welcome to bbc news. i'm nuala mcgovern. our top stories: experts say they've pinpointed the cause of a mysterious illness affecting us diplomatic staff called havana syndrome. president biden approves the deployment of 3,000 troops to europe. russia calls it an unjustified and destructive move. the united states stands shoulder—to—shoulder with our nato allies. the current situation demands that we reinforce the deterrent and defensive posture on nato�*s eastern flank. new zealand begins the phased reopening of its borders. vaccinated citizens in australia can finally return home. and putting his back into it:

the cuban strong man who can break records and cans with his shoulder blades. intelligent experts in the united states say they may have finally uncovered the cause of a mysterious illness among diplomatic staff that has been dubbed havana syndrome. it is dizziness and disorientation among its symptoms. it do not completely sure, however, but the panel on anomalous health instance has been looking over some of the unresolved cases of the syndrome. it's concluded so far the signs and symptoms are genuine and compelling. it

suggested that in some cases, the pulsed electromagnetic energy plausibly explains the core characteristics or the information gaps exist. it did not look into the question of whether a foreign actor may be involved. it's worth mentioning that an earlier interim report from the cia last month found no evidence of a widespread campaign by a foreign state and said many cases could be explained by natural causes or stress. but us here a bit more about whether this mystery actually is being solved. alex ward is my guess who has been taking a look at this, and jointly now. good to have you with us. maybe for some of our view is that arejust coming to for some of our view is that are just coming to the story, how would you describe havana syndrome? it how would you describe havana syndrome?— syndrome? it is a pretty nasty set of symptoms. _ syndrome? it is a pretty nasty set of symptoms. feelings - syndrome? it is a pretty nasty set of symptoms. feelings of| set of symptoms. feelings of nausea, acute hearing, sharp noises, disorientation, and it

seems to come out of nowhere. it has affected many us officials, and it was on the scene in havana, that is why it is called havana syndrome. some officials, this has been a mystery for the us and foreign governments going, what is happening here? why do all these officials suddenly feel these officials suddenly feel these symptoms and what is the cause? that is what the intelligence community is trying to get to the bottom of. they give some aspects which they think it might be, but it didn't sound definitive to me. what do you think they have concluded so far? how would you describe what they said is remark if i'm being honest, i think we are somewhere at square one where we were five years ago. we square one where we were five years age-— years ago. we know that the ma'ori years ago. we know that the majority of _ years ago. we know that the majority of cases _ years ago. we know that the majority of cases they - years ago. we know that the majority of cases they found | majority of cases they found some underlying medical cause or environmental cause that has led to these suffered symptoms. as to a small subset of cases they have yet to solve, what we

learned in today's intelligence report is basically that it could be, it is scientifically feasible and technically possible that it is some sort of electromagnetic or ultrasonic pulse, so directed energy device perhaps aimed at these officials. to be clear, these officials. to be clear, the intelligence community is saying, wejust the intelligence community is saying, we just know it is a possible cause, we are not saying it is, and we don't know if there is an operator or a foreign agent behind it, so really, they arejust foreign agent behind it, so really, they are just saying it is one possibility among many. it sounds like the stuff of spy movies, and i am wondering how would an electromagnetic pulse really be targeted, do we have any idea? phones or... i don't know. have they given any idea of how that might hit a person so to speak? of how that might hit a person so to speak?— of how that might hit a person so to speak? very little. there is some history _ so to speak? very little. there is some history of _ so to speak? very little. there

is some history of the - so to speak? very little. there is some history of the soviet i is some history of the soviet union having sonic weapons, these kind of things have existed in the past, but not at the level of sophistication considered now. 0fficials today saying it is possible that in some cases you can have a concentrated amount of sonic waves or electromagnetic ulcers headed towards a person on the electromagnetic side, it can come from far away, can travel through building. 0n the ultrasonic side, the perpetrator would have to be very close to the target, but nothing definitive as to it looks like a ray gun or something from a james bond movie. i am something from a james bond movie. iam not something from a james bond movie. i am not trying to make light of it. but if there is a mechanism or device, we genuinely don't know what it is. . , , is. that is so interesting. thank you _ is. that is so interesting. thank you for _ is. that is so interesting. thank you for spending l is. that is so interesting. i thank you for spending time with us here on bbc news. new zealand has announced a five—stage process to reopen its international borders, which have largely been closed for almost two

years because of the pandemic. from the end february, fully vaccinated new zealand citizens and residents from australia will be granted entry without spending two weeks at an official quarantine centre. they will have to self—isolate instead. new zealanders in the rest of the world can return from mid—march, and the final border restrictions are due to end in october. prime ministerjacinda ardern says the phased reopening is to help slow the spread of the virus. 0verall, opening back up in this managed way balancing in lower travellers so people can reunite, fill our work or shortages, also ensuring our healthcare shortages, also ensuring our healthca re system shortages, also ensuring our healthcare system can manage an increase in cases. after all, our strategy 0micron is to slow the spread and our borders are a part of that strategy. 0ur correspondent phil mercer has more from sydney, australia. new zealand had a covid—zero policy, but events really have

overtaken new zealand, even over the best part of two —— to learn to live with the virus. it is time for the end, she announced cautious phase reopening. it will begin at the end of this month. new zealand has had some of the toughest biosecurity border controls keeping out of most foreigners for the best part of two years. another fortress is gradually being dismantled. i another fortress is gradually being dismantled.— being dismantled. i am 'ust wondering. i being dismantled. i am 'ust wondering, here in i being dismantled. i am justj wondering, here in london, being dismantled. i am just l wondering, here in london, a lot of people are from new zealand who live here and you hear the chatter about them wanting to go home. feeling very sad about how strict the restrictions were. what about in new zealand or perhaps also australia? they are quite close

neighbours in a sense of people going back and forth as well. how were they received? were they fully accepted ? how were they received? were they fully accepted? i how were they received? were they fully accepted?— they fully accepted? i think there will _ they fully accepted? i think there will be _ they fully accepted? i think there will be anxiety - they fully accepted? i think there will be anxiety in - they fully accepted? i think| there will be anxiety in new zealand as the borders are gradually reopened. the prime minister did make reference to that. she also made reference to the fact that the managed isolation facilities that have forced new zealanders, many of them to wait to return home. this is a system where new zealanders arriving home have to go in to two weeks of managed isolation. jacinda ardern said it was a situation that greater separation and heartbreak, but new zealand wasn't a great defence according to the government �*s assassination rate. eligible people in new zealand, 94% of them have two doses of a covid—i9 vaccine. so the government says it is confident at this stage reopening will be

safe, but it is a part of a journey or new zealand going into uncharted territory of living with the virus. that is why we have a very cautious staged approach announced by the prime minister najib few hours ago. the prime minister na'ib few hours agmfi the prime minister na'ib few hours ago-fl the prime minister na'ib few hoursaro. ., , . president biden has approved the deployment of 3,000 troops to bolster nato allies in the region. this would be the first major movement of us forces in russia's military stand—off with ukraine. 2,000 will be sent to poland and germany and a i,000—strong squadron will be redeployed from germany to romania. a pentagon spokesman said the deployments were a signal that america was ready to defend its allies, but he was keen to stress the troops were not going to fight in ukraine. the united states stands shoulder—to—shoulder with our nato allies. the current situation demands that we reinforce the deterrent and defensive posture on nato's eastern flank. president biden has been clear that the united states

will respond to the growing threat to europe's security and stability. our commitment to nato, article five, and collective defence remains ironclad. we can now speak to michael 0'hanlon, who's a senior defence analyst at the brookings institution. that is in a few minutes. what do ordinary russians think of a full—scale war in ukraine? steve rosenberg reports from the city of vladimir. bell tolls in russia, putin is but one of many vladimirs. this is vladimir, the town. it was founded by a medieval prince who ruled from kyiv — a reminder that russia and ukraine have common roots. andre's mother is from ukraine. he calls the two countries brotherly nations, but he clearly sees russia as big brother.

translation: russia must have a sphere of influence. | it's a superpower. smaller countries can ally with whoever they choose, but it's up to big countries to help them decide. i find that many russians do believe what they are being told — the constant stream of claims in the state media here that it is ukraine and the west that risk turning a cold war hot. at vladimir market, though, on people's minds are troubles on the home front, economic ones. lydia is trying to sell produce from her garden. the money she makes here is a lifeline. "the situation in ukraine is a worry," lydia says, "but so is the russian economy. "prices are rising on everything.

"my pension�*s barely enough to survive on." with all the problems russians have right now — economic hardship, the coronavirus pandemic — there is little appetite here amongst the public for a full—scale war with ukraine, let alone a war with the west. but that doesn't mean that russians don't fear such a war. many do. with east—west tension close to boiling point over ukraine, iten and her husband, viktor, blame their government. they believe the russian authorities have created imaginary enemies as a distraction. so, they want us to hate, they want us to imagine that there is an enemy because there must be an enemy, otherwise people will focus on the problems they have and will be focusing on what's wrong, why they are not living the life they could live if the government would be different, if the policy

would be different. so, will russia compromise or will there be conflict? iten knows that will depend on the other vladimir — russia's current leader, back in moscow. steve rosenberg, bbc news, vladimir. we can now speak to michael 0'hanlon, who's a senior defence analyst at the brookings institution. good to have you with us. welcome. picking up on that last point by my colleague, steve rosenberg, whether president putin will compromise. how do you think it looks? we hear about the deployments by the united states, for example, but the military might buy russians on the ukraine border.— military might buy russians on the ukraine border. there is no compromise — the ukraine border. there is no compromise possible. - the ukraine border. there is no compromise possible. either. compromise possible. either ukraine is in nato or it is not. on the point, i think putin will be pretty adamant. if what you mean is does he have to invade or will he be

content with creating enough anxiety and fear in western circles that we perhaps rethink our concept for future our concept forfuture ukrainian membership in nato, yes, i think you might back. in fact, i don't know whether he ever really intended to. really? ever really intended to. reall ? ., ever really intended to. really?— ever really intended to. reall ? . ., , really? creating the anxiety... sor , really? creating the anxiety... sorry. go _ really? creating the anxiety... sorry, go ahead. _ really? creating the anxiety... sorry, go ahead. sorry - really? creating the anxiety... sorry, go ahead. sorry for - sorry, go ahead. sorry for interrupting you. go ahead. think he is trying to create... the climate of anxiety and fear that he has propagated throughout the west is exactly the goal. i don't think they should necessarily be the goal because putin is smart enough to know that it should not be easy and certainly they do repercussions and further sanction than management from the west. i don't know why he would do that if his real goal is to keep ukraine out of nato and to change the whole conversation of european security, and especially east european security.— security, and especially east european security. you think he has done that? _ european security. you think he

has done that? do _ european security. you think he has done that? do you - european security. you think he has done that? do you think- has done that? do you think nato would bow in a way to russia and stop the membership of ukraine within that group? interesting thing is that we have two do it somewhere, but we had no plan for when to do it. and the only recent issue on the table is because resident zelensky of the uk —— ukraine started to talk about it last year. he has tried to put it into the future as far as he can. a different plan for ukraine, but at them minimum, he wants to make us so afraid of what that ownership would entail that we will not do it anytime soon. yes, there is a decent chance we will succeed with that goal, not in the near term. we're going to give him some kind of concession, but i think once this crisis gradually diffuses, i don't think it will end per se, but onceit think it will end per se, but once it defuses a little bit, i think there may be the

possibility of new conversation about new kinds of structures to eastern europe, i think there should be, frankly, but i think there will be because some of the members don't want to risk it. it doesn't really make sense. do you think vladimir putin can return on the domestic stage with his head held high even if these de—escalate now and there is no incursion, he doesn't get a guarantee of ukraine not joining nato — i could not see the us going to that — how does the us going to that — how does the target? the us going to that - how does the target?— the target? first of all, he is a re the target? first of all, he is a pretty good _ the target? first of all, he is a pretty good at _ the target? first of all, he is| a pretty good at propaganda, externally and internally and he will find a way to make this look ok. he will say, listen, i am declarant success. by the way, i think he will probably be correct if he reaches that

determination and makes the statement about ukraine and nato. he will find a way to declare partial victory and to be honest i hope he does because the alternative is he has to go to war and we certainly do not want that. thank you very much. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, a day to remember: the groundhog predicts whether there'll be an early spring, but now there's a rival to punxsatawney phil. 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: experts say they've pinpointed the cause of a mysterious illness affecting us diplomatic staff, called havana syndrome. president biden approves the deployment of 3000 troops to europe — russia calls it an unjustified and destructive move.

a unionist minister in the belfast assembly has directed officials to stop carrying out checks on goods entering northern ireland from the rest of the uk. the checks effectively keep northern ireland in the eu single market, post brexit. it also prevents the need for customs at the land border between northern ireland and the irish republic, which is in the european union. but the northern ireland protocol, as its called, but the northern ireland protocol, as it's called, is deeply unpopular amongst unionist politicians who don't want any barriers between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. emma vardy reports. it's the most defiant step yet from the dup to frustrate the brexit arrangements in northern ireland. since the uk left the eu, goods from britain have had to undergo new checks when they reach northern ireland's ports. tonight, the dup department responsible for operating these checks has ordered civil servants to stop carrying them out. i have now issued a formal instruction to my permanent secretary to halt all checks that were not in place

on the 31st of december 2020 from midnight tonight. i will prepare a paper for executive consideration in the near future to seek a way forward. in the near future to seek agreement on a way forward. thank you. the new checks on goods crossing the irish sea were part of the brexit deal that the uk government signed up to to avoid the need for checks on goods which travel into the irish republic. for unionists, who view this as effectively severing northern ireland's place in the uk, they have been a source of much contention. but it's an arrangement which is supported by other parties in northern ireland. the government in dublin says ordering the checks to stop goes against an international treaty. the protocol is part of an international agreement. it was agreed and ratified by the uk and the eu, and so to deliberately frustrate obligations under that treaty, i think, would be a very serious matter indeed.

i think it's essentially playing politics with legal obligations. what is not clear to me is how civil servants, who are responsible for border checks here, will react tomorrow. there are conflicting views in the northern ireland government over whether the order is lawful, and the first lorries carrying goods will begin to roll off the ferries here just after 6am. other parties at stormont have accused the dup of a political stunt ahead of the elections in may. more than a year since the brexit arrangements were put in place, they're still at the heart of political division and uncertainty. emma vardy, bbc news. in cuba, christian castellanos dreams of catapulting to stardom, not through traditional sports, social media or music, but by using the strength of his shoulder blades. earlier this week the 22—year—old claims he broke the guinness world record for pulling a car

with his mighty scapulas. aru na iyengar reports. meet guinness record hopeful, chris reed, doing what he does best, pulling a car using the strength of his clenched shoulder blades. he is unusually large speculators allow for unusual feats of strength. here he pulls a car for a distance of five metres. he is not alone. there is competition in this field. the world record held by india's abhishek choubey. translation: mainly it is about mental strength, concentrating all the strength, concentrating all the strength into the back and a lot of inelasticity from exercise. i know a lot of people use their scapulas but i felt like attempting (and everything is on the right track. , ., ,.,

track. these are powerful hin . es track. these are powerful hinges can _ track. these are powerful hinges can be _ track. these are powerful hinges can be used - track. these are powerful hinges can be used for. track. these are powerful i hinges can be used for other challenges, crashing the accounts. the official record held by an american fabrizio milito. he also leaves cookies and crashing cds. translation: people are amazed. it is not a talent like jumping people are amazed. it is not a talent likejumping or people are amazed. it is not a talent like jumping or kicking a ball, he does can socialism, crashes can, pulls vehicles, this is major stuff stop when people look at him, they think he has superpowers. the people look at him, they think he has superpowers.— he has superpowers. the 22 -year-old — he has superpowers. the 22 -year-old woakes - he has superpowers. the 22 -year-old woakes in - he has superpowers. the 22 -year-old woakes in cuba. l he has superpowers. the 22 l -year-old woakes in cuba. as —year—old woakes in cuba. as other athletes lineup in beijing for the olympics, he will be waiting to see if he finally gets his guinness world record. aruna iyengar, bbc news. quite something. for everyone in the northern

hemisphere it is still very much the depths of winter. how long will the cold weather last? well, in the us state of pennsylvania there's only one way to find out. they ask a rather diminutive and increasingly famous weatherman. the bbc�*s tim allman explains. unlike the movie, in real life groundhog day comes just once a year. since 1887 they come here to do...whatever this is. and discoverjust how long the winter will last. and this gentleman is the one who will tell them. punxsutawney phil appears before the crowds. he doesn't need barometric charts or even a thermometer. instead, the question is simple, did he see his shadow or not? "i couldn't imagine a better fate with my shadow i have cast, than a long lustrous six more weeks of winter!" i should point out at this

juncture that punxsutawney phil and his ancestors have only been right about 40% of the time. and this year there is turmoil in the world of furry meteorological soothsayers. a rival groundhog called chuck is operating out of new york and he has a different opinion about the upcoming weather. ladies and gentlemen, i have just heard from staten island chuck here at the staten island zoo. he did not see his shadow, we will have an early spring! so, according to phil and chuck it is six more weeks of winter or an early spring. i hope that clears everything up for you. tim allman, bbc news. chuck vices feel, let's see who gets it right. —— versus phil. you can find me on twitter or instagram. i would love to hear

from you. thank you for watching. hello there. it's been mild for the time of year, for the last few days. thursday's also another mild day for most of us. quite a bit of cloud around once again, but i think we should see a little bit more sunshine into the afternoon. and it's going to be breezy, as well, i think a windier day today than what we had on a wednesday. you can see why more isobars on the charts, particularly across the north of uk, and especially when this cold front arrives across the northwest of the country later on. but we're still in this mild wedge of air, as you can see from the yellow and orange colours there. so, a mild, rather cloudy, rather breezy start to the day. some spots of light rain and drizzle across northern and western hills, which should tend to fizzle out. increasing amounts of sunshine, we think into the afternoon, but this weather front will bring some more persistent rain

to north—west scotland, northern ireland later on. it'll be a blustery day for all the winds picking up, but turning very strong across the northwest, with this weather front in excess of 50 mph. now, for most of us, it's going to be mild, 10—13 celsius, but it will be turning colder behind that weather front — only five celsius there for stornoway. so you can see why this colder air moves in behind the cold fronts, as the name suggests, as it slowly works its way southeastwards during thursday night. so it'll be lying through central parts of the country by the middle parts of the night. eventually, that rain will be pushing through england and wales, a little bit of wintriness on its back edge as colder air digs in. there'll be wintry, blustery showers and clear spells for scotland and northern ireland. could see a touch of ice across northern parts of the country by the end of the night, but less cold further south and east ahead of the weather front. so for friday, then, we start with that wet weather with that weather front lying across the southeast. could see some wintriness on its back edge as it clears away — eventually it will — and then, all of the country will have a chillier but bright day for friday with blustery showers. these will be wintry across northern and western areas, not even down to the hills, maybe even down to

lower levels, as well. temperatures much lower than of late, 3—9 celsius. factor in the strong northwest wind and it'll feel even colder than those temperatures suggest. it is a fairly short—lived cold spell because, as we head on into the weekend, we start to draw up some milder air again from the southwest. but it will be quite a windy weekend, and this weather front will be waxing and waning across the country to bring outbreaks of rain. so a milder theme into the weekend, particularly on sunday, but that weather front�*s likely to bring thicker cloud with outbreaks of rain to many areas. that's it from me, bye for now.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: experts in the united states investigating reports of a mysterious illness among diplomatic staff known as havana syndrome say they may have identified the cause. a us intelligence community assessment concludes some cases could have been caused by pulsed electromagnetic energy. it didn't say who might be behind it. russia has condemned the announcement by the united states that it will deploy 3,000 troops to support nato allies in europe. the russian foreign ministry called it an unjustified and destructive move. it's the first major movement of us forces since the russian military began massing on the ukrainian border. new zealand has announced a five—stage process to reopen its international borders, which have largely been closed for almost two years because of the pandemic. vaccinated new zealand citizens and some others from australia will be granted entry without spending two weeks at an official quarantine centre. now on bbc news, it's time for click.