welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... in moscow, east meets west as russia and france discuss ways of defusing the military crisis brewing in ukraine. both sides say the talks were constructive. protestors in london harass opposition leader sir keir starmer, as borisjohnson faces more calls to withdraw a false accusation he made against him in the house of commons. a state of emergency in ottawa, as the mayor of the canadian capital says a protest by truckers against covid rules is out of control. and a world first for medicine, as doctors help a man whose spinal cord was completely

severed learn to walk again, with the aid of an electronic implant. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's seven in the morning in singapore, 6pm in washington and 2am in moscow, where president putin hosted french president emmanuel macron earlier, as diplomatic efforts to avert military conflict in ukraine are continuing. the efforts by the french president come after russia amassed more than 100,000 troops on the border with ukraine. for his part, mr macron said he hoped the talks would help reduce �*the risk of conflict�*. moscow has been clear that it won't allow any more expansion of nato, as it seeks to minimise what it perceives as threats to its borders. separately to this,

president biden has been hosting the new german chancellor, 0laf scholz, as high level diplomacy took place inside the white house, too. 0ur moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, begins our coverage with this report. from one president to another, warm words. how are you? fine, just fine. how are you? but there'd be no cosy chat. socially distanced summits is how the kremlin likes it. "emmanuel, i'm so pleased to see you," said vladimir putin. behind the smiles, though, serious concerns. what worries the west is moscow's muscle flexing near ukraine — like these war games involving russia and belarus, and the russian troops massed near ukraine's border. what worries moscow is nato. it's demanding an end to nato

enlargement to the east. signs of de—escalation, not yet. but vladimir putin said he would keep talking to president macron. translation: a number of his ideas and proposals which are too early to talk about, i think it is quite possible for the basis of arch further joint steps. translation: we are both aware of the gravity of the situation of the urgent necessity and the interest of everyone to find a path of peace and stability— everyone to find a path of peace and stability in _ everyone to find a path of peace and stability in europe. just having the french president in town is being seen here as a diplomatic success for the kremlin. there's a very long but very colourful russian word, "nyeroka pazatny". it means quite literally "no one wants to shake your hand."

you're like a pariah. after russia's annexation of crimea eight years ago, vladimir putin was this. world leaders avoided him like the plague. now they're queuing up to meet him. in a week or so, it will be the german chancellor. the west is willing to discuss russia's security concerns. that's why moscow believes that coercive diplomacy is working. but what if diplomacy fails? america has sent these troops to poland to protect nato's eastern flank. in case of a russian military escalation in ukraine. and to signal transatlantic solidarity, german chancellor olaf scholz flew to washington for talks on the crisis with president biden. {iii washington for talks on the crisis with president biden.— with president biden. of russia makes a choice _ with president biden. of russia makes a choice to _ with president biden. of russia makes a choice to further- with president biden. of russia makes a choice to further a - with president biden. of russia l makes a choice to further a grade ukraine, — makes a choice to further a grade ukraine, we — makes a choice to further a grade ukraine, we are _ makes a choice to further a grade ukraine, we arejointly_ makes a choice to further a grade ukraine, we are jointly ready- makes a choice to further a grade ukraine, we are jointly ready —— i ukraine, we are jointly ready —— invade ukraine. _ ukraine, we are “ointly ready -- invade ukraine.— ukraine, we are “ointly ready -- invade ukraine. moscow insist that it is the victim — invade ukraine. moscow insist that it is the victim here. _

invade ukraine. moscow insist that it is the victim here. that - invade ukraine. moscow insist that it is the victim here. that russia i it is the victim here. that russia is a procedure for stress. threatened by america, by nato, by a ukraine hostile to moscow. what the west is struggling to work out is if diplomacy ends, what will russia do next? steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. let's get more on those talks in washington between biden and scholz and speak to the bbc�*s north america correspondent, david willis. he has been watching that press conference for us. great to have you on the programme. the key message seemed to be from that press conference that president biden was being very tough. is germany united in this? ~ , �* in this? well, president biden went as far as to — in this? well, president biden went as far as to say _ in this? well, president biden went as far as to say if _ in this? well, president biden went as far as to say if russia _ in this? well, president biden went as far as to say if russia were - in this? well, president biden went as far as to say if russia were to . as far as to say if russia were to invade ukraine, there would be "no longer any nord stream two pipeline.

america has been long opposed, and this meeting at the white house today seems pretty crucial as far as establishing germany's position to the package of economic sanctions that the united states and europe are looking to unveil. today, olaf scholz didn't go as far as mr biden. and actually specifying what would happen to nord stream two. he said he would put all options on the table, but wouldn't get into specifics. when he was asked how he would actually bring an end to the nord stream two project in the event of a russian invasion, mr biden wouldn't go into specific. but the german leader did express, however, germany's strong commitment to economic sanctions, which isjust what the united states was hoping to hear. germany has been criticised here for sending 5000 helmets, but

nothing in the way of real military support to ukraine. that's a corrected criticism from lawmakers of both parties here. germany also brought other countries from transferring german arms and equipment to ukraine, and the biden administration has been working very hard to co—ordinate a united european response to the russian aggression on ukraine's border. today, mr biden was full of praise for germany, saying it was a close ally and one that was completely reliable, and mr schultz affirmed his support, germany's support for european sanctions.— european sanctions. david willis, alwa s european sanctions. david willis, always fantastic _ european sanctions. david willis, always fantastic to _ european sanctions. david willis, always fantastic to get _ european sanctions. david willis, always fantastic to get you - european sanctions. david willis, always fantastic to get you on - european sanctions. david willis, | always fantastic to get you on the programme with your insightful analysis. ask forjoining us. still to come a bit later in the programme — we'll return to ukraine with a special report from the east of the country. but first, britain's prime minister, borisjohnson, has condemned the harassment suffered on monday

by the labour leader sir keir starmer who had to be escorted to safety by police, near the houses of parliament. there were shouts of �*traitor�* and someone can be heard shouting �*jimmy savile', taken to be a reference to the false accusation made by borisjohnson that sir keir, a former director of public prosecutions, had failed to prosecute savile for child sex offences. our political editor, laura kuenssberg, reports. this is not normal rough—and—tumble, but abuse and untrue accusations being hurled at the leader of the accusation. one false claim that he protected the paedophilejimmy savile. keir starmer bundled into a police car. two arrests were made. it happened outside parliament, where, seven days ago, the prime minister made a false link between the two. look, i'm sure there were some people out

there who already had conspiracy theories but the prime minister's given them a platform and permission and that is tantamount to inciting them to these kind of horrific mobster activities. the prime minister wrongly suggested the labour leader had been involved in the decisions not to prosecute jimmy savile when he was the boss of public prosecutions. borisjohnson clarified after an outcry, but he did not say sorry. a lot of people have got hot under the collar and i understand why. let's be clear. i'm talking not about the leader of the opposition's personal record when he was dpp and i totally understand he had nothing to do personally with those decisions. the prime minister wrote online, the behaviour directed at the leader of the opposition is absolutely disgraceful. but others in his own party want him to say much more. the former tory cabinet member julian smith said...

there's no sign of that. boris johnson's failure to apologise is already causing one of his closest political confidants, who worked for the prime minister for more than a decade, to quit the party discussed. the prime minister may find himself accused of stirring unacceptable behaviour laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. to canada now, where a state of emergency has been declared in the capital city ottawa in response to the ongoing truckers' protests against covid restrictions. the mayor, jim watson, said the city was outnumbered and losing the battle against the freedom convoy. our correspondentjessica

murphy sent this report. they were told to get theirjab and get into quarantine, and this was the response. most canadian truck drivers crossing the border into the us regularly have already been vaccinated, but those who have not are adamant but those who haven't are adamant they will never be, and their cause has fed into larger concerns over covid—i9 restrictions in canada, with thousands of protesters joining the truckers. the chaos prompted the city's mayor to declare a state of emergency. we have a serious emergency where we have to put all options on the table, and that may include some violence. we want to minimise that, and at the end of the day, if people will not leave, they will be forced to leave. but that warning has not stopped the 500 trucks from continuing their protest. it's important for me to come here and fight for my freedom. i don't want to be told what to do, to get an injection if i don't want to, to wear a mask

if i don't want to. i don't want people telling me what to do. some of the businesses here downtown have closed and others say they've lost foot traffic. you can see behind me trucks going back blocks and barbecues and even bonfires. it's clear they plan to stay here for the long haul. residents say they're tired of the noise and disruption. today, a judge granted a ten—day injunction seeking to stop the truckers from honking their horns. i don't want them here, - they have no right to be here. they have done their protest and they should have been l sent home a while ago. people and their shops, - we can't open because of them. police have tried to clamp down on fuel coming into the main protest area. for now, a gap remains between what the protesters want and what the government is willing to do. jessica murphy, bbc news, ottawa. joining us now from ottawa is mercedes stephenson. she's the bureau chief for global news over there and a host of the west block,

a canadian news and political affairs television series. wonderful to have you on the show, mercedes. just a start by asking, as i understand it, you live quite near the area where this is all happening. give us a sense of what the situation on the ground is right now. �* . . , , the situation on the ground is right now. ._ , the situation on the ground is right now. a ._ ,~ now. actually, my office is a block from parliament _ now. actually, my office is a block from parliament hill, _ now. actually, my office is a block from parliament hill, and - now. actually, my office is a block from parliament hill, and it- from parliament hill, and it is still gridlocked downtown. there are trucks throughout the streets, not just across our street and in front of parliament, which is wellington street, but down most of them northbound roads, so you cannot draw drive up to parliament hill. the routes without trucks are now blocked by blockades. theirfear of people here than there was on the weekend, and we saw thousands of people out processing, but the state city is still being very much held hostage in terms of movement. there is still a number of really hard in protesters who are dug in here with

no intention of going anywhere anytime soon, asjessica was just saying. anytime soon, as jessica was 'ust sa inc. ~ . , saying. mercedes, we saw in jessica's _ saying. mercedes, we saw in jessica's report _ saying. mercedes, we saw in jessica's report that - saying. mercedes, we saw in jessica's report that this - saying. mercedes, we saw in jessica's report that this is i saying. mercedes, we saw in| jessica's report that this is to some extent about covert restrictions. but i the protesters united in their demands? is that what they want? how is the government dealing with this? i so? government dealing with this? i say the 're government dealing with this? i say they're united _ government dealing with this? i say they're united in _ government dealing with this? iss. they're united in their government dealing with this? i3

those masking and gathering restrictions are decisions made here in canada by the provincial government, which is headquartered in toronto, not in ottawa. there's been a lot of criticism of both the federal and provincial courts for not doing enough. the mayor of ottawa is asking for a mediator to speak between the various levels of protests and government to try to resolve this. so car, we've seen politicians getting behind the protests and polarising ways, but very little in terms of attempts actual notice negotiation, in fact none, from provincial and federal levels. very little to de—escalate the situation. levels. very little to de-escalate the situation.— levels. very little to de-escalate thesituation. ~ . , ., the situation. mercedes, thank you so much for — the situation. mercedes, thank you so much forjoining _ the situation. mercedes, thank you so much forjoining us _ the situation. mercedes, thank you so much forjoining us on _ the situation. mercedes, thank you so much forjoining us on the - so much forjoining us on the programme. so much for 'oining us on the programme.— so much for 'oining us on the roiramme. ., ,, i. ., ., still to come on the programme... how an electronic implant

has helped a man whose spinal cord was completely severed — learn to walk again. there's mr mandela, mr nelson mandela, a free man taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader, ayatollah khamenei, has said he's past a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president, baby doc duvalier. because of his considerable value as a stallion, - shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud _ farm's central block. shergar was driven away. in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. there stepped down from the plane a figure in mourning — elizabeth ii,

queen of this realm and all her other realms and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our top story... a flurry of diplomacy to try to defuse the ukraine crisis — as president macron and vladimir putin hold face to face talks in moscow. as the prospect of a potential russian invasion looms, many ukrainians are re—assessing their cultural and linguistic ties to their neighbours. the bbc�*s eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford went to the eastern city of d—neep—ro to meet veterans who fought against the russian backed forces in 2015 despite coming from a predominantly russian—speaking city.

it's 200 kilometres from ukraine's front line. it is a region sent more people to fight in the east than any outside kyiv and it's also treated thousands of casualties. the flow of casualties has slowed right down since the ceasefire several years ago, but now russia has openly deployed thousands of troops to ukraine's border.

eight years of war have already left all sorts of scars here. this facility here was set up specifically to deal with war veterans, and they can do all sorts of rehabilitation procedures here, of rehabilitation procedures here — massages, sports therapy, psychologist, too. there's massages, sports therapy, psychologists, too. just in this region of ukraine alone... just in this region of ukraine alone, there are 27,000 war veterans in this region alone, so this place isjust a drop in the ocean.

that sense of betrayal seems more acute in this region, where people felt closer to russia before the war. the city has even changed its name now to be more ukrainian. one of the consequences of all of the years of conflict with russia is actually a far stronger sense of ukrainian national identity in this country. we've been invited to meet a band who've made a conscious decision to stop singing in russian, to focus only on ukrainian. that's quite a curious choice in a city like this, where actually russian is the main language. where, actually, russian is the main language. questions of families, my bandmates also, its quite normal, but when we speak about the self—identification

of a person who lives in ukraine and this person creates lyrics for songs, language, ukrainian language, is an instrument and a weapon at the same time. fighting for what? the right to be yourself and your own country. but that isn't a battle everyone's ready to fight. people have more pressing worries here. and their feelings about russia are complex, even now.

sarah rainsford, bbc news, dnipro. mourners in morocco have attended the funeral of a five—year—old boy who died after falling 32 metres into a well�*s narrow opening. rayan oram was trapped underground for four days, before being pulled out on saturday evening. the funeral ceremony was held at a cemetery near the boy's home village in the northern chefchaouen province. next, a remarkable medical breakthrough. a paralysed man has been able to walk, using an electrical implant, developed by swiss researchers. it's the first time, someone who'se spine has been

completely severed has been able to restore the ability to walk. our science correspondent, pallab ghosh, has the story. michel roccati was paralysed after a motorbike accident five years ago. his spinal cord was completely severed and he has no feeling in his legs. but he can now walk using a frame because of an electrical implant that's been surgically inserted on his spine. using a remote control, he's able to send signals to his leg muscles, which enables him to walk. it's the first time that someone this injured has been able to do this. michel, i can't believe that you were paralysed once. i know, it's very close to before the accident, yes. i stand up, i walk where i want alone, i can do the stairs. david m'zee is another patient helping scientists with their research... it looks like it works! ..which has been published in nature medicine. they don't use the technology

to help them walk in their everyday lives — instead, they use it to practise walking, which exercises their muscles. this is not the cure for spinal cord injury, but it is a critical step to improve people's quality of life. we are going to empower them with the ability to stand, maybe make some steps. it is not enough, it's not a cure, but it is a significant improvement, i believe, for the future. david and michel stroll together on the banks of lake geneva. so far, nine people have been successfully treated with the implant. david was one of the first people to have the implant. michel is the latest. both of them say that it's transformed their lives, and the hope is that the treatment could benefit many more people. ready, set, go! at his home in zurich, david races with his one—year—old daughter, zoe. when david had his accident 12 years ago, he was just 22.

he was paralysed, unable to walk and unable to have a child. regular walking with the implant has improved his health to such an extent that he was able to father a child last year. it was great fun. it's the first time i've been i walking with her in that way — she with a baby walker, i with my walker. - she could beat you! 0h, she can, and she even. beats me without the walker, so it's a bit embarrassing! hey, david! hey, guys! good to see you, man. good to see you. how are you doing? i'm fine. the technology has helped david and michel do more in their lives, but it cost more than £100,000 for the first two years, and it'll need more improvements in clinical trials over several years before it can move out of the lab into the clinic. cheers! but it is a new way forward for researchers. pallab ghosh, bbc news, lausanne.

amazing stuff. that's all the time we have for you on tuesday. thanks for watching. we have for you on tuesday. thanks forwatching. —— on we have for you on tuesday. thanks for watching. —— on newsday. hello there. we've got the battle of the air masses taking place this week, certainly for the next few days, we will have a north—south divide, much colder air across northern areas with some wintry showers. further south, it will be very mild indeed for the time of year, and there will be some sunshine around. so, the dividing line between the cold air to the north and the mild air to the south is this weather front, which will be hanging around through central parts of the country throughout tuesday, so thicker cloud for northern ireland, southern scotland, northern england, outbreaks of rain on this weather front. to the north of it, it's brighter with sunshine and blustery showers. these are wintry on the hills of scotland, and it will be windy here. further south, also quite breezy, but dry with sunny spells, a bit more cloud for wales and southwest england. a blustery day, as you can see across the board, but guests will be reaching

in excess of 50 mph across northern but gusts will be reaching in excess of 50 mph across northern scotland into the northern isles. temperatures in single digits, to the north of the weather front to the south of it, 11 to maybe 1a celsius, so very mild indeed, particularly where you get the sunny spells. through tuesday night, that weather front hangs around through central areas, outbreaks of rain on it, slowly pushing southwards into england and wales, to the north of it, again, further snow showers. and these will be blustery, accumulating snow on the hills of scotland. very windy here, breezy in the south where it will stay mild. so, into wednesday, then, that weather front slowly pushing its way southwards across england and wales. again, the mild air to the south of it, but more areas will be in the colder air on wednesday. so, that will be scotland, northern ireland, northern england, perhaps north wales later in the day, plenty of snow showers across scotland. significant accumulations across the scottish hills, and it'll be very windy, gusts of 60 mph northern scotland. a breezy day to come for all,

but our weather front will be bringing more cloud across southern england, south wales, where it'll remain very mild. the mild air eventually gets pushed out of the way as that weather front slips into the near continent. keeping an eye on this feature, this little low pressure which could bring severe gales and some snow to northern scotland on thursday, but then for friday, there is a ridge of high pressure building in to settle things down. so, it is turning colder for all into thursday. you can see single figure values there. it's chilly on friday, but light winds with some sunny spells and the return of overnight frost.

this is bbc news. the headlines... president macron and vladimir putin have been holding talks in moscow, the latest attempt to defuse the growing crisis over ukraine. as the talks began, russia said both sides had concerns about the security situation in europe. meanwhile, the new german chancellor has been meeting president biden on his first official visit to the white house. joe biden later said diplomacy remained the best way to resolve the ukraine crisis — but the us and its allies would be ready if russia invaded. uk opposition labour leader, sir keir starmer, has been escorted to safety by police, after he was targeted by a crowd near parliament. two arrests have been made after clashes between police and protesters in westminster. doctors in switzerland have used a spinal implant to enable a man whose nerves were completely severed in a motorbike accident to walk again. the electronic device has been used successfully in nine patients so far.