germany becomes the latest nation to warn of a serious threat to peace in europe — as fears of a russian invasion of ukraine persist. it comes as the uk defence secretary drew parallels between present diplomacy and the failure of talks before world war two. a colleague defended him. he's expressing the fear that russia may not be as genuine around that diplomatic outcome and the diplomatic engagement as we hope they are. we have a special report from the eastern ukrainian port of mariupol — which could be vulnerable if russia does attack. and the other main stories on tonight's programmme. wrongly imprisoned for fraud — as the public inquiry into the post office computer scandal starts this week, we speak to an innocent man unfairlyjailed. a return home after a 50 year exile — why these people from islands in the indian ocean are at the centre of a land dispute

between britain and mauritius. and a convincing win for england against italy in the six nations rugby. good evening. germany has become the latest western nation to warn publicly of an imminent russian invasion of ukraine, with the german chancellor saying there was a "serious threat to peace in europe." olaf scholz is to travel to moscow this week, in another attempt to defuse tensions. here, the defence secretary ben wallace has caused controversy, by suggesting that current diplomatic efforts had �*a whiff of munich' about them — a reference to a peace deal made with hitler before

the second world war. russia now has up to 130,000 troops along ukraine's border, although moscow has said in repeated statements that there are no plans to invade. ukraine's ambassador to britain criticised mr wallace's remarks, saying it wasn't the best time to offend partners. here's our political correspondentjonathan blake. taking steps to bring russia back from the brink. the defence secretary, ben wallace, has been holding talks in moscow this week to avoid a possible russian invasion of ukraine. russia denies it is planning for that, but with more troops moving to its border with the country some fear diplomacy may be futile. in an interview with the sunday times, ben wallace said the current situation had a whiff of munich in the air from some in the west. a reference to attempts in the german city to appease hitler before world war ii. some saw it as criticism of allies taking a softer approach.

a cabinet colleague disagreed. he's not talking about appeasement, the comparison ben was drawing on, i know the comparison, it was around the attempts for a diplomatic outcome that it turned out adversaries at the time weren't really interested in... is he directing this at france, at germany? who is he directing this to? no, the point ben is making is that we are all working on this to find a diplomatic outcome but he is expressing a fear that russia might not be as genuine around that diplomatic engagement as we hoped they are. labour says it shares the government's concern. 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. that's why i think there has to be this strong and swift and severe economic sanctions, financial sanctions, including the energy sector. drawing a parallel with events in the build up to world war ii is bound to get attention. and regardless of the subtleties of the defence secretary's points, it's a reminder of the seriousness with which the uk and others are taking this situation, and a warning that whatever

diplomatic efforts they pursue president putin's mind may already be made up. the german chancellor, olav schultz, will travel to kyiv tomorrow and on to moscow for talks with president putin. translation: he again warned i of a strong reaction and immediate sanctions if russia invades. in south—eastern poland more us troops and equipment arrived in a show of support for america's nato allies bordering ukraine. while diplomacy continues, the white house warned again, russian military action could come any day. jonathan blake, bbc news. this evening, ukraine has called for a meeting with russia over the escalating tensions. tens of millions of ukrainians are living with the threat of a major eruption of war — and particularly communities along the borders, close to where russia has amassed its troops. our international correspondent orla

guerin has travelled to the south—east of the country, near territory already held by russian—backed separatists, to talk to residents of mariupol. it's feared that a russian invasion here could create a corridor from russia to the crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014. choir sings a hymn. in ukraine, there is much to pray for. a nation that could be days from a devastating war if the worst fears in london and washington are realised. at this ukrainian orthodox service in the city of mariupol, they remembered their soldiers on the front line. father roman is a military chaplain. he says it is president putin who should be worried. "i think these are the final convulsions of the russian regime," he told me.

"i hope people understand they shouldn't die for this regime." some here have faith that the worst can be averted, that there is still time. "i think diplomatically, somehow, we will overcome this crisis," irina tells me. "i don't think that all russians support this kind of aggression towards ukraine." russia insists it won't invade. if it does, mariupol is within easy reach. this strategic port city is about 30 miles from the russian border, and kremlin—backed separatists are closer still. so sunday afternoon is now time to get to grips with an ak—47. weapons in young hands.

what might the future bring for her? civilians lining up for a few hours�* military training with the national guard. the international warnings are getting more and more ominous. despite this, many here in ukraine still say they don't believe that president putin will invade. some, though, have come here to take up this basic weapons training. they say they want to be readyjust in case. and that very much includes valentina, who is 78. a granny with a gun. translation: i am a very peaceful person and i can. forgive a lot of things. i can give away everything, but when something is taken against my will, when an invader comes, i will resist and i will be furious.

for now, just a training exercise, but soon it might be real. one commander here says he believes president putin's men are coming, but ukraine will fight them all the way. it will be not an easy war for them. but you think he will try to invade? maybe, yes. the risks are very high, really. and soon? i think it will be... it may be started in a few days. there is a sense of peril for ukraine and its people, like five—year—old jaroslav. a sense that danger is closing in. orla guerin, bbc news, mariupol. our diplomatic correspondent

james landale is here. where do we stand tonight, james? this is the week the united states says based on the intelligence it's got that russia could invade ukraine, something it denies. jake sullivan said today it could come any day with what he called a significant barrage of missiles and bomb attacks. some airlines are suspending flights to ukraine, some governments are withdrawing diplomats. despite all of that the diplomacy continues, germany's new chancellor will go to moscow on tuesday to meet president to ten. nato defence ministers are meeting ministers at the united nations. the talking continues to try to find a diplomatic solution. the mood is great. russia has accused the uk and the us of conducting a propaganda war and the the us of conducting a propaganda warand the ukrainians the us of conducting a propaganda war and the ukrainians have summoned the russians to explain their actions. all the while this takes

place, the confrontation continues and how the next phase plays out is really unclear. {lila and how the next phase plays out is really unclear.— really unclear. 0k, james, many thanks. really unclear. 0k, james, many thanks- james — really unclear. 0k, james, many thanks. james landale. - canadian police say they've cleared the remaining protesters blocking a key bridge between canada and the united states, after a week of disruption. despite a court order to end the occupation, trucks and cars had blocked the ambassador bridge in ontario — which is north america's busiest land border crossing. the demonstrators oppose covid restrictions and sparked copycat protests around the world. a public inquiry into the wrongful convictions of hundreds of post office branch managers begins tomorrow. more than 700 sub—postmasters were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a flaw in the computer system they were using. the sub—postmaster thought to have been given the longest prison sentence has been talking to our business correspondent, colletta smith. i want somebody on the other side to be charged and jailed like i was.

harjinder butoy ran a post office with his wife in nottinghamshire, but he's spent the last 14 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 ii. 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. it's very, very hard when you know you've not done anything. 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 account 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? absolutely. 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. he wants someone in the post office to be held to account. they're 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 14 years. does it still feel like you're fighting this? yeah. yeah, it does to me. that's the hope for hundreds of victims of the post office as this inquiry begins the long process of hearing and understanding their stories. colletta smith, bbc news

and nottinghamshire. the remote chagos islands, in the indian ocean, have been under british control for 50 years — but now mauritius, which used to have jurisdiction of them, is trying to claim them back. it has — for the first time — sent a boat to the islands and raised the mauritian flag. the united nations says britain must hand the archipelago back to mauritius — but the uk refuses to do so while america uses one of the islands for a military base. when britain took over the chagos islands, it expelled the local population of around 2,000 people. now, some of those who've been in exile for decades have returned for a visit to their former home, along with a group of scientists on a research trip. our africa correspondent andrew harding joined them, and is the firstjournalist to broadcast from the chagos islands. farfrom anywhere, a hidden archipelago. these isolated islands have been strictly off—limits

for half a century. boat horn blasts. but today, rare access — and a remarkable homecoming. these chagos islanders were forced to leave by britain in the early 1970s. as their feet touch home sand, the emotions surge. this woman was just 21 and pregnant when the british killed her dog and ordered her to leave. "i'm happy to be allowed home," she says, "but sad that i can't stay." this is a short visit, and there is work to be done. it feels to me like somebody who comes home after a long break and wants to tidy up — is that how you feel? of course, you know, as i said, there's not a better place

than where you were born, where you lived. and now, the group heads inland — the empty decades have turned their thriving village into a lost world. in the ruins of the old church, the mood turns to anger. i'm very angry at the behaviour of the uk government, who didn't respect the fundamental rights of my people. do you feel you've been denied your life here? yes, of course! britain still claims sovereignty over all these ruins, citing security concerns about a nearby american military base. but international law now says britain must let the islanders return permanently, and must not cling onto a piece of its old empire. the international court ofjustice has ruled they have a right to come back — and that failure to allow them to come back is a continuing wrong. actually, i think not allowing people to return to their homes is recognised as a crime against humanity, and it

needs to be sorted out. and so, officials from mauritius now prepare their flagpole, boldly staking claim to the chagos archipelago. we are asking britain to wake up i to the reality of the situation, i that their position is untenable. it is extraordinary to think that these exquisite islands have been cut off from the outside world for half a century. and this visit by the mauritian government has challenged and maybe changed that. it is very difficult now to imagine britain clinging onto its hidden archipelago for that much longer. as for the islanders, they plan to come back here soon — and perhaps for good.

andrew harding, bbc news, on the chagos islands. with all the sport now, here's olly foster at the bbc sport centre... england have their first win in rugby union's six nations championship. victory was always expected against italy but after last weekend's defeat to scotland the performance was just as important as the 33 unanswered points they scored in rome. nesta mcgregor reports. if england were out of tune last week, then italy are often the perfect opponents to get you back on song. the olympic stadium in rome pitch—perfect to conduct a masterpiece. a breakthrough didn't take long. marcus smith opening the scoring. the fly—half is dubbed as one for the future, but not a bad present as he turns 23 tomorrow. as expected, england produced a dominant first half. two more tries from their number two jamie george made it convincing at the break. the performance of eddiejones's

group must have been music to his ears. england would put more points on the board, but the second half was always going to be about ben youngs — this appearance a men's record 114th cap, thejoint—most alongside world cup—winning propjason leonard. hardly a classic, then, but a performance which hit a few of the right notes. experienced players, they are coming back into the team and they want to be part of it. they can feel there is something exciting happening and they want to be part of it and the young guys are pushing them hard. next for the england bandwagon, wales at twickenham. they will be harder to beat. nesta mcgregor, bbc news. there were four matches in the premier league today, all of the goals are coming up after the news, but stay right there if you'd like the results. liverpool are doing what they can to stay in touch with manchester city. fabinho scored the only goal of the game against burnley,

it was their fourth league win in a row, which means they are once again nine points behind city with a game in hand. newcastle united have made it three wins in a row to move four points clear of the relegation zone. they beat aston villa i—0. wolves also won today at tottenham. kurt zouma was again named in west ham's starting line—up despite being investigated by the rspca and essex police for animal cruelty. however, the french defender was taken ill before kick—off and played no part in their 2—2 draw at leicester. celtic are into to the scottish cup quarterfinals. they beat raith rovers 4—0 liam scales scored the pick of their goals against the championship side, the opener midway through the first half. the quarterfinal draw is tomorrow. hibs also made it through today beating arbroath. it was the manchester derby in the women's super league and city have moved up to fifth in the table following their 1—0 win over united. substitute caroline weir with the one moment of real quality in the match. united have dropped to fourth

after today's results. great britain's curlers are still on course for the semi—finals at the winter olympics. the women lie third in the standings after victory over denmark, and the men's team played twice today, edging out china and they also faced denmark, beating them comfortably 8—2. they're second in their round robin group with four more to play. the top four go through to the medal matches. heavy snow and fog saw a number of events postponed in the mountains. the men's giant slalom did go ahead after a delay, but 33 of the 87 starters failed to finish. you can keep on top of winter olympics on the bbc sport website. the british curlers are back in action tomorrow, the men taking on the swiss and the women canada, and in the next few hours you'll be and in the next few hours you'll be able to follow super bowl 56 in la, the rams against the bengals. that's all from me. now on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. goodbye.

hello, this is bbc news. i'm samantha simmons. swiss voters appear to have backed a plan to ban virtually all advertising of tobacco products. campaigners have long argued that the country was lagging behind the rest of europe on this matter. imogen foulkes reports from bern. for years, switzerland has lagged behind its european neighbours when it comes to tobacco prevention. 27% of adults smoke — most start when they are teenagers. advertising on billboards, shops, and in the cinemas is allowed, but today, swiss voters said yes to a total ban. translation: | voted -

in favour of banning tobacco advertising on minors. the only argument for the opponents was that the swiss economy might collapse, but it seems more important to me to protect children from tobacco. we constantly hear of people ending up in hospitals, having huge health issues or dying — and yet advertising is still here because of the money, as always. the world's biggest tobacco companies are based in switzerland. days before the vote, it was revealed that they had been financing the "no" campaign, warning that a ban on tobacco promotion could open the door to restrictions on advertising or other things. sugar, alcohol, even switzerland's beloved sausages. voters weren't impressed. tobacco—related illness claims almost 10,000 swisss lives a year. time, today's result suggest,

to put health before profit. imogen foulkes, bbc news. at least 13 people have been injured after a floor collapsed at a pub in east london. firefighters rescued seven people who became trapped in the bar in hackney. tolu adeoye reports. the first thing wasn't what we saw, but what we heard. suddenly there was this earthquake—like rumble. it was a casual saturday drink that took a frightening turn. hal was on the mezzanine level of the two more years bar in hackney wick when the floor suddenly gave way. obviously everyone began to scream and we all started to sink, and quite fast. i was lucky. but those people beneath me weren't so lucky and they were obviously quite scared, and those were the ones who were injured. firefighters rescued seven people who were trapped. 13 were injured in total — three seriously. the london ambulance service said the collapse was treated as a major incident.

from the outside, you can't really tell that anything has happened inside the building. we've not seen any activity while we've been here. i did speak to one local business owner who said it was very lucky the time of day it happened, just before five, because if it had been later into the evening, into the night, this venue gets incredibly busy. tower hamlets council says a structural engineer has been on site to assess the integrity of the privately—owned building. it was due for demolition in two years. when we initially heard we were very concerned that there might be serious casualties. it must have been extraordinarily scary for people in there. we need to get our building investigators to find out what went wrong and make sure people are safe in this really lively part of east london. a statement on two more years' instagram account said it was thankful no one had sustained critical injuries, and its thoughts were with everyone affected. a sentiment echoed by london's mayor, sadiq khan, who also thanked the emergency services for their swift action. tolu adeoye, bbc london.

now, imagine opening your post and finding a cheque for £2 trillion. well, dozens of people in northumberland and north yorkshire have been in exactly that startling position — but why? megan paterson has been finding out. 2,324,252,008,001. gareth hughes was expecting compensation for four days without power. but not that much. hundreds of thousands of people in northern england lost connection during storm arwen — many still wait for compensation. a technical errorfrom northern powergrid has given some customers brief thoughts of a luxury lifestyle. we were just on our way out when i picked the post up, so i opened it, laughed, showed my wife, she laughed at it as well. it's such a big value, to be honest. it's something that i can't even really imagine. it would be nice to be able to invest in some of my interests. i'm a featherstone rovers fan, i'm sure they'd appreciate a few pounds towards building the squad

to super league. gareth, who's an accountant, shared his surprise windfall on twitter, asking the company, "can you really afford this?" in a statement, northern powergrid told us gareth is among 7a people who have been affected by this error. they've apologised for the mistake. they say they hope to send out the correct compensation cheques tomorrow, and they thanked customers for being honest about the problem. gareth is reassured he will claw back some compensation — but there's not a cat in hebden�*s chance he'll get the original, generous amount. megan paterson, bbc news, hebden bridge. several chinese streaming platforms have been accused of censoring lgbt plotlines from hit us sitcom friends. the show was re—released in china earlier this week — but chinese fans have complained of scenes being deleted, including those that reference a lesbian character, and another featuring a same—sex kiss. it's unclear why the scenes have been removed. none of the chinese streaming platforms have responded

publicly to the accusations. time for a look at the weather. hello. we're starting what is set to be a turbulent and, at times, quite stormy week of weather. and it comes after a really soggy sunday — that was the radar picture from sunday. most places saw some outbreaks of heavy rain, only northern scotland escaping, really. some of that rain still with us into monday, as well, this band of cloud and patchy rain sinking south eastwards across england and wales. there will be some brighter spells, as well, particularly in western england and wales later on. northern ireland and scotland having a sunshine—and—showers day, some of the showers wintry over high ground and scotland. the winds only slowly easing through the day, temperatures north—to—south around 6—10 celsius. a quieter interlude on monday evening but, into the early hours of tuesday, we see outbreaks of rain spreading from the west, potentially some snow over high ground in scotland. freezing for aberdeen, six celsius in plymouth as we head into the first part of tuesday morning. and then, the rest of the week looks like this — more heavy rain, very mild midweek, and then stormy weather later.

strong winds which could cause damage and disruption. this is bbc news with samantha simmonds. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment. first, the headlines. in a phone call with ukraine's leader, president biden says he'll respond �*swiftly and decisively�* if russia invades the country. more than a dozen countries tell their citizens to leave ukraine — over 100,000 russian troops remain at the border. canadian police say they�*ve removed the covid restrictions protest which has blocked a key bridge to the us. 13 people are injured after a mezzanine floor collapses at a pub in east london.

hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be