saw the west of the wind on the west of the damage today. this is bbc news. the headlines at four.... the us warns that the russian troop build—up near ukraine is the largest since the cold war — as attempts to find a diplomatic solution continue. the downing street �*lockdown parties�* report is now expected to be delivered before the metropolitan police inquiry ends. a woman has been killed by a falling tree as strong winds from storm malik batter northern parts of the uk. five states declare emergencies and more than 5,000 flights are cancelled, as the us east coast braces for a major blizzard to hit the region. a more detailed study is under way after pilot research finds some people with long covid may have hidden damage to their lungs. ash barty wins the australian open

tennis to become first home winner in 44 years and ahead of a major us trial of the british so—called �*isis beatles�*, the media show looks at the ethics of interviewing them. that's in half an hour, here on bbc news. america's top military general has warned that a russian invasion of ukraine would be "horrific" and would lead to significant casualties. general mark milley described the build—up of 100,000 russian troops near ukraine's border as the largest since the cold war. but the us defence secretary lloyd austin said conflict could still be avoided through the use of diplomacy. the prime minister borisjohnson is due to speak to the russian president vladimir putin and visit eastern europe in the coming days,

as the uk steps up its efforts to resolve the crisis along ukraine's eastern border. mrjohnson said he would reiterate the need for russia to step back. russia denies it is planning to invade ukraine. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet has more from kyiv. ukrainians have long lived with war. dozens of british soldiers here since 2015, not long after russia first invaded. but with more of moscow's troops and weapons now massed along the border, diplomacy builds, too. next week, borisjohnson�*s visit to this region takes it up a notch. here in kyiv, there is concern that too much talk of war can be risky, too, but they need their friends. it's a good signal for us, not only for us, not only for ukraine,

but also to russian federations, that we have strong partners, we will not be alone with this if the invasion comes to be, so it is a good signal. moscow sends conflicting signals. more troops, more weaponry moving in but its door still open to find a way out. washington does the same, talking to allies in moscow, too, while readying military reinforcements and warning about any war. it would be horrific, it would be terrible and it's not necessary and we think a diplomatic outcome is the way to go here. this is what it looks like now. russia released these images of its anti—aircraft missiles arriving in neighbouring belarus for next month's military exercises. a month fraught with ever—growing risk. and so what could this

next month bring? joining me now is anna 0liinyk who is currently studying a masters in russia and ukraine politics at university college london. all of anna's family live in ukraine. i should imagine this is a very worrying time for you. what are your family telling you about the situation where they are? good evenina. situation where they are? good evening- yes. _ situation where they are? good evening. yes, actually - situation where they are? good evening. yes, actually it - situation where they are? good evening. yes, actually it is - situation where they are? good evening. yes, actually it is a i situation where they are? good i evening. yes, actually it is a very anxious time for all my family. my family live on the south of ukraine, in that region near the black sea, and this region is very desired by putin. as we can see from the statements made before. actually, our conversations with my family, i am try to calm them down, they are

trying to calm me down. so, yes, they have prepared some food for if there will be some problems, so there will be some problems, so there is some food. they prepared some candles in case there will be no power or electricity. they are hoping everything will be fine, they are praying for peace and for nothing to happen. but they are worried, and they have also prepared some so—called alarm suitcases, when you need to bring together all of your documents, medication, some stuff for a few days if the situation gets really bad, if we need to emigrate my whole family. how easy or difficult would it be if the family did have to leave their home? it the family did have to leave their home? ., , , home? it would be extremely difficult, because _ home? it would be extremely difficult, because my - home? it would be extremely| difficult, because my parents, home? it would be extremely -

difficult, because my parents, my mother is almost 90. for her, it would be almost impossible to leave the place. and we are sure she will refuse to leave the place. so, it probably would be very hard, logistically, to move someone. they are thinking about the different roles, and how to use that. also, if you see the region on the map, it is very easy to cut it off from the main ukraine territories. so they are expecting it would be hard in terms of roads. it would be difficult to find the way to go. so, we are trying to come up with a solution. ~ ., ., we are trying to come up with a solution. ~ . ., ., solution. the ukrainian government has been calming _

solution. the ukrainian government has been calming speculation - solution. the ukrainian government has been calming speculation of - solution. the ukrainian government| has been calming speculation of any imminent assault. does that reassure you and your family imminent assault. does that reassure you and yourfamily in any way? well, unfortunately not. of course, we understand why the ukrainian government are doing that. they basically want to calm people down, because panic doesn't do any good for anyone. because panic doesn't do any good foranyone. but, honestly, such statements make us worry a little bit more. the only thing that supports us, psychologically, it is promises from international allies, help from international allies with some weaponry, some equipment. basically, every statement made by international governments that they are ready to support ukraine, for our psychological situation. because

the international media and the political discussions, this human point of view is usually dismissed, basically it is the whole country now put in a situation of psychological pressure. it's very hard to deal with that. the ukraine government basically wanted to calm people down, but it does not work very good, because still they have these troops. every day, they read these troops. every day, they read the news about people, but ukrainian soldiers who are killed in the west. so, we live in this situation in ukraine, it always was very close, and now itjust feels more close. you can sense a shift? i am aware you have lived with this kind of threat for many years, haven't you? yes, yes, actually. we are

psychologically living in this situation since 2015, because obviously russia's plans were bigger than just crimea and donbos. obviously russia's plans were bigger thanjust crimea and donbos. so, this threat, basically, it is not the first time when we are preparing the first time when we are preparing the alarm suitcases. the whole country is under psychological pressure and psychological terror. because at one time in the year, every year, there are some messages that started to be spread on ukrainian messengers, prepare your documents because there is preparation for a russian invasion. i think it is also an informational

war, that russia is doing since 2015. as i said, it is not the first time. we have these alarm suitcases, but definitely it is on the scale of the attempt to put us into this anxious position. that is the biggest case. it seems very close, very real, and a lot of people are definitely worried. you very real, and a lot of people are definitely worried.— very real, and a lot of people are definitely worried. you paint a very vivid picture. _ definitely worried. you paint a very vivid picture, anna _ definitely worried. you paint a very vivid picture, anna 0liinyk, - definitely worried. you paint a very vivid picture, anna 0liinyk, we - definitely worried. you paint a very l vivid picture, anna 0liinyk, we must leave it there, but we wish you and your family well. thank you for talking to us and bbc news. let's look at the latest government covid data for the uk. for the last 24—hour period, the uk has reported 72,772 new cases, and 296 deaths

within 28 days of a positive test. those are the latest coronavirus figures, published by the government in the last few minutes. the report by civil servant sue gray into lockdown parties at number ten is due to be delivered to downing street and published in the coming days. as opposition parties and conservative mps continue to wait for the results of the investigation, our special correspondent ed thomas has been to macklesfield to gauge how the voting public are feeling about the reports of rule breaking at the heart of government. a moment to focus. waiting for answers. reflecting on past sacrifices. we would try to be careful, had all the screens put in. debbie can't believe that, while some partied, her life was on hold. i still have sleepless nights now, worried sick about it, whether we have to go into another lockdown. when you're hearing these stories come out about 10 downing street parties,

what have you been thinking? i was brought up in a conservative family. would i be voting for them again? no. i don't think i'm going to be voting for anybody ever again, i don't trust anybody any more. you'll stop voting? i will stop voting, yeah. when it first came out, i was really angry. it makes you think, are they telling the truth? inside woodlands care home, it's been a constant battle against covid. forjudith, the pandemic has taken the heaviest of tolls. i've lost both my parents through covid. my father was in a care home in april, when itjust started. my mum, on christmas day, she called me to tell me she'd tested positive for covid and she passed away on the 28th of december. you've gone through so much. what are your reflections on where we are right now as a country? we've got a potential war happening in the ukraine, we've got fuel bills escalating, we've got a national insurance increase, which i hope doesn't go ahead, because it's going to impact all of my staff here.

we need them to focus on those things, rather than having parties and, you know, whether or not he did have a party. kelly, she loved nothing more . than having fun with her friends. other than having fun with her son. kelly had stage four bowel cancer. lockdown meant her treatment was paused. it's in my lung, it's in my liver, it's in my brain. the bbc filmed her days before she died. terrified. absolutely terrified. i don't want to die. like, ifeel like i've got so much more to do. kelly passed away approximately 12 weeks after being _ told to self—isolate. you know your life will. never be the same again. when you hear the prime minister's apology for parties and his regret, what is your reaction? it shouldn't have happened. but i don't think that - should be, at this point, the thing we are focusing on. let's get our priorities in order.

whatever comes next, it's clear for many, trust and faith in those who lead us needs to be restored. ed thomas, bbc news, macclesfield. earlier i spoke to lord john morris of aberavon who was the former attorney general under tony blair. we are not dealing with a jury trial. we are dealing with a comparatively minor offence, something perhaps a little more important than a parking offence, something dealt with by a moderate, modest penalty. and i don't think there is a danger of prejudice. if there is, you've got to have a sense of proportion. i think the public interest, and i used to be the final advisor on the public interest, in my view, i would have thought, and i retain that view, that the public interest is the publication, so they should

know all that has happened, if anything has happened at all. and i do not see how there could be any serious prejudice in the sense that possibly somebody who is involved might say one thing different to another. but that always happens in any criminal investigation. the headlines on bbc news... the us warns that the russian troop build—up near ukraine is the largest since the cold war — as attempts to find a diplomatic solution continue. the downing street �*lockdown parties�* report is now expected to be delivered before the metropolitan police inquiry ends. a woman has been killed by a falling tree as strong winds from storm malik batter northern parts of the uk. sport and a full round up, from the bbc sport centre.

australia's 44 year wait for a home grand slam women's singles champion is over — after ashleigh barty won the australian open. she beat the usa's danielle collins in a straight sets to claim victory, the world number one didn't drop a set during the entire tournament. mike bushell was watching. carrying the hopes of a nation that has been longing for this for a generation. ash barty gave them exactly what they wanted in the first set, impressing those who know what it is like to perform in an arena overflowing with tension. danielle collins certainly found it hostile, asking the umpire for the crowd to quieten down while trying to serve. but showing why she is heading to the top ten next week. breaking twice in the second set to race into a 5—1 lead. but barty was not going to let the opportunity slip away. an incredible fightback took the set to a tie—break. a wall of noise and expectation, too much for collins. if you are going to write your name in history, this is the way to do it.

i mean, this isjust a dream come true for me. i am so proud to be an 0zzie. thank you so much, everyone. see you next time. so, australia has a home champion again, for the first time since christine 0'neill, who looked on as ash barty�*s role model evonne goolagong showed her delight in handing over the trophy and all that comes with it. nick kyrgios won his first grand slam title with close friend thanasi kokkinakiss in the men's doubles. they beat fellow countrymen matt ebden and mac purcell in straight sets, as they became the first all—australian pair to win the title since 1997. england captain heather knight said they'd have to bowl out of their skins on the final day of the women's ashes test, after losing most of day three to rain. knight continued her superb innings — she was unbeaten on 168

when england were bowled out for 297. that was just a0 runs behind. and katherine brunt took two wickets to leave australia on 12—2 when they were forced off. rory mcilroy had one of the best rounds of the day at the dubai desert classic, to stay in contention going into the final round. his three—under—par 69 included four birdies and an eagle. that took him to 10—under, two shots behind south africa'sjustin harding. there's a cluster of english players towards the top of the leaderboard, led by tommy fleetwood, who also went round in three—under—par — a shot behind mcilroy. the quarterfinals of the africa cup of nations are under way — the first of the four games kicked off more than 15 minutes ago. the hosts cameroon against the tournament's underdogs, the gambia — who are ranked

150th in the world. it is still goalless. you can keep up—to—date with live text commentary on the bbc sport website. in the scottish premiership, rangers could only manage a point in a six—goal thriller against strugglers ross county. rangers went ahead within five minutes through manchester united loanee amad diallo. but it was the hosts who led at the break with goals from jordan white and regan charles—cook. connor goldson had restored rangers lead but deep into stoppage time, matthew wright found the net to make it 3—3 and open the door for celtic to cut the gap at the top. well, celtic yet to take advantage. still goaless at celtic park. hibs are currently 2— tier against livingston. hearts, 1—0 against

motherwell. aberdeen and dundee, both of those games had to be postponed due to the weather. two matches in the fourth round of the women's fa cup this afternoon. a comfortable win for manchester city, they beat nottingham forest 8—0. georgia stanway with a hat trick. holders chelsea beat aston villa 3—1, villa pulling one back in the 95th minute. in the women's premier 155, wasps left it late, but they came from behind to earn a 15 all draw at home to exeter. the chiefs took charge just before half time with south africa international zintle mpupha scoring the pick of the tries. exeter chipped away at the deficit and with just minutes remaining flo williams�* penalty secured the draw. elsewhere there were wins for loughborough and saracens. that's all the sport for now. it's thought that 1.3 million people in the uk are living with long covid — and hundreds of thousands of them experience breathlessness.

traditional lung scans often appear to be normal though. but researchers in oxford are using a different technique in a clinical trial — which does show problems in these patients' lungs. they hope that understanding the problem will lead to better treatment options. 0ur health correspondent catherine burns has the story. flo van diemen van thor was never one forjust sitting down inside. but she says long covid has been a horror show. it was not just the breathlessness that was really hard, it was muscle weakness, legs like jelly and just thinking if i try to go down the stairs, they might not carry me. but this is the ct scan of flo's lungs and, like so many long covid patients, everything looks normal and healthy. these are my lungs, i've had them all my life. i know there's something wrong with them. flo is taking part in a study in oxford. breathe in and out. researchers think they're the first

in the world to be able to show abnormalities in the lungs of long covid patients. flo and the other volunteers have an mri scan as they suck in xenon gas. it behaves like oxygen and should cross from their lungs into their bloodstream. the numbers are small so far. 36 patients, 11 who didn't need hospital care when they were first infected but went on to get long covid. it's a very exciting and very encouraging first step. so what we have here is one of the patients from our trial and the ct scan is entirely normal. they have then gone on and had a xenon gas mri. this is the xenon getting through normally into their bloodstream from their lungs and the blacker areas are where the xenon gas or oxygen would struggle to get through. it's early days for this study and there are still lots of questions, including exactly what is causing these abnormal lung scans. in the meantime, there aren't many of these specially adapted mri scanners across the country.

if this research proves they are worthwhile, it would take some serious investment and several months to scale them up across the nhs. and breathe out... lovely, really good. flo says this was the turning point for her, learning breathing techniques with a respiratory physiotherapist. ijust want you to try and slow... it might take her longer to recover after exercise now, but she's moved up a level in karate.

how long will it take before we have perhaps some more definitive answers? that's a great question. the whole study is funded by the nirh, and it will take 18 months. we are going to report to them every 50 patients. but one of the reasons why we are presenting our study now — which hasn't been reviewed and agreed by scientist that it is correct, just to put that into context — we are doing this to show that actually we are researching into a long covid so that patients with long covid and the public know what is going on and the other scientists around the world

are aware of it. but it will take 18 months to two years before we have a final answer, but we are trying to get there as fast as we possibly can. some good news, although i suspect you would have liked six months, rather than 18 months. what are your reflections on what you have heard? it's a great, it's really interesting. i find it fascinating, and always curious, and i still believe there is definitely some form of treatment for long covid. i spoke to a lot of people today. i try not to identify with long covid any more myself because i feel like staying away from the media really helps me in terms of recovery. but i have spoke with a lot of people today with long covid and it made me somewhat angry, you know, i'm two years down the line, they are two years down the line, and they are still suffering so much, i'm still suffering a fair amount. you know, there hasn't really been many answers and i'd completely understand that it's a new illness. but even just from consultants diagnosing new, which aren't exactly accurate, say, mental health

conditions, and it can somewhatjust make people feel so much worse, so much more lonely, so much shameful and less hopeful. yeah, i really hope it gives hope to everyone watching. a woman has been killed by a falling tree as strong winds from storm malik batter northern parts of the uk. police scotland confirmed that the 60—year—old woman was fatally wounded by an uprooted tree in aberdeen. rail services have also been disrupted across scotland and the north of england. well, this was the scene facing fishermen off the coast of aberdeenshire. these pictures were recorded in the north sea, to the north west of peterhead, where gusts of over 70 knots were felt. meanwhile, a cyclist had a narrow escape in the village of apperley bridge near bradford, when a tree fell onto his van while he was in it. he's been speaking to our

correspondent, phil bodmer. i was in the back of the van, just getting changed after a bike ride, and a tree fell on it. were you in the vehicle at the time? yeah, i was sat between the two back seats, just crouching down, really. yeah, it pushed me further down, and then i lay down on the floor, my friend pulled me out the back of the van. this is a remarkably lucky escape. just looking at that wreckage there, it could have been an awful lot worse. yeah, i'm a very lucky man, very lucky man. obviously, i looked to the side and i could see the van absolutely decimated. it was just really lucky, we are both really fortunate. the evidence is there for you to see yourself. and were you aware that when you came out this morning? i mean, what were the conditions like? to be honest, i didn't start off too bad, but as we continued around the downhill sections in the woods, there was various debris and _ detritusjust flying off the trees, a few

branches hitting us on the helmet and on the back. to be honest, we thought we were out of the woods, no pun intended, when we got back to the vehicles, and then look what happened. meanwhile, a fierce winter storm bringing heavy snowfall is sweeping across the us east coast with forecasters warning of "historic" blizzards, hurricane force winds, power outages and travel chaos. five states have declared emergencies. more than 4,000 flights have been cancelled. the governors of new york, newjersey and virginia have made emergency declarations, urging people to stay home and hunker down, travelling only ifjourneys are essential. the singer—songwriter joni mitchell has said she will remove her music from the streaming service spotify, in a row about coronavirus misinformation on a podcast. in a statement on her website, she said she stood in solidarity with neil young, who withdrew his music this week — and warned that lies were costing people their lives. joe rogan, whose podcast appears exclusively on spotify, has been criticised for interviewing an infectious disease specialist who is critical of covid vaccines.

now it's time for a look at the weather with susan powell. hello, stormy times for the uk this weekend. saturday has seen northern britain being battered by malik. tomorrow, corrie is heading our way. there is malik, into scandinavia overnight. this is corrie, set to continue deepening as we move through the next 36 hours. meanwhile, we've got a ridge of high pressure sitting between the two to get us through the evening and overnight. it becomes very still outside. a frost is likely to the east. perhaps temperatures just above in the west. a cold, crisp, but bright start to sunday, with some widespread sunshine, light wind. here comes corrie through the afternoon, deepening all the while, rain into northern ireland and

scotland, some snow for the mountains. definitely a colderfeel for sunday and then we will see the rain sinking south over sunday. the low centre will be the biggest cause for concern, running across northern scotland on diving down to the north sea on monday. these are the areas the met office is most concerned about at the moment. hello, this is bbc news — with rebecca jones. the headlines: the us warns that the russian troop build—up near ukraine is the largest since the cold war — as attempts to find a diplomatic solution continue.

the downing street lockdown parties report is now expected