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 of living crisis on workers and theirfamilies. the austerity campaign group the people's assembly co—ordinated the demonstrations, supported by trades unions. inflation, the measure of how quickly prices are rising, is at a 30—year high amid steep increases in the cost of fuel, heating and food. yet official inflation figures look at a wide range of goods, notjust food, so can often mask some steep rises seen at the supermarket tills, especially on everyday items. new data for the bbc suggests that a basket of mid—range groceries has gone up in price by 8% in just one year. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. charlotte jessops, a money—saving blogger. she hosts a monthly zoom session, passing on tips. thank you for coming. we're going to be talking about the rising costs of food. my shopping bill for me and my partner has gone up at least £20 a week.

the bread, even the, you know, the lower end brand has- gone up like 20, 30p. everyone�*s shopping basket is different. we looked at some popular items. take a pack of spaghetti. it's gone up by an average of 41% since last year. a tin of tomatoes has jumped 21%. and a jar of strawberry jam up by 20%. in the cheapest range, the prices were also up, but not by as much. this is a once—in—a—generation moment forfood price inflation in this country. this is just the start. it's going to go on for two, two—and—a—half years, probably, as various costs and problems filter through into the system and are accommodated. here in the aisles, the battleground is all about price. the supermarkets are grappling with how much of their costs to pass on, but if they put their prices up too much, shoppers will vote with their feet. this business is hoping to nab some of them.

poundland's biggest store opening in nottingham today. feels like a supermarket. are you after more of the weekly shop? yeah, absolutely we are. and that's why we're providing all these new categories, fresh foods, produce. but costs are rising across his supply chain, too. high single—figure inflation is what we're facing. that doesn't mean that our shoppers have to face that as well. so, you know, i'm not a magician, not paul daniels. i can't magic all of this stuff away, but what i can do is work as hard as i can on behalf of shoppers to make sure that we mitigate as much as we can to protect them. that may be, but overall food prices are moving in one direction, and that's up. emma simpson, bbc news, nottingham. now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show. in the past few decades, the skyline of doha, qatar's capital city,

has changed beyond recognition. the discovery of oil in the 19305, and then natural gas in the early 19705, marked a seismic change in the fortunes of qatar. and at a turbocharged pace, qatar's hopes, dreams and buildings have risen high above the desert sands. since this small but mighty gulf nation won the right to host the fifa world cup back in 2010, it has spent billions on state—of—the—art stadia and infrastructure. and with the first match set to kick off this november, all eyes will be on qatar as it makes history, becoming the first ever middle eastern country to host the world cup. and i am here to meet

some real players, both on and off the pitch. i asked someone here how much each of these were worth, and his answer was "priceless". this is the perspective that players will have as they walk out onto the game for the first match of the tournament here at the al bayt stadium. and this may be historic, but for some it is also a controversial world cup. what we sometimes suffer from as a country, that people actually would makejudgements without actually listening to the other side, or actually try to search for the truth before they make their own opinion.

it's hard to believe how far and how fast qatar has developed. but this is a place that has always relished defying expectations. roughly the same size as yorkshire in the united kingdom, qatar is a mainly desert landscape, surrounded by the gulf on three sides. it hasn't been the easiest of places to prosper. historically it was the arduous task of pearl diving that was qatar's main economy — until, that is, the

discovery of oil and gas. oil workers arriving in the 19405 brought with them a game to play in their spare time. that sport has now brought the focus of the world to qatar. and that game was the beautiful game — football. as hosts, qatar qualified automatically for the world cup. they will make their first ever appearance at the tournament. almoez ali is a striker for the qatar national team, and he hopes to become a household name when the competition kicks off this november. he says qatar may be seen as underdogs, but thinks this is a side who should not be written off just yet.

in december 2021, qatar hosted the fifa arab cup. using the new world cup stadia, this competition acted as a warm—up for this year's big tournament. and the qatar national team actually won the third—place play—off. from a personal level, what was it like to play in the arab cup?

when qatar first won the world cup bid, critics pointed to its lack of footballing tradition. but almoez ali believes the dream of playing in a world cup is a universal dream for every footballer across the world.

but what else does qatar have to offer? well, you don't have to drive far out of the city of doha for the roads to end and the sands to begin. explorers from across time talk about the arabian desert as a place of hardship. 0h! some, like the 1930s adventurer bertram thomas, went even as far as to call it the "abode of death". qatar had a long and proud history before discovering oil and gas, and it was learning to cope with this hot and harsh environment that helped to shape the country for those who call the desert home. living here, they carved out their culture, instilled their traditions and created

the nomad lifestyle. people who would come to be known as the bedouin. temperatures can reach as high as 50 degrees celsius in qatar during the summer months. in the winter, when the weather is cooler, mohammad al—ghethani and his family built traditional bedouin tents in the desert to get back to their roots. why is it important for you to do this?

so, qatar today is very different to how it was when the bedouins well, like you were talking, were in the desert. how can bedouin culture connect with modern qatar?

if it's a real taste of bedouin culture you want to experience, thenjanuary hosts a month—long falcon festival called marmi. if you had to compare being a spectator at a football match and a spectator here, how similar are they? this is more exciting than football? yes. ali al—mehsadi organises the festival, and tells me that falconry is more than just a hobby here, it is a way of life, and it's recognised by unesco as living human heritage.

one of the most popular events at marmi sees the falconer and falcons getting in touch with their bedouin past. over a two—kilometre distance, each falcon hunts a pigeon, replicating days gone by when falcons were used to help hunt for food in the desert. the festival is broadcast to a national tv audience and has impressive prizes ranging from brand—new cars, to huge amounts of prize money. with so much at stake, marmi is a one—stop shop for all your falconry needs, from gps trackers to remote planes, used to teach falcons their craft.

and it is even a place to train the falconers themselves. bit it with my mouth? yes. wow, so i put my mouth here... close it, yes. and same one, right hand... laughs. 0k, again, again. after the birds retire from competition, they are kept by their falconer or released into the wild to breed. during their career, a top falcon can be worth up to1 million qatari riyals, which works out roughly at £200,000. bite, bite, more, more! 0k. finished. done it! i am a successful falcon handler! how do you know that the falcon is happy and healthy? this one, same as my son. this one is the same one from my family.

i like this one, i give him everything, i take care about this falcon. when he is sick i take him to the emergency hospital or something, to be checked this one, what has happened. because i take care about this falcon, the same i take care about my children. after arriving back at the city of doha, it was as if i had spent too long in the hot desert sun. i was greeted with what seemed to be a mirage. a herd of almost identical white arabian horses, running around in front of me. i asked someone here how much each of these were worth, and his answer was "priceless". established by the ruling royal family, this world—class equestrian centre, al shaqab,

is built on the site of a battle which took place in 1893 between the bedouins and the ottomans. the battle would eventually lead to qatar's independence, and was won thanks to the speed and bravery of the arabian horse. the vision of this place is simple — to breed and train arabian horses in their homeland to win a whole host of equestrian competitions across the globe. these pure—breds, like al sakr here, are essentially treated like sporting superstars. nothing but the best for them! across the water from the corniche�*s towering skyscrapers is the souq waqif. its mud—rendered buildings and labyrinthine streets

act as a juxtaposition to the state—of—the—art construction projects happening around it. but this is the beating heart of doha. over the centuries, merchants would sail straight into this place where the sea lapped at its stone streets, or they crossed miles of desert to meet others and sell their wares, and that's the role it still plays today. and even the camels have stuck around! this place is as traditional as it gets in qatar. in a conservative and somewhat male—dominated society, chef shams al-qassabi is a trailblazer.

shams is the souq waqif�*s first ever businesswoman and she made her mark by opening her restaurant, shay al—shoomos, selling authentic qatari cuisine. 0h! you can taste the lemon. mmm.

mmm! spicy! mmm! wow! strong! it has a tang. oh, i like this! oh, if you're giving me some more, i will have some more! thank you. the taste is so distinctive. herfood is pretty tasty, but don'tjust take my word for it — the walls of her restaurant are a who's who not just of qatari culture but international supermodels... just here. gisele, the supermodel. yes! ..hollywood stars... this is my qatari mother. she is saying that this is my qatari mother. wow. ..and football legends. david beckham. this is number one! very good. he very, very nice. very good, yes. and friendly. is he handsome? gentleman. is he handsome? you would think he's handsome? nice! his manners. yes, this is very... she is like, "why are you asking about this?" i'm very shallow!

i'm like this. i just care about looks! the world cup stadia are a perfect example of where old meets new, from designs inspired by boats from qatar's pearl fishing days to a whole stadium made to look like a giant traditional headdress. and the opening match of the competition will be played here, at the 60,000—seater al bayt stadium. this is the perspective the players will have as they walk out onto the game for the first match of the tournament here at the al bayt stadium. perfect, pristine conditions. it is inspired by the bedouin tent and like in the past, i mean, like, this is, i mean, usually the people who are living in the desert, when they welcome their guest, you can see, i mean, they would host them, they would have, like,

the bonfire and, you know, welcome them and for us, i mean, like, choosing it to be the opening of the world cup, it has this symbolic, because this is where the arab usually would be welcoming their guest. the stadium has almost everything a fan or player could hope for. temperatures may be cooler when things kick off here in november, but in case it gets a bit too hot, there's air conditioning, notjust in the stands, but on the pitch itself. meaning that the temperature on the pitch will be a very comfortable 19—21 degrees. one of the first things the players will see when they arrive here is this mural. look closely and you'll see it is made up of faces of workers who helped to build this stadium. qatari nationals make up less than 15% of the country's population, so the economy relies heavily on workers from abroad. and one dark cloud hanging over the build—up to this event

has been press reports about the deaths of migrant workers involved in the construction of the world cup sites. and although the qatari authorities strongly dispute the figures, they say that the world cup has been a catalyst to push through reforms. looking at a young country, and even when you want to change policy and procedures, and even when you put the policy and procedures, the implementation of it, it's a journey and you can see like there is progress happening when it comes to their accommodation, to their wage — protection of their wages, as well as, like, i mean now, i mean with the abolishing of the kafala law, people can actually change jobs and we have introduced like a new minimum wage in the country, so there has been progress. always actually take constructive criticism on board. there is more room to actually progress, but i mean, like, i do believe this is — will be one of the biggest social legacies of the world cup. they're expecting over a million fans to attend this year's world cup, but some people ask will everybody be welcome?

for us, i mean, like, everyone is welcome and what we actually ask people is to respect our culture and our tradition. i mean, public displays of affection, whether it is heterosexual or it was — or homosexual, it's something people frown upon here in qatar, so what we will ask people going to come and enjoy the game but at the same time, actually respect the local custom and tradition of the country. last year's arab cup proved that qatar knew how to host a major sporting event, but what about the fans who like to cheer on their team with a drink in hand? first, i mean, alcohol is not a part of our culture, but hospitality is. alcohol is available in a licensed hotel and during the tournament, there will be a designated area where people can — who would want to actually consume alcohol — can actually watch a football match and have a drink.

away from the news reports is a whole nation of people waiting in anticipation to see what will happen when the biggest football tournament on earth arrives on qatar's shores later this year. and i, for one, want to know what it means to those who call this country home.

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.

hello and welcome to bbc news. 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. 0ur north america editor, sarah smith, is 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