this is bbc news, the headlines: the un security council meets today to discuss the situation in gaza, as concerns about the humanitarian situation intensify. first public execution in a football stadium in afghanistan since the taliban seized power. in the uk, a watchdog says employers should make reasonable adjustments for women experiencing menopausal symptoms or face being sued. and scientists say they've finally worked out the mystery behind whale song.

significant breaking news coming to us from europol, just word of a us from europol, “ust word of a large-scale _ us from europol, just word of a large—scale operation involving law enforcement and judicial authorities from three countries, belgium, france and germany, all coordinated by europol, leading to the dismantling, they say, one of the most active networks involved in the smuggling of migrants across the english channel in small boats. the investigation focused on iraqi kurdish network suspected of smuggling made in eastern and east african migrants from france to the uk, with the use of low quality inflatable boats. and of course that story has dominated the british political scene for many, many months, one of rishi sunak�*s five pledges, but those are the pictures of the operation. now, the operation itself happened yesterday, let me give you the details of what they are telling us. 19 arrests have been made in germany, they also tell us

that five high—value targets were arrested, including the leader of the main organisers of this gang. there were 28 different locations, 19 houses and nine storage bases across germany, and they seized 2a inflatable boats, 175 life vests, and 81 flotation voices for children, and 60 air pumps. so i very, very large operation, and as you can say, they are giving more and more of the details there, so head there if you want to say that in detail. we will talk to our correspondents about that in a moment, but worth returning to the top line, a large—scale operation involving the belgian, french and german authorities, coordinated by europol, 19 arrests, dismantling one of the largest active networks involved in smuggling migrants across the english channel. that story has just broken, those are the basic details, we will get more on

that here in the next little while. let's cross to the bbc sport centre for the headlines there. the former brazil and barcelona defender dani alves has been sentenced to four and half years in prison after being found guilty of rape by a spanish court. the 40—year—old, who was capped 126 times by his country and won six league titles with barca, had been in detention since january of last year. he denied sexually assaulting a woman in a nightclub on new year's eve in 2022. from madrid, here's our correspondent guy hedgcoe. he has insisted that it was a consensual encounter, the court found that it was not. he has to pay 150,000 euros in damages,, and after he is released from prison, he will be under supervision for another five years as well. he has already served just over one year of his four and half year sentence, because he has been in custody since january

2023, when these charges were first brought against him. his lawyer has said that he is going to appeal this ruling, but the decision was welcomed by representative of the victim, who has said that she was happy about this, because it confirmed that her version of events was the correct one. the celtic and former england goalkeeperjoe hart is to retire at end of season. he won two premier league titles with manchester city and was capped 75 times for his country. he has also won the scottish premiership twice with celtic. he will be 37 when his three—year contract expires in the summer. brendan rodgers says he will be a "huge miss to the game". this year's london marathon will have equal prize money for wheelchair and non—disabled athletes, a world first. all winners in the elite races will now take home $55,000. eight—time winner david weir, who will be taking part in his 25th london marathon in a row in april, spoke to be about the significance

of having equal pay. the london marathon is where my heart is, it is where i started, and it was the first race i saw on tv in the 1980s, it inspired me to get into this fantastic sport. but, you know, at an early age you knew that it wasn't a level playing field between able—bodied and disabled athletics, and now this is a step forward in the right direction, i'm just so proud that it is london marathon that has taken this step. fast bowler 0llie robinson is back in the england side for the first time since the third ashes test last summer. he's one of two changes made for the fourth test that starts on friday in ranchi against india, one they have to win as they trail 2—1 in the series. robinson comes in for mark wood while off—spinner shoaib bashir is recalled for leg—spinner rehan ahmed. the wicket could cause some problems for batters, with large cracks already appearing.

six nations news — england have made five changes to the side that beat wales for their calcutta cup clash with scotland in edinburgh on saturday. northampton full—back george furbank has won a surprise recall to the side in place of freddie steward, who drops out of the matchday squad entirely. 0llie lawrence returns from injury in place of fraser dingwall, while there are recalls for danny care, dan cole and ellis genge. blair kinghorn will start at full—back for scotland — one of the three changes to gregor townsend's side along with jamie richie and kyle steyn. scotland are aiming for a fourth successive win over their oldest rivals, england. ciaran frawley will start at full—back in place of injured hugo keenan in grand—slam chasing ireland's six nations game against wales on saturday, one of seven changes to the side that beat italy in game two.

some of the irish pretty much at full strength as they go for a grand slam. more details of that on the bbc sport website, but that is all for now. matthew. before we move on, i want to show you pictures that we have just had come into the bbc, they are pictures of vladimir putin, and if you follow, just over the next few seconds, you'll see the russian president clamber on board the bomber, it is a nuclear capable strategic bomber that has been accepted into the russian air force after this test flight. there he is, sitting next to the pilot, on the right—hand side, during this test flight. it is a tu-160m, during this test flight. it is a tu—160m, described by putin in this

footage as reliable. we took a flight on this bomber earlier today, we are told taking off from an aerodrome in kazan, so make of that what you will, with a high attention internationally, interesting that vladimir putin should take to eight nuclear capable strategic bomber, i suspect between the lines, sending a message out. but those are the latest pictures just coming into us. its been two years since the start of russia's invasion of ukraine, with its devastating toll on civilians. the un has documented over 10,000 civilians killed, including 523 children. but the real number is believed to be much higher. last october, the small village of hraza in the eastern kharkiv region lost over a fifth of its population in a single russian missile strike. months on, many children, orphaned by the attack, are struggling to cope in the shadow of the frontline which is drawing nearer. zhanna bezpiatchukfrom bbc

ukrainian visited hraza, known as the village of orphans. a cemetery for the victims of a single russian airstrike. 59 were killed here, all civilians. valentina lost most of her family that day. her husband, anatoly, her daughter, herson, and the youngest victim, her eight—year—old grandson, ivan. her other grandson, vlad, survived, becoming an orphan at the age of 1a. he is now in the west of ukraine for safety. a video call replaces a hug. this is what the war has done to them. translation: the more time passes, the worse i feel. - i feel very scared when i realise

my family were killed. almost no—one survived. it's devastatingly hard. the missile landed here last october. people had gathered to commemorate a local man killed in the war. moments later, they themselves became a target. russia denies targeting civilians. four months on, every family in hroza is still grieving. valeri lost four family members to the strike, including his daughter, a mother of four. translation: my daughter | was conscious when she died. her last words were, "how i want to live!" a pensioner before the war, valeri's now working two jobs to provide for his daughter's orphans. translation: as long as you are alive, you should have hope. - myjob is to guide my grandchildren in the right direction.

hope is in short supply, when not far from the village, it looks like this. the nearby city of kharkiv, ukraine's second largest, is hit daily, with civilians killed and injured. heavy snow covers the village overnight, and many here fear the war will soon get even closer. there is an emptiness which is not natural. from time to time, it's broken by explosions on the nearby front line. the future here is uncertain, but the unbreakable bond of family is clearfor all to see. the war continues, making it hard for valentina to recover from her loss. living alone, she, like so many ukrainians, continues to carry her pain. zhanna bezpiatchuk, bbc news, hroza village

in the north east of ukraine. the taliban authorities in afghanistan say they've publicly executed two men convicted of murder. in a football stadium. these pictures show people from a distance who have gathered to watch the men were executed by multiple gunshots. with more on this, let's talk to zari kargar in the newsroom. this seems like another lurch backwards to what the taliban dated the last time they were in power. exactly, they taliban have executed, have carried out many public executions like this in the past and recently so, since they took power in 2021, they have been carrying out public executions such as this, but today the supreme court of the emirates issued a statement

confirming the public execution of these two men, and it says that the executions were approved by three local courts and then the death warrant was given by the leader of the taliban. the executions were carried out in a historic, cultural province of afghanistan, in the centre, and it was carried out in a football stadium that was built a few years ago. and it is also reported that the two men were executed by the family members of those victims, and in total, 15 shots were fired, eight out one man, seven at the other, and the execution, after it was carried out, the bodies were taken by ambulance. in these executions were watched by hundreds of men, local men who gathered in the football stadium, who watched the execution, and it is

also reported that local taliban officials were present at the execution. officials were present at the execution-— officials were present at the execution. ., ,., , , execution. now, in the past, they taliban used _ execution. now, in the past, they taliban used to _ execution. now, in the past, they taliban used to film _ execution. now, in the past, they taliban used to film executions i execution. now, in the past, they. taliban used to film executions like this and circulate that video. has that been done this time around? this time it hasn't been done, as you can see, the pictures we have got from agencies, they are filmed from far distance, the executions are not shown from a very short distance, but yes, in the past, i remember in the first round of the taliban regime in the 1990s, videos were circulated, i was in pakistan, and people could go to video shops and people could go to video shops and rent videos of these executions that were carried out by the taliban, executions, floggings, stoning to death of women who were convicted of adultery. so these kind of punishments or something that is known that the taliban would carry on afghanistan, and it is, is used

to shock people, but then in the 19905, to shock people, but then in the 1990s, people slowly, slowly got used to it, because local mosque and local imams would invite people to watch these executions live as it happened, and they would film it, and the films were circulated. and it was almost like a spreading of fear among people, that if you commit crimes, this is what is going to happen to you. and sadly that is happening at the moment back in afghanistan. zari happening at the moment back in afghanistan-— afghanistan. zari kargar, in the newsroom. _ afghanistan. zari kargar, in the newsroom, thank _ afghanistan. zari kargar, in the newsroom, thank you - afghanistan. zari kargar, in the newsroom, thank you for - afghanistan. zari kargar, in the newsroom, thank you for the i afghanistan. zari kargar, in the - newsroom, thank you for the latest details on that story, thank you. here in the uk, companies have been told they should make workplace adjustments for women going through the menopause, including relaxing uniform policies and offering working from home on warm days. the equality and human rights commission guidance also states that using language that ridicules someone because of their menopausal symptoms could be harassment.

kate muir is an author and a women's health campaigner, and producer of both davina mccall documentaries on the menopause. she said that the new measures risk the menopause being seen as a disability. i don't think it should be categorised as a disability. it happens to every single women and some non—binary people too, and we should be doing something about the health aspect of it and not making reasonable adjustments all the time for some symptoms. what we know now with the new research around apologies, that seems to end quite abruptly. but with me in the studio is a health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, an interesting development, it seems like a bit of a step change. i development, it seems like a bit of a step change-— a step change. i think this is a very important _ a step change. i think this is a very important step _ a step change. i think this is a very important step change. l a step change. i think this is a | very important step change. in a step change. i think this is a - very important step change. in terms of recognising the impact of menopause in women and the challenges they faced. the menopause is the end of a woman's menstrual

cycle, when that starts to decline, and symptoms can be really quite debilitating for some women, waves of feeling extremely hot, hot flashes, brain fog, of feeling extremely hot, hot flashes, brainfog, not of feeling extremely hot, hot flashes, brain fog, not being able to think clearly, and general exhaustion from a lack of sleep, and women say they have even had to leave their jobs women say they have even had to leave theirjobs because they have felt so bad at work. what the equality and human rights commission is saying today is that losing women from the workplace because of the menopause, with all that experience that a woman might have about a0 or 50 years old in the workplace, is bad for business, but it is also discriminatory, and that actually employers have a duty in law, in england and wales and scotland, to make these reasonable adjustments to make these reasonable adjustments to make sure that women can continue to work. and there was reasonable adjustments might be to do with temperature, wearing lighter uniforms if there is a uniform, having a fan, or flexible working hours if they are feeling really tired, just to get them through the worst of the symptoms. 50

tired, just to get them through the worst of the symptoms.— tired, just to get them through the worst of the symptoms. so those are the headlines. _ worst of the symptoms. so those are the headlines, what _ worst of the symptoms. so those are the headlines, what do _ worst of the symptoms. so those are the headlines, what do we _ worst of the symptoms. so those are the headlines, what do we know - worst of the symptoms. so those are l the headlines, what do we know about these sorts of numbers in the uk, these sorts of numbers in the uk, the number of women affected by this, and what do other countries do in this area?— in this area? well, you are talking about a large _ in this area? well, you are talking about a large group _ in this area? well, you are talking about a large group of— in this area? well, you are talking about a large group of women - in this area? well, you are talking about a large group of women in l about a large group of women in their a0s and 50s, and two thirds of them, in some research carried out by the chartered institute of personnel and development, said when they were surveyed that the menopause had had a negative impact on their work, and they were finding it hard to concentrate, that they were stressed, less able to be patient at work. and when you look across the world, there is certainly across the world, there is certainly a general recognition now, a changing culture about the importance of the menopause among women and the support they need. lots of trade unions support this now, just as there is maternity leave, in some parts of the far east, there is menopause leave for

women. ., , east, there is menopause leave for women. . , , women. that is really interesting, it is an area _ women. that is really interesting, it is an area that _ women. that is really interesting, it is an area that has _ women. that is really interesting, it is an area that has suddenly - women. that is really interesting, it is an area that has suddenly gotj it is an area that has suddenly got so much focus, so thanks very much for bringing us up—to—date on today's guidance that we have heard. thank you, sophie hutchinson, our health correspondent. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news bringing you different stories from across. the decision to build an incinerator here has upset a lot of people. local residents have protested about the plan, saying it will cause pollution in a built—up area, and a total of five local councils across cambridgeshire and norfolk opposed them too. despite this, the government has approved plans for the incinerator to be built on the industrial estate. the company behind the plans says the facility, which would be one of the biggest in europe, would burn up to 625,000 tonnes of non—recyclable household, commercial and industrial waste each year. this could generate more

than 50 million watts of electricity and up to 30 million watts of steam heat. this project will help a government that's under pressure to provide energy security and reduce landfill. but it once again highlights that there is often a conflict between national needs and the impact on local communities. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. the brazilian footballer and former barcelona star dani alves has been sentenced to four and a half years injailfor rape. he was convicted of raping a woman in a nightclub in barcelona december 2022. he's been ordered to pay 150,000 euros to his victim. alves, who's a0, is one of the most—capped brazilian internationals. he's won numerous titles and cups with both the national squad and club sides, including barcelona, paris saint germain and juventus. 0ur correspondent in madrid guy hedgecoe

gave me this update on the case. well, the court in barcelona found that there was no consent involved in this encounter between dani alves and this young woman, who was 23 when she met dani alves in a nightclub in barcelona at the end of 2022, and that he had indeed raped her in the toilet in the vip section of the nightclub. now, dani alves had insisted that this was a consensual encounter. he'd also said that he had been drunk when he met this woman. but he has been given a sentence of four and a half years. also, those damages he has to pay. and when he's released from prison, he will also be under supervision for anotherfive years. now, we should point out he has already served more than a year of his sentence already because he's been in custody ever since january 2023.

an intriguing story next, and american prosecutors have scientists have worked out how some of the largest whales in the ocean produce their haunting and complex songs. humpbacks and other whales have evolved a specialised voice box that enables them to sing underwater. let's take a listen. whale song. the discovery, published in the journal nature, has also revealed why the noise we make in the ocean is so disruptive for these ocean giants. whale song is restricted to a narrow frequency that overlaps with the noise produced by ships. let's speak to our science correspondent, victoria gill. victoria, this is an amazing story, so in terms of what they discovered, i gave a couple of the headlines, but tell us more.— but tell us more. yeah, it is a fascinating — but tell us more. yeah, it is a fascinating study, _ but tell us more. yeah, it is a fascinating study, a _ but tell us more. yeah, it is a fascinating study, a really - fascinating study, a really

interesting method, the scientists i have spoken to about this experiment say the researchers have been so creative, because these are incredibly difficult animals to study, these are baleen whales, the animals that save huge amounts of food through these saves in the mouth, they grow to massive sizes, some of the biggest animals that have ever lived, these baleen whales, and they have managed to study three by finding stranded whales, so i mainly wail and a humpback whale, and they dissected and studied there vocal apparatus. what they did in their laboratory was test them by pumping air through the voice box and showing that vibrations in the tissue, much like the vocal folds in our throats, does actually produce these sounds. but it is very special, this baleen whale vocal apparatus. instead of the vocal cords where we have to breathe in and pass air across, they can recycle air, and they have a

special sac in the throat that they can pump across these vocal tissue, so that they can hold their breath and seeing underwater, an amazing insight into how these complex sounds are produced, all while holding their breath and not inhaling water.— holding their breath and not inhalin: water. �* ,. , , inhaling water. and where scientists are surprised _ inhaling water. and where scientists are surprised by _ inhaling water. and where scientists are surprised by what _ inhaling water. and where scientists are surprised by what they - inhaling water. and where scientists are surprised by what they found? l are surprised by what they found? because it differs from other whales? w , because it differs from other whales? , ., , whales? exactly, so toothed whales, dolhins, whales? exactly, so toothed whales, dolphins, porpoises, _ whales? exactly, so toothed whales, dolphins, porpoises, or— whales? exactly, so toothed whales, dolphins, porpoises, or because, - dolphins, porpoises, or because, they have been discovered in captivity, so there is a lot more known about them, and they have vocal apparatus in the nasal passages, so it is very different. and although it was understood, suspected that they could produce these sounds in the larynx, it had never been shown or tested in the way it has in these other animals. so the researchers have this absolute demonstration now, and it tells this amazing evolutionary story as well, because the

evolutionary history of these animals is, terrestrial animals went back into the sea, and it seems like they kept their vocal apparatus in they kept their vocal apparatus in the larynx, but theyjust evolved it so it was very specialised for underwater communication. and sound are such a hugely important part of these animals' world, the sounds can travel hundreds of miles through the ocean so they can find each other, call out to a mate, communicate, and they can navigate the environment through sound, which is why this insight about how much the sound overlaps with the noise that we put into the ocean is so important as well. . ., ., ., , , well. victoria, absolutely fascinating, _ well. victoria, absolutely fascinating, and - well. victoria, absolutely fascinating, and i- well. victoria, absolutely fascinating, and i heard i well. victoria, absolutely. fascinating, and i heard you well. victoria, absolutely- fascinating, and i heard you on the radio this morning, talking about ancient sailors recognising these sounds, thinking they may be ghosts, everything being explained by these researchers in this report, thank you so much forjoining us wanted a's programme. i am back injust a moment too with more of the day's

headlines, don't go away. hello there. 0ur weather is turning a lot colder, and it's all down to a change in the wind direction. we've had these mild south—westerly winds for ages, but they're moving out of the way to be replaced by these colder north—westerly winds. and they are really dropping the temperatures in a big way. yesterday we had a top temperature of 15 degrees celsius, whereas this afternoon we're looking at temperatures being around eight degrees celsius lower. and as a cold front pushes its way eastwards, this band of rain, we have seen temperatures drop by five degrees celsius in the space ofjust one hour. the wettest weather across southern england through the afternoon, a risk of some further localised flooding. quite windy, gusts around 30—a0mph. but in the channel islands, windier than that, 60—70mph gusts here for a time. scotland and northern ireland, meanwhile, having a day of sunshine and showers. the showers coming through with snow in them above a00m elevation in the scottish mountains. you will notice a bit of snow on the scottish tops of the mountains here.

a colder feeling day then, and as we go through this evening and overnight, we are looking at further showers piling in particularly frequently across western areas of the uk. it's a frost—free night for most areas because the winds will stay up. but where the winds do fall light, you could just see a few patches of frost developing in one or two areas. a cold start, then, to the day on friday. certainly a lot colder than it has been for a number of mornings. it should be bright enough, though, plenty of sunshine around. showers from the word go across western areas and the showers develop elsewhere as the day goes by. again, some snow across the hills of northern england, northern ireland, scotland, but quite high up, above a00m metres elevation. now for saturday, it looks like we could see some rain skirting into southern most areas of england, maybe one or two mist and fog patches around fewer showers. the air is slightly less cold. snow really pushing up to the tops of the scottish mountains. by this stage, temperatures around about eight or nine degrees celsius. so close to average really for the time of year. sunday, we could see the winds pick up again across southern areas of england,

maybe a bit of rain skirting into the south coast itself, a few showers for northern ireland. otherwise, a fair bit of dry weather for scotland and a good chunk of england and wales. temperatures still around about average, eight or nine degrees pretty widely. but then we're looking at this unsettled run of weather continuing well into next week with further accumulations of rain. it's already been a very wet month, so we could see some further localised flooding issues.

live from london. this is bbc news. hundreds of post office employees, wrongly convicted in the uk's biggest miscarriage ofjustice, are due to have their names cleared under new legislation. a low largest organisation of people smugglers sending boats across the channel is smashed through an international effort. aid agencies say hunger and disease are spreading in gaza. we have rare access, to the first uk—air—drop of food and fuel into the gaza strip. almost 60 mps call on the house of commons speaker to quit after yesterdays�* voting chaos over a ceasefire in gaza. some fertility treatments are paused in alabama after a us court ruling that frozen embryos will be classified as children.

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