welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. president biden tells us citizens to leave ukraine now, warning "things could go crazy quickly". britain's most senior police officer, cressida dick, is to step down after the mayor of london said he had no confidence in her leadership. canadian truckers block a second bridge in their protest over covid restrictions, with the economy now counting the cost. and doing a turn on newsday. filipino figure skater michael martinez tells us what it's like to train in the tropics for the winter olympics.

hello and welcome to the programme. president biden has called on all american citizens remaining in ukraine to leave the country immediately. with russia continuing its military build—up along its border with ukraine, mr biden said that he would not send troops to rescue americans if moscow invaded. here is a clip of his interview with nbc news. look, what i have asked is so american citizens should leave, should leave now. we are dealing with one of the largest armies in the world and it's a very difficult situation and things can go crazy quickly. it comes after yet another day of frantic

diplomatic activity. in a moment we'll here about a particularly frosty meeting in moscow between the british foreign secretary liz truss and her russian counterpart sergei lavrov. at the same time as that meeting was underway — borisjohnson has been at nato headquarters, meeting withjens stoltenberg — nato's secretary general. there were blunt assessments from both. and and today i've agreed with the secretary general a package of support to strengthen further our sonic —— collective security, sending troops, planes and ships to defend nato from north to south. but the stakes are very high. and this is a very dangerous moment, and that stake are the rules that protect every nation, every nation, big and small.- protect every nation, every nation, big and small. this is a dangerous _ nation, big and small. this is a dangerous moment - nation, big and small. this is a dangerous moment for - nation, big and small. this is - a dangerous moment for european security _ a dangerous moment for european security. the number of russian forces _

security. the number of russian forces is — security. the number of russian forces is going up. the warning time _ forces is going up. the warning time for— forces is going up. the warning time for a _ forces is going up. the warning time for a possible attack is going — time for a possible attack is going down. nato is not a threat _ going down. nato is not a threat to— going down. nato is not a threat to russia. but we must be prepared for the worst. leaders of the baltic states have been calling on nato allies to increase military support in eastern europe. in recent weeks, russia has massed well over a hundred thousand troops, along with tanks and artillery, on the border with ukraine, but denies planning to invade. here's steve rosenberg in moscow on the diplomatic manouerves there. for liz truss, the day began by the kremlin at the tomb of the unknown soldier, a sign of respect for russia before the difficult diplomacy. she's only been foreign secretary five months. sergey lavrov has been in the job 18 years. a big difference. and there were major differences of opinion. mr lavrov called western

politicians "indoctrinated", the british diplomats "unprepared", and on the subject of ukraine... translation: the conversation we had was like a deaf person i talking to someone who's mute. we were listening to one another, but not hearing each other. i certainly wasn't mute i in our discussions earlier. i put forward the uk's point of view on the current - situation and the fact thatl as well as seeking to deter russia from an invasion - into ukraine, we are also very resolute in pursuing| the diplomatic path. what we saw here today was diplomacy without any of the diplomatic niceties. no hint of compromise. instead, a very public clash between britain and russia over ukraine and over the whole question of european security. it's moscow's military activity near ukraine that's causing concern in the west, like joint drills involving

russia and belarus. but mr lavrov insisted russia has no plans for an invasion. it does stretch credulity that there are no plansl when there are 100,000 troops lined up on the _ ukrainian border. so we need to see those words from sergey lavrov translated i into action of de—escalating and moving those troops i away from the border. it feels a little bit as if it's france and not the uk which is a leading diplomatic efforts. and we had president macron in moscow this week. is it the case that the uk is sort of playing catch—up here or playing second fiddle? it's very important that - france, the united kingdom, germany, the united states and all of our allies - are involved in this effort. this is not about alternatives — this is about all— working together.

but russian state tv has been working against liz truss, calling her "clueless", "incompetent". i think when people resort to personal attacks, - it's when they have no good political argument to make. this was the first visit by a british foreign secretary to moscow for more than four years. is that called soft power? but after a day of very public disagreements, uk—russian relations feel as frosty as ever. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. i've been speaking to daniel fried — former us assistant secretary of state for european and asian affairs. i asked him just how serious a situation it was now that biden has asked american citizens to leave ukraine. vladimir putin could launch a full—scale war against ukraine. it would look like scenes from world war ii. it doesn't mean that vladimir putin will do this,

it means he can, he might, he's threatening in the biden administration is properly warning americans. it would rather warn them and have nothing happen, then failed to warn them and have them caught in a full—scale invasion. now, putin may not invade. this may be his attempt at coercive diplomacy to intimidate the ukrainians by the threat of war. but we cannot rule out a full—scale war. signs are not great. as a former diplomat to the us administration, what kind of advice would you give presidentjoe biden at the moment? i believe that they're doing ok with this problem. they were slow to recognise it, a few stumbles out of the gate but the biden administration

has done the right thing. it has worked with europe, the uk, rallies the transatlantic community to respond to vladimir putin's threats at the same time offer a diplomatic off ramp to putin. i don't know if he'll take it. the best case may an ugly continuation of threats and pressure. but the biden administration has handled this pretty well, i think. they didn't want this crisis, they could've had a better relationship with russia, but the prudent did the task and working with the key allies. and we are where we should be, but it's not a great place. brtain�*s most senior police officer, the chief of the london metropolitan police, cressida dick, has resigned. she's leaving the post two years earlier than expected after the mayor of london expressed reservations about her ability to reform the police force. a recent police watchdog report into misconduct found evidence of it described as "disgraceful misogyny and discrimination", including racist, anti—semitic and homophobic behaviour.

june kelly reports. she made history when she became the first female commissioner of the country's largest force. but tonight, cressida dick's long policing career was brought to a sudden end. following contact with the mayor of london today, it is quite clear that he no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership of the metropolitan police service for me to continue as commissioner. he has left me no choice but to step aside. the mayor, sadiq khan, had already put out his statement. it's clear that the only way to start to deliver on the scale of the change required is to have new leadership right at the top of the metropolitan police.

what would be a decisive day on the job for cressida dick began at the bbc, and a radio phone in. responding to a grilling about her performance, she pledged her determination to carry on. i have absolutely no intention of going. 2a hours earlier, the mayor of london, sadiq khan, had issued an ultimatum. my expectation is the next time i see her i want to see what her response is. but their working relationship is over. the finale to a torrid 12 months from the met. it was almost a year ago that one of their own officers, wayne couzens, used his police powers to kidnap sarah everard of a london street and then rape and murder her. with a killer policeman under arrest, as women gathered for a vigil in memory of sarah, these were the images which went viral. more bad headlines for the met. the reputation of the netl was much more important than the people she was

meant to serve. - by not admitting that there are deep systemic issues, i they are not going to be able to solve them. _ while pressure has been building on cressida dick, a few months ago politicians gave her more time, with priti patel extending her contract. now the behaviour at number 10 has led to the partygate investigation, but even in this, the met has gathered more criticism for being flat—footed in its response. and then, in recent days, shocking messages sent by some officers at charing cross police station lifted the lid on racist and sexist attitudes which were redolent of policing in the 1970s. in a separate scandal, two officers regarding a murder scene where two sisters had been killed also sent abusive messages. those officers ended up in prison. after five years at the helm, cressida dick will soon be leaving scotland yard

for the last time. the murder of sarah everard and many other awful cases recently have, i know, damaged confidence in this fantastic police service. there is much to do, and i know that the met has turned its full attention to rebuilding trust and confidence, and to raising our standards. tonight, the home secretary paid tribute to dame cressida. she began the job as a popular pioneer, but her tenure has ended with her losing the faith of both the politicians and the public. now to developments in canada, where the border crossing between the province of manitoba and the united states has become the latest to be blocked, by anti vaccine mandate protesters. police say the crossing has been blockaded using both vehicles and farm equipment.

this follows the blocking of the ambassador bridge that connects canada with michigan — america's car production hub. as a result, ford and toyota have halted some production. the governor of michigan has called for the bridge to be re—opened. canada's capital ottowa has been the centre of protests by truckers for several days. they're angry at the government's covid i9 restrictions. our correspondent samira hussain sent this update from ottawa. the resolve to stay here for the long term is quite strong, so from a police perspective, it does pose a challenge, how do you get this crowd to disperse in a peaceful kind of manner. well, making sure everyone is safe. these

protests may have started in ottawa almost two weeks ago and has spread to other parts of the country and, most crucially, to canadian land borders with the us and some of those land borders are responsible for more than 25% of trade between the two countries. that's why you are hearing from a lot of american politicians and canadian politicians and canadian politicians really urging for the blockades near the border areas to be opened up. we are seeing this wave of solidarity protests happening around the world, we have seen them in france, we saw them in new zealand as well and from the protesters point of view, here, of course, thatjust of course, that just strengthens of course, thatjust strengthens them and emboldens them to see that kind of international support for what it is that they are doing. there is, there has always been pushed back against vaccine mandates, against covid—i9 restrictions and it's notjust

here in canada. there are pockets of it. but these protests are becoming much, much louder. still to come on the programme. india's row over the hijab in schools and colleges continues. there is mr mandela. mr nelson mandela. a free man taking his first steps into a new south africa. ., first steps into a new south africa. . ., africa. iran macro past spiritual— africa. iran macro past spiritual leader, - africa. iran macro past. spiritual leader, ayatollah khomeini says he has passed a death sentence on salman rushdie the author of a book many muslim says blasphemous. the people of haiti have locked to church — the people of haiti have locked to church to give thanks for the — to church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president, baby doc du value. because — president, baby doc du value.

because of his considerable vaiue — because of his considerable value as _ because of his considerable value as a _ because of his considerable value as a stallion, - because of his considerable value as a stallion, shergar| value as a stallion, shergar was — value as a stallion, shergar was kept _ value as a stallion, shergar was kept in _ value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a _ value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special- value as a stallion, shergar| was kept in a special secure farm — was kept in a special secure farm central— was kept in a special secure farm central block- was kept in a special secure farm central block and - was kept in a special secure farm central block and wasl farm central block and was driven _ farm central block and was driven away— farm central block and was driven away in _ farm central block and was driven away in a _ farm central block and was driven away in a horseboxl farm central block and was - driven away in a horsebox that the thieves _ driven away in a horsebox that the thieves brought _ driven away in a horsebox that the thieves brought with - driven away in a horsebox that| the thieves brought with them. they— the thieves brought with them. they step — the thieves brought with them. they step down _ the thieves brought with them. they step down from _ the thieves brought with them. they step down from the - the thieves brought with them. i they step down from the plane, a figure in mourning. elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and of all her other realms and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. our headlines. president biden tells us citizens to leave ukraine now, warning "things could go crazy quickly" the commissioner of london's metropolitan police, cressida dick, is to step down after the mayor of london said he had no confidence in her leadership.

let's turn to india now, where there will be a partial opening of educational institutions in the indian state of karnataka from monday. they've been closed amid rising tensions over students being stopped from wearing the islamic headdress — the hijab — in classrooms. there have been rival protests and violence over the ruling. the bbc�*s divya arya has more. this woman wears at home what brought so much tension at college. she's the most recent emblem of india's politics of the hijab. i just saw a crowd of youngsters who were wearing shawls. i was just passing. but then, they all started attacking me. and they were telling me, go back, you are not allowed to the class by wearing burqa. and they were coming and they are also telling me to remove this and go back. it was one front

in an escalating row. over whether people can wear this in classrooms in the southern state. where demand where islamic headdresses were met with protesters wearing shawls, a symbol of hinduism and the respective slogans came to the four. i was angered and scared and then i shouted sol shouted "allahu akbar! " these she still went to college. something women say they been doing in the past wearing hijabs. women started wearing the hijab in school, we complained that we have a right to decide on the uniform and according to the state education act of 1995, the institution has the right to prescribe the uniform and students must follow it.

she also cited state high court judgments backing it up. now they have to decide on the latest dispute. this college is one of many in the state for students wore saffron scarves to protest women's believed where head scarves. all schools and colleges have been shut this week while they wait for the court to come to a decision. critics say the state administration has done little to engage the students in dialogue. instead, allowing opinions to polarise. polarisation that has led to at times, violent protests across the country. that is about more than outward appearances. particularly for india's 200 million muslims. who, while great in number, are a minority.

the authorities of prevented gatherings of more than four people. but that does not stop off in a hostile debate from flourishing online. please, do not update the status as hindu versus muslims. not only for us, not for the non—muslims and muslim girls, everyone should stand for the right. online and in real life, rights and beliefs are in a painful confrontation. the french virologist, luc montagnier , who won the nobel prize for medicine for his co—discovery of the virus that causes aids, has died at the age of 89. despite his recognition in the 1980s, he later became sidelined by the scientific community, for taking up controversial positions on things like autism. stephanie prentice reports.

he was the man who helped tackled the fear, damage and death spreading through the 19805 death spreading through the 1980s as the aids epidemic unfolded around the world, baffling scientists. the virus can be passed _ baffling scientists. the virus can be passed during - baffling scientists. the virus can be passed during sexual intercourse with an infected person. intercourse with an infected erson. . ., ., person. luc montagnier isolated human tissue _ person. luc montagnier isolated human tissue from _ person. luc montagnier isolated human tissue from a _ person. luc montagnier isolated human tissue from a neck - person. luc montagnier isolated human tissue from a neck land i human tissue from a neck land in 1983 and was able to draw the link between a virus in it and aids. he battled to be recognised as the first scientist to reach this conclusion, eventually receiving a nobel prize recognition in 2008 for his work. it recognition in 2008 for his work. , ., work. it is a frequent statement _ work. it is a frequent statement saying - work. it is a frequent| statement saying that work. it is a frequent - statement saying that nobel prize winners as are less productive after receiving the nobel prize, so i will try not to show this. he nobel prize, so i will try not to show this.— to show this. he went on to develou _ to show this. he went on to develou a — to show this. he went on to develop a specialism - to show this. he went on to develop a specialism in - develop a specialism in exploring cures for viral diseases but also became a pariah within the medical community for supporting non—scientific theories. in

2020, this translated to a popularity with modern anti—vaccine movement is as he denounced covid vaccines and claim to covid—19 was made in a lab. despite this, tributes are pouring in with love from his work and also love from emanuel kirk run for his contribution to the fight against aids. an australian icon —— the koala —— has now been classed as endangered. the number of koalas have fallen sharply along much of the east coast due to land clearing, bush fires and disease. scientists say the population in the state of new south wales has decreased by up to 60 percent in the past 11 years. the international olympic committee has refused to provide details on the �*legal issue' which has delayed the presentation of the team figure—skating medals. unconfirmed reports in the russian media claim that 15—year—old kamila valieva — who became

the first female skater to perform a quadruplejump at the olympics — has tested positive for a banned substance. staying with the olympics — and it's not unusual to see athletes from colder climates excelling, with a familiar list of countries dominating the medal table. but what's it like to compete in winter sports in countries that barely even have a winter? one person who knows is michael martinez. who was the first ever southeast asian skater to qualify for a winter games. i definitely started full of beans and i was actuallyjust going around the mall and i saw the skating rink there and, honestly, i got interested and i was surprised, why is there a rink here? but, you know, yeah, when i first saw it i tried it right away and fell in love the sport right away, so, yeah. 50.

sport right away, so, yeah. so, michael, _ sport right away, so, yeah. so, michael, when _ sport right away, so, yeah. so, michael, when you _ sport right away, so, yeah. so, michael, when you started in the philippines and you had this ambition of becoming an ice skaterfrom a this ambition of becoming an ice skater from a young age, presumably, what was the reaction, notjust from your reaction, not just from your family reaction, notjust from your family and people in the sporting industry? honestly, in the philippines, _ sporting industry? honestly, in the philippines, people - sporting industry? honestly, in the philippines, people were i the philippines, people were not as supportive. when i was starting they were saying, it might be impossible for you not to get to the olympics and stuff, but eventually, when i was starting to train more and more and more and compete more, and they were seeing the progress and their views on me were changing and very positive and they were like, ok, you are going to make it.— going to make it. yeah, and we are seeing _ going to make it. yeah, and we are seeing some _ going to make it. yeah, and we are seeing some of _ going to make it. yeah, and we are seeing some of the - going to make it. yeah, and we are seeing some of the images| are seeing some of the images of that achievement, dig achievements you had through your sporting career and congratulations on that. just talk us through how difficult it was to reach those heights

given the fact that you come from a place that doesn't have much experience in the sport. well, yes, it is, honestly, difficult for me to, honestly, just train and do a lot of the harder stuff in figure skating because, you know, first of all, this sport is not as popular in the philippines before, and second of all, i have to travel outside of the country to train and eight gets pretty, pretty expensive to really train and get the coaches and the living expenses and everything. you have been watching newsday. president biden has called on all american citizens remaining in ukraine to leave the country immediately. with russia continuing its military build—up along its border with ukraine, mr biden said that he would not send troops to rescue americans if moscow invaded.

stay with bbc world news. hello again. this time yesterday we were looking at some hill snow in scotland causing a few issues on some of the higher scottish roots and some strong winds gusting at 70 mph in the western isles but a cover of this no over the hills and this was courtesy of this area of cloud, the low pressure currently working across the north sea to bring some fairly windy weather to the netherlands through friday. in the atlantic, we have the next weather system waiting to come into the start of the weekend but between that and that, we get that, an area of high pressure that will be bringing some fine weather our for friday. however, recent hours, as the high pressure has edged in, the number of showers has dwindled and a few left in north—western areas and with

the combination of clear skies and light winds allowing a widespread frost, there could be a few white steed patches around on the lowest temperatures in aberdeenshire getting down to 10 celsius and a freezing cold start to the day on friday but beautiful winter sunshine for most of you through most of the day, and isolated showers across the north west and through the day you will see the weather turned cloudy in northern ireland. temperatures? we are looking at highs close to the seasonal average, about six in glasgow and nine for cardiff and london. they will be rain developing on friday night and into saturday the rain will affect parts of england and wales but doesn't reach the south—east of england and east anglia where it will stay bright and breezy but there will be strong winds for many of us and for scotland and northern ireland, frequent showers and some bright spells between the showers. temperatures a little bit higher, between eight and 10 degrees making it a mild day but perhaps not feeling so given the strength of the winds. talking of wins, the next area of low pressure on

sunday looks also set to bring more wet and windy other —— whether our way. the rain might end up further northwards but not reaching neither school where there will be showers around but otherwise the rain will be heavy and it will be a windy day with gales across southern parts of england and wales and through the english channel gusts of around 50 or 60 miles an hour, strong enough to bring down a few tree branches and there might be localised disruption on sunday from the system. next week's looks unsettled but it does turn very mild for a time. that is your weather.

# at first i was afraid, i was petrified # kept thinking i could never live... today we bring you gloria gaynor and jo coburn. great to be here. adam is on his holidays and we got an upgrade and you brought speakers. they are not as good as ours but they're not bad. i think they go well together. gloria gaynor is featured in the news, courtesy of the new director of communications at downing street, he gave an interview to a welsh language magazine about the whole business of him going in to see the prime minister to get him to sign on the dotted line. and how they broke into song after ghetto harry said, i am reporting for duty and then said, would you survive ?