this is bbc world news today. i'm lucy grey. our top stories... thailand in turmoil as the king denounces his sister's bid to run for prime minister in next month's election. officials in brazil say they've detected irregularities at a training centre for brazil's most popular football club, where a fire killed at least ten people. the amazon founder and world's richest man, jeff bezos, accuses an american tabloid magazine, of extortion and blackmail. idid take i did take a tip from the fishes. never bite unless the bait's good. and the acclaimed actor, albert finney, has died after a short illness. he was 82. hello and welcome to world news today. thailand's king has issued a statement saying his sister's candidacy in the upcoming elections is ‘inaproppriate'. in an unprecedented move earlier today,

princess ubolrata na mahidol announced she'd joined the race to be the next prime minister. the election is scheduled for march and it's seen as the first chance for thailand to return to democracy after five years under military rule. celia hatton's report contains flash photography. the thai king vajiralongkorn is an all powerful figure in his home country. his pronouncements are rarely ignored and his words are his sister's bid to become thailand's political leader were unequivocal. a palace statement that the thai... candidacy was unconstitutional. he concluded that all members of the royal family must adhere to the principle of staying above politics and remain politically neutral. hours earlier, the king's sister ubolratana mahidol have been announced as the prime ministerial

candidate for a party ally to the form of government. a government which was overthrown in a military coup five years ago. when her name was unveiled, it seemed as if the party of the ousted thai leader could be back in favour. it seemed to set the stage for a dramatic collection contest. a popular member of thai royalty facing off against the army chief who led the 2014 coup. he has also been named as a candidate for prime minister. on social media, the princess said it was her right as a citizen to accept the nomination. ubolratana mahidol gave up her royal status when she married an american man in the 1970s. but is still treated as a venerated member of the thai royal family. but the princess asserted her desire to enter politics before her brother, the king, said it was utterly inappropriate. a rare display of discord from behind the walls of the palace, where it seems the princess will remain for now. celia hatton, bbc news. at least ten people have been killed

after a fire swept through one of brazil's biggest football clubs, flamengo, englufing one of the player dormitories. three others were injured in the blaze which was at the club's youth team training centre in rio de janeiro. sylvia lennan—spence reports. the fire took hold just after 5am at flamingo ninho de urubu training ground, burning for two hours before being brought under control. the blaze tore through the youth training facility, where teenage players, some of them as young as m, had been sleeping. translation: there are three youngsters, two of whom are in a stable condition and a third who is in a more serious situation. he's being transferred to another one of our hospitals where we have a burn trauma centre that specialises in the he needs. a number of buildings at the facility were affected, their corrugated iron roofs distorted by the fire, and piles of charred items lying on the ground. nearby trees were also

burned by the flames. flamingo is the most popular club in brazil and most of the youth players were not locals but from all over the country. translation: obviously we are all dismayed. this is without a doubt the worst tragedy this club has been through in the last 123 years. the loss of ten people. i think the most important thing right now is for us to try and minimise the pain and suffering of these families. brazil's president jair bolsonaro is currently in hospital following an operation, but released a statement saying he was dismayed by the tragedy. some of the country's biggest football stars including neymar and pele have posted messages of sympathy. flamengo's main team had been due to practice at the facility later in the morning,

and relatives and fans have been arriving at the centre all day, some finding it too much to bear. it's only two years since an aeroplane crash killed 71 people including members of the chapecoense team. now, brazilian football is in mourning once more. sylvia lennan—spence, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news... the venezuelan president, nicolas maduro, has vowed not to let in what he called fake humanitarian aid from the united states. it was requested by the opposition leader, juan guaido. mr maduro said aid being stockpiled just across the border in colombia should instead be distributed to poor colombian citizens. a killer who left toronto's gay community gripped with fear has been given a life prison sentence for murdering and sexually mutilating eight gay men. bruce mcarthur had pleaded guilty to the killings committed over seven years from 2010 in canada's biggest city. a 16—year—old boy has been pulled

alive from the rubble of a apartment block in istanbul, two days after it collapsed. turkish officials say fourteen people have died — rescue teams have been working round the clock to try to find survivors. the world's richest man and the founder of amazon, jeff bezos, has accused the owners of us celebrity magazine, the national enquirer, of extortion and blackmail. mr bezos, who also owns the washington post newspaper, says he's received emailed threats from lawyers at the enquirer‘s owners, ami, to publish intimate photos of him and a woman with whom he was having an affair. ami has said it acted lawfully, and that it would investgate claims of blackmail. here's our north america correspondentjon sopel. when the celebrity magazine national enquirer published intimate text and photographs between the owner of amazon, jeff bezos, and his lover, it looked like a classic tabloid sting against the world's richest man. i sold about $1 billion a year of amazon stock.

butjeff bezos, who never needs to use the sentence, "i wonder if i can afford this", launched his own counter investigation into how the magazine got hold of them. this seems to have panicked the national enquirer. they now stand accused of trying to blackmail bezos into dropping his investigation. but the amazon owner didn't blink. last night he called their bluff, publishing himself what the threat was. the magazine has deeply personal and embarrassing photos of him and his lover in their possession. mr bezos wrote about the magazine's owners, ami... and this is where it gets murky. jeff bezos is also the owner of the washington post whose political coverage has infuriated

donald trump. the owner of the national enquirer is david pecker, a close personal friend of the president, who has done special ops for him in the past. so was this just a tabloid story, or was it a political hit job on a trump enemy? just before the election, a former playboy model, karen mcdougall, wanted to go public with long—standing allegations that she had had an affair with donald trump. the national enquirer bought the exclusive rights to her story for $150,000, and her silence, but never published it. so was this just a tabloid story, or was it a political hit a policy known as "catch and kill". ami have said they will launch an investigation into the claims by mr bezos. this famous magazine is on the defensive in a way it has not been before. it looks like they picked a fight with the wrong man. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. theresa may is in ireland to meet prime minister leo varadkar in an effort to resolve the dispute over the irish backstop —

which aims to ensure there's no return to a hard border on the island of ireland. the backstop remains the main stumbling block to an agreement. mr varadkar says he will not be negotiating brexit at tonight's dinner saying it'sjust a chance to ‘share persepctives‘. negotiations will ultimately be between the eu and the united kingdom. earlier i spoke to ireland correspondent chris page about what theresa may hopes to achieve tonight. breakthrough this evening, that's for sure. what theresa may i think is going to hope to achieve if she wants to lay out with leo varadkar for the changes she wants to be dropped, brexit list all agreements, in particular this issue which has been, and honesty backstop. a guarantee that under any circumstances that will be no new checkpoints on the border between northern ireland and the irish republic,

even if there is not a big free—trade deal in teacher between the uk and the eu. established between the major sticking point in the whole brexit process, the backstop has been a big reason my so many members of the parliament in london have revolted against the draft withdrawal agreement as it stands at the moment. so theresa may wants legally binding changes to the withdrawal agreement around this whole backstop idea. the irish government led by leo varadkar, the other european union member states are absolutely adamant that the withdrawal agreement is not going to be reopened, that the backstop is going to stay, but they do say there could be some changes to the political declaration in the document that accompanies the withdrawal agreement that is not legally binding. so you have got the british government and the irish government and the eu on very different sides, taking very different positions on this at the moment. very hard to see how those positions can be reconciled, how they can strike a deal. however i think all this diplomatic activity, all these conversations and the meetings that leo varadkar‘s had today and he's been

here in northern ireland talking to the main political parties and is on his way now back to dublin to meet theresa may for dinner for talks. while this is designed to create on the part of both the british and irish governments, is an impression that they are basically doing anything they can to try to get through these brexit difficulties. they all said they want to avoid a scenario of a no deal for the irish government, that would be very serious. ireland of all the european countries would be most exposed to a no deal situation because they are so heavily involved in trade with britain. but ireland also making the point that they are stepping up preparations for no deal, trying to send out a political message i think that if the talks don't work and if there is a no deal come the end of march when britain is to due to leave the european union, well, ireland is going to be as best prepared for it as it possibly can be. i also see a line coming out of leo varadkar on his way to that meeting, saying he is looking to restore confidence and trust with theresa may at this meeting.

perhaps after standing on the stage with donald tusk after those comments about a special place in hell for some brexiteers. yes. that is absolutely right. i think given that this is the first time that leo varadkar and theresa may will have met face—to—face since those comments by donald tusk a couple of days ago, perhaps recognising there is a little bit of bridge building to do after those highly controversial remarks by mr tusk. leo varadkar has been very clear though that he does not negotiate about brexit on his own. it is the european union that does that, not ireland. so he says these discussions with theresa may are not negotiations, they are discussions. chris page in belfast. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come... we look back at the life of albert finney, the acclaimed actor who's just died at the age of 82. terrace mr melson mandella, a free man taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual

leader has said he has passed a death sentence of the british author ofa death sentence of the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks for the asking of their former president. because of his considerable value as a stallion, he was kept in a special secure box in the central block. he was driven away in a horse box the fees had brought with them. step down from a plane, a figure in morning. elizabeth ii, queen of this around and all her other rounds and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. this is bbc world news today. i'm lucy grey.

the latest headlines... the king of thailand has denounced as inappropriate and unconstitutional his sister's intention to stand for prime minister, adding he won't allow it. at least ten people died when a fire swept through the training centre of brazil's most famous football club, flamengo. the family of the cardiff city footballer, emiliano sala, say they can now begin to mourn his death, after police confirmed his body was found in the wreckage of a plane in the english channel. the 28—year—old was travelling to cardiff in a light aircraft, which went missing off guernsey last month. duncan kennedy reports. the news that it was emiliano sala and not david ibbotson who had been found came from the dorset coroner. emiliano's family seen here earlier said today "it is with infinite sadness that we confirm the identity". their statement said... the statement added...

at cardiff city today, the colours on the ground stood out against the grey of the sky. and the confirmation that emiliano sala had been found brought renewed reflection. whilst everybody expects the worst, when it happened i got a phone call last night in the evening and... it was strange, really. i think obviously it brings the family peace, and i think that is what we got, offers a comfort, doesn't it? the search for david ibbotson has been called off in the channel because of bad weather. for emiliano sala, whose speed often left defenders chasing his number nine shirt, the ultimate players tribute — his club nantes say they will now retire that shirt in his memory. duncan kennedy, bbc news.

lizzie has all the sport. hello. thank you very much. the international paralympic hello. thank you very much. the international pa ralympic committee has decided to lift its ban on russian para athletes as long as strict conditions are met. the suspension will be lifted on the 15th of march. as this exports reporter reports. at a news conference here injanuary the itc president said all but one of the criteria set up by its task force had been implemented by russia's paralympic committee. he won outstanding issue was an acknowledgement of the report which uncovered evidence of symptomatic —— systematic doping in russia. they we re systematic doping in russia. they were faced with two options, want to continue its indefinite ban of russia or two, to find a solution. they chose the latter. he says that decision was unanimous. of the 13

voting members of the board, and six we re para voting members of the board, and six were para athletes who had competed in14 were para athletes who had competed in 1a paralympic games between them. and he says while today's development may not please some athletes, it wants the best solution forward and he feels that the russian paralympic forward and he feels that the russian pa ralympic committee forward and he feels that the russian paralympic committee had shown fundamental change in the last two years. the board was faced with a fairly straightforward question. should we date our heels in and continued waiting for a very unlikely russian response to the report? a move that will keep the rpc suspended indefinitely. and as a result russian para athletes ineligible to compete. or do we consider whether it is possible to find another way forward, to enable the rpc to comply with its membership obligations? the board chose the latter. today 's development means russian athletes can complete at the world championships in delhi this year, under the nationalflag, championships in delhi this year, under the national flag, if championships in delhi this year, under the nationalflag, if they adhere to the state conditions as

set out by the ipc —— and doha this year. they will be able to do so at well until their 20:20am in rio when russian athletes were banned and in pyeongchang where they had to compete under a neutral flag. pyeongchang where they had to compete under a neutralflag. the president of the brazilian football clu b president of the brazilian football club where ten people were killed and three injured in an academy fire has described it as the worst tragedy in their history. he was in shock as he and relatives visited the site earlier today. the fire broke out in the sleeping quarters of the flamengo club academy in the early hours of this morning. no one has been named yet, but the victims are thought to include young players. the third cricket test between west indies and england on saturday includes changes for both sides. england have dropped wicket ben foakes sides. england have dropped wicket ben foa kes swap sides. england have dropped wicket ben foakes swap baxenden keaton jennings and recalled. meanwhile west indies will beat without captain jason holder who west indies will beat without captainjason holder who has been band for a slow rate in antigua. he could be a test day before with

bella thomas. craig will decide in his absence. he will be missed obviously. doing a great top number one around the world, obviously we will miss him. but we know we have an layer to replace him. we are not worried from the team aspect. we will be good. had great success in sri lanka and did some really good things over there. it has not quite materialised for us here. whether that be down to selection or whether that be down to selection or whether that be down to selection or whether that be down to how poorly we have played in parts, it you have to see it for what it is. as a player and asa it for what it is. as a player and as a selector. how can you then move that forward and how can you best exploit these conditions that are right in front of us now? we have got to look after this week and make sure we give a very good account of ourselves, and the guys that do get the actives in the feed to take that responsibility and make sure that they are the ones going and putting in really big performances for the country. you can follow that third and final test between west indies

and final test between west indies and england on the bbc sport website. west indies had a 2—0 lead in the series. that is all this work for now. —— that is all the support for now. —— that is all the support for now. thank you. the oscar—nominated actor albert finney has died at the age of 82. a spokesperson for his family said he passed away peacefully after a brief illness. he began his career at the royal shakespeare company before forging a reputation as one of britain's leading screen actors appearing in films such as saturday night and sunday morning, erin brockovich and bonds skyfall. will gompertz looks back on his life. music. albert finney was one of the original angry young men, a salford born bookmaker‘s son who helped redefine british film and theatre in the early 1960s. i'd take a tip from the fishes. never bite unless the bait's good. i won't get married until i'm good and ready. he appeared in a raft of so called kitchen—sink dramas depicting the everyday drama and frustration of working—class life in post—war britain.

i could get through it in half the time if i went like a ball. but they would only slash my wages, so they can get stuffed. he won a bafta for this performance, leading some to speculate that he could be the next laurence olivier... when othello's dead... to whom he would allude when playing this actor—manager in the dresser, and when among friends, he would parody. we were all walking around as sir lawrence walked around in the film, with a limp and a hump, and a kind of deformed strange left hand. and we used to be pressing the elevator button to get to your class, saying... as olivier/richard iii: i must take the lift... to fencing! i feel awake for the first time, madam. he turned down the opportunity to play the lead role in the film, lawrence of arabia, choosing instead the title role in tom jones, an 18th—century romantic adventure. albert finney had arrived. an international star of stage and screen with an eye for the ladies and the talent to take on a wide range of roles. don't be so daft, lottie. from directing and starring in charlie bubbles, to playing agatha christie's hercule poirot. we now come to my own reconstruction

of the night of the murder. when people look back at the gallery of his roles in the movies, and don't forget he was a great stage actor to in the early days, i think people will always celebrate the versatility, the power, the humour, the humanity. a0 years after his film career began a new direction of film directors discovered his remarkable screen charisma, casting him as a gruff lawyer in erin brokovich... and you and me are going to make them pay for it. ..and a gruffer churchill in the gathering storm. in 35, i was home secretary. at 37, first lord of the admiralty, and at 50, chancellor of the exchequer. doing pretty well. not bad. now look at me. albert finney never forgot his roots. he refused a knighthood because he considered it "snobby". above all, he was a serious actor.

a rare performer, such that, if he was in something, you would pay attention. the film critic, richard fitzwilliams told me more about the the broad range of roles albert finney played. it was extraordinary. if you looked at television you have his remarkable churchill, in connection with a purpose in the gathering storm he won a bafta for that. on stage he opened 1976 with a brilliant performance in marlow‘s tamburlaine, and also he was in art! he was a priceless character, one of my favourite characters of his.

and on—screen of course a truly amazing performer. someone who could be a curmudgeonly but kindly lawyer in erin brokovich or the desecrated alcoholic in under the volcano, or a playboy and some drugs or a master manipulator in the film where he was based on donna or fit the dresser. all of these wells, quite a few oscar nominations. an oscar? when i met him briefly, it was at the celebration of peter o'toole's life at the old victory which was a very emotional occasion for him. what was interesting was o'toole was nimonated for eight oscars and never won one. finney was nominated for five oscars and never won one. on the other hand apparently finney was offered the role of lawrence of arabia by david lee and declined it. and of course was o'toole's path to stardom. yes. he took the role of times of instead which it did him all right. it helped win him the oscar for best picture in 1963. he was still amazingly versatile. if you wanted someone who could sing, he did it in scrooge. if you wanted somebody who played in a fantasy, he was in tim burton's big fish.

and he was so proud his working—class origins in saturday night and sunday morning, that was his big breakthrough film, but he directed charlie bubbles which was so good that liza minelli, about a writer going back to the working class roots that he so valued. he declined a knighthood. for him, he left his legacy and his performances. and finally, the london zoo has confirmed that one of its sumatran tigers has been killed. melati the sumatran tiger was killed in her enclosure this morning by a prospective mate. a male tiger brought in from denmark. keepers hoped the two would get along, but as they were introduced, the encounter turned violent, and the ten—year old tigress was overpowered. the zoo says that it is devastated. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of my team on twitter. i will be back in a moment with the headlines. bye for now. that evening. we have certainly seen

some lively winds from storm eric. --fi some lively winds from storm eric. -- " erik. some lively winds from storm eric. —— * erik. those will continue to batter many parts of their this evening and overnight. this line of gladys tonight and overlay. that pressure since through northern scotland. to the north and west of scotland, a very wet period of weather. this weather front as well a bring some rain to more central areas. for all of us it will remain windy. even in some of the bigger towns and cities we have guest in excess of a0 miles an hour. and exposed locations we are seeing 60 01’ exposed locations we are seeing 60 or70. exposed locations we are seeing 60 or 70. over the mountains 100 exposed locations we are seeing 60 or70. overthe mountains 100 mph gusts of wind reported. very strong and gusty winds taking us through the night. holding our temperatures up. it is not going to be a particularly cold night for any of us. particularly cold night for any of us. unfortunately a very blustery one. that poses the risk of further disruption. the winds are strong enough to bring down trees so pleased to be aware of that and stay tuned to your bbc local radio if you are planning to travel. at low

pressure, storm erik starts to slowly slip out of the north sea through saturday. the weather front is going in the south, the rain sta rts is going in the south, the rain starts to clear in central areas. it is much drier and brighter. the winds are initially very strong skill in the morning. by the afternoon they are starting to delay afternoon they are starting to delay a little bit in strength. still quite dusty particularly near any showers. but it does look a lot drier than it has been today. it will probably feel more pleasant because the winds are going away with my son trying to come. already by the end of the day we are starting to see the next band of rain building in the south. this area of rain with some uncertainty as to how far north it will quickly come northwards during saturday night into sunday. and the north, some cold air as well. at the moment it does look as if something is going to be quite cloudy. and wet and southern areas. the real risk of some snow. for the welsh hills, mostly for the hills. drier clear and sunny rather than for a time a cost of northern england and seven scotla nd cost of northern england and seven scotland and northern ireland. on the time showers congregating into

the time showers congregating into the north and the next area of low pressure which brings its way into northern ireland and southern scotla nd northern ireland and southern scotland as the rain clears for the south. for some of us there will betray her with her on sunday but north really. it will have a risk of snow and warnings on our website for the wind, rain and snow. by next week we start to build high pressure and it moves a little quieter. these are the headlines... unconstitutional, allowing he will not allow it. the president in the country's history. at least ten people have been killed in a fire training centre and one of brazil's largest football clubs. amazon founder is accusing the media of black male. —— black male. this act

that has died