welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... protests against covid vaccine laws continue in canada — truckers had earlier blocked a key route into the us — the capital's deputy mayor speaks to the bbc. they are bringing fuel in, they have set up temporary shelters. this is no longerjust a peaceful conversation or attempted negotiation. this is a hostage taking of our city. after another frantic day of diplomacy over ukraine — poland warns it's the worst crisis in europe for more than three decades. as the talking continues — we speak to people who've been caught up in conflict between the two countries since 2014.

i wonder what little lady made these. and — the dogs in the hunt — we'll tell you about the western leading the pack for oscar nominations. it's 9am in singapore, 8pm in the canadian capital ottawa, where a standoff between truckers and the country's government over covid restrictions shows no sign of ending. canadian prime minister justin trudeau was loudly heckled by opposition mps in parliament on tuesday as he defended the use of restrictions to fight the covid—19 pandemic, measures canadian truckers have taken to the streets in their vehicles to oppose.

earlier, the us—canada border crossing at windsor was blocked, closing the bridge to traffic. it has now re—opened. our correspondent samira hussain sent this update from ottawa. the protests here in ottawa canada have clearly entered into the second week and it looks as if people will not be leaving soon. this entire route has been blocked off and it is the main thoroughfare to which you can get to parliament hill, it is the centre of canada's government and the protests are just here in ottawa, it has spread to other canadian cities. that said, the kind of tensions you are seeing in the earlier days of the protests have eased somewhat between the residents and the protesters as the truckers are no longer honking their horns. without that noise, there is much less anxiety, in fact there was

somewhat more of a carnival—like atmosphere happening here with a stage set “p happening here with a stage set up and music and dancing. of course the big question is how long will these truckers remain here? and many of those i had spoken with have said they have spent many weeks on the road away from their families. they are in it for the long haul. that was our corresponent samira hussein in ottawa and a little earlier the city's deputy mayor spoke to us. laura dudas says her city is being damaged by events outside their control. so, the city of ottawa, we declared a state of emergency on sunday evening because the vaccine mandates truly come from the federal and provincial level, so the upper levels of government. what is happening here is this protest against the federal legislation, is really taking our city and our residents hostage. i had the opportunity to walk downtown, and kind of tour the site earlier on today,

and yes, it is quiet, except for the fact that the city is overtaken by more than 400 large trucks, they're out of the parliamentary precinct and now they're in residential areas. laura, is what you're saying that, are you urging the federal government at this point to reconsider those vaccine mandates to try and get this issue resolved? is that what you're now trying to bring to the table? absolutely not. the safety of residents will require the scientific verification of vaccines. the majority of residents in the city of ottawa, as across the country, believe in the vaccinations. the protesters are here, they have concerns. however, it's turned into an occupation. they have removed the tyres off their big wheel trucks, they are bringing fuel and they have set up temporary shelters. this is no longerjust a peaceful conversation or attempted negotiation.

this is a hostage taking of our city. so, where do we go from here? the truckers are saying and telling our reporters on the ground that they're not budging, so how do you get them off the streets and end, as you've put it, this occupation? the city of ottawa has heard clearly from our chief of police that we need more resources on the ground in terms of police officers. yesterday we held an emergency council meeting, we had a meeting with the prime minister, justin trudeau, today and we're asking for upwards of 1,800 police officers to assist the ottawa police service in working with the protesters to try to move them to reduce their footprint from the residential areas where they are intimidating reidents and causing concerns. and keeping our businesses close.

we're trying to encourage any new demonstrators who are showing up to just not come, to write in and take a democratic and safe approach. share their concerns, but don't do it on the residential streets where people are trying to live their lives safely. in 30 seconds or less, what options are on the table that would avoid an escalation? well, the federal government is welcome to work on having a mediator and speaking with the protesters. the concern is that our ottawa police service has found there is no firm leaders in this protest group, so that might be difficult. from the city's perceptive, we need our city back. we need to return to a state of normalcy. if that means that's a smaller protest, so be it. however, these are individuals who need to let go of the siege that they are upholding and return our city back to our residents.

the diplomatic push to resolve tensions over ukraine is continuing, with the french president, emmanuel macron, meeting, first, the ukrainian leader. president zelensky said he wanted to see russia take specific steps towards de—escalation. then president macron went on to berlin for talks with his german and polish counterparts. the message emerging — there can be a �*concrete solution�*, but it may take months. poland has described this as the worst crisis in europe for more than three decades. despite the diplomatic flurry, russian troops remain on the ukrainian border. russia denies it's preparing to invade but in eastern ukraine, civilians are already caught up in violence. separatist fighters — backed by russia — have occupied some areas since 2014. the bbc�*s fergal keane has reported on the conflict since it began — and has sent this report from kyiv.

gunfire. voices and sounds recorded over eight years of war, of agonies that can't be erased and which are revived by fears of a new conflict. in a kyiv veterans centre, the reassurances of childhood for those brutalized by battle. ok, so that was, you reckon, that was a good decision? olena was a combat medic. she's haunted by dreams in which dead comrades return to speak to her. in my dream, i came back home and i met my dead

friend and i asked him, what are you doing here? and he told me, "what? i'm living here, i live here". and ijust need to tell him that he's dead. he didn't know that he's dead. i wonder what all this escalation means for you, given what you've seen. once i lost my family and my home and i don't want to lose it again, so for me, this is a huge problem. i don't have one more life to restart it. since the war began in 2014, i've been photographing some of its faces... ..and hearing the testimonies of those for whom it is a constant presence. treatment of trauma is underfunded, and many are left without help. so, you worked across both military and civilian? vladimir voloshin is a therapist working with trauma patients.

translation: those people who've not been treated, - they have a feeling of anxiety in the background waiting for something bad. they have mood swings and when big stress happens like this escalation, it gets worse. amid new threats, it can be easy to overlook what's already been lost. andre is a traumatised veteran for whom metal work is therapeutic, but it doesn't alter his sense of futility over the war. translation: we wanted to free our land, but - the result was the opposite. that was the trauma for me. what comes back the most is the loss of friends, - those who are gone, those who you could trust - with your life. there's no inevitability

about war, and the hope is it will be averted, because its result is always certain — destruction of the body and the mind. fergal keane, bbc news, ukraine. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. disaster management officials in colombia say a landslide triggered by heavy rain has killed at least 14 people in risaralda province near the city of pereira. they said dozens were in hospital after several homes were engulfed. other residents living close to a swollen river nearby have been moved to safety. hong kong has announced stringent new covid restrictions. it follows record new infections on tuesday. the authorities have implemented social—distancing measures and limits on gatherings at private homes. education campaigner malala yousafzai has urged indian leaders to stop what she described as the marginalisation of muslim women after some colleges banned students wearing

the hijab in class. there've been clashes between campaigners and hardline hindu nationalists who called for the ban. it's led to the state of karnataka closing high schools and colleges for three days. if you want to get in touch with me, i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma iam i am looking forward to hearing from you. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... adele is the big winner at the brit awards. 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.

our headlines... protests against covid vaccine laws continue in canada — truckers had earlier blocked a key route into the us. after another frantic day of diplomacy over ukraine — poland warns it's the worst crisis in europe for more than three decades let's turn to the winter olympics now being held in china. there are an unprecedented number of foreign—born athletes competing for china at these winter olympic games, many of them hailing from north america. one of the stars of the games is the freestyle skier, eileen gu, who was born in the united states but has chosen to compete for china. the californian—born athlete won gold for china at the beijing olympics on tuesday. athletes like eileen gu face a complicated balancing act, with their ethnic and national identities pulling them in different directions. dr susan brownell is

an expert on chinese sport and the olympic games. earlier i spoke to her about the complicated balancing act as athletes face for from time to time. i as athletes face for from time to time. ~' ., ., ., to time. i think the moral of the story — to time. i think the moral of the story is _ to time. i think the moral of the story is if— to time. i think the moral of the story is if you _ to time. i think the moral of the story is if you are - to time. i think the moral of the story is if you are a - to time. i think the moral of the story is if you are a gold j the story is if you are a gold medal winner, the story is if you are a gold medalwinner, people the story is if you are a gold medal winner, people like you and eileen gu would have been just as popular if she was in the united states but since she was representing china she was largely ignored until her medal but of course she has been extremely popular in china and herface was extremely popular in china and her face was plastered all over walls and department stores everywhere because of her high level sponsorships. beverleyju did not do well and chinese fans are famous for their poor sportsmanship in cases like that and they showed it again this time round.— this time round. professor, i want to ask _

this time round. professor, i want to ask how _ this time round. professor, i want to ask how common . this time round. professor, i want to ask how common is | this time round. professor, i | want to ask how common is it for people to switch their allegiances or their citizenship, the science they are competing for in sport in this way?— are competing for in sport in this wa ? , , , . this way? citizenship switching in sort is this way? citizenship switching in sport is extremely _ this way? citizenship switching in sport is extremely common | in sport is extremely common and it's becoming more and more common really as a symbol of the interconnected world we live in. but china had not taken part in a large way until this olympic games. there was one athlete in tokyo in track and field and she was the first who had been encouraged and recruited to represent china and in these games, we have eileen gu and beverley, whom we mentioned, but there are also about 15 men on the chinese men's hockey team and about 12 women on the women's hockey team so china has finally gone in with this in a big way and really i think that is a sign china isjoining the really i think that is a sign china is joining the world and doing what other nations were already doing. you

doing what other nations were already doing.— already doing. you have outlined _ already doing. you have outlined why _ already doing. you have outlined why countries l already doing. you have l outlined why countries do already doing. you have - outlined why countries do this, it helps them win medals but what prompts the athletes, somebody has been born and raised in the united states to then go and compete for china? in the case of an american athlete like beverleyju which represents china, she probably did not have a chance of making an american olympic team ever and certainly not at this stage in her career and her training and living expenses were taken care of as well so she had both a financial stability and the opportunity to compete in the olympic games. in the case of eileen gu, it is a little bit more complicated because even at the point she switched and began to represent china, she was already world—class and she could have easily made the us team as well. and so i think she an interesting case. one might wonder if there was a lot of money offered to her behind the scenes that couldn't maybe

match the situation in the us? but, you know, maybe shejust felt very loyal to china. that's a little bit hard to sell. let's bring you some breaking news. the university of california has agreed to pay out nearly a quarter of a billion dollars to settle claims by hundreds of women that they were sexually assaulted by a campus gynaecologist. 203 women have accused james heaps, who was based at the university's los angeles student health centre between 1983 and 2018. the doctor already faces criminal charges for 21 other sexual offences involving seven women. he has pleaded not guilty. let's turn to the topic of plastic pollution in the world's oceans — which, according to new analysis from the world wide fund for nature is set to quadruple by 2050. should the prediction come true, many delicate ecosystems will not survive, says the report — and precious

species will be lost forever. kate noble is from wwf australia. she says the situation is very serious. well, there are a lot of things we are not getting right at the moment but the good news is we do now have some real solutions are starting to shape up. so this new analysis we have undertaken really provides the most comprehensive overview to date of the impact of plastic pollution on oceans, marine ecosystems and specific species and it looks at the transitive future as well. it looked at around 2500 scientific studies and alarmingly found around 90% of marine species specifically studied the impact of plastic pollution and known to have been negatively affected. those negative impacts can range from susceptibility to disease,

right through to serious injury and death so we urgently need to look at solutions right now to look at solutions right now to this growing crisis of plastic pollution. we've only recently had _ plastic pollution. we've only recently had cop26, - plastic pollution. we've only recently had cop26, were i plastic pollution. we've only i recently had cop26, were you, did you take any confidence away from that that governments are taking steps they need to fix this? ~ ., _, , ., fix this? while the outcomes of cop26 fix this? while the outcomes of com certainly _ fix this? while the outcomes of cop26 certainly were _ fix this? while the outcomes of cop26 certainly were not - cop26 certainly were not perfect we need to realise some progress was made. one important development was the establishment of annual ocean dialogues to look at ocean —based mitigation and adaptation strategies and that can certainly help to drive progress in plastic pollution. but the reality is we are actually seeing some really promising support behind this global move towards an agreement or an international treaty to combat plastic pollution. in 2019, we had around ten governments publicly

state support for this process by 2022 that had increased to around 150. so we now have around 150. so we now have around three quarters of un member states supporting this process and when those member states meet at the un environmental assembly meeting later this month they will take a decision on whether to formally start work on a treaty so there is a huge amount of government support behind this and what we really need to see is that treaty process start. the oscar nominations are out — and the 1920s western the power of the dog is dominating this year's line up. the sci—fi film dune is not far behind and sir kenneth branagh's1960s drama belfast is also one of the front—runners. olivia colman, benedict cumberbatch and andrew garfield are among the british nominees in the lead acting categories. with more details, here's our culture editor katie razzall. it's showtime. 25 years since our first run together, 1900 and nothing... the power of the dog

leads the oscar charge with 12 nominations, including best picture. netflix's1920s western, starring a resplendent benedict cumberbatch, is best on the big screen, and i've got the best seat in the house with film critic larushka ivan—zadeh. jane campion, the director, she has made history today. that's right, she's the first woman to ever be nominated twice for best director. and her cast have done quite well as well. that's right, you've got benedict cumberbatch, kirsten dunst and jesse plemons and kodi smit—mcphee, who i think is the definite for best supporting actor. sci—fi epic dune has picked up ten nominations, best picture amongst them. and steven spielberg's remake of the musical west side story has seven, including best picture and director. it's the bookies' favourite at 3—1, but i think its best chance for winning is best supporting actress for ariana debose. you know who you are, don't you? yes, pop. belfast has seven nominations,

and with the two for best picture and best original screenplay, its director, kenneth branagh, has broken another oscar record. seven nominations across seven different categories throughout his career. and i think some of the actors have also picked up some nominations? that's right, ciaran hinds and judi dench, who leads the charge of the brits. another brit, olivia colman, has her third oscar nomination for the lost daughter, a searing look at motherhood, with ireland's jessie buckley also nominated. and you stop being a writer who waits tables... and andrew garfield, who's a top favourite for tick, tick, boom, the musical. and in that category, there are two hollywood greats, aren't there — in the best actor category? that's right, best actor very closely fought. speak, if you can. denzel washington getting his tenth nomination this year, though it has been 20 years since he won for training day. but the big favourite to win best actor is will smith.

he's never won, and he's playing the father of venus and serena williams for king richard. and you think he'll win? he'll win. and king richard, the film he's in, is also nominated in the best picture category. are there any surprises there? i think drive my car, which is a three—hour—long japanese road movie. all credit to the oscar voters for getting through that. it could be this year's parasite and upset the apple cart. but is it the year of power of the dog? i think it's netflix's power of the dog, and this could be the year that netflix finally wins the best picture category. we'll find out next month. katie razzell, bbc news. speaking of awards, the uk's big music awards the brits have taken place in london. adele was the big winner, taking home the song and album of the year prizes. she also was also named artist of the year — the first time the award ceremony has scrapped separate male and female categories for the prize. i understand why the name of

this award has changed but i really love being a woman and a female artist, i do. i do. i'm really proud of us. thank you so much. thank you very much. and there is more from the brit awards — all the winners and more reaction from adele — that's on the entertainment pages of the bbc news website and app — you'll also find the full list of nominations from the oscars there too. our main story again. in canada a standoff between truckers and the country's government over covid restrictions shows no sign of ending. canadian prime ministerjustin trudeau was loudly heckled by opposition mps in parliament on tuesday as he defended the use of restrictions to fight the covid 19 pandemic, measures canadian truckers have taken to the streets in their vehicles to oppose. earlier the us—canada border crossing at windsor was blocked, closing the bridge to traffic. it has now re—opened. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news.

hello. we're certainly starting to see the signs of spring on the ground and in the trees in parts of the uk, all being helped certainly on tuesday by well above—average temperatures — widely12—14 degrees across england and wales, just a touch cooler in scotland, northern ireland. but a much cooler end to the week on the way. temperatures dropping down, but closer to where it should be for this stage in february. that cooler air has been to the north of us. it'll be pushing southwards beyond this weather front, which, overnight, only slowly works its way southwards and eastwards, the mildest air becoming confined to the southern half of england and wales as we start wednesday morning. a chilly start further north with some ice in places, covering of snow and the showers overnight in scotland. those wintry showers continuing through the day here and on the hills in northern ireland, best of the sunshine to the south and east.

brightening up in northern england, north wales through the morning, and after a damp start through the rest of wales and the midlands, should turn brighter into the afternoon. but after a bright start in southern areas, it turns cloudier and damper, breezier, too. strongest of the winds with gusts in excess of 50—60 mph across the north, where it could feel colder than four or five celsius would suggest. still holding onto that milder air in southernmost counties. where we'll continue to see clouds and rain into the night through wednesday night into thursday morning, attention turns to what's happening in the north of scotland. we could see severe gales develop with more extensive snow to take us into thursday morning. those strong winds stop temperatures widely falling below freezing, but it will be a cold start to thursday morning with subzero temperatures on the hills. and with severe gales gusting 60—70 mph in the north of scotland to begin with, heavy snow for a while — that breaks up into sunshine and showers. showers on and off through the day across some western areas, brightening up to the south after a hazy start, and some sunshine continuing in the east through the afternoon. but all of us will feel chillier than the past few days. add on the effect of the wind, a substantial wind—chill for parts of scotland,

feeling subzero as we go through thursday afternoon. with that colder air in place, a ridge of high pressure building in — the blue colours showing the cold air — it'll be the coldest morning of the week as we head into friday. temperatures widely below freezing right across the uk, maybe —6 or —7 through parts of scotland. but a lovely, bright start to the day, crisp, sunshine overhead, a few mist and fog patches. cloud increases from the west, one or two showers here and there before the day's out, and many places will stay dry and bright. that's how it's looking. see you soon.