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. horns honk. ottawa police face mounting criticism for not breaking up a truck drivers�* anti—covid protest that's brought the canadian capital to a standstill. 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. david aid of an electronic implant. has continued to appr| improve, david has continued to approve, improve, and he cannot do things he can only imagine when he first had his accident. and the nominations are — hollywoood prepares for the announcement of which films are in the running for one of oscars' famous gold statues. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. amid growing concern worldwide about the situation in ukraine, president macron has been holding talks in moscow with president putin. the efforts by the french president come after russia amassed more than 100,000

troops on the border with ukraine. 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, has the latest. 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. "we need a response that avoids war for russia and europe," said president macron. signs of de—escalation, not yet. but vladimir putin �*s that he keep talking to president macron. translation: a number of his ideas and proposals which are still too early to talk about, i think it is quite possible to make these the basis of our furtherjoint steps. translate two we the basis of our further “oint steps. translate twoh steps. translate two we are aware today _ steps. translate two we are aware today of _ steps. translate two we are aware today of the - steps. translate two we are aware today of the gravity l steps. translate two we are | aware today of the gravity of the situation and the urgent and imperative necessity in the interest— and imperative necessity in the interest of everyone to find a path — interest of everyone to find a path of — interest of everyone to find a path of peace and stability in europa _

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 nyerokapazatny. world leaders avoided him like the plague. now, they're queuing up to meet him — today, it was president macron, in a week or so, it'll be the german chancellor — and 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.

if russia makes a choice i to further invade ukraine, we are jointly ready- and all of nato is ready. moscow insists that it is the victim here, that russia is a besieged fortress, threatened by america, by nato, by a ukraine hostile to moscow. threatened by america, by nato, what the west is struggling to work out is if diplomacy ends, what will russia do next? steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. here's the bbc�*s north america correspondent, david willis, with more on those talks between biden and scholz. president biden went as far as to say if russia were to invade ukraine, there would be "no longer any nord stream 2 pipeline".

america has been long opposed to the project, 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, in actually specifying what would happen to nord stream 2. he said he would put all options on the table, but he wouldn't get into specifics. when he was asked how he would actually bring an end to the nord stream 2 project in the event of a russian invasion, mr biden wouldn't go into specifics. but the german leader did express, however, germany's strong commitment to economic sanctions, which is just 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 attracted 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, reliable, and mr scholz affirmed his support, germany's support for european sanctions. david willis there. 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. mrjohns and made no reference despite calls from senior aides to withdraw. —— mrjohnson. —— mrjohnson. 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 paedophile jimmy savile. all shouting. keir starmer bundled to 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 in their head, 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. boris johnson 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 absolutely 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... 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. borisjohnson�*s failure to apologise is already cost him one of his closest political confidants. munira mirza, who worked for the pm for more than a decade, quit the party in disgust. protests around here are nothing new — for or against brexit, anti—lockdown, pro—public anger. but the prime minister may find himself accused of stirring up unacceptable behaviour, just when number ten hoped to calm things down. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. mourners in morocco have attended the funeral of a five—year—old boy who died after falling 32 meters into a well. 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 northern morocco. israel's government will hold an independent inquiry into reports that police illicitly used spyware against aides of the former prime minister benjamin netanyahu and other public figures. it relates to the israeli—made pegasus hacking tool. the us have offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of the leader of the islamic state militant group in afghanistan, sanaullah ghafari. washington believes he was behind the deadly bomb attack on kabul airport last august. the sportswear giant nike has dropped the manchester united forward mason greenwood after his arrest on suspicion of rape. the 20—year—old was also held on suspicion of assault and making threats to kill, but later released on bail.

the mayor of the canadian capital, ottawa, has declared a state of emergency amid fears that a protest by lorry drivers against covid restrictions is getting dangerously out of control. the demonstrators have been blocking roads, horns blaring, and have brought the city centre to a standstill. 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 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 sent

home a long time 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. i want to tell you about the queen's celebrations. the queen's platinum jubilee celebrations have continued with gun salutes fired around the uk to mark her 70—year reign. at noon, the king's troop royal horse artillery fired a iii—gun salute at green park in london. there were also gun salutes at edinburgh castle and the tower of london. if you want to get in touch with me, i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma.

i should be able to say that! i'm looking forward to hearing from you. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme — how an electronic implant has helped a man whose spinal cord was completely severed, learn to walk again. we have a special report. 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 passed 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, ba by 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 headlines... a flurry of diplomacy to try to defuse the ukraine crisis, as president macron and vladimir putin hold face to face talks in moscow. 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. whilst the winter

olympics is an opportunity for china to put on a sporting spectacle on the global stage, beijing also sees them as a chance to increase interest in winter sports at home. before the games even started, the authorities said they had surpassed their target of getting 300 million people participating in snow sports. but can china really make these expensive winter pursuits popular outside of the middle classes? let's get more now from hans westerbeek, who joins us from melbourne, where's he's a professor of international sport business at victoria university. great to have you on the programme, hans. let me start by asking you that very question. is this is spreading beyond the people who can afford it in china, or is it still very much the pursuit of people who have money? yeah, i think very — people who have money? yeah, i think very much _ people who have money? yeah, i think very much the _

people who have money? yeah, i think very much the ladder, - people who have money? yeah, i think very much the ladder, and i think very much the ladder, and beyond what ulterior motives may be to increase the number with the sports, let me just share these simple statistics —— the latter. buying an expensive snowboard is about the average per capita for all year. so, to say that we are making winter sports accessible to hundreds of millions of chinese citizens when they can only buy one snowboard of their annual income, it's probably a little bit too far of a stretch.— little bit too far of a stretch. ., , ,., , little bit too far of a stretch. ., , , , stretch. so, professor, why is china doing — stretch. so, professor, why is china doing this? _ stretch. so, professor, why is china doing this? it's - stretch. so, professor, why is china doing this? it's a - stretch. so, professor, why is china doing this? it's a lot - stretch. so, professor, why is china doing this? it's a lot of| china doing this? it's a lot of money to spend, it's a lot of investment in this particular segment of sports. what's the rationale behind it?— rationale behind it? yeah, i think obviously, _ rationale behind it? yeah, i think obviously, it - rationale behind it? yeah, ij think obviously, it coincides with beijing's winter olympics,

and there's a very clear pattern that can be derived from this particular case in that china, for a long time, and continues to invest in a globally popular sports that attract a lot of attention, especially when you are successful in those sports, it elevates not only the athletes who perform, but also the nation that is supporting them or the nation that is their home base. and if we talk about winter sports, we should also talk about football or soccer, as it's called in some parts of the world, china has a rolling five development plan for football as well. with the ambition in another plan to be one of the greatest sporting nations in the world by 2035. so, i have no doubt that increasing the popularity of participating with the sports and talking about hundreds of millions of people becoming

part of that is the higher purpose of that to create a talent pool of hundreds of millions of people from whom you can take 20 or 30 million and put them in a funnel of talent development so that ultimately, in a few olympics to come, china also talks about that drinking stuff like fascinating hans westerbeek, thank you joining us on the programme. 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 whose 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

walking with her in that way — she with a baby walker, i with my walker. she could beat you! oh, 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. what a remarkable story indeed. if you're a film buff, you will be happy to know this. awards season is upon us and in a matter of hours, we'll find out which actors and film—makers are nominated for this year's oscars. lady gaga could see a nomination in the best actress category for her role in �*house of gucci�*,

while will smith is predicted to be in the lineup for the best actor award for �*king richard�*. this year, ten films will be nominated for the academy�*s top category — best picture. among the favourites is sir kenneth branagh�*s powerful memoir of childhood, �*belfast�*. he says he has to celebrate christmas.— christmas. why is he going back? at — christmas. why is he going back? at the _ christmas. why is he going back? at the weekend. - christmas. why is he goingl back? at the weekend. he's takin: back? at the weekend. he's taking us — back? at the weekend. he's taking us to _ back? at the weekend. he's taking us to chitty _ back? at the weekend. he's taking us to chitty chitty - back? at the weekend. he's i taking us to chitty chitty bang bang and, at a flying car. i�*zfe bang and, at a flying car. i've heard it all. _ bang and, at a flying car. i've heard it all. do _ bang and, at a flying car. i've heard it all. do you _ bang and, at a flying car. i've heard it all. do you want - bang and, at a flying car. i've heard it all. do you want to l heard it all. do you want to come? if— heard it all. do you want to come? if god _ heard it all. do you want to come? if god wanted - heard it all. do you want to come? if god wanted me i heard it all. do you want to | come? if god wanted me to heard it all. do you want to - come? if god wanted me to see flying cars. _ come? if god wanted me to see flying cars. i'd _ come? if god wanted me to see flying cars. id of _ come? if god wanted me to see flying cars, i'd of been - come? if god wanted me to see flying cars, i'd of been born - flying cars, i'd of been born with— flying cars, i'd of been born with wings. it was a great one for the — with wings. it was a great one for the pictures when i was your— for the pictures when i was your add _ for the pictures when i was your age. you could climb right inside — your age. you could climb right inside the — your age. you could climb right inside the screen and visit all the strange places. like that

one in— the strange places. like that one in the film... what was that? — one in the film... what was that? loss— one in the film... what was that? loss horizons, did you see — that? loss horizons, did you see that? _ that? loss horizons, did you see that?— that? loss horizons, did you see that? no. shangri—la, see that? no. shangri-la, that's what _ see that? no. shangri-la, that's what they _ see that? i457. shangri—la, that's what they called it. see that? no. shangri-la, i that's what they called it. did ou ever that's what they called it. did you ever go _ that's what they called it. d c you ever go there? children who watch and listen to cbeebies bedtime stories in the uk have been used to celebrities like dolly parton, ryan reynolds and orlando bloom on their screens, and now they can look forward to a story read by the duchess of cambridge this weekend. kate has been recorded reading �*the owl who was afraid of the dark�* byjill tomlinson, to mark children�*s mental health week. the episode will be screened on the bbc�*s channel for young children next sunday in the uk, children next sunday in the uk. do tune in if you get a chance. that�*s all the time we have for

now. thanks so much forjoining us. stay with bbc news. 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�*ll 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 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�*ll 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�*ll 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. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i�*m stephen sackur. today, i�*m in paris as france gears up for a presidential election in the spring which will test the level of anger and frustration in this country. the incumbent, emmanuel macron, looks pretty much certain to be a candidate and he�*s well—placed to make it into the second round run—off. who willjoin him there? well, my guest today is the long—time dominant