this is bbc news. 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 is on alert 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 streets is "imminent" — two protest organisers are arrested. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe.

president biden is preparing to hold talks with transatlantic leaders on friday to discuss the ukraine crisis, according to the white house. mr biden�*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. 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. 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 you were and what happened on tuesday when the rain first came down. tuesday 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 can see some of the pictures from those first few hours. do you know anyone caught up in this directly? that as they were finding out every couple of hours. i mean, i wasjust 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.

what else are the authorities doing to help people? it is an all hands _ doing to help people? it is an all hands on _ doing to help people? it is an all hands on deck _ doing to help people? it is an all hands on deck situation. l all hands on deck situation. the president is coming tomorrow. we've got military. everyone who can help is here. so today there was a big focus on a neighbourhood with imminent mudslides and the giant rock ready to come down and take out the neighbourhood so the crews are basically making sure everyone is out of that area and i obviously stayed clear of than spend my day today in neighbourhoods hard to get to by car. the web by mountain bike does helping out friends and local businesses clean—up their shops, houses, whatever i can do, just an extra pair of hands, really, today. 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 world 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. alarms have sounded in the brazilian city of petropolis warning of more intense rain — so far more than 117 people have died in landslides in the city;

where bad weather has now forced the search and rescue mission to be suspended. reports from canada say key organisers of the truck protest in the capital, 0ttawa, have been arrested. police had warned protestors of �*imminent action�* to clear them from the area and end a crisis that prime minister justin trudeau warns is threatening public safety. large numbers of officers have been seen moving into the city centre. earlier i spoke to marieke walsh from the globe and mail. we listened to the interview marieka did with tamara lich — one of the protest organisers, just before she was arrested. do you accept this as an illegal protest? it do you accept this as an illegal protest?- do 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 of rights and freedoms. what is your response than if you do get arrested, if you are

the next person police to arrest? she wants to know what my response would be if i get arrested. ~ . , my response would be if i get arrested. ., , , arrested. what is the response? hold the line. _ arrested. what is the response? hold the line. i _ arrested. what is the response? hold the line. i went _ arrested. what is the response? hold the line. i went on - arrested. what is the response? hold the line. i went on to - arrested. what is the response? hold the line. i went on to ask. hold the line. i went on to ask her for an _ hold the line. i went on to ask her for an update _ hold the line. i went on to ask her for an update on _ hold the line. i went on to ask her for an update on the - her for an update on the situation.— her for an update on the situation. ~ , , ., , , situation. as you can see it is incredibly _ situation. as you can see it is incredibly snowy _ situation. as you can see it is incredibly snowy here - situation. as you can see it is incredibly snowy here but - situation. as you can see it is l incredibly snowy here but there are tonnes of trucks lining the streets next to parliament hill in canada. i am facing the prime minister's of this on my left and right you can see these tracks refusing to leave despite the warnings from police that if they are arrested they face charges and could lose their licence, trucks could be seized and they could no longer be allowed to work as truckers. the stakes are very high right now but the protesters say they are here to stay and they are determined to hold the line.— hold the line. hold the line. and we serve _ hold the line. hold the line. and we serve me _ hold the line. hold the line. and we serve me on - hold the line. hold the line. and we serve me on twitter hold the line. hold the line. - and we serve me on twitter that she was taken off in handcuffs. however the other truckers

responded to that?- however the other truckers responded to that? before she was arrested _ responded to that? before she was arrested and _ responded to that? before she was arrested and before - responded to that? before she was arrested and before i - 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 tell people to hold the line so you can see a gathering of people and they're not playing music a honking horns very much 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 and asking people if they have permission to be here so the stakes are in, showing a bigger presence. find thing going up to my left. you can see it now because of the snow but down there is the senate. and fencing going around down there. trucks not just here but several blocks further that way. the police of

a big task ahead of them as they really are going to end this blockade. as they said today they would start doing it imminently. today they would start doing it imminently-— imminently. the threat of endin: imminently. the threat of ending the _ imminently. the threat of ending the blockade - imminently. the threat of ending the blockade in i imminently. the threat of. ending the blockade in these arrests has come through emergency legislation justin trudeau pushed through. how's that been received by the protesters?— that been received by the protesters? again, they are still here. _ protesters? again, they are still here. they _ protesters? again, they are still here. they do - protesters? again, they are still here. they do not - protesters? again, they are l still here. they do not believe what doing is illegal. they do not believe that the government or police have any authority to end the blockade. they maintain it is peaceful. the police say over the weekend they saw many demonstrators being threatening and it safe enough for officers. they absolutely dispute the fact that the officials and the authorities and the government is bringing forward. as forjustin trudeau,

though, he was in the house of commons today defending his decision to evoke the emergencies act which is the first time it is been used in canada and it is being done so against the will of the official opposition of conservatives but with the support of a smaller party got the new democrats. he is now facing a legal fight over a civil liberties association saying it goes too far and it was unnecessary because other blockades were able to be cleared without the act being in place. 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. this is a big deal in this case. this means that trump could have two the testify in

these depositions. something him and his lawyers have been fighting a lot in recent weeks and months. this is a good decision for the investigators. a big dealfor the a big deal for the investigators a big dealfor the investigators and at the same time this is not by any means case close. this is an early step in this investigation. this investigation would still have to then become a lawsuit, which it is not right now. a civil lawsuit which is different from a criminal lawsuit and so not case closed. still a long way to go. you say he would have to testify but he doesn't have to say anything, doesn't have to say anything, does he? . doesn't have to say anything, does he?— doesn't have to say anything, does he? ., , , .., does he? that is why, he could lead does he? that is why, he could plead the _ does he? that is why, he could plead the fifth _ does he? that is why, he could plead the fifth and _ does he? that is why, he could plead the fifth and avoid - plead the fifth and avoid self—incrimination. this is what his son eric trump did in the same investigation he testified and i believe that something is 500 times he invoked the first amendment

right. it is important to remember trump has been deposed before in other cases. he once estimated he had been deposed at least 100 times and by some estimates he has involved in 3500 lawsuit so he is someone who knows his way around a deposition and so he will know how to behave in these. his lawyers advising him so if he does have to sit, and, by the way, to the children are also part of the ruling so they would have to sit to so, yes, they could sit there the entire time and say nothing. has they could sit there the entire time and say nothing.- time and say nothing. as you mention. _ time and say nothing. as you mention, this _ time and say nothing. as you mention, this is _ time and say nothing. as you mention, this is not - time and say nothing. as you mention, this is not his - time and say nothing. as you mention, this is not his first | mention, this is not his first rodeo. has there been any response from him or the organisation in response to this latest ruling? i organisation in response to this latest ruling?- this latest ruling? i hadn't seen anything _ this latest ruling? i hadn't seen anything specific - this latest ruling? i hadn't seen anything specific butj seen anything specific but generally they will keep saying what they have been saying for a long time, that this is political, witchhunt, the same thing that he has been saying for a long time and that is why

i don't think this will necessarily hurt him with his supporters because he has done such a good job of building this narrative that any attempts to take him down are just part of the same mainstream deep state witchhunt and so, you know, he has gone through russian investigation, he's got to do to impeachment, this is kind ofjust more evidence that he can show his supporters for why they should supporters for why they should support him and while, if this moves forward, this might take time away from any re—election campaign, this narrative could end up helping with that campaign. end up helping with that campaign. the fallout from the failed drugs test of russian skater —

kamila valieva — rumbles on. the fifteen—year—old was allowed to compete in the individual women's figure skating at the beijing olympics — pending an appeal — but came fourth. the president of the international olympic committee — thomas bach — said they didn't want her to take part — but they had no choice. we challenge this decision. we went to court. we did not want her to proceed, participate. and we lost the court case. so we have to respect the rule of law because, if we are not respecting it, if you're bending the rule of law, there is no international sports. so we had to accept this. 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 so. moms have done so much on the pandemic and carried a lot and i felt very isolated unconnected with people 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. his theories have some high—profile celebrity 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.

how about this — an israeli farmer is setting a new world record. for growing the world's heaviest strawberry! the strawberry weighs 289 grams, which is about five times the weight of a normal strawberry of this variety. farmer chahi ariel said cold weather conditions in early 2021 slowed the strawberry�*s growing process, which explains the size of the record—breaking fruit. he found the strawberry a year ago and kept in a freezer until now, when the record was confirmed. 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 , he doesn't have to chase

after the birds anymore. 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.

this is bbc news. the headlines. 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. 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. it's time for hardtalk.