this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. ukranian troops prepare for a possible russian invasion, with help, from the british military. the inquiry into lockdown parties in downing st, is expected to be published shortly, after speculation, it might be delayed. the world food programme says more than eighty per cent of people in the ethiopian region of tigray are going hungry and, the influential online streaming platform, twitch, accused of encouraging, unhealthy practices.

russia's president, vladimir putin, says the us and it's allies in the nato military alliance, have ignored moscow's main security concerns over eastern europe, with ukraine at the heart of tensions. the comments were made in a phone call with president macron of france, after washington had rejected russian demands that nato rule out ukrainejoining the defence alliance. moscow has deployed an estimated 100,000 troops near the border with ukraine, angry that a country once part of the soviet union, is now seeking closer ties with nato. our international editor gabriel gatehouse reports from western ukraine where british soldiers have been training ukrainian armed forces. somewhere in a frozen field in western ukraine, they're preparing for war with the help of

the british military. ukrainian soldiers are trying out their latest weapon. it's a shoulder—held anti—tank missile that's been provided by the uk. this is an exercise. but here, they know... ..they may have to use their weapons against real russian tanks in the not too distant future. it's very big deal when our partners, ourfriends, from other countries are doing everything possible to improve our defence capabilities. do you need more? do you want more? er, you know, it's hard to say what we need more if we are facing the war. er, for this moment, we have at least something that we make sure that we are capable to defend our countries. the brits have had a small military presence here since 2015. how many of you are there? so, the training team is ranging

between eight to nine individuals... a couple of dozen officers in a training capacity. the ukrainians have been fighting russian—backed separatists in the east for nearly eight years now. but by supplying these anti—tank missiles, the uk is sending a strong signal — both about its commitment to ukraine and about how it assesses the current russian threat. part of this is about training the ukrainian military, of course, and about the ukrainian military being ready for any eventuality. but a big part of this also, and the reason that we've been invited to film all of this, is because this is about sending a public message. is russia really about to launch a full—scale invasion of ukraine? the view in london and washington at the moment seems to be — yes, it's likely. but in kyiv, they're playing it down. translation: you get the impression

from the media that we're at war, - that there are soldiers - on the streets, that there's mobilisation going on, - that people are running away. we don't need that panic. there's a lot of posturing going on at the moment, moscow saying nato's ignoring its security concerns as it continues its troop build—up on the border. the response from the west is increasingly alarmed and alarming. this is perilous geopolitical terrain, and ukraine is trying to chart a course through it. there may yet be what they call an "off ramp", a way of defusing the crisis, but there's a danger that talk of all—out war becomes a self—fulfilling prophecy. gabriel gatehouse, bbc news, western ukraine. our international correspondent, orla guerin, is in the city of bakhmut, in the donbass region, of eastern ukraine, which borders russia and has been talking to local people there.

if president putin is thinking of an invasion, even a limited one, he may well be looking in this direction. as gabriel mentioned, there are russian backed separatists who have been fighting the ukrainian government since 2014 and that conflict has already claimed 13,000 lives. in one scenario, president putin would send his troops across the border presenting them as peacekeepers, claiming that they are coming here to protect russian speakers, and of course, the separatists would welcome them with open arms. we've been speaking to people today close to the border, close to the front line, and rightly or wrongly they've been playing down the threat of a russian invasion despite the massive build—up just across the border. one man said to us, look, we are just pawns and both the russians and the americans are playing games. but he also accepted the very real risk at the moment that in this heightened tension even a small move by one side or the other could provoke a major escalation. orla guerin, thank you, in back mote in eastern ukraine

our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in kyiv and spoke about the press conference given by ukraine's president zelensky in which he downplayed events there. as often as you would see in circumstances like this when you have a leader who needs the support of external allies to perhaps talk up of external allies to perhaps talk up the situation on the ground or to at least emphasise how critical it is in order to be sure that allies will be there at the hour of need. but i think the president's remarks, this sudden crisis for him or anyone in the ukraine. they have been living with this since 2014. they not worrying about the next russian invasion because there has already been an invasion in 2014 and they dealt with the consequences of her sense and perhaps the world has turned the other way and you would not be surprised that there will be some bitterness about that and

suddenly, there is a laserfocus on what is happening on ukraine's borders over what comes next. the ukrainian president, what comes next may be worse and he did not dismiss the idea that there could be more conflict with russia and there could be a possible russian invasion again, but he says it is not certain and while you wait, it is better not to exaggerate what is happening on the ground. in the last hour, president biden said he will be moving us troops to eastern europe and nato countries "in the near term." the pentagon has placed over 8,000 troops on stand—by for possible deployment. no, nonetheless couple of hours was white how soon will you be moving us troops to central europe? i'll be moving them to eastern europe and the nato countries in near term.

it's understood the senior british civil servant, sue gray, who's been investigating lockdown parties at downing street, is expected to deliver her final report to boris johnson shortly. the exact timing however, is still unclear. there had been speculation, that the report might be delayed, because of a metropolitan police request, that the findings make only "minimal reference," to alleged events at no 10, forfear of prejudicing their own investigation. scotland yard says it's now received all the material it's asked forfrom downing st, for it's inquiry. with the latest, here's our political correspondent, iain watson. which rules could have been broken behind the famous black door during lockdown? a report by the senior civil servant sue gray was expected to provide some answers this week. that was until cressida dick, the country's top police officer, said this.

the metropolitan police had said then it had no objections to sue gray's report being published, but today, the police seemed to object to some potentially crucial parts of its content being made public, saying in a statement... in other words, they don't want to see too much made public about the more serious allegations until they have carried out their own work. what i want to see is sue gray's. report in full and the investigation finished as quickly as possible because we're in a situation . where the whole of - government is paralysed. and the leaving of prince philip's

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table — of, truth be hunted lien on the table. ,, ., ., ., ., table. she wanted to avoid reductions _ table. she wanted to avoid reductions and _ table. she wanted to avoid reductions and blanking i table. she wanted to avoid | reductions and blanking out table. she wanted to avoid - reductions and blanking out big pieces of text in case it looked like a whitewash, but she seems to face a choice of either delay or delete. and if anything less than her full report delete. and if anything less than herfull report emerges, delete. and if anything less than her full report emerges, there will be a political outcry. many conservatives have been keen to read the full report because some of boris johnson's the full report because some of borisjohnson�*s on mps will try to oust him if they do not like what the sea. what the former occupants of ten said. theresa may stated: some say that the events have descended into farce at the heart of government. but for those directly affected by the tragedy of the pandemic, it's no laughing matter. for the people who are here at the wall every week painting hearts, it's infuriating,

it's distressing and it's really disappointing. it seems these families and politicians are going to have to wait longer for the full picture of what happened in lockdown to become clear. they felt they had to get onto the front foot and they've become everyone's punch bag and were heavily criticised for weeks for not carrying out their own investigation in lockdown in downing street. find in lockdown in downing street. and when the in lockdown in downing street. fific when the evidence did in lockdown in downing street. a"ic when the evidence did reach the threshold and they started their investigation and that all the information should be put into the public domain, they have been criticised for that and then tonight, you've heard some opposition parties are criticised

for being involved in some sort of stitch up with downing street. so, they felt they had to defend themselves and the way that they could and say categorically, that they are not responsible for the delays of the report. they believe those delays are the result of things going on elsewhere in whitehall. they also said an interesting thing tonight about how they're carrying out their own investigation and that is all about how they're going to be writing to people who were allegedly at these parties, were allegedly rules are broken and asking for written replies from people saying whether they had a reasonable excuse for doing what they were doing and what's the process that, there will be looking at who should be given these fixed penalty notices, on the spot fines. there is a reassurance that staff involved in downing street and elsewhere in whitehall are in not going to be dealt with in are in not going to be dealt with in a disproportionate way. they should have a similar experience to people who were caught preaching lockdown rules in the summer of 2020. ——

preaching. —— breaching. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: and, the influential online streaming platform, twitch, accused of encouraging, unhealthy practices. this is the moment that millions and iran have been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first steps on iranian soil.— steps on iranian soil. south africans government - steps on iranian soil. south africans government has i steps on iranian soil. south - africans government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in this history of apartheid and nelson mandela is to be set free unconditionally. its, to apartheid and nelson mandela is to be set free unconditionally.- be set free unconditionally. a to a critical moment. _ be set free unconditionally. a to a critical moment. the _ be set free unconditionally. a to a critical moment. the worlds - be set free unconditionally. a to a critical moment. the worlds most | critical moment. the worlds most powerful— critical moment. the worlds most powerful rocket ignites in all 27 of its engines at once and apart from its engines at once and apart from its power. — its engines at once and apart from its power, it's the recycling of the rocket _ its power, it's the recycling of the rocket flashing the cost that makes this a _

rocket flashing the cost that makes this a breakthrough in the business of space _ this a breakthrough in the business of space travel. to this a breakthrough in the business of space travel.— of space travel. to americans have become the _ of space travel. to americans have become the first _ of space travel. to americans have become the first humans _ of space travel. to americans have become the first humans to - of space travel. to americans have become the first humans to walk. of space travel. to americans have | become the first humans to walk in space _ become the first humans to walk in space without any _ become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline - become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to - become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to the . space without any lifeline to the spaceships _ space without any lifeline to the spaceships. ohe _ space without any lifeline to the spaceships. one of— space without any lifeline to the spaceships. one of them - space without any lifeline to the spaceships. one of them called| space without any lifeline to the. spaceships. one of them called it space without any lifeline to the i spaceships. one of them called it a piece _ spaceships. one of them called it a piece of— spaceships. one of them called it a piece of cake _ spaceships. one of them called it a piece of cake. the _ spaceships. one of them called it a piece of cake-— piece of cake. the spectacular homecoming _ piece of cake. the spectacular homecoming in _ piece of cake. the spectacular homecoming in the _ piece of cake. the spectacular homecoming in the border- piece of cake. the spectacular i homecoming in the border after piece of cake. the spectacular - homecoming in the border after she smashed the world record for selling solo around the world nonstop. this is bbc news, the latest headlines. the us secretary of defense says russia has the military capability to strike ukraine —— but tells vladimir putin it's not too late to prevent a conflict. the bbc understands the senior civil servant investigating lockdown parties in number 10 downing street will not wait for a police inquiry into the events to conclude, before publishing its own report. the united nations world food programme says more than 80 percent of people in the ethiopian region of tigray haven't got enough to eat. it says no un food convoy has

reached the area since mid december and 100 trucks a day are needed to prevent starvation. government forces have been fighting tigrayan rebels in northern ethiopia for more than a year. it's appealed to the warring parties to allow aid in. tomson phiri a spokesperson for the world food programme in geneva explains how continuing conflict is exacerbating hunger in the region. this is what 15 months of war buys you. food insecurity in tigray has plummeted since the start of this crisis. now, you are talking about 2 million people of the population of tigray severely food insecure. the numbers are quite stark. you are talking about 2 million people in tigray. almost the entire population of tigray needs help. approximately 83% of the population, which is about 4.6 million people are food insecure and are struggling to find enough food to eat. the situation is even worse

when you look at malnutrition rates. we have over 30% of children under the age of five, half the women who are pregnant and nursing who were found to be malnourished in tigray. in neighbouring regions, the situation is no better. you have more than 14%. and in another region, you have up to 28% of children under the age of five. that is way, way above the emergency threshold of 15% who are all malnourished. the situation is quite bad. speaking to people there on the ground, people have not been able to harvest, people do not know where their food is coming from. some people who didn't need assistance in the past are having to rely on assistance today because they have no other means, they have no one to turn to. and in the period that we are looking at, in november when we did this study, we realised, actually, that food assistance was the difference for most of these people. we need guarantees from all parties

to the conflict and formally agreed transport carrying into the tigray region instantly. so that they are able to supply and reach millions of people who are in need of life—saving assistance. we need support from politicians, from the federal authorities, as well as the regional authorities in ethiopia. let's look at some of the day's other news president biden has used the collapse of a bridge in the us city of pittsburgh to defend his one trillion dollar infrastructure bill. arriving in the city hours after the collapse, mr biden said the us had been "so far behind on infrastructure for so many years". he promised to fix all the aging bridges of the country. the west african regional body— ecowas — has suspended burkina faso's membership following this week's military coup. the fifteen member bloc also called for the immediate release from house arrest of the ousted president, roch kabore. the body had already condemned the coup — the third in the region since last year.

a british "hitman" has been found guilty of conspiring to kill a pakistani dissident in the netherlands. a court in london heard how muhammad gohir khan, was offered a 100,000 pounds, to carry out the murder in rotterdam last year. however he failed to track his target down, and was arrested on his return to the uk. with more, here's our pakistan correspondent, secunder kermani. hitman gohir khan captured on cctv in rotterdam buying the knife he planned on using to kill his victim, but khan never found his target. instead he was arrested on return to london. police found messages on khan's phone with a middleman named as mudz. he offered khan, who was heavily in debt, £100,000 for the killing. khan replied, "let's get cracking." this is the man he planned to murder, a pakistani activist critical of the country's army. he doesn't want his face shown. five years ago he was tortured

by suspected members of pakistan's intelligence services. now he believes they are behind this plot to kill him. this trial was taking place in the uk. what's your message to the british government? pakistani officials wouldn't comment on the case. prime minister imran khan and the military insist there's no clampdown on critics. but human rights groups disagree. over the past few years i've been reporting on howjournalists and activists inside pakistan have faced an intensifying

campaign of beatings, abductions and threats for criticising the alleged role of the military in manipulating the country's political system, but now, even those living in exile here in the west fear their lives are in danger. we have recently received credible information that would suggest that your life would be in danger if you travelled to pakistan. ayesha siddiqa is an academic. she's one of four pakistani dissidents in the uk who confirmed to the bbc they'd received warnings or safety advice from the british police. the story that i've found out is that it was a contract on my head given to some afghan warlords, to be eliminated or returned to pakistan. the same sources said that if the temperature was raised i could be targeted in the uk as well. in court, the lawyers prosecuting gohir khan said the middleman and the client, known only as big boss,

were both based in pakistan, but their true identities were not revealed. gohir khan now faces years injail, but his handlers discussed carrying out otherjobs, and many pakistani activists fear they are still in danger. secunder kermani, bbc news. playing video games for a living is an aspirational career for millions across the world. however, the most influential online streaming platform, twitch, is accused of encouraging unhealthy practices. there are now calls for the billion—dollar company to change the way it operates, as the bbc�*s gaming reporter, steffan powell explains in this exclusive report? singing: welcome to my... what the... like, what?! i'm in trouble! this is twitch, where all day, every day, you'll find people filming themselves playing video games and interacting with viewers. some, like ninja here, can earn big bucks.

he's reportedly worth around £18 million. owned by amazon, 30 million people across the globe visit the site daily. traditionally, communal gaming meant coming somewhere like this and sharing a screen with a mate. but today, online gaming means that people play with friends from all over the world from home, and what online streaming platforms like twitch have done is allowed some to turn that into a job. i missed every shot, i think. which is what sam, known to herfollowers as sooshi, did. the former office manager loved it — but is one of many i've spoken to that says they've sacrificed their health to make a living using the site, saying it encourages long periods online. i'd say it had an effect on my confidence a lot. i still to this day don't open the door. i don't open the door to anyone. sam took a financial risk to stream for a living. she was online for up to ten hours a day, every day, to pay the bills.

that led to anxiety and symptoms of agoraphobia. i don't think i went out in the first year that i was full time, barely. maybe to the shop, at a push. it sounds really silly, but i don't really like talking to anyone face—to—face because it's been so long since i've done it to another human. streamers have told me the longer you're online, the more your channel will grow subscribers and advertising revenue. it is a numbers game with twitch. it's a lot about being on throughout the day as often and as long as you can, so that it's really, really dis—incentivised to stream for short bursts. as a result of these concerns, bbc news has been told that twitch needs to make changes to better protect content creators. it encourages streamers to be on stream for many hours, sometimes 24 hours or more, and that clearly has affected people's physical health and mental health. and i think the platforms really

need to think about changing the mechanics of the platform, changing the financial model, to protect the health of streamers. in a statement, twitch said that streamers' safety is their number one priority. they added that advice and mental health resources are available on their site and say they are developing a new programme to support streamers with the pressures of the job. sam's reduced her hours on twitch now. it got too much. today, she's notjust battling for victory in the virtual world, but also to get a conversation going about healthy streaming practices in the real one. steffan powell, bbc news. makes you wonder what will happen if the meta— verse being truly with us. will we be sitting in her perfect living rooms and are perfect in her worlds and i look anywhere else. i

hope not. stay with us on bbc news. hello there. so far this month, it's been pretty quiet with high pressure dominating the scene. we've had light winds for most, but that's certainly not the case this weekend. northern parts of the country will be impacted by some severe gales at times which could cause some disruption. and we'll see another spell of wet and windy weather during sunday night. higher pressure further south, which means the winds will be lighter, but this deepening area of low pressure's been named by the danish met service as storm malik, and you can see why. plenty of isobars across the north of the uk as this system continues to push down in towards the norwegian sea. widespread yellow wind warnings across the north of the country, gusts of 70—80 mph likely across parts of scotland. an amber warning issued for parts of eastern scotland, could see some impacts from aberdeen

down towards edinburgh. got a weather front sinking southwards through the day. that will bring some cloud to southern england, where it will stay quite mild, but behind it, skies brighten, sunshine and blustery showers but it will be turning colder. it will be very windy for a time across the north and east of the country saturday night, but very quickly a ridge of high pressure builds in. winds will turn lighter, most of the showers will ease down, so under those clear skies with lightening winds, then temperatures will fall. a touch of frost out of town under those clear skies. so, our ridge of high pressure will bring us a fine, settled start for much of sunday, but we'll see the next area of low pressure hurtling into the north west of the country. that's going to bring another round of rain, gales and mountain snow. so, it will start chilly with some frost, but plenty of sunshine for much of england and wales. a bit more cloud for scotland and northern ireland. later in the day, it will start to get wetter and windier across the north west. some mountain snow for scotland and gales developing once again, particularly across the west of scotland and then pushing into northern ireland,

the rest of scotland, then northern england later in the day. those winds always little bit lighter further south, but it will be a chillier day compared to saturday, with temperatures of 4—9 degrees. and then that area of low pressure moves across the north of scotland. we'll see a real squeeze in the isobars. gales or severe gales affecting northern ireland, much of scotland, perhaps the north of england. again, gusts of 70—80 mph for a time, so this could cause some disruption. so, two storms this weekend for the north of britain, which could bring some damaging gusts. we're likely to see some disruption in places, so stay tuned to the forecast. see you later.

this is bbc news. the headlines —

america's top military official, general mark milley, says the russian troop build—up near ukraine is the largest since the cold war and a conflict would be horrific. earlier, vladimir putin told his french counterpart that russia had no plans for an offensive. the bbc understands the senior civil servant investigating downing street lockdown parties will not wait for a police inquiry to conclude. sue gray is expected to deliver her report to the prime minister shortly. fresh doubts have emerged over the timing of the positive covid test novak djokovic used to enter australia to try to compete in the australian open. more than 300 scientists and public health experts have called on the british government to help developing countries make their own covid vaccines. they want the uk to support the waiving of intellectual property rights on jabs.