and picture perfect — the incredible effort that goes into maintaining the splendour of the sistine chapel. ijust want i just want to bring you ijust want to bring you some breaking news coming in to us from the spokesperson for alexei navalny, who died in a penal connelly in russia earlier on this month. there has been some discussion and issues around the return of his body to his family. the body has been returned finally, and according to his spokesperson, there is going to be a church farewell ceremony, which will take place on march the 1st. they have also said he will be buried at a cemetery in moscow. that is all the details we have at the moment but some information about when he will be buried and where.

papers obtained by bbc panorama show drax took timberfrom papers obtained by bbc panorama show drax took timber from rare forest in canada that it had claimed were no—go areas. it comes as the government decides whether to give the firm's yorkshire side billions more in environmental subsidies, funded by energy bill payers. drax says its wood pellets are sustainable and illegally harvested. let's get more on this from our reporter who conducted that investigation. what did you find? this is about a power station in england. this is the world's biggest woodfired power station. it does say by burning wood pellets. it receives

a huge amount of public subsidy, as you just mentioned, because these wood pellets, when you burn for electricity, that is counted as renewable energy. the power station gets through an awful lot of wood pellets each year, about 6.5 million tonnes. all of these are imported into the uk from overseas, many of them coming from the us and canada, where drax runs 17 pellet plants. backin where drax runs 17 pellet plants. back in 2022, i investigated the operations in british columbia and we found drax had applied for logging licences and attained them, to log primary forest in british columbia. the company at the time denied they were taking material from primary forest but subsequently said they wouldn't be applying for any more logging licences. logging licences werejust any more logging licences. logging licences were just really a small part of what drax does. most of the logs direct receives in british columbia come from further sites that had been harvested by timber companies. our new investigation for bbc panorama has now found that last

year, drax took wood from rare and threatened old growth forest in british columbia.— threatened old growth forest in british columbia. what exactly is old-growth? _ british columbia. what exactly is old-growth? old _ british columbia. what exactly is old-growth? old growth - british columbia. what exactly is old-growth? old growth is - british columbia. what exactly is old-growth? old growth is a - british columbia. what exactly is | old-growth? old growth is a form british columbia. what exactly is . old-growth? old growth is a form of rima old-growth? old growth is a form of primary forest- _ old-growth? old growth is a form of primary forest. primary _ old-growth? old growth is a form of primary forest. primary forest - old-growth? old growth is a form of primary forest. primary forest is - primary forest. primary forest is natural forest that hasn't been visibly disturbed by human activity. old—growth is the oldest remnants of that. it has survived pest damage, fire damage, and has got to an advanced age. it is considered ecologically important. it fulfils lots of environmental functions and provide habitats. we have found that last year, drax took more than 50,000 tonnes of logs from 30 sites, that were each classified as having at least 25% old—growth. that is around 1100 large truck loads of logs. it is a considerable amount of water. we also discovered that most

of these sites had an even higher classification called priority deferral areas. according to an independent panel of experts in british columbia, these are rare, at risk and irreplaceable areas of old—growth forest. actually this panel recommended these areas shouldn't be logged, that there shouldn't be logged, that there should be a pause on logging. it is still legal to lock them. campaigners say itjust isn't sustainable to be taking material from these old—growth forests and that drax is complicit in the destruction of british columbia's remaining old—growth. jae. destruction of british columbia's remaining old-growth.— destruction of british columbia's remaining old-growth. joe, for now, thank yom — the uk government has announced a £31 million fund to help protect "democratic processes" from disruption. among the ways the money could be spent — providing mps who are at risk with bodyguards — and paying for additional police patrols if tensions in communities increase. there will also be more advice on cyber security. it comes after the prime minister rishi sunak raised concerns about mps being verbally threatened and physically targeted

in recent weeks. live now to westminster, and our chief political correspondent, henry zeffman. the security of mps is certainly an increasing issue in recent months and years. what more do we know about this fund and where the money will go? it about this fund and where the money will no? , . , , about this fund and where the money will no? , . ,, ., will go? it is a huge issue at the moment. _ will go? it is a huge issue at the moment, you're _ will go? it is a huge issue at the moment, you're absolutely - will go? it is a huge issue at the. moment, you're absolutely right. what we know is that it is £31 million of new money, not reallocated many, but new money committed by the treasury. we think the bulk of it is going to be spent, basically a new policing and new security for mps. that money might pay for private security guards for mps when they are doing their constituency surgeries, for example, speaking to constituents in the local area. also when they are having events out and about, but also this money will go on what is being called search policing, so if there is a particular mp or community where it is clear the threat is elevated, then this money would be able to intensify the resources in that area for that mp.

when they talk about protecting democratic processes, what do they mean apart from the safety of mps? i mean apart from the safety of mp5? i think that is predominately what they mean, but what they are doing is drawing a link to what happened last week in the house of commons. to recap, there was an utterly chaotic day in the house of commons that was meant to be a day about debating a motion calling for a ceasefire in gaza. what happened was that the speaker of the house of commons, so lindsay hoyle, made an unprecedented procedural decision. the reason he said he did so was because of threats to mps that he was aware of. what the government is basically saying here, is lindsay hoyle should not have done that but clearly the threat to mps is a serious issue and, as a result, they want to try to mitigate that threat so that parliament does not again changed its procedures, at least according to the speaker of the

house of commons, because of those threats. d0 house of commons, because of those threats. ~ ., , threats. do we know where they will draw the line. _ threats. do we know where they will draw the line, what _ threats. do we know where they will draw the line, what it _ threats. do we know where they will draw the line, what it is _ threats. do we know where they will draw the line, what it is going - threats. do we know where they will draw the line, what it is going to - draw the line, what it is going to take for mps to need bodyguards? this is the question. you are right to say, by the way, that this is both short—term and long—term issue. since 2016 to members of parliament have been killed by members of the public. murdered by members of the public. murdered by members of the public. firstjo cox, a labour mp was murdered by a far right in 2016 during the eu referendum campaign. and then in 2021, almost three years ago, david ames, a conservative mp, was murdered by islamist is in his constituency. mps i speak to say, even despite those incidents, things have noticeably got worst since the hamas attack in israel and israel's response in gaza. how much worse it might get, and what then might have to change in the policing of mps and how they go about their business, i think that is a crucial question and

i think this is not the last we are going to be hearing from government and from mps more generally about security. and from mps more generally about securi . , ~ , , security. henry in westminster, thank yom _ around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. back to training in middlesbrough. he is only thinking about his next bout after taking the welterweight belt in the regional unity fighting championship in darlington. find championship in darlington. and there is your _ championship in darlington. fific there is your welterweight champion! there are no days off, even after the fight, — there are no days off, even after the fight, straight in after two days— the fight, straight in after two days of— the fight, straight in after two days of italy for the next fight. at amateur — days of italy for the next fight. at amateur level you can keep going as much _ amateur level you can keep going as much as_ amateur level you can keep going as much as you — amateur level you can keep going as much as you can. if you get injured then_ much as you can. if you get injured then take _ much as you can. if you get injured then take time out but at a pro-level— then take time out but at a pro—level you get injured more but amateur— pro—level you get injured more but amateur you canjust keep going. his proud amateur you canjust keep going. proud dad has amateur you canjust keep going. h 3 proud dad has been supporting him since he started at 1a. i am proud dad has been supporting him since he started at 14.— since he started at 14. i am very roud. since he started at 14. i am very proud- we _ since he started at 14. i am very proud. we have _ since he started at 14. i am very proud. we have been _ since he started at 14. i am very proud. we have been working i since he started at 14. i am very i proud. we have been working hard since he started at 14. i am very - proud. we have been working hard to get this in the sky is the limit

now. we have got one title, we have another title lined up at the end of march. another one injune as well. after that he and his team have their sights set on the american circuit. ., ., , ., , ., their sights set on the american circuit. ., ., , ., ., circuit. for more stories head to the bbc news — circuit. for more stories head to the bbc news website. - you're live with bbc news. let's get more on this bbc panorama story. joe crowley has a bit more on this. last year we found that drax took about 50,000 tonnes of whole logs from 30 sites that were old—growth in british columbia. when we axed drax about that they admitted they had taken wood from old—growth sites but said that 77% of the material for the canadian wood pellets came from sawdust and sawmill residue, with the remaining coming from forestry residues and what they call

low—grade logs. drax says it regularly reviews its sourcing policies and they said they took the decision in october last year to stop sourcing logs from priority deferral areas. those with a special bits of old growth that i described before. they say that the work to implement that decision is still going through their supply chain. however they don't dispute that they are continuing to take wood from old—growth forest that aren't priority deferral areas in british columbia. joe, thank you. around 7 million people visit the sistine chapel every year — making it the third busiest museum in the world. but such huge numbers could cause damage to the frescos, so the vatican relies on a small team of experts who monitor the conditions in the chapel. the bbc got exclusive behind—the—scenes access to film the maintenance works on michelangelo s frescoes. 0ur report sara monetta, went down to the vatican city to take a look. closer than most people would ever dream to get. francesca and her team are inspecting michelangelo's

sistine chapel, looking for signs of deterioration. we have here some alterations, some light whitening. now we need to understand what caused it. the sistine chapel is part of one of the most visited museums in the world, with up to 25,000 tourists a day. but that comes at a price. the humidity increase and also the carbon dioxide, and these react with the surface of the work of art. we may have condensation, dust, deposit, because dust means dangerous compounds. after the last restoration 30 years ago, sensors and an air conditioning system were installed to keep a stable environment in the chapel. but since then, the number of visitors has soared, requiring more intensive maintenance. so for a few weeks every year

after the last visitor is gone, experts get to work. fabian knows the frescoes as intimately as a doctor knows his patient. he shows us a fragment taken from a piece of cloth that was painted on a character after michelangelo's death to cover its nudity. translation: to monitor a work of art, it is essential to know- the materials it's made of. here you can see michelangelo's original plaster, the original colour of the skin, and on top of it, in a lighter shade of pink with some black particles, is the clothes that was painted over. using extremely high resolution images, he and his team are now mapping sections of the chapel. at such high resolution, we can see down to the single pane crystal, and this allows us to see over time if there were any changes or deposits of dust. this year's maintenance has an added sense of urgency. the vatican's jubilee is starting next december, and even more visitors are expected here. it's an important mission to be an open house, - trying to balance, of course, - the welcoming with the preservation of our incredible collections.

it's a fine line to ensure that present and future generations will still be able to gasp in awe every time they look up at michelangelo's masterpiece. sarah monetta, bbc news, vatican city. the owners of the crooked house — known as the wonkiest pub in britain — have been ordered to rebuild the iconic structure, after it was destroyed last year in a suspected arson attack. 0ur midlands correspondent navtej johal has this report. this was the moment that centuries of black country history went up in flames in a suspected arson attack. but there was worse to come. less than 48 hours later, the crooked house, a west midlands landmark, was demolished. the crooked house, where even teetotalers can feel tipsy. it was known as britain's wonkiest inn. and yet that's not so. the clock is perfectly perpendicular,

but everything else... due to its sloping floor and walls caused by subsidence due to mining in the area. you just watch this. its unique charm was captured in this bbc programme in 1974. it was taken from us, just ripped apart. 0ne of those places you thought it would be here for the rest- of our lives, and then suddenly it was gone _ it's why the public outcry over the fire and what the local authority has called an unauthorised demolition has barely died down in six months. but now the news many were hoping for. just can't believe it, just can't believe it. the owners of this much loved pub have been ordered by south staffordshire council to rebuild it back to what it was before the fire. i couldn't believe it when the group shared it all this morning, and we were all the same. none of us could type fast enough! we were alljust so elated and so excited and just so looking forward to what the future's

going to bring. 0h, absolutely delighted, yeah. yeah, we're really happy. we've worked hard. we've kept this as much as possible in the news. we've kept and kept the momentum going, and we've put pressure on the various people. the pub's owners have 30 days to appeal and must comply with the enforcement order from the local authority within three years. are you confident that the crooked house will be restored to its former glory? i have always been confident, always said it must be. - you've heard the way in which the public, l society has come together and you've seen the resolve of the local- authority, and it is them who can enforce it. - six people have been arrested and remain on conditional bail in connection with the fire here, but no one has been charged and investigations are still ongoing. navteonhal, bbc news in himley. "tell us about yourself" is the sort of question often asked at a job interview — but a review into autism employment has found that this technique, puts neurodivergent people at a disadvantage. now, amid warnings that autistic

jobseekers are being held back by unfair hiring practices, the government has set out recommendations to improve the workplace. 0ur disability correspondent nikki fox has the details. it's the lunchtime rush at this cafe in northampton. thanks, jack. but forjack and alfie, this is about more than just being top—notch baristas. i'll do the washing up. they're best mates, and they're both autistic. this is mostly where i was stationed when i first started, because it was... couldn't cope with the interacting with customers at all. cafe track has supported more than 120 people like jack and alfie into work or on a placement. and you've been for here for how long working? five years. i love it, yeah. i wouldn't change it for the world, really. it was set up by former teacher thomas. we opened in 2019 with the view that | all we wanted to do when we set out| was support one person to work. why? because we knew that i would be life—changing. he also advises businesses on how

to remove the barriers which make it impossible for autistic people to get a job and keep it. what we found was actually the lack of awareness was stunning, - frustrating, angering at times, because you're thinking, - how do people not know about autism? you've helped a lot of people. what are the solutions, in your opinion? every business, there. is a case for employing people who are autistic, - because actually your customer base, the different - opportunities they can get. we've got highly skilled people. it's not a nice thing to do - to employ an autistic person, it's a good business choice. for alfie, this opportunity, thisjob, has changed his life. what i was before, i was a shell of what i am now. like i was... i didn't have, like, any possibility of showing people the personality i did have. it was very much like showing as little as possible. whereas now i feel like this place is, 360 i'm who i am as a person. not everyone has the same experience. adam is one of around 70%

of autistic adults out of work. after spending more than 20 years supporting his son, he's now in a position to get a job. but it's been a struggle. these jobs that i'm going for are specifically for autistic people, and it feels sometimes that they don't want the autistic person to show up. somebody gave me feedback and said, well, we can't help everybody because all autistic people are different and we can't put reasonable adjustments in place for everybody. i don't accept that. so these are essentially cost centres. 0k. this company is made up of mostly autistic employees. it was one of a number of businesses that fed into today's report. this will always be a journey, but i think this is a really important step on thatjourney. we recognise the huge opportunity here for businesses, huge opportunity for more autistic people. it'll be a step change, i think. i just think it's amazing what you're doing here, and really uplifting, actually, to see. darcey has worked here for around two and a half years and says this place has helped her growing confidence.

i managed to find a way to communicate with the world and show them what it's like to see the world through my eyes. and having reasonable adjustments can help me feel safe and valued and contribute to the company and to show them that i am more than just a woman with a disability. i mean, there's more to me than you know. for now, this review is the first step in a process that will take time to create the kind of transformational change autistic people want and need to see. but are you besties now? yeah. do you fancy doing this? yeah. we'll go do that. so that they've got a shot at their dream job and a better life, just like everyone else. nikki fox, bbc news.

new zealand is set to be left with a sole television news broadcast after us entertainment giant warner brothers discovery announced the closure of newshub. after 34 years of being the state broadcaster tvnz�*s sole competitors, the network's closure is being put down to loss of revenue — a move that's set to leave about 300 workers jobless, including some of new zealand's most recognised journalists. the deputy prime minister has labelled this a disaster for the country's democracy. the new zealand arm of warner brothers discovery reported an almost £17 million loss last year. new zealand is currently in a technical recession, with other media companies announcing job losses or hiring freezes. do stay with us here on bbc news. i will have plenty more on all of the day's top stories. last year water companies discharge raw sewage into rivers in england more than 400,000 times, sparking outrage and concern among the wild swimming community. several popular swimming spots are in line to become official bathing

water sites, in line to become official bathing watersites, meaning in line to become official bathing water sites, meaning the water quality will be regularly monitored throughout the summer. 0ur reporter has more. the stour where we live is an area of outstanding natural beauty. so it's full of wildlife, it's a bird—watching mecca, and we get to swim amongst all of that. manningtree is one of the smallest towns in the country. it also has its own beach on the edge of the tidal river. it looks beautiful, but there are sewer storm overflows here. for the last three years, these swimmers have campaigned

to improve the water quality. now it could become an official bathing site. we feel very excited that we are through to this stage, but we are still apprehensive because we know that, you know, we have still got to do this public consultation. so we need to make sure that as many people as possible fill in that consultation and give us a chance of making it through and actually getting the bathing water status that we've applied for. the government says last year 96% of bathing waters in england met minimum standards, and 90% of bathing waters were rated as good or excellent, up from 76% in 2010, despite the classification standards becoming stricter. it's not going to clean up the water overnight, but it will make anglian water more accountable to the bacteria levels in the water. if this is designated an official bathing water site, the environment agency will monitor water quality during may to september, investigate sources of pollution and identify ways to deal with it. it'sjust over six degrees in here. i can't tell you how cold it feels. it is also murky. but with the monitoring, this water should become cleaner to swim in in the future. anglian water says it's pledged to make sure its operations will not be the reason for poor river health. we are trying to promote that water should be clean and safe, notjust for swimmers, for any other water users, but also for nature as well.

we need to be looking after this really vital environment. it's so important with all the changes in terms of the climate change, everything else, it's, you know, it's a thing that we need to absolutely protect. a two—week consultation will now test the temperature to see if this will officially be declared a new bathing site. debbie tubby, bbc news. cities across parts of the us and canada have reached record breaking february temperatures. many are experiencing summer like heat despite there being three ore weeks of winter left. in the canadian city of montreal, which is usually under many metres of snow at this time of year, people were out in summer clothes as temperatures topped 16 celsius which is a new record. in the us state of missouri and in chicago, weather records were broken as temperatures soared. experts say an el nino weather

pattern is partly to blame along with climate change. just take a look at these amazing pictures of new york where a dense fog envelope to the skyline on tuesday morning. the result made the peaks of the big apple look like they were floating on clouds. this is known and advection fog and blanketed most of new york and southern connecticut. it is one of the most watched videos on our website. just a reminder of our top story. south korea's record low birth rate has fallen again. it's the lowest in the world ? and politicians are warning of a national emergency. data for 2023 shows there were 0.72 births per woman in south korea, down from what was already a record low of 0.78 the year before. it's a similar trend in many developed nations. these birth rates are causing alarm

for politicians. just before we go a reminder of our breaking news this hour. alexei navalny�*s spokesperson has confirmed he will be buried at a cemetery in moscow and that a church farewell ceremony will take place on the 1st of march. the russian opposition leader died in russian penal colony earlier this month. we will have more on that in the next hour when his wife, his widow louis navalny, will address the european parliament in strasbourg. she will be speaking about political prisoners and we will bring that you live on bbc news. now it is time to catch up on the weather. hello. temperatures have been falling quite quickly over the past few hours. we've got some colder air in place and there's some mist and some fog patches around for some of us to start your wednesday morning. so some fog patches, particularly through parts of southern and central england

and east anglia, and then rain is going to be spreading its way gradually eastwards. that rain pushing in across northern ireland by the early hours of wednesday — during wednesday morning, pushing into scotland, wales as well. fog for parts of central, eastern and southern england. that should clear away by the middle of the morning. and then these bursts of rain could be quite heavy as they push across wales, into central england as well. far southeast and east anglia, staying dry for a good part of the day. but a return to a few more showers from the north west. temperatures, though, between about 9—13. so certainly milder than they have been. now, through wednesday evening and overnight, then, this next pulse of fairly heavy rain at times pushes its way eastwards. could be quite squally. thunderstorms possible on that line of rain as it crosses its way south eastwards across many parts of the uk. clearer skies following on by thursday morning into northern ireland and scotland and the far north of england, where we could see some wintry showers over the higher ground of scotland. so wednesday's mild air will clear away towards the east and into thursday. we've got these colder conditions, this colder air mass following on behind. some heavy rain where those air masses meet that'll linger through parts of central and south

eastern england, i think, through thursday morning, only gradually easing away. but towards northern england, scotland, northern ireland, some clearer spells. a rash of heavy, blustery showers, though, moving in from the northwest. and i think north of the central belt, they could be a little bit wintry above around about 200 metres or so. so we're back into single figures towards the northwest of the uk on thursday. and then into friday, we've got low pressure, very much in charge, moving in across that colder air mass. so it could see a little bit of snow on friday, mainly over the high ground north wales, perhaps the pennines, into the southern uplands as well. down at low levels, i think it's going to be falling as rain. and we'll see brisk winds rotating around this area of low pressure. so blustery, particularly around the peripheries of the uk, less windy for central parts. but a little bit colder, certainly compared to wednesday. so we're looking at single figures for many of us. further ahead, as we end the week and into the weekend, then, we're going to stick with those slightly lower temperatures and it's looking fairly unsettled, showery for many of us, as we head into the start of meteorological spring. bye for now.

live from london — this is bbc news. allies of the russian dissident — alexei navalny — say that his funeral will take place in moscow on friday. his widow, yulia navalnaya, is to speak before the european parliament.

she has vowed to carry on the fight. claims the death toll in gaza has reached 30,000, new details emerge about a potential ceasefire. a stark warning for south korea. the country's birth rate plummets again amid concerns its working population could halve. and councils across england are facing financial meltdown with many approaching bankruptcy in the next few years. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. welcome. friends of the russian opposition leader, alexei navalny, say his funeral will take place at a church in moscow on friday. he died in prison in siberia earlier this month. he had been serving a 19 year sentence on charges which his supporters said were baseless and politically motivated. 0fficials supporters said were baseless and politically motivated. officials say he had fallen ill and passed away suddenly. his body wasn't handed over by the authorities for several

days. his mother said