this is bbc news — i'm simon pusey. our top stories. borisjohnson says if russia does attack — europe could face its biggest conflict since the second world war. president biden is to meet with key advisers — as the white house warns an invasion of ukraine could happen at any time. a demonstration of power a hundred miles from ukraine's border — russia and belarus take part in huge military exercises. in other news — canadian police use pepper spray and stun grenades to clear demonstrators from outside parliament. and — miracle in miami — a helicopter crashes into the sea near a crowded beach — but no one is killed.

hello and welcome to bbc news. the us presidentjoe biden will convene a national security council meeting on sunday to discuss the situation in ukraine. the white house said that russia could launch an attack against ukraine at any time. meanwhile borisjohnson told a security conference of world leaders in munich that the military alliance nato, a group of 30 nations, was united at "a moment of extreme danger". ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky — who was also in munich — said his country would not be provoked into conflict by russia but was determined to protect itself with or without support from western allies. paul adams has the latest from kyiv. no need to panic yet. a country already at war for eight years still somehow taking this crisis in its stride. i am not scared but my friends, some of them are nervous a little, but i don't think that we will have a war.

gunfire. but in the east, the situation is increasingly volatile. ukraine's interior minister and visiting journalists forced to flee when their convoy came under shell fire, close to areas controlled by pro—russia separatists. the separatists are evacuating their civilians across the border to russia, arguing, without evidence, that ukraine is about to attack. temporary housing being set up to receive women, children and the elderly. men of fighting age being told to stay back. translation: my husband is a reserve officer. - the men were warned to stay where they were and children over 18 years old are not allowed out so that everyone is in place.

in munich, a conference dominated by russia's challenge to european security. borisjohnson warning that ukraine cannot be abandoned. ..and if ukraine is overwhelmed, we will witness the destruction of a democratic state, a country that has been free for a generation with a proud history of elections. but ukraine's president was there, too, undiplomatically accusing the west of allowing all this to happen. translation: for eight years, ukraine has been a shield. - for eight years ukraine has been holding back one of the greatest armies in the world which stands along our borders, not the borders of the european union. the government here says that russia, through its proxies in the east, is trying to goad ukraine into taking action, to give moscow an excuse to intervene. the government says it won't be provoked, but these are very dangerous times, and any of the sparks now flying could ignite a much wider conflict. pauladams, bbc news, kyiv.

in ukraine itself, tensions continue to rise. there's been a third day of clashes between the ukrainian military and russian—backed separatists — with 2 ukrainian soldiers killed on saturday in the donbas region of eastern ukraine, according to international monitors. meanwhile, north of ukraine, russia and belarus are carrying out huge military drills, while still insisting there's no plan for an invasion. our correspondent, steve rosenberg sent this report from the belarusian capital minsk — and a warning it does contain flash photography. definition of muscle flexing? this. gunfire. 100 miles from ukraine's border, russia and belarus are holding joint exercises on an unprecedented scale. nato says it's the biggest deployment of russian troops in belarus since the cold war. at least 10,000 russian soldiers within easy

reach of ukraine. but both moscow and minsk deny they are threatening anyone. translation: our country isn't helping russia - to capture ukraine. and russia doesn't want to capture ukraine. we don't need war in belarus or in russia. we've had enough war. we still remember world war ii. russia insists that these exercises are purely defensive. ukraine says this is psychological pressure, at the very least, and at most, well, there is concern in kyiv and in the west that if there is a full—scale attack on ukraine then russian troops in belarus could be part of that. america seems to think so... for months now, russia has been

building up its military forces in and around ukraine. including in belarus. they're uncoiling and are now poised to strike. meanwhile, in moscow... "you may begin," vladimir putin told army chiefs, and they began... the president oversaw drills by russia's strategic nuclearforces, showing off his country's state—of—the—art missiles. a message, perhaps, to russia's rivals, and not a subtle one, that for now, at least, the kremlin is in no mood to compromise. steve rosenberg, bbc news, minsk. police in the canadian capital, ottawa, have used stun grenades as they continue to remove protesters near the federal

parliament building. officers said they'd been met with aggression by those who remain. for their part, protesters — who object to covid manadates — claim the police have been heavy—handed. dozens of arrests have been made. downtown residents, we're focused on your safety. we are not going anywhere until you have your streets back. we are aware of protesters leaving the parliamentary precinct moving to surrounding neighbourhoods. police in the canadian capital, ottawa, have used stun grenades as they continue to remove protesters near the federal parliament building. officers said they'd been met with aggression by those who remain. sean o'shea, of canada's global news, is at the protests in ottawa. we area we are a couple blocks up from parliament. that is the peace tower behind me and you can see that result to my right. the

whole area around me is ringed off by middle fences. the concrete barriers. today is the second day of an unprecedented police action here in ottawa, canada's capital. normally ca nada's capital. normally sedate canada's capital. normally sedate city but the last two days breeze the federal police, local police and police forces actually around canada have come to try to get rid of protesters who have been camped out here in the core of the city for the past three weeks. truckers and other supporters who have opposed vaccination mandates basically came for a protester did not leave. they parked trucks across the road, and side streets, or to residents have had to put up with horns honking at all times of the day and night. and diesel engines going at all times. canada and the presidency have had enough and canada invoked emergency powers last week in order to be able to get more resources to try to deal with this and get rid of the protesters who, as i said,

had been here for more than three weeks now. the had been here for more than three weeks now.— had been here for more than three weeks now. the police and protesters _ three weeks now. the police and protesters accuse _ three weeks now. the police and protesters accuse the _ three weeks now. the police and protesters accuse the other - three weeks now. the police and protesters accuse the other of i protesters accuse the other of violence and being heavy—handed. is that a fair assessment or one side a little bit more guilty than the other? well, we were on the front lines here and there, because whether the past two days, watching face—to—face protesters and riot police and the mounted unit from toronto. for the most part, police were quite calm, they finally today resorted to using pepper spray when some grenades went off and they were taking some defensive actions. they had the better ones out and riot shields on but they did put up with a lot of abuse on the front lines today. but move the line because they had to push protesters back to be able to get at those tracks and emily got at the strikes they were able to get the drivers out and then either tow the tracks away or convince the drivers to leave, in most cases, the drivers did not leave of their

own accord and had to be towed out so, for the most part, considering the number of hundreds of police officers who were here, the protest was not as severe as it could have been. ~ ., ., ~ as severe as it could have been. ~ . ., ~ ., been. we are talking about .e . er been. we are talking about pepper spray _ been. we are talking about pepper spray and _ been. we are talking about pepper spray and stun - been. we are talking about - pepper spray and stun grenades. how shocking are the scenes for canadians because our twins are not known for being this dramatic. es, not known for being this dramatic.— not known for being this dramatic. ~ , ., ., ., dramatic. a couple of days ago, the acting _ dramatic. a couple of days ago, the acting police _ dramatic. a couple of days ago, the acting police chief— dramatic. a couple of days ago, the acting police chief here - the acting police chief here said in order to deal with this protest, people in ottawa were going to see police use tactics they had not seen before and to some extent that has happened. the police forces he went into the crowd at one point, the grenades, she said, the spray that she is, this is not something that is normally used in a city like this. a city used to protest. they used a lot of protest but they�* re used to protest. they used a lot of protest but they're not used to occupations, people moving in and refusing to leave

and protesters in these large trucks that they were not going to leave and at this time there were several large trucks away from the downtown core. most of them moved out of here many had said that once they were moved out of here there were going to beat other neighbourhoods which has led to the kind of police response that we see right now. as i said, this inner core has been window. you cannot go in. there are about 100 checkpoints around the city of ottawa. this unprecedented but these are the kind of actions that they are taking in order to try to prevent more protesters, more trucks to moving back and now that they've been cleared out. it looks chilly there. go and get warm. thank you for filling us in. across the uk, 150,000 households remain without power and many train services are still disrupted a day after storm eunice killed 3 people. insurance pay outs for the damage from the worst storm to hit the country for decades could reach £350 million pounds according to one estimate. there are two new weather

warnings in place for sunday— one for wind for much of the country, and heavy rain in the north west of england. danny savage has more it has been a day of assessing storm damage, right across the country. in brentwood in essex, a 400—year—old oak tree came crashing down on a family home, causing extensive damage. all of us were working from home, and about 1130 yesterday morning, probably the height of the wind speed, i would say, we just felt the house move, and that was a big gust of wind, and seconds later, the tree just crashed into the house, and we were covered in dust and just general debris, and we ran outside to see what had happened and we were confronted with what you can see behind us.

140 miles away in gloucestershire, aston on carrant near tewkesbury is just one of many places which has been without power since yesterday afternoon. the storm here didn'tjust knock over one tree. it destroyed a whole coppice, and when the bigger ones came down, they took out that electricity wire, knocking out power for everyone around here. it just went like that. this all happened in pauline's garden. very very bad. i have never seen the trees moving like they were yesterday. i shouted to my husband, "look at the trees," and i walked back into the kitchen, and said, they are going, they are going, it's gone. it was the needles on the isle of wight where a gust of 122mph was recorded yesterday, as the storm moved across the country. numerous trees were uprooted. and vehicles were blown over on the roads. passengers at preston station were typical of those trying to travel today. it was absolutely awful, carnage. we got on at the first stop, got a seat, but it was standing for a lot of people all the way down.

people lost their lives - in these winds, and because we were stood up on a train we were just grateful. to get home. wales was badly hit by the storm, too. in newport, today was about assessing damage and making things safe for the time being. the weather was still causing issues in some areas. snow fell across parts of northern england. storm eunice may have gone, but the problems caused by it are very much still with us. danny savage, bbc news. borisjohnson has refused to say whether he will resign if he is found to have broken the law by police investigating downing street parties. he said "i can't comment about a process that is under way." when asked by sophie raworth for the bbc�*s sunday morning politics programme. she also asked how he'd feel about his own mps calling for a vote of no—confidence. (gfx ff)he said: i am fortunate

to be the prime minister of a free independent democratic country where people can take that sort of decision, and where i do face that sort of pressure, that's a wonderful thing. this is bbc news — a reminder of our headlines... borisjohnson warns europe could be on the verge of the biggest conflict since the second world war — if russia invades ukraine. canadian police defend their use of pepper spray and stun grenades to clear demonstrators from outside parliament. the search is continuing for 12 people missing after a ferry burst into flames near the greek island of corfu. they are all thought to be lorry drivers from bulgaria, greece, turkey and lithuania. 280 passengers were evacuated from the euroferry olympia after a blaze broke out on friday. firefighters still battling to get the blaze under control in the ionian sea. the euro ferry olympia was travelling every teen nine—hourjourney from teen nine—hour journey from greece teen nine—hourjourney from greece to italy when the fire

broke out early on friday. in the dark, passengers were woken and told to get into a life raft. but some passengers are their relatives face an agonising wait for information. i spoke to another driver that was also in the hold in the cars. i asked was also in the hold in the cars. iasked him if he was also in the hold in the cars. i asked him if he had news of my father. he said they had seen him but after they took us out of the ship the passengers gathered together and we were looking for your father but could not find him anywhere. and not only him, but three others as well.— three others as well. some relatives — three others as well. some relatives have _ three others as well. some relatives have criticised - three others as well. some j relatives have criticised the standard on board for lorry drivers. so mikey was afraid of coronavirus. yet health issues. and because he was afraid of catching the virus because of overcrowding he often prefer to sleep on especially if it was not a long trip. they are trying to tell the ferry closer towards the shore. ps temperatures on board are hindering any further rescue

attempts. officially, 241 passengers and 51 crew were on board. on friday, two people were rescued and taken to hospital. most of the passengers have been taken to hotels on corfu. an inquiry into the incident is under way and greek authorities say they will have more information on the cause of the fire once the ship is towed to a safe place. two people are in hospital after the helicopter they were flying in crashed into the sea off miami in florida. early reports suggest the helicopter lost engine power, but that the pilot was able to steer away from people on the beach, even as the helicopter fell. the federal aviation authority and the national transportation board are to investigate. graham howell was in the water when the helicopter crashed. he's in miami. the event itself is something that you would see only in a movie, right? i mean, we were

in the water vacationing about 30-30 in the water vacationing about 30—30 yards from where the helicopter actually met the water and to think about what was going through the minds of the pilot in the passengers on that helicopter is something amazing. the helicopter actually made to touch down on the water after to be some sort of engine or mechanical failure. and i'm hearing ori have heard reports that all of the passengers are in a stable condition at the hospital and now we are waiting to see what the faa is going to do about investigating this incident. we are seeing pictures as you are talking never to padded people on the beach react because at a very crowded beach and it was so close to people at the british crew required both i can only imagine what people closer than i was feeling. you know, it being in the water about 30 yards away think it is

coming out on top of you but there were multiple vacationers and miami beach residents that when the water he will probably only ten or 15 yards from where the propeller blades hit the water when it may touch down. thankfully, you know, whether it was just a coincidence or good graces on behalf of that pilot, the helicopter was able to safely touchdown without injuring anyone else who is on the water at the time.- the water at the time. what happened — the water at the time. what happened immediately - happened immediately afterwards? pretty pictures of it happening but we don't obviously see at the scene immediately after. as everyone cleared from the beach? the tip of an event try to help? it cleared from the beach? the tip of an event try to help?- of an event try to help? it was a dramatic _ of an event try to help? it was a dramatic event. _ of an event try to help? it was a dramatic event. there - of an event try to help? it was a dramatic event. there were | a dramatic event. there were two lifeguards who swam out immediately, about ten or 15 people just standing by immediately rushed towards the helicopter which was starting to sink in the water, sort of running away, knowing that there were passages alive on board the aircraft, try to help them get out. whether that was opened by the door breaking the

glass, it was about ten minutes from the incident that we started to see police boats, ocean rescue boats and coast guard show up as wallace ivins in the background committee in west palm beach try to get to the scene of the accident. it is my understanding that now the area still cordoned off, but 100 by 100 yards. try to get the cut out of the water. thank you very much for filling us in. thank you. to american football next and the pittsburgh steelers have hired former miami dolphins head coach brian flores as their senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach. earlier this month, flores filed a class—action lawsuit against the nfl and three teams alleging racial discrimination in hiring practices. flores claimed the new york

giants interviewed him this offseason to follow the �*rooney rule' of interviewing minority coaches, despite having already decided to appoint new head coach brian daboll. for more on this we're joined now byjoe rutter, sports reporter with the pittsburgh review tribune. this is sense of how big the story is. this is sense of how big the sto is. ,, , this is sense of how big the story is— this is sense of how big the sto is. ,, , �* ., ., , story is. the super bowl was last week — story is. the super bowl was last week and _ story is. the super bowl was last week and this _ story is. the super bowl was last week and this is - story is. the super bowl was i last week and this is supposed to be a sleepy time for the nfl. most teams are coaches already and this can evoke everybody up today these that brian couric has joined pittsburgh. people brian couric hasjoined pittsburgh. people are wondering when he fathers lorcet would he get another coaching opportunity? but the steelers, who have a history in adding minority coaches, you know, stepped up and he is going to be a part of their stuff at this for next season. the allegations he makes a pretty serious. remind us what they are. pretty serious. remind us what the are. ~ ., they are. welcome he alleged that he had — they are. welcome he alleged that he had two _ they are. welcome he alleged that he had two successful - that he had two successful seasons with the miami dolphins, out of history, and he was fired with a 24 and 25 ecu. surprise he was fired because his tenure there was two quality seasons. he alleged that he was fired and it was a

racially motivated firing some of the interviews he has had including one previously with the denver and one this year with the new york giants he did not get thejob with the new york giants he did not get the job because of racially motivated factors and he asserts that he was only interviewed to satisfy what is known as the rooney rule where nfl teams must hire or master this interview african—american candidates. this interview african-american candidates-— candidates. this is not in isolation. _ candidates. this is not in isolation, is _ candidates. this is not in isolation, is it? - candidates. this is not in isolation, is it? the - candidates. this is not in isolation, is it? the nfl| candidates. this is not in i isolation, is it? the nfl has had other incidents, there is a sort of series of this. how serious is terms of the nfl legacy? series is enough but all three teams named in the loss it had denied any wrongdoing but commissioner said before the super bowl the nfl is more, that they have not done enough to promote minority hiring. the rules adopted in

2003 they had three black head coaches. now then we'll have a few more. the editor needs to be better and they have admitted that but flores is saying they had not done enough and his lawsuit really, you know, sent shock waves through the sport. i'd like to think the sport. i'd like to think the league has reacted in the right way because you talk about the racial disparity but they are busy denying that anything bad has happened or that they've done anything wrong so do you think that they have not reacted in the right way and should be looking at this from another angle? their osition this from another angle? their position as _ this from another angle? their position as they _ this from another angle? their position as they cannot - this from another angle? their position as they cannot force l position as they cannot force teams to hire the minority candidates and i think it is going to take more teams to get out of the comfort zone, to get out of the comfort zone, to get out of the old boys network and hire some of these young up—and—coming african—american coaches. there are plenty out there. brian flores was one of them. it is only 40 years old. he is expected to get another

chance to coach but when he filed this lawsuit everybody wondered, he get another chance? pittsburgh stepped up because their former chairman, the rooney rule was named after him. he championed the cause for more black coaches being hired. soldiers from the mexican army have seized three tonnes of cocaine — after a high—speed chase at sea. the incident happened around 70 nautical miles from from the resort city of cabo san lucas. three people were arrested. the bbc�*s tim allman reports. mexico's war on drugs takes place on land, on sea and in the air. a military helicopter pursues a small boat racing across the waves of the pacific ocean as the chopper gets closer what looks like a

tarpaulin is blown into the sea. whatever was in these containers, the crew tried to dispose of it. the men were taken into custody and now face charges linked to drug smuggling. incidents like this are not that unusual. mexican cartels ferrying cocaine and heroin day and night. the military enjoy some success, occasionally intercepting the small craft. but how many do they miss? this isjust small craft. but how many do they miss? this is just one front in a battle being waged across mexico and across the region. another venue in the fight, in the state in the west of the country. there, the army has taken control of the town, part of the larger city. it is the home of the drug lord, a man on the run who is wanted both in mexico and the united states. if this is a war, wherever she it is yet to be one. the battle rages on.

hello. sunday, i'm afraid, is going to be a windier day right across the uk once again. we've got a low pressure system that's getting closer, sending wet weather southwards across us. but as it approaches, the winds strengthen too and theyjust get stronger through sunday. it stays very windy overnight sunday night and through much of monday before easing. the potential, again, for strong, disruptive gusts of wind. there are some met office weather warnings. rain moving south, then showers, and after a mild start, it will be turning colder from the north later in the day. a lot of cloud and outbreaks of rain to begin the day and a focus on the rain in north—west england — 20 to 40 mm, more into the hills, on saturated ground, so this could bring some problems.

it'll take a while before the rain clears away from northern ireland and southern scotland. a lot of cloud and outbreaks of rain in wales and england, but then you see this narrow band of quite intense, even torrential rain forms and moves southwards as the day goes on with particularly squally winds along it. now, wind gusts 40—50 mph quite widely, more around some western and southern coasts. but along this narrow band of intense rain, those winds could be gusting in excess of 60 mph, potentially disruptive gusts of wind. and as for temperatures, turning colder behind the area of rain, initially in scotland and northern ireland, and the showers that follow will be increasingly wintry even to lower levels and some of those will filter further south through sunday night. and the winds get stronger still, at this stage, around some of the coasts of scotland, northern ireland and through the irish sea, maybe up to around 70 mph in places, so potential disruption out of those going into monday morning. and then on monday, the low pressure is pulling away, but still a squeeze in the isobars, still batches of showers moving southwards, though easing later. some sunny spells in between, but it remains very windy out there and still gusting quite widely 50—60 mph for a time, particularly towards western and southern areas. and then those winds will gradually ease later in the day, but not until we've dealt with some more potentially disruptive

gusts out there. and temperatures will be close to average, if not a little bit above for the time of year. there is a bit of a lull on monday night. after that, it stays unsettled with further spells of rain and wind, though perhaps not as windy as it's been at the moment. friday is looking like a fine day. it doesn't look like it will last.

this is bbc news, the headlines...

british prime minister boris johnson says the evidence from russia and ukraine points towards president vladimir putin planning what �*could be the biggest war in europe since 1945'. speaking to the bbc — mrjohnson said that all the signs were that the russian president's plan had already begun. the interim police chief in ottawa has said significant progress has been made in clearing unlawful protests from the streets of the canadian capital — but the operation is not over yet. he defended the police use of pepper spray and stun grenades as they had faced aggressive resistance. twelve people have been killed as storm eunice left a trail of destruction across parts of northern and eastern europe. deaths were reported in the netherlands, belgium, britain, ireland and poland. many victims were crushed by falling trees. gusts of close to 200 kilometres an hour have been recorded.