the met office issues its strongest possible weather warning a threat to life for tomorrow morning, when storm eunice is set to hit. battening down the hatches as winds of up to 90mph are expected in some areas. your caravan is all the way over there? across in south wales, yeah, well, it is at the moment. who knows, with this wind, it may be joining us fairly shortly. storm eunice is expected to hit in the early hours of the morning, with the south west seeing the most severe weather. the wind strengths are going to be stronger then we would normally see in these kind of storms and it's going to hit highly populated areas, so it's going to have a really big impact. we'll be live with our correspondents around the country as people prepare for significant disruption. also this evening...

president biden says russian military manoeuvres on ukraine's borders are not evidence of them moving out and they could invade within days. a british man, simon nellist, is named as the victim of a fatal shark attack in sydney. slight step out, that is it, down and gone. and the pressure shows for 15 year old kamila valieva, the russian skater who failed a drugs test in tears as she misses an olympic medal in the free skate. and coming up in sport on the bbc news channel... the wait is over — a first medalfor team gb at the winter olympics — where the men's curling team are guaranteed at least silver.

good evening. the met office has issued its most serious red weather warning meaning a risk to life when storm eunice reaches the uk tomorrow morning. alerts are in place across the country, with wind speeds of between 70 and 90mph predicted. the government held an emergency cobra meeting to discuss its response to the impending storm, and borisjohnson said the army was "on standby." a red warning means possible danger to life from debris, damage to homes, and powercuts, and significant travel disruption. in cornwall and somerset, people are being urged to only travel if "absolutely necessary," with many schools being told to close. it comesjust a it comes just a day after storm dudley caused some damage in parts of northern england and scotland. here's our science editor rebecca morelle.

taking the measure of storm dudley and its damaging winds. in the yorkshire dales, trees were ripped from the ground. roads were blocked in hertfordshire, and in south wales, this wind turbine could not cope with the gusts. thousands of homes have been left without power and an emergency cobra meeting was called to discuss the situation. i extend my sympathies to those who are still without power. we are working with the power companies and local authorities to get them, get theirjuice back as fast as possible. but also of course the army is on standby. but much worse is on the way. in st ives, they're preparing for the arrival of storm eunice. so we've got our flood defence boards that go on the front of the pub, with sandbags behind them. hopefully stops the sea coming in. the met office has issued a rare red weather morning for friday morning for parts of southwest england and south wales, meaning there is a danger to life. it's going to be a bad one, yeah.

as long as people take notice of what the warnings are, - don't take any risks on the quay, i don't get washed away, life is more precious than a photograph. what's making storm eunice so potent is a combination of events. being driven by an extremely active jet stream, blowing at more than 200 mph high up in the atmosphere. this is creating very strong winds, forecast up to 90mph in exposed areas and 70—80mph inland, which is unusual for the south of the uk. the problem is this is coinciding with a spring tide on friday morning. measuring up to 12.8 metres, that's more than a0 feet in some areas, which could bring storm surges at the coast and result in flooding inland. meteorologists are concerned because the storm will hit in the morning when people are out and about. the wind strengths are going to be stronger than we would normally see in these kind of storms, and it's going to hit highly populated areas. so it's going to have a really big impact.

and the recommendation, really, if you don't have to travel tomorrow, if you don't have to go out and about, is to stay indoors. this was the damage caused by the great storm of 1987. forecasters say eunice shouldn't be as bad, but is climate change affecting storms? the met office says they haven't seen any compelling trends of increased storminess, but the impact of warming may become clearer over time. a storm like eunice only comes along once a decade or more. schools are closing and train services cancelled. the country is bracing itself for what lies ahead. rebecca morelle, bbc news. as we've been hearing, one of the areas issued with a red weather warning of "danger to life" is the coastal areas of the south west of england. the environment agency has issued io flood warnings for the severn estuary ahead of a potential surge in high tides. our correspondent andrew plant has been to north somerset to see how they're preparing for the expected arrival of storm eunice.

locking down the shutters in somerset and tying up the boats as the wind starts to get stronger here. builders busy securing anything that could get blown away. dangerous, dangerous. i want to come down and watch it, not this close. across somerset, all schools are now closed tomorrow amid warnings about high winds and the potential forflooding, too. it's likely we're going to see severe flooding tomorrow only in the severn estuary. what that means is danger to life, and that really is quite an exceptional event. you can already see the effects of a normal night's weather here. the seaweed showing exactly how high the waters have been. but now this west coast here in somerset is predicted to be in this storm's red zone, and that means very, very high winds predicted.

in fact, some of the businesses on the seafront here say it's the worst forecast they've seen in more than 15 years. are you ready for the storm tonight? in seafront cafes here, it's the weather on everyone�*s lips. we have got the floodgates there. like i said, we've— been here for 15 years and we've never had to actually use them. so we are probably going to prepare, maybe put some sandbags _ at the bottom of the door inside. others, abandoning their caravans, and finding the safety of a hotel instead. so, your caravan�*s all the way over there? across in south wales, yeah. well, it is at the moment. who knows, with this wind, it might be joining us fairly shortly! warning leaflets have been handed out door—to—door, and flood defences put in place as the west prepares itself for storm eunice and winds that could reach up to ioomph. andrew plant, bbc news, somerset. so storm eunice will hit in the early hours of tomorrow morning. by sam there's an amber warning

for wind across much of england and wales with gusts up to 70mph expected. there are also less severe yellow weather alerts for wind and snow covering much of scotland, north of england and northern ireland. by 7am, a red warning comes into force around south west england and southern wales and we could see gusts of up to 90mph in coastal areas. and that red warning stays in place until midday. in a moment we'll be live with our correspondent jenny kumar in st ives, but first tomos morgan is in powthcawal in south wales. you mentioned the red warning coming into force and add 8am here there is actually a high tide so there is a risk the tide could be pushed over onto the road and just shops and the seafront. a number of precautions have been put in place across wales in preparation for storm eunice, and

it is believed the first time tomorrow that all of the trains have been cancelled, the majority of schools will also be called off, and some going to online learning. this health board, swansea bay, has also cancelled all nonurgent care and just shy of 100 flood warnings now in place across wales. the first minister said to everyone that they should avoid any travel unless absolutely necessary and he was part of a cobra meeting earlier to make sure there were plans in place if they were serious issues across the country, as the country prepares for storm eunice tomorrow. i’m country, as the country prepares for storm eunice tomorrow.— storm eunice tomorrow. i'm here in storm eunice tomorrow. i'm here in st ives on the _ storm eunice tomorrow. i'm here in st ives on the north _ storm eunice tomorrow. i'm here in st ives on the north cornwall - storm eunice tomorrow. i'm here in st ives on the north cornwall coast l st ives on the north cornwall coast and it_ st ives on the north cornwall coast and it is_ st ives on the north cornwall coast and it is expected to be one of the hardest _ and it is expected to be one of the hardest hit — and it is expected to be one of the hardest hit areas in the region. today— hardest hit areas in the region. today it — hardest hit areas in the region. today it has been fairly calm but the region— today it has been fairly calm but the region is bracing itself for a

battering _ the region is bracing itself for a battering. businesses and fishermen have been_ battering. businesses and fishermen have been making their preparations for what _ have been making their preparations for what is _ have been making their preparations for what is expected to be one of the worst— for what is expected to be one of the worst storms in the region since 2014 _ the worst storms in the region since 2014 the _ the worst storms in the region since 2014. the council has been planning with emergency services and power companies — with emergency services and power companies and an emergency centre is due to _ companies and an emergency centre is due to start— companies and an emergency centre is due to start running from five again at the _ due to start running from five again at the strongest of the windsor is expected — at the strongest of the windsor is expected between seven and midday. -- the _ expected between seven and midday. —— the strongest of the winds. there are warnings — —— the strongest of the winds. there are warnings about falling trees and power— are warnings about falling trees and power lines so the advice is to avoid — power lines so the advice is to avoid travel and to follow the advice — avoid travel and to follow the advice in _ avoid travel and to follow the advice in your area.— avoid travel and to follow the advice in your area. the both of ou, advice in your area. the both of you. thanks _ advice in your area. the both of you, thanks for _ advice in your area. the both of you, thanks forjoining - advice in your area. the both of you, thanks forjoining us. - to get more on the situation where you live, do tune in to your bbc local radio station — and you can find details of your nearest station at bbc.co.uk/sounds. or for the picture across the country head to bbc.co.uk/news.

president biden has said the threat of a russian invasion of ukraine remains "very high" and could take place within days, despite moscow's claim to be pulling troops from the border. his message was echoed at a nato summit in brussels, where western leaders said that far from withdrawing, russia had in fact added troops, ahead of a possible invasion. there've been reports that pro russian forces have shelled a village in eastern ukraine. from kyiv, paul adams sent this report. more ferocious displays of firepower as russia's war games in belarus reach their climax. expected to last three more days, but then, what? in washington, president biden the latest to sound an urgent warning. every indication we have is they are prepared to go into ukraine, attack ukraine. but war is already a reality for many in ukraine. this morning, children rushed to safety after a rocket tore

into their kindergarten. the village is close to areas controlled by russian—backed separatists. another shell hit a school. no—one was killed. but violence in this area could easily escalate. in rebel areas loyal to russia, they say they fear an attack by ukraine. western officials worried an incident could be manufactured by russia as an excuse for an invasion. here in kyiv, the foreign secretary arrived to express solidarity, still urging russian not to escalate. russia can still take the path of diplomacy. they can de—escalate, they can move their troops away from the border, and i believe that's in the interest of european security, but it's also in russia's interest. ukraine's president was at sea today visiting the armed forces, telling the bbc, again,

that no—one has the right to determine his country's future. we are just speaking - about our independence. that's it, that we - are deciding we want. we are deciding what we will do for our future. . at the un security council, a battle of words and no sign yet of a way out of this perilous crisis. we've been warning the ukrainian government of all that is coming. and here today, we are laying it out in great detail with the hope that by sharing what we know with the world, we can influence russia to abandon the path of war and choose a different path while there's still time. translation: attempts - to place the blame on russia are futile and baseless. and this only hides the goal of shifting the blame away from ukraine. fresh satellite images of russian troops and equipment. western officials say the numbers are still increasing and moving closer to ukraine's border.

joe biden says he has no plans at the moment to call vladimir putin and it is not clear exactly where diplomacy goes from here. the russians have just expelled america's number two diplomat in moscow. the russians continue to insist that they do not intend to invade this country but today vladimir putin's spokesperson said the situation around russia's borders could ignite at any moment. paul adams, thanks forjoining us. moscow maintains there are no plans to invade ukraine, but as you've just seen, large scale military drills are still taking place. the us claims that at least 150,000 russian troops are now postioned close to ukraine's borders, and they say more have been arriving even as moscow claims it's completed military exercises and that units are returning to their

permanent bases. in belarus 30,000 men, equipped with tanks and artillery, have been on manoeuvres. our special correspondent fergal keane travelled from the nearby border town of senkivka in ukraine to the capital kyiv meeting people who could be in the path of any russian advance. nothing's changed — the same forest, and beyond it, the same enemy. the ukrainian patrols that will be the first to see any advancing army. here on the border with the russians just over there, there is no sense that things have been conclusively resolved, not at all. it's just a pause in what remains a very tense situation. this major grew up in a border town, his father served in soviet times. now his task is to help keep moscow out of ukraine.

translation: the independence of ukraine is enshrined _ in all our documents, it is in our constitution. as a military man i need to protect this. we drove south along the road towards kyiv. to hear the voices of those who must live with the attention of these days. this is a soviet model town built after the nuclear disaster at nearby chernobyl in 1986. a place where evacuated workers and their families could start life again and where they know the cost of dramatic upheaval. what year did you move in here? in 1989. just before the berlin wall fell. like this couple, married 40 years. he's ukrainian, she's russian.

it's terrible because... ..we lose a lot of friends. some of our connections broken completely. i think personally that our kind of brotherhood never will come back. it's a terrible problem because my parents lived in russia and our daughter lives in russia now. but there is some tension between us, yes. even in the family? even in the family. in kyiv, at the end of thisjourney, in a city that feels weary with the endless speculation about war, i met vitaliy and his wife olga with their two—day—old baby.

translation: we can't be sure there won't be another putin - tomorrow who will want to create chaos, but i think peace - will prevail and we will do - everything we can to create peace. translation: we need to think about a better life, _ especially now when we have such a miracle in our arms. we can't think about bad things any more. they've named himjaroymr. it means peace, a name given out of the hope that remains constant here and further north in the quiet towns and villages closer to the border, despite the nervousness about the days to come. fergal keane, bbc news, ukraine. the time is 18 minutes past six. our top story this evening... the met office issues its strongest

possible weather warning — a threat to life — for tomorrow morning, when storm eunice is set to hit. (00v) coming up....team gb's men's curling team are guaranteed to win britain's first medal at the winter olympics after getting through to the final. coming up on sportsday, in a crucial acid test ahead of the european championships this summer, england women take on the olympic champions canada tonight in their first match in the arnold clark cup. it's four weeks since the government lifted its guidance on working from home but some people say they're struggling to get to work because of fewer rail services and sudden cancellations. bbc research suggests more than a fifth of train services haven't returned to pre—covid levels. train operating companies say they are beginning to bring back more services, but the government said there's no guarantee the system will return to how it was before the pandemic. our transport correspondent katie austin reports. after months of working from home, lee wants to go

into the office more. train actually is running today, because mine was cancelled yesterday. his partner amy now has to, but the trains into london they rely on aren't as frequent as they used to be. in my team we've got people coming in from kent, from essex, and i'd say a good at least 25% of them are having problems every day. there's fewer trains an hour, the trains are very crowded, trains are randomly being cancelled. trains are one every half an hour at the moment, but i turned up to get the one that would got me to work on time and it was just cancelled. so, yeah, i was down to one an hour. i had to change my plan, go home and work from home. going into his workplace will soon become compulsory, so that's a worry. the pandemic and remote working have changed travel habits, and people's use of the railways hasn't recovered as much as cars or buses. rail timetables across the country were cut back again over the winter, with operators blaming high numbers of staff isolating due to omicron.

overall, about 79% of pre—pandemic services are now running. train companies insist they are starting to reinstate more, and 85% should be running by the end of the month. but they say there are enough trains for the amount of people using them. passenger use is only at about 64% of pre—covid. how timetables will look in future is still unclear. while leisure travel has fared better, fewer commuters means less fare revenue. the government says it's pumped in more than £14 billion to sustain rail services through the pandemic. that level of subsidy won't continue. it's important that where we end up is having a railway service that is fair for those people who use it, fairfor the passengers, but also fair to the taxpayer. so can you guarantee that services will go back to what they used to be? what i will guarantee you is that we will continue to keep things under review, which is what you would expect us to do. rail companies say the system must adapt. we're certainly seeing changing travel patterns, we're seeing more working from home.

that's why we've recently introduced flexible season tickets. and we need to continually look at how people are travelling, adjust the timetable to meet that demand, and also offer them fares that attract them to use the railway. a major shake—up of how the railway is run is in its early stages. for now, commuters say theyjust want enough trains that turn up on time. katie austin, bbc news. a convicted sex offender who absconded from a lincolnshire prison on sunday has been arrested. paul robson was serving a life sentence for attempted rape and indecent assault and was described as a particular danger to women and young children. lincolnshire police said he was found in the skegness area this morning. two serving police officers and a former officer have been charged with sending grossly offensive messages on whatsapp.

the police watchdog said the charges arose from an investigation into the phone records of wayne couzens, who murdered sarah everard. the messages are said to have been sent on a whatsapp group chat we can speak to our special correspondent lucy manning. lucy, what more do we know? this all stems from — lucy, what more do we know? this all stems from the _ lucy, what more do we know? this all stems from the investigation - lucy, what more do we know? this all stems from the investigation and - stems from the investigation and conviction into wayne couzens. when police went to search his house, they found a mobile phone that had a whatsapp chat with fellow officers from 2019. it contained racist and misogynistic messages. off the back of that, two met police officers have been charged, one former officer as well and they will appear in court in london next month. interestingly and unusually, they haven't been named. the prosecutor says that is for operational reasons. my understanding is that they will be named as soon as prosecutors can do so. it is another hammer blow for the met, it comes

not long after racist and misogynistic messages were revealed from officers at charing cross station a few years ago, that precipitated the impending departure of cressida dick. and it isjust one strand of the investigation that has come out from the conviction of wayne couzens. more than a dozen fellow officers investigated off the back of his conviction. we are still yet to hear the outcome of some of those most serious claims about what police knew about wayne couzens during his time at the met. thank ou, during his time at the met. thank you. lucy- _ during his time at the met. thank you. lucy- lucy — during his time at the met. thank you, lucy. lucy manning - during his time at the met. thank. you, lucy. lucy manning reporting. a swimmer who was killed by a shark near sydney has been identified as a 35—year—old british man. simon nellist was a diving instructor and died in what's thought to be the first fatal shark attack in sydney for almost 60 years. from sydney, shaimaa khalill sent this report. a diving instructor and an avid

ocean lover, simon nellist was a regular swimmer who reportedly went to little bay beach in sydney's east almost every day, but wednesday was his last. he's believed to have been swimming just offshore here in choppy waters before he was attacked by a white shark, reportedly between four to five metres. rescuers found human remains and pieces of a wetsuit, and the search continues for what is left of his body, and for the shark, as well. it is very tricky to identify the animal, so to give your viewers some idea, we do have sharks in australian waters, but it's not every day that we do see a white shark over three metres long — and i'm talking a great white shark. most of sydney's beaches have been closed, including here in bondi. many swimmers have said that while they want to go back into the water, they were quite shaken by what happened. this is the city's first fatal shark attack in nearly six decades,

one that has devastated a community and shocked sydneysiders. shaima khalil, bbc news, sydney. the skater kamila valieva's controversial winter olympics has ended in tears with a fourth place finish in the women's event after she fell multiple times in the free skate. the 15—year—old has been in the spotlight after a ruling that she could compete in beijing despite a failed drugs test. our sports correspondent laura scott reports. she was expected to become the champion who couldn't be called a champion, a winner with an asterisk next to her name. but after a week of being weighed down by scandal, 15—year—old kamila valieva's olympic dreams fell apart. commentator: a step out there. shattering on the ice with each shocking, shuddering stumble, in full view of the world. commentator: this is very difficult to watch indeed. - leaving a shell—shocked child.

very difficult image to take in. to thejudges, valieva must be treated like everyone else, but to the watching world, thejudgment goes far wider than whatever score she receives tonight. and extends to those who allowed this situation to have happened at all. inconsolable, as she awaited her fate, but it was perhaps worse than she had feared. so costly were her errors that she wasn't just knocked off first spot, but outside the top three. i found myself with my head in my hands halfway through the performance. you just... you wanted the world to stop and someone to say, "come here, let me take you away, let's rewind this and make this all go away." but, yeah, we are here. in a victory for russia, gold and silver went to two other members of the same renowned moscow training group. after all the criticism over a lack of ceremony, this meant they could

have their moment after all. but the sight of a distraught teenager competing while mired in a doping controversy was a moment of olympic history no one watching will ever forget and many might neverforgive. laura scott, bbc news, beijing. well, it's not been the most successful games for team gb, but today the men's curling team made it through to the final, meaning britain won't go home empty handed. and the women's team made it into the semi finals too, as andy swiss reports. commentator: a fantastic performance. _ after 13 days of disappointment, at last... yes, britain has a medal, and just look what it means. bruce mouat and his team were up against the usa, the reigning champions, but on the ice, it was britain that kept their cool. we're on the scoreboard. here it comes, the last stone. come the final end, they led by two, and the us' last shot at glory came to nothing. victory for britain and the delight was plain to see.

great britain will contest the gold medal match. i'm just so excited to be able to share the moment with the guys and that celebration at the end there wasjust pure elation. earlier, britain's women made it into their semi—finals after beating the russian olympic committee. a great day on the ice, and a good day in the snow as well. well, here in the mountains, it's been a pretty tough games for britain's skiers, but could the half—pipe finally give them something to celebrate? gus kenworthy and 19—year—old zoe atkin both reached their respective finals. come on, zoe. atkin qualifying in a very impressive fourth. right, good! but if you thought competing in the half pipe was risky, well, how about filming it? one cameraman getting rather more of a close up than he'd bargained for. no major harm done, thankfully, but you suspect

he might need a new lens. andy swiss, bbc news, beijing. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. yes indeed, good evening. every expectation is we have a powerful and dangerous storm bearing down on the uk. the red warning from the met office which means a danger to life, danger to property. if you have any sort of travel plans over the next 24 hours, worth having another think about those. this hook of cloud on the satellite picture is our developing storm system and on the southern flank of this low over the next 24 hours, that is where we have potential for the damaging winds. this red warning from the met office, gusts up to 90 mph for the coast of south—west england and wales, damaged disruption and coastal flooding likely. wales, damaged disruption and coastalflooding likely. this broader amber warning with potential for gusts up to 80 mph even for inland spots. that is quite unusual. certainly it could cause some big issues. the first signs of the