this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. president putin and his french counterpart, emmanuel macron, agree to intensify diplomatic efforts over ukraine. ukraine's president calls for an immediate ceasefire between government forces and pro—russian separatists in the east. russia and belarus are extending joint military exercises, close to the border with ukraine, that were due to end today. 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. 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. the best of the action from the final day in beijing as the winter olympics finished with fire. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. russia and belarus are extending theirjoint military exercises close to the border with ukraine as western leaders continue to warn of a possible russian invasion. the french president, emmanuel macron, discussed

the continuing tensions in a phone conversation with the russian leader, vladimir putin. mr putin accused the ukrainian military of provoking an escalation in the east of ukraine, where there is a conflict with russian—backed rebels. our eastern europe correspondent, sarah rainsford, reports from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. 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. let's speak to catherine belton, special correspondent for reuters and author of putin's people. i would like to turn to that remark that the british prime minister made that the british prime minister made that mr putin was behaving logically, talking about the danger that could ensue if in fact there was an invasion. how would you respond to that, thinking about mr putin's strategy or what it might be? i putin's strategy or what it might be? ~' , ., , . putin's strategy or what it might be? ~ , ., , ., , putin's strategy or what it might be? ~ , ., , ., be? i think people have been worried he has been —

be? i think people have been worried he has been isolated _ be? i think people have been worried he has been isolated in _ be? i think people have been worried he has been isolated in the _ be? i think people have been worried he has been isolated in the last - be? i think people have been worried he has been isolated in the last two l he has been isolated in the last two years of the pandemic and that he is increasingly surrounded by more hawkish members of the kremlin including the head of the security council who see the world very much through some so —— some cold war lens. but i also think we should not perhaps overplay these fears because it is in putin's interests as well for us to think perhaps he has become illogical and he is willing to risk everything to redraw the code for security map. i think we should be careful because putin will have quite a cold calculation about what the economic impact will be of such moves, and he really does have to realise and we should recognise this too, that a full—scale war in ukraine would not so well with the russian population, most russians have relatives in ukraine. they are

being prepared to some degree for perhaps a minor incursion into the east, but for a full—scale war, which would mean body bags coming backin which would mean body bags coming back in their thousands into russia, i don't think the russian people will wear it, and i think putin must be aware of that too. so will wear it, and i think putin must be aware of that too.— be aware of that too. so then how would you — be aware of that too. so then how would you describe _ be aware of that too. so then how would you describe his _ be aware of that too. so then how| would you describe his short-term would you describe his short—term and long—term aims of this back—and—forth? because the diplomacy has been continuing for many weeks now.— diplomacy has been continuing for many weeks now. perhaps we should have exnected _ many weeks now. perhaps we should have expected that _ many weeks now. perhaps we should have expected that the _ many weeks now. perhaps we should have expected that the military - have expected that the military exercises in belarus were notjust going to end, just like that, when russia had not achieved anything of what it sought in the previous round of diplomacy. it is in putin's interests now to really turn up the pressure, he wants to keep the west's attention and wants to keep

the west focused on this, but the question is, what can the west give him? obviously, we don't want to be risking our own security in europe, but he has pointed to a number of things in the past there have particularly irked him, such as the placing of antiballistic missiles, defence bases near russia's border in poland and in romania. perhaps they have been olive branches extended over that. the us and nato have offered greater transparency over their operations and perhaps they could be greater renewed focus on that but obviously we have to be careful not to completely bow to putin when he turns up the pressure and when the uk government is now raising the risk that there will be full—blown war. i don't think putin wants that but he wants to maximise the pressure. wants that but he wants to maximise the pressure-—

the pressure. thank you so much for “oininu the pressure. thank you so much for joining us- — the pressure. thank you so much for joining us- we _ the pressure. thank you so much for joining us. we will _ the pressure. thank you so much for joining us. we will continue - the pressure. thank you so much for joining us. we will continue to - joining us. we will continue to follow the story throughout the coming hours and days. 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, 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. joining me now is ian lloyd, royal biographer and former royal photographer. you will have seen the queen countless times, photographed over

the years, how do you think she will be reacting to this announcement that she is positive with covid? the queen is that she is positive with covid? tue: queen is very that she is positive with covid? tte: queen is very sensible, that she is positive with covid? t'te: queen is very sensible, unlike that she is positive with covid? tte: queen is very sensible, unlike her mother. i saw the two of them together and the queen had a very silly cane. and the queen mother fell going into the royal box in the queen was so frustrated she broke this came. ~ ., queen was so frustrated she broke this came.- she _ queen was so frustrated she broke this came.- she was - queen was so frustrated she broke this came.- she was so - this came. what? ! she was so anno ed this came. what? ! she was so annoyed that — this came. what? ! she was so annoyed that her— this came. what? ! she was so annoyed that her mother - this came. what? ! she was so annoyed that her mother had l this came. what? ! she was so i annoyed that her mother had this silly cane and insisted she had a proper walking stick, the queen on the other hand is very sensible and pragmatic. she knows she has to take care of herself as head of state. she's an easy patient, as it were, and will follow advice, unlike her mother, and that is a great help in the current situation, she will not do anything stupid like walk the dogsin do anything stupid like walk the dogs in the heavy rain or like that stop she will be hell—bent on getting herself well for this year's

jubilee. getting herself well for this year's jubilee. a , getting herself well for this year's jubilee. , , ., , jubilee. many people have been sick with covid and _ jubilee. many people have been sick with covid and sometimes _ jubilee. many people have been sick with covid and sometimes we - jubilee. many people have been sick with covid and sometimes we take l jubilee. many people have been sick| with covid and sometimes we take to our beds but i was reading she will continue to carry out light duties. how about that? is that just continue to carry out light duties. how about that? is thatjust in her character to continue? qt how about that? is that 'ust in her character to continue?_ how about that? is that 'ust in her character to continue? of course it is. she character to continue? of course it is- she does _ character to continue? of course it is. she does enjoy _ character to continue? of course it is. she does enjoy the _ character to continue? of course it is. she does enjoy the executive i is. she does enjoy the executive role of being a monarch, and she is very decisive and quick, she does not put things on one side, and i was told by one private secretary, even when she had a baby that within hours she sat in bed doing the red boxes, so i think she finds them something to do very easily and it would be therapy for her for the few days. tt’s would be therapy for her for the few da s. �* , ., , would be therapy for her for the few da s. �* , . , , would be therapy for her for the few da 5. �* , . , , ~ days. it's really interesting. we will continue _ days. it's really interesting. we will continue talking _ days. it's really interesting. we will continue talking a - days. it's really interesting. we will continue talking a little - days. it's really interesting. we will continue talking a little bit| will continue talking a little bit more about indeed the queen who has tested positive because i know you have a lot more stories as well. as

we talk about the queen testing positive for covid. you're watching bbc news. i was reading as well that the queen has started using a lot more technology to carry out her duties. tell us a little bit as well as you photographed over the years perhaps as you have seen her moving on towards a more technological age and how that might help her actually carry out some of these jobs she has ahead of her, even though she has tested positive.— tested positive. after a few years a . o tested positive. after a few years a . 0 we tested positive. after a few years ago we did _ tested positive. after a few years ago we did not — tested positive. after a few years ago we did not even _ tested positive. after a few years ago we did not even see - tested positive. after a few years - ago we did not even see photographs of her in buckingham palace. but thanks to covid, we can see the queen talking to people, video meetings. and coming across very relaxed and well, she has taken to it like a duck to water. she has had

iphones. she has e—mail and so on so she keeps in touch with the grandchildren. harry and so on have told her what to do, she is very good at that kind of thing and it's another way of keeping in touch, so one of the good things about this year, if her health is in anyway doubtful, she can use that technology to attend an event without being present, so that is a great help. without being present, so that is a treat hel. ~ . , without being present, so that is a treat hel. ~ ., , ., without being present, so that is a treat hel. ~' ., , ., , without being present, so that is a treat hel. ~' . , ., , ., great help. like so many of us have done. we great help. like so many of us have done- we had _ great help. like so many of us have done. we had that _ great help. like so many of us have done. we had that short _ great help. like so many of us have done. we had that short statement| done. we had that short statement from buckingham palace. do you expect they will tell us more in the coming days about her health? sometimes they can be minimal with some of the information that is put out. , ., ., ., , ., out. they got into a bit of bother over the fact _ out. they got into a bit of bother over the fact that _ out. they got into a bit of bother over the fact that a _ out. they got into a bit of bother over the fact that a newspaper . over the fact that a newspaper leaked the story that the queen had

beenin leaked the story that the queen had been in hospital overnight. the palace had not informed us. they learned from that that they do have to keep people informed because the queen is adored. and i think were respected. and people want to see her like a much loved relative, they want to see her get better and carry on. so it's up to the palace to keep us as informed as they can of any change. the next thing i would imagine is again one of these footage of her meeting people to show that she is back meeting people and on her legs again and fighting fit because that is what we want to see. . ~' fit because that is what we want to see. . ~ , ., fit because that is what we want to see. . ~ i. ,., fit because that is what we want to see. . ~ i. . ., fit because that is what we want to see. . ~ . ., ,, see. thank you so much for spending some time with _ see. thank you so much for spending some time with us _ see. thank you so much for spending some time with us here _ see. thank you so much for spending some time with us here on _ see. thank you so much for spending some time with us here on bbc- see. thank you so much for spending l some time with us here on bbc news. ministers are preparing 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. manchester city says it is shocked and appalled at the abuse its player phil foden received whilst he was attending a boxing match last night. the midfielder was backstage at the amir khan—kell brook fight when the disturbance took place. greater manchester police say they are conducting inquires. 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. our ireland correspondent, emma vardy, has more about what to expect there. it's feeling pretty gusty already, let me tell you, and it's expected to get quite a bit worse. winds of up to 80 miles per hour predicted in northern ireland's coastal areas, and it's really

forecast to feel the strongest of all the winds of all parts of the uk when storm franklin peaks here, which is expected to be overnight and into the early hours of tomorrow morning. now, northern ireland's already experienced quite a lot of disruption today. flooding, roads closed in various areas, and there's predicted to be more travel disruption ahead, potentially some disruption too to the ferries that are crossing the irish sea. now, meteorologists have tried to explain as to why we're getting such a battering at the moment. i'm told it's because there's a very active jet stream that is driving storms towards the uk. we had storm dudley on wednesday, storm eunice on friday, and now storm franklin today. so i think once again it's time to batten down those hatches because, here in northern ireland, that amber weather warning is in place overnight until seven o'clock tomorrow morning. the environment agency says 460 homes in the didsbury area

of south manchester will be evacuated due to the severe flood warning issued earlier. these pictures taken this afternoon show the river mersey bursting its banks. the severe flood warnings mean there is a risk to life to people living nearby. andy brown is the flood risk manager for the north west for the environment agency. he's been giving us the very latest on the potential for further flooding. 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 and ourselves and leave the area.

we have seen over the last five or six days a series of strong winds and heavy rain and snow which has 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 in the night so 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 or 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 there, and you might hurt yourselves. and as i say please go to the website and find out information including signing up for flood warnings and also and also information on how to prepare forflooding. the democractic unionist party politician christopher stalford has died suddenly at the age of 39. mr stalford had represented south belfast in the northern ireland assembly since 2016. dup leader sirjeffrey donaldson says he is deeply saddened at mr stalford's death, saying he was "notjust an elected representative or a colleague — he was a friend". the sdlp say their spring conference, due to take place today, will be postponed as a mark of respect. 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. reports from niger say an air strike by the military from neighbouring nigeria has killed seven children by mistake. the governor of the maradi region told the bbc that five others had been wounded in the strike. nigerian officials said an investigation was underway. the two countries have been conducting joint military operations against armed gangs responsible for kidnappings in the region. 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. portuguese firefighters say they have still not been able to put out a blaze on a ship carrying thousands of luxury cars. the vessel, called the felicity ace, is currently drifting in the atlantic ocean. it is carrying around 4,000 vehicles, including porsches and bentleys. it caught fire travelling to the us from germany. the 22 crew members

have been evacuated. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello there. we've once again got another named storm and more weather warnings. an amber weather warning has been issued for northern ireland for storm franklin. this will start from midnight tonight and run till 7am on monday morning due to the strengths of the winds. 60—80 mile an hour gusts of wind quite possible. there will also be some rain moving through scotland, northern ireland and northern england, as we go with it, the wind direction changing to a north—westerly, so a chilly start as well to monday morning, with low single figures, and we start the day off with widespread gales through exposed irish sea coasts. the rain will tend to ease away as we move into the afternoon. the winds will slowly start to die down, so by the middle part of the afternoon there will be some sunny spells, blustery winds, gusts in excess of 40, possibly 50 miles an hour in one or two spots, and top temperatures through the middle part

of the afternoon ranging from 8 degrees in the north to 13 in the south.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines: 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. president putin and his french counterpart, emmanuel macron, agree to intensify diplomatic efforts over ukraine, while the president of ukraine 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.