this is bbc news. i'm sally bundock with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a key part of the brexit deal unravels — as northern ireland halts customs checks on goods coming from the british mainland. president biden approves the deployment of 3000 troops to europe. russia calls it an unjustified and destructive move. new zealand begins the phased re—opening of its borders — vaccinated citizens in australia can finally return home. final countdown to the beijing winter olympics. the first events get under way ahead of friday's opening ceremony. and experts say they may have uncovered the cause of a mysterious illness affecting us diplomatic staff called havana syndrome.

hello and welcome. checks on goods arriving into northern ireland from the rest of the uk are to stop from this morning. the change has been ordered by the democratic unionist party — dup — minister, edwin poots, and appears to breach a section of the post—brexit agreement. 0ur ireland correspondent 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. 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. there are conflicting views in the northern ireland government over whether the order is lawful, and it remains to be seen how civil servants will react. 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. later on in our business coverage we will talk about the changes in the uk to energy bills with the energy regulator, reassessing the cap

on energy bills.— on energy bills. you can see our to on energy bills. you can see our tap story _ on energy bills. you can see our top story there - on energy bills. you can see our top story there on - on energy bills. you can see our top story there on bbc | our top story there on bbc online more on the cost of living crisis later in this programme. 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 standoff 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 5, and collective defence remains ironclad.

against the backdrop of military tension, and the continuing diplomacy, what do ordinary russians think of the prospect of full—scale war in ukraine? 0ur moscow correspondent steve rosenberg has this report 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's 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. 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. 0ur correspondent phil mercer in sydney tells us how the news is likely to be received in new zealand. there will be anxiety and prime

minister made reference to that. she also referenced the fact that the managed isolation facilities that have forced new zealanders, many of them to wait to return home, this is the system where new zealanders arriving home have to go in to two weeks of managed isolation, jacinda ardern said it was a situation that had created separation and heartbreak new zealand �*s great defence, according to the government is its vaccination rate. eligible people in new zealand, 94% of them have had two doses of a covid—i9 vaccine so the government says it is confident that a staged reopening will be safe but it is part of the journey for new going into uncharted territory over living with the virus. that is why we have a very cautious staged approach announced by the prime minister a few hours ago.

since 2016 about 1,000 us diplomatic staff have complained of a mysterious illness known as havana syndrome, named after the cuban capital where it first emerged. there has been a lot of debate about what causes the condition, symptoms include, vertigo, ringing in the ears and loss of balance. now, a new report has shed some further light on it. the intelligence community experts panel on anomalous health incidents has been looking at some of the unresolved cases of the syndrome. it concluded that, �*the signs and symptoms of ahis are genuine and compelling'. it suggested that in some cases, pulsed electromagnetic energy plausibly explains the core characteristics, although 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. alex ward, national security reporter for the politco news website, has been following this story closely and gave us his reaction to the latest investigation. what we know is that the majority of cases they found an underlying medical cause or environmental cause that has led to the symptoms. as to a small subset of cases that they are yet to solve, we learnt in the intelligence report today is that it could be, scientifically feasible and there for technically possible that it there for technically possible thatitis there for technically possible that it is some sort of electromagnetic or ultrasonic pulse in other words are directed energy device, perhaps aimed at these officials but to

be clear the intelligence community is saying we just know that it is possible, we don't know that it is and we don't know that it is and we don't know that it is and we don't know if there is an operator or an agent behind it. so, really, theyjust say it is one possibility among many. 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: a key part of the brexit deal unravels, as northern ireland halts customs checks on goods coming from the british mainland. president biden approves the deployment of 3,000 troops to europe, russia calls it an unjustified and destructive move.

the 2022 winter olympics have begun — though the opening ceremony takes place on friday — in the midst of controversies about coronavirus and boycotts. the head of the international olympic committee has praised china, hailing its determination, efficiency and dynamism. 0ur china correspondent, stephen mcdonell is outside the water cube venue. stephen, talk us through what happening today. {jut stephen, talk us through what happening today-— happening today. out here, --eole happening today. out here, peeple are _ happening today. out here, people are still _ happening today. out here, people are still going - happening today. out here, people are still going aboutj people are still going about their daily business, they can't buy tickets to go in and watch the curling where it has been very exciting. china has been very exciting. china has been enthralled because this country's pairs mixed doubles have won again, so it has people very interested but they can't buy tickets to go in because of covid and covid

really is threatening to taint the games because we have had more cases today associated with the olympics, 55 new cases and at least half of them are inside 0lympic venues, so it has teams from all over the world worried that their athletes may not be able to compete if they can't produce some more negative results, because anyone who tests positive of course you can't compete at the games, and that is to make lots of 13 today added at the airport and also inside the games' venues, that is athletes and their teams, etc. �* , ., . . etc. also we are hearing reports _ etc. also we are hearing reports that _ etc. also we are hearing reports that those - etc. also we are hearing - reports that those competing especially from overseas are quite concerned as well about when they are at press conferences they are being in the public eye what they may say or what they can do? short, they have _ say or what they can do? short, they have been _ say or what they can do? short, they have been warned - say or what they can do? short, they have been warned by - they have been warned by officials there are not to make contentious comments, i think

they are worried that somebody winning a medal might get up on the podium and all of a sudden without a free tibet t—shirt or something along those lines or make some sort of statement about human rights. 0fficials about human rights. officials are warning people that is not only against the olympic rules but the law of china and that by warning people, there won't be that much in terms of controversy along those lines. today we have had the olympic torch going to the great wall, and, you know, the people hosting these games are trying to show off ageing as best they can in a time of covid. the country's leader xi jinping can in a time of covid. the country's leader xijinping has country's leader xi jinping has said country's leader xijinping has said to the ioc that this is going to be a glorious games, it is going to be safe so people shouldn't worry but today like i say the highest number of cases inside the olympic venues would seem to 0lympic venues would seem to suggest that covid is spreading, behind me and inside

these venues and the danger is that more and more athletes could come down with the virus. by could come down with the virus. by testing everyone inside those huge bubbles every day, officials are thinking hopefully they can stop this because they can identify each little outbreak as it comes along and reduce the spread if you like, so we've got three weeks of this to get through so weeks of this to get through so we will see how it goes. absolute the, and we will talk to you again soon but now, thank you stephen covering the olympics from us but as you 0lympics from us but as you hear, the opening ceremony is taking place on friday. now let's have a look at the sports news. hello, i'm gavin ramjaun, and this is your update from the bbc sport centre. senegal are through to the final of the africa cup of nations, after beating burkina faso 3—i. it's the second consecutive time they've reached this stage of the tournament. they had two penalties

oveturned, before sadio mane capped off the win, with their third in doing so, he became the joint top scorer for senegal, with his 29th for his country. senegal, who've made the final of africa's showpiece event three times, are still chasing theirfirst tournament win. the two teams with the most africa cup of nations trophies go head to head in the second semi—final on thursday. home advantage means cameroon start as favourites against egypt. the pharoahs, who have a record seven titles to cameroon�*s five, know they can't underestimate the hosts. we have a huge respect for the cameroon team, the players have been doing very well. as i said, they have been scoring goals, but we are ready. i mean, we are moving to the final games, semi final, final afterfive games, i think everything is open for all the

teams. the club world cup starts on thursday. 0riginally scheduled for december injapan, it was moved to abu dhabi because of the pandemic. tahitian side pirae have also come in to replace auckland, unable to get there because of travel restrictions in new zealand. aljazira are representing the hosts and kick things off in their own stadium. the winners will go through to the second round but coach marcel keizer is unhappy that some of his players have just returned from their international sides. i have some mixed feelings for tomorrow. 0f i have some mixed feelings for tomorrow. of course we are very happy to be in this tournament. really great to be here and play in this world cup of club teams. 0n the other side i have x national team players who came back this morning, played against iran yesterday evening so there is not much time to prepare. ashley giles has stood down as england's director of cricket following their 4—0 hammering by australia in the ashes. giles presided over england's world cup victory in 2019

but their form in tests has regressed since, winning just 10 of their last 29 tests. sir andrew strauss, who giles replaced, will take temporary charge for england's tests in west indies in march. and we have a new name in american football. the washington dc based team have announced they will now be known as the commanders. the nfl franchise retired its former name, the redskins 18 months ago. the team's name and logo, which was introduced in 1933, had long been criticised as racist by its sponsors and fans. they had faced years of pressure over the name, seen as offensive to native americans. it isa it is a name and a franchise under which people who have trouble talking to each other on other topics can come together and hug and high—5 and be one while chairing this team on and we believe that the washington command will allow us to continue to preserve that unity at a time when i would argue we need it more than ever as a nation.

you can get all the latest sports news at our website, that's bbc.com/sport. but from me gavin ramjaun, and the rest of the sport team, we'll see you soon. the nominations for this year's british academy of film and television arts awards are out later, and one film predicted to lead the way is belfast. john maguire has been to the northern irish capital to find out more about the making of the film. viewed through the eyes of a nine year boy, belfast tells a story of a city and its people on the cusp of decades scarred by violence and bloodshed. irate by violence and bloodshed. we lived next _ by violence and bloodshed. - lived next door to alexander park so my brother was not really understanding what was going on, then sort of being stood stopped dead still until the pair of hands that happen to be my mother grabbed me and in the chaos that was starting with everyone else doing a version of the same thing, a few hours later coming up and realising literally the ground beneath our feet had been

lifted, the paving stones were no longer there. they were up at the end of the street in a barricade and we were now literally walking on stand. written and directed baster kenneth bronner, the film is based on his life as a young boy growing up in the north of the city at the end of the 1960s. the city at the end of the 19605. , ., ., ., . 19605. up here we have catholic housin: , 19605. up here we have catholic housing, beneath _ 19605. up here we have catholic housing, beneath that _ 19605. up here we have catholic housing, beneath that there - 19605. up here we have catholic housing, beneath that there is l housing, beneath that there is an abandoned street and that is where kenneth bronner and the movie is living as a child and thatis movie is living as a child and that is where he lived in real life. , ., ., , life. only the road now remains of mount collier _ life. only the road now remains of mount collier street. - life. only the road now remains of mount collier street. to - of mount collier street. to houses long demolished, decades after the violent scenes depicted in the film. paul donnelly runs tours that tell the story of belfast�*s turbulent past. the story of belfast's turbulent past.- the story of belfast's turbulent past. 1969 with olitical turbulent past. 1969 with political upheaval - turbulent past. 1969 with political upheaval had - political upheaval had manifested albert street level in this violent confrontation, sometimes between protestant and catholic communities. in the case of belfast in kenneth

brenner's movie, it was the dynamics in this area at the time which was overwhelmingly protestant but you would have a sprinkling of catholic families within those, the walls hadn't gone up in the way that we know them today so what we have in them today so what we have in the movie is essentially a purging of catholic families from a predominantly protestant district. ., " :: , ., district. into the 19705 and be ond district. into the 19705 and beyond the _ district. into the 19705 and beyond the city _ district. into the 19705 and beyond the city becomes i district. into the 19705 and i beyond the city becomes ever more turbulent as the troubles as they were known tightened their grip. thousands of families left their homes and at the same time kenneth brenner's father was offered a job in housing in england. so there was a decision to be made. , ., ., , ., made. there is a house that noes made. there is a house that goes with — made. there is a house that goes with it. _ made. there is a house that goes with it. we _ made. there is a house that goes with it. we get - made. there is a house that goes with it. we get it - made. there is a house that goes with it. we get it now. goes with it. we get it now free. , ~ , free. sounds like they really want yon — free. sounds like they really want you. some _ free. sounds like they really want you. some of- free. sounds like they really want you. some of the - free. sounds like they reallyj want you. some of the cast, jamie dornan, _ want you. some of the cast, jamie dornan, keren - want you. some of the cast, jamie dornan, keren hines. want you. some of the cast, i jamie dornan, keren hines and want you. some of the cast, - jamie dornan, keren hines and a jamie dornan, keren hines and a young dude held up from northern ireland.- young dude held up from northern ireland. one of the thins northern ireland. one of the things that _ northern ireland. one of the things that he _ northern ireland. one of the things that he told _ northern ireland. one of the things that he told me - northern ireland. one of the | things that he told me before we ran over the scenes in the audition process was to put a lot of myself into the character and don't playjust character and don't play just an character and don't playjust

an exact replica of what i think buddy is.— an exact replica of what i think buddy is. that there is dude hill— think buddy is. that there is dude hill and _ think buddy is. that there is dude hill and i— think buddy is. that there is dude hill and i have - think buddy is. that there is dude hill and i have seen i think buddy is. that there is| dude hill and i have seen the film and it is great, he does a brilliantjob. 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. 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. groundhog day, another very

famous film as well. i will be back with all the top business stories here orjust a moment, see you soon. 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, with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the cost of living crisis — uk households face the biggest ever rise in energy bills. iama i am a single mother with limited income so it is very difficult to even turn that button on right now so there was heating. turning up the heat on borrowers. the bank of england's set to raise interest rates again — to rein in soaring inflation losing friends on wall street. shares in facebook owner meta plunge by a fifth as growth stalls. plus, wrong note. spotterfive slums as fewer people sign up to the music streaming giant.