this is bbc news with the latest headlines... a russian invasion of ukraine is �*highly likely�*. that's the assessment of the defence secretary ben wallace — comparing some western diplomatic efforts to the appeasement of nazi germany. the us evacuates most of its embassy staff in kyiv as it expects that a russian military incusion could come �*any day'. we cannot trust the words of russians what we have to work with them so we have to find a way that we can work with them to make the situation be diffused. the? we can work with them to make the situation be diffused.— situation be diffused. they say it could come _ situation be diffused. they say it could come any _ situation be diffused. they say it could come any day. _ situation be diffused. they say it could come any day. you - situation be diffused. they say it could come any day. you might. situation be diffused. they say it - could come any day. you might walk and take an unpredictable path and it could bring tremendous hardship and greater insecurity into the

heart of europe. an nhs doctor is arrested on suspicion of child sexual assault — following complaints about examinations of two girls at a hospital in dudley. thirteen people are injured after a mezzanine floor collapses at a pub in east london. switzerland holds a referendum on whether to ban tobacco advertising anywhere young people might see it. the defence secretary, ben wallace, says it's �*highly likely�* vladimir putin will order russian forces to attack ukraine. mr wallace says current diplomatic efforts have �*a whiff of munich in the air ' —a reference to the efforts to make a peace deal with hitler before world war two. russia now has up to 130,000 troops along its border with ukraine. the kremlin has repeatedly denied any plans to invade. here's our political

corresponent charlotte rose. visits to moscow this week by the uk defence secretary ben wallace along with phone calls by the prime minister and us presidentjoe biden seem to have done little to change the minds of russian leaders. and scenes of tanks rolling up to a european border have made some western politicians fearful of history repeating itself. in an interview with the times this morning, mr wallace said the current situation had, "a whiff of munich in the air from some in the west." which many had thought was a reference to attempts by european leaders to appease hitler before the second world war. but it's been stressed that he still believes attempts at diplomacy to de—escalate the situation are important. his cabinet colleague was asked to clarify his remarks. he's not talking about appeasement.

i think the comparison ben was drawing, i know the comparison he was drawing, it was around the attempts for a diplomatic outcome that it turned out adversaries at the time were not really interested in. is he directing this at france, germany? no, no, the point he is making is that we are all working on this to find a diplomatic outcome. labour says it shares the government's concerns about the seriousness of the situation. it is immensely serious and nobody should be naive about what russia is up to. and the scale of the troops amassing on the ukraine border. and that's why i think there has to be this extremely strong and swift and severe economic sanctions, financial sanctions, looking at the energy sector. meanwhile, this morning came this warning from an american foreign policy adviser. war can take an unpredictable path and we think if russia does act - in the way we fear it will, - it will bring tremendous hardship and greater insecurity . into the heart of europe and that is a concern to all of us.

it's a concern to the - united states as a nato ally. brits living in ukraine have been told to leave the country whilst commercial flights are still available. but that's not an option for ukrainian people and the country's president says talk of an invasion is overblown. with the german chancellor due to visit moscow next week, nato allies hope that talking can stop the march towards war. charlotte rose, bbc news. 0ur correspondent in kyiv james waterhouse says despite the threat, life is continuing as normal for many ukrainians. well, the government here has described this information about what could happen as unhelpful, whether it will be a full—scale invasion, an air strike on the capital kyiv, or

otherwise. they have called it less than helpful, but they are striking a defiant tone. the foreign minister says the country's diplomacy, military and economy are all stronger than they were eight years ago when russia first annexed crimea. he also gave an assurance that ukraine would be ready for any scenario. that said, it is a crisp day here. ukrainians are getting on with their sunday as normal, going for a coffee and a walk, completely at odds with the growing urgency in political language by western leaders as well as the growing movement of russian troops along the border as well as to the north, a movement of troops that is getting harder and harder to ignore. i asked ukraine's ambassador to the united kingdom, vadym prystaiko, about the comparison to nazi germany, and whether he believed moscow could negotiate in good faith. how can we believe in what has happened after previous promises about giving up nuclear weapons and

getting out of crimea by 2017, and still 2022 and they are still there are so we cannot believe or trust the words of russians but at the same time we have to work with them, thatis same time we have to work with them, that is diplomacy, so we have to work with them even though we don't trust to find out how the situation can be resolved.— trust to find out how the situation can be resolved. what is the scope for that? i — can be resolved. what is the scope for that? l think _ can be resolved. what is the scope for that? i think we _ can be resolved. what is the scope for that? i think we are _ for that? i think we are unfortunately - for that? i think we are unfortunately reaching| for that? i think we are i unfortunately reaching the for that? i think we are _ unfortunately reaching the moment we are all the cards are already on the table for all the telephone calls, personally, individually, the russians are quite unhappy about the answers on the demands which they put to nato. that they roll back in 1997. everything which was done, maybe something more, but they are reaching a point to the decision has to be made. 15

reaching a point to the decision has to be made-— to be made. is there anyway that ukraine could _ to be made. is there anyway that ukraine could give _ to be made. is there anyway that ukraine could give any _ to be made. is there anyway that ukraine could give any sort - to be made. is there anyway that ukraine could give any sort of. ukraine could give any sort of assurance to moscow in future membership of nato because as things stand it is hard to see how ukraine does become a member of nato in the immediate future.— immediate future. there are so many different realities _ immediate future. there are so many different realities brought _ immediate future. there are so many different realities brought to - immediate future. there are so many different realities brought to the - different realities brought to the table at the same time. they talk about vulnerability and ukraine with possible membership in nato, eastern ukraine, which ukraine is to be pressed to go with a means process so there are different things and if we talk about nato only, ukraine has been trying to get into later for at least 20 years in 2008 that they would become a member, when and how is a decision of the family so all the members have to decide when and if ukraine becomes a member, we get prepared and ask, we don't want to poke a bearfrom lively prepared and ask, we don't want to poke a bear from lively bars, prepared and ask, we don't want to poke a bearfrom lively bars, we just can't find anything better nato and are part of the european part of the globe. t and are part of the european part of the lobe. , ., the globe. t understand the concerns? _

the globe. t understand the concerns? i— the globe. t understand the concerns? i understand - the globe. t understand the concerns? i understand my| the globe. t understand the - concerns? i understand my concerns. we already — concerns? i understand my concerns. we already died. _ concerns? i understand my concerns. we already died, we _ concerns? i understand my concerns. we already died, we are _ concerns? i understand my concerns. we already died, we are not - concerns? i understand my concerns. we already died, we are not a - concerns? i understand my concerns. we already died, we are not a threat| we already died, we are not a threat in russia, what people are doing is already killing us, 13,500 already dead. they are not getting into russian borders, each and every nation from the soviet union and baltic states are fleeing and trying to escape. they have to look in the mirror and understand what is happening. fire mirror and understand what is happening-— mirror and understand what is hauenina.�* , . happening. are they concerned about an extensional _ happening. are they concerned about an extensional threat _ happening. are they concerned about an extensional threat if _ happening. are they concerned about an extensional threat if they - happening. are they concerned about an extensional threat if they become| an extensional threat if they become an extensional threat if they become a member of nato and that increases western... from the soviet states? understand the danger of ukraine the way russians are wrought right now, it is not the russian people, it is a huge territory and not to the resources, maybe this is a danger for vladimir putin and his where you're rolling his own people that ukraine actually become something democratic in something like the west and god forbid you live better than them and their new lost putin

or anything else you do, should they be against all the work, can they be friends or sisters or brothers, huge nations, almost half of the russian population. 12 nations, almost half of the russian --oulation. ' _, , nations, almost half of the russian --oulation. ' , ., nations, almost half of the russian pepulation-— population. 12 countries have now told their children _ population. 12 countries have now told their children to _ population. 12 countries have now told their children to get - population. 12 countries have now told their children to get out - population. 12 countries have now told their children to get out of. told their children to get out of ukraine because of the level of troops, 130,000 on the border, and it's notjust that, is the hardware and the infrastructure around it which indicate they are now in a position to attack any moment and there have been some suggestions that an invasion could come or an aerosol on wednesday, what is your sense of that?— sense of that? some people are scared and _ sense of that? some people are scared and reading _ sense of that? some people are scared and reading the - sense of that? some people are scared and reading the 16, - sense of that? some people are scared and reading the 16, the l sense of that? some people are i scared and reading the 16, the day and thought people off guard and have to understand how they survive this time, they have to see where is the next bomb shelter and at the same time, more ukrainians are getting ready to fight and they have almost 2000 people so they have to look at the territorial defence, no

more... but hunting rifles and guarding their cities so they are unfortunately prepared and the unfortunately prepared and the unfortunate thing is they are living in the nation —— meant leaving the nation, foreigners are leaving so it creates some sort of panic which is not helping us and may be vladimir putin wants exactly the level where we cannot function as a state and we will tell you that he was not encouraging it on his side, never shorter ukrainian soldier, they topple down themselves. [30 shorter ukrainian soldier, they topple down themselves. do you believe the _ topple down themselves. do you believe the 16th _ topple down themselves. do you believe the 16th is _ topple down themselves. do you believe the 16th is looking - topple down themselves. do you believe the 16th is looking like i topple down themselves. do you believe the 16th is looking like a| believe the 16th is looking like a likely date? what is your understanding? i likely date? what is your understanding?- likely date? what is your understanding? i still think something _ understanding? i still think something can _ understanding? i still think something can be - understanding? i still think something can be done - understanding? i still think| something can be done and understanding? i still think- something can be done and this is maybe the united states having better intelligence than us because of their abilities. you want to attack and everyone knows it is already, you cannot do it secretly, this is one of the ways is trying to

diffuse the situation. if this is one of the ways is trying to diffuse the situation.— diffuse the situation. if russia launches an — diffuse the situation. if russia launches an attack _ diffuse the situation. if russia launches an attack or- diffuse the situation. if russia launches an attack or in - diffuse the situation. if russia launches an attack or in baits | diffuse the situation. if russia - launches an attack or in baits with ground troops, it is clear that western countries will not put their own boots on the ground, there are currently nato and other trips but they will not get involved on the ground in ukraine. what is your view of that message being so clear? and so upfront? it is of that message being so clear? and so ufront? , . ., ., ,, ., so upfront? it is clear for you and eve one so upfront? it is clear for you and everyone in _ so upfront? it is clear for you and everyone in the _ so upfront? it is clear for you and everyone in the west _ so upfront? it is clear for you and everyone in the west that - so upfront? it is clear for you and everyone in the west that you - so upfront? it is clear for you and i everyone in the west that you don't want to send your soldiers, no mother would like to send a son or daughter to fight in some distant land but believe me, our mothers also don't want to send the girls and boys to fight. the problem here is that is what russia wants, they want us to stay ourselves, alone in this fight. much bigger economy. i would ask leaders to turn this down.

tell russians that these guys are on their own and you can do whatever you like, we either help with what we are doing or may be in canada, you need to help with some finances which are leaking now for escaping from the country but i would like them to tell them that we all do most of what we can do to help ukraine and not limit the options. an nhs doctor has been arrested on suspicion of child sexual assault — following complaints about examinations of two girls aged seven and 15 — at russells hall hospital in dudley. staffordshire police have now launched a major incident review with the nhs. the 3a year old doctor rejects any allegations that they have committed a criminal act and is co—operating with the investigations. at least 13 people have been injured after a mezzanine floor collapsed at a pub in east london. firefighters rescued seven people who became trapped after the incident

at the �*two more years' bar in hackney wick yesterday. paramedics said three people were seriously hurt and 10 more had minor injuries. hal, a mental health worker from stratford, was on the mezzanine floor went it collapsed. it wasn't what we saw but what we heard. suddenly there was this earthquake—like rumble and before we knew it, suddenly the floor gave away and we all started to sink and quite fast. everyone began to scream, and we tried to process it because you never, ever are prepared for anything like this and thankfully the ambulance arrived within ten minutes or so. votes are being counted in switzerland at the end of a national referendum lasting just two hours on whether to tighten tobacco laws. many people voted in advance by post. the proposals — if passed — would include a ban on advertisements where young people might see them. opponents of the initiative, which include the swiss government and parliament, say it goes too far. 0ur correspondent in bern,

imogen foulkes says an estimated 27 % of the population smoke. these studies show that most of them started when they were teenagers, cigarette are comparatively cheap here compared with other european countries, certainly with the uk, and advertising in some spheres, not on tv but on billboards and at the mass is still permitted, and the campaign is a saying, look, we need to protect our young people, they shouldn't be starting smoking, it is known to be harmful, because almost 10,000 deaths per year in switzerland, time to ban and the results are trickling in now, it looks as if voters have gone along with that and it looks like around 57 or 58% of voters are saying yes to a ban on advertising, going

further actually than the government wanted them to. is further actually than the government wanted them to.— wanted them to. is there a feeling this may be _ wanted them to. is there a feeling this may be the — wanted them to. is there a feeling this may be the first _ wanted them to. is there a feeling this may be the first step - wanted them to. is there a feeling this may be the first step in - wanted them to. is there a feeling this may be the first step in a - this may be the first step in a greater push back against smoking? there is public health tobacco prevention going on in switzerland with e—cigarettes you buy here having the big warnings, smoking kills on them as well, but we also have the world's biggest tobacco companies having their headquarters year contributing to the swiss economy and making a lot ofjobs but this may be one of the reasons that the swiss government is not so keen basically to put a blanket ban on what the health minister of all people said it is you cannot have a blanket ban on advertising a legal product but the swiss voters are thinking, you know what, we know better than the government on this one and we want a blanket ban and to

protect our young people, and early days what it looks like that will be the outcome. days what it looks like that will be the outcome-— the outcome. 1:15pm. our headlines... _ a russian invasion of ukraine is �*highly likely�*. that�*s the assessment of the defence secretary ben wallace — comparing some western diplomatic efforts to the appeasement of nazi germany. but the ukrainian ambassador to the uk said it wasn�*t the best time to offend partners. an nhs doctor is arrested on suspicion of child sexual assault — following complaints about examinations of two girls at a hospital in dudley. thirteen people are injured after a mezzanine floor collapses at a pub in east london. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, it is hugh. england have never lost a rugby match to italy... and they wouldn�*t want to start now... with defeat in their opening match of the six nations against scotland meaning they can�*t afford to do the same again this afternoon in rome.eddiejones has made wholesale changes to the team, eight in total, harry randall will replace ben youngs

at scrum—half and earn his third england cap. attack coach martin gleeson has promised that england will play their own game, and use the defeat against scotland in a positive way. you learn, you figure things out and think you can get better and you learn, you play more, you probably learned more in a defeat then you do in victory and i think in the long run, it could be good for us but there was a lot of learning from that and a lot of things to take forward this week. aberdeen have sacked stephen glass following their exit from the scottish cup yesterday. they were beaten at motherwell, and that meant they were out of all three cup competitions. glass was already under pressure, with the side ninth in the premiership. he�*d been in thejob for less than a year. it�*s derby day in the women�*s super league as manchester city host manchester united at the academy stadium in the eary kick—off.

it�*s still goalless approaching half time... city should be ahead. lauren hemp sent this effort over the bar. manchester united have never beaten city in the league. but they�*re currently three places above them. that match is on bbc two right now. a week on from winning the africa cup of nations with senegal, sadio mane could be back in liverpool colours today in their game away at burnley. mane scored the winning penalty in the shootout against egypt in the final and if that wasn�*t enough, he�*s having a stadium named after him in south—west senegal. liverpool bossjurgen klopp says that the 29 year old forward returns to merseyside on a different level. he 100% made a massive stamp, great player, outstanding world—class player, outstanding world—class player when he left for the tournament but he comes back as a leader on a different level. good for him, good for senegal but i was really impressed by the way he handled the situation.

one of the features of these beijing winter olympics is the need for fake snow. not today... as the challenging conditions caused havoc... but the men�*s giant slalom did go ahead — marking the appearance of one of the games�* more unlikely competitors. andy swiss reports. and he�*s out. and he's out. a day when just and he's out. a day when 'ust sta in: and he's out. a day when 'ust staying upright i and he's out. a day when 'ust staying upright deserves h and he's out. a day when just staying upright deserves a - and he's out. a day when just l staying upright deserves a gold medal. amid appalling conditions, nearly half the giant slalom field didn�*t even make it down and of those who did, switzerland�*s marco managed fastest to take victory. for the olympic title. but it was the man who did it the slowest that shared the limelight, benjamin alexander is a former dj who only started skiing when he was 32 and now jamaica�*s first of a alpine skierfinished over one minute behind the winner but his place in olympic folklore was guaranteed. it was the hardest race course i've was the hardest race course i�*ve ever been on. my back was aching, legs are aching, i had some

treatment with the physio. still not enough. i need a hot bath.- enough. i need a hot bath. heavy snow are certainly _ enough. i need a hot bath. heavy snow are certainly causing - enough. i need a hot bath. heavy snow are certainly causing some l snow are certainly causing some disruption and you�*re meant to have qualifying for the slopestyle skiing here but that had to be postponed. fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow. and on a good day to stay indoors, britain�*s curlers enjoy themselves with both the men�*s and women�*s teams winning their latest matches. meanwhile the 15—year—old russian skater camilla weaver trained this morning ahead of... she will find out morally she can compete —— an actual find will find out morally she can compete —— an actualfind out tomorrow whether she can continue to compete. that meeting under way. andy mentioned the curling there — and the gb men are back in action, against denmark — they�*re reading after five ends 4—1. british super—middleweight

john ryder is in line for a shot at a world title, after a stunning victory over danieljacobs at alexandra palace in london. jacobs, a two—time world champion, dominated the opening six rounds but ryder came back to win by a split decision. he described it as "mentally gruelling". it was an eliminator for the undisputed champoin saul �*canelo�* alvarez�*s wba belt. promoter eddie hearn said ryder would hopefully now get a chance to fight for it. there is football on bbc two and continuing baiting winter olympic games action on bbc one but that. —— that�*s it from me. the public inquiry into the wrongful convictions of post office branch managers begins tomorrow. more than 700 sub—postmasters were given criminal convictions and some were jailed after being wrongly accused of stealing from their own tills when a computer software issue was responsible. ahead of the inquiry the sub—postmaster thought to have been given the longest prison sentence, has been talking to our business

correspondent colletta smith. harjinder butoy ran a post office with his wife in nottinghamshire, but he�*s spent the last 1a years fighting to clear his name. charged with stealing £208,000, he was sentenced to three years and three months in prison for a crime he didn�*t commit. they found me guilty on ten counts out of the 11. that�*s when everything just... like you�*re hearing voices in the background while the charges are being read. it was horrible. were your family there in court? sorry... yeah. i can still hear it from this day, that cell door slamming behind me. with three children under ten, her husband sent to prison, her own news agency business in ruins, balbinder has suffered just as much.

it destroyed me. me, the kids. i had nobody. for years, the butoys have been told by the post office that there wasn�*t a problem with the accounting system. but there was. a big problem. and that�*s what this public inquiry is supposed to get to the bottom of. who in the post office knew? and why did they continue to blame and prosecute sub—postmasters? the company who sold the software to the post office was fujitsu. jez thompson used to work for them, training sub—postmasters on the new computer system as it was rolled out nationwide. when we did start to get towards, you know, the real meat end of the training, when we were teaching them how to do the closing of accounts at the end of the month, then we did find and discover a few faults. we could never reckon up everything to be exact. more often than not, it was wrong, yeah.

and those reports were always passed up through our managers to fujitsu services and i would imagine to the post office, saying there is still a fault on the live system. the post office have again said they are sorry and that their first priority is providing full, fair and final compensation, but that�*s not what harjinder wants. i want somebody on the other side to be charged and jailed like i was. they are the ones who signed the final paperwork off. they are the ones who knew if there were any faults on the system or not. you were fighting this for 1h years. does it still feel like you are fighting this?— yeah, it does to me. harjinder butoy ending that report there by colletta smith. the mayor of london, sadiq khan, has said in a article in the observer that he will oppose the appointment of a new metropolitan police commissioner, until they understand the scale of the force�*s "cultural problems" and have a "robust plan" to deal with them. dame cressida dick resigned from the role on thursday after mr khan made clear he no

longer had confidence in her. the shadow home secretary yvette cooper told the bbc that reforms were needed across the uk police service, notjust in the metropolitan force it's it�*s worth stressing this is not about one individual or one police force solving this, you have seen billy scott and other forces as well, there is a real perfect song facing policing right now and it is a serious one. you have a situation where crime is going up prosecutions are going down, confidence is falling and there is a legacy of damaging cup and also these individual toxic cases around the culture and the need to be a proper serious programme of reform for policing and i strongly believe in the british policing model policing by consent and i think that is something we should be proud of. we should stand up for it. the home

secretary has been silent on policing every purely your pique to reforms to policing that we need labour has set out a plan that would do that including reforms to training and vetting, to misconduct and making sure that violence against women and girls with strategic policing requirement, including with policing in the oval office so you can challenge any... to make sure policing of the country can be safe. too many feel they are not. 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 because of covid and cancelled the following year. courtney bembridge has this report. after two years of covid—19 cancellations, carnival is back in venice. translation: this is the carnival of hope. l covid—19 is ending and we hope

to return to our normal lives with hope and enthusiasm. 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 have made a great effort, but it is a scaled—back affair this year, a hybrid of virtual and in—person events and no big parades. translation: unfortunately, because of the pandemic, there are few - people here, but we are here. we are the carnival. we do not need a big organisation. just come here and have fun — it�*s beautiful. i hope that in the next few days, there will be more masks around. i am glad that there are so many people, but i would like to see a carnival atmosphere. it is estimated 50,000 people visited the city on saturday to mark the start of the celebrations. translation: | came here i with my whole family in masks to celebrate the carnival with all the venetians. good people who have also had great difficulties. today, we must have fun and that is all. italy has just eased the coronavirus rules mandating mask—wearing outside, but

these revellers were all too happy to have their masks on. it�*s the biggest day of the year for american football fans — as they gear up for super bowl 56. with a crowd of more than 70—thousand and more than 100 million people expected to watch around the world — the adverts and the famous half—time show are as important as the game itself. sophie long reports from the city hosting tonights match — los angeles. the first super bowl was played in los angeles in 1967. now football�*s coming home — to a brand—new stadium which just happens to be the most expensive

sporting venue on the planet. a spectacular backdrop for the grand finale of this quintessential american sport. it�*s unbelievable. as soon as the kick—off happens, you just feel like you�*re almost in a movie. you know? no—one can believe... the tickets, by the way, are like $7,000. itjust feels like you�*re in the most exclusive nightclub in the history of the world. right? and you�*ll see the most famous people in the world sitting in the upper deck. with ticket prices like that, of course, not everyone can go. we are super excited to be going to the game on sunday. and how do they feel that you are going to get to go and you�*re not taking them? it's so unfair! so there's some conflict at home but we have told them that the super bowl is not for them, but that we're definitely going to take them to another game next season. catherine? with an audience that could exceed 100 million, super bowl commercials are a huge star—studded affairs, with 30—second slots selling for millions. watch the coffee. and then, of course, there is the half—time show. # in the city... you got snoop dogg, maryj, dr dre, eminem and kendrick lamar. it doesn't get any better than that. if # guess who's back?

i�*ve been keeping it all the way are real. i�*m not trying to be egotistical or anything like that, but who else could do this show here in la? mm—hm. no—one. that's a fact. who else could perform the half—time show other than these amazing artists that we have put together for this thing? but the spectacular is taking place in a city with rising crime and a homelessness crisis. many encampments have been cleared, leading to claims that some of the thousands living on the streets are being shoved into the shadows. this is a sense of community for them, and it may be hard for those of us that are housed to think through that, but there is a hierarchy, there are belongings. so when they're asked to move and they're forced out of that community,

even if it is on the street, it creates additional trauma.