welcome to bbc news — i'm rich preston. our top stories: president biden prepares to discuss russia's troop buildup near ukraine with transatlantic leaders — the us has urged russia to say formally that it won't invade. more than a hundred people are now known to have died in floods and mudslides in brazil — as rising water levels suspend the search for the missing. southern britain braces for one of the fiercest storms in years — and a red weather warning means storm eunice could pose a risk to life. and canadian police warn protesting truckers in ottawa that action to clear them from the city centre's streets is "imminent".

president biden is preparing to hold talks with transatlantic leaders on friday to discuss the ukraine crisis, according to the white house. he's 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 its borders. in a heated un security council meeting, the us secretary of state warned russia may be trying to engineer a pretext for an invasion — there have been reports that pro—russian forces have shelled a village and hit a kindergarten in eastern ukraine. here's our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford heading right for the front line.

ukraine's president went to meet the troops today and we went with him. if there is an all—out russian invasion, then these positions could be right in its path. so a bit of a morale boost for the soldiers on whom so much might depend. tea and chat with their president. one man even admitted his parents are nervous and keep calling him. just this morning, police had to bundle children to safety after their kindergarten was hit by a missile. ukraine reported a surge in shelling today by forces backed by russia. here, a music room left in ruins. i have to tell you that the picture is very grim. we fear very much that that is the kind of thing

we will see more of over the next few days. it's quiet right now but you only have to walk through these trenches in the middle of what used to be a holiday village to realise that, for all the talk of the risk of conflict, this country is already at war. still, western leaders are warning that russia plans to escalate. every indication we have is they are prepared to go into ukraine, attack ukraine. so volodymyr zelensky had a shout out for the navy today, too. he's trying to keep the nation calm under immense pressure, including from those hinting ukraine will have to make concessions to pacify russia. i just want to understand from you if ukraine is in any way ready to drop its ambition ofjoining nato? it's not ambition, we lost 15,000 people, yes, you know, from the very beginning of this war. it is not ambitions, it isjust our life. people decided to do something they want. it's not about nato, it's about the future of the people. at the un, there was no sign anyone else was softening

their position either. russia still insisting nato was the threat on its border. we have 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 note with the world, we can influence russia to abandon the path of war and choose a different path, while there is still time. ukraine has already paid heavily for standing up to russia. it knows all about the risk. but the warning from here is that any concessions in this crisis are dangerous, because moscow always wants more. sarah rainsford, bbc news, in eastern ukraine. let's get some of the day's other news. french commanders are speaking with mali's military officials to organise the retreat of french troops from the country. france and military allies have said they will leave mali after almost a decade there fighting islamist insurgents around west africa,

and move to niger instead. the dutch prime minister, mark rutte, has apologised to the indonesian people for the dutch military�*s systematic and widespread use of torture and extreme violence against those fighting for independence in the nineteen— forties. mr rutte said the conclusions of a historical review were painful, but his government accepted responsibility. rescuers in eastern afghanistan are trying to reach a boy who's been trapped in a village well since wednesday. the operation comes less than two weeks after a similar — unsuccessful — attempt to rescue a child from a moroccan well gripped the world. the five—year—old boy, named haidar, is wedged deep inside the well, but is still able to move his arms and upper body. to brazil now where alarms

have sounded in the city of petropolis, warning residents of intense rain in the hours to come. a month's worth of rain fell in a matter of hours on tuesday and now this new bad weather has forced the search and rescue mission to be temporarily stopped. katy watson reports from petropolis. earlier i spoke to christopher hassan who lives with his wife and two children in the city of petropolis and i asked him about his day. soi so i was able to just get home. i was out in the street for most of the day helping with the clean—up and the rain started and they started coming down really hard to gain similar to what we saw on tuesday. thunder and lightning, just a lot of rain in a short amount of time and what the problem was today as the rivers overflowed even quicker because all of the damage, all the roads that have eroded the houses, the car is in the river now, there is no room for the water so it was immediate flooding and we're still waiting for more mud slides due to happen at any moment. talk as to where _ to happen at any moment. talk as to where you _ to happen at any moment. talk as to where you were _ to happen at any moment. talk as to where you were and what happened on tuesday when the rain first came down.—

rain first came down. tuesday i was home. _ rain first came down. tuesday i was home, work— rain first came down. tuesday i was home, work from - rain first came down. tuesday i was home, work from home i rain first came down. tuesday i i was home, work from home with my wife and our kids were at school and it started raining and were in the rainforest and remains in the somerset started off normal and then it got heavier and thunder and lightning and then we lost power and we started looking around thinking well, this is getting really bad and then it did not stop. we started checking social media and seeing the rivers overflowing and then we started seeing reports of mudslides and started hearing screams of mudslides. then it was kind of scary moment there but we knew that our kids were safe in school where they were. we knew we were safer we were so we kind ofjust locked down for a little bit until the rain stopped and then it started a few hours for the waters to recede before we could even leave our apartment to try and get our kids. we leave our apartment to try and get our ride— leave our apartment to try and get our kids. we can see some ofthe

get our kids. we can see some of the pictures _ get our kids. we can see some of the pictures from _ get our kids. we can see some of the pictures from those - of the pictures from those first few hours. do you know anyone caught up in this directly?— anyone caught up in this directl ? . , directly? that as they were findin: directly? that as they were finding out _ directly? that as they were finding out every _ directly? that as they were finding out every couple . directly? that as they were finding out every couple of| finding out every couple of hours. i mean, iwasjust cleaning up yesterday with a guy that my brother in the works with spent the whole day together and i estimate the end of the day, how is your family? to determine that his daughter was lost in one of the buses swept into the river. fortunately, if you can say that, at least her one—year—old daughter was able to be pulled out of the window before she was swept away. but we're talking about her kids been trapped at school. these teachers that stayed with the kids. some kids they leave in overnight because parents couldn't get them. teachers got home and found that they had no more him. the homes were gone. these are the stories we will start seeing the next couple of days. reports from canada say key organisers of the truck protest in the capital,

0ttawa, have been arrested. earlier police warned protestors of �*imminent action�* to clear them from the area and end a crisis that prime ministerjustin trudeau warns is threatening public safety. large numbers of officers have been seen moving into the city centre. in a moment i'll be speaking to marieke walsh from the globe and mail. first let's hear this interview that marieka did with tamara lich — one of the protest organisers, just before she was arrested. and you accept this as an illegal protest? it and you accept this as an illegal protest?— and you accept this as an illegal protest? it is not an illeual illegal protest? it is not an illegal protest. _ illegal protest? it is not an illegal protest. it - illegal protest? it is not an illegal protest. it is - illegal protest? it is not an illegal protest. it is in - illegal protest? it is not an illegal protest. it is in ourl illegal protest. it is in our charter freedoms.- illegal protest. it is in our charter freedoms. what is your res - onse charter freedoms. what is your response then, _ charter freedoms. what is your response then, if _ charter freedoms. what is your response then, if you _ charter freedoms. what is your response then, if you do - response then, if you do arrested? if you are the next person police to arrest? she wants to know what my responsibly they get arrested? hold the line! and now marieke walsh, a reporter from the globe and mailjoins us now from ottawa.

what is happening right now? as you can see, it is incredibly snowy— you can see, it is incredibly snowy here but there are people lining _ snowy here but there are people lining the — snowy here but there are people lining the streets. i am facing the prime _ lining the streets. i am facing the prime minister past mac office — the prime minister past mac office right here on my left and — office right here on my left and you _ office right here on my left and you can see these tracks refusing _ and you can see these tracks refusing to leave despite the warnings from police that, if they— warnings from police that, if they are _ warnings from police that, if they are arrested, they face charges, _ they are arrested, they face charges, they'll lose their licence, _ charges, they'll lose their licence, their trucks could be seized — licence, their trucks could be seized and they could no longer be allowed to work as cross—border tracker are very high — cross—border tracker are very high right— cross—border tracker are very high right now but the protesters say they are here to say and — protesters say they are here to say and they are determined to hold _ say and they are determined to hold the — say and they are determined to hold the line.— hold the line. hold the line, and we sell _ hold the line. hold the line, and we sell from _ hold the line. hold the line, and we sell from your- hold the line. hold the line, | and we sell from your twitter that she was taken off in handcuffs. how the other truckers responded to that? before she was arrested and before i interviewed her another key organiser was arrested and she was very calm and positive about the handling

of that arrest and told people to hold the line. you can see in front of me, for example, there is a gathering of people and they're not playing music or honking horn horns right now but that was happening earlier today quite a lot. there are lots of people walking by even as police are setting up checkpoints, asking people if they have permission to be in they have permission to be in the downtown core of the stakes are getting high on the police are getting high on the police are moving in, showing a bigger presence. there is fencing going up along parliament hill and up to my left, you can see it now because of the snow but down there is the senate and there is fencing going around there. there are trucks not just here but several blocks further that way. a few blocks further that way. a few blocks further this way, and the police of a big task ahead of them if they really are going to end this blockade as they said today, they would start doing. said today, they would start doinu. ., .,

doing. the threat of ending the blockade on — doing. the threat of ending the blockade on these _ doing. the threat of ending the blockade on these arrests - doing. the threat of ending the blockade on these arrests has i blockade on these arrests has come through emergency legislationjust isn't come through emergency legislation just isn't trudeau has pushed through. how was that emergency legislation be received by protesters? again, the are received by protesters? again, they are still _ received by protesters? again, they are still here. _ received by protesters? again, they are still here. they - received by protesters? again, they are still here. they do - they are still here. they do not believe that what they're doing is illegal. they do not believe that the government or police of any authority to end this blockade. they maintain it is peaceful. the police say that over the weekend they saw many demonstrators making threatening behaviour and it was not safe enough officers so you can see they absolutely dispute the facts, the officials the authorities and the government going forward. as forjustin trudeau, though, he was in the house of commons today defending his decision to invoke the emergencies act which is the first time it has been used in canada, and it is being done so against the will of the official opposition. the whip support of a small particle of the new democrats. he is facing a legalfight particle of the new democrats. he is facing a legal fight with civil liberties organisations

saying it goes too far because other blockades are able to be cleared without the act being in place. cleared without the act being in lace. . ~ cleared without the act being in lace. ., ,, i. cleared without the act being in lace. . ~' ,, , cleared without the act being in lace. ., ,, , . in place. thank you very much and i in place. thank you very much and i hone _ in place. thank you very much and i hone you _ in place. thank you very much and i hope you find _ in place. thank you very much l and i hope you find somewhere warm to go and shelter now. communities across the south west of england and south wales are bracing themselves for the full force of one of the fiercest storms in years, as the met office issues its most serious red weather warning — meaning a risk to life. gusts could reach up to 90 miles per hour when storm eunice hits this red zone in the coming hours with warnings of flying debris, damage to homes, power cuts and major travel disruption. and in the rest of the country, there's an amber warning for wind across much of england and wales. there are also less severe alerts for wind and snow in much of scotland, the north of england and northern ireland. here's our science editor rebecca morelle. storm eunice hasn't yet hit, but it is already making its presence felt.

in weston—super—mare, the floodgates are shutting, ready for whatever the weather will throw at them. they're also preparing ahead in st ives. we have got our flood defence boards that go on the front the pub. with sandbags behind them. hopefully we'll stop the sea coming in. and the met office has issued a rare red weather warning for friday morning for parts of south west england and south wales, meaning there is a danger to life. it's going to be a bad one. as long as people take notice of the winnings, don't take any risks, don't get washed away, life is more precious than a photograph. what is making storm eunice so potent is a combination of events — it is being driven an extremely active jet stream, blowing at more than 200 miles an hour, high up in the atmosphere. this is creating very strong

winds, forecast up to 90 miles an hour in exposed areas, and 70 to 80 miles an houron land. 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 strength will be stronger than we would normally see in these kind of spells and it's going to hit highly populated areas. it's going to have a really big impact. 0ur recommendation, if you don't have to travel tomorrow, if you don't have to go out and about, is to stay indoors. eunice comes straight after another storm, dudley.

just north of lockerbie, a tree fell on overhead cables. in hertfordshire, roads were blocked, and in south wales, this wind turbine couldn't cope with the costs. but is climate change affecting storms? the met office says they haven't seen compelling trends of increased storminess, but the impact of warming may become clearer over time. this was the damage caused by the great storm of 1987, where winds reached more than 100 miles an hour. forecasters say storm eunice shouldn't be as bad, but it could still be the strongest storm we've seen for many years. we have got the army on standby, so if they are needed, they will be able to swing into action, so everyone, all of our emergency teams, are keeping in very close contact. the defences are at the ready. schools are closing and train services cancelled. the country is bracing itself for what lies ahead. rebecca morelle, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: letting it all out — meet the us �*moms' who get rid of pent—up stress by screaming at the tops of their lungs.

nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan, the last soviet troops were finally coming home — the withdrawal completed in good order, but the army defeated in the task it had been sent to perform. malcolm has been murdered. that has a terrible effect for the morale of the people. i'm terrified of the repercussions in the streets. one wonders who is next. as the airlift got under way, there was no let—up in the eruption itself. lava streams from a vent low in the crater flow down to the sea on the east of the island, away from the town for the time being. it could start flowing again at any time. the russians heralded - their new—generation space station with a spectacular night launch. _ they've called it mir — l the russian for "peace".

this is bbc news, the latest headlines. president biden prepares to hold talks with transatlantic leaders to discuss ukraine — he's said the threat of a russian invasion "very high" despite moscow's claim to be pulling troops back. canadian police warn protesting truckers in ottawa that action to clear them is "imminent" — two of their main organisers are arrested. a new york state judge has ruled that former president, donald trump, and two of his children, must comply with subpoenas issued by the state's attorney—general — and answer questions under oath. the trump 0rganisation is being investigated over whether it improperly stated the value of its real estate assets to obtain more favorable loans, insurance rates and tax benefits. 0ur north america reporter anthony zurcher explains the importance of this ruling.

it isa it is a fairly significant ruling in that there is now a chance that donald trump will have to sit down and testify under oath as to his company's business practices. any time you sit for a deposition, and typically they can be very lengthy, very detailed, there is the potential for unfolding criminal activity or any sort of perjury charges that come from it so that is something that his lawyers are going to have to deal with. the arguments that his lawyers had been making was that there is a criminal investigation going into donald trump's business is at the same time as the civil investigation by the state of new york, the criminal investigations by the city of new york. anything donald trump says it does not say, where they take the faith or refuses to testify in the civil investigation could prejudice the criminal investigation therefore they want all of this to put on hold until the

criminal investigation is done. thejudge did not agree criminal investigation is done. the judge did not agree with that. he said this has to proceed however it is very certain that donald trump's lawyers will appeal this higher “p lawyers will appeal this higher up the legal chain and try to get all this put on hold until the criminal investigation is done. the criminal investigation is done. u.s. health officials have said they are preparing new covid—19 guidance on many aspects of the virus in response to the decline in the reported number of cases. the current seven—day daily average of covid—19 cases is about 147,000 which is a decrease of some 40% from the previous week, according to government data. over the same period, hospital admissions fell about 28% to 9,500 per day. meanwhile presidentjoe biden's senior adviser on coronavirus, dr anthony fauci, has said it is time for americans to start a return to normality, despite the remaining risk. dr fauci said there was no perfect way to balance the need to protect citizens from infections and growing fatigue with the pandemic.

we can now speak to dr syra madad wh's an infectious disease specialist and the special pathogens program senior director at nyc health and hospitals.. thank you very much for being with theirs. as he mentioned there, he has said it is time to return to normality. how do you feel about that? i to return to normality. how do you feel about that?— you feel about that? i mean, they are _ you feel about that? i mean, they are all _ you feel about that? i mean, they are all ready _ you feel about that? i mean, they are all ready to - you feel about that? i mean, they are all ready to return i you feel about that? i mean, | they are all ready to return to normal, right? but what normal? is it normal or the previous normal that we were used to in 2019. i think that, as we are progressing with this pandemic, everyone wants to see covid as a manageable risk rather than the emergency phase wherein we are on the track but i don't think we are exactly there yet. when you say we're not there yet when it comes to things like lifting mask mandates what is the bar we need to meet? it is the bar we need to meet? it is flawed because it is a

number of cases over a number time and in a number that is relatively old but every follower that is 90% of united states counties with a high transmission rate means that it will remain in effect. we haven't really talked about is at five per 100,000, ten per 100,000, that we would accept, we don't have a metric to deal with that but at a national level we are 22 cases per 100,000 so we have to understand what is the societal risk that we are willing to take on what other benchmarks? when it comes to lifting mask mandates, there are many who will look forward to moves like that but many as were particularly vulnerable people and elderly people who might be fearful of those kinds of moves, how can communities act respectfully towards those people whilst also sticking to

the wishes of those that want to take their masks often return to normality? it to take their masks often return to normality?- to take their masks often return to normality? it is a coule return to normality? it is a counle of _ return to normality? it is a couple of things. - return to normality? it is a couple of things. in - return to normality? it is a couple of things. in the - return to normality? it is a couple of things. in the us were moving from a collective community—based approach with everybody and facemasks to an individual levels are based on your risk tolerance and health condition. 0ne your risk tolerance and health condition. one may masking is still encouraged. it is important that we build a policy that is sustainable and based on transmission rates. the case is a high, vaccination rates are low. we need to protect everybody. as well as children under the age of five who don't have a vaccine yet. we need to do better in a public health policy and i really hope that we get there. we will have to leave it there. thank you very much for making the time for us. thank you very much for making the time for us. it's undoubtedly been a tough

couple of years for many. there's a hardly a person on earth who hasn't been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. in the us state of virginia — a group of mothers has found an unusual way to cope with the stresses and strains — as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. sometimes you just have to let it all out. these women are part of the mums scream movement. when they feel stressed they had to a local hill and scream into the night at the top of lungs. and they feel so much better for doing moms have done so much on the pandemic and carried a lot and i felt very isolated unconnected with who felt so with journey and frustrations and coming out and just letting it go, just as so therapeutic. the mums to be following in the footsteps of this man, an advocate of primal scream therapy. he believes neuroses was caused by the repressed pain of childhood trauma and screaming as a helpful treatment. supporters, including former

beatlejohn lennon and someone who could scream in a very deep voice, the actorjames earl jones. beginning in boston, this movement is spreading across the states. it is good to talk, it is even better to scream. and before we go, a busy bar in sydney has found a solution to seagulls ruining their customer's meals. at sydney's 0pera bar, the administrators enlisted trained dogs to deter birds from bothering their guests. thanks to the canine patrols, the bar has seen an 80% reduction in the number of bird attacks since they first started in 2018. the general manager of the bar says it has been a game changer changer, he doesn't have to chase after the birds anymore. you can reach me on twitter —

i'm @richpreston storm eunice is bearing down on the uk. and all indications are this will be a dangerous, disruptive, and damaging storm. in fact, a met office red warning is in force — that means there's a danger to life. the storm system has been developing — you can see it here on the earlier satellite picture, this hook of cloud indicative of a storm that's been deepening and strengthening rapidly. this area of low pressure passing across the uk — and on its southern flank with all the isobars, the white line squeezing together — that is where we have the potential for damaging winds. especially across coastal parts of southwest england and south wales — met office red warning here, gusts of up to 90mph, very rough seas and coastal flooding are likely. and then, we also have this much bigger amber warning area. and still the potential for some really disruptive

and dangerous weather here, as well — gusts of wind up to 80mph. rain and wind quickly spreading northwards through the early part of friday, snow for western counties of northern ireland, high ground of northern england, and up into scotland, as well. but the winds peaking through the morning across some coasts of wales in the southwest, with gusts up as high as 90mph. some very rough seas, also very rough seas through the english channel. and those strong winds will be working eastwards through the day — even inland spots of eastern and southeastern england seeing gusts of 70—80mph — that is very unusual. further north, it won't be as windy, but snow is likely to cause issues. some hill snow for parts of northern ireland and northern england, significant snow in scotland, could see up to 30 centimetres, settling over high ground — that snow coming down very quickly is likely to cause transport impacts and some power cuts, as well. temperatures the least of our worries, but really cold in the north where that snow is falling. now, things will only very slowly calm down during friday evening, we'll see some wintry showers pushing in from the northwest. and then, for saturday, a band of rain pushing in from the west potentially with some snow, especially over high ground in the north. it will be a windy day — not as extremely windy as friday, but still potentially windy enough to hamper any clean—up efforts.

temperatures between 3—10 celsius. and we stick with a fairly blustery theme as we head into sunday. some brisk winds across the uk, outbreaks of heavy rain, but mild, 9—13 celsius.

president biden is

preparing to discuss the ukraine crisis with transatlantic leaders later. there are reports of continuing clashes between ukrainian forces and russian—backed separatists in eastern ukraine. but a senior ukrainian official said there was no full scale military operation by russia. alarms have sounded in the brazilian city of petropolis, warning of intense rain just days after devastating mudslides left at least 117 people dead — dozens are still missing but with water levels rising search and rescue operations have been called off. three days of mourning have been declared. canadian police have arrested two of the main organisers of the truck protest against coronavirus restrictions in the capital 0ttawa. officers have been handing out flyers telling drivers to leave the city or face arrest. there's now a large police presence in the city centre. now on bbc news. panorama investigates the dairy industry to find out whether animal welfare is being compromised in the drive to keep milk prices low. this programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting. this programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting from the start. milk�*s as popular as ever, but should we think more about how it's produced? the average yield for a dairy cow daily is about 23, 2a litres a cow. 40% higher than it would have been about 30 years ago. the way the industry keeps the milk flowing is becoming more controversial. they shout and bawl. they'll scream for that baby

and pace around the pen. panorama's been given shocking undercover footage from one