder to then dismantle one position? i set line, becomes harder to then dismantle one position?- set line, becomes harder to then dismantle one position? i think it is a few things. _ dismantle one position? i think it is a few things. first _ dismantle one position? i think it is a few things. first of— dismantle one position? i think it is a few things. first of all, - dismantle one position? i think it is a few things. first of all, it - dismantle one position? i think it is a few things. first of all, it is l is a few things. first of all, it is an in cohesive place. each department will be putting out its own statement, each apartment and personal say what they want, but there is a playbook in russia that we have seen many times, when saga magnitsky was killed in 2009, there

was an investigation, he was found guilty of dying by stoppage of breath before he it was admitted he was beaten. there will be constant flip—flopping of the reasons and the causes and outcomes. thank you for coming in to speak with us. fascinating, thank you for your time. let's turn to the middle east. israel has given the first indication of when its forces might launch a ground offensive against rafah in southern gaza. a minister in the israeli war cabinet, benny gantz, said, the assault would begin in three weeks unless hamas releases all the hostages. it comes as the hamas—run gaza health ministry says, over 29,000 palestinians have been killed, and more than 69,000 injured in israeli strikes since the offensive began. this is the live scene in rafah. the area is currently overcrowded with at least 1.4 million palestinians sheltering there, after they were made to move away from northern and central parts of the gaza strip. speaking on sunday, mr gantz,

said the message was clear. if by ramadan hostages are not home, the fighting will continue everywhere — to include rafah area. we will do so in coordinated manner, facilitating the evacuation of civilians, in dialogue with our american and egyptian partners to minimise the civilian casualties as much as possible. let's speak tojotam confino, foreign editor at thejewish news, who joins us from tel aviv. welcome to the programme. what do you make of that timeline from benny gantz? , , ., , ., you make of that timeline from benny gantz? , , ., ,, ., gantz? this is orbital because of increased pressure _ gantz? this is orbital because of increased pressure from - gantz? this is orbital because of increased pressure from the - gantz? this is orbital because of. increased pressure from the united states to postpone this military operation. jose unless you have a viable plan to evacuate the

civilians, you should not enter rafah. —— who are saying. a roughly three weeks timeline for hamas to surrender or release the hostages and if not, they will go into rafah and if not, they will go into rafah and has benny gantz has said but also the defence minister over the weekend, it is inevitable for israel to go into rafah as long as there are hostages and as long as hamas is present there. so unless hamas gives into those demands, we will see a military operation there. if into those demands, we will see a military operation there.— military operation there. if that is in three weeks' _ military operation there. if that is in three weeks' time, _ military operation there. if that is in three weeks' time, the - military operation there. if that is in three weeks' time, the logic. in three weeks' time, the logic flows out of that that whatever evacuation plan as well as putting together, that was a medley has to make public within the next week or ten days if it has the remotest chance of moving 1.4 million people out of harms way.— chance of moving 1.4 million people out of harms way. absolutely. we are heafina out of harms way. absolutely. we are hearing certain _ out of harms way. absolutely. we are hearing certain leaks _ out of harms way. absolutely. we are hearing certain leaks in _ out of harms way. absolutely. we are hearing certain leaks in the _ hearing certain leaks in the american media, that israel is preparing to set up cities of tents

along the coast, but we have not heard anything specific. but they need to present this, obviously. the american need to know, the palestinians need to know, the world needs to know what is going to happen to those 1.3 million palestinians in rafah. egypt is constantly preparing for the possibility of palestinians trying to cross the border and they have said they will not accept that, so they are pushing in one direction, they are pushing in one direction, the israelis are pushing them in another direction.— the israelis are pushing them in another direction. they are being cauaht in another direction. they are being caught in between _ another direction. they are being caught in between those - another direction. they are being caught in between those two. - another direction. they are being i caught in between those two. adjust briefly on this, over the weekend we saw large protests in tel aviv, so much pressure as benjamin netanyahu under? much pressure as ben'amin netanyahu under? . , , , , under? incredible pressure. the hostages. _ under? incredible pressure. the hostages. the — under? incredible pressure. the hostages, the families - under? incredible pressure. the hostages, the families of - under? incredible pressure. the hostages, the families of the i hostages, the families of the hostages, the families of the hostages have said that the government has abandoned them for months into this war, they are furious with netanyahu for not compromising with a nazi. he has said he has insisted on total victory, destroying hamas and

bringing the hostages out. everyone knows that is not possible, so they are fed up, which is why we are seeing increasing protests on a daily basis and they are extremely angry about it. daily basis and they are extremely angry about it— angry about it. there are so many otential angry about it. there are so many potential pressure _ angry about it. there are so many potential pressure points. - angry about it. there are so many potential pressure points. we - angry about it. there are so many| potential pressure points. we have one coming up this friday, because that was the deadline set by the icj for israel to cease all activities that might amount to genocide. even since that ruling from the hague, you have had talks about the need to force palestinians completely out of the gaza strip. do you think by friday we will get anything significant in terms of something from israel that addresses what the icj had actually demanded that they do? we icj had actually demanded that they do? ~ . r' icj had actually demanded that they do? ~ ., w , . icj had actually demanded that they do? ~ ., ,~' , . ~ , do? we asked the defence minister this weekend _ do? we asked the defence minister this weekend when _ do? we asked the defence minister this weekend when we _ do? we asked the defence minister this weekend when we were - do? we asked the defence minister this weekend when we were in - this weekend when we were in e—briefing within and he said he believes that there will be a response, some sort of official statement in response to the icj's, so we wait to hear that. b,

statement in response to the icj's, so we wait to hear that. a statement or chan . e so we wait to hear that. a statement or change of— so we wait to hear that. a statement or change of tactics? _ so we wait to hear that. a statement or change of tactics? it _ so we wait to hear that. a statement or change of tactics? it is _ so we wait to hear that. a statement or change of tactics? it is hard - so we wait to hear that. a statement or change of tactics? it is hard to - or change of tactics? it is hard to understand _ or change of tactics? it is hard to understand really _ or change of tactics? it is hard to understand really what _ or change of tactics? it is hard to understand really what he - or change of tactics? it is hard to understand really what he was i understand really what he was hinting at, but there will be an announcement. i'm not sure they will be a change, but there will be a pushback to what the icj is saying or demanding. pushback to what the iq is saying or demanding-— pushback to what the iq is saying or demanding. pushback to what the iq is saying or demandinu. , ., ., ., ., . ~' or demanding. jotam cofino thank you for 'oinin: or demanding. jotam cofino thank you forjoining us— or demanding. jotam cofino thank you forjoining us live _ or demanding. jotam cofino thank you forjoining us live from _ or demanding. jotam cofino thank you forjoining us live from tel— or demanding. jotam cofino thank you forjoining us live from tel aviv. - around the world and across the uk, you're watching bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. international shipping experts have confirmed a strike on a british ship by yemen 5 iran—backed houthi rebels. the rubymar was hit by two missiles and severley damaged in the gulf of aden. the crew are reported to have abandoned the vessel after an explosion. its said to be at risk of sinking. there are not thought to have been any injuries. a search has resumed after a two—year—old boy fell into a river in leicester. emergency services were

called to the river soar, in the aylestone area, late on sunday afternoon, but so far haven't been able to find the boy who was with his family at the time he fell into the water. the business secretary kemi badenoch will make a statement to mp5 today after accusing the former chairman of the post office of misrepresenting the circumstances of his departure. it follows a newspaper interview in which henry staunton claims he was told by a senior civil servant to stall compensation payments for victims of the post office scandal. we are expecting a government statement in about an hour's time. you're live with bbc news. let's look at ukraine now. this week, marks the second anniversary of the start of the war — and as russian forces make advances in the east, there are concerns over what a third year year of conflict may bring. our correspondent andrew harding,

has returned to the town of lyman, close to the front line, to find out how people there are feeling. how do you judge the mood of a country this big and this broken? we've come back to a front line town — lyman — a place seized by russian forces and then liberated by ukraine back in 2022. since then, the closest front lines have remained just up the road. this was aleksander a year ago with his cats. aleksander? yes. andrew from bbc. today he's still here. "yes, i remember you," he says. he shows me the wreckage of his old apartment block, hit by russian missiles. and he says he sees this war differently now. i want peace, peace, peace. so has your opinion changed? changed — many changed. so this is interesting. he's changed his opinion over the course of the last year.

before, he said ukraine had to win this war. now he's saying there's been too much death, too much suffering. he wants talks — even if it means giving up land, peace is more important than victory. you can feel the weariness on the streets of lyman. british aid distributed here, mostly to pensioners, who ignore the sound of another explosion on the front lines. "our youth are being exterminated". "if this continues, there'll be no ukraine left," says nadezhda. "this war will go on for a long time yet," says pasha. but it's not all gloom here. council workers are out doing what they can and a younger generation is just getting on with life. school is mostly online, but not entirely.

"i've got everything i need," she says. a year ago, we found families hiding from the war in these cellars. and today, the dmitrichenko family are still here. but there's regular electricity now — waterfrom a pump outside, and irina, an accountant, is quietly determined. "we're waiting for victory," she says. "we are all tired, but i don't see how we can negotiate with murderers". still, lyman's mayor is worried that america will stop supplying weapons to the ukrainian troops protecting his town. "we're fighting a monster," says aleksander. "so we need more outside military help. our soldiers are doing their best, but they're running out of guns and ammunition".

this small town feels torn between determination and despair. what unites it now is sheer exhaustion, the knowledge that this war will not be quickly won, and increasingly, the fear that ukraine's fate may yet be decided by foreign politicians in far—away capitals. andrew harding, bbc news in eastern ukraine. an english channel migrant, who piloted a dinghy — four of whose passengers drowned — has been found guilty of their manslaughter after two trials. ibrahima bah, who is from senegal, was convicted by a majority of ten to two — at canterbury crown court. dominic casciani reports. a light in the dark. cries in the distance. the early hours of december 2022, a fishing boat in the english channel discovers a sinking migrants�* dinghy. men swim for their lives. 39 saved.

at least four drowned. this man in the blue coat, ibrahima bah, accused of their manslaughter. he agreed to pilot the inflatable to england. over two trials, prosecutors said he was criminally responsible for the deaths. when it began taking on water, he could have taken the dinghy back to france. one of the survivors from that night told the bbc everyone feared they would drown. people stood up inside the boat and then the boat collapsed. i don't know whether he is a smuggler, a refugee, asylum seeker, but he helped us and he saved us. i don't know what to say. he was speeding the boat in order to get closer to the fishing boat, and also turned or swerved the boat in a way that helped us. and this is why the crossings are so dangerous. this boat is a similar size and construction the one that ibrahima bah was in. the border force have got it out to show us and filled it

with the items they find, typically, in every rescue. you've got buoyancy aids, used on canoes on lakes and rivers, totally unsuitable for the job. you've got fuel bottles. you've got foot pumps. and look at this, the construction. it's basically a bouncy castle. and that's why they say these are a death trap. jurors were told smugglers had offered ibrahima bah a free seat in return for the piloting, so prosecutors argued jurors were told smugglers had offered ibrahima bah a free seat in return for the piloting, so prosecutors argued jurors were told smugglers had offered ibrahima bah a free seat in return for the piloting, so prosecutors argued the deaths occurred as part of a criminal enterprise, the senegalese man was responsible for everyone's safety and could have foreseen the tragedy. but bah said he had no choice — the smugglers threatened to kill him when he had second thoughts. this manslaughter trial has been unprecedented. more than 140 other people have been prosecuted for piloting boats since 2022 — boats that have brought 30,000 men, women and children on dangerousjourneys. a trade the government is under huge

political pressure to stop. when conjoined twins were born in senegal, doctors thought they would survive forjust a few days. at the age of two, they moved to london for treatment at great ormond street hospital — and since then, the girls have defied all the odds, recently celebrating their seventh birthday. lucy owen has their story. what is it now? marieme and ndeye enjoying playing with their friends at mount stuart primary. theirfather always hoped they'd go to mainstream school. it's a way for me to show that they are part of society. this is what i wanted — for them to have a normal life. to see kids, to play with them, to laugh with them, to make friends, to develop as individuals. they don't have to hide from anybody.

dad applied for them to come to nursery here because we were local. they were three at that point and joined our nursery part—time and we were frightened and we were scared that we'd get it wrong. but we knew that we could build a good relationship with dad and that if we could build the relationship with dad, that we could make it work. the wonderful thing about children is they only see their friend. they're both so pretty. i like cats too and they like cats. they're really kind to us and i they're really nice to play with. ndeye's favourite colour is my favourite colour too. that's why they're stuck together — because they really love each other. and we always do girl power with them. girl power! the twins need regular monitoring and hospital checkups.

let the doctor listen to your heart. thanks. can you feel it? - where can you feel it? can you feel it there? are you going to tell me? are you already training to be a doctor? - they've got one pair of legs . between them and one pelvis. moving up through their abdomen, they've got a lot— of different organs. so we've got bowels and we've got a urinary system. - they've got two totally separate i spinal cords with all their nerves, yet somehow they completely l co—ordinate and they don't have to tell each other how to move an arm or how to move a leg. i itjust works. and again, two separate hearts. but we know they're linked - and they can't survive on their own. this is an x—ray of the girls�* pelvis and the lower abdomen. and what you can clearly see here are two spines. normally, you'd have a spine going straight up out of the pelvis but here we've got one here and one here. so this is illustrating the approximate place

of where they are joined. when we first met them, you know, they were babies and i think there was a lot of uncertainty. could they be separated or what might happen? and having worked through those very, very difficult conversations, now we've just had two years where we've hardly seen them in hospital, and that's been really, really good. i think there is no doubt their life is going to be complex. i think we've still got serious risks of infection and serious risks to their hearts. i think that is probably the area where they're going to struggle. if you develop an infection in your bladder or your kidneys and you can't get on top of it with antibiotics, there is a risk of that evolving into sepsis. so that's a real risk for them. and also heart failure. but it's getting a balance between being prepared, being realistic, but not talking about that all the time. shall we go and show everybody in the classroom? yeah.

one of the main hopes for marieme and ndeye is that they will be able to stand and perhaps one day walk. at school, they spend time in a standing frame to get them used to being upright. they have a standing frame because if you've been in a wheelchair all your life, you're not used to being upright. so we're training them to get some strength in their legs. what does everybody say when you're in the standing frame, girls? oh, you look tall! whatever challenges the girls face, their dad believes their courage can inspire others. as i say to many people, "we're going to live." how long? i don't know. i don't want to know now. i don't want to know. ijust concentrate on the present and making every day a surprise and celebrating life. straight to breaking news coming to

us from northern ireland. our correspondent they are telling us junior doctors there have voted to take strike action next month in a dispute over pay. junior doctors in england of course already involved in a whole series of walk—outs, but this is the first time we will have a 24—hour walk—out taking place on march stakes, and the first time junior doctors in northern ireland have gone on strike. the british medical association say 97.6% of those are balloted voted yes for a walk out. the union said a 63% voted in terms of turnout. junior doctors voting to take strike action in northern ireland for the first time. i will be back with the headlines and just a moment. hello there. we're starting the new week off on a fine note. in fact, a ridge of high pressure bringing quite a lot of dry and sunny weather to our shores. another mild day to come,

maybe not quite as mild as what we had over the weekend, particularly across northern and western areas. it's here where we will see more of a breeze through the afternoon, a little bit of cloud here and there, maybe just one or two showers, as well. elsewhere, variable cloud, but a lot of sunshine around, feeling quite pleasant, with lighter winds in the south. up to 13 or 14 degrees again across the south—east, nine to 11 or 12 further north. through this evening we see the first front move into scotland. that will bring thicker cloud, outbreaks of rain, a strengthening breeze. then, by the end of the night, this next front will arrive across the north—west of the country. that will bring more substantial rain here. more cloud around generally across western areas and more of a breeze too. it's the east and the south—east, which will see the lowest temperatures under the clearer skies, low single digits there, whereas temperatures will be rising a little bit further north and west as this weather front arrives. tuesday, then, looks a bit breezier generally. the isobars are closer together and we'll have this weather front spreading southwards across scotland and northern ireland. into the afternoon it will be pushing southwards across england and wales. skies brighten up behind it, but there will be some heavy,

blustery showers, maybe some snow on the hills above 300 metres. some hail and thunder mixed in too. ahead of it, rather cloudy skies, but again mild. up to 14 degrees here, a little bit fresher, further north and west behind the weather front. then, as we move through tuesday night into wednesday, we see a more substantial area of low pressure hurtle in off the atlantic. that is going to bring a pretty wet and windy day for many of us on wednesday. the heaviest of the rain will be pushing through during the morning period. strong winds, as well. gales across northern areas, windy around the irish sea coast, but it does brighten up into the afternoon. most of the rain clears through into the north sea. we'll see some scattered, blustery showers across northern and western areas. again, pretty mild for the time of year at 11 to 13 degrees. but the mild air doesn't last. from thursday onwards we open the floodgates to more arctic airflow. it will be turning cooler for all areas. low pressure always nearby, so it will stay relatively windy.

in fact, we could see gales at times into next weekend. it will be showery at times, some sunshine, but we'll all notice it feeling a little bit cooler.

this is bbc news. the headlines: alexei navalny�*s widow accuses the russian president, vladimir putin, of killing her husband, and vows to continue his fight for a free russia. we'll play you more

of her statement. translation: three days ago, vladimir putin _ translation: three days ago, vladimir putin killed _ translation: three days ago, vladimir putin killed my - translation: three days ago, i vladimir putin killed my husband. translation: three days ago, - vladimir putin killed my husband. he killed the father of my children. he took away the dearest thing i had. headteachers in england receive new guidance to try to stop pupils using mobile phones at school. and the actress and director samantha morton gives an emotional acceptance speech at the baftas, dedicating her fellowship award to children in care. sport now, and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. hello from the bbc sport centre. attention turns to the bottom end of the premier league table later, as everton host crystal palace — both sides desperate for the points to secure their safety come the end of the season. palace manager roy hodgson is expected to miss the game, after being taken ill at training last week — it's understood he's doing well in his recovery.

assistant manager paddy mccarthy and coach ray lewington should lead the team in his absence.