this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk 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're vulnerable and if you're 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. 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. here's our royal correspondent, nick witchell, with the latest. i'm here! windsor castle on wednesday, the queen meeting defence officials. the only health issue then was to do with her mobility. good morning, your. majesty, how are you? well, as you can see, i can't move. congratulations... that exclamation, "i can't move," is thought to indicate she may be having knee or hip trouble. but now, after two years of careful shielding from the risk of covid, it's clear that the virus has penetrated windsor castle. several staff have tested positive,

and so has the queen. in a statement, buckingham palace said... those light duties are expected to include continuing with the paperwork as head of state. shortly after the palace confirmed the queen had covid, she sent a message congratulating the team gb women's and men's curling teams on their medals at the winter games. the main concerns of the queen's doctors will focus around the fact that she is nowjust nine weeks from her 96th birthday. any person of that age will need to be monitored fairly carefully, and also, i think giving her anti—virals, we do know that if you give anti—virals early on in an illness, you can substantially reduce the risk of severe disease.

the queen is thought to have been fully vaccinated against covid and, if she is given anti—viral drugs, they should protect against serious illness. political leaders were quick to tweet their good wishes. the prime minister said... the leader of the opposition, sir keir starmer, tweeted... in recent days, both the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall have tested positive for covid. the prince, who met his mother at windsor on the 8th of february, has already made a full recovery. it is to be hoped that his mother will do the same. nicholas witchell, bbc news. let's speak to our correspondent at windsor castle, frances read. it's getting a bit quieter there and

drying up a bit. what has been the reaction down there? it is drying up a bit. what has been the reaction down there?— drying up a bit. what has been the reaction down there? it is dark, wet and windy so _ reaction down there? it is dark, wet and windy so most _ reaction down there? it is dark, wet and windy so most of— reaction down there? it is dark, wet and windy so most of those - and windy so most of those well—wishers that turned out for the queen have now gone home and definitely an evening for staying indoors, that's what the queen has been doing this evening. she is being looked after doctors but the people we spoke to throughout the day have come from all over the country, and they reallyjust want to wish her well. a lot of them themselves have experience covid especially with those milder symptoms. 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 0k, - 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 as soon as possible.

other heads of state and even the world health organization have sent stop but the queen herself has actually sent a message and she was sending well—wishers to great britain's curling team after their success at the winter olympics. she said... she said it was an outstanding performance, typical that the queen are sending good wishes to others while they in turn are sending good wishes to her, but at the moment she is being looked after by an expert medical team and hope she gets better soon. france's president macron has been holding a phone call with president putin in what the french government 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 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. distant explosions. these drills in belarus were meant to end with russian tanks rolling back to their bases. but all this firepower is now staying put indefinitely, not farfrom ukraine's border. in a crisis that is all about signalling, this is russia refusing to de—escalate. let's really take a moment to understand the significance of what we are talking about. it has been over 70 years and, through those 70 years,

as i mentioned yesterday, there has been peace and security. we are talking about the real possibility of war in europe. russia is talking up the danger, too, helping evacuate women and children from the breakaway regions of ukraine it controls, claiming kyiv is planning an attack there. so president macron phoned vladimir putin today. the kremlin did agree to continue seeking a diplomatic solution, but its troops are still in place, despite the threat of sanctions. we have to accept at the moment that vladimir putin is possibly thinking... ..illogically about this and doesn't see the disaster ahead. and i think it's vital for us all now to get over what a catastrophe it would be for russia. but for russia, this is all about pulling ukraine back into its orbit. eight years ago, ukrainians came out

in huge numbers on this very square to demand their independence, the right to decide their own future and direction without moscow dictating. they paid a really heavy price for that, but the feeling is stronger than ever now. so they are preparing to resist here any way they can. this was self—defence for women for a wartime scenario. pretty extreme, but so are the predictions of western governments in this crisis. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv. simon miles is a professor of slavic and eurasian studies at duke university. he spoke to us from bucharest. in some conversations people were expressing concern, but i think the sense here as indeed is the case in kyiv right now is more tranquil than some of the headlines might

indicate. ., ., , indicate. that does raise the auestion indicate. that does raise the question about _ indicate. that does raise the question about what - indicate. that does raise the question about what exactly | indicate. that does raise the i question about what exactly is indicate. that does raise the - question about what exactly is the strategy that the white house is pursuing. antony blinken was on us television on sunday morning, saying, we are not going to impose sanctions as the ukrainian foreign minister was pleading for today because we want to prevent getting to that stage, sanctions are a deterrent, but i wonder if the rhetoric is a deterrent or whether it's encouraging the russians to take a more aggressive approach. my take a more aggressive approach. ij�*i sense take a more aggressive approach. m: sense is take a more aggressive approach. m; sense is that the only person who has an interest injoining up fear is has an interest in joining up fear is vladimir putin, has an interest injoining up fear is vladimir putin, and for that reason i think comments about the biggest fall since 1945 by prime ministerjohnson or comments about an impending invasion by president biden are probably not helping the

western position in this vein. rather, i think that the ukrainian leadership have been very clear that there is sense is the best way forward is to not necessarily downplay this or ignore it, but call it what it is while maintaining a sense of perspective and balance. how difficult is it that from the ukrainian point of view this comes after the ceasefire deal, more honoured in the breach, under the minsk agreements? there seems to be quite a lot of diplomatic pressure to revive minsk, but minsk would effectively say to kyiv, you are giving up direct day—to—day control of what you still regard as parts of your country. of what you still regard as parts of your country-— your country. that's correct and furthermore — your country. that's correct and furthermore there _ your country. that's correct and furthermore there are - your country. that's correct and | furthermore there are provisions your country. that's correct and . furthermore there are provisions in the minsk agreements which would require ratification by the regions

as regions, rather than for example through the ukrainian parliament. that would do in practice is give russia leaders, who have a very direct line of communication to those figures, effectively a veto over issues like the future evolution of the ukrainian constitution and major policy issues. this deal was signed by the ukrainians effectively with a gun to their heads. and i think it's not one that many ukrainian leaders today are really eager to bring back into force. it’s today are really eager to bring back into force. �*, . ., , ., into force. it's clearly not the case that _ into force. it's clearly not the case that putin _ into force. it's clearly not the case that putin is _ into force. it's clearly not the case that putin is a _ into force. it's clearly not the case that putin is a hitler - into force. it's clearly not the | case that putin is a hitler and wants to colonise vast parts of europe, but is there a danger that in trying to find a way to avoid military conflict, the west makes concessions like those under minsk that actually destabilise notjust ukraine but some other parts of

europe? ukraine but some other parts of euro e? ., �* , ukraine but some other parts of euroe? ., v ., ukraine but some other parts of euroe? . �*, ., ., , ukraine but some other parts of euroe? . �*, . . , . europe? that's a really important oint and europe? that's a really important point and it— europe? that's a really important point and it is _ europe? that's a really important point and it is one _ europe? that's a really important point and it is one that _ europe? that's a really important point and it is one that has - europe? that's a really important point and it is one that has been. point and it is one that has been overlooking a lot of the conversations about what concessions could be made that might satiate or satisfy russian security concerns. we have no guarantees that this will be the last round of bargaining. if you look at some of the actions taken by the russian military on the border, leaving behind huge parking lots full of military vehicles that will stay behind long after troops leave, i think we do see that we are in this for the long haul, maybe not necessarily this round but in future ones as well, and i think that policymakers in europe in north america need to be really mindful of the idea that perhaps giving putin an inch right now might encourage him to take a mile. meanwhile, 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. the news from buckingham palace comes as ministers prepare to unveil a new plan for living with covid in england, including ending the legal requirement for people to self—isolate after testing positive. labour has accused the government of declaring victory before the war is over. our health editor, hugh pym, reports. a new direction, moving ahead without legal restrictions, but today's developments underline again that the virus can still spread. the requirement to self—isolate after a positive test is set to be scrapped in england following tomorrow's announcement,

but there have been warnings that detailed guidance for the public will be needed. restrictions can end, but we need that to happen with provisions for people that are clinically vulnerable. we need that to happen for those that need to take time off work to be able to do that safely, both for their health and their finances, so there needs to be an awful lot of planning around this. it cannot be as simple as restrictions end for everyone, this is freedom day for everyone. the latest survey by the office for national statistics suggests thatjust under 3 million people in the uk had the virus in the week ending the 12th of february — lower than the peak but still relatively high. but, with daily covid hospital admissions, there has been a continuing downward trend, from over 2,000 at one stage to closer to 1,000 a day. the prime minister said today that testing would be at a much lower level,

and pcr testing sites are likely to be wound down. borisjohnson said the ability to monitor the virus would be maintained. free lateral flow test kits are likely to be cut back, with availability only in certain settings and for those most at risk. and the nhs is trying to move forward after intense covid pressure. it is time to recover. it is time to try and get things back to normality. i'm afraid this virus is with us. you know, we are inevitably going to see more variants emerge in the fullness of time, but we have better tools of dealing with this, both in the community and in hospital. hospital staff will hope that responsible public behaviour will continue as the government's plan for living with covid is implemented. hugh pym, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... the queen has tested positive for covid—19. buckingham palace says

she is experiencing mild cold—like symptoms but does expect to continue light duties at windsor this week. britain warns russian is planning the biggest conflict in europe since world war two. it's as russia and belarus take part in huge military exercises near the ukrainian border. the legal requirement to self—isolate after catching covid in england is expected to be dropped from next week as part of the government's living with covid plans. 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 olympia after a fire broke out on friday. firefighters battling to get the blaze under control in the ionian sea.

the euroferry olympia 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. police in the canadian capital, ottawa, have cleared a main protest site near parliament which had been occupied by demonstrators for over three weeks. they've defended the use of pepper spray and stun grenades, saying officers faced aggressive resistance from protesting truck drivers. more than 170 people have been arrested and 38 vehicles seized as officers, some on horseback, continued the second day of a massive crackdown which has become one

of the country's biggest ever policing operations. nearly 80,000 homes in england and wales are still cut off from power supplies in the wake of storm eunice. the south west and the south east are likely to be the last to be reconnected, and now another storm, franklin, is on its way. james reynolds reports. in south manchester, the environment agency has issued a "risk to life" flood warning. it will evacuate hundreds of homes in the east didsbury area. pravin and his son have come out to check the water level for themselves. our house is just pretty much on the edge of the river, so we're probably at quite high risk of flooding if there is any — hopefully not. in the west of england, more than 20,000 properties remain without power. thank you so much.

caroline bullock and her 91—year—old mother, kathleen, have had to rely on the help of neighbours. friends have been fantastic in bringing us thermoses of hot water for hot water bottles to keep my mother warm. the village of wadhurst in kent lost power on friday morning. repairs are slow. 80—year—old carole robbins has not had any official help. normally, somebody my age, they term me as vulnerable . so they would ring or send texts, but i have heard nothing - from anyone, so i have no means of finding out, - other than other people, - when it might come back on. these pictures of rising water levels were taken today in bakewell near the river wye in the derbyshire dales. storm eunice will now be followed by storm franklin. the met office has issued another amber weather warning for storm franklin, actually for the north coast of northern ireland, valid from midnight tonight

until 7am on monday morning, when we are going to see potential gusts of wind in excess of 80 mph. but i also want to stress that we could see damaging gusts of wind once again across southern scotland, northern england and parts of wales. in omagh in northern ireland, water levels have risen and the wider area now braces for the strong winds of storm franklin. james reynolds, bbc news. let's speak to andy brown who's the flood risk manager for the north west for the environment agency. are you anticipating a busy night? thank you for making time for me on the programme tonight because it's important we highlight that there is significant flood risk across the country. we have 127 flood warnings in force. as you heard in your

report, two of those are severe flood warnings in south manchester and that is a threat to life and there is a possibility of that tonight so we are asking people to take action and heed advice from manchester city council and emergency services in ourselves and leave the area. we emergency services in ourselves and leave the area-— leave the area. we have seen ictures leave the area. we have seen pictures now _ leave the area. we have seen pictures now over _ leave the area. we have seen pictures now over the - leave the area. we have seen pictures now over the mersey j leave the area. we have seen - pictures now over the mersey has burst its banks. and we are at a stage presumably where the winds have not yet started to whip up to the extent they are expected to later tonight and there is the prospect of more heavy rain, so presumably the combination of flooding rivers, saturated land and fresh rain could be too much for some systems.— fresh rain could be too much for some systems. precisely. we have seen over the _ some systems. precisely. we have seen over the last _ some systems. precisely. we have seen over the last five _ some systems. precisely. we have seen over the last five or _ some systems. precisely. we have seen over the last five or six - some systems. precisely. we have seen over the last five or six days | seen over the last five or six days a series of strong winds and heavy rain and snow which is now melted in some places, further rain last night

and today, and all of that is putting huge pressure on rivers in places like manchester. our flood storage areas are now operating as we speak and my hope is that the river drops in time before any flooding happens but we have got to be prepared for the worst and that is why we have issued a severe flood warning today to say there is a chance that things might start flooding the night to take action now to think about whether you are in the right place and whether you want to move your valuable possessions or your car or your pets all valuable documents. please do heed the advice of our colleagues in terms of never driving through flood water, 30 centimetres of flood water can wash your car away, never walk through flood water because you never know what's in the and you might hurt yourselves. and as i say please go to the website and find

out information including signing on forflood warnings and out information including signing on for flood warnings and also information is on how to prepare for flooding. i information is on how to prepare for floodinu. ~' ., . information is on how to prepare for floodinu. ~ ., ., ., ., , ., flooding. i know a lot of people are already registered _ flooding. i know a lot of people are already registered for _ flooding. i know a lot of people are already registered for flood - already registered for flood warnings. those who have had the misfortune of living in areas with a high risk of flooding. but the nature of this weather system we are enduring at the moment, they could be areas that do not normally get flooding the perhaps ought to be thinking about those options as well. ~ ., ., , well. we do find when we have big events such _ well. we do find when we have big events such as _ well. we do find when we have big events such as the _ well. we do find when we have big events such as the ones _ well. we do find when we have big events such as the ones we - well. we do find when we have big events such as the ones we have l well. we do find when we have big l events such as the ones we have got going on at the moment then the risk spreads closer. they may not experience that threat on a more regular basis so it's important to take opportunities like this and highlight that risk to people, but i'm very aware that for those that are regularly at risk of flooding, this is traumatic time. been flooded as a misery. i've seen it too many

times. ~ ., ., ., times. we will have to leave it there and _ times. we will have to leave it there and thank— times. we will have to leave it there and thank you _ times. we will have to leave it there and thank you for - times. we will have to leave it there and thank you for the i times. we will have to leave it i there and thank you for the work times. we will have to leave it - there and thank you for the work you and your colleagues are doing and good luck tonight. those are the headlines, you are watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. good evening. once again, damaging winds to come across the uk. the met office has issued an amber weather warning as storm franklin arrives over the next few hours. the amber warning is for northern ireland, with gusts of winds potentially peaking in excess of 80 miles an hour at times. now, this is storm franklin, this area of low pressure is going to continue to drift its way between iceland and the far north of scotland. it is on the southern flank where we will see the tightest of the isobars. that means the strongest of the winds as well. not only do we see strong winds, but we've also got some heavy rain and sharp showers moving through scotland, heavy persistent rain pushing out of southern scotland into northern england and wales as well.

so the amber weather warning will remain in force until 7am on monday morning, with gusts of wind potentially 60—80 miles an hour, perhaps one or two stronger gusts in places as well. that has the potential to cause some significant disruption first thing in the morning, and it's notjust for northern ireland. we are going to see strong gale force gusts of wind through irish sea coasts, in excess quite widely of 60 miles an hour, in some places, 70—75 miles an hour as well. with that rain, the temperatures are going to fall away, so it's going to be a chilly start to our monday morning as well, just to add insult to injury. the rain, however, will move quite swiftly south and east, and, as we go through the afternoon, it will be an improving picture. the winds will start to ease just a touch, gusting around about 35, 40 miles an hour in many places, and the showers will fade away, allowing for some sunny spells to come through and, after that chilly start, temperatures will recover, to top out between 8 and 13 celsius. so, as we say goodbye to monday

and head towards tuesday, there is another area of low pressure in a similar position up into the far north, and that is going to bring some very strong winds and some heavy rain yet again. the rain, though, will weaken as it moves south and east, and then allow for some sunshine to come through with a trail of scattered, possibly wintry showers, with elevation in the far north—west of scotland. top temperatures once again between 5 and 13 celsius. as we move into wednesday, it does look likely that we will start to see fewer showers around, and slightly lighter winds, and hopefully some glimpses of sunshine from time to time.

hello this is bbc news. 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 from some scientists and medical groups. i'm not saying you can totally throw caution to the wind — covid remains dangerous if you're vulnerable and if you're not vaccinated. but we need people to be much more confident and get back to work.

thanks for your company