welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories. as the diplomatic stand—off continues, we report from the front—line in eastern ukraine, where government forces have been fighting russian backed separatists. and this is about more than the future of ukraine. it is about the future shape of nato, about the security of europe. battle lines are being drawn now in a new cold war. spotify responds to protests by some music stars and others by announcing it will act to combat covid disinformation. north korea is thought to have tested one of its most powerful ballistic missiles in years. the us urges pyongyang tojoin direct talks without preconditions. manchester united footballer mason greenwood has been

arrested on suspicion of rape and assault following allegations on social media. record—breaking rafa. the spaniard wins his 21st grand slam title with victory at the australian open. welcome to the programme. nato�*s secretary general has issued a stark warning to president putin over the increasingly tense stand—off on the ukrainian border. his message: "take the diplomatic approach offered or one of confrontation with the west." in an interview with the bbc, jens stoltenberg insisted nato would support ukraine with military and technical resources, but said there were no plans to put alliance troops into the country. russia continues to deny it

has any plans to invade its neighbour despite months of building up its troop numbers in the region. we have a special report now from the front line where our international correspondent, orla guerin, has the latest. on the frozen front lines, of eastern ukraine, it is heads down in the trenches to avoid sniperfire. maria is following in the footsteps of her military father. she keeps watch for the enemy, separatists, backed by moscow, who seized territory here eight years ago. if russia invades, she will be facing far worse. do you believe the russians are coming? "i try to avoid politics," she says. "psychologically, i try not to get worried. "we have heard about their military "build—up,

but if they try to break "through, we will be ready." troops here say they are not on a higher level of alert. so far, they stress, there is nothing to see here. a view echoed by the government in kyiv. these front lines have not moved in years, but the fear is there could soon be a much bigger conflict here and this is about more than the future of ukraine. it is about the future shape of nato, about the security of europe, battle lines are being drawn now in a new cold war. for now, all is quiet on the eastern front. and moscow continues to deny it will invade. but is this the calm before the storm? some here know only too well what russia and its allies can do. shelling by separatists last november destroyed ludmila's

home of 30 years. she has come back to show us the wreckage. and she had this plea for president putin. translation: make peace. reach an agreement. you are all adults. educated people. make peace, so that people can live freely, without tears and suffering. this might be just a foretaste of what is ahead. the international warnings are stark. president biden says a russian invasion would change the world. only vladimir putin knows what is coming in his modern day version of war and peace. orla guerin, bbc news,

eastern ukraine. let's get some of the day's other news. at least 18 people have been killed in flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rains in the brazilian state of sao paulo. state authorities say some 500 families have been left homeless after a weekend of torrential rain. brazil has been affected by several major weather disasters since the rainy season began in october. protests over covid—related restrictions have brought the centre of the canadian capital, ottawa, to a standstill for a second day. thousands of truck drivers frustrated by a vaccine mandate for crossing the border into the united states have led the protests, holding banners and blocking roads. portugal's governing socialist party has won a clear victory in a snap general election. provisional results show they got around 42% of the vote. the prime minister, antonio costa, said they had secured an absolute majority in parliament. the election was called

in november after parliament rejected the minority government's budget. the music streaming platform spotify has announced new measures to combat covid—i9 disinformation. it follows a row that saw artists neil young and joni mitchell remove their music from the platform. they were unhappy over podcasterjoe rogan�*s interview with an infectious disease specialist who opposes covid—i9 vaccines for children on spotify. earlier, i spoke to tv presenter and popular culture commentatorjawn murray. i asked him if he felt spotify should have removed the entire joe rogan controversial podcast. i don't know that spotify really wants to shake up the business ofjoe rogan because, unlike recording artists who make about 3500 us dollars peri million streams on spotify, joe rogan is making a lot of money with them and for them. they should have maybe isolated that individual

podcast and other podcasts he has done where he fosters scientific misinformation and some things people would call racial insensitivity and racism. spotify, as you mentioned, released a statement saying and reaffirming what their standards are as far as covid information regarding vaccines and masks but some people find that statement hollow because just a slight adjustment of several words is what allowsjoe rogan to not have his podcast touched or taken down or isolated episodes. the devil is in the detail as it pertains tojoe rogan and people are still not happy with the actions of spotify. it runs to over three hours, this podcast and this particular discussion and obviously it covers a lot of ground in that but there are some nuggets there which some people are finding deeply offensive. i get from what you are saying that even though

names like neil young and joni mitchell are huge in the music industry, they are small fry alongside the financial rewards that now come in on that podcast side of things. absolutely. and that is why it made such big news today when we saw that meghan markle and prince harry decided to really attempt to use their platforms to encourage spotify to do what is right. sometimes people do what neil young and joni mitchell did and they protest, they take their music off a platform and we know that they are artists from the �*60s where activism and protesting is their language, that is how they effect change. sometimes you can effect change from within and i believe that is what meghan and prince harry are aiming to do. they want to sit down with spotify executives and speak to them about really implementing change because whatjoe rogan is doing is a distortion of what the americans like to call their freedom of speech. but a private company really does not have the freedom of

speech application. in america, if you do things and use freedom of speech you can also face the consequences. you say it is a distortion of what you would call freedom of speech in terms ofjoe rogan is doing, spotify saying, right, we will now put, we will, we will flag theseissues and direct you to a site where you can fact check for yourself. isn't that therefore undoing the problem? it gives freedom of speech with an opportunity to go and check it if you are not comfortable. when i was a young child there used to be a platform here in the us called the psychic friends network and the fcc made them put a disclaimer on the top of it that said for entertainment purposes only. the truth of the matter is that the psychic friends network caused life and death. the misinformation that joe rogan is fostering literally can lead to life and death. people who do not apply the science because you can have your own opinion but you cannot

have your own facts. the united states has made a direct appeal to north korea to join talks about its nuclear and missile programs. it comes after pyongyang confirmed that it tested a hwasong—i2 nuclear—capable intermediate—range ballistic missile on sunday. it was the seventh missile test so far this month and one of its most powerful in years. these pictures released by the state news agency showing parts of the korean peninsula and surrounding areas as seen from space as the rocket reached a maximum altitude of 2,000km, according to japan and south korea. our to japan and south korea. analyst explained the significance our analyst explained the significance of this launch. this is the longest range north korean missile launch since november 2017 and since then we

have had a lot happened. diplomacy has thrived and collapsed under president trump, a number of north korean short—range missile launchers. what is most interesting about this launch is the way it was presented inside north korea. the national leader was not present to guide this launch. he was present every time it was tested in 2017. in their internal party newspaper, the launch was not even front—page news. so i worry that north koreans are entering a dangerous new phase where they regularise this kind of missile testing but it is carried out as it is in so many countries including here in the united states. when the united states tests missiles, our national leader does not monitor the tests. north koreans are trying to effectively normalise this activity and i think that is concerning because each and every test like this does help them to refine their capabilities and increased threat to the region. do you think that is the same view being held in washington? you have senior us officials, they are saying let's hold direct talks and get on with it. for the united states i think there is certainly, i don't think the administration here is being too glib about what this represents.

i think the notion of inviting the north koreans to talks, while noble, is insufficient. kim jong—un last october gave a speech which implied he implied he would focus much more on american behaviours than american words and while they invite north korea to talks without preconditions, kimjong—un wants to see action and the action he did see earlier this month after north korea launched a re—entry vehicle, the us introduced new sanctions and the north koreans basically deemed that to be a hostile action and that over road all the words that came out of the biden administration. and here we are now with long—distance missiles being launched. the manchester united footballer, mason greenwood, has been arrested on suspicion of rape and assault. it follows allegations made on social media. the premier league club says the 20—year—old won't be training or playing any matches, untilfurther notice. he hasn't responded to any of the claims.

our sports correspondent, jane dougall has more from manchester united's stadium, old trafford. it's understood greenwood remains in custody while inquiries continue. greater manchester police confirmed they arrested a man in his 20s on suspicion of rape and assault following allegations on social media earlier this morning which police became aware of. video footage, photographs and an audio recording in which a woman alleged she had been assaulted by the manchester united striker, greenwood remained public for a few hours but have since been deleted. earlier today manchester united confirmed they too had been made aware of the allegations and said they had suspended their striker, saying he would not be returning to training or playing in any matches until further notice. the club also addedin further notice. the club also added in the statement they do not condone violence of any

kind. mason greenwood has been involved with this club from the age of seven. he worked his way up the academy until his mate �*s debut for the first team in 2019. since then he has made 129 appearances for the club and has won for england. so far, the not made in response to the allegations on social media pools. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: going into a bubble. how beijing is sealing off the venues for the winter olympics to stop any spread of covid. this is the moment that millions in iran have been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid, and the anc leader nelson mandela is to be set free unconditionally.

mission control: three, two, one... a countdown to a critical moment — the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 of its engines at once. and apart from its power, it's this recycling of the rocket, slashing the cost of a launch, that makes this a breakthrough in the business of space travel. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it "a piece of cake". thousands of people have given l the yachtswoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming - in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record . for sailing solo _ around the world, non—stop. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov says moscow wants equal, mutually respectful relations with the united states and its allies, as tensions continue over ukraine.

spotify says it's working to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about covid after a row about misinformation. the united nations has warned of a deepening humanitarian crisis in myanmar, on the anniverary of the military coup. it urged the armed forces to respect human rights and give the un and its partners access to people in need. james rodehaverfrom the un office of the high commissioner for human rightsjoins us now from bangkok. james, us now from bangkok. thank you very much for joining james, thank you very much for joining us. just looking at your statement there, there's not much sign that you are going to get much cooperation frankly within myanmar or that the situation is going to get anything other than worse, is it? ., , it? right now, every time we sa that it? right now, every time we say that the _ it? right now, every time we say that the situation - it? right now, every time we say that the situation can't i say that the situation can't get worse, it seems to do so.

you have a human rights cadastral fee in the country that has been brought on by this seizure by the military of power, and it has produced daily human rights violations which is then lead to humanitarian crises, economic fallout and a deepening political crisis in the country and it has its own spillover effects. �* ., ., effects. and a growing determination - effects. and a growing determination in - effects. and a growing| determination in terms effects. and a growing i determination in terms of resistance to the military that they are not going to back down this time, so where does this go? this time, so where does this no? . this time, so where does this no? ~ , this time, so where does this .o? . , ., ., this time, so where does this io? . , ., ., 4' ., go? well, it is hard to know for sure. — go? well, it is hard to know for sure, because _ go? well, it is hard to know for sure, because not - go? well, it is hard to know for sure, because not only | go? well, it is hard to know. for sure, because not only has the military stiffened its backs but so have the people of myanmar. i think it's quite notable that despite the use of military weaponry and an increasing intensity of

violence, the people have maintained their resistance to this coup. maintained their resistance to this cou -. maintained their resistance to this twp-— maintained their resistance to this cou -. . ., , this coup. so, what i am trying to work out — this coup. so, what i am trying to work out then _ this coup. so, what i am trying to work out then is _ this coup. so, what i am trying to work out then is where - this coup. so, what i am trying to work out then is where you | to work out then is where you can take this, because it seems external pressure is having little immediate effect on the government, on the military even though the economy appears to be in a bit of freefall, nor is it persuading the opposition or the insurgents or the resistance, whatever you would call them, to take a different tack. i call them, to take a different tack. ~ ., , tack. i think that it is important _ tack. i think that it is important to - tack. | think that it is i important to remember tack. i think that it is - important to remember that tack. i think that it is _ important to remember that the vast majority of the opposition to the military has remained peaceful, even though of course a larger number of people have been picking up arms and resisting. where this needs to go as fairly simple in terms of, the people have to be listened to. you have to listen to what they need. all sides to this crisis work to represent the interests of the people, so

start listening to them. i’m start listening to them. i'm sorry to — start listening to them. i'm sorry to interrupt _ start listening to them. i'm sorry to interrupt you, when you say that people must be listened to, who are you talking to, there? are you talking to, there? are you talking to, there? are you talking to the military or are you talking to an international community to have greater sway on the military? because there is little sign that the military has any time for that sort of comment.— sort of comment. that is absolutely _ sort of comment. that is absolutely the _ sort of comment. that is absolutely the truth - sort of comment. that is absolutely the truth and | sort of comment. that is - absolutely the truth and that is absolutely the problem stopping the people of myanmar, meaning the people on the ground, the vic's of violence, the victims of human rights violations, they are very clear about what they need. they need protection, first and foremost. they need to stop being targeted by increasingly militarised violent and they need to have their democracy restored. they need their humanitarian needs met. that is what needs to happen. it is very hard to see how to get there, but that does not change

there, but that does not change the fact that this is the direction things must go and. know, ifully direction things must go and. know, i fully understand. direction things must go and. know, ifully understand. a sympathise hugely with the predicament that you are in. you can call for things which are very difficult to make happen. arejust wanted are very difficult to make happen. are just wanted to ask you one other point there which is about aung san suu kyi. is she now no longer a main factor in this story? because a lot of those who are resisting who are prepared to fight say we don't want to go back there? i think it is very clear _ want to go back there? i think it is very clear that _ want to go back there? i think it is very clear that if - want to go back there? i think it is very clear that if this - it is very clear that if this situation is going to be resolved, it is going to have to involve all parties to this crisis and to this current situation, and that includes the democratically elected representatives of the people. we are going to have to leave it there in any case but i think you have got your point over very clearly. thank you very much indeed. later this week, beijing

will become the first city ever to host both the summer and winter olympics. putting on one of the world's biggest sporting events in a country still committed to zero—covid, and with the omicron variant spreading, has presented a massive logistical challenge. the solution has been to enforce enormous, strict, separation bubbles, as our china correspondent, stephen mcdonell, explains. allowed to mix. from arrival at the airport, visiting teams are in their own bubble. people will recognise the bird's nest olympic stadium, and this is one of the main bubble areas. without special olympic accreditation or without permission from officials, you can't go past those gates there to enter the bubble. even though it is a huge area with venues and the like — a small village, effectively — even within there, there are discrete bubbles so that athletes don't mix with the media or invited spectators. using dedicated driving lanes, olympic vehicles

move between zones. special high—speed trains also connect to the city and the mountain venues. to get an idea of the scale of this, let's have a look ata map. there are three main bubble areas — one in downtown beijing, one in beijing's mountains and another in the mountains of neighbouring hubei province, with bubble transport in between. but it's even more complicated than you might think because there are also these little satellite bubbles attached to the main ones. this 5—star hotel, for example, is its own isolation bubble. those staying there won't meet anyone out here in the street — they will just shuttle from the hotel to the olympic events then, after that, leave china. thousands of university students will help to make the olympics run smoothly, some inside the bubbles,

some outside. zhang junying was a volunteer at the 2008 beijing olympics. this year, she is volunteering again. translation: we are just ordinary people working i as assistants as best we can. if we do every little thing well, we can help complete something huge like the olympics. nearly 2,000 volunteers have joined armies of security staff. they will separate categories of people to reduce covid—19 transmission at the games. beijing has been testing entire housing communities following recent outbreaks of the virus. as for the public, they may not be able to buy olympic tickets, but at least they can watch the games on television during this lunar new year holiday. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing.

rafael nadal has completed a stunning comeback to win the australian open, he's now won 21 grand slams, more than any man in history. tanya dendrinos explains the significance of the win. as you said, a couple of months ago, he did not even know if he'd be fit to play. here he is winning — it's no wonder he described it as one of the most emotional matches of his career. and, yes, i watched every last bowl ball and it was thrilling, for the whole 5.5 hours. as a spectator, you just could not ask for more in a grand slam final. they fought it out to the bitter end and as you say, medvedev, the world number two, he's that for a reason and he showed that in those opening sets. nadal was looking really shaky, terrible service game, really, for the start, but he ground it out over that five sets, got that historic win and, as you said, pushing himself ahead of those rivals, federer and djokovic. i mean, probably particularly sweet for him that this was only his second — he has won 21 and only his second australian open

win but novak djokovic, who has won it umpteen times — nine or ten or whatever it is — was not there, of course. we had this huge covid hoo—ha over that. do you think this is gonna go down as the tournament nadal put himself above everybody else in tennis or the one where that awful djokovic saga was played out? well, we thought last year was strange. we've had quarantining players, no spectators in for some of those matches, and this year has surpassed it again. i do think it will go down in history as the most controversial australian open ever. as you say, those critics are always gonna be asking if djokovic was there and allowed to play, would he have been first to that magic number 21? i just don't think we can take anything away from rafa nadal here though. he's been playing at the australian open for 18 years now, and to still be playing at that level is phenomenal. and not only did he reach that 21 crown yesterday but also another — you did mention second australian open title but this now puts him in the exclusive company of djokovic in being the second player in the open era to win

each of the four majors at least twice, and not even roger has that. that is bbc news, thanks for watching. hello there. storm corrie continuing to bring some damaging gusts of winds during the overnight period and to start monday morning. met office warnings remain in force for strong winds across more eastern parts of the country and we'll also have an ice risk to start the day across northern scotland — some cold air digging in behind the storm as it moves out into the north sea. but you can see a real squeeze in the isobars still across eastern coastal parts of scotland, down towards the wash and norfolk, so the yellow warnings remain in force through this morning for further gusts of 50—60 mph. eventually, the strongest of the winds will pull away from the east coast, and then it'll leave a blustery day for all. after that icy start across northern scotland, temperatures will rise a little bit, but it's going to be one

of sunshine and blustery showers. these showers again wintry over the hills of scotland, some of these showers also getting into parts of north west england, the midlands, wales and south west england. probably the best of any sunshine will be reserved for eastern england, but a fairly cool day to come and temperatures of 5—9 degrees — particularly when you factor in the strong north—west wind. as we move through monday night, we'll see a more substantial area of patchy rain pushing into western scotland, perhaps western wales, north west england, tending to stay drier across eastern areas, but it will turn a bit murkier because we're starting to import some milder airfrom the west. lows of 4—8 degrees. and you can see that here on the pressure and air mass chart. into tuesday, it's a lot milder. it's fairly strong winds again from the west but this air source coming in from the mid—atlantic. it will still be quite chilly and breezy across the far north of scotland, for the northern isles with showers here but elsewhere, some sunshine. more cloud for northern ireland, large parts of england and wales. could see a bit of murkiness, some drizzle over western hills, but it's the temperatures that'll be notable

on tuesday — in the low teens celsius for many. wednesday's another mild day. rather murky again, rather cloudy, too. it'll be another breezy one. and those temperatures will range from around 11 to 13 degrees. then some changes as we move out of wednesday into thursday. this cold front spreads south—eastwards across the country and introduces much colder and fresher air, which will reach all areas by the end of friday. so temperatures will be coming down on thursday, particularly across the north. into friday, could see some wintry showers across northern areas, although we'll hold onto some dry weather in the south.

this is bbc news, the headlines: russia's foreign minister has said moscow wants equal, mutually respectful relations with the united states and its allies, as tensions continue over ukraine. sergei lavrov accused russia's rivals of infringing its security on a daily basis. russia denies planning to invade ukraine. spotify says it's working to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about covid after a row about misinformation. the musiciansjoni mitchell and neil young asked for their songs to be removed from the platform in protest at its work withjoe rogan who has interviewed vaccine—sceptics. north korean state media has released photographs it says were taken from its biggest missile launch since 2017. the pictures show parts of the korean peninsula and surrounding areas seen from space from a camera on the missile's nose.

now on bbc news, it's time for dateline london with shaun