the conservatives suspend mp lee anderson, after he refused to apologise for saying london's mayor is controlled by islamists. this is not a story, this is a very, very serious issue. this is about the future of our country, the kind of country that we want to build together. on the second anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine, president zelensky insists his country will win, but urgently needs more weapons. hello and welcome to the programme — i'm catherine byaruhanga. the body of russian opposition figure alexei navalny has been handed over to his mother. while the g7 group of nations have again called on russia to fully clarify the circumstances

of his death. navalny spokesperson, kira yarmysh, confirmed on x — formerly known as twitter — that the body had been released. she also wrote that they weren't sure if they could give him the funeral they said he deserves. the country's most vocal kremlin critic was found dead in a siberian prison nine days ago. according to russian accounts, the 47—year—old took a short walk, said he felt unwell, then collapsed and never regained consciousness. on friday, his mother, lyudmila navalnaya, was given an ultimatum to hold a secret funeral for her son or he would be buried at the penal colony where he died. she was given three hours to make her decision. our correspondent olga ivshina from bbc russia provided some context to the returning of navalny�*s body. navalny�*s sudden death, which came as a shock to many of his supporters, analysts and many, just most of the people who follow russia.

yeah, everyone was watching for this and waiting after yulia navalnaya recorded that speech where she raised the stakes. so i guess at least this comes as a relief to his family that they would be able to get him buried, because one of the scenarios described by the officials according to navalny�*s mother was that they would not give his body and would bury him in the penal colony, so definitely it's a relief that his family was able to get his body. we don't know where the funeral will take place. we know that navalny�*s mother, well at least at the time of the announcement, she was still in the arctic circle, so we don't know where exactly and when exactly the funeral will take place. and do you think russian authorities hope that by handing over navalny�*s body that this will bring an end to all the controversy that has surrounded his death? well, definitely they don't like the level of discussion

and the level of coverage this all has caused. because, obviously, they were irritated by the very fact that despite being in the penal colony, navalny was able to send his messages through, to be able to speak out on certain topics, including politicaltopics, so the fact that even after his sudden death, which many, you know, suspect could not have been connected to natural causes only, the level of discussion is not something which russian authorities like. so, on the one hand, yes, they hope this will calm down. on the other hand, we know the team which navalny has built, we know his supporters, his friends and his colleagues would keep spreading the message, would keep banging on, and we see that yulia navalnaya, the wife of alexei, is determined to continue his political his struggle.

as you say, his wife is determined to continue his political struggle. i wondered how is his family being viewed in russia? obviously, they have been at the centre of this storm following his death. that is a very good question. i guess i don't have a definite answer, because russia is an authoritarian state and there are no independent ways to figure out what's the view of the majority or what's the distribution of the views. the fact is, before navalny�*s death, or killing as some suspect, his family wasn't actually in the spotlight — his wife was always behind him, next to him, but never really in the public eye, his mother was never mentioned before — so it is really hard tojudge. what is for sure, that thousands and thousands of navalny supporters showed up all over russia, despite harsh laws, despite being detained, they showed up to show some support, and it is really hard to find out the view of the majority because now, even to mention such topics,

you can end up in deep trouble, currently, in russia. head to our website — there's an article on what we know about alexei navalny�*s death. just head to bbc.com/news — or use the bbc news app on your smartphone or tablet. here in the uk, the mp lee anderson has been suspended from the conservative party. he had refused to apologise for saying that islamists had gained control of the mayor of london, sadiq khan. during a discussion on gb news about pro—palestinian marches in westminster on friday, mr anderson said the mayor had "given away the capital city to his mates". the mp was deputy chairman of the tory party until his resignation last month. pressure had been mounting on rishi sunak to take action over mr anderson's comments.

mr khan criticised what he called a "deafening silence" from the prime minister and his cabinet. these comments from a senior conservative are islamophobic, are anti—muslim and are racist. we have seen over the last two days confirmation that over the last few months there has been an increase in anti—muslim cases by more than 330%. these comments pour fuel on the fire of anti—muslim hatred. and i'm afraid the deafening silence from rishi sunak and from the cabinet is them condoning this racism. and i'm afraid it confirms to many across the country that there is a hierarchy when it comes to racism. i think it's really important to call out anti—semitism and it's really important to call out misogyny. it is really important

to call out homophobia. but surely it must also be important to call out anti—muslim hatred. and i tell you this — my concern is there will be people across the country, people who are muslim or look like muslims, who will be really concerned about entering politics because they know that if these are the sorts of comments said against me by a senior conservative, what chance do they have? the mayor of london sadiq khan there. our political correspondent iain watson told us more about the controversy and the mounting pressure on the prime minister. he has indeed. and that pressure coming not just from sadiq khan, notjust from the labour party, but some people inside rishi sunak�*s own party as well, including the business minister, nus ghani, who'd said that these comments made by lee anderson, that the mayor of london was under the control of islamists, that those comments were "dangerous". also, lord barwell, the conservative peer who used to be the chief of staff to theresa may when she was prime minister, he called the remarks despicable. so there's a growing number

of people willing to go out publicly and denounce what lee anderson was saying. and don't forget, he was deputy chairman of the conservative party, a prominent spokesman for that party, until really quite recently. the chief whip obviously tried to get him to apologise, to withdraw those remarks, and he's refused to do so. and for that reason, he is suspended. we don't know how long that suspension is going to last, but if he doesn't apologise, the suspension could last until the next election and he would not be eligible to stand as a conservative candidate, so this is potentially very serious for him. earlier, i spoke to former conservative chairwoman baroness sayeeda warsi — the first muslim to serve as a cabinet minister. it may surprise you for me to say that i wasn't surprised when i saw these comments from lee anderson. he has a long and chequered history of making racist comments, indeed from even before he became a conservative member of parliament and consistently since then,

there has been controversy around comments that he has made, and the party have been aware of that. lee anderson should have had his whip withdrawn many, many months ago. as should other colleagues. the prime minister needs to decide whether the issue of anti—muslim racism is as serious as anti—semitism, homophobia, misogyny, all other forms of discrimination and racism, or that it doesn't matter to him, he shouldn't have to be put under pressure to take action on this form of racism and there should not be a hierarchy of racism within political parties. but the conservative party over the years, as you know, has carried out some inquiries into issues surrounding islamophobia, other kinds of discrimination, and i guess it hasn't found the need to carry out any massive action in the way perhaps the labour party has

done over anti—semitism. where do you think this leaves the leadership of the prime minister, and what should he be doing around this issue in the conservative party? well, the conservative party, after many, many years of being pressurised by myself and others, decided to have an inquiry, the singh review. the inquiry was a whitewash. it didn't take full evidence. it didn't follow the evidence from complainants. and when it published its findings, it didn't have the support of muslim conservatives or british muslim communities. and so, really, the party has not taken this matter as seriously as it should have done. and because it didn't, there is now a culture and an acceptance within the party that muslims are fair game, that muslims don't matter, that you can get away with this kind of rhetoric, whether you dress it up in more respectable fashion, as some of my colleagues try and do on the floor of the house or in newspaper articles like robertjenrick or suella braverman or others, or whether you do it

in a much more overt way like lee anderson did, and he got caught in the net. but whichever way my colleagues are talking about this issue, it is a deeply dangerous approach, it is very deliberate, it is divisive, it is aimed to fuel hatred, it is aimed to fuel culture wars, and it may win a few votes in some extreme parts of british society, but the majority of british society rejects this kind of populist, post—truth, divisive politics and tragically, what it is doing, it is poisoning political debate and it's poisoning our political party, the conservative party. so just give me some concrete action, some steps you would like the conservative party to take that would deal with this issue comprehensively.

there is a simple step the party could take. there is now an agreed parliamentary definition of islamophobia, put forward by an all party parliamentary group, made up of conservatives, labour members, lib dems and snp. it has been adopted by every single political party in this country, including the conservative party in scotland, and the only party that fails to adopt it is the conservative party in westminster. so there is a very simple thing the party could do to show their commitment to rooting out anti—muslim racism and islamophobia by adopting the all party parliamentary group definition of islamophobia, as they have quite rightly adopted the irha definition of anti—semitism. it would show that this form of racism is taken seriously and it would also show there is not a hierarchy of racism within our party. do you think this will turn out to be a political story rather than one that deals with islamophobia, as you are calling for?

perhaps there would be a question of the personality of lee anderson, the leadership of the prime minister, is that the direction the story is likely to take? catherine, this is not a story, this is a very serious issue. this is about the future of our country, they kind of country that we want to build together. the conservative party have got a great tradition of being a one—nation party, of trying to find policies which bring the country together, which unify us, a great believer in democracy, debate and discussion, that despite whatever differences we may have in this country. but where the conservative party is going right now is not in the tradition of the conservative party, it is more following what has happened with the republican party in the us and the poisoning of that by donald trump and his ilk. we saw, only this last week, liz truss spending her time over there, supporting that kind of populist, post—truth politics and being

a cheerleader for donald trump. donald trump and his ilk have destroyed the republican party and destroyed democracy in the united states, and sadly, there are some of my colleagues who are bringing that poison to the conservative party. it is a dangerous thing for the party and for democracy, and for our country, where most decent people in this country want to live alongside each other, sharing our lives, sharing the experiences that we have in this country, and creating a unified, united country. but if we start finding people at the top of politics who try to ratchet up hatred, who divide rather than heal, who use every opportunity to promote a culture war, then that is a serious threat to all of us, notjust muslim communities who are currently the target of the attack, but who will come next? we have seen that with for example suella braverman when she mounted an attack on homeless people,

and there have been attacks on other groups, it is dangerous, divisive politics and we have got to call it out and we have got to say enough, we cannot have this kind of poisonous ideology in our politics. that was the former conservative chairwoman baroness warsi. the israeli war cabinet is to be briefed later today by negotiators who have held talks in paris on trying to secure a ceasefire in gaza. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's national security advisor says the fact that the briefing is taking place shows that the team did not come back empty—handed. reports in israeli media say the "outline of an agreement" on a ceasefire with hamas and the release of the remaining hostages was reached in talks with mediators from the us, egypt and qatar. it comes as israel continues its bombardment of gaza. health officials in the territory said more than 100 palestinians

were killed overnight. our correspondentjenny hill is injerusalem — she has more on the possible ceasefire. significant progress has reportedly been made during those talks in paris, where israel was represented, along with delegates from egypt, qatar, both of whom have been really driving these negotiations, and also, of course, the us, which has said it wants a deal in place before the beginning of the muslim holy month of ramadan, which starts on march 10th, so around a fortnight to go to get that deal done. reports suggest that the negotiators have thrashed out a framework, an outline of a deal upon which further negotiations can now be built. we don't have details of that outline at this stage, but we understand that the israeli delegation will be presenting the framework to the israeli war cabinet later on this evening, so we would hope to have some more

details fairly soon. and we know what the sticking points had been between hamas and israel. the whole deal is looking at brokering a temporary ceasefire. well, hamas had said they wanted a permanent ceasefire, followed by the withdrawal of israeli troops — that was something that the israelis weren't prepared to move on. there were also a lot of discussions around the release of israeli hostages, but in return, hamas were demanding the release of palestinian prisoners from israeli jails. and then there was a lot of discussion about how, put bluntly, how many prisoners should be returned in exchange for a certain number of hostages. so we know those were the sticking points. we don't really know what shifted, but it's fair to say that in the last few days, the tone has certainly softened. as recently as last weekend, you had benjamin netanyahu, the israeli prime minister, describing hamas�*s negotiating position as "delusional". but then a few days later, a ministerfrom his war cabinet was saying that the initial signs

indicated that there was a possibility of progress towards a deal. so a cautious optimism coming out of the israeli reports. let's wait and see what more details follow. leaders of the g7 group of countries have called on iran and china to halt supplying military equipment to russia, to support its war on ukraine. it's exactly two years since russia's full—scale invasion of the country. several western leaders attended a ceremony marking the second anniversary in kyiv. ukraine is facing a bleaker situation than a few months ago, with shortages of men and weapons, and the slow advance of russian troops. ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, addressed the g7, thanking them for their support. first of all, i want to thank you on behalf of all ukrainians

for the wider support for our nation, and our people. thanks to your cooperation, millions of ukrainians and in neighbouring countries around russia, can feel that their homeland will not become putin's back yard. we started this week, two years ago, not sure what challenges would lie ahead, but now, we can clearly say that our leadership is sufficient to restore security. round the world, leading democracies are truly determined, and this determination will overcome all challenges. and we have already achieved much, and the world feels that putin can lose this war, and when he loses, it will mean that notjust someone wins, but the entire global community of nations and international law, as such, will prevail. we must ensure this.

now it's time for a look at today's sport with lizzy. we start in the premier league, where arsenal are proving themselves to be capable contenders in the title race. as they aim to keep pace with the top two, they have to beat newcastle, and are doing so, leading 2—0 as we approach the hour mark. the pressure was on arsenal after title rivals manchester city did their part, beating bournemouth i—o at the vitality stadium, phil foden with only goal. the win keeps city second, nowjust a point behind leaders liverpool. so a good day for city, a poor one for their rivals manchester united. they conceded a 97th minute goal against fulham to lose 2—1 at old trafford. united's four match—winning run in the league is over. we had them under pressure and there was one player in the wrong position, so as a team should manage

that so everyone is on the right position. we have experience on the pitch and then we let them escape. that was avoidable. united are now eight points off the top four, after aston villa beat nottingham forest 4—2. elsewhere, oliver glasner got off to a winning start as manager of crystal palace, as they beat burnley whilst brighton scored late to draw 1—1 with everton. in spain, barcelona have narrowed the gap on leaders real madrid to five points after beating getafe 4—0. real play sevilla on sunday. meanwhile, in germany's bundesliga, bayern munich's three—match winless run is over. harry kane scored twice, including a 9ist minute winner, in a 2—1 victory against rb leipzig. elsewhere, borussia monchengladbach beat bochum 5—2 whilst the day's other three matches all finished level. next, to the biggest match in club rugby league, as wigan warriors and penrith panthers aim to become known as the best side in the world.

and it's the super league side who now have the edge, but only just. an entertaining first half included two tries each. wigan are leading 16—12 in the second half. wigan are hoping to take the title for a fifth time, while the nrl champions, penrith, are hoping to avenge last year's dramatic golden point defeat to st helens. a stunning bowling performance from shoaib bashir has put england in control of the fourth test against india. resuming the second day in ranchi on 302—7, england added another half century before being bowled out, with joe root finishing unbeaten on 122. india's innings didn't start well when they lost rohit sharma tojimmy anderson early, then bashir took over the ball, taking the next four wickets with impressive figures to leave india trailing england by 134 runs with three wickets remaining. i think we are in for a very exciting test match. yes, it has

offered something different from the first three games, definitely, but we will see how things unfold. we just have to continue keep backing up just have to continue keep backing up two very good days of cricket. at the six nations, scotland are celebrating once again, after they won the calcutta cup against england for the fourth time in a row — the first time they've done that since 1896. 30—21 was the score at murrayfield, but they had to come from behind for victory, as england led 10—0 early on. a hat—trick of tries from duhan van der merwe — a calcutta cup record — swung the game in scotland's favour, as they made it two wins from three matches. ireland are the team everyone�*s trying to catch though — they made it three wins from three, beating wales 31—7. it moves ireland a step closer to becoming the first team to win back—to—back grand slams in the six nations era. and that's all the sport for now.

just to update you on that arsenal newcastle match because arsenal are now 3—0 up at home to newcastle in that title fight for them. that is it, that is the sport. people are voting in the south carolina republican primary election. it will determine whether people there want donald trump or nikki haley as their republican presidential candidate. the former us president is expected to easily overpower his rival, even though ms haley served twice as south carolina's governor. our correspondent helena humphrey has more from charleston. well, i think already there's a feeling that this is unlikely to be a hero's return for nikki haley here in her home state. we've been speaking to voters throughout the course of the morning just outside of charleston. even those coming out to support nikki haley say it's going to be an uphill battle. they say they have been voting for herjust to make sure there are more names on the ballot going forward into super tuesday, that this isn't a foregone conclusion.

but if you take a look at the polls, we've got donald trump with around a 30 points lead over nikki haley, and there is the sense, with donald trump speaking at cpac for example, in maryland, that he has already moved on, he's got his eyes on the republican nomination despite the fact that as we know, he is facing four criminal trials going forward, 91 felony indictments against him right now. so it will be a difficult night here for nikki haley. there's more on our website about that race in south carolina. just head to bbc.com/news — or use the bbc news app on your smartphone or tablet. you are watching bbc news. stay with us, we have the headlines after this short break. hello there. many places saw a fine day today with some sunny spells around. it was on the chilly side,

and that will take us into quite a cold night tonight once again, with frost developing across many areas. and we'll also see some areas of mist and fog forming, which could be quite dense, particularly so across parts of northern england, the midlands and eastern england. i think these are favoured spots for some very dense fog at times. a cold night for most. the winds picking up, though, across south wales, south—west england ahead of this area of low pressure, so less cold here, four or five degrees. subzero values, though, for pretty much the rest of the country. so we have this area of low pressure to contend with for sunday. that's going to affect more southern parts of the uk, whereas further north we'll be in a ridge of high pressure, so here it'll stay fine, dry, with plenty of sunshine around. and we will remain on the colder side of this area of low pressure, as you can see here on the air mass chart, so another chilly day to come. so many places starting bright, with some sunshine, but cold and frosty. there will be those stubborn fog patches to clear across the midlands, eastern england. it turns wet and windy, though, for south wales, south—west england.

that rain spreads across southern and south—east england as we move through the afternoon. bit a question mark on the northern extent of the rain, but it looks like it's south wales, the m4 corridor southwards which will have a bit of a wash—out day. more rain falling on saturated ground could exacerbate already existing flooding issues, and it's going to be another chilly day. as that wet and windy weather pulls out towards france, it will drag a few wintry showers — northern scotland, north—east england, but dry for most away from the extreme south, which will stay wet and windy. so, as a consequence, because of the wind and rain, temperatures no lower than 5—6 degrees here, but another cold night to come with a frost further north. now, this ridge of high pressure will topple in across the country as we head into monday. that will push that area of low pressure out towards france, but it'll take its time. eventually, the wind and the rain will clear away from sussex and kent, but it will remain blustery, a strong north—easterly wind here. elsewhere, dry, plenty of sunshine, the winds less of a feature further north and west. but when we factor in the strong wind across the south—east coming in from the north—east,

although we'll see 8—9 degrees on the thermometer, it's going to feel more like 1—2 degrees. and then as we push deeper into the week, towards the end of february, we start to pick up atlantic weather systems once again, bringing spells of wet and windy weather, and that'll lift the temperatures for all areas, both by day and by night.

this is bbc news, the headlines.

the spokeswoman for the russian opposition figure, alexey navalny, says his body has been given to his mother more than a week after he died in prison. but they are still unsure whether the russian authorities will allow them to hold the funeral that they say he deserves. the mp lee anderson has been suspended from the conservative party after refusing to apologise for saying islamists had gained control of the mayor of london, sadiq khan. he made the comments while talking about pro—palestinian protests on gb news on friday. on the second anniversary of the full—scale invasion of ukraine, president zelensky vows that his country will defeat russia. several western leaders in kyiv are pledging their solidarity. but ukraine is losing territory and there are warnings moscow is taking advantage of the delays in delivering western military help.

a defiant president zelensky has insisted ukraine will win the war. as the country marks the second anniversary of russia's full—scale invasion. western leaders visiting kyiv have pledged their solidarity, but the country says more weapons are what's really needed. ukraine is facing a bleaker situation than a few months ago with shortages of men and weapons, and the slow advance of russian troops. james waterhouse reports from kyiv. they run every minute, weaving through the city the trams of kriyvy reh. they provide a rhythm to daily life. in this era of change and fragility, they're not the only thing that keeps going. this gritty urban setting is built around the domineering steel plant where the chimney

smoke never stopped. there's also no respite for those supporting the war effort, like tatiana. my village is on the front line. my house was destroyed by a direct hit. but i have found some solace here. it fills me up. i feel needed. they make supplies like these. they make supplies like these camouflage netting desperately needed by the military. they are the foundations behind the fighting, which two years in is not going ukraine's way. but these volunteers are doing what they can. as international support wanes, yes, we knew

if it wasn't for these people, it would be much more difficult. we probably wouldn't be standing here today. they help us with everything, totally everything. i'm very grateful to them. president zelenskiy�*s home city can't escape the tiredness his country feels. some have had enough. but this war with russia is mostly still seen as a fight for survival. every city is scarred. yuri watches on as his block is demolished. he survived when it was hit by a missile last year. no one needs this war. what is it for, anyway? so many people are being killed. so would he trade territory for peace? definitely not, because many people have died for these territories and there is no point in giving them up. it's not clear what lies ahead for ukraine, only that its war journey will be long. talk of victory has been replaced with not losing. it's a monotonous strain that cleve

wants to escape through washington. it's stressful. it's difficult, like for everyone in ukraine. but we work. we're holding on. it's interesting, this wall creates a tunnel vision for some people. they either think about what they've endured so far or their fears for what lies ahead. but the question of how long ukraine can fight this war is repeatedly being asked on the world stage and will continue to be so because of russia's increasing dominance and waning western support. volodymyr zelensky said his country would fight as long as it had strength and opportunity. few would doubt the former, but the latter is diminishing. the novelty of this war has gone and ukraine is trying to keep the world engaged. james waterhouse, bbc news, krivy reh.

i'm joined now by michael bociurkiw who is a global affairs analyst and senior fellow at the atlantic council. thank you forjoining us. i want to start with asking you about your thoughts about the conflict, did you expect to come on this long? the to be with yom — expect to come on this long? the to be with you. james _ expect to come on this long? the to be with you. james woodhouse - expect to come on this long? the to i be with you. james woodhouse report was banked on that it is not like it will go on. quite some time in the big reason for that is the ukrainian side isjust lacking the big reason for that is the ukrainian side is just lacking the ammunitions it needs. we are hearing very, very worrying reports from the front line of airguns going silent because they don't have enough and emission. part of the reason for that is the eu is not able to fulfil its promise of delivering 1 million rounds of munitions by march. on the other reason is that 60 billion in aid tied up in the united states right now. the other worry here is that it

does look like also from colleagues who have visited the front line, that there is a lot less obstacles should the russians move further this way and you would have expected that they would have time to put those in as well. so a lot of worry and very different sounds being surrounded by opposition politicians, by friends of ukraine, than what we are hearing from the zelensky administration which frankly does sound a bit sugar coated. d0 frankly does sound a bit sugar coated. , ., ~ ., ., coated. do you think we are in a osition coated. do you think we are in a position where _ coated. do you think we are in a position where this _ coated. do you think we are in a position where this aid - coated. do you think we are in a position where this aid from - coated. do you think we are in a position where this aid from the j coated. do you think we are in a - position where this aid from the eu, from the usjust position where this aid from the eu, from the us just won't arrive? and if it doesn't, where does this leave ukraine going forward? it is if it doesn't, where does this leave ukraine going forward?— ukraine going forward? it is a very aood ukraine going forward? it is a very good question- — ukraine going forward? it is a very good question. from _ ukraine going forward? it is a very good question. from someone - ukraine going forward? it is a very good question. from someone i i ukraine going forward? it is a very i good question. from someone i had today, it almost sounds like the political leaders are shifting being more reliant on themselves, they are building a drone technology centre here, the ukrainians have had

amazing success with their own maritime drones on the black sea, those waterways have been opened up. and your former prime minister boris johnson was here today and he suggested that british firms, defence firms, would locate factories here, bae systems, for example, to help ukrainians get things faster, but it does not like time is on their side, i still think they will prevail but it will be very tough. they will prevail but it will be very tough-— they will prevail but it will be very tough. they will prevail but it will be ve tou~h. . , very tough. and so what is the mood in ukraine in — very tough. and so what is the mood in ukraine in the _ very tough. and so what is the mood in ukraine in the second _ in ukraine in the second anniversary? how are people feeling, considering they are not getting the support, perhaps, they thought they would be getting at this point in the conflict?— would be getting at this point in the conflict? ~ ., ., , the conflict? well, about to set in but throughout _ the conflict? well, about to set in but throughout the _ the conflict? well, about to set in but throughout the day _ the conflict? well, about to set in but throughout the day i - the conflict? well, about to set in but throughout the day i was - the conflict? well, about to set in i but throughout the day i was talking to people in front of these memorials, they were very reflective. i think people have kind of absorbs the war by now, if i can put it that way, they powered through the day, they worry about the air raid siren alarms, they worry about the drones, the rockets

coming their way, but the losses, the pain cannot be hidden, you see it everywhere from people's faces, from conversations with them, no family has been untouched here, and another thing, the growth of the military cemeteries, one is almost bursting at the seams, it speaks to the pretty big losses on the ukrainian side by now as well. thank ou for ukrainian side by now as well. thank you forjoining _ ukrainian side by now as well. thank you forjoining us — ukrainian side by now as well. thank you forjoining us here _ ukrainian side by now as well. thank you forjoining us here on _ ukrainian side by now as well. thank you forjoining us here on bbc- ukrainian side by now as well. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. pleasure. let's get more now on lee anderson — the former deputy chairman of the conservative party. he's said he'll continue to support the government's efforts to "call out" extremism — despite his suspension from the party. he'll now sit as an independent after he refused to apologise for islamaphobic comments he made about the mayor of london, sadiq khan. let's speak to sajjad karim, the first british muslim member of the european parliament. thank you so much forjoining us

here on bbc news. i know you have spoken about islamophobe yelp within the conservative party, what is your reaction to the unfolding controversy around mr anderson's comments and his suspension? weill. comments and his suspension? well, aood comments and his suspension? well, good evening- _ comments and his suspension? well, good evening- i _ comments and his suspension? well, good evening. i was _ comments and his suspension? well, good evening. i was actually - comments and his suspension? -ii good evening. i was actually quite pleased to see that the whips did finally intervene and carry out a suspension because lee anderson refused to apologise for his comments. now, what will be very interesting to see is what action the conservative party take internally. bearing in mind that lee anderson is somebody who held a very senior post within the party, as vice—chairman, and therefore it is very important that he is properly and formally dealt with, which leads to either an exercise of some form of training for home that he

undergoes, and that leads to an acknowledgement from him that the comments he made were wrong and that an apology is due, and that apology is forthcoming. i think anything short of that, and if his suspension is then lifted and he comes back into the conservative party's fold, will be a message and a sign, certainly to the conservative party membership, as to what is tolerated by the party's current leadership. so, anything other than an apology and an acknowledgement of the harm he potentially could have caused, i'm afraid, will send a signal not in line with the type of conservative party that ijoined many, many years ago. so. conservative party that i “oined many, many years ago._ conservative party that i “oined many, many years ago. so, an apology would be something _ many, many years ago. so, an apology would be something that _ many, many years ago. so, an apology would be something that mr— many, many years ago. so, an apology would be something that mr anderson | would be something that mr anderson would be something that mr anderson would have to give on his own. but what about the conservative party leadership? do you think a

suspension of mr anderson is enough? well, that is all the party leadership could do at this stage. and now, mr anderson will be provided with an opportunity to reflect on what he has actually stated, and the reasons as to why it is so objectionable and indeed wrong that he made the comments that he did in the way that he did. and it is only after a proper acknowledgement and a proper apology from him that the suspension should be lifted. if indeed it is lifted in any other way other than that, then i am afraid that sends a very clear and dangerous signal, certainly within the party and possibly in the country as a whole, because you have to understand that we have a general election that is on its way, and the current conservative party seems to be divided into two sorts of people,

you have those people who are serious political actors and politicians who wish to see an argument on policy. and then you have other types of individual who simply wish to carry out an exercise of divisive dog whistle politics with a view to their understanding that that is what the electorate finds attractive. i think they are extremely misguided in that view and the way in which... extremely misguided in that view and the way in which. . ._ the way in which... sorry to interact _ the way in which... sorry to interact you, _ the way in which... sorry to interact you, i _ the way in which... sorry to interact you, i just - the way in which... sorry to interact you, i just wanted | the way in which... sorry to l interact you, i just wanted to the way in which... sorry to - interact you, i just wanted to ask you briefly, we haven't heard from the prime minister himself, what impact do you think this has on his leadership?— leadership? well, actually, i wouldn't expect _ leadership? well, actually, i wouldn't expect the - leadership? well, actually, i wouldn't expect the prime . leadership? well, actually, i- wouldn't expect the prime minister to comment directly because lee anderson doesn't hold a government function, he is a member of parliament and he doesn't even have a party senior position at this

moment in time, so this is a matter thatis moment in time, so this is a matter that is properly dealt with by the whips and that is the level and skill at which it has been dealt with. i think as far as the prime minister is concerned, and the way that lee anderson is dealt with, is the factors as to what sort of general election we can expect to see undertaken by the conservative party. is it going to be an election based upon solid policy divisions between the conservative party and labour? or is it going to be an election that is fought upon populism and dog whistle politics? thank you very much. i'm so sorry about that, thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. the israeli war cabinet is to be briefed later by negotiators who have held talks in paris on trying to secure a ceasefire in gaza. i spoke to aaron david miller — a former us state department official and adviser

on arab israeli negotiations. i asked him what type of agreement we might expect. frankly, since the last hostage exchange in november, mid—november, i think this is the best chance to do a partial deal. whether or not it's going to be comprehensive, that is to say "all for all", a significant return of palestinian prisoners, thousands, in return for all of the hostages, i doubt. israeli press is reporting that it's a partial deal, 45 hostages — elderly, the infirm, women perhaps — in exchange for some asymmetrical number of palestinian prisoners and a 45—day...| wouldn't call it a ceasefire. at best, i think it's a temporary cessation of hostilities. it probably would also involve surging humanitarian assistance into gaza. so i think the parties are best positioned. they're both under pressure. and we may actually see a deal before ramadan, which is due to begin,

i believe, on march 10th. considering, as you mentioned, the enormous pressure coming from not only within israel itself, towards the israeli governments, but also internationally, do you think, just as you say, some kind of intermediate deal that just works for now is enough and that the israeli cabinet would agree to that? i think the israeli government's coming under great pressure, not only from the hostage families, those who have not been returned and redeemed, but clearly from the war cabinet. that is to say benny gantz and former chief of staff gadi eisenkot. gantz has a vote in the work cabinet. gadi eisenkot does not. but benjamin netanyahu is not a lone and sole actor here. he's under pressure from his right—wing extremist ministers not to do an asymmetrical trade, but eisenkot and gantz, i think, are pressing him to do that trade. so i think combined with efforts by the united states, egypt, and qatar, i think the odds

are pretty good. nothing is certain, and nobody lost money ever betting against israeli—palestinian agreement on anything, but i think we now have the best chance probably for a partial release of hostages in exchange, i suspect, for hundreds of palestinian security prisoners now either under administrative detention or formally charged and in israeli prisons. and the calls internationally are for an end to this conflict. the fact that we can have some sort of mediation happening for weeks, does that make you hopeful that maybe there could be a way to resolve this conflict? i think that's a heavy lift, frankly, in large part because what the israelis require and need simply does not reconcile or align with what hamas wants. hamas wants a full israeli withdrawal from gaza and the release of all palestinian prisoners. the israelis are interested

in killing hamas's senior leadership and are likely to remain in gaza for months to come, operating at some military level, until or unless there's some sort of security regime that replaces hamas. i think, however, that an end to the conflict is not something that we're going to see anytime soon, and that constitutes a tragedy, primarily for the 2.3 million inhabitants of the gaza strip. that was the former state department official. there have been chaotic scenes at the annual farm show in paris, which president macron was due to open this morning. farmers charged through security barriers and had to be kept back by riot police. french farmers ? like many of their european counterparts ? say agriculture is at crisis point because of falling incomes, and increasing bureaucracy and environmental constraints. hugh schofield reports.

farmers in patients with the government spilled over shortly before the start of the show as protest clambered over the barriers. right to police were deployed in. detained the angry crowd and keep them away from president macron. he had been hoping to inaugurate the eventin had been hoping to inaugurate the event in an atmosphere of calm, in vain. translation: ., ., ., , ., , translation: you are not helping any of our translation: you are not helping any of your colleagues _ translation: you are not helping any of your colleagues by _ translation: you are not helping any of your colleagues by breaking - of your colleagues by breaking stands. you are not helping any of your colleagues by making it impossible and scaring the families. it is counter—productive. it has been a month of tensions in france and europe more widely as farmers protest about falling incomes and a green agenda that they say stymies growth. in paris, this annual

encounter between france and its farmers was another chance to make their point. translation: it their point. translation: , ., theirpoint. translation: ., translation: it is a disaster, a dis race translation: it is a disaster, a disgrace that _ translation: it is a disaster, a disgrace that this _ translation: it is a disaster, a disgrace that this country - translation: it is a disaster, a disgrace that this country isn't i disgrace that this country isn't helping its french farmers. what are you waiting for? for all of the farmers to die one after the other? president macron held his ground, he cut the ribbon, met farmers and their animals, and announced some new measures. but then there is still tense. and among farmers, trust in the government's promises is very low. hugh schofield, bbc news, paris. junior doctors in england have begun another round of strikes — their latest action in a long—running dispute over pay. it's a time of significant pressure on the health service — and routine operations and check—ups are expected to be disrupted badly. our health correspondent, dominic hughes, reports.

nigel is living with a heart condition, but also terminal bowel cancer. the tablets are helping his heart, but fortnightly doses of chemotherapy for the cancer are what's keeping him alive. when i met him this week, nigel wasn't sure if the strike would mean his next session would go ahead. why hasn't the government helped resolve this? i thoroughly support what the junior doctors are doing, but i don't want them to be on strike. you know, i think that they've got a very good case for getting more money for the work that they do, but at the same time, i'm not convinced by health service workers being on strike, that's going to have such a negative impact on all of the patients. this is the 10th strike byjunior doctors in england, but they've also been on strike in wales this past week, and in northern ireland they voted in support of strike action next month. only in scotland have junior doctors accepted a 12.4% pay rise for this year. chanting: what do we want? pay restoration! when do we want it? now!

the industrial action in england has been going on for nearly a year now, but striking doctors like ray say they're determined to carry on. i'm not going to stop striking until i feel that doctors are getting an offer that they deserve, to feel fairly valued, and the government needs to understand that. so even though it's an endless, you know, dispute, with the government having a little bit of decorum and dignity, or his majesty's government will get to the understanding that they need to, kicking and screaming. i want for this to be resolved. i've come to these negotiations with nothing but good intentions and a genuine desire to find a reasonable solution forjunior doctors, but also, importantly, for patients and the public and the taxpayer. so i still want to try and achieve that, but i can only do that if the junior doctors can put in place their part. nhs bosses have warned of more serious disruption to services over the next five days, particularly planned operations in clinics. but for patients like nigel, the uncertainty caused by this latest row and strike

action continues. there will be many who will be asking why, nearly one year on, this dispute has not yet been resolved. dominic hughes, bbc news. pope francis has cancelled meetings because of mild flu — according to the vatican. his regular audiences with vatican officials and private meetings have all been called off to allow the 87—year—old pontiff to recover. )british airways has been ranked among the worst airlines in a uk passenger satisfaction survey by consumer group which?. the airline's customer score for long—haul flights was the joint third lowest out of 17 carriers. the company said it was hit by "several factors outside of our control" last year, such as strikes by air traffic controllers. when the indian singer lata mangeshkar died in 2022,

after a career spanning seven decades and having recorded more than 30,000 songs, bollywood fans around the world questioned if any singer would able to recreate her level of success. now, shreya ghoshal is being labelled a worthy successor thanks to her versatility and vast catalogue of hits. the bbc asian network 5 haroon rashid asked her how she processes being called the greatest indian singer alive by some of her fans. i refuse to process it. she sings it's your love, honestly. but i know where i stand and i know where the truth is, where i need to do so much more. to be honest, i think i'm now finally in this moment, trying to enjoy myself the most. and honestly, ithink it's just a start. yeah, it seems like a big number. 21 years, 22 years in the film industry,

but itjust feels like yesterday. lata mangeshkar is a name that the world celebrates. so many of the comments i've seen on social media is that if there is a lata mangeshkar there is also a shreya ghoshal, how does that make you feel? she is like an angel, that voice which floats in my system, my universe. so far, me, like how she has been, i'm sure there's a generation who has not heard lata. i am probably trying to bridge that gap for them to access her. you see, the whole world has a certain kind of music, but asian music is different.

our subcontinent has a very old history of music, from classical to folk to ourfilm music. lata belonged to that level. i think i'm trying to take a little bit of that in my singing and giving it to the next generation also so that they feel the magic that they gave us. she sings now, if you were planning a romantic proposal, this could be the perfect spot. giant red heart—shaped balloons are popping up across hong kong. they are attracting locals and tourists. people are posing for photographs in front of them and meeting for dates there. hello there. many places saw a fine day today with some sunny spells around. it was on the chilly side,

and that will take us into quite a cold night tonight once again, with frost developing across many areas. and we'll also see some areas of mist and fog forming, which could be quite dense, particularly so across parts of northern england, the midlands and eastern england. i think these are favoured spots for some very dense fog at times. a cold night for most. the winds picking up, though, across south wales, south—west england ahead of this area of low pressure, so less cold here, four or five degrees. subzero values, though, for pretty much the rest of the country. so we have this area of low pressure to contend with for sunday. that's going to affect more southern parts of the uk, whereas further north we'll be in a ridge of high pressure, so here it'll stay fine, dry, with plenty of sunshine around. and we will remain on the colder side of this area of low pressure, as you can see here on the air mass chart, so another chilly day to come. so many places starting bright, with some sunshine, but cold and frosty. there will be those stubborn fog patches to clear across the midlands, eastern england. it turns wet and windy, though, for south wales, south—west england.

that rain spreads across southern and south—east england as we move through the afternoon. bit a question mark on the northern extent of the rain, but it looks like it's south wales, the m4 corridor southwards which will have a bit of a wash—out day. more rain falling on saturated ground could exacerbate already existing flooding issues, and it's going to be another chilly day. as that wet and windy weather pulls out towards france, it will drag a few wintry showers — northern scotland, north—east england, but dry for most away from the extreme south, which will stay wet and windy. so, as a consequence, because of the wind and rain, temperatures no lower than 5—6 degrees here, but another cold night to come with a frost further north. now, this ridge of high pressure will topple in across the country as we head into monday. that will push that area of low pressure out towards france, but it'll take its time. eventually, the wind and the rain will clear away from sussex and kent, but it will remain blustery, a strong north—easterly wind here. elsewhere, dry, plenty of sunshine, the winds less of a feature further north and west. but when we factor in the strong wind across the south—east coming in from the north—east, although we'll see 8—9 degrees

on the thermometer, it's going to feel more like 1—2 degrees. and then as we push deeper into the week, towards the end of february, we start to pick up atlantic weather systems once again, bringing spells of wet and windy weather, and that'll lift the temperatures for all areas, both by day and by night.

live from london. this is bbc news. more than a week after his death, a spokesperson confirms alexei navalny�*s body has been

handed to his mother. republicans in south carolina are voting to decide whether donald trump or nikki haley will be their presidential candidate. the former us president is expected to easily overpower his rival hello. the body of russian opposition figure, alexei navalny, has been handed over to his mother. while the g7 group of nations have again called on russia to fully clarify the circumstances of his death. navalny spokesperson kira yarmysh confirmed on x — formerly known as twitter — that the body had been released. she also wrote that they weren't sure if they could give him

the funeral they said he deserves. the country's most vocal kremlin critic was found dead