sport, and for a full round—up, we head over to the bbc sport centre. some breaking tennis news in the last few minutes, the former world number one simona halep is free to play again after having her 4 year doping ban reduced by the court of arbitration for sport. the two time rand slam champion tested postive for a prohibited blood boosting substance before the us open in 2022. she blamed the test on contamintaed supplements. cas has reduced her ban to 9 months, which she has already served. it remains to be seen if there will be a counter appeal by the international tennis federation, which banned herforfour years in

the first place. more on that breaking story on the bbc sport website. two—time winnersjeonbuk were held to a 1—1 by ulsan draw in the first leg of their all—korean semi—final of the afc champions league. it tookjeonbuk less than four minutes to make the breakthrough as song min—kyu made no mistake from close range. the hosts were handed a great opportuity to double their lead from the spot 16 minutes later when lee dong—jun was fouled for a penalty but brazilian thiago orobo was unable to capitalise and it proved costly. ulsan took full advantage of that reprieve as lee myung—jae equalised 14 minutes from time. the second leg is on march 12th. the champions league returns later, with the first quarterfinal spots to be claimed. paris st germain take a two—goal lead to real sociedad in the second leg of their last—16 tie, while bayern munich have it all to do against lazio.

they trail the serie a club by a goal to nil. having fallen 10 points behind league leaders bayer leverkusen in the bundesliga with ten games to go, bayern�*s season could effectively be finished if they are unable to overturn their deficit to maurizio sarri's side in bavaria. we'll see what part kylian mbappe plays for ps6 against real sociedad. their star player has been used sparingly since announcing that he is leaving the club for real madrid in the summer. he was substiuted at half—time during their 0—0 draw with monaco on friday and chose to sit in the stands with his mother rather than with his team—mates. he scored one of their goals in the 2—0 first leg win over sociedad. the chelsea and australia striker sam kerr is set to face trial after being charged with "a racially aggravated offence" involving a police officer. it follows an alleged incident in january last year after officers responded to a complaint involving a taxi fare in twickenham, south west london. the 30—year—old matildas captain, her country's all—time top scorer, pleaded not guilty to the offence

at a court hearing yesterday and is scheduled to appear at wimbledon magistrates court in february next year. kerr is currently sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. chelsea have declined to comment. reigning european champions england have been drawn in a tough qualifying group as they look to defend their title in switzerland next year. sarina wiegman�*s side have been drawn against france, sweden and republic of ireland — teams ranked third, fifth and 24th in the world respectively. world champions spain have been drawn against denmark, belgium and the czech republic. the top two teams each in league a group automatically qualify, while the third and fourth—placed teams will qualify for the play—offs. the remaing three home nations are all in league b. scotland will face serbia, slovakia and israel in group b3.

northern ireland are in alongside portugal, bosnia and herzegovina and malta, while wales have been drawn against croatia, ukrane and kosovo in group b4. the 12 best—ranked teams in league b will play against each other for a place in the final playoff round. the bbc sport website will explain it all. and that's all the sport for now. ukraine says it has destroyed an advanced russian patrol ship in the black sea, killing at least seven people. there's been no independent verification of the claim. ukrainian military intelligence says the vessel, the sergey kotov, was hit near the kerch bridge connecting russia with occupied crimea. this video posted on social media appears to show the moment of the explosion. a ukrainian military intelligence spokesman says the ship has definitely been destroyed. russian officials have yet to comment. and our team at bbc verify are looking at that we'll bring you the latest

and our team at bbc verify are looking at that footage as we speak. we'll bring you the latest from them in the next hour. there's more embarrassment for germany today, after new details emerged about how russian intelligence managed to eavesdrop on a high level military call about ukraine. germany's defence minister has admitted that one of the participants on the call dialled in on an unauthorised conneciton while in singapore for an airshow. with the details from berlin — here's our europe correspondentjess parker. i think today berlin trying to save its blushes a little bit by trying to explain what it thinks may have happened here. there had been some speculation that a russian spy might have simply dialled into this conference call of senior air force officials and sat on the line without anybody noticing. the defence minister, boris pistorius, today saying, no, that isn't what happened. what they believe has happened is that one of the official participants on the call dialled in on an insecure line from singapore, where he was attending an airshow. what mr pistorius is essentially trying to argue, i think, is that this is a case of individual human

error rather than german systemic failure. it was on friday that russian state media published this type which appeared to show these senior german air force officials discussing highly sensitive issues around military aid to ukraine from germany, france and britain. mr pistorius says that he has been calling around allies. he believes that trust in germany is unbroken. but i think also hoping, given what they what they say they found so far, that this is more of a one—off than the tip of the iceberg. on wednesday, the chancellorjeremy hunt will present his budget — the last one before a general election. it's been suggested he will cut taxes and at the same time cut spending. opposition parties say that will create more austerity, coming as it does after reductions by previous governments over the last decade. let's take a look at how those figures might compare now.

gere�*s robert cuffe from bbc verify. one key number buried in the treasure announcements tomorrow will set the path for the next few years. it will determine how much will go on to your local library or bin collection. last year it was said that funding for public services would go up faster than prices by i% a yearfor each of would go up faster than prices by i% a year for each of the next two years. they haven't given more details about their spending plans after the election but they have promised an increase in spending of more than i% of the nhs and defence. i'll show you an analysis of how that i% i'll show you an analysis of how that i% might be divided up that comes from the iss. they think i% comes from the iss. they think 1% overall might look like this. the government plans for nhs staff mean that nhs funding will need to go up by more than 3% a year. promises on

defence and foreign aid mean they are going up by more than i%. money spent on the new childcare entitlement will grow rapidly as it is rolled out. the increase would be off the top of the chart if i showed the full extent. spending more than these commitments mean there is less it together run for other departments, and the iss thinks that could mean spending cuts ofjust over 3% in those departments, assuming you don't cut the schools budget. if whoever is in charge after the election sticks to these plans, there will be cut somewhere. tax cuts would make this picture look worse. some departments could see theirfunding fall look worse. some departments could see their funding fall by more than 3%. how does that compare to cuts we saw in the 20105? the conservative lib dem coalition of 2010 plan was to cut spending overall by an

average of 2% a year. the conservative government plans from 2015 on were for smaller cuts. just as today, though settlements were more generous to the nhs and defence, so the cuts fell hard run of apartments. local council funding fell by more than a third between 2010 and 2022. looking at 2019, under thejohnson government, under the johnson government, funding started under thejohnson government, funding started increasing again, and it will increase, though only by 1%, after 2025. on the headline numbers alone, we are not looking at a repeat of 2010 or 2015, but experts warn that having trimmed for a decade already, any further cuts would feel pretty sharp. labour have already signalled tax changes on

non—dom is in private schools that could cover a small part of any gap, but the rules they use to determine public spending aren't that different. sir keir starmer has warned people not to expect an incoming labour government would quickly turn on any spending taps. there are difficult choices ahead, both during the budget and after the election. full coverage of the buduet after the election. full coverage of the budget here _ after the election. full coverage of the budget here on _ after the election. full coverage of the budget here on the _ after the election. full coverage of the budget here on the news - after the election. full coverage of i the budget here on the news channel on wednesday. there's a warning about "systemic gender inequality" in sports and exercise research, and a group of mps in the uk say the industry "must do better" for women and girls. the women and equalities committee highlight areas such as the design of football boots to support their findings. our sports correspondent, katie gornall, reports. the profile of women's sport has never been higher. but despite the surge in media coverage and public interest, mps say women and girls, from the elite level down to the grassroots, are still being held back, with a new parliamentary report

highlighting a lack of support for their health, and barriers they face at different stages of life. when it comes to puberty, the rate of drop off for girls is incredibly high, and some of that to do with pe kit, some of it's to do with the type of sports that are available to them. but primarily, we're really concerned about a lack of access to kit that is designed and structured for women, and the lack of research that ever goes into female sport. on research mps claim there's been a slow and disparate response to the disproportionately high number of acl injuries in women's football, something it says wouldn't happen in the men's game. the report also criticised the lack of boots designed specifically for women. and, in examining anxiety girls face around their periods, called for teaching around the menstrual cycle in schools to be drastically improved and start from an earlier age. among the wide ranging recommendations was for the government to convene a task force of experts to tackle these issues.

former england goalkeeper rachael brown—finnis is one of the trailblazers of the women's game. having long experienced inequality in sport, its persistence is a source of frustration. excellent goalkeeping - from rachael brown—finnis. over two million women and girls who play football in this country make zero money out of it at all, and they are putting careers, their student lives, what they do alongside football, at risk, going onto the pitch, or going training because of a lack of education from the coaches who are coaching them, a lack of research into the equipment that they're using, the surfaces that they're playing on. do you think a report like this could help make a difference? awareness, education, and keep asking the questions, asking why things have been done, why things haven't been done, probing the questions, pushing for change, yes, we can make a difference. at a time when nothing should be holding female athletes back, change can't come soon enough. katie gornall, bbc news.

live now to asia asghar, an ambassador for engaging asian women in sport, and also her daughter aleeza, who is a football player with notts county. welcome to bbc news. i know you've both had a chance to look at that report no. i wanted to get your thoughts on it.— report no. i wanted to get your thoughts on it. report no. i wanted to get your thou~hts on it. ~ �* ., thoughts on it. we've looked at the re ort and thoughts on it. we've looked at the report and we _ thoughts on it. we've looked at the report and we are _ thoughts on it. we've looked at the report and we are quite _ thoughts on it. we've looked at the report and we are quite passionate| report and we are quite passionate about it in the sense that we know there is clearly a need for awareness, from grassroots up to professional, the different levels of performing sports in different sectors such as football, swimming and all other sports in different fields. sport in itself has really

come over heaps and hills over when it comes to female sports, but when it comes to female sports, but when it comes to equality there is still a big gap that we need to narrow down and try to facilitate the same facilities and opportunities as the men get exposed to.— men get exposed to. people are discussing _ men get exposed to. people are discussing things _ men get exposed to. people are discussing things like _ men get exposed to. people are discussing things like they're - men get exposed to. people are discussing things like they're a l discussing things like they're a simple way that the football boot is designed. it favours the male anatomy and there aren't sophisticated boots, or haven't been for many years. it is only in recent years that they have been tailored towards a woman's physique. what other areas do you think there needs to be more work on some of those basic things, like picking up a boot and putting it on? it basic things, like picking up a boot and putting it on?— and putting it on? it could be anything. _ and putting it on? it could be anything. from _

and putting it on? it could be anything, from the _ and putting it on? it could be anything, from the way - and putting it on? it could be anything, from the way the l and putting it on? it could be - anything, from the way the tailoring of the kit is to the way the female body itself is developed throughout different stages in life, and that is something that needs to be mindful of. females, when they go through puberty, the body structure changes, so they need to be informed and keeping that in mind, as well as cultural or religious aspects to it as well, so making sure that there is inclusive and diversity when it comes to developing kits so everyone can participate and there was equal opportunity. you can participate and there was equal opportunity-— opportunity. you play for notts coun . opportunity. you play for notts county- tell — opportunity. you play for notts county. tell me _ opportunity. you play for notts county. tell me about - opportunity. you play for notts county. tell me about what - opportunity. you play for notts| county. tell me about what you opportunity. you play for notts - county. tell me about what you have personally seen as challenges yourself. personally seen as challenges ourself. ., personally seen as challenges ourself. . �* , personally seen as challenges ourself. . �*, ,

personally seen as challenges ourself. ., �*, , yourself. yeah, it's 'ust because ou see yourself. yeah, it's 'ust because you many h yourself. yeah, it'sjust because you see many football _ yourself. yeah, it'sjust because you see many football boots - yourself. yeah, it'sjust because | you see many football boots that yourself. yeah, it'sjust because - you see many football boots that are very expensive and everything, and male _ very expensive and everything, and male footballers that have their own personalised boot named after them, when women have only a very small amount_ when women have only a very small amount of— when women have only a very small amount of options of any boots overall. — amount of options of any boots overall, which is a bit unfair. it is the — overall, which is a bit unfair. it is the same _ overall, which is a bit unfair. it is the same with kit. it is hard to find kit— is the same with kit. it is hard to find kit specially made for women that will— find kit specially made for women that will help them play, help their body and _ that will help them play, help their body and physique be comfortable. i 'ust body and physique be comfortable. i just think— body and physique be comfortable. i just think that needs to be sorted out. just think that needs to be sorted out i_ just think that needs to be sorted out. i would also like religious and cutturai— out. i would also like religious and cultural aspects, out. i would also like religious and culturalaspects, like out. i would also like religious and cultural aspects, like under armour. i cultural aspects, like under armour. i have _ cultural aspects, like under armour. i have to _ cultural aspects, like under armour. i have to wear clothes on my arms

and legs — i have to wear clothes on my arms and legs it— i have to wear clothes on my arms and legs. if they could bring that into it _ and legs. if they could bring that into it. some goals, if they know they— into it. some goals, if they know they are — into it. some goals, if they know they are religious, they could include — they are religious, they could include that with it, or at least give _ include that with it, or at least give broader options for that to help them in certain ways. gk, help them in certain ways. ok, thanks for— help them in certain ways. ok, thanks for sharing _ help them in certain ways. ok thanks for sharing your thoughts. just in this conversation we've been having, what do you welcome most about this report? i guess at least now the challenges that you and your family have faced around getting access to the sport are now going to be addressed, or that's the hope anyway, isn't it? be addressed, or that's the hope anyway. isn't it?— anyway, isn't it? yeah, the main outcome from _ anyway, isn't it? yeah, the main outcome from this _ anyway, isn't it? yeah, the main outcome from this report - anyway, isn't it? yeah, the main outcome from this report is - anyway, isn't it? yeah, the main outcome from this report is to i outcome from this report is to spread the awareness and make the movement going forward. having someone who can represent it and promote it as well. it is different being on paper and having it to read and saying, look, this is a need for it. we need actions to be taken, and then obviously see it more on a

visual platform.— then obviously see it more on a visual latform. ., ~' ,, . visual platform. thank you so much. i know visual platform. thank you so much. i know you — visual platform. thank you so much. i know you want _ visual platform. thank you so much. i know you want to _ visual platform. thank you so much. i know you want to play _ visual platform. thank you so much. i know you want to play for - visual platform. thank you so much. i know you want to play for england | i know you want to play for england one day. we look forward to seeing that they happen. they froze just as we were saying that. maybe we will see her play for england one day. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. ben is 18. he applied for his test in november last year but was given a date injuly this year, a wait of almost nine months. i’m a date in july this year, a wait of almost nine months. i'm waiting for it the whole — almost nine months. i'm waiting for it the whole time. _ almost nine months. i'm waiting for it the whole time. i _ almost nine months. i'm waiting for it the whole time. i have _ almost nine months. i'm waiting for it the whole time. i have other - it the whole time. i have other stuff to do, work, school. my mum as well, a single mother, it's difficult for her. she had to change her schedule around me. this difficult for her. she had to change her schedule around me.— her schedule around me. as an approved _ her schedule around me. as an approved driving _ her schedule around me. as an approved driving instructor, - her schedule around me. as an approved driving instructor, martin knows the impact it can have on learners. ~ , ., ., , , learners. when they go to test, they are very nervous. — learners. when they go to test, they are very nervous, so _ learners. when they go to test, they are very nervous, so that _ learners. when they go to test, they are very nervous, so that has - learners. when they go to test, they are very nervous, so that has a - are very nervous, so that has a direct— are very nervous, so that has a direct impact on them going to test,

knowing _ direct impact on them going to test, knowing full well that if they do fail that— knowing full well that if they do fail that test, they will have to wait _ fail that test, they will have to wait another 23 weeks. for fail that test, they will have to wait another 23 weeks.- fail that test, they will have to wait another 23 weeks. for a fee, a- -s like wait another 23 weeks. for a fee, apps like this _ wait another 23 weeks. for a fee, apps like this one _ wait another 23 weeks. for a fee, apps like this one will— wait another 23 weeks. for a fee, apps like this one will alert - apps like this one will alert learners to the next available test, wherever it may be in the country. it can mean young drivers pass their tests without having anything like enough practical experience on the roads. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. at least 35 people have died and dozens more have been injured as freezing rain and unexpected snowfall hit remote areas of pakistan over the weekend. authories say 22 children are among the fatalities, many of whom have been crushed in landslides that buried their homes. the extreme weather hit pakistan's northern and western regions, clogging roads and damaging hundreds of houses. meanwhile, in nearby afghanistan, extreme weather conditions have claimed the lives of 39 people and over 30 have been injured. local media reports heavy snowfall,

rainfall and low temperatures have been affecting most of the country over the last few days. with me is farhat javed from bbc urdu. welcome to the studio. you are normally based in pakistan. bring us up—to—date on what we know about what has been happening. it is up-to-date on what we know about what has been happening.- what has been happening. it is not unusual for— what has been happening. it is not unusual for the _ what has been happening. it is not unusual for the mountainous - what has been happening. it is notl unusual for the mountainous region of unusualfor the mountainous region of pakistan to have snowfall and reins at this time of year, but march is usually mild in the rest of the country. what we are seeing is quite unusual. parts of pakistan are seeing heavy rainfall, and even snowfall, which is unexpected and took everybody surprise. in north—western pakistan, usually a very hot area, there was heavy snowfall there. in a coastal city,

there has been heavy rain for several days and hundreds of homes had collapsed and many people died. in another region, roads are blocked. we are talking about towns where we have very poor infrastructure, and people need to be connected to the main cities for daily food supplies, for example. they are not well equipped to deal with such emergencies. that is the reason we are seeing so much loss in terms of life as well as property. that is not happening only in pakistan. it is happening in afghanistan as well. we pakistan. it is happening in afghanistan as well. pakistan. it is happening in afuhanistan as well. ~ . ~ ., afghanistan as well. we talked about the im act afghanistan as well. we talked about the impact of — afghanistan as well. we talked about the impact of this _ afghanistan as well. we talked about the impact of this weather, _ afghanistan as well. we talked about the impact of this weather, because l the impact of this weather, because one thing, having lived in south asia myself, there is the fear of landslides. we have a clip of you from a documentary you made in one of the areas, where you were caught up of the areas, where you were caught up in a landslide. let's have a

watch. 0k, ok, we have got the clip there, but we don't have the sound. i remember you recording your fear and terror in the aftermath as you were filming that documentary. tell us more about what happened? it that documentary. tell us more about what happened?— what happened? it was a high altitude area _ what happened? it was a high altitude area where _ what happened? it was a high altitude area where we - what happened? it was a high altitude area where we are i what happened? it was a high - altitude area where we are seeing heavy rain and landslides. it is an everyday thing there. it was the second day of trick when this landslide happened. it was a low rumble coming through the mountains and all of a sudden there was this terrifying sound of shifting rock, and it started coming down the slope. it was horrifying and there was nowhere to run. i remember my guide screaming that i should cover my head. i ran towards copper and i

was able to shield my head, but there were bruises on several parts of my body. that was terrifying but that was the moment i realised how difficult it is for the local people who face these things regularly. it is a whole different reality when it is a whole different reality when it is notjust is a whole different reality when it is not just a is a whole different reality when it is notjust a hike but somebody�*s everyday life. this is how life is in those remote areas. there is no proper infrastructure, so this is how they travel. they go from one place to another by walking, so it gets difficult when they get into such situations in this kind of weather and there are no proper arrangements from the authorities to save their lives and their property. you say this is an unseasonal weather. we met when i was in pakistan covering those floods which were devastating about 18 months ago also. at the time, the government said it was climate change that was to blame for those unseasonal

floods. are they saying anything about what is happening at the moment, talking about this being something to do with climate change? yes, this has been... this is a reality — pakistan is one of those countries that are suffering the most due to climate change and pollution and all that stuff. this is a real reality, but at the same time, we see that there are problems with the management in several areas. for example, you will see lots of construction in some places which are tourist destinations. right on the river banks. we did a report in baluchistan, where dams collapsed due to heavy rain. there were problems not only with rain but with the construction of those dams. there are human errors as well, but the big reason the authorities and the big reason the authorities and the government, they also now say it is an impact of climate change.

thank you very much for bringing us up—to—date on that story. plenty more on those developments from south asia, and of course the latest on the super tuesday vote in the united states, on the bbc website. do stay with us. hello. the quiet weather continues but a bit of a lottery at the moment. there are winners and losers. lovely sunshine to be found in lancashire earlier, but a different story further east. the cloud is thick enough for a spotter to drizzle and showery rain in places. i weatherfront to drizzle and showery rain in places. i weather front is draping itself along the east coast and that will linger through much of the day. also the potential for sharp showers, may be the odd rumble of thunder across the south—east later. this weather front in northern ireland will ease further north and

so an improving picture through the afternoon. central and western areas keeping the sunshine. we keep that frontal system out to the east. a grey, damp, drizzly affairfor many, with some showers potentially heavy, with some showers potentially heavy, with the odd rumble of thunder. underneath the cloud, eight or nine celsius. furtherwest, underneath the cloud, eight or nine celsius. further west, with the sunshine, 11 or 12 celsius. tonight that weatherfront will sunshine, 11 or 12 celsius. tonight that weather front will feed in more cloud to eastern areas. in the west, clearer skies, fog forming and the potential for some frost as temperatures dip below freezing. that is where we will have the best of the early morning sunshine once any patchy fog lifts. we may keep the sunshine for the best of the day. cloudy along the east coast. in lincolnshire, east anglia, south—east england, we should see the cloud break. a few scattered

showers, temperatures between seven and 12 celsius. on thursday, high pressure across scandinavia dominates the weather, but the wind will freshen. they are circulating around that high pressure, meaning more of a breeze, which means potentially cooler and fresher on those exposed coasts. sheltered western areas, the best of the drier, sunnier moments. scattered showers around, but in the sunshine, with shelter, it should be a pleasant, temperatures peaking around 12 celsius. where you have exposure to the wind on the east coast, more cloud, fresher. there is the potential on sunday for more showers or longer spells of rain.

live from london. this is bbc news. "an opportunity for an immediate ceasefire" for gaza — these are the words of us top diplomat antony blinken as talks take place in egypt. the war in gaza started after hamas attacked israel on october 7th. the un says there are "reasonable grounds" to believe sexual violence occurred during that attack. it's super tuesday in the us, where voters in more than a dozen states decide which candidates will represent their party in this year's presidential race. in the uk, there are reports that the government is planning to cut national insurance

in tomorrow's budget. and later this hour — we'll be speaking to bangladeshi nobel laureate, professor muhammad yunus who's facing jailtime, accused of violating labour laws hello, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. the us secretary of defence, antony blinken, has said there is an opportunity for an immediate ceasefire in gaza. his comments come as leaders of the palestinian group hamas are expected to hold more talks in cairo with mediators, although israel says it will not directly attend until hamas provides a list of hostages it is still holding. hamas has been running gaza, but is also considered a terrorist organisation by a number of countries including the uk. here's what mr blinken had to say a short while ago. it's also urgent, irrespective of a ceasefire, to dramatically increase the humanitarian assistance

that is getting to people inside gaza.