and around the world. queen elizabeth has tested positive for covid—19. buckingham palace says she is experiencing mild cold—like symptoms but does expect to continue light duties. president putin and his french counterpart, emmanuel macron, agree to �*intensify�* diplomatic efforts over ukraine. it's as the country's president calls for an immediate ceasefire between government forces and pro—russian separatists in the east. the legal requirement to self—isolate after catching covid in england is expected to be dropped from next week, despite concern from some scientists and medical groups.

i'm not saying you can totally throw caution to the wind, covid remains dangerous if you are vulnerable and if you are not vaccinated. but we need people to be much more confident and get back to work. and after 16 days of competition, the winter olympics come to a spectacular end in beijing, with china handing over to the hosts of the 2026 games, italy. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. it is good to have your company. buckingham palace has

confirmed that the queen has tested positive for covid. the monarch is experiencing mild, cold—like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at windsor over the coming week. the queen, who is 95, had been in contact with her eldest son, the prince of wales, who tested positive last week. the prime minister borisjohnson has sent her best wishes, saying in a tweet that he wished her a �*swift recovery and a rapid return to vibrant good health'. with the latest, here's our royal correspondent, nick witchell. this is all how buckingham palace is framing it. as you've reported, she tested positive for covid this morning at windsor castle, which is where she is based. mild, cold—like symptoms is how the palace are describing it. she expects to continue with light duties at windsor over the coming week. "expects to continue." the imponderable in all of this is her age. the fact she is 95, she's just nine weeks short of her 96th birthday.

she is ratherfrailer, physically, than she was six months ago. that much we know, we've seen the images, the people who met her and saw her at sandringham at the anniversary of her succession at the anniversary of her accession said she is frailer now and walking with a stick. we last saw her at windsor castle, in images on wednesday when she was meeting two officials from the mod. she said herself, "i can't move," there is a mobility issue. we don't quite know what's causing that, but she is as engaged and mentally as sharp as ever. clearly, she will now be receiving the full medical attention that would be appropriate for someone with mild, cold—like covid symptoms. the medical household, that's the name given to the royal doctors led by professor sir hugh thomas, i'm sure they will have worked out over the months what they would do. a protocol of procedure. they've had two years to think about this, so they will be monitoring

the situation carefully. this is alljust common sense, isn't it? it's interesting, really, that over the two years of the pandemic, they have successfully managed to keep the virus out of windsor castle — this bubble was formed around the queen in the early months, and that was very successful. there was a rota of royal officials who were with her, and everyone who comes near her would normally be tested to make sure they were covid—free. my understanding is in recent days there have been cases within windsor castle, so the virus has got into the castle and has now reached the queen. there had been speculation she might have caught it from the prince of wales, whom she met on the 8th of february. a couple of days after that, we learned he had contracted covid, but he's now made a full recovery. in fact he was due in wales on wednesday but that was postponed because of the storms. the duchess of cornwall has

also contracted covid. i don't know if she caught it from them. let's go to our correspondent at windsor castle, frances reed. you have been there for a few hours now, presumably more people are hearing this news, picking it up with their smartphone.- hearing this news, picking it up with their smartphone. people are really sending _ with their smartphone. people are really sending her— with their smartphone. people are really sending her good _ with their smartphone. people are really sending her good wishes - with their smartphone. people are really sending her good wishes at| really sending her good wishes at the moment. we have been speaking to people right across the country who have been saying we have come from birmingham and manchester, already wishing her well while she carries out those light duties. so many people right across the country of course have had covid themselves, and i think they really feel for the queen at the moment that they just want her to get well soon. many people have had that mild strain which seems to be very similar to the kind of symptoms described that the kind of symptoms described that the queen is having, these mild, cold —like symptoms. let's have a quick listen to what people have had to say. we've come from manchester today,

and obviously we found out that she was ill on the way here. it's quite upsetting, i hope she's all right. as long as she's ok, that's all that matters really, isn't it, at the end of the day? obviously with her platinum jubilee, i think we want her to _ recover very quickly. and we want to see her back to herself again i as soon as possible. while the —— while she has been on those light duties and the doctors have been monitoring her, the queen has sent a congratulatory message. she has been sending a message to great britain's curling team. very typical of the queen to be thinking about everybody else while they are thinking of her. certainly they are thinking of her. certainly the mood in windsor at the moment, really hoping that she gets well soon, as soon as possible, and get fit and back to good health. frances

reid at windsor _ fit and back to good health. frances reid at windsor castle, _ fit and back to good health. frances reid at windsor castle, thank - fit and back to good health. frances reid at windsor castle, thank you i fit and back to good health. frances| reid at windsor castle, thank you so much. let's move on to the other main story this our the ongoing diplomatic flurry of activity trying to avoid fighting between russia and ukraine. france's president macron has been holding a phone call with president putin in what the french side described as part of a last—ditch effort to avert a russian invasion of ukraine. it comes as russia and belarus are extending joint military exercises close to the border with ukraine. belarus had served the russian forces were going home after the military activities were completed this weekend. belarus has now said it's because of the increase in tensions between ukraine government forces and russian—backed separatists in the luhansk and donetsk areas of eastern ukraine. meanwhile, borisjohnson has warned that the us and uk would stop russian companies trading in pounds and dollars if there were an invasion.

this report from peter saull. borisjohnson has spent the weekend with other world leaders in munich. his attention firmly focused on ukraine. and this morning, a stark prediction about what might unfold on this man's territory. the plan that we are seeing is for something that could be, really, the biggest war in europe since 1945 in terms of sheer scale. you are looking at notjust an invasion through the east, through the donbas, but, according to the intelligence we are seeing, coming down from the north, down from belarus and encircling kyiv itself. russian forces are continuing to carry out exercises, but moscow describes talk of an invasion as western hysteria. if it does happen, an incursion would prompt what the prime minister calls the toughest possible sanctions. we will stop russian companies raising money on uk markets. and with our american friends, we are even going to stop them trading in pounds and dollars.

that will hit very, very hard. while borisjohnson tackles matters of global importance, there is no escaping the problems back home. a questionnaire about his attendance at parties on downing street has been returned to the metropolitan police. so, if he is fined, will he resign? you are just going to have to wait until the process is complete. there is literally not a bean i can tell you about that, as much as i would like to. time and time again the prime minister refused to go there. do you not think you are just burying your head in the sand? i am fortunate to live in a democracy. be the prime minister of a free, independent democratic country where people can take that sort of decision, where i do face that kind of pressure. that is a wonderful thing. the growing tensions in eastern europe have given borisjohnson a chance to show leadership. but the fight for his own political

future is far from over. peter saull, bbc news. the indian government has become the latest to advise its citizens in ukraine to leave the country temporarily amid fears of a russian invasion. it has arranged three air india flights this week to bring its citizens home from ukraine. the advisory notice from the indian embassy in kyiv came four days after it asked indians to consider leaving. there are 20,000 indians in ukraine, mainly students. let's talk to bbc russian�*s petr kozlov in moscow. thank you very much for being with us this afternoon. you want to talk a bit about what is happening with these indian students. what has prompted this?— these indian students. what has --romted this? ~ , ., prompted this? well, very important

cuestion. i prompted this? well, very important question. ithink— prompted this? well, very important question. i think it _ prompted this? well, very important question. i think it is _ prompted this? well, very important question. i think it is important - prompted this? well, very important question. i think it is important to i question. i think it is important to point out that this diplomatic effort, which are happening for the last days, and very intensive talks between the european leaders and between the european leaders and between the european leaders and between the russian president are continuing. but according to official russian state median, we know that the shelling in the eastern republics is continuing. a lot of people are continuing to come to the russian territory. the people afterwards are being transferred to rostov region and other regions. so is see this dramatic situation. in terms of what is happening in ukraine, we have obviously got these allegations and counter allegations of instances of separatist forces or the ukrainian army, depending on who you believe. what can you tell us

about that and how that is shaping up? about that and how that is shaping u . 2 . about that and how that is shaping u . ? . ., ., " about that and how that is shaping u . 2 . ., ., ~' ., about that and how that is shaping up? well, if we look at the speech of president _ up? well, if we look at the speech of president zelenskiy _ up? well, if we look at the speech of president zelenskiy in - up? well, if we look at the speech of president zelenskiy in munich i of president zelenskiy in munich at the security conference, he said that the russian separatists who are being backed by russia are trying to provoke some clashes. but if we hear president putin and the russian side, they also say vice versa. so this is quite difficult to see what is happening on the ground there. we understand that the situation is bound to escalate. president macron, who just a few hours ago spent about two hours, almost two hours speaking to president putin, he said that president putin promised him not to attack ukraine, but as we know, the russian position is that if these two self—proclaimed republics will

be attacked, and put in danger by you the ukrainians, russia will get involved. ., ., ., ,, , ., involved. petr kozlov, thank you very much _ involved. petr kozlov, thank you very much for— involved. petr kozlov, thank you very much for that _ involved. petr kozlov, thank you very much for that update. - involved. petr kozlov, thank you very much for that update. i - involved. petr kozlov, thank you | very much for that update. i know you are watching develop and, hopefully we will speak to you again soon. with the munich security conference over, chief international correspondent lyse doucet explains what leaders tried to achieve. the security barriers are coming down behind us, and the convoys of limousines are speeding to the airport to take the delegations away from this munich security conference. the chairman of the conference described it as possibly the most consequential conference in a very long time. there was regret that that lavrov, the russian foreign minister, decided to stay away this year. but russia was the topic of almost every discussion. it was the question that was constantly buzzing through the halls. will president putin invade ukraine? will

there be some kind of an incursion? and the message that came clearly from munich this year was that nato was going, and the western alliance, the usa, canada, european partners, they were all going to stand together with a package of robust sanctions if president putin made a move across the border. this munich security conference, which always deals with the most pressing world crises, was all about what to do if president putin does make a move. of course, in the background, president biden in the united states was saying "i am convinced he's made the decision." more scepticism here, particularly among the europeans saying, "we are not sure if he has actually made that decision. how are we to know?" it is a decision perhaps only known by president putin himself. but the idea that we have to be ready for every eventuality, and of course, if it is meant to be a venue for diplomacy,

to keep saying, as the president of the european commission told us, diplomacy has not spoken its last word. what difference will it make? the security conference in munich has just come to an end. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's holly. and i once more. we've had the fireworks, the medals, the waving and the epic montage. the winter olympics has been officially brought to a close in beijing. the closing ceremony at the bird's nest stadium marked the end of over two weeks of action, with almost 3,000 athletes competing. the international olympic committee president thomas bach used his speech at the closing ceremony to call for political leaders "around the world" to be inspired by the athletes. the olympic flame was extinguished, with the next games taking place in milan—cortina in italy in 2026. the winter paralympics begins in beijing on march the 4th.

one of the final golds of the games finally went to team gb. it came in the women's curling, led by skip eve muirhead, along with vicky wright, jen dodds, and hailey duff and mili smith beating the japan team 10—3 in the final. elsewhere on the final day, finland won their first 0lympic men's ice hockey gold with victory over the russian olympic committee. they beat the defending champions 2—1 to claim the last medal of the games. it rounds off an unbeaten run in the competition for finland, who have won a medal in the discipline in five of the past seven 0lympics. so, after 19 days of competition, norway top the medal table, taking home 16 golds in total — the most ever won at a single winter games. their 37—medal haul is ten more than germany who finish second.

the hosts china come third, with the usa just behind. to the premier league, then, where there's been plenty of drama in the opening match of the afternoon with manchester united beating leeds united in a six—goal thriller. there was a thunderous atmostphere at elland road, and by half time, united were two goals up thanks to captain harry maguire and bruno fernandes. leeds managed to pull things level, with quick goals from rodrigo and raphina after the break. but manchester united restored their two—goal lead through fred and anthony elanga. 11—2 it finished at elland road. one more game in the premier league today, with leicester city going to wolves. that game kicks off in around ten minutes' time. in scotland, rangers missed the chance to move top of the premiership after they were held 1—1 by dundee united.

that means they stay second behind celtic who are in action at the moment against dundee where it's 2—2. elsewhere this afternoon, ahead of hosting this year's euros, england are in action in a four—team tournament. they're playing spain in norwich where its currently goalless at half time. later, the other two sides in the competition, canada and germany are in action. amir khan has admitted his loss to kell brook could well be his last fight, saying he fears taking more "harmful punishment" and wants to spend more time with his family. khan was sensationally stopped by brook to settle one of british boxing's most bitter rivalries. brook was superior throughout the fight in manchester, which was eventually stopped in the sixth round. both fighters are now 35 years old. i was telling them i will retire from boxing stop like i said, i took some big shots.

too much of that can be sometimes harmful in the future, you know? i will talk to my family and wife and we will see where we go from here. credit to him, he put on a good show. �* ., ., , , credit to him, he put on a good show. �* ., , ., ., ., show. i've always wanted to have this fi . ht, show. i've always wanted to have this fight. and — show. i've always wanted to have this fight, and i _ show. i've always wanted to have this fight, and i think _ show. i've always wanted to have this fight, and i think a _ show. i've always wanted to have this fight, and i think a grudge i this fight, and i think a grudge match— this fight, and i think a grudge match like this is the icing on the cake _ match like this is the icing on the cake for— match like this is the icing on the cake for me. i tried my best and try to do— cake for me. i tried my best and try to do everything, do i want to carry on? i_ to do everything, do i want to carry on? ifeel_ to do everything, do i want to carry on? i feel my the 23—year—old today, i on? i feel my the 23—year—old today, iwas _ on? i feel my the 23—year—old today, iwas saying — on? i feel my the 23—year—old today, i was saying that to my dad and mum and my— i was saying that to my dad and mum and my immediate family. i will see if i and my immediate family. i will see if i want _ and my immediate family. i will see if i want to— and my immediate family. i will see if i want to carry on.— if i want to carry on. that is all of our if i want to carry on. that is all of your sports _ if i want to carry on. that is all of your sports and _ if i want to carry on. that is all of your sports and akamai - if i want to carry on. that is all of your sports and akamai will| of your sports and akamai will have more for you in the next hour. we hope that you, i might to them, will not be sitting down with your family to talk about your future. we want you back. i to talk about your future. we want ou back. ., , to talk about your future. we want ou back. .,, ,., ., ., to talk about your future. we want you back._ both - to talk about your future. we want you back._ both of. to talk about your future. we want l you back._ both of him you back. i hope so too! both of him aaivin the you back. i hope so too! both of him giving the same _ you back. i hope so too! both of him giving the same explanation. - you back. i hope so too! both of him giving the same explanation. to - you back. i hope so too! both of him giving the same explanation. to be l giving the same explanation. to be honest, i giving the same explanation. to be honest. i don't— giving the same explanation. to be honest, i don't want _ giving the same explanation. to be honest, i don't want to _ giving the same explanation. to be

honest, i don't want to look - giving the same explanation. to be honest, i don't want to look like i honest, i don't want to look like amir khan right now either! the legal requirement for people in england who test positive for covid to isolate is due to end in the coming days. the government will outline its "living with covid" plan on monday, 0ur health correspondent jim reed reports. living with covid has meant living with some strict life—changing restrictions, but with vaccines keeping people out of hospital, the government says those last remaining laws will be lifted in england. the legal requirement to self—isolate if you have the virus will be replaced by guidance. i'm not saying you can totally throw caution to the winds. covid remains dangerous if you are vulnerable and if you are not vaccinated. but we need people to be much more confident and get back to work. the move is part of the government's living with covid plan, published tomorrow. there is speculation that free access to pcr and rapid lateral flow tests could start to be scaled back, something that has worried labour. the key thing is people have access to free testing,

they know their status and do the right thing by staying at home, which means they also need access to the right level of sick pay to do the right thing. the world health organization and groups representing doctors have described the move as premature. and for people like piers rankin, a cancer patient, there is danger still in lifting the last remaining restrictions. taking a step into the unknown. i am a high—risk individual to covid and my family have to make sacrifices to try and keep me safe. how much risk can we bear without, essentially, shielding again for an indefinite period of time? the changes expected this week will apply to england only. other parts of the uk are moving at their own speed as the latest 0micron wave passes. jim reed, bbc news. ethiopia has started generating the first electricity from its controversial dam on the river nile. the $4 billion project is africa's

biggest hydroelectric scheme. it's designed to double ethiopia's electricity capacity and transform its economy. but the project's caused friction with its neighbours downstream, as water is diverted from the nile before it reaches sudan and egypt. kalkidan yabeltal sent this report. this is the grand ethiopian renaissance dam. a hydroelectric mega—dam that has been a source of controversy and diplomatic rows between ethiopia, egypt and sudan. ethiopia began building it in 2011 as part of an initiative to electrify tens of millions of its citizens. but downstream countries, egypt and sudan, immediately raised concerns about its impact on their essential water supplies. the three countries have sat down for talks throughout the years multiple times, but none of these efforts have led to binding agreements. ethiopia says it had no desire to hurt the interests of egypt

or sudan, but the two countries say they need a binding deal, particularly about future mitigations of possible droughts and the management of the water supplies. and now it has started generating electricity for the first time, creating a sense ofjubilation among ethiopians. when it becomes fully operational, it is expected to generate more than 5,000 mw of electricity, increasing the country's capacity significantly, and becoming one of the continent's largest sources of hydroelectric power. when the construction of the dam was started around ten years ago, the cost was expected to be around $4.6 billion us. now that figure is expected to have increased. ethiopia has fully financed this project, and many ethiopians have contributed to the dam. and because of that, this project is a source of pride and a rare sense of unity for a country that has been divided by war and ethnic strife. kalkidan yibeltal, bbc news, western ethiopia.

the first body has been found on a ferry that caught fire near greece on friday. another ten people are unaccounted for. all the missing people are thought to be lorry drivers from bulgaria, greece, turkey and lithuania. 280 passengers and crew were evacuated from the euroferry 0lympia after a fire broke out on friday. firefighters battling to get the blaze under control in the ionian sea. the euroferry 0lympia was travelling a routine nine—hourjourney from igoumenitsa in greece to brindisi in italy, when the fire broke out early on friday. in the dark, passengers were woken and told to get into life rafts, but some passengers are still missing. their relatives face an agonising wait for information. translation: i spoke to another driver that 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." some relatives have criticised the conditions on board for lorry drivers. translation: he was afraid of coronavirus. l he had health issues, and because he was afraid of catching the virus due to the overcrowding, he often preferred to sleep in the truck. especially if it was not a long trip. tugs are trying to tow the ferry closer to the shore. fierce 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 are now in 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 tugged to a safe place. gail maclellan, bbc news.

a tough time there. those are the latest stories here on bbc news. more than us at the top of the hour. 83,000 homes in the uk are still without power today, following storm eunice. there are further weather warnings for wind covering much of the uk and heavy rain in northern ireland. with the met office issuing an amber warning for high winds in northern ireland from midnight tonight as the third named storm of the week — storm franklin — is expected to bring more rain and gale force winds across the uk. our weather presenter louise lear gave me more details of that third named storm to hit the uk this week, storm franklin. it will start tonight at midnight and lasted through until 7am. it's a relatively short space of time but we could potentially see winds of 80 mph,

and that could have a significant impact. certainly be prepared for some disruption on top of, already, the damage that we've had across the country. so, the amber warning is for northern ireland but it's worth stressing that for southern scotland, northern england, wales, west facing coasts, southern scotland, northern england, wales, west—facing coasts, we are likely to see 60—70. in cardigan bay and north wales, we've got 70 mph at the moment. unfortunately, if you're trying to restore power, that's just going to exacerbate the issue. don't go shinning up pylons. and there is a lot of heavy rain around at the moment. the environment agency have issued a warning about a potential evacuation, they say that some homes are going to be evacuated because there is a risk to life near the river mersey.

we potentially got the surge effect with those strengthening winds at 60 or 70 mph. and heavy rain. it's also incredibly mild out there and we've got snowmelt from recent snow that we've had. so it's a tricky picture to communicate but basically it stays unsettled. and looking ahead to the weather, it stays unsettled through the week, with the heaviest of the rain and the strongest of the winds as we go through the next few days, the emphasis is going to shift toward scotland, northern ireland and northern england. that was the good afternoon. it's miserable out there. for many, spells of heavy rain moving their way across england and wales. blustery showers and gusts of winds in excess of 60—70mph once again on exposed coasts. so, temperatures fairly academic but it's mild cross england and wales, noticeably cooler for scotland and northern ireland. but as we go through the night

tonight, we need to draw your attention to some rain that's arriving in the far northwest. the winds will strengthen once again, and the met office has issued an amber weather warning for the strength of the winds across the north coast of northern ireland. a chillier start to monday, but all eyes will be focused on this amber warning which will remain in force during the early hours of monday morning. storm franklin, potential for damaging gusts of wind in excess of 80mph. the showers will fade away, though, and monday will be an improving picture as we go through the afternoon — we'll be drier and brighter with top temperatures of 6—13 celsius.

hello, this is bbc news with shaun ley. the headlines... queen elizabeth has tested positive for covid—19. buckingham palace says she is experiencing mild cold—like symptoms, but does expect to continue light duties. president putin and his french counterpart, emmanuel macron, agree to "intensify" diplomatic efforts over ukraine. it's as the country's president calls for an immediate ceasefire between government forces and pro—russian separatists in the east. the legal requirement to self—isolate after catching covid in england is expected to be dropped from next week, despite concern