score this is bbc news — i'm simon pusey with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. president biden warns president putin that he'll respond with �*severe economic sanctions' if ukraine is invaded. as russian military drills continue with belarus — the kremlin has accused the west of �*hysteria'. meanwhile the ukrainian president warns against creating panic. the best friend for enemies — that is panic in our country. and all this information, that helps only for panic. it doesn't help us. breaking up the blockade — police in canada move in on truckers who cut off a major crossing to the us — in protest against vaccine mandates. copy—cat chaos in paris as police fire tear gas at protesters angry at covid

restrictions in france and meet ouka the dog — who's apparently a big fan of taking flight over the alps. hello and welcome to the programme. president biden has warned the russian leader, vladimir putin, of "swift and severe" consequences if he invades ukraine. the two men spoke over the phone amid western fears that an invasion could be imminent. the white house said it was ready to engage with diplomacy, but was equally prepared for "other scenarios". the kremlin attacked the "hysteria" of the west and complained that its demands weren't being addressed. our north america editor, sarah smith, said there was a pessimistic mood in washington. there is a pessimistic mood in washington tonight, as a senior administration

official says there has been no fundamental change in the dynamic after that call between presidents biden and putin. the us says it is unclear whether russia is interested in pursuing its goals through a diplomatic solution rather than through the use of force. so president biden was blunt about his intention to impose punishing economic sanctions — "swift and severe costs", he called them — if russia does further invade ukraine. and after the call, the kremlin's top foreign a policy adviser said, "hysteria has reached its peak." now, as america believe that president putin is in a position to order an invasion any day now, they're warning about the possibility of a manufactured attack on russian forces that could be blamed on ukrainians and then used as a trigger for military action. new details about what the us calls a false flag operation were discussed in an emergency meeting in the white house

situation room two nights ago. they say it could involve russian operatives with explosives carrying out attacks on russian forces that would then be used as a pretext for an invasion of ukraine. so tonight, the us says it has not ruled out the possibility of further talks, but they are now also planning for a worst—case scenario. a dozen nations including the uk have told their citizens to leave ukraine. our correspondent paul adams has been speaking to some of those affected. do you want to go to spain? how best to leave? stuart mackenzie is looking for flights with his sons, robert and stuart. after 28 years of life here, he can't quite believe it. this is just crazy, just crazy. it's a peaceful country and, in this day and age, and you're talking about tanks and bombs coming in, it's crazy. i don't understand, and we are in europe.

there is a lot to think about — what to do with start�*s elderly mother—in—law, his brother's family also here, and his 20 local employees. if there are flights available for the family, then that is a good option for us, that gets us out within hours. if that is not the case, then plan b is taking the car and trying to get to the border — and praying that we are not too late. at the british embassy, signs of urgency and departure, no one here willing to talk. the foreign office says it is not in a position to help british citizens with their plans. nearby, a march of defiance in the face of a gathering storm — a rare display of public feeling at a time when russia is menacing their borders, staff are leaving embassies and foreigners are being told to get out. i have to analyse all the information which we have. touring the south, ukraine's president seemed frustrated by apocalyptic warnings coming from washington. and the truth is that we have

different information and now the best friend for enemies, the panic in our country. and all this information helps only for panic, it doesn't help us. russia's war games in belarus are now under way. this, american officials warn, is how an assault on ukraine could begin. moscow still says it has no plans to invade. joe biden and vladimir putin spent an hour on the phone tonight. mr biden told the russian leader that if he launches a further invasion of ukraine, the west and its allies will impose swift and decisive sanctions. pauladams, bbc news, kyiv. paul massaro is a us congressionalforeign policy advisor and he's in washington. i he's in washington. know it is hard to pinpoint what i know it is hard to pinpoint what he might be thinking about

what, at this point, do you think president putin's planners?— think president putin's planners? think president putin's lanners? ., ~ ., ., planners? thank you for having me here. _ planners? thank you for having me here, simon. _ planners? thank you for having me here, simon. i— planners? thank you for having me here, simon. i hope - planners? thank you for having me here, simon. i hope that i me here, simon. i hope that president putin is thinking a lot about the cost because that is what we're trying to signal here. the massive, massive costs of this escalation, of an investigation that has been going on since 2014, that he will suffer and fashionable stuff and really, the whole world, to the end of the day, will suffer if you'd decides to make this decision. white men cannot have tough rhetoric coming out of america and president biden. how do you think america should respond at this point? after a few hiccups, we have already signalled, very clearly, the kind of costs president putin would see if he made the decision to escalate his invasion and those costs will be absolutely massive for the russian economy, for himself and his oligarchs. it is important to note that the russian regime relies on access to the west. this entire invasion, this entire threat

has never been about nato but the maintenance of putin's power which means keeping his oligarchs happy and preventing ukrainian democracy from flourishing.— ukrainian democracy from flourishinu. , ., , , flourishing. things only seem to be escalating _ flourishing. things only seem to be escalating at _ flourishing. things only seem to be escalating at this - flourishing. things only seem to be escalating at this time, | to be escalating at this time, how frightened are you by the directional of this is going? it is frightening. indeed, it is terrifying. putin has now threatened the bloodiest war in europe since world war ii. it will be catastrophic. the repercussions will be massive of course for ukraine. they will be massive for russia. they will be massive for the whole world, economically but also the death toll. in the refugee crisis, the breakdown in international borders. we are talking about a cataclysmic event. ~ ., ., ., are talking about a cataclysmic event. ~ . ., ., “ event. what more do you think leaders could _ event. what more do you think leaders could be _ event. what more do you think leaders could be doing - event. what more do you think leaders could be doing at - event. what more do you think leaders could be doing at this i leaders could be doing at this point? do you think they're

showing and enough of a united front to counteract russia? id. we've talked — front to counteract russia? id. we've talked about sanctioning the oligarchs because of that reliance on the western system. that would be an additional move but, at the end of the day, this is about putin. this is all about putin. it's about the decision of this individual who has decided to threaten a troop build—up, who has threatened ukraine, which poses russian no threat. and it is up to him to not invade. find russian no threat. and it is up to him to not invade.- to him to not invade. and you talk about _ to him to not invade. and you talk about putting _ to him to not invade. and you talk about putting a _ to him to not invade. and you talk about putting a lot - to him to not invade. and you talk about putting a lot and i to him to not invade. and you | talk about putting a lot and he would say that no guarantees of a made over the expansion of nato and the protection of russia. that is a really important point. this crisis has. putin talks a lot about nato and nato expansion but it has nothing to do with it. that is an excuse.

that is disinformation under way for him to make it seem like he has legitimate concerns when, in fact, this is all about ukraine. this is about putin retaining power. pupils in russia based on a kleptocratic patron age base system which is not attractive on your border when they see a prosperous ukrainian state, a successful democracy when these to be part of the same state. that means that the russians don't need putin after all. you don't need putin after all. you don't think— don't need putin after all. you don't think instead _ don't need putin after all. you don't think instead of - don't need putin after all. you don't think instead of all—out invasion, obviously he many times there are no plans to invade, you'd end that they will use cyber warfare blocking the vaccine things like that? russia has. it is already used a blockade on cyber attacks on many occasions. actually now been dealing with decades of russian strategic corruption, of russian cyber attacks, of various forms of hybrid warfare. and some of those we have responded to and some have not been responded to as probably as we probably should have. . ~ probably as we probably should have. ., ~ ,., probably as we probably should have. ., ~' ,, , probably as we probably should have. ., ~ y., , . probably as we probably should have. . ~ , . ., have. thank you very much for those details. _ have. thank you very much for those details. thanks - have. thank you very much for those details. thanks a - have. thank you very much for those details. thanks a lot. i have. thank you very much for| those details. thanks a lot. my pleasure- _ my pleasure. let's get some of

the day's other news. the court of arbitration for sport is holding a hearing later on the case of the 15—year—old russian skating sensation, kamila valeeva, who failed a drug test before the beijing olympics. kamila valeeva was part of the olympic gold—medal winning russian team, but she is now waiting to hear whether that result will stand. peru's new environment minister says the spanish oil company, repsol, is not doing enough to clean up the damage caused by an oil leak from one of its refineries a month ago. after visiting some of the affected coastal areas, near the capital, lima. modesto montoya said wildlife was still suffering the impact of the spill. the us government has expressed concern over the continued violence againstjournalists in mexico. heber lopez was shot on thursday — the fifth reporter to be murdered this year. the us embassy in mexico called the shooting a "loathsome" act. mr lopez ran an independent news website specialising in reporting corruption in local government. crowds of protesters opposed to covid restrictions in canada are reported to be building up

again near the ambassador bridge, linking the province of ontario with the us state of michigan. police managed to clear the area of big trucks but a small number of pick up vehicles are still there. the standoff has continued even after a court on friday ordered an end to the demonstration. jessica murphy reports from ottawa. horn honks. it didn't take that many vehicles to block the busiest land border crossing in canada, but it's taking hours for police to clear the ambassador bridge blockade. for the moment, the officers are trying negotiation tactics as they try to get protesters to leave peacefully after six days of demonstrations. their message that they tried to send from the very beginning has clearly lost its way, and i don't think the people here — notjust the police, but i don't think the people in our community or on the other side of the border are interested in hearing it any more. who are you protecting? with a vital trade route interrupted, the province

of ontario declared a state of emergency on friday that brought in penalties like heavy fines and possible jail time for those participating in the blockades. that came into force hours later, alongside a court—granted injunction to remove the protesters. it took just day for the blockade on the ambassador bridge to put a squeeze on supply chains and cause anger on both sides of the border. it's an economic link between the us and canada. hundreds of millions of dollars in trade cross the border there each day. copycat protests in europe and around the world have sprung up in recent weeks, with supporters calling for an end to covid—19 restrictions. this is a grassroots people with their children and their grandparents and parents coming together saying, "hey, you know, like, my rights and my freedoms are being infringed and denied here." drop the mandates, we go home. 15 minutes, we're gone. facing growing pressure from the white house at home, prime ministerjustin trudeau made this vow on friday. so, make no mistake, the border cannot and| will not remain closed. but despite efforts to get dug—in protesters to leave, demonstrations continue nationwide.

protests in ottawa are entering their third week now, with demonstrators and their trucks continuing to block much of the city centre. government officials are meeting to discuss these ongoing protests, but for the moment, there is no clear end in sight. jessica murphy, bbc news, 0ttawa. meanwhile police in paris have fired tear gas to disperse groups of activists attempting to blockade the french capital. hundreds of vehicles were intercepted on the way to the city and more than 300 fines given out. hugh schofield reports from paris. in the early afternoon, 20 or 30 cars managed to get past the police checkpoints and block the champs—elysees at the top end by the arc de triomphe. chanting the occupants flying tricolour flags and chanting anti president macron slogans. there was a tense standoff with police firing tear gas to disperse groups of protesters, scenes similar to if less violent

than the yellow vest protests of three years ago. protesters said they were inspired by the canadian blockades and wanted an end to government covid rules. translation: we've come - from reims, an hour and a half away from paris, to be a part of this freedom convoy. we are here today notjust because we are against the vaccine pass but also because of all the taxes the government is imposing on us. police tow trucks were brought in to remove the protesters' vehicles and traffic was able to resume. but some hours later, as evening set in, there were still small—scale skirmishes down the avenue and more tear gas being fired. the scenes on the champs—elysees may have been reminiscent of the yellow vest movement but, overall, the impact of the french so—called "freedom convoys" has been limited with no serious disturbance to life in the capital.

many of the protesters who'd driven in convoys from points all over france in recent days have said they now intend to continue on to brussels. hugh schofield, bbc news, paris. this is bbc news — our main headlines. us presidentjoe biden warns russian leader vladamir putin that he'll respond with �*severe economic sanctions' if ukraine is invaded. as russian military drills continue with belarus — the kremlin has accused the west of �*hysteria'. let's get more now on our main story. fergal keane is in kyiv and has been speaking to ukrainians at a protest in the city. the event was organised by a right wing nationalist group, but those attending were from across the political spectrum. this is the first real manifestation we've had of public feeling since the anxiety of a possible russian invasion has increased over the last 24 hours. what you can see around me here is people of all ages and seemingly from all sides or all shades of political opinion coming out onto the streets here in a very important place in terms of ukraine's progress to democracy. people saying they will resist any russian intervention. why have you come here?

the main reason is to show the unity of the people before the threat of russian occupation. this is the main reason, that we are all united, because different people, different political positions, different political parties, but today we are altogether because we have a threat of a russian invasion, and that's why we show this to each other, the whole world that we are ready to fight and ready to defend our motherland, our country, that's the reason, actually. i'm here because i want to show that i'm not. terrified by the threat. we are ready to oppose i putin or anyone who wants

yesterday to invade our country even more because you know some regionsj already don't belong to us, - so we are ready to fight by any means that we have. i'm getting some training, but i will fight with any. means i have in my hands. i will do anything my. country asks me to do. medicine, shooting, anything. i love my country, i'm not afraid. - the decision to stage the winter olympics in china has, for some, been controversial. in the us, it's led to acts of protest against china. this, in turn, has led universities to question how they can protect chinese students from rising anti—asian hate crimes, while at the same time protecting free speech. this month at george washington university, posters protesting the beijing olympics were removed from campus, only for the decision to be subsequently reversed.

six chinese dissident artist baduciao who designed some the postersjoins me now from melbourne. this has been designed several months ago and has been exhibiting in a lot of different venues including in italy, in miami, in a lot of locations in prague. this group of work has been growing to a symbol to criticise the chinese government and using this opportunity of the olympics to tell the world the story behind obviously receiving a lot of attack from the chinese government here and there, this recent incident in the united

states university is just another very clear example showing how the chinese government is trying to twist the narrative, trying to cancel legitimate criticism against the chinese government by framing it as some kind of anti—china sentiment of racism. you were directly linked, would you, the decision for george washington university to remove those posters, some of those they have reversed, some of those to the chinese communist party, would you? those to the chinese communist party. would you?— party, would you? exactly because — party, would you? exactly because what _ party, would you? exactly because what happened i party, would you? exactly| because what happened in party, would you? exactly - because what happened in the gw because what happened in the gw is that actually this group called cssa, and it is a group that clearly affiliates with the chinese government. and, in fact, have to highlight that actually, among the chinese student group there, obviously there are two groups. one group is more manipulated and controlled by the chinese government that also there is a group that is seeking a difference. they want to tell the world, the other side of the world, the other side of the chinese government so actually i can reveal that those posters, some of the act of the students are actually from china. it is the chinese students with the poster there

in the first place.— in the first place. attempt comes at _ in the first place. attempt comes at a _ in the first place. attempt comes at a time _ in the first place. attempt comes at a time of- in the first place. attempt - comes at a time of anti-asian comes at a time of anti—asian violence. does it worry you that your workers feeling well, i think there _ that your workers feeling well, i think there is _ that your workers feeling well, i think there is a _ that your workers feeling well, i think there is a very - i think there is a very distinctive difference between criticism against government and discrimination against general people in china. my work is always very clear understanding and targeting the government and it is very easy to tell. 0nly government and it is very easy to tell. only those chinese want to kind of disturb the idea and mixing and creating this misleading information. i think this far right asia hate is a problem in a lot of western countries but also, we should not be silent on china's human rights crimes against minorities or native people like tibetans because the other day, while we want to coal stop

asia hate because we want to call out racism. and in that way we should not be silent on the racism happening in china against those uighurs and tibetans either and i believe only when we are truly seeing what racism means how can we protect ourselves and notjust protect ourselves and notjust protect ourselves and notjust protect ourselves but also anyone suffering then we are really fighting the right cause. . ~' really fighting the right cause. . ~ ,., really fighting the right cause. . ~ ,. y really fighting the right cause. . ~ , . cause. thank you very much indeed for — cause. thank you very much indeed for coming _ cause. thank you very much indeed for coming in - cause. thank you very much indeed for coming in and - indeed for coming in and talking to us about those posters. thousands of people have flocked to venice to celebrate carnival, for the first time in two years. the event usually draws tourists from around the world, but it was curtailed in 2020 as infections soared in italy, and the following year, it was cancelled amid another wave of infections. 0rganisers and attendees hope this year's event will mark a slow return to normality. courtney bembridge has this report. (tx)

carnival is back in venice. this is the carnival of hope. covid is ending and we hope to return to our normal lives with hope and enthusiasm. trans— mac i believe that venice is based on art and therefore it has to start again with art and so we try to make art among people. many had made a great effort but it is a scaled—back affair this year, a hybrid of virtual and in—person events are no big parades. and in-person events are no big arades. ., ., , parades. unfortunately, because ofthe parades. unfortunately, because of the pandemic, _ parades. unfortunately, because of the pandemic, there - parades. unfortunately, because of the pandemic, there are - parades. unfortunately, because of the pandemic, there are few l of the pandemic, there are few people — of the pandemic, there are few people here, but we are here. we are — people here, but we are here. we are the _ people here, but we are here. we are the carnival. we don't need — we are the carnival. we don't need a — we are the carnival. we don't need a organisation, just come here _ need a organisation, just come here and — need a organisation, just come here and have fun. it is beautiful. i here and have fun. it is beautiful.— here and have fun. it is beautiful. ., , ., beautiful. i hope that, the next few _ beautiful. i hope that, the next few days, _ beautiful. i hope that, the next few days, there - beautiful. i hope that, the next few days, there will i beautiful. i hope that, the i next few days, there will be more — next few days, there will be more masks _ next few days, there will be more masks around. - next few days, there will be more masks around. i'm . next few days, there will be i more masks around. i'm glad that— more masks around. i'm glad that there _ more masks around. i'm glad that there are _ more masks around. i'm glad that there are so _ more masks around. i'm glad that there are so many- more masks around. i'm gladi that there are so many people more masks around. i'm glad . that there are so many people i would _ that there are so many people i would like — that there are so many people i would like to _ that there are so many people i would like to see _ that there are so many people i would like to see a _ that there are so many people i would like to see a greater- would like to see a greater carhival_ would like to see a greater carnival atmosphere. - would like to see a greater carnivalatmosphere. it. would like to see a greater carnival atmosphere. [it isi carnival atmosphere. it is estimated _ carnival atmosphere. it is estimated 50,000 - carnival atmosphere.- estimated 50,000 people carnival atmosphere.— estimated 50,000 people visited the city on saturday to mark the city on saturday to mark the start of the celebrations.

i came here with my whole family and masks to celebrate the carnival with all the venetians. good people who have also had great difficulties. today we must have fun, that's all. . , today we must have fun, that's all. ., , ., , , today we must have fun, that's all. ._ , all. italy has 'ust eased the coronavirus — all. italy hasjust eased the coronavirus rules _ all. italy hasjust eased the | coronavirus rules mandating mask wearing outside but these revellers were all too happy to have their masks on. you may have heard of the saying that a dog is a man's best friend. well, one french man has been testing that theory to its limit. afterjust a month and a half of training, he managed to teach his pet dog how to fly. and footage of the two of them taking to the skies together, has, as you might expect, gone viral. tom brada has the story. here's something you definitely don't see every day. this is 0uka the dog and his owner, shams. a video shams posted of the two of them paragliding among the peaks of the french alps has taken off on social media. the first video we did, it did maybe 150 million views. i think most of the people were... like, it's something completely amazing,

and they never saw that before. what gave you the idea to take him paragliding? well, the first thing i noticed is 0uka was not afraid of ice. for example, when we would go hiking, he was standing super on the edge of the cliff, and after that, i started to play with my own glider to teach him that it's ok, it's not scary and he was super fine with it. after that, we checked if he was ok to wear a special harness for flying. so, i teach him to come between my legs on command, so i said "decollage" — it's "take off" in french. and then we ran together andjust run, run, run and we take off. can you describe for me what it was like when you first met each other, when you first got 0uka? before i got 0uka, i was not in my best period of life. like, i was not working so much because of the covid.

i was having, like, some personal issues in my life. and, yeah, iwas, like, fighting a big, big depression, actually. course0uka was not very lucky or so in his life. he has been abandoned two times. the second owner of 0uka, i think they were not taking him outside so much. when they gave him back, he was full of parasites, he was really in bad shape. i think i gave 0uka the life he was needing to have. he pushes me, yeah, to wake up in the morning and to find motivation to do stuff. so, yeah, ithink i need to tell him, like, a big thank you. a their adventures perhaps prove that you can, in fact, teach an old dog new tricks. tom brada, bbc news. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ sipusey.

hello. there is more wind and rain in the forecast, not only for the rest of the weekend, but indeed throughout the coming week. sunday looks like this. heavy rain affecting many parts of the uk, windy weather across the south, lighter winds further north. but on the satellite picture, you can see this shield of cloud racing in from the atlantic. this will bring wet weather to start sunday across western england, wales. the rain quickly getting into northern ireland, northern england and up into southern scotland as well. for east anglia and the south east, the day will start off on a dry note, but rain will arrive here through the afternoon. northern scotland likely to stay mostly dry with some spells of sunshine and just the odd shower, and slightly drier conditions could develop in northern ireland through the afternoon. the winds across northern areas

are relatively light. southern areas, brisk winds. those are the average wind speeds. the gusts could touch 50 mph for english channel coasts. but it will be relatively mild, 7—11 degrees. a very, very soggy sunday evening across east wales, central and eastern parts of england. that rain taking a long time to clear away. some drier conditions will develop out west, but with some showers. a fairly brisk northerly breeze, but i think given the strength of the breeze, it's not going to be a particularly cold night. but low pressure will still be close by into monday morning. showers circulating around that low, some brisk winds. just a little bump in the isobars, a ridge of high pressure just trying to drive things out as it topples in from the west. so, we will see some early rain across southern parts. that will clear to a mix of sunshine and showers. some of those showers wintry in scotland, especially over high ground, but potentially even to lower levels. feeling relatively chilly, i think, on monday given the strength of the breeze. top temperatures between 6—10 degrees. into tuesday, we see another band of rain pushing in from the west, some snow for a time across high ground in scotland and some wintry showers following on behind with some sunny spells in between.

top temperatures on tuesday between 6—11 degrees. it is going to be another windy day, but those winds could well step up a gear as we move into wednesday thanks to this deepening area of low pressure. lots and lots of white lines on the chart here, lots of isobars squeezing together. while the details of this forecast will change, it does look like we could see gales or severe gales in places on wednesday with some heavy bursts of rain. but it will be really mild for a time, turning chillier towards the end of the week.

this is bbc news.

the headlines — us presidentjoe biden warns russian leader vladamir putin of the costs of any invasion, saying that he'll respond with "severe economic sanctions" if ukraine is invaded. moscow has amassed an estimated 100,000 troops along ukraine's border, but denies any intent to invade. many countries — including australia, italy, israel, the netherlands and japan — have told their citizens to leave ukraine. nonessential staff have been ordered to leave the us embassy in ukraine's capital, kyiv. meanwhile, the ukrainian president said invasion warnings could stoke panic, which he called "the best friend of our enemies". canadian police have begun clearing a blockade of the main us border. protesters against covid restrictions had stopped traffic crossing the ambassador bridge, a major link to the us. the self—styled freedom convoy movement was started by canadian truckers opposed to a vaccinate—or—quarantine order for drivers crossing the border. protests have been held

in several towns and cities around the uk to highlight the impact of the cost