there are now there are new calls for an independent investigation into bullying and sexism at a police force. as parts of the uk brace themselves for storm dudley. and tributes are paid to the king of bollywood disco bappi lahiri who has died at the age of 69. hello and welcome to bbc news. the secretary—general of the western alliance nato has warned of contradictory messages from russia over its intentions in ukraine, despite claims

from moscow that it's withdrawing some forces from the border. jens stoltenberg said russia appeared to be continuing its military build—up, although the fact it was still open to diplomacy was grounds for cautious optimism. today, moscow indicated it was withdrawing some troops from crimea, the part of ukraine annexed by russia in 2014. jens stoltenberg, speaking ahead of a meeting of nato defence ministers in brussels, says the alliance is still preparing for a russian invasion. more than 100,000 russian troops are massed along the border with ukraine. and yesterday us presidentjoe biden warned a russian attack on ukraine was "still very much a possibility". ukraine is marking a day of unity as fears continue that russian forces massed on its borders could be poised to launch an attack. 0ur correspondent james waterhouse sent this report from kyiv. new footage from russia's defence ministry, but does

it change anything? the site of military hardware leaving crimea — the sight of military hardware leaving crimea — and an announcement of troops doing the same — will be met with cautious optimism. this is the second carefully crafted statement from moscow in as many days after yesterday's claim that some forces were moving away from the ukrainian border. as nato considers its next move, the alliance�*s boss is still preparing for the worst. we have heard the sounds from moscow about readiness to continue diplomatic efforts, but so far we have not seen any de—escalation on the ground. 0n the contrary, it appears that russia continues the military build—up. for western allies, there is still an unanswered question — is thisjust for show, or part of a meaningful de—escalation? that is not normal military exercising — you don't surround the country with 60% of the whole of russia's

land forces on its borders if you're just going for an exercise. on a day when some intelligence officials and newspapers predicted an invasion would happen, ukraine's government took a different approach — announcing wednesday as a day of unity, a defiant display of national colours. translation: many were saying that this is the day _ when putin will attack, but we came to the biggest stadium with the biggest flag and showed that we are not afraid. we will not go anywhere from here. we will stand here for our land and the land of our ancestors. translation: today we need to show everyone that it is impossible - to scare us, that we are confident in ourselves, in our people and our strengths. some are also — as this sign states — praying for ukraine to have its identity recognised

by its bigger neighbour. it's been a week of contrast. on monday we had some western countries telling their citizens to leave ukraine. since then, we have seen possible first signs of de—escalation, but no—one here is getting carried away. these eight years of russian aggression have been anything but predictable. both russia and the west say the diplomatic door is still open, but ukraine's president zelensky has told the bbc he thinks moscow's announcements are just statements which have happened for years. joint exercises between russia and belarus are still very much in focus to the north — despite the claims that those russian forces will also go home once they've finished. james waterhouse, bbc news, in kyiv. 0ne one from james in a minute butjens stoltenberg has given his opening

remarks at the defence ministers meeting in brussels. we remarks at the defence ministers meeting in brussels.— meeting in brussels. we face a dangerous _ meeting in brussels. we face a dangerous moment _ meeting in brussels. we face a dangerous moment for - meeting in brussels. we face a i dangerous moment for european security. russia has amassed an invasion force on the borders of ukraine. at the same time there are signs from moscow that diplomacy should continue. this gives grounds for cautious optimism. however, we have not so far seen any sign of de—escalation on the ground. nato is not a threat to russia, and we remain ready to engage in dialogue and find a diplomatic way forward. but while we continue to work for the best we must also be prepared for the worst. we will do what is necessary to protect and defend all allies. we have already raised the readiness of the nato response force and allies are putting forces on

standby and deploying more troops, planes and ships. today we will consider how we should enhance our offence and defence posture and pursue our diplomatic efforts. that was secretary _ pursue our diplomatic efforts. that was secretary general of nato. let's talk to our correspondent james waterhouse in kyiv. let's start with this national unity date that is being celebrated there in ukraine today. is there any sense where you are that there is an impending invasion, or has this lifted the spirits?— lifted the spirits? well, there wasn't a sense _ lifted the spirits? well, there wasn't a sense of— lifted the spirits? well, there wasn't a sense of impendingl lifted the spirits? well, there - wasn't a sense of impending invasion before, to be honest with you. kyiv as a city has not wound down, shops have not been boarded up, there has been no military presence that i can see. even today on this so—called day of unity at president zelensky decided to sign a decree, making it official in this case of this

predictive day of an invasion on wednesday, has resulted in national being hoisted street corners, some staff members of businesses stood up at 10am and sung the national anthem. you sort that massive flag being paraded through the football stadium in the centre of the city —— about you saw the fly. when you speak to people, asking about these signs of a russian withdrawal or claims of it, no one buys it here, no one thinks that this is going to be the end of this crisis and for many people the uncertainty does go on. ~ . many people the uncertainty does go on, ~ ., ., many people the uncertainty does go on. ~ ., ., , ., many people the uncertainty does go on. ~ . . ., many people the uncertainty does go on. ~ ., ., ., ., on. what are you hearing on the round on. what are you hearing on the ground about — on. what are you hearing on the ground about the _ on. what are you hearing on the ground about the reports - on. what are you hearing on the ground about the reports of - on. what are you hearing on the i ground about the reports of russia both increasing its troops and withdrawing them?— both increasing its troops and withdrawing them? people are confused. _ withdrawing them? people are confused, and _ withdrawing them? people are confused, and that _ withdrawing them? people are confused, and that is - withdrawing them? people are confused, and that is a - withdrawing them? people are i confused, and that is a confusion people have felt for quite some time. fora people have felt for quite some time. for a while you have had president zelensky and his government saying stay calm. as recently as two days ago they have

been saying, amongst everything else, we have seen no intelligence to suggest that there is an invasion coming soon. then you listen to the west, president biden last night, he put a figure on, a biggerfigure on these russian troops. he thinks there are 150,000 estimated troops on the border. he says an invasion is very much likely. some security experts are still sceptical about whether that risk is as high. jens stoltenberg, you heard him there. this is very much a change of messaging at the very least by the kremlin. but nato are saying, in fact, troop numbers are going the other way, we are still preparing for the worst. 0n the ground government's interior ministry said it has had the biggest denial of service cyber attack. what that means in relation to other cyber attacks, it is not the most serious but what it does is disrupt websites and the country's defence ministry website, as well as two state banks, were disrupted yesterday and the

kremlin were squarely blamed, moscow has responded denying that. attacks on infrastructure are not uncommon yet. on infrastructure are not uncommon et. . , on infrastructure are not uncommon et. ., , ., .,~ on infrastructure are not uncommon yet. james, good to talk to you, james waterhouse, _ yet. james, good to talk to you, james waterhouse, our - yet. james, good to talk to you, - james waterhouse, our correspondent in the ukrainian capital kyiv. and if you have a question about the crisis in ukraine, we'd like to hear from you. get in touch with us using the hashtag #bbcyourquestions — and we'll be answering some of those queries at 4:30 today in your questions answered. the metropolitan police say they've launched an investigation into cash—for—honours allegations linked to the prince of wales's charity, the prince's foundation. in a statement, the force said the investigation related to allegations that "offers of help" were made to secure honours and citizenship for a saudi national. with me is our royal correspondent, daniela relph. tell us more. this is proving a really tricky — tell us more. this is proving a really tricky week _ tell us more. this is proving a really tricky week for - tell us more. this is proving a really tricky week for the - tell us more. this is proving a| really tricky week for the royal family. this morning we had use of this new investigation by the

metropolitan police announced under e ynys act. reports late last year and a number of sunday newspapers focused on a letter that it was alleged risk written by michael fawcett, then a key and trusted aide to prince charles, also chief executive of the prince's foundation, the charity arm of lots of work that he does. michael fawcett left that role in november last year. in that letter the sunday times and the mail on sunday said michael fawcett offered to help secure british citizenship and an honorary knighthood for a saudi businessman who had been giving financial support to a number of restoration projects that the prince of wales was working on, essentially a cash for honours allegation. the focus of the police investigation will be on this suggestion that money was directly linked to the businessman securing citizenship and an honour. the met police say their special inquiry team has contacted

those believed to hold relevant information and has liaised with the prince's foundation. there have been no arrests at this stage, nobody has been interviewed under caution, and a spokesman for prince charles has reiterated his previous statement on this matter, saying that the prince of wales had no knowledge of the alleged offer of ynys of british citizenship on the basis of donation to his charities.— to his charities. thank you very much. prince andrew is coming under pressure for how he will fund the payment for the virginia dufresne's claim against him. sure it is having sort that no taxpayer money will be involved. he has always denied the allegations and accepted that mr frate suffered as a victim of abuse. here is our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. within windsor castle, where the queen is based, and among royal officials there is an absolute

determination to say nothing at all about prince andrew or the out—of—court settlement he has reached with virginia giuffre. however, the questions aren't going away. first, how much is andrew having to pay? different newspapers have different figures. 10 million or 12 million are just two of them. andrew isn't thought to have that sort of spare cash. all of which raises the question of whether the queen and possibly even other family members like the prince of wales will have to step in to subsidise andrew. if prince andrew had to go to the queen to help out with his settlement fee, i don't think she would be short of the money because most of her money comes from her semi—private duchy of lancaster which is a portfolio of land which brings rental income and last year brought in around £23 million, and the year before that another £20 million. it seems inconceivable that any public money from the sovereign grant would be used, but already there are calls for greater transparency from the palace. andrew is going to have to confirm

that the public haven't paid this, because that threatens to have wider implications for the royal family. they cannot be seen to be funding his miscreant behaviour. for andrew, the threat of a damaging court case has been avoided, but a number of questions remain. nicholas witchell, bbc news. joining us is the royal commentator and features writer caroline aston. the are happy with us. i where you think this leaves prince andrew and the royal family. think this leaves prince andrew and the royalfamily. it think this leaves prince andrew and the royalfamily.— the royal family. it leaves him off course in the _ the royal family. it leaves him off course in the wilderness, - the royal family. it leaves him off course in the wilderness, where i the royal family. it leaves him off| course in the wilderness, where he would appear to be consigned for many years yet to come. the queen is both mother and manic. it will have hurt her, i'm sure it did to remove his military appointments and his patronage is, but it had to be done for the good of the firm. as a manic, she has done all she can't,

and i'm sure it will be a terribly bad piece of pr if the public was seen to be funding some's terribly bad judgment. seen to be funding some's terribly bad judgment-— seen to be funding some's terribly bad judgment. let's move on to the money because _ bad judgment. let's move on to the money because i — bad judgment. let's move on to the money because i don't _ bad judgment. let's move on to the money because i don't know - bad judgment. let's move on to the| money because i don't know whether you have any particular insight as to how much this settlement might be. that is one of the big still raging. and who will be paying a. well, quite. we know of course back in 2007, prince andrew sold that vast house at sunninghill, a wedding present, for £3 million over the asking price to the son—in—law of his friend the president of kazakhstan. we also know that he has been trying to sell off his ski chalet which he jointly owns with his ex—wife sarah. money raised there and i presume he will go to there and i presume he will go to the bank of mama for the rest of. do ou the bank of mama for the rest of. do you think it will put the queen a difficult position if she has asked

to fund some of this settlement is likely she has been put in an extraordinarily difficult position already. this is her platinum jubilee year, be it we are supposed to be celebrating 70 years of the virtually faultless service and duty, threatening to be overshadowed by what is going on. the debate will continue, there will be all sorts of theories as to whether money is coming from, but for the time being i'm sure the royal family and household wants to concentrate on this sterling example of service. [30 this sterling example of service. do ou this sterling example of service. do you think there is a public interest in knowing whether money is coming from and indeed how much it is? fit from and indeed how much it is? of course. i mean, we are all curious. this will be very large sum of money and don't forget this settlement means that virginia dufresne keeps silent until the end of the platinum jubilee celebrations. after that she could well write a terrible book which could be on the book by christmas —— virginia giuffre keeps

silent. this story is set to run and i am sure they will be forensically examined. ., ., . i am sure they will be forensically examined-— i am sure they will be forensically examined. ., ., . ., , ., examined. you touched on his own future. examined. you touched on his own future- your— examined. you touched on his own future. your view _ examined. you touched on his own future. your view is _ examined. you touched on his own future. your view is there - examined. you touched on his own future. your view is there is - examined. you touched on his own future. your view is there is no - examined. you touched on his own| future. your view is there is no way back for him in any kind of public capacity at all. back for him in any kind of public capacity at all-— capacity at all. know, if you ima . ine capacity at all. know, if you imagine those _ capacity at all. know, if you imagine those royal - capacity at all. know, if you | imagine those royal balcony appearances as being like a set of teeth, there will be a pretty big gap in that front row there. he is very proud of his position, he always has been the queen's stunt, a phrase often used. but he stands humiliated, largely alone, forbidden to use his royal highness title. that will hurt him deeply —— the queen's son. i am reminded of profumo, who disappeared totally after lying to parliament and spent the rest of his life doing charitable work under the radar. that is a place i sincerely hope

that prince andrew stays for the foreseeable future.— that prince andrew stays for the foreseeable future. what about the service of thanksgiving _ foreseeable future. what about the service of thanksgiving for - foreseeable future. what about the service of thanksgiving for prince i service of thanksgiving for prince philip in april? do you think you mightjoin others for that? he philip in april? do you think you might join others for that? might 'oin others for that? he was at his might join others for that? he was at his father's _ might join others for that? he was at his father's funeral, _ might join others for that? he was at his father's funeral, of - might join others for that? he was at his father's funeral, of course, l at his father's funeral, of course, and i'm sure he would want to be present at this wonderful service to celebrate the duke of edinburgh's life and service. however, he does face, i'm sure, problems with the public reaction to his public appearances. we have to wait to see but i don't think you will be seen him play much of a part in the jubilee celebrations.— him play much of a part in the jubilee celebrations. caroline aston from majesty _ jubilee celebrations. caroline aston from majesty magazine, _ jubilee celebrations. caroline aston from majesty magazine, thank- jubilee celebrations. caroline aston from majesty magazine, thank you | from majesty magazine, thank you very much a. increases to the cost of energy, fuel and food have pushed inflation to another 30—year high, putting more pressure on households grappling with the rising cost of living. the office for national statistics says it reached 5.5% in the 12 months to january. it's been driven up mainly by the cost of clothes and footwear,

as well as rising energy and fuel costs. earlier this month, the bank of england raised interest rates in an effort to slow inflation — and it signalled that more increases were on the way. here's our economics correspondent, andy verity. leah has two demanding jobs — and being a busy mum of three, leah has two demanding jobs — being a busy mum of three, and working as a care worker. it's round—the—clock. six o'clock every morning, sometimes half past five, and sometimes i don't get home till ten o'clock of a night. you're going ice skating with church next week, as well. forgot to tell you. the thought when your wage is going in the bank, you think, "i've got this month left to budget with for the month." "i've got this much left to budget with for the month." she didn't need official figures to show how prices were rising faster than they have in 30 years. we were only talking last week at morris dancing about the price of beans, and another lady said to me, beans have gone up by 16p a can. everything has shot up in price. all the staple foods like tinned tomatoes — things that you would use to bulk out meals — that's all shot up.

global forces like the pandemic and the risk of war in ukraine have driven up fuel costs, coming home to leah's kitchen shelves. my son only eats a particular brand ofjam because he's got additional needs, and the price of the jam has gone up by a0 pence a jar. just down the road in wythenshawe is the factory where the jam's made. through that wall there is the warehouse. we've arranged a visit for leah to find out why manufacturers are boosting their prices. richard, i'mjust wondering, why are the prices ofjam going up as much as they are at the minute? it's down to a number of things. it's shipment costs, so that's getting the raw materials from around the world to the uk. that's a massive part of it. it's the cost of those raw materials. it's also the packaging materials, which is largely driven by energy costs. we've seen our costs increase by around £8 million over a 12—month period. we can't absorb those costs. the cost of gas, for example, is up 28%. liquid fuels like propane are up 47%.

and petrol�*s close to a record high. i can't afford to live as it is. i'm getting rid of my car because i can't afford to keep it any longer. i'm happy to get buses and stuff, moving forward. it would have gone to half a tank. it's gone to just over a quarter now, so... i only put £20 in, obviously, but, no, it'sjust how it's going to be, isn't it? you're frightened to use them now. the price of petrol�*s now feeding through to other prices — with the average price of goods up by no less than 7.2%. prices are rising, and inflation is going to increase to its highest rate in over 30 years. today its 5.5%. we're expecting it to get to 7% later this year. that means working households are going to face the biggest fall in real incomes for over 30 years, as well. in the 19705, the cost of living was measured by the retail prices index — still used to operate many private pensions. on that old—fashioned measure,

its rising even faster — by 8.5%. in the city, traders now fully expect the bank of england to raise interest rates again next month, to try to dampen an inflationary inferno fuelled by the price of petrol. andy verity, bbc news. liz martins is a senior economist at hsbc. good to have you with us. i wonder how much of this inflation is down to the pandemic and how much is it actually baked into the economy now? well, i think the pandemic certainly caused some issues. the previous segment highlighted shipping costs. there has been bottlenecks out of asia because of parts of the economy being shut down. of course it makes senseif being shut down. of course it makes sense if you think about it. if you shut down large parts of your economy for lengthy periods of time you are going to produce fewer goods

and services, that is what economists call a hit to supply, and with fuel demand because people have saved money, interest rates have been low for a long time, governments have been very generous, it will hit the supply and that is how the pandemic has contributed. that is not the whole story because energy prices, global energy prices don't particularly reflect the impact of the pandemic. and then we have some labour market issues, as well, so one of the drivers of higher cost is that people are getting more expensive, wages are costing more. that is pushing up costs for fairness and they are passing some of us as consumers. have we reached a peak? unfortunately not. in the uk i think we will reach the peak in april and thatis we will reach the peak in april and that is when that eye watering 54% increase in our household utility bills comes through. as your correspondentjust

bills comes through. as your correspondent just told bills comes through. as your correspondentjust told us, household energy prices are already up household energy prices are already up a lot. 28% year on year for gas and yet we have that on the huge rise coming through again in april. if the peak comes then it is going to be probably in the region of 7%, it may be a bit higher, and hopefully inflation will start to come down after that.- hopefully inflation will start to come down after that. hopefully inflation will start to come down afterthat. ~ ., .,~ , come down after that. what makes you think it will come _ come down after that. what makes you think it will come down? _ come down after that. what makes you think it will come down? we _ come down after that. what makes you think it will come down? we think- come down after that. what makes you think it will come down? we think it. think it will come down? we think it will come down _ think it will come down? we think it will come down because _ think it will come down? we think it will come down because of- think it will come down? we think it will come down because of base - will come down because of base effects, essentially comparing to a high level already from last year which will reduce that. we hope that some of the bottlenecks in the global economy will dissipate, as well, so hopefully with covid in the rear—view mirror things like that supply chain issue coming out of asia and around the world will ease up, there will be more supply of goods into the economy and that will hopefully reduce costs. but there is uncertainty and it is possible that unfortunately inflation sticks around for longer than that. what

around for longer than that. what about what _ around for longer than that. what about what measures _ around for longer than that. what about what measures can - around for longer than that. what about what measures can be taken to bring it down? we hear so much about the bank of england raising interest rates. tell us more about how that actually works in bringing inflation down. a ~ actually works in bringing inflation down. 1, ,, ., ., actually works in bringing inflation down. «a, ., , down. the bank of england raises interest rates _ down. the bank of england raises interest rates and _ down. the bank of england raises interest rates and the _ down. the bank of england raises interest rates and the point - down. the bank of england raises interest rates and the point of- down. the bank of england raises | interest rates and the point of that is to get us to save my money, spend less, borrow less, reducing demand in the economy for a given level of supply, and takes some of the heat out of inflation. unfortunately it works very slowly and there is only certain parts of inflation that it can target, so the 54% price rise in april, there is nothing the bank of england can do about that. that will happen anyway. what the bank of england is trying to do is to try and reduce demand in the economy so that people think that inflation is more under control so that our expectations don't become the anchored and we don't get into a spiral where costs have risen so now i am spiral where costs have risen so now iam demanding spiral where costs have risen so now i am demanding a wage rise and now my manager's costs have risen so

they are passing it on to consumers and it goes into a spiral lasting longer than it needs to. the bank of england is looking to the two to three year horizon to make sure inflation hopefully won't last that long. liz inflation hopefully won't last that lonu. a, , ., inflation hopefully won't last that lonu. , ., a inflation hopefully won't last that lonu. , ., y ., long. liz martins from hsbc, good to talk to you. — long. liz martins from hsbc, good to talk to you. many — long. liz martins from hsbc, good to talk to you, many thanks. _ parts of scotland are bracing themselves for the arrival of storm dudley today — with gusts of up to 80mph being forecast. scotrail said its services in areas threatened by severe weather would end at 4:00 this afternoon for safety reasons. 0ur scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie is in glasgow. dudley will be the fourth storm to hit scotland in three months. currently over the clyde here in glasgow we have rain at the moment but that amber warning for wind will be in place from 2pm this afternoon right through until midnight. it will affect from the north, the tip of northern ireland right across through islay,

0ban, right across to the east of scotland, beyond edinburgh, down through scotland into the north of england, down as far as morecambe. we are expecting to see very strong winds, gusts of up to around 70—80 mph and in previous storms wind like that did cause quite significant damage. now, transport is also likely to be affected. many rail services will stop this afternoon, possibly around 2pm, 4pm, people are being urged to get home early and some schools are also closing early. the ferry company caledonian macbrayne has said some of their services will also be impacted but there are likely to be some islands affected at this time. caledonia macbrayne have said they will prioritise island communities and if there is a break in the weather they will attempt

to get in essential provisions to those islands. storm eunice is also due on friday so it's likely to be a tricky few days. 0ur weather presenter ben rich is with me. tell us more about dudley. it is now beafina tell us more about dudley. it is now bearing down. _ tell us more about dudley. it is now bearing down, wins _ tell us more about dudley. it is now bearing down, wins across - tell us more about dudley. it is now bearing down, wins across scotland | bearing down, wins across scotland in recent i was up died away but are expected to pick up again over the late afternoon and into the evening. we have an area of low pressure passing to the north of the uk. that is a storm dudley, plenty of white lines, i survive scratching together, that always is a sign of some very strong winds —— isobars. the met office warning covering southern scotland, parts of northern ireland, northern england, gusts of “p ireland, northern england, gusts of up to 60 to 70 mph, exposed spots seeing 80 mph, hence the warnings of travel disruption. lots of cancellations on the trains,

problems with ferries, on the roads, damage quite possible. 0ver problems with ferries, on the roads, damage quite possible. over a slightly broader area we have a yellow warning for the met office covering a good part of scotland, northern ireland, into wales. could see gusts of 60 to 70 mph. wales. could see gusts of 60 to 70 mh. �* . , wales. could see gusts of 60 to 70 m h, �* ., , ., , wales. could see gusts of 60 to 70 mph. barely able to pause and breathe we — mph. barely able to pause and breathe we then _ mph. barely able to pause and breathe we then have - mph. barely able to pause and breathe we then have storm . mph. barely able to pause and - breathe we then have storm eunice following hot on the heels.- following hot on the heels. storm eunice is one _ following hot on the heels. storm eunice is one we _ following hot on the heels. storm eunice is one we really _ following hot on the heels. storm eunice is one we really have - following hot on the heels. storm eunice is one we really have to i eunice is one we really have to watch. this could be one of the most powerful storms we have seen in recent decades. i want to show you where it is developing right now because on our weather charts there is not an awful lot to look at the moment. all the way out to the atlantic we have a stripe of cloud. if you were to look really closely, you will see some little niggles developing but it doesn't look like much. what will happen is the jet stream, the winds high above our heads, they will be blowing at around 200 mph. that injects a lot of energy into this fledgling weather system and watch what

happens we start to see a dartboard below appearing on our chart, more and more of those white lines, the more it circles starting to appear, meaning it is deepening rapidly, something we call rapid cycle genesis and by the time it gets to the uk, look at that, frankly, looking at it from my perspective, this looks like a dangerous area of low pressure heading ourfor this looks like a dangerous area of low pressure heading our for friday. if you have any travel plans or outdoor plans you will want to keep an eye on this forecast. what does it mean for us? look at that, gusts of wind. we don't see this often. because the parts of wales, south—west england, gusts up to 100 mph. that is what the met office have said the latest amber warning issued for storm eunice. even inland gusts, 70 to 80 mph, parts of the midlands, eastern england, southern england. these places do not tend to get wince of that magnitude very often. the problem is, the

disruption, the damage to say the least that this storm could cause is one we are going to have to keep a really close i am. you one we are going to have to keep a really close i am.— really close i am. you say could cause. really close i am. you say could cause- is _ really close i am. you say could cause- is it _ really close i am. you say could cause. is it possible _ really close i am. you say could cause. is it possible that - really close i am. you say could cause. is it possible that as - really close i am. you say could cause. is it possible that as it i cause. is it possible that as it crosses the atlantic it weakens? it's not likely to weaken but it is at the first stages of its development and over the next few days there is a lot of developing to do so there is still some uncertainty how deep it will get, exactly what part it will take, what areas will be worst affected, and those are the areas most affected by the wind but some snow could pack in with that weather system for the northern half of the uk, wet sticky snow sticking on power lines, that could bring power cuts and blizzard conditions as well, so friday could be very nasty and we will keep you “p be very nasty and we will keep you up to date, the bbc weather website is the place to get the forecast for

your area. is the place to get the forecast for our area. . ~' is the place to get the forecast for our area. ., ~ i. ., ., your area. then, thank you for that u date. sport now, and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. i'm good afternoon, great britain are still without a medal 12 days good afternoon, into the winter olympics in beijing. the last time they finished a games without one was 30 years ago. today dave ryding, who recently became the first british skier to win an alpine world cup race, also missed out. laura scott reports from beijing. team gb need someone to ride to the rescue of these games. the rocket is away! step forward dave ryding. do or die was his approach and the aggressive tactics paid off early. the clock went green and he was up but slalom does not forgive errors. outside the top 15 after one run, he launched himself at the course

for the second but could not carve back the time. for some reason i did not have my best skiing today. disappointing but it was tight and i was missing my a game. it is becoming a familiar pattern at these 0lympics, team gb's medal hopefuls finishing way out of contention. dave ryding just the latest example of that. with the end of the games looming, the hunt for the medals is becoming more desperate by the day. curling can be cruel, ask eve muirhead whose last throw missed by the narrowest of margins, leaving her team precariously positioned as the semifinal spots are decided. i think we would love to be on the medal table at this stage of the games but the athletes more than anyone are disappointed with that. if you look back we've had some promising results and look to the future but of course we will not shy away from some that are disappointing. much of the fallout will wait

until after the finish line of these games has been crossed but reviews have been promised into the number of brits who crashed out early. the british boys have flipped over! difficult questions are already being asked around skeleton after britain failed to make a podium for the first time since 2002. i just think they got the technical part of the equipment wrong. that is what slowed the athletes down. if you look at laura dees, she had amazing slides but the equipmentjust did not let her produce the speeds she deserved. concerns are now creeping in that team gb could return home empty—handed despite £27 million infunding. but with six wins in a row and a semifinal spot secured, bruce mouat�*s curling team could spare their blushes in beijing. sir mark todd has been given an interim suspension by the british horseracing authority after a video on social media appeared to show him hit a horse with a branch. the former 0lympic equestrian

champion turned racehorse trainer will be unable to race horses while investigations continue. the 65—year—old, who trains in wiltshire, has apologised for his actions. on sunday the bha condemned the video. it appears to show todd strike the horse multiple times while attempting to coax it towards the waterjump in a cross—country schooling session. liverpool are in champions league action tonight. they're in milan to face the italian champions inter. managerjurgen klopp is pleased that the first leg of their last 16 match is in the san siro stadium, so liverpool will have home advantage at anfield in the second leg but he hopes they won't need it. it's good, this way round... ..but it's not a decisive point because we... we actually don't. .. we don't want to rely too much on anfield. it's fine when we need it and if it delivers and can push us, but it would be better we don't have

to rely too much on it. that's all the sport for now. back to you, rebecca. children between the ages of five and 11 are to be offered a covid—19 vaccine in scotland. it follows the same decision in wales. 0ur health editor hugh pym spoke to us earlier. nothing official has come through and the normal sequence of events going back to previous decisions for different age priorities has been that the jcvi, the expert different age priorities has been that thejcvi, the expert committee on vaccinations, who have a remit to offer advice to all the uk nations, come up with a recommendation and then ministers immediately say whether they will follow up in the nations and that has happened but what has happened this time, it seems the jcvi what has happened this time, it seems thejcvi passed on its advice to ministers at westminster and

there was frustration in the welsh government, so ministers said they are, that there hadn't been a quick announcement of what the findings were, so the welsh government said yesterday but given what they knew the advice was, which was to press on and announced that it was reasonable to vaccinate five to 11—year—olds against covid, they would start introducing this and that caught everyone on the hop, this morning nicola sturgeon said based on thejcvi recommendations she is announcing what the recommendation is based on what she has seen, scotland would go ahead so we await a decision for england and northern ireland. for england that could come today or in the next couple of days. the public inquiry into the wrongful conviction of post office branch managers has heard testimony from a man wrongly arrested, charged and sentenced to three years in jail — after he was accused of stealing more than £200,000. more than 700 people received wrongful criminal convictions

because of the faulty horizon system — the most widespread miscarriage ofjustice in british legal history. the government said the inquiry would ensure the same mistakes would not be repeated. colletta smith has been following the story. harjinder butoy�*s life was irreparably damaged in 2007 by the post office. today he has told the public inquiry some of the consequences he is still living with. i've been applying forjobs ever since i left prison. with no luck. moving on to personal impact, what has been the psychological impact on you, do you think, of all this experience? everything hasjust fallen apart for me. i've got no confidence in myself any more. like so many branch managers, he had always had problems with the post office's accounting software. it was frequently wrong. £100 out here, £200 there.

harjinder told me he had raised concerns, but nothing had ever been resolved. until one day, he was arrested and charged with theft of £208,000 and taken to the crown court. it was in my head that the jury would be on my side and i was going to get cleared. because i'm telling the truth, you know. and i thought, i'll be all right, i know how the jury system works, and all that. i've never been in trouble on that side. because he continued to plead not guilty, he was given what is thought to be the longest sentence of anyone wrongly blamed in this scandal — three years and three months. his wife balbinder and three children were left with nothing. you want to forget about it, but it's always there. somebody has got to be accountable for what happened there. _ and the thing is nobody is accepting that responsibility. _ we have had to live with it and they are free to do - whatever they want. each day of this public inquiry will bring equally devastating stories to light.

lives ruined by the post office's decision to blame their staff rather than question their software. and victims are now demanding justice. there are calls for an independent investigation into bullying and sexism at avon and somerset police. a whistleblower has shown the bbc details of toxic abuse he says he suffered during the eight years he worked with the force. from bristol, charlotte callen reports. avon and somerset police. they say they are a caring and inclusive force. but a former investigator, who we are not naming to protect him, was subject to what has been described as toxic and racist bullying over eight years. he says he was mocked for his accent, left a guidebook on how to speak english forforeigners. he cut his curly hair after being called racially offensive names, and was set up and threatened in a mock attack.

this whistle—blower documented the years of abuse he suffered whilst working for the force, including having his home telephone number placed in a strip club so during the night his wife and children received calls asking for sex. in the end, they had to change their telephone number. he claims it was him that was seen as the problem, rather than the officers who abused him. the incidents were beyond belief, to be honest. 0r actually, given the current climate, we are seeing quite a few people coming forward with these sort of toxic cultures and incidents. in terms of the impact, it has just been enormous. in 2016, the whistle—blower was offered £9,000 in an out—of—court settlement, but he refused to take it, wanting a formal tribunal. but on day one, force lawyers, he says, threatened him with £30,000 in legal fees if he lost his case. so he withdrew. i think i have two emotions. absolutely furious.

i'm furious that the whistle—blower had to go through this and suffer this in a modern police force. i'm furious for the officers who do whistle—blow. and i'm worried about them. the investigator was eventually made redundant. he feels he was managed out of the force. he has since gone on to have a successful career. documents we have seen show the police took some action to "re—chip" officers with words of advice. the unit, we believe, was disbanded, but we have been told at least two of the police officers who targeted him have been promoted and remain in the force. i would like the constabulary to consider reviewing this case, maybe with the iopc, because i think now, with the lenses that people have on now, they may well find some really important new learning. the woman in charge of misconduct in the force is deputy chief constable nicky watson. would you apologise to this whistle—blower and as someone

consider perhaps having an independent review of his case? we certainly would never expect that sort of behaviour to happen nowadays. i am really sorry for the way that he has been left feeling. one of our values is learning. we want to learn, we want to improve always, constantly. so if there is anything that can be done that we can learn further from these incidents, then absolutely we will do that. the years of racist abuse have permanently scarred our whistle—blower. he says he wasn't alone but that others he knows are simply too scared to come forward in case they are targeted for speaking up.

an investigation by the bbc�*s global disinformation team has found that thousands of private photos of women are being shared, without their consent, on the social media app telegram. the app now has more than 500 million users worldwide. the investigation found nude pictures shared in telegram channels in more than 20 countries, despite the platform's claims that it moderates public spaces and removes illegal pornography. hannah gelbart reports. sara is from havana, cuba's capital city. she comes here to find calm ever since she found out that a nude posted on the social media app telegram. we've changed her name for her safety. she doesn't know for sure how it ended up in a group with 18,000 followers, many of whom are from her neighbourhood, and may all have seen her naked. translation: i saw super vulgar comments about how hot i was, i asking if there were more photos of me. sara reported the picture of her to telegram, but got no response.

our investigation has found groups with pictures like sara's in more than 20 countries shared with tens of thousands of people on telegram, and there's very little these women can do about it. nigar is from azerbaijan, but she now lives in exile. her brother has a youtube channel where he openly criticises azerbaijan's president. that made nigar a target. translation: my mum started crying and told me there - is a video, it was sent to me. i was devastated. absolutely devastated. the videos showed nigar and her husband having sex. they were posted in a telegram group with over 40,000 members. she says she was secretly filmed to blackmail her brother.

the group that posted footage of nigar has since been shut down. but this kind of action from the platform is rare, as we found out for ourselves. we reported 100 images as porn to telegram. one month later, 96 images were still there. telegram did not agree to an interview, and their statement didn't refer to our findings. they insist they have teams who proactively monitor public spaces. but as the platform continues to grow, there are fears that more women could be targeted and their bodies and lives exposed. hannah gelbart, bbc news. with me is natalia krapiva, who is the tech legal counsel at access now, a digital rights organisation. thank you forjoining us. we heard about telegram there in that report.

tell us a little more about it and in your experience how it is being used. . , in your experience how it is being used. ., , ., . in your experience how it is being used. ., . , ., used. telegram is a cross between a messaauin used. telegram is a cross between a messaging platform _ used. telegram is a cross between a messaging platform and _ used. telegram is a cross between a messaging platform and social- used. telegram is a cross between a| messaging platform and social media platform so it allows users to share messages, have phone calls and video calls but also allows them to create channels where they can share content to a limited audience and thatis content to a limited audience and that is public and this is what makes telegram popular among dissidents and human rights defenders but also makes it accessible to sharing this kind of images to a public audience. so based on calls to your hotline, how are people using this app against women? we are people using this app against women? ~ . , are people using this app against women? ~ ., , , women? we are seeing sometimes government. _ women? we are seeing sometimes government, sometimes _ women? we are seeing sometimes - government, sometimes pro-government government, sometimes pro—government groups or other users are using the platform to retaliate against women committed human rights defenders,

journalists and retaliation for criticism of the government or human rights work so we see intimate images of women being shared online, their contact information every time they criticise the government or say something that challenges the status quo so this is a problem we are seeing and telegram is not doing much about it despite our calls and concerns. ., ., _ , concerns. you are saying they are not doinu concerns. you are saying they are not doing much _ concerns. you are saying they are not doing much about _ concerns. you are saying they are not doing much about it, - concerns. you are saying they are not doing much about it, what - not doing much about it, what response do you get? aha, not doing much about it, what response do you get?- not doing much about it, what response do you get? a lot of times we see silence, _ response do you get? a lot of times we see silence, especially _ response do you get? a lot of times we see silence, especially in - response do you get? a lot of times we see silence, especially in cases i we see silence, especially in cases where it's not something familiar. the ceo of telegram, we see a better response when it comes to russian cases sometimes but when it comes from countries like azerbaijan, iran, myanmar, we are seeing telegram being weaponised against people and are seeing basically silence. �* ., �* , people and are seeing basically silence. �* ., �*, ,,

people and are seeing basically silence. ~ ., �*, ,, silence. and that's despite the fact tele . ram silence. and that's despite the fact telegram says _ silence. and that's despite the fact telegram says it _ silence. and that's despite the fact telegram says it has _ silence. and that's despite the fact telegram says it has functions - silence. and that's despite the fact telegram says it has functions to i telegram says it has functions to report content such as calls to violence, pornography and child abuse and it monitors public spaces and that misuse of the platform is not tolerated but that's not your experience? hat not tolerated but that's not your experience?_ not tolerated but that's not your experience? not at all and in the letter we address _ experience? not at all and in the letter we address two _ experience? not at all and in the letter we address two paralleled | letter we address two paralleled europe, we say they lack proper mechanisms to moderate and have mechanisms to moderate and have mechanisms for users to efficiently report this content and they are not responding to their users so this is something we keep bringing to them and we hope they will change their behaviour. ., ., , , ., ~ , behaviour. telegram has been a key communication _ behaviour. telegram has been a key communication tool— behaviour. telegram has been a key communication tool for _ behaviour. telegram has been a key communication tool for opposition i communication tool for opposition activists and dissidents living in repressive regimes. i suppose, activists and dissidents living in repressive regimes. isuppose, i wondered whether the benefits of anonymity, of privacy and free speech on telegram might outweigh

the cost of harmful content that might also be posted on the platform. i might also be posted on the platform-— might also be posted on the latform. ., �* ~' ., might also be posted on the latform. ., �* ~ ., ., platform. i don't think we have to choose between _ platform. i don't think we have to choose between either— platform. i don't think we have to choose between either or. - platform. i don't think we have to choose between either or. i - platform. i don't think we have to choose between either or. i think| choose between either or. i think telegram users and especially users at risk such as women, lgbtq individuals and journalists deserve to have both privacy and safety on the platform and also ability to express themselves freely. natalia kra - iva express themselves freely. natalia krapiva from _ express themselves freely. natalia krapiva from access _ express themselves freely. natalia krapiva from access now, - express themselves freely. natalia krapiva from access now, really i express themselves freely. natalia i krapiva from access now, really good to talk to you. thank you for your time. indian music composer bappi lahiri, who was known for bringing disco to bollywood and his flamboyant style, has died at the age of 69. born in west bengal to a musical family, the larger—than—life lahiri was renowned for his trademark gold chain and sunglasses, and was credited with making disco music popular in india. fondly known as bappi da, lahiri had fans dancing to hit songs

in 19705 and �*80s bollywood films such as disco dancer, # i #iama # i am a disco dancer, i am a disco dancer... other films were chalte chalte and sharaabi. he also voiced several characters for hindi—language versions of hollywood films. i'm joined byjanhavee moole a journalist who works for bbc marathi in mumbai. very good to have you with us. is it fair to say that he got the disco ball spinning in india? what made his song so different and so popular?— his song so different and so “oular?”. ,, , his song so different and so “oular?“, i, , ., his song so different and so popular? absolutely because for many indians it popular? absolutely because for many indians it was — popular? absolutely because for many indians it was bappi _ popular? absolutely because for many indians it was bappi lahiri's _ popular? absolutely because for many indians it was bappi lahiri's songs - indians it was bappi lahiri's songs that introduce them to disco, not

that introduce them to disco, not that other musicians have not tried it before but it was so much in his music that it became synonymous with some supporters of traditional music thrown upon him but it was different. this was the india of the 19805 and 19905 when things were changing and he was able to bring some first teams to indian cinema and bappi lahiri's mu5ic al5o and bappi lahiri's mu5ic also brought a change in bollywood films them5elve5 brought a change in bollywood films themselves because as you mentioned, people can see on screen actors dancing to those genes and they found a new identity through that music and disco became very popular in india, among theirfans as well. it's ironic you say he was frowned on in certain circles because he was a classically trained musician. absolutely and that is one of the

things people often miss because the other genres like medley, he had tried them and had collaborations with singles. bappi lahiri is one of those few composers who had collaborations with people like snoop dogg because he mentioned he was working on something with them but apart from his music it was his casual attitude outside the studio towards music that caught the attention of the popular masses. he would often wear flashy jackets attention of the popular masses. he would often wear flashyjackets and gold chains and it was all about bling and he would often say he was inspired by elvis presley when it came to style or fashion so he started many things, he brought many different things to indian films as well as indian music.—

different things to indian films as well as indian music. three, really aood to well as indian music. three, really good to hear— —— janhavee moole. the winter storms have taken a huge toll on woodlands and forests, with some eight million trees brought down. there are warnings that the heating climate is making our weather more severe and unpredictable. 0ur environment correspondent, claire marshall, reports. the north—east of england has been hit really hard. at great knott here in cumbria, which is more one of our larger woods, we've lost over a third of the woodland. it's relentless. 0ne winter storm after another blasting the landscape. across the uk, millions of trees have been brought down. this is the heart of the lake district. kelvin archer manages the woodland trust's forests in the north of england. it's a big oak, isn't it? it's a real shame it's gone. he spends most of his time now assessing damage. his dog always with him. predominantly this normally happens in scotland, which this year has been hit horrendously hard by storms. it doesn't normally come down this far.

we had the beast of the east a few years ago that did hit us here but this last couple of years we've been hit again and again. the north—east is starting to look a bit like scotland for wind blow and wind damage and storm damage. and now we're getting it in cumbria. so there is a clear pattern of change. close to the shore of lake windermere, this is ray castle. there is clearing up happening here too. the storms have cost the national trust around £4 million. the charity says already it has been the worst season for 40 years. it says that in a huge blow to british heritage, many iconic trees have been lost. so this is a national champion crested beech. it's a champion of britain and ireland. because it's the biggest tree of that species in terms of growth. when you lose any big, really big prominent tree, it's sad. and this one particularly because it's been at ray castle for a long time. it's an important tree because it's the biggest. and to see it blown over is really sad.

i think it's probably a douglas fir. richard takes us deep into the worst hit area. it's still close to the public. it's still closed to the public. many of these trees have been weakened and his team hasn't yet been able to make it safe. this is the kind of hidden damage that forest managers are really worried about. across the uk there are hundreds of thousands of giant trees like this that have fallen. many of the felled trees can be sold for timber, but there are so many of them that they are likely to fetch a lower price. but storm damage can have its benefits. mollie waring is a senior lecturer at imperial college london. bonnie waring is a senior lecturer at imperial college london. when a tree falls down it creates a gap in the canopy that lets light through. that helps light—dependent species thrive. and the dead tree itself is a really important habitat for species that are of conservation concern. it's the scale of the damage,

though, that richard finds daunting. if you look at the smashed tops of the trees, it kind of reminds you a bit of those photos you see of a battlefield. i've never seen a battlefield, but the pictures you see, the trees sort of look like that. itjust looks like somebody has set off a bomb. and now storm dudley is on its way. the horizon is darkening once again. winter is not over yet. can the survivors stay standing? now it's time for a look at the weather. some extreme winds are on the way to the uk over the next few days. we've got two named storms — the first of these, dudley, that will be affecting northern areas through this afternoon and this evening. and then storm eunice — that arrives on friday and arguably the more powerful storm, with the more widespread damaging winds, as we'll see in a moment. through this afternoon, then, we've got a band of rain pushing its way south and eastwards. we've got gusty south—westerly winds for all of us, but those winds bringing very mild air — could be 16 degrees across parts of eastern england. but later on through the afternoon

we'll see those winds really start to ramp up across scotland, parts of northern ireland and northern england, where we'll get gusts of around 60 to 70 mph — maybe a few gusts up to 80 miles an hour. these winds are strong enough to bring down some trees, so there is a risk of seeing some further transport disruption. with that swathe of particularly strong winds starting to straighten up and funnel through the central belt, we could have some impact there into the early part of the evening. beyond that, overnight, our band of rain continues to affect north—western areas. it will stay quite gusty, so temperatures don't fall very far overnight for most of us — a mild night, five to seven — but it starts to turn colder in scotland. here we'll start to see some of the rain turn to snow over the high ground. now thursday, a relatively quiet day between two very nasty areas of low pressure. most of us will see some sunshine, we'll continue to see showers across some northwestern areas, and it will stay mild — but not quite as mild as it was on wednesday. now storm eunice. this has the potential to be one

of the strongest storms we've seen in recent decades. the winds that we're going to get from this, widely across inland areas across england and wales, are going to be running into the 705 of miles an hour, but could hit 90, even 100 miles an hour towards some coastal regions. this is going to result in widespread disruption. there are probably going to be a large number of trees knocked down by these very strong winds, so transport will be affected, power supplies will be affected, and to the north of this system, we're looking at a spell of very heavy snow across some northern hills with blizzards. there are likely to be some lorries and cars that get stranded in this heavy snowfall, as well. so storm eunice — a very nasty—looking storm — we are very likely to see widespread disruption across parts of the uk on friday.

this is bbc news, i'm rebecca jones. the headlines. russia claims its withdrawn more troops after months of tension over ukraine — but there's some scepticism from western leaders. prince charles' charity, the prince's foundation, is investigated by police over claims of cash for honours. labour calls for greater transparency over how prince andrew will front his out—of—court settlement with virginia giuffre, the woman who'd accused

him of sexual assault. more pressure on households grappling with the rising cost of living as inflation reaches another 30—year high. the english police force that has apologised to a former surveillance investigator after he was subjected to "toxic racial abuse" — there are now calls for an independent investigation into bullying and sexism there. parts of the uk are bracing themselves for the arrival of storm dudley in what is set to be a challenging few days of winter weather. tributes are paid to the king of bollywood disco, who has day at the age of 69. —— who has died at the age of 69. —— who has died at the age of 69. —— who has died at the age of 69.

hello and welcome to bbc news. the secretary—general of the western alliance nato has warned of contradictory messages from russia over its intentions in ukraine, despite claims from moscow that it's withdrawing some forces from the border. jens stoltenberg said russia appeared to be continuing its military build—up, although the fact it was still open to diplomacy was grounds for cautious optimism. today, moscow indicated it was withdrawing some troops from crimea, the part of ukraine annexed by russia in 2014. jens stoltenberg, speaking ahead of a meeting of nato defence ministers in brussels says the alliance is still preparing for a russian invasion. more than 100,000 russian troops are massed along the border with ukraine. and yesterday us presidentjoe biden warned a russian attack on ukraine was "still very much a possibility". ukraine is marking a day of unity as fears continue that russian forces massed on its borders could be poised to launch an attack.

0ur correspondent james waterhouse sent this report from kyiv. new footage from russia's defence ministry, but does it change anything? the sight of military hardware leaving crimea — and an announcement of troops doing the same — will be met with cautious optimism. this is the second carefully crafted statement from moscow in as many days after yesterday's claim that some forces were moving away from the ukrainian border. as nato considers its next move, the alliance's boss is still preparing for the worst. we have heard the sounds from moscow about readiness to continue diplomatic efforts, but so far we have not seen any de—escalation on the ground. 0n the contrary, it appears that russia continues the military build—up. for western allies, there is still an unanswered question —

is thisjust for show, or part of a meaningful de—escalation? that is not normal military exercising — you don't surround the country with 60% of the whole of russia's land forces on its borders if you're just going for an exercise. on a day when some intelligence officials and newspapers predicted an invasion would happen, ukraine's government took a different approach — announcing wednesday as a day of unity, a defiant display of national colours. translation: many were saying that this is the day _ when putin will attack, but we came to the biggest stadium with the biggest flag and showed that we are not afraid. we will not go anywhere from here. we will stand here for our land and the land of our ancestors. translation: today we need to show everyone that it is impossible - to scare us, that we are confident in ourselves, in our people and our strengths.

some are also — as this sign states — praying for ukraine to have its identity recognised by its bigger neighbour. it's been a week of contrast. on monday we had some western countries telling their citizens to leave ukraine. since then, we have seen possible first signs of de—escalation, but no—one here is getting carried away. these eight years of russian aggression have been anything but predictable. both russia and the west say the diplomatic door is still open, but ukraine's president zelensky has told the bbc he thinks moscow's announcements are just statements which have happened for years. joint exercises between russia and belarus are still very much in focus to the north — despite the claims that those russian forces will also go home once they've finished. james waterhouse, bbc news, in kyiv.

and if you have a question about the crisis in ukraine we'd like to hear from you. get in touch with us using the hashtag #bbcyourquestions — and we'll be answering some of those queries at half—past—four today in your questions answered. prince andrew is coming under pressure to explain how he'll fund the payment he has agreed to make as part of his settlement ending virginia giuffre's sex assault claim against him. speaking to the bbc news channel, labour has sought assurances that no taxpayers' money will be involved. the duke of york, who has always denied the allegations, has accepted that ms giuffre suffered as a victim of abuse — and he said he regretted his association with the sex offender, jeffrey epstein. here's our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. within windsor castle, where the queen is based, and among royal officials there is an absolute determination to say nothing at all about prince andrew or the out—of—court

settlement he has reached with virginia giuffre. however, the questions aren't going away. first, how much is andrew having to pay? different newspapers have different figures. 10 million or 12 million are just two of them. andrew isn't thought to have that sort of spare cash. all of which raises the question of whether the queen and possibly even other family members like the prince of wales will have to step in to subsidise andrew. if prince andrew had to go to the queen to help out with his settlement fee, i don't think she would be short of the money because most of her money comes from her semi—private duchy of lancaster which is a portfolio of land which brings in rental income and last year brought in around £23 million, and the year before that another £20 million. it seems inconceivable that any public money from the sovereign grant would be used, but already there are calls for greater transparency from the palace. andrew is going to have to confirm that the public haven't paid this,

because that threatens to have wider implications for the royal family. they cannot be seen to be funding his miscreant behaviour. for andrew, the threat of a damaging court case has been avoided, but a number of questions remain. nicholas witchell, bbc news. the metropolitan police say they have launched an investigation into cash for ynys allegations linked to the prince of wales's charity the prince's foundation. in a statement the force said the investigation related to allegations that office of health were made to secure armies and citizenship for a saudi national. 0ur royal correspondent told us more. national. our royal correspondent told us more-— told us more. this is proving a really tricky — told us more. this is proving a really tricky week _ told us more. this is proving a really tricky week for - told us more. this is proving a really tricky week for the - told us more. this is proving a | really tricky week for the royal family. this morning on news of the new investigation by the metropolitan police announced under the honours act. reports late last year and in a

the honours act. reports late last yearand in a number of the honours act. reports late last year and in a number of sunday newspapers focused on a letter in that it was alleged was written by michael fawcett, who was then a key and trusted aide to prince charles, also chief executive of the prince's foundation, the charity arm of lots of work that he does. michael fawcett left that role in november last year. in that letter the sunday times and the mail on sunday said michael fawcett offered to help secure british citizenship and an honorary knighthood for a saudi businessman who had been giving financial support to a number of restoration projects that the prince of wales was working on, essentially a cash for on this allegation. now the focus of the police investigation will now be on this suggestion that money was directly linked to the businessman securing citizenship and an honour. the met police say their special inquiry team has contacted those believed to hold relevant information and has liaised with the prince's foundation. they have been no arrests, nobody interviewed under

caution, and a spokesman for prince charles has reiterated his previous statement on this matter, saying that the prince of wales have no knowledge of the alleged affair of ynys of british citizenship on the basis of donation to his charities. that was daniela ralph reporting. increases to the cost of energy, fuel and food have pushed inflation to another 30—year high, putting more pressure on households grappling with the rising cost of living. the office for national statistics says it reached 5.5% in the 12 months to january. it's been driven up mainly by the cost of clothes and footwear, as well as rising energy and fuel costs. earlier this month, the bank of england raised interest rates in an effort to slow inflation — and it signalled that more increases were on the way. here's our economics correspondent, andy verity. leah has two demanding jobs — being a busy mum of three, and working as a care worker. it's round—the—clock.

six o'clock every morning, sometimes half past five, and sometimes i don't get home till ten o'clock of a night. you're going ice skating with church next week, as well. forgot to tell you. the thought when your wage is going in the bank, you think, "i've got this much left to budget with for the month." she didn't need official figures to show how prices were rising faster than they have in 30 years. we were only talking last week at morris dancing about the price of beans, and another lady said to me, beans have gone up by 16p a can. everything has shot up in price. all the staple foods like tinned tomatoes — things that you would use to bulk out meals — that's all shot up. global forces like the pandemic and the risk of war in ukraine have driven up fuel costs, coming home to leah's kitchen shelves. my son only eats a particular brand ofjam because he's got additional needs, and the price of the jam has gone up by 40 pence a jar. just down the road in wythenshawe is the factory where the jam's made. through that wall there is the warehouse.

we've arranged a visit for leah to find out why manufacturers are boosting their prices. richard, i'mjust wondering, why are the prices ofjam going up as much as they are at the minute? it's down to a number of things. it's shipment costs, so that's getting the raw materials from around the world to the uk. that's a massive part of it. it's the cost of those raw materials. it's also the packaging materials, which is largely driven by energy costs. we've seen our costs increase by around £8 million over a 12—month period. we can't absorb those costs. the cost of gas, for example, is up 28%. liquid fuels like propane up 47%. and petrol�*s close to a record high. i can't afford to live as it is. i'm getting rid of my car because i can't afford to keep it any longer. i'm happy to get buses and stuff, moving forward. it would have gone to half a tank. it's gone to just over a quarter now, so... i only put £20 in, obviously, but, no, it'sjust how it's going to be, isn't it? you're frightened to use them now.

the price of petrol�*s now feeding through to other prices — with the average price of goods up by no less than 7.2%. prices are rising, and inflation is going to increase to its highest rate in over 30 years. today its 5.5%. we're expecting it to get to 7% later this year. that means working households are going to face the biggest fall in real incomes for over 30 years, as well. in the 19705, the cost of living was measured by the retail prices index — still used to operate many private pensions. on that old—fashioned measure, its rising even faster — by 8.5%. in the city, traders now fully expect the bank of england to raise interest rates again next month, to try to dampen an inflationary inferno fuelled by the price of petrol. andy verity, bbc news. parts of scotland are bracing themselves for the arrival of storm dudley today — with gusts of up to 80mph being forecast.

scotrail said its services in areas threatened by severe weather would end at 4:00 this afternoon for safety reasons. 0ur scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie is in glasgow. dudley will be the fourth storm to hit scotland in three months. currently over the clyde here in glasgow we have rain at the moment but that amber warning for wind will be in place from 2pm this afternoon right through until midnight. it will affect from the north, the tip of northern ireland right across through islay, 0ban, right across to the east of scotland, beyond edinburgh, down through scotland into the north of england, down as far as morecambe. we are expecting to see very strong winds, gusts of up to around 70—80 mph and in previous storms wind like that did cause quite significant damage. now, transport is also

likely to be affected. many rail services will stop this afternoon, possibly around 2pm, 4pm, people are being urged to get home early and some schools are also closing early. the ferry company caledonian macbrayne has said some of their services will also be impacted but there are likely to be some islands affected at this time. caledonia macbrayne have said they will prioritise island communities and if there is a break in the weather they will attempt to get in essential provisions to those islands. storm eunice is also due on friday so it's likely to be a tricky few days. let's update you with the headlines on bbc news.

russia claims its withdrawn more troops after months of tension over ukraine — but there's some scepticism from western leaders. prince charles' charity, the prince's foundation, is investigated by police over claims of cash for honours. more pressure on households grappling with the rising cost of living as inflation reaches another 30—year high. children between the ages of five and 11 are to be offered a covid—19 vaccine in scotland. it follows the same decision in wales. 0ur health editor hugh pym spoke to us earlier nothing official has come through and the normal sequence of events going back to previous decisions for different age priorities has been that thejcvi, the expert committee on vaccinations, who have a remit to offer advice to all the uk's nations, come up with a recommendation and then ministers immediately say whether they will follow up in the nations and that has

happened, but what has happened this time, it seems thejcvi passed on its advice to ministers at westminster and there was frustration in the welsh government, so ministers said there, that there hadn't been a quick announcement of what the findings were, so the welsh government said yesterday that given what they knew the advice was, which was to press on, announced that it was reasonable to vaccinate five—to—11—year—olds against covid, they would start introducing this and that caught everyone on the hop. this morning the scottish first minister nicola sturgeon said based on thejcvi recommendations she is announcing what the recommendation is based on what she has seen, scotland would go ahead so we await a decision for england and northern ireland. for england that could come today or in the next couple of days. 0ur health editor, hugh pym. the

public inquiry into the wrongful conviction of post office branch managers has heard testimony from a managers has heard testimony from a man wrongly arrested, charged and sentenced to three years in jail. after he was accused of stealing more than £200,000. more than 700 people received wrongful criminal convictions because of the faulty horizon system. it is the most widespread miscarriage ofjustice in british legal history. the government said the inquiry would ensure at the same mistakes would not be repeated. harjinder butoy�*s life was irreparably damaged in 2007 by the post office. today he has told the public inquiry some of the consequences he is still living with. i've been applying forjobs ever since i left prison. with no luck. moving on to personal impact, what has been the psychological impact on you, do you think, of all this experience? everything hasjust fallen apart for me. i've got no confidence

in myself any more. like so many branch managers, he had always had problems with the post office's accounting software. it was frequently wrong. £100 out here, £200 there. harjinder told me he had raised concerns, but nothing had ever been resolved. until one day, he was arrested and charged with theft of £208,000 and taken to the crown court. it was in my head that the jury would be on my side and i was going to get cleared. because i'm telling the truth, you know. and i thought, i'll be all right, i know how the jury system works, and all that. i've never been in trouble on that side. because he continued to plead not guilty, he was given what is thought to be the longest sentence of anyone wrongly blamed in this scandal — three years and three months. his wife balbinder and three children were left with nothing. you want to forget about it, but it's always there. somebody has got to be accountable for what happened there. _ and the thing is nobody is accepting that responsibility. _

we have had to live with it and they are free to do - whatever they want. each day of this public inquiry will bring equally devastating stories to light. lives ruined by the post office's decision to blame their staff rather than question their software. and victims are now demanding justice. coletta smith, bbc news. let's return to our top story now under the secretary—general of the western alliance nato has warned of contradictory messages from russia over its intentions in ukraine. despite claims from moscow that it is withdrawing some forces from the border. jens stoltenberg said russia appeared to be continuing its military build—up, although the fact it was still open to diplomacy it was grounds for cautious optimism. earlier i spoke to our correspondent james waterhouse in the ukrainian

capital kyiv. kari? james waterhouse in the ukrainian capital kyiv-— capital kyiv. kyiv has not wound down, capital kyiv. kyiv has not wound down. shops — capital kyiv. kyiv has not wound down, shops have _ capital kyiv. kyiv has not wound down, shops have not _ capital kyiv. kyiv has not wound down, shops have not been - capital kyiv. kyiv has not wound - down, shops have not been boarded up, there has been no military presence that i can see. even today, under this so—called day of unity president zelensky decided to sign a decree, making it official in the face of this predicted day of an invasion on wednesday, it has resulted in a nationalflag being hoisted on street corners, some staff members are businesses stood at that 10am and sung the national anthem. you saw the massive flag being paraded through the football stadium in the centre of the city. when you speak to people and you ask them about this and about claims of a withdrawal, no one buys it. nobody thinks that means it will be at the beginning of the end of this crisis. for many people the uncertainty does go on. for many people the uncertainty does no on. ~ . for many people the uncertainty does .0 on, . ., ., for many people the uncertainty does . on. ~ ., ., for many people the uncertainty does . on. ~ . . ., for many people the uncertainty does coon.~ . . ., .,

go on. what are you hearing on the round go on. what are you hearing on the ground about _ go on. what are you hearing on the ground about russia _ go on. what are you hearing on the ground about russia increasing - go on. what are you hearing on the ground about russia increasing its| ground about russia increasing its troops and withdrawing them? people are confused — troops and withdrawing them? people are confused and _ troops and withdrawing them? people are confused and that _ troops and withdrawing them? people are confused and that is _ troops and withdrawing them? people are confused and that is the _ are confused and that is the confusion people have felt for quite some time for a while you have had president zelensky and his government saying stay calm. as recently as two days ago they have been saying amongst everything else, we have seen no intelligence to suggest there is an invasion coming soon. then you listen to the west, president biden last night put a figure, a biggerfigure on these russian troops. he thinks there are 150,000 estimated troops on the border. he says an invasion is very much likely. some security experts are still sceptical about whether that risk is as high. then you have heard jens stoltenberg. this is very much a change of messaging at the very least by the kremlin. but nato are saying, in fact, troop numbers are going the other way, we are still preparing for the worst. 0n the ground the government's

interior ministry said it has had the biggest denial of service cyber attack. what that means in relation to other cyber attacks, it is not the most serious but what it does is disrupt websites and the country's defence ministry website, as well as two state banks, were disrupted yesterday and the kremlin were squarely blamed, moscow has responded denying that. attacks on infrastructure are not uncommon here. james waterhouse in kyiv. the us secretary of state antony blinken has warned that russian forces remain in position to attack. brute remain in position to attack. we continue to _ remain in position to attack. - continue to seek not only these forces us, we continue to see critical units moving towards the border, not away from it. what we need to see is exactly the opposite, these forces moving away. we have heard what the kremlin said about this. president biden said yesterday we would welcome that but we have not seen it on the ground. the bottom line is this. we are prepared

either way. we are prepared to engage in diplomacy with russia if it is serious about it, also we are prepared for russian aggression. the us secretary of state. some 8 million trees have been brought down by the winter storms. there are warnings that heating climate is making our weather more severe and unpredictable. clare marchant reports. the north—east of england has been hit really hard. at great knott here in cumbria, which is more one of our larger woods, we've lost over a third of the woodland. it's relentless. 0ne winter storm after another blasting the landscape. across the uk, millions of trees have been brought down. this is the heart of the lake district. kelvin archer manages the woodland trust's forests in the north of england. it's a big oak, isn't it? it's a real shame it's gone. he spends most of his time now assessing damage.

his dog always with him. predominantly this normally happens in scotland, which this year has been hit horrendously hard by storms. it doesn't normally come down this far. we had the beast of the east a few years ago that did hit us here but this last couple of years we've been hit again and again. the north—east is starting to look a bit like scotland for wind blow and wind damage and storm damage. and now we're getting it in cumbria. so there is a clear pattern of change. close to the shore of lake windermere, this is wray castle. there is clearing up happening here too. the storms have cost the national trust around £4 million. the charity says already it has been the worst season for 40 years. it says that in a huge blow to british heritage, many iconic trees have been lost. so this is a national champion crested beech. it's a champion of britain and ireland. because it's the biggest tree of that species in terms of growth. because it's the biggest tree of that species in terms of girth. when you lose any big, really big prominent tree, it's sad. and this one particularly because it's been at wray castle for a long time.

it's an important tree because it's the biggest. and to see it blown over is really sad. i think it's probably a douglas fir. richard takes us deep into the worst hit area. it's still closed to the public. many of these trees have been weakened and his team hasn't yet been able to make it safe. this is the kind of hidden damage that forest managers are really worried about. across the uk there are hundreds of thousands of giant trees like this that have fallen. many of the felled trees can be sold for timber, but there are so many of them that they are likely to fetch a lower price. but storm damage can have its benefits. bonnie waring is a senior lecturer at imperial college london. when a tree falls down it creates a gap in the canopy that lets light through. that helps light—dependent species thrive. and the dead tree itself is a really important habitat for species that are of conservation concern. it's the scale of the damage, though, that richard finds daunting. if you look at the smashed tops of the trees, it kind of reminds

you a bit of those photos you see of a battlefield. i've never seen a battlefield, but the pictures you see, the trees sort of look like that. itjust looks like somebody has set off a bomb. and now storm dudley is on its way. the horizon is darkening once again. winter is not over yet. can the survivors stay standing? claire marshall, bbc news, cumbria. lets get the very latest weather. some extreme winds are on the way to the uk over the next few days. we've got two named storms — the first of these, dudley, that will be affecting northern areas through this afternoon and this evening. and then storm eunice — that arrives on friday and arguably the more powerful storm, with the more widespread damaging winds, as we'll see in a moment. through this afternoon, then, we've got a band of rain pushing its way south and eastwards. we've got gusty south—westerly winds for all of us,

but those winds bringing very mild air — could be 16 degrees across parts of eastern england. but later on through the afternoon we'll see those winds really start to ramp up across scotland, parts of northern ireland and northern england, where we'll get gusts of around 60 to 70 mph — maybe a few gusts up to 80 miles an hour. these winds are strong enough to bring down some trees, so there is a risk of seeing some further transport disruption. with that swathe of particularly strong winds starting to straighten up and funnel through the central belt, we could have some impact there into the early part of the evening. beyond that, overnight, our band of rain continues to affect north—western areas. it will stay quite gusty, so temperatures don't fall very far overnight for most of us — a mild night, five to seven — but it starts to turn colder in scotland. here we'll start to see some of the rain turn to snow over the high ground. now thursday, a relatively quiet day between two very nasty areas of low pressure. most of us will see some sunshine, we'll continue to see showers across some northwestern areas, and it will stay mild — but not quite as mild as it was on wednesday. now storm eunice.

this has the potential to be one of the strongest storms we've seen in recent decades. the winds that we're going to get from this, widely across inland areas across england and wales, are going to be running into the 705 of miles an hour, but could hit 90, even 100 miles an hour towards some coastal regions. this is going to result in widespread disruption. there are probably going to be a large number of trees knocked down by these very strong winds, so transport will be affected, power supplies will be affected, and to the north of this system, we're looking at a spell of very heavy snow across some northern hills with blizzards. there are likely to be some lorries and cars that get stranded in this heavy snowfall, as well. so storm eunice — a very nasty—looking storm — we are very likely to see widespread disruption across parts of the uk on friday.

are hello, are this is bbc news. the headlines: russia claims it has withdrawn more

troops after months of tension over ukraine but there is some scepticism from western leaders. prince charles's charity is inverted by police over claims of cash for honours. labour calls for greater transparency over how prince andrew will fund his out—of—court settlement with virginia giuffre, who accused him of sexual assault. pressure on households grappling with the rising cost of living as price rises reach a 30 year high. the english police force that has apologised to a former surveillance investigator after he was subjected to toxic racial abuse. there are now calls for an independent investigation into bullying and sexism there. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's chethan. good afternoon.

we will start with the winter olympics on day 12. still no medals yet for team gb in the winter olympics. 0n the slopes dave ryding stayed true to his pre—race stance of adopting aggressive tactics to get on the podium but a mistake in the first run ended his chances, and he ultimately finished in 13th place, unable to improve on his previous best which was ninth place at the last games in pyeongchang. he's 35 now so this could well be his last 0lympics — and he says he has no regrets. i always do what i can. every i put out i've got. you always want to top it off with something special. i think i have another year in may, i will keep trying and see what we can do next year. so where could that elusive first medal for team gb potentially come from?

the women's curling team, led by eve muirhead, lost to china 8—4 this morning. it means progress is out of their hands, they will have to beat the russian olympic committee in theirfinal round robin match if they're to finish in the play off places and hope results elsewhere go their way. things are looking better for the men's curling team. they beat the russian 0lympic men's curling team. they beat the russian olympic committee earlier and job done for them, six wins in a row. they're already guaranteed a semi final spot, and won 8—6. they're one of the best remaining medal hopes and are still on course to potentially contest the gold medal match on saturday. next to an update today on russian skater kamila valieva. the teenager's anti—doping sample has showed traces of three drugs that can be used to treat heart conditions, according to a new york times report. the 15—year—old is being allowed to compete at the beijing games despite testing positive for a banned angina drug. the report says the sample also showed substances which are not banned. the united states anti—doping chief travis tygart says the combination

of substances prompted "a lot of red flags" it has undermined the confidence of the system. we have heard from athletes and they are asking how can we trust the system yet again letting us down? they are having to relive the russia doping horror story once again. it is the sixth time in a row, going back to london 2012, when the russians have seriously and maybe irreparably damaged the games and its credibility. it is time to say what more has to happen before the ioc and wada wake up and decide to do the right thing? sir mark todd has been given an interim suspension by the british horseracing authority after a video on social media appeared to show him hit a horse with a branch. the former 0lympic equestrian champion turned racehorse trainer will be unable to race horses while investigations continue. the 65—year—old, who trains in wiltshire, has apologised for his actions.

on sunday the bha condemned the video. it appears to show todd strike the horse multiple times while attempting to coax it towards the waterjump in a cross—country schooling session. liverpool are in champions league action tonight — they're in milan, to face the italian champions inter. liverpool are in good form and haven't lost a match since the end of december. they won this trophy three years ago butjurgen klopp isn't thinking about that now — and whilst many don't have inter as favourites to win the tie, the liverpool manager is expecting a tough night at the san siro. all respect to other teams, it's probably the best team this year in italy, they look really rock—solid, they have creativity on the pitch, they have creativity on the pitch, they are very well organised, very well drilled, what they do an

individual quality is big so that the champions league, no doubt about that, we are a top class team and we need to show a top—class performance to even have a chance can but why shouldn't we try? that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. back to you, rebecca. there are calls for an independent investigation into bullying and sexism at avon and somerset police. a whistle—blower has shown the bbc details of toxic abuse he says he suffered during the eight years he worked with the force. from bristol, our home affairs correspondent, charlotte callen, reports. avon and somerset police. they say they are a caring and inclusive force. but a former investigator, who we are not naming to protect him, was subject to what has been described as toxic and racist bullying over eight years. he says he was mocked for his accent, left a guidebook on how to speak english forforeigners. he cut his curly hair after being

called racially offensive names, and was set up and threatened in a mock attack. this whistle—blower documented the years of abuse he suffered whilst working for the force, including having his home telephone number placed in a strip club so during the night his wife and children received calls asking for sex. in the end, they had to change their telephone number. he claims it was him that was seen as the problem, rather than the officers who abused him. the incidents were beyond belief, to be honest. 0r actually, given the current climate, we are seeing quite a few people coming forward with these sort of toxic cultures and incidents. in terms of the impact, it has just been enormous. in 2016, the whistle—blower was offered £9,000 in an out—of—court settlement, but he refused to take it, wanting a formal tribunal. but on day one, force lawyers, he says, threatened him with £30,000 in legal fees if he lost his case.

so he withdrew. absolutely furious. i am furious that the whistle—blower had to go through this and suffer this in a modern police force. i am furious for the officers who do whistle—blow. and i am worried about them. the investigator was eventually made redundant. he feels he was managed out of the force. he has since gone on to have a successful career. documents we have seen show the police took some action to "re—chip" officers with words of advice. the unit we believe was disbanded, but we have been told i'm afraid we are going to leave that report because we are going to cross live to brussels, where the nato secretary general yun stoltenberg is posing with defence ministers from the alliance. he has

been hosting defence ministers in brussels today amid, of course, the ongoing uncertainty with the border of ukraine and that threatened russian invasion or fears of it. the nato chief, jens stoltenberg, has already dismissed suggestions that that threat on the border had diminished. he has already said today, we are of course monitoring closely at what russia does in and around ukraine. what we see is they have increased the number of troops and more troops are on their way. so this is a formal photograph. it is in the jargon known as a family portrait of the nato secretary general with the defence ministers from all the different nato countries. he has been hosting them today and we expect a news conference to find out more about

what's been discussed, the latest intelligence and moves going forward and we will of course bring that to you live from brussels. in the meantime... an investigation by the bbc�*s global disinformation team has found that thousands of private photos of women are being shared, without their consent, on the social media app telegram. the app now has more than 500 million users worldwide. the investigation found nude pictures shared in telegram channels in more than 20 countries, despite the platform's claims that it moderates public spaces and removes illegal pornography. hannah gelbart reports. sara is from havana, cuba's capital city. she comes here to find calm ever since she found out that a nude photo she'd taken and shared with one other person had been posted on the social media app telegram. we've changed her name for her safety.

she doesn't know for sure how it ended up in a group with 18,000 followers, many of whom are from her neighbourhood, and may all have seen her naked. translation: i saw super vulgar comments about how hot i was, i asking if there were more photos of me. it made me feel horrible. i didn't want to go out or speak to my friends. i became really anti—social. sara reported the picture of her to telegram, but got no response. she fears her nudes are still on the app. our investigation has found groups with pictures like sara's in more than 20 countries shared with tens of thousands of people on telegram, and there's very little these women can do about it. a platform where users can be totally anonymous works like a combination of facebook and whatsapp. groups can have up to

200,000 people. experts say anonymity and a lack of moderation or a deliberate choice. the anonymity and a lack of moderation or a deliberate choice.— anonymity and a lack of moderation or a deliberate choice. the owner of teleuram or a deliberate choice. the owner of telegram declares _ or a deliberate choice. the owner of telegram declares himself - telegram declares himself libertarian and includes emphasis on freedom of expression to some height degree. nigar is from azerbaijan, but she now lives in exile. her brother has a youtube channel where he openly criticises azerbaijan's president. that made nigar a target. translation: my mum started crying and told me there - is a video, it was sent to me. i told her it was not true. she said they insist, if my brother doesn't stop, they will post this video on

telegram. i was devastated. absolutely devastated. the videos showed nigar and her husband having sex. they were posted in a telegram group with over 40,000 members. she claims her husband secretly filmed her to blackmail her brother but he denies it. she said she felt judged wherever she went and had to leave azerbaijan. the group that posted footage of nigar has since been shut down. but this kind of action from the platform is rare, as we found out for ourselves. we reported 100 images as porn to telegram. one month later, 96 images were still there. telegram did not agree to an interview, and their statement didn't refer to our findings. they insist they have teams who proactively monitor public spaces. but as the platform continues to grow, there are fears that more women could be targeted

and their bodies and lives exposed. colleges are reopening in the indian state of karnataka after being shut after confrontations over the wearing of the hijab in classrooms. hindu and muslim students have been on opposing sides of protests, that have spread to other parts of the country. it's left the state polarised, and the high court is continuing to hear arguments before making a ruling on the issue. bbc�*s divya arya reports. hindu students last week calling for the right to work their religious symbol, the saffron shawl, in college. school authorities had said muslim students could not wear the hijab and it has led to

confrontations. 0ne hijab and it has led to confrontations. one of the demonstrators at shows meet the shawl she took to college. she says it is due to religion being brought into the classroom. this anger is new. she had been studying alongside hindu girls and now the unease is felt outside the classroom. muslim and non—muslim families lived together in mixed neighbourhoods can work together in businesses and it's normal to spot a woman in a book or a hijab on the street but the past few weeks have shown the fragility of this peaceful coexistence and how easily it can be shattered.

voices against wearing the hijab in the classroom had been voiced 15 years ago. a civil rights organisation has been documenting the rise of communal violence and he believes it has arrived alongside right—wing politics. i’m believes it has arrived alongside right-wing politics.— right-wing politics. i'm not surprised _ right-wing politics. i'm not surprised about _ right-wing politics. i'm not surprised about this - right-wing politics. i'm not. surprised about this because right-wing politics. i'm not- surprised about this because these are seen as not objectionable. yet are seen as not ob'ectionable. yet the rulin: are seen as not objectionable. yet the ruling hindu nationalist party says muslim right—wing groups are politicising the issue. translation: every action will have a reaction. muslim communalforces every action will have a reaction. muslim communal forces spawning, every action will have a reaction. muslim communalforces spawning, why will hindu girls remain silent? but now for these muslim students going

back to college is a concern. it back to college is a concern. ht will create hatred around meant when we start thinking to use a hindi, thatis we start thinking to use a hindi, that is why he stood against me and they will think she is a muslim, thatis they will think she is a muslim, that is why she is against me so that is why she is against me so that environment will be created in class. in that environment will be created in class. . . , , that environment will be created in class. . ., , , ., , , class. in the class, on the streets and at the — class. in the class, on the streets and at the beach, _ class. in the class, on the streets and at the beach, people - class. in the class, on the streets and at the beach, people wait - class. in the class, on the streets and at the beach, people wait for| class. in the class, on the streets. and at the beach, people wait for a high court solution. but it will take more to heal the wounds within. the headlines on bbc news: russia claims its withdrawn more troops after months of tension over ukraine but there is some scepticism from western leaders. prince charles's charity is investigated by police over claims of cash for honours. labour calls for greater transparency over how prince andrew will fund his out—of—court settlement with virginia giuffre,

who accused him of sexual assault. indian music composer bappi lahiri, who was known for bringing disco to bollywood and his flamboyant style, has died at the age of 69. born in west bengal to a musical family, the larger—than—life lahiri was renowned for his trademark gold chain and sunglasses, and was credited with making disco music popular in india. fondly known as bappi da, lahiri had fans dancing to hit songs in 19705 and �*805 bollywood films such as disco dancer, # i am a disco dancer, i am a disco dancer... other films were chalte chalte and sharaabi. he also voiced several characters for hindi—language versions of hollywood films.

i'v e i've been speaking about him to janhavee moole, a bbcjournalist who works in mumbai and i asked him what made his song so different. absolutely because for many indians it was bappi lahiri's songs that introduced them to disco, not that other musicians had not tried it before but it was so much in his music that it became synonymous with him. some supporters of traditional music thrown upon him but masses loved it, it was different. this was the india of the 19805 and 19905 when things were changing and he was able to bring some fresh tunes to indian cinema and bappi lahiri's music also brought a change in bollywood films themselves because as you mentioned,

people can see on screen actors dancing to those tunes and they found a new identity through that music and disco became very popular in india, among their fans as well. it's ironic you say he was frowned on in certain circles because he was a classically trained musician. absolutely and that is one of the things people often miss because the other genres like medley, he had tried them and had collaborations with singers. lahiri is one of those few composers who had collaborations with people like snoop dogg because he mentioned he was working on something with him but apart from his music it was his casual attitude outside the studio towards music that caught the attention of the popular masses. he would often wear flashy jackets and gold chains and it was all about bling

and he would often say he was inspired by elvis presley when it came to style or fashion so he started many things, he brought many different things to indian films as well as indian music. janhavee as well as indian music. moole there on the indian music janhavee moole there on the indian music composer bappi lahiri. in west yorkshire student racing driver is hoping to win a place in a racing series this year. he wants to see drivers come from a range of different backgrounds.- drivers come from a range of different backgrounds. there was so much adrenaline _ different backgrounds. there was so much adrenaline going _ different backgrounds. there was so much adrenaline going through - different backgrounds. there was so much adrenaline going through you, j much adrenaline going through you, so the speed is crazy. you were constantly thinking about the next corner. it’s constantly thinking about the next corner. h ':: :: , corner. it's100% unique. 21-year-old _ corner. it's100% unique. 21-year-old anwar - corner. it's100% unique. 21-year-old anwar has i corner. it's100% unique. 21-year-old anwar has a | corner. it's100% unique. - 21-year-old anwar has a need for 21—year—old anwar has a need for

speed. despite only learning how to race less than a year ago, she quickly realised she had a thriving passion for motorsport. she competed in the formula woman competition where she progressed to the final out of 800 racers. now she is in with the chance of getting a spot on the grid at the british gt cup series. formula woman is basically a competition looking for women from across the world and looking for those that have the best natural ability to train up to race in the british gt cup this year. it is something where people that have never raced before, never touched a racing car before, are getting tojump in behind the wheel and kind ofjust get straight into it. i think it would be incredible, because being able to represent so many things, like huddersfield, the uk, and also people from my south asian background, as well. i thinkjust being able to enter this motor sport that is always dominated by males,

different backgrounds and things like that, would be incredible. and also pushing yourself to the top. from like not having any experience before, as well, is incredible. she is hoping herjourney into the sport will encourage others from more diverse backgrounds to get behind the wheel. i noticed from the get go where there were barely any females representing that background. given the culture we grow up in and the countries we are born in and things like that, there is not much encouragement. getting that spot in the gt cup is like bringing your own background with you. i would love to see more females, especially from like british asian backgrounds, and all sorts of backgrounds get involved in motorsport.

american writer and satirist pj 0'rourke has died at the age of 74. best known for books including republican party reptile, eat the rich, give wara republican party reptile, eat the rich, give war a chance, combine the gonzojournalism of the rich, give war a chance, combine the gonzo journalism of the 19605. rich, give war a chance, combine the gonzojournalism of the 19605. the cause of his death had not been revealed but as publisher says he was ill in recent months. pj 0'rourke was one of the most prolific and widely quoted american writers, often defined as a political satirist but his work went well beyond the political. he wrote more than 20 books on subjects as diverse as politics, etiquette, cars and so on.

he started working on underground newspapers before making his way to a national lampoon. from there... that leave david willis and cross live to brussels for the nato secretary general is speaking. for the nato secretary general is s-ueakin. , . , , ., speaking. defence ministers have meant to address _ speaking. defence ministers have meant to address russia's - speaking. defence ministers have i meant to address russia's continued military build—up in and around ukraine. this was a substantive discussion on the most serious security crisis in europe in decades. ally is welcome all diplomatic efforts and there are signs from moscow that diplomacy could continue. but so far, we do not see any sign of de—escalation on the ground. no withdrawals of troops or equipment. this may of course change, but what we see today is

that russia maintains a massive invasion force ready to attack. with high—end capabilities from crimea to belarus. this is the biggest concentration of forces in europe since the cold war. from the start, nato allies have made clear that further russian aggression against ukraine would have a high cost and we have called out russia's actions, plans and disinformation. at the same time nato remains prepared for dialogue. it is not too late for a rush to step back from the brink of conflict and choose the path of peace. nato has sent concrete written proposals to russia, on transparency, risk reduction and arms control. we have yet to receive arms control. we have yet to receive

a response. i reiterate my invitation to russia to meet again for the nato russia council stopped nato will not compromise on the core principles, the right of each nation to choose its own past and the ability to protect and defend all allies. we have already enhanced our military defence with high readiness of the nato response force. these steps are defensive. nato is not a threat to russia. we do not know what will happen in ukraine but the situation has already demonstrated we face a crisis in european security. moscow has made it clear that it security. moscow has made it clear thatitis security. moscow has made it clear that it is prepared to contest the fundamental principles that have underpinned our security for decades

and to do so by using force. i regret to say that this is the new normal in europe. therefore today, ministers decided to develop options forfurther ministers decided to develop options for further strengthening of nato's deterrence, including to consider establishing new nato battle groups in central, eastern and south—eastern europe, and i welcomed the offer by france to lead such a battle group in romania. 0ur military commanders will now work on the details and report back within weeks. earliertoday the details and report back within weeks. earlier today we also held a regular meeting of the nuclear planning group. ministers considered worrying developments across the globe including russia and china's modernisation of their nuclear arsenals and the continued risk of nuclear proliferation. allies

consulted on how to keep our nuclear defence safe, secure and effective, so nato's deterrence and defence remain strong. ministers also welcomed the progress made on burden sharing with the seventh consecutive year of increased defence spending by european allies and canada, which means 270 billion us dollars in additional spending on defence since 2014 and we welcome that a large majority of allies are now allocating at least 20% of defence investment to equipment, research and development. this evening we will discuss nato puzzlement next strategic concept. i am confident that when leaders meet in madrid in june they will reaffirm that europe and north america must continue to stand strong together in a night out

because nato is the unique essential and indispensable transatlantic forum for our defence and security and admit that i am ready to take your questions. and admit that i am ready to take your questions-— and admit that i am ready to take your questions. thank you, secretary general. jonathan _ your questions. thank you, secretary general. jonathan beale, _ your questions. thank you, secretary general. jonathan beale, bbc. i your questions. thank you, secretary general. jonathan beale, bbc. you i general. jonathan beale, bbc. you talked _ general. jonathan beale, bbc. you talked about new battle groups. will happen _ talked about new battle groups. will happen regardless of what russia does and — happen regardless of what russia does and can you give us a timeframe of when _ does and can you give us a timeframe of when we _ does and can you give us a timeframe of when we might see forces enter romania. — of when we might see forces enter romania, bulgaria and bulgaria and elsewhere, and also you just said i regret— elsewhere, and also you just said i regret to _ elsewhere, and also you just said i regret to say this is the new normal, _ regret to say this is the new normal, what is the new norm for european — normal, what is the new norm for european security chris mchugh site it's in— european security chris mchugh site it's in crisis. — european security chris mchugh site it's in crisis, are you saying it will— it's in crisis, are you saying it will be — it's in crisis, are you saying it will be in _ it's in crisis, are you saying it will be in crisis for a long time? the new normal is russia has demonstrated it is willing to contest for the mental principles for our security. the right for every nation to choose its own path and also of course the right were

nato allies to defend. they suggested a legally binding treaty violating those principles. they have used force, the biggest combat force since the end of the cold war, to underpin and to try to intimidate other countries in europe to accept the russian demands respect them. this is a new normal which is a violating core principles which has been important for the security and stability of europe for decades. therefore i regret to say that we don't know what will happen but we know what has only happened and that is that russia has demonstrated the will to use force to try to coerce other countries and to try to change the fundamental principles that are

important for our shared security. that is the reason why we need to also consider it more and longer term adjustments of nato's posture in the east. i will not pre—empt any final decision. we are asking commanders to provide advice and provide more details on the scale and scope, including of potential new battle groups in the east, in the south—east and in romania and the south—east and in romania and the black sea region and also other potential adjustments in our more longer—term presence in the east. it is important to understand that's what we now have launched, the works aren't white longer term adjustment posture in the east, our presence in the east, that isjust posture in the east, our presence in the east, that is just one element of what we have done over the last year and months. after 2014 we implemented the biggest reinforcement of our collective

defence by establishing the battle groups in the baltic countries, by modernising the nato command structure, by tripling the size of the nato response force and also by starting to invest more in defence. this has only happened over the last years since the 2014. over the last weeks and months we have the first of all deployed more nato troops in the eastern alliance. more troops, ships, planes under existing authorities and structures. that is to make sure we are able to monitor and follow what russia is doing and also reassure allies in the eastern part of the alliance. that has only happened. then we have also increased the readiness of the nato response force so we can quickly reinforce with even more troops and forces in the alliance. we are —— it is not as if we are waiting for

something to happen. we have already done a lot but then we will consider more longer term adjustment and we will have advice from the military commanders within weeks and then we will make decisions after that. writers stops i am just a clarification. _ writers stops i am just a clarification. another- writers stops i am just a i clarification. another tasking writers stops i am just a - clarification. another tasking has onlyiust — clarification. another tasking has onlyiust begun, _ clarification. another tasking has onlyjust begun, but— clarification. another tasking has onlyjust begun, but these - clarification. another tasking has onlyjust begun, but these battle groups. — onlyjust begun, but these battle groups. are _ onlyjust begun, but these battle groups. are they— onlyjust begun, but these battle groups, are they likely— onlyjust begun, but these battle groups, are they likely to - onlyjust begun, but these battle groups, are they likely to be i groups, are they likely to be similar— groups, are they likely to be similar to _ groups, are they likely to be similar to what _ groups, are they likely to be similar to what we _ groups, are they likely to be similar to what we have i groups, are they likely to be| similar to what we have seen groups, are they likely to be i similar to what we have seen set groups, are they likely to be - similar to what we have seen set up in the _ similar to what we have seen set up in the baltics— similar to what we have seen set up in the baltics and _ similar to what we have seen set up in the baltics and poland? - similar to what we have seen set up in the baltics and poland? as - similar to what we have seen set up in the baltics and poland? as a i in the baltics and poland? as a second — in the baltics and poland? as a second point, _ in the baltics and poland? as a second point, if— in the baltics and poland? as a second point, if i— in the baltics and poland? as a second point, if i may, - in the baltics and poland? as a second point, if i may, is- in the baltics and poland? as a second point, if i may, is this. in the baltics and poland? as a i second point, if i may, is this not the sort — second point, if i may, is this not the sort of— second point, if i may, is this not the sort of thing _ second point, if i may, is this not the sort of thing that _ second point, if i may, is this not the sort of thing that would - the sort of thing that would antagonise _ the sort of thing that would antagonise moscow- the sort of thing that would antagonise moscow and i the sort of thing that would - antagonise moscow and therefore should _ antagonise moscow and therefore should be — antagonise moscow and therefore should be avoided _ antagonise moscow and therefore should be avoided at _ antagonise moscow and therefore should be avoided at this - antagonise moscow and therefore should be avoided at this critical i should be avoided at this critical time? _ should be avoided at this critical time? thank— should be avoided at this critical time? thank you. _ should be avoided at this critical time? thank you.— should be avoided at this critical time? thank you. nato is defensive, it is not a threat _ time? thank you. nato is defensive, it is not a threat to _ time? thank you. nato is defensive, it is not a threat to russia _ time? thank you. nato is defensive, it is not a threat to russia and i time? thank you. nato is defensive, it is not a threat to russia and we i it is not a threat to russia and we have been clear for years and months that we are ready to sit down and also listen to russian security concerns and to address issues like for instance arms control. if they

are concerned about missiles and offensive weapons, the best way to deal with that is to sit down and engage in good faith, in talks about how we can't limit, reduce the number of missiles. that has to be balanced. we have been able to do that before. it is possible to make agreements with russia, not least on arms control. we have seen that with the treaty back in the 19805 that actually banned all intermediate range weapons. that was extremely important for european security. then a few years ago we saw the demise of that treaty because russia deployed limited range missiles in violation of that treaty. of course we can go back to a regime, we ban categories of weapons. if this is balanced and verifiable. we have proved before we can limit the number of long—range missiles and there are strategic talks going on between the united states and

russia. so we are not a threat. we are ready for dialogue and we have put forward a long list of specific topics where we believe it is possible to find common ground and to address some of those concerns that russia has raised. we have no plans to deploy offensive systems in ukraine. so... so this is what we are ready to do. but of course we cannot compromise on the core principle that we have all subscribes to year after year and again and again, starting with helsinki and then at the paris record and many other types all countries in europe, including pressure and also the usa and nato allies, have signed agreements, treaties, stating that all countries

can decide themselves, they have the right to decide themselves, whether they want to be part of the alliance as nato or not. what we do is defensive but when we see this massive russian military build—up combined with threatening rhetoric, proposing something which is actually formulated as a kind of ultimatum, that if we don't accept this and that, then there will be what they call military technical consequences, and we know the track record of russia are using force against neighbours. then of course we have to take that seriously and thatis we have to take that seriously and that is the reason why we, in a defensive way, have increased our presence in the east and are considering to increase it further, to make sure there is no room for a miscalculation or misunderstanding about our willingness to protect and defend. �* ., ., ,

about our willingness to protect and defend._ thank i about our willingness to protect and defend._ thank you | about our willingness to protect and i defend._ thank you for defend. ok, bloomberg. thank you for the question- — defend. ok, bloomberg. thank you for the question- i — defend. ok, bloomberg. thank you for the question. i want _ defend. ok, bloomberg. thank you for the question. i want to _ defend. ok, bloomberg. thank you for the question. i want to follow- defend. ok, bloomberg. thank you for the question. i want to follow up i defend. ok, bloomberg. thank you for the question. i want to follow up on i the question. i want to follow up on the question. i want to follow up on the term _ the question. i want to follow up on the term new— the question. i want to follow up on the term new normal. _ the question. i want to follow up on the term new normal. it _ the question. i want to follow up on the term new normal. it is- the question. i want to follow up on the term new normal. it is their- the term new normal. it is their concern — the term new normal. it is their concern that _ the term new normal. it is their concern that the _ the term new normal. it is their concern that the troop - the term new normal. it is their concern that the troop build—upj the term new normal. it is their. concern that the troop build—up at this scale — concern that the troop build—up at this scale could _ concern that the troop build—up at this scale could be _ concern that the troop build—up at this scale could be the _ concern that the troop build—up at this scale could be the new- concern that the troop build—up at i this scale could be the new normal, could _ this scale could be the new normal, could you _ this scale could be the new normal, could you clarify— this scale could be the new normal, could you clarify that? _ this scale could be the new normal, could you clarify that? separately. this scale could be the new normal, could you clarify that? separately ii could you clarify that? separately i want to _ could you clarify that? separately i want to ask — could you clarify that? separately i want to ask about _ could you clarify that? separately i want to ask about the _ could you clarify that? separately i want to ask about the cyber - could you clarify that? separately i want to ask about the cyber attack| want to ask about the cyber attack that hit— want to ask about the cyber attack that hit ukraine _ want to ask about the cyber attack that hit ukraine yesterday - want to ask about the cyber attack that hit ukraine yesterday and i want to ask about the cyber attack i that hit ukraine yesterday and today which, _ that hit ukraine yesterday and today which, according _ that hit ukraine yesterday and today which, according to _ that hit ukraine yesterday and today which, according to ukrainian - which, according to ukrainian officials, _ which, according to ukrainian officials, is _ which, according to ukrainian officials, is turning _ which, according to ukrainian officials, is turning out - which, according to ukrainian officials, is turning out to i which, according to ukrainian officials, is turning out to be i which, according to ukrainian i officials, is turning out to be one officials, is turning out to be one of the _ officials, is turning out to be one of the worst— officials, is turning out to be one of the worst in _ officials, is turning out to be one of the worst in its _ officials, is turning out to be one of the worst in its history. - officials, is turning out to be one of the worst in its history. does. of the worst in its history. does nato _ of the worst in its history. does nato have — of the worst in its history. does nato have any— of the worst in its history. does nato have any evidence - of the worst in its history. does nato have any evidence that i of the worst in its history. doesl nato have any evidence that this of the worst in its history. does. nato have any evidence that this is tied to _ nato have any evidence that this is tied to russia, _ nato have any evidence that this is tied to russia, and _ nato have any evidence that this is tied to russia, and could _ nato have any evidence that this is tied to russia, and could this- nato have any evidence that this is tied to russia, and could this be i tied to russia, and could this be the start— tied to russia, and could this be the start of— tied to russia, and could this be the start of a _ tied to russia, and could this be the start of a larger— tied to russia, and could this be the start of a larger military- the start of a larger military campaign? _ the start of a larger military campaign? thank— the start of a larger military campaign? thank you. i the start of a larger military campaign? thank you. me i the start of a larger military campaign? thank you. we are not seeinr campaign? thank you. we are not seeing any — campaign? thank you. we are not seeing any withdrawal, _ campaign? thank you. we are not seeing any withdrawal, not - campaign? thank you. we are not seeing any withdrawal, not any i seeing any withdrawal, not any russian de—escalation on the ground. we think actually it gives some reason for optimism, cautious optimism, that they have indicated their willingness to engage in diplomatic efforts. but the paradox is that while of course this is something we think is something we

should take seriously and see if it is possible to make progress in the diplomatic track, what we see on the ground is no withdrawal of troops and forces, equipment, but what we actually see is that russian troops are moving into position and we saw are moving into position and we saw a cyber attack. these are the kinds of actions and measures that we expect will come in advance of bigger military intervention into ukraine. so of course this is of concern, and that is why we consider continue to call on russia to de—escalate and follow—up on what they say, to engage in good faith in diplomatic efforts. so i think that was your question.—

diplomatic efforts. so i think that was your question. thank you. coming back to the issue _ was your question. thank you. coming back to the issue of _ was your question. thank you. coming back to the issue of withdrawal, i back to the issue of withdrawal, there _ back to the issue of withdrawal, there is— back to the issue of withdrawal, there is word against word. you are saying _ there is word against word. you are saying that — there is word against word. you are saying that russian troops are still there _ saying that russian troops are still there and — saying that russian troops are still there and even russia continues to escalate. _ there and even russia continues to escalate, while russia claims the opposite — escalate, while russia claims the opposite. my question is, why should the world _ opposite. my question is, why should the world believe what you say instead — the world believe what you say instead of what the russian pictures also show? — instead of what the russian pictures also show? second question, and i write. _ also show? second question, and i write. you — also show? second question, and i write, you are still not sure whether— write, you are still not sure whether to install those new battle groups _ whether to install those new battle groups and it is still possible if the situation changes that you will not install— the situation changes that you will not install further groups in south—eastern eastern europe? thank you. south—eastern eastern europe? thank you we _ south-eastern eastern europe? thank ou. ~ . , , south-eastern eastern europe? thank ou. ., , , ., you. we have been very transparent and the intelligence _ you. we have been very transparent and the intelligence we _ you. we have been very transparent and the intelligence we are - you. we have been very transparent and the intelligence we are sharing | and the intelligence we are sharing is actually confirmed also with open sources, satellite imagery from commercial satellites. i think it is very hard to dispute that russia has amassed well over 100,000 troops and amassed well over 100,000 troops and a lot of heavy equipment. this is

actually something that was predicted by our intelligence several months ago, so what we predicted months ago has happened, despite russia denying that that was the plan. what we have seen so far is that we predicted a significant military build—up and that has happened. then we have never said we have certainty about intelligence. what we do know is what they have, the capabilities they have, the forces they have, but of course we don't have certainty about what they will do with those capabilities. but this is the biggest concentration of combat troops with all the neighbours, the support, we have seenin neighbours, the support, we have seen in europe since the cold war and that is in itself concerning. then what i say is that since there is no certainty on what will happen in the next days and weeks, i am saying at least two things. one is that if they use force it will come with a high price. sanctions will be

imposed. we have provided support to ukraine so they are better trained, better equipped, that it commanded now than in 2014. and then of course we will also make sure there is no room for misunderstanding, miscalculation on nato's willingness and willingness to protect and defend nato allies. but even if we see a gradual or some kind of development where russia decides not to use force and we call on them to not do that, just the fact that they are willing to amass all these troops, and combine that with the message that they are threatening an independent country, and also threatening nato allies that if we don't violate core principles for our security there will be serious consequences. that in itself is serious and that is the reason why

we need to consider some more longer term adjustments over our posture in the east. but we have some time to consider that because we have information measures, increase our presence, but that is more in the immediate response to the current crisis. the other issues are separate from that, we will have more longer term adjustments. no final decision has been made but i visited romania on friday, they are ready to aust don't have a host a bit. france are ready to lead them and northern ireland has expressed a willingness to be part of that. there is a strong will, a strong readiness but the final position has not yet been made and we will make that based on advice for military commanders and it will not necessarily be exactly the same

battle groups as we have in the baltic countries but it is based on some of the same concept, multinational forces, some of the same concept, multinationalforces, nato in the east. multinational forces, nato in the east. . ~ multinational forces, nato in the east. ., ,, , ., , multinational forces, nato in the east. ., ,, . , multinational forces, nato in the east. ., . , , east. thank you. this concludes this ress east. thank you. this concludes this press conference. _ east. thank you. this concludes this press conference. next _ east. thank you. this concludes this press conference. next session i press conference. next session starts _ press conference. next session starts in — press conference. next session starts in two minutes, thank you. thank— starts in two minutes, thank you. thank you — thank you. studio: a sombre message from jens stoltenberg, the secretary—general of nato, say nato has not seen sign of nato, say nato has not seen sign of de—escalation on the ground in terms of russian troops or equipment on the border with ukraine. the nato secretary—general there is a meeting with defence ministers from the organisation and he was updating the world and journalists about what has come out of that meeting. something that was very interesting was when he said, "we face a crisis in european security and this is the new normal for european security." he also said that defence ministers have asked nato commanders to

consider establishing new nato battle groups in central and south—eastern europe. that would be places like romania and the black sea. battle groups, what does that mean? deploying more troops, more ships, more planes perhaps. he said that the longer term adjustments of forces would be needed but that that was contingent on the advice from nato commanders and also, one suspects, from the outcome of what happens in ukraine. nato is not a threat to russia, said jens stoltenberg, we are ready for dialogue. some interesting lines coming out of that news conference from the nato secretary general in brussels. if you have a question about the crisis in ukraine, we would like to hearfrom about the crisis in ukraine, we would like to hear from you. about the crisis in ukraine, we would like to hearfrom you. get in touch with us. we will be answering some of those questions at 4:30pm,

in about 15 minutes. the metropolitan police say they have lodged an investigation into cash for honours allegations linked to the prince of wales's charity the prince's foundation. in a statement, the force said the investigation related to allegations that "offers of help" were made to secure honours and citizenship for a saudi national. this is proving a really tricky week for the royal family. this is proving a really tricky week for the royalfamily. this money we have news of this new investigation by the metropolitan police announced under e on this act. reports late last year in a number of sunday newspapers focused on a letter alleged to be written by michael fawcett, then a key and trusted aide to prince charles, also chief executive of the prince's foundation, the charity arm of lots of work

that he does. michael fawcett left that role in november last year. in that letter the sunday times and the mail on sunday said michael fawcett offered to help secure british citizenship and an honorary knighthood for a saudi businessman who had been giving financial support to a number of restoration projects that the prince of wales was working on, essentially a cash for honours allegation. the focus of the police investigation will be on this suggestion that money was directly linked to the businessman securing citizenship and an honour. the met police say their special inquiry team has contacted those believed to hold relevant information and has liaised with the prince's foundation. there have been no arrests at this stage, nobody has been interviewed under caution, and a spokesman for prince charles has reiterated his previous statement on this matter, saying that the prince of wales had no knowledge of the alleged offer of honours of british citizenship on the basis of donation to his charities.

that was our royal correspondent daniela relph. prince andrew is coming under pressure to explain how he'll fund the payment he has agreed to make as part of his settlement ending virginia giuffre's sex assault claim against him. speaking to the bbc news channel, labour has sought assurances that no taxpayers' money will be involved. the duke of york, who has always denied the allegations, has accepted that ms giuffre suffered as a victim of abuse — and he said he regretted his association with the sex offender, jeffrey epstein. here's our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. within windsor castle, where the queen is based, and among royal officials there is an absolute determination to say nothing at all about prince andrew or the out—of—court settlement he has reached with virginia giuffre. however, the questions aren't going away. first, how much is andrew having to pay? different newspapers have different figures. 10 million or 12 million are just two of them. andrew isn't thought to have that sort of spare cash. all of which raises the question of whether the queen and possibly

even other family members like the prince of wales will have to step in to subsidise andrew. if prince andrew had to go to the queen to help out with his settlement fee, i don't think she would be short of the money because most of her money comes from her semi—private duchy of lancaster which is a portfolio of land which brings in rental income and last year brought in around £23 million, and the year before that another £20 million. it seems inconceivable that any public money from the sovereign grant would be used, but already there are calls for greater transparency from the palace. andrew is going to have to confirm that the public haven't paid this, because that threatens to have wider implications for the royal family. they cannot be seen to be funding his miscreant behaviour. for andrew, the threat of a damaging court case has been avoided, but a number of questions remain. nicholas witchell, bbc news.

let's return to the situation between russia and the ukraine. caroline davies is in moscow for us. i don't know if you are watching that news conference with a jens stoltenberg, the nato secretary general, but one of the things he did say is that we have not seen any sign of de—escalation on the ground, troops or equipment. and i write that the russians i still saying they are withdrawing troops and equipment with yellow yes, from this morning we saw that there was additional morning we saw that there was additiona . , morning we saw that there was additiona ., , , ., _ additional imagery put out by it mission ministry _ additional imagery put out by it mission ministry of _ additional imagery put out by it mission ministry of defence, i additional imagery put out by it i mission ministry of defence, showing footage of what they said was tanks leaving crimea and going back to their basis after they have finished military drills. we heard yesterday that russia has said again it have moved some of its troops when these military drills are finished, going back to their basis, but also we have heard from jens stoltenberg,

borisjohnson, president biden, they haven't seen enough evidence to suggest that is what is happening, that the situation is the escalating at all. they seem to be very concerned that the situation is still imminent, but there is still potential threat of an invasion. russia has consistently talked about the fact that once these military drills were over, that they would return to their basis. the kremlin spokesperson said this last week and then again yesterday he was asked about this and said, yes, it is not surprising that this has happened but he also pointed out that russia still retains the right to be able to of course move its troops around wherever it wants within its borders whenever it wants. whether this is a sign of de—escalation or not, clearly not from the western point of view. it clearly not from the western point of view. , , ., . , of view. it is interesting what jens stoltenberg _ of view. it is interesting what jens stoltenberg was _ of view. it is interesting what jens stoltenberg was saying _ of view. it is interesting what jens stoltenberg was saying about i of view. it is interesting what jens stoltenberg was saying about the | stoltenberg was saying about the fact that the defence minister has asked nato commanders to consider establishing new nato battlegrounds in romania and the baltic sea

region. it makes you wonder how the russians are going to respond to this and whether they are going to see this as a de—escalation on the part of the west. see this as a de-escalation on the part of the west.— part of the west. well, of course wish it would _ part of the west. well, of course wish it would consistently - part of the west. well, of course wish it would consistently say i part of the west. well, of course wish it would consistently say it | wish it would consistently say it doesn't see nato as a defensive force, it sees it as one that is a threat to russia. that has been a large amount of what russia's dialogue has been about whenever the commerce doing conversation has not, this has been the key question which has wanted an answer to one of their key concerns if they do not want nato to bunt any further, that is one of their demands issued to nato and the us back in december. they didn't want ukraine to join. the fact there may be more troops, my feet on the ground in nato countries, anything like that would be seen by russia is going in the opposite direction of what russia wants at the moment so no kremlin response yet tojens wants at the moment so no kremlin response yet to jens stoltenberg's wants at the moment so no kremlin response yet tojens stoltenberg's a response yet to jens stoltenberg's a comment that it will be interesting to see what they say. interestingly

earlier i was in a press conference with a spokesperson from the foreign ministry who was talking about different figures, talking again about the fact that russia wants a dialogue, doesn't want war. but not necessarily hugely complimentary about several figures that have been doing these diplomatic figures i she talked about liz truss, saying they didn't want that sort of dialin, they said they were talking past each other again. they also talked aboutjens stoltenberg and c suggested that his comments were not taken seriously in moscow at the moment. russia saying it was a dialogue but exactly with whom and in what form, it doesn't seem to be that easy. in what form, it doesn't seem to be that eas . ., ., , that easy. caroline davies in moscow. — that easy. caroline davies in moscow, thank _ that easy. caroline davies in moscow, thank you - that easy. caroline davies in moscow, thank you so i that easy. caroline davies in | moscow, thank you so much, that easy. caroline davies in i moscow, thank you so much, good that easy. caroline davies in - moscow, thank you so much, good to talk to you, thank you. the ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has been on a whirlwind tour of the country appealing for calm. speaking to the bbc as he watched a ukrainian military exercise, he said he has not seen

any sign that russia has begun withdrawing its forces from the border. translation: ., , translation: to be honest, we react to the reality — translation: to be honest, we react to the reality we _ translation: to be honest, we react to the reality we have _ translation: to be honest, we react to the reality we have and _ translation: to be honest, we react to the reality we have and we - translation: to be honest, we react to the reality we have and we don't - to the reality we have and we don't see any withdrawal yet. we just heard about it. i think all normal people expect de—escalation. as for the threat, i have said many times before that we are calm about any threat because we remember that this did not start yesterday. this has been happening for many years. because we see it. that is it. when the troops do withdraw, everyone will see that. not only reconnaissance and the military, we will all see it. but for now it is just a statement.— will all see it. but for now it is 'ust a statement. , , just a statement. president zelensky of ukraine there. _ children between the ages of five and ii are to be offered a covid—i9 vaccine in scotland. it follows the same decision in wales. england could be next. just under 3 million people in the uk would test

positive for coronavirus, according to the latest estimates from the office for national statistics. the figures, covering the week to last saturday, were down by about 10% on the week before. our head of statistics is with me. these figures have been hovering in and around 3 million for a little while now. what are they telling us? the? million for a little while now. what are they telling us?— are they telling us? they are tellin: are they telling us? they are telling us — are they telling us? they are telling us we _ are they telling us? they are telling us we are _ are they telling us? they are telling us we are missing - are they telling us? they are telling us we are missing a i are they telling us? they are l telling us we are missing a lot are they telling us? they are - telling us we are missing a lot of cases in the daily figures. this survey is different to the daily numbers because it goes out and they swab people at random so they don't mess around changing rules about who gets tested and confirmed pci sense. i think we can show the figures to the audience and they have been hovering around the 3 million mark for a couple of weeks. they are certainly past the peak, down on where they were at the start of january when they were up above [i january when they were up above 4 million all that was looking so good the far right—hand side, it has started to bounce around and hasn't

come down any further. at the same time we have been seeing the daily case numbers come down and down and down and so when those two measures are telling us different things, we have to conclude that maybe some of the real great falls we have seen in the real great falls we have seen in the case numbers is not because of the case numbers is not because of the virus but also behaviour coming forward to get tested less. even though the numbers echoing in the right direction, hospitalisations, we are still seeing a lot of people get infected. it is not necessarily going away just yet. it is not necessarily going away 'ust et. ~ ., , it is not necessarily going away 'ust et. ~ ., ., ., ., just yet. was about age groups? i am thinkina just yet. was about age groups? i am thinkin: of just yet. was about age groups? i am thinking of schoolchildren, _ just yet. was about age groups? i am thinking of schoolchildren, where - just yet. was about age groups? i am thinking of schoolchildren, where we | thinking of schoolchildren, where we knew a few weeks ago that infection rates were high. qr knew a few weeks ago that infection rates were high.— knew a few weeks ago that infection rates were high. ar a real exception in the ast rates were high. ar a real exception in the past because _ rates were high. ar a real exception in the past because they _ rates were high. ar a real exception in the past because they were - rates were high. ar a real exception in the past because they were so - in the past because they were so high... that number, 3 million, that is about 4.5% of people in the uk. school kids a couple of weeks ago, is%. school kids a couple of weeks ago, 15%. way higher. the good news is that has halved over the course of the last couple of weeks, so really coming down. good news there. worrying news in northern ireland, about 4.5% across most of the uk and

bubbling around. in northern ireland it is 80% and rising so you have a bit of a worry. the good news in the kids is probably because they have seen such high levels of infection. we haven't got the vaccination roll—out in the primary school age route yet, we are still feet seeing infection some good news there. i will pick you up on the word yet there. how does this feed into the discussion about vaccinating younger children? the discussion about vaccinating younger children? . .y ., ., . ~ ., children? the agency or lack of uruen children? the agency or lack of urgency we _ children? the agency or lack of urgency we are _ children? the agency or lack of urgency we are seeing - children? the agency or lack of urgency we are seeing in - children? the agency or lack of urgency we are seeing in the i urgency we are seeing in the announcements. the welsh government said they were going to make the offer, that parents and their children should speak to clinicians about whether they would like to take up the offer. around christmas it was get boosted now! it was all about immediacy. we don't even have about immediacy. we don't even have a date in wales yet for when they roll this out. that could be because the benefits of vaccinating kids look very different to where they might look if we had done it a year ago, although we couldn't because the drugs were not available. because those levels of immunity are

so high, so many kids have had it, we think. the most recent data says nearly three quarters of children have some evidence of past infection. it could be even higher than that and when you have some people who have a bit of protection, the additional benefit of the vaccination is a bit less. of course a belt and braces is better than just a belt, but it is not like it is the only level of defence they are getting. is the only level of defence they are getting-— is the only level of defence they are getting. good to talk to you, robert cuffe. — are getting. good to talk to you, robert cuffe, thank _ are getting. good to talk to you, robert cuffe, thank you. - are getting. good to talk to you, robert cuffe, thank you. parts i are getting. good to talk to you, | robert cuffe, thank you. parts of scotland are bracing themselves for the arrival of storm dudley with gusts of up to 80 mph being forecast. scotrail said its services in areas threatened by severe weather would end about half an hour ago for safety reasons. parts of the north of england will also be affected. our report it is at leeds bradford airport this afternoon. it looks pretty windy there. what is it like, luxmy?—

like, luxmy? absolutely. the forecast for _ like, luxmy? absolutely. the forecast for here _ like, luxmy? absolutely. the forecast for here in _ like, luxmy? absolutely. the forecast for here in west - like, luxmy? absolutely. the - forecast for here in west yorkshire was that gusts would reach around 60 mph now and it really does feel that way. it is not surprising it hasn't been particularly easy for planes here at leeds bradford airport to land and in fact in the last hour or so we saw two flights coming over, circling, trying to land and then giving up and being diverted elsewhere. and of course it is all forms of transport that have been affected, facing disruption in the area affected by the amber warning from the met office. as you mention, scotrail, this is around the time they said they would be winding down most of their services in the affected part of scotland which is mainly southern scotland, for safety reasons. ferry services, many of those have been cancelled with calmac confirming it was expecting waves of around a0 feet around the hebrides. closerto waves of around a0 feet around the hebrides. closer to here, the humber bridge has been closed to high sided

vehicles and trains from here in leeds to london, those services have been suspended, cancelled because of damage to when it comes to the realms, the national highways agency has advised drivers to not travel unless absolutely necessary if they are planning to travel within the area affected by this met office amber weather warning. area affected by this met office amberweatherwarning. 0f area affected by this met office amber weather warning. of course the memories of the storm are when i fresh in our minds and we all saw the damage that the two power lines and the amount of people who experience power cuts —— storm arwen. northern probably says it is expecting that there is a relatively high likelihood of some damage to power supplies but says it is ready to respond if necessary. meanwhile the electricity company sp energy network has told customers to charge their phones and have a torch at hand in case of power cuts and have set up national emergency hotline

for customers. they say the amber warning is in place until midnight but of course even once storm dudley passes we are not out of the woods because parts of the country are expected to be batted on friday when storm eunice hits.— storm eunice hits. luxmy, good to talk to you — storm eunice hits. luxmy, good to talk to you and _ storm eunice hits. luxmy, good to talk to you and thank _ storm eunice hits. luxmy, good to talk to you and thank you - storm eunice hits. luxmy, good to talk to you and thank you for- storm eunice hits. luxmy, good to talk to you and thank you for that l talk to you and thank you for that update. indian music composer bappi lahiri, who was known for bringing disco to bollywood and his flamboyant style, has died at the age of 69. born in west bengal to a musicalfamily, the larger—than—life lahiri was renowned for his trademark gold chain and sunglasses, and was credited with making disco music popular in india. fondly known as bappi da, lahiri had fans dancing to hit songs in 1970's and '805 bollywood films.

# i am a disco dancer, i am a disco dancer... other films were chalte chalte and sharaabi. he also voiced several characters for hindi—language versions of hollywood films. i'm joined by a film critic and journalist in india. i think i'm right that you knew bappi lahiri. can you tell us a little bit about what he was like? i can you tell us a little bit about what he was like?— can you tell us a little bit about what he was like? i interviewed him a few times- — what he was like? i interviewed him a few times. he _ what he was like? i interviewed him a few times. he had, _ what he was like? i interviewed him a few times. he had, as _ what he was like? i interviewed him a few times. he had, as you - a few times. he had, as you mentioned earlier, he had a flamboyant over the top dressing sense and a lot of people rightly believe that because of that he wasn't seen as as serious a musician as he was. he was a very serious musician in the sense he trained as a composer, he started at the age of

three, he used to play the tabla and became most famous for producing disco and popular music as a subset of indian music for generations, deeply inspired by the american disco in the same decade which is the 19805. i think his greatest contribution on a global sense, he played the song disco dancer but there is another song called jimmy jimmy and any indian who has been to russia or parts of the soviet union would come across someone who would look at an indian and statejimmy jimmy, that song became huge in that decade because it was also used in the traore sandler film don't mess with the 20 hand. , yes, we loved

him, he was a hugely popular film but fans believed he deserved more to be taken seriously for all the other stuff he did besides pop music. ., �* , , other stuff he did besides pop music. . �* , , ., , ., music. that's interesting and you wonder if it's _ music. that's interesting and you wonder if it's to _ music. that's interesting and you wonder if it's to do _ music. that's interesting and you wonder if it's to do with - music. that's interesting and you wonder if it's to do with the - music. that's interesting and you wonder if it's to do with the way l music. that's interesting and you i wonder if it's to do with the way he dressed and the points, the double chin, the kilos ofjewelry. he was influenced by elvis presley very much. in influenced by elvis presley very much. , ., , , ., much. in terms of dressing and the use of kilograms _ much. in terms of dressing and the use of kilograms of— much. in terms of dressing and the use of kilograms of gold, _ much. in terms of dressing and the use of kilograms of gold, he - much. in terms of dressing and the use of kilograms of gold, he told . much. in terms of dressing and the l use of kilograms of gold, he told me he was more inspired by the hip—hop artists in the west but the way i would see him he was more eltonjohn and his appearance and also in that sense of a rock star who didn't really care what people thought of his double chin or his punch or what people thought of his accent, he sang a certain way, his voice had its own tom so a cool rock star that

was his persona but there were elements of his music that had a lot of depth which is not to say that all the disco he did wasn't fun, it was great fun, he was also criticised for plagiarism, for picking up a lot of tunes, especially from the west, but in 2002 he won a case against an american band who lifted a riff of his four eight song that he had done and he won that case in los angeles and he won that case in los angeles and got credit for that song so he was extremely prolific, we tend to forget that abbott a lot of bollywood music composers, the amount of output they had and if you take an example, in 1986 he had a 33

albums out in one year and the beatles had 12 items, you twit —— e2 had 12 albums in their entire career, so people dig his music they will find a lot of depth as well. we must leave _ will find a lot of depth as well. we must leave it there. thank you so much for sharing your memories of bappi lahiri, a sad loss but he broughtjoy to many. many thanks. increases to the cost of energy, fuel and food have pushed inflation to another 30—year high, putting more pressure on households grappling with the rising cost of living. the office for national statistics says it reached 5.5% in the 12 months to january. it's been driven up mainly by the cost of clothes and footwear, as well as rising energy and fuel costs. earlier this month, the bank of england raised interest rates in an effort to slow inflation — and it signalled that more increases were on the way. here's our economics

correspondent, andy verity. leah has two demanding jobs — being a busy mum of three, and working as a care worker. it's round—the—clock. six o'clock every morning, sometimes half past five, and sometimes i don't get home till ten o'clock of a night. you're going ice skating with church next week, as well. forgot to tell you. the thought when your wage is going in the bank, you think, "i've got this much left to budget with for the month." she didn't need official figures to show how prices were rising faster than they have in 30 years. we were only talking last week at morris dancing about the price of beans, and another lady said to me, beans have gone up by 16p a can. everything has shot up in price. all the staple foods like tinned tomatoes — things that you would use to bulk out meals — that's all shot up. global forces like the pandemic and the risk of war in ukraine have driven up fuel costs, coming home to leah's kitchen shelves. my son only eats a particular brand ofjam because he's got additional needs, and the price of the jam

has gone up by a0 pence a jar. just down the road in wythenshawe is the factory where the jam's made. through that wall there is the warehouse. we've arranged a visit for leah to find out why manufacturers are boosting their prices. richard, i'mjust wondering, why are the prices ofjam going up as much as they are at the minute? it's down to a number of things. it's shipment costs, so that's getting the raw materials from around the world to the uk. that's a massive part of it. it's the cost of those raw materials. it's also the packaging materials, which is largely driven by energy costs. we've seen our costs increase by around £8 million over a 12—month period. we can't absorb those costs. the cost of gas, for example, is up 28%. liquid fuels like propane up a7%. and petrol�*s close to a record high. i can't afford to live as it is. i'm getting rid of my car because i can't afford to keep it any longer. i'm happy to get buses and stuff, moving forward. it would have gone to half a tank.

it's gone to just over a quarter now, so... i only put £20 in, obviously, but, no, it'sjust how it's going to be, isn't it? you're frightened to use them now. the price of petrol�*s now feeding through to other prices — with the average price of goods up by no less than 7.2%. prices are rising, and inflation is going to increase to its highest rate in over 30 years. today it's 5.5%. we're expecting it to get to 7% later this year. that means working households are going to face the biggest fall in real incomes for over 30 years, as well. in the 19705, the cost of living was measured by the retail prices index — still used to operate many private pensions. on that old—fashioned measure, it's rising even faster — by 8.5%. in the city, traders now fully expect the bank of england to raise interest rates again next month, to try to dampen an inflationary inferno fuelled by the price of petrol. andy verity, bbc news.

now on bbc news, your questions answered. the secretary general of nato, jens stoltenberg, says russia's readiness to use military force has created a new normal in europe. speaking in brussels he said russia maintained a massive invasion force on the border of ukraine that was ready to attack and that it had not begun to withdraw troops. before we answer questions, that speak to jonathan beale is he was in brussels and watched that nato news conference and asked the first question to the secretary general. just a couple of

points, at first about this withdrawal of troops. i thought it was a pretty sombre tone from jens stoltenberg and repeating the scepticism that nato isn't seeing any evidence of withdrawal of those troops. any evidence of withdrawal of those troo s. ., ~ any evidence of withdrawal of those troo s. . ,, ., , any evidence of withdrawal of those troo s. ., ~ .,, ., troops. yeah, i think it was more than scepticism, _ troops. yeah, i think it was more than scepticism, they _ troops. yeah, i think it was more than scepticism, they just - troops. yeah, i think it was more than scepticism, theyjust don't i than scepticism, theyjust don't believe it and he said we do not see any signs of de—escalation by russia, that russia maintains a massive force ready to attack so they don't think the position has changed. what was also striking in his language, and it was sober and sombre, was this description of europe being in a crisis. we face a crisis in european security, moscow testing by force, i regret to say it's the new normal, that is what he said, and of course because of what russia is doing, nato is now looking at its own response and russia might

end up with more nato rather than less because jens end up with more nato rather than less becausejens stoltenberg has asked his military commanders to look at setting up new battle groups of around 1000 troops in countries like romania quick, possibly elsewhere in the black sea, no decision has been made but after the russian invasion of crimea in 201a nato battle groups were put in the baltic states and poland, that may happen also in the south—east area of the nato alliance so we had this situation where russia will build up its forces and that will prompt a response and everybody is more nervous as a result. regardless of what decision president putin makes. i thought that was interesting, the announcement that they will consider establishing these new nato battle groups and it made me wonder what the reaction to that might be from

russia. , ., , , ., ., ., the reaction to that might be from russia. , .,, , ., ., ., .,, russia. the emphasis from nato as this is about _ russia. the emphasis from nato as this is about defence _ russia. the emphasis from nato as this is about defence and _ this is about defence and deterrence, these forces are not there to attack russia and if you look at the map where you were talking about, for example in the south—east, these are not countries that border russia but that could be impacted if there was a russian invasion of ukraine and also around the black sea where russia again has increased its military posture, so why think clearly moscow could view this as antagonistic but at the same time the nato alliance believes it has to stand up to moscow as it amasses its forces on the border with ukraine. not 8—member —— not a nato member but a country that is in talks with nato about possible membership that is unlikely any time soon but they are concerned about

the consequences of what could happen if russia did invade ukraine and the knock—on effects to other european countries. and the knock-on effects to other european countries.— european countries. thanks, jonathan. — european countries. thanks, jonathan, our _ european countries. thanks, jonathan, our defence - european countries. thanks, - jonathan, our defence correspondent in brussels. with me to answer your questions is on ukraine is drjoanna szostek, associate fellow of the chatham house russia and eurasia programme and lecturer in political communication at university of glasgow. it's very good to have you with us, dr szostek. we have many questions and not start with one from ruth thatis and not start with one from ruth that is getting back to basics. her question is what is the problem with russia and ukraine in the simplest of terms? i russia and ukraine in the simplest of terms? ., _ ., russia and ukraine in the simplest of terms? ., ., ., of terms? i would say the heart of the problem _ of terms? i would say the heart of the problem is _ of terms? i would say the heart of the problem is that _ of terms? i would say the heart of the problem is that ukraine - of terms? i would say the heart of the problem is that ukraine is - of terms? i would say the heart of the problem is that ukraine is a i the problem is that ukraine is a sovereign independent state and has a right to full autonomy from russia at the russian government doesn't

accept that so putin and his government see ukraine as a country that has historically had close cultural and historical ties to russia and they would like ukraine to keep those close ties, so the more ukraine tries to align with the west and europe and reduce its ties with russia, the more russia tries to obstruct that and since 201a the conflict has had this territorial aspect because russia annexed crimea from ukraine in 201a and ukraine continues to challenge the legitimacy of that and russia is also giving military aid and financial assistance to the two breakaway regions in eastern ukraine and preventing the ukrainian government from regaining control over those region. there are other sources of tension concerning questions of history and language rights but if you get to the heart of it it's essentially russia refusing to respect the autonomy of

its smaller neighbour ukraine. philip wants to know, why can ukraine not stay independent both of russia and from nato membership? potentially it could try to do that and i think there are some people within the ukrainian population who might prefer that option especially given that nato membership for ukraine isn't really on the table although it's talked about a lot but others in ukraine worry that without strong western support they will struggle to defend their sovereignty against russia and that is why they are so keen on aligning with nato, evenif are so keen on aligning with nato, even if nato membership seems a remote prospect at present, and it's worth mentioning that ukraine is keen to build ties with the eu, it's notjust keen to build ties with the eu, it's not just about nato keen to build ties with the eu, it's notjust about nato and russia has in the past tried to obstruct ukraine's alignment with the eu so in a way all the current focus on nato misses the bigger point that

russia object ukraine building closer political and economic ties with the west, notjust military ties. with the west, not 'ust military ties. ., . , ., with the west, not 'ust military ties. ., ., , ., ~ ., ., , ties. ron wants to know what is the significance — ties. ron wants to know what is the significance of— ties. ron wants to know what is the significance of russian _ ties. ron wants to know what is the significance of russian presence - ties. ron wants to know what is the significance of russian presence in| significance of russian presence in the eastern provinces of ukraine and it would be worth explaining more about what that presence entails, and ron is also keen to know what life is like for people living there. , , ., life is like for people living there. , , . . , life is like for people living there. ,, . , , ., ., there. russia has been providing all there. russia has been providing all the financial — there. russia has been providing all the financial and _ there. russia has been providing all the financial and technical— there. russia has been providing all the financial and technical and - the financial and technical and military assistance that the separatist groups in donetsk need to maintain their control over that territory and as an academic i don't have access to military intelligence, it's hard for someone like me to know the precise scale of russia's military presence in donbas, even international monitors cannot track all the shipments that come into separatist territories from russia but we do know that besides the military and financial

support russia provides, russia has recently been issuing thousands of passports to people in the separatist territories and that's quite significant because it complicates the prospect of ever reintegrating those territories and their populations back into ukraine. explain a bit because we hear the phrase separatist territories, what exactly does that mean? does it mean all the people living in those areas are now aligned to russia or either are now aligned to russia or either a mixture of people who are also looking towards kyiv? what is the situation? , ~ ., ., situation? currently the ukrainian government _ situation? currently the ukrainian government does _ situation? currently the ukrainian government does not _ situation? currently the ukrainian government does not control - situation? currently the ukrainian | government does not control parts situation? currently the ukrainian - government does not control parts of two regions, donetsk and luhansk, so there are territories within ukraine that have been declared people's republics by these political forces backed by russia, and if you were

asking to what extent the people within those territories, with a rather be part of russia or ukraine, it's impossible to know from the outside because these are not places where you can conduct surveys easily to get an accurate sense of public opinion. these territories have been bombarded with russian propaganda so there is a lot of pro—russian sentiment in that part of ukraine but the question that was sent in was also relating to what's life like there and i think whether you're talking about the territories that are controlled by russia and the separatist or parts of ukraine that are still controlled by kyiv but closely aligned with contact, it's a very difficult place to live. economically, that quality of life there is poor and so many ukrainians

have been internally displaced, i think there is 1.5 million ukrainians who have had to leave their homes in eastern ukraine due to the conflict since 201a, so it's not a good situation. to the conflict since 2014, so it's not a good situation.— to the conflict since 2014, so it's not a good situation. lucy, picking u . not a good situation. lucy, picking u- on not a good situation. lucy, picking up on nato — not a good situation. lucy, picking up on nato again, _ not a good situation. lucy, picking up on nato again, wants _ not a good situation. lucy, picking up on nato again, wants to - not a good situation. lucy, picking up on nato again, wants to know i not a good situation. lucy, picking i up on nato again, wants to know why russia doesn't want ukraine to join nato. you have touched on this but perhaps you would care to expand a little more. i perhaps you would care to expand a little more. ~ perhaps you would care to expand a little more-— little more. i think russia sees a threat partly _ little more. i think russia sees a threat partly because _ little more. i think russia sees a threat partly because it - little more. i think russia sees a threat partly because it sees - little more. i think russia sees a. threat partly because it sees nato as an extension of us power and the usa and russia have a long history of being rivals can sometimes our adversaries, they were pitted against each other right through the cold war and that relationship between russia and the us and by extension russia and nato is a relationship of complete distrust on both sides. we have heard nato insist it is a purely defensive

lines and that russia has no reason to worry about the russian government doesn't accept that and i think the idea of ukrainian membership of nato is especially a red line for russia because they worry that, notjust red line for russia because they worry that, not just that it would weaken russia's ability to defend itself but it's also about the politics because if ukrainejoined nato it will rule itself out of joining any of the various regional alliances that russia leads and russia, as i think i said, would rather have ukraine within its sphere of influence as it has done over the decades. aha, sphere of influence as it has done over the decades.— sphere of influence as it has done over the decades. a couple of lines cominu over the decades. a couple of lines coming out — over the decades. a couple of lines coming out from _ over the decades. a couple of lines coming out from ukraine _ over the decades. a couple of lines coming out from ukraine and - over the decades. a couple of lines coming out from ukraine and the l coming out from ukraine and the latest ukrainian intelligence report, we are being told, shows no evidence of russian troops or equipment withdrawal, that's according to the defence minister at speaking to the news agency reuters

and the russian and separatist forces near ukraine's borders, which we have been talking about, still total around 1a0,000 military personnel, according to the russian defence minister and that links into jim's question, who asks our russian troops encircling ukraine were either the only on this eastern border? mr; either the only on this eastern border? ~ , , ., , either the only on this eastern border? ~ , , . , ., border? my understanding is that russian forces _ border? my understanding is that russian forces are _ border? my understanding is that russian forces are to _ border? my understanding is that russian forces are to the - border? my understanding is that russian forces are to the north i border? my understanding is that russian forces are to the north of ukraine, in belarus they are to the south in crimea and to the east within russia itself, so ukraine also has a long border with the eu, it borders poland, hungary and slovakia so that western side is not encircled the build—up of forces is obviously substantial and dangerous and worrying. find obviously substantial and dangerous and worrying-— and worrying. and we are also

heafina and worrying. and we are also hearing from _ and worrying. and we are also hearing from the _ and worrying. and we are also hearing from the ukrainian - and worrying. and we are also - hearing from the ukrainian defence minister this week's cyber attacks on ukraine did not hit defence command control systems which is an update on those cyber attacks. pauline wants to know, why are the west getting involved in all this? why is the west getting involved in this russia — ukraine situation and what impact could it have on the west if it escalates?— west if it escalates? western governments _ west if it escalates? western governments have _ west if it escalates? western governments have a - west if it escalates? western governments have a range i west if it escalates? western j governments have a range of west if it escalates? western - governments have a range of security and economic interests in ukraine. ukraine is a large country, over a0 million people, it is on the eu's doorstep, so if russia invaded, europe would face huge followed in terms of refugees and all that regional instability and insecurity but i think there's a broader concern that western governments have which is respect for

international borders and maintaining that as a norm of international politics and forcing russia to respect that law as well, and more generally, there has been a lot of effort over recent years on the part of western governments to try and support ukraine developing as a democratic country, help it to become stable and prosperous partner for the eu and for the uk and that's very difficult under the current conditions of conflict.- conditions of conflict. doctor joanna szostek, _ conditions of conflict. doctor joanna szostek, thank - conditions of conflict. doctor joanna szostek, thank you i conditions of conflict. doctorl joanna szostek, thank you for helping to answer some of our reviewers questions. good to talk to you. reviewers questions. good to talk to ou. ., ~' reviewers questions. good to talk to ou. ., ~ , ., we have had news of storm dudley on

the way but the winter storms have already taken a huge toll on woodlands and forests with some 8 million trees brought down. there are warnings that the heating climate is making our weather more severe end unpredictable. our environment correspondent, claire marshall, reports. the north—east of england has been hit really hard. at great knott here in cumbria, which is more one of our larger woods, we've lost over a third of the woodland. it's relentless. one winter storm after another blasting the landscape. across the uk, millions of trees have been brought down. this is the heart of the lake district. kelvin archer manages the woodland trust's forests in the north of england. it's a big oak, isn't it? it's a real shame it's gone. he spends most of his time now assessing damage. his dog always with him. predominantly this normally happens in scotland, which this year has been hit horrendously hard by storms. it doesn't normally come down this far. we had the beast of the east a few years ago that did hit us here but this last couple of years

we've been hit again and again. the north—east is starting to look a bit like scotland for wind blow and wind damage and storm damage. and now we're getting it in cumbria. so there is a clear pattern of change. close to the shore of lake windermere, this is wray castle. there is clearing up happening here too. the storms have cost the national trust around £a million. the charity says already it has been the worst season for a0 years. it says that in a huge blow to british heritage, many iconic trees have been lost. so this is a national champion crested beech. it's a champion of britain and ireland. because it's the biggest tree of that species in terms of girth. when you lose any big, really big prominent tree, it's sad. and this one particularly because it's been at wray castle for a long time. it's an important tree because it's the biggest. and to see it blown over is really sad. i think it's probably a douglas fir. richard takes us deep into the worst hit area. it's still closed to the public.

many of these trees have been weakened and his team hasn't yet been able to make it safe. this is the kind of hidden damage that forest managers are really worried about. across the uk there are hundreds of thousands of giant trees like this that have fallen. many of the felled trees can be sold for timber, but there are so many of them that they are likely to fetch a lower price. but storm damage can have its benefits. bonnie waring is a senior lecturer at imperial college london. when a tree falls down it creates a gap in the canopy that lets light through. that helps light—dependent species thrive. and the dead tree itself is a really important habitat for species that are of conservation concern. it's the scale of the damage, though, that richard finds daunting. if you look at the smashed tops of the trees, it kind of reminds you a bit of those photos you see of a battlefield. i've never seen a battlefield, but the pictures you see, the trees sort of look like that. itjust looks like somebody

has set off a bomb. and now storm dudley is on its way. the horizon is darkening once again. winter is not over yet. can the survivors stay standing? claire marshall, bbc news, cumbria. reeta chakra barti will reeta chakrabarti will be here at 5pm. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fox and at stormy. we have two storms to worry about, the second on friday will bring some especially extreme winds to parts of england and wales but right now it's storm dudley taking centre stage, we already had a gust of 71 miles per hour and s across scotland, northern ireland and northern england where we are looking at gusts around 70 or 80 mph so gusts are strong enough to bring down some trees and will

continue to bring widespread disruption as we head through the first half of the night, even the second half stays billowy and blustery, frequent showers across north—western area is turning to snow on the high ground in scotland but otherwise winds keeping the temperatures up for many of us. tomorrow is a relatively quiet between two nasty areas of low pressure, the weather looks like being a bright day, sunshine for most of us, a few showers in north—western areas, not quite the dizzy heights of 15 or 16 degrees we saw this afternoon, 11 or 12 still above normal. storm yunus on friday looks to be an especially extreme area of low pressure, it could be one of the strongest terms we have seenin one of the strongest terms we have seen in decades. in gusts of 80 mph, we could see coast land gets up to 90, maybe even 100 mph. the winds will blow over a large number of

trees so we are talking about a significant risk of disruption to roads, rails and airports, there will be power cuts and to the north we see a zone of heavy snow and blizzards, with 10—30 centimetres, snow coming down so heavily that snow coming down so heavily that snow ploughs and critters may not be able to keep up so on high level of routes we are likely to see vehicles got stranded in the snow drifts, so storm eunice, a dangerous looking it is something that is as an option for all eunice, and they it is something that is as an option for all eunice, a mi they it is something that is as an option for all eunice, a dangerous looking storm that will hit on friday, gusts storm eunice, a dangerous looking storm that will hit on friday, gusts of wind and blizzards causing of wind and blizzards causing problems, widespread disruption so problems, widespread disruption so you might want to think about you might want to think about changing your plans for friday. changing your plans for friday. this is bbc news. this is bbc news. the headlines... the headlines... children aged five to 11 are to be children aged five to 11 are to be offered covid vaccine in scotland. offered covid vaccine in scotland. the vaccine is safe and effective. the vaccine is safe and effective. it is something that is as an option it is something that is as an option

for all parents, and they for all parents, and they should decide for themselves. russia claims it's withdrawn more troops after months of tension over ukraine but nato says there's no evidence of de escalation. we are prepared either way. we are prepared to engage in diplomacy with russia, if it is serious about it. we are also prepared for renewed aggression. prince charles' charity, the prince's foundation,