welcome to bbc news — i'm david eades. our top stories: a diplomatic push to avoid war in ukraine — as the us and russian presidents agree to hold a summit on the deepening crisis. international visitors return to australia as the country opens up to fully vaccinated travellers for the first time in almost two years. queen elizabeth tests positive for coronavirus — buckingham palace says the 95—year—old is experiencing mild symptoms. and after 16 days of competition, the winter olympics come to a spectacular close in beijing. and the secret to running 100 miles at world record pace and beating all the men in the

process. the groundwork is being laid for a diplomatic summit aimed at avoiding a war in ukraine — the french president says that bothjoe biden and vladimir putin have agreed in principle to meet to discuss the situation. speaking on us television, the american secretary of state, antony blinken, said president biden was prepared to meet mr putin "at any time, in any format, if that can help prevent a war". explosions have been continuing in ukraine's eastern donbas region this weekend, amid increased clashes between the ukrainian government forces and russian—backed rebels. sarah rainsford has the latest from kyiv. 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 far from 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're talking about the real possibility of war in europe. russia is talking up the danger too. helping to 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 does not see the disaster ahead. and i think it is 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 anyway they can. this was self—defence for women for a wartime scenario. pretty extreme but so are predictions of western governments in this crisis. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv.

well, earlier i spoke to professor kathryn stoner, director of the center on democracy, development, and the rule of law at stanford university. so then what's the point here, why has mr putin manufactured a crisis? and i think the answer is partly his own domestic politics and the example that ukraine sets, it is a flawed, young, raucous democracy, it has an open media, a lively civil society, and that's not what he would like to see in russia. so the demonstration effect of that for his own regime's longevity is highly problematic, and for historical reasons. you mentioned the domestic appeal or otherwise as to the route he's embarking on. i don't suppose russians want an entrenched conflict on their doorstep, which also will cost, no doubt, billions of dollars, one way or another. but how well equipped financially and in terms of resource do you think russia is now, actually, to engage, if it

chooses to do so? so, you're right. most russians, at this point at least, don't seem to want a war with ukraine, but what's being presented to them is a bit different from what we are seeing, in the russian media, it's the ukrainians who are the aggressors, the ukrainians committing, in mr putin's words, "genocide" against ethnic russians in the east of ukraine, but still it's a very low percentage of people in support of going in. that was the case in february 2014 as well, then support shot up once mr putin had done it. so it depends what they show on russian media, of course, of this conflict. your second question was, how ready are they? well, they're ready.

one of the things in terms of researching my book was covering the military reform that's taken place in russia between 2008 and 2020. russia has professionalised its military, it's battle hardened, it is no longer a conscript army. it is modernised with modern weapons and they're ready also financially. i want to bring you up—to—date with other news from around the world now. an international investigation by reporters into the banking giant, credit suisse, appears to show that its accounts held assets worth billions of dollars on behalf of clients with links to crime. the journalists found that the swiss bank held millions of dollars for heads of state, businessmen subject to sanctions, and alleged human rights abusers from across the world. rescue workers and volunteers from several brazilian states have arrived in the city of petropolis to help recover the bodies of the victims of tuesday's devasting floods and mudslides. the authorities have said

the chances of finding any survivors is now very slim. 171 people are known to have died and more than 120 others remain missing. police in the canadian capital 0ttawa, have cleared a protest site which had been occupied by demonstrators for over three weeks. they've defended the use of pepper spray saying officers faced aggressive resistance. more than 170 people have been arrested and 38 vehicles seized. portuguese firefighters have still been unable to put out a blaze on a ship carrying luxury cars. the vessel is currently drifting in the atlantic ocean. it caught fire on its way to the united states from germany. 22 crew members have been evacuated. the dominican republic has begun the construction of a new barrier along its border with haiti, which extends for nearly 400 kilometres. the barrier will be much taller than the current fence

and will be equipped with cameras and lights. president luis abinader said the new extended barrier would help to control migration, drug trafficking and arms smuggling. come and say g'day! that is the advertising slogan australia is pushing out now as it reopens its borders to international travellers. at least, those travellers who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. more than 50 international flights are expected to arrive on monday, after nearly two years of closure. 0ur correspondences in sydney. yes, this is like the big campaign slogan, if you will, from tourism australia. it is a big day for australia as it finally welcomes international tourists after two years of being sealed off from the world.

remember the country had already partially opened up overseas travel for australian nationals and then for visa holders but now anyone can come in quarantine free, provided they are double jabbed and they have tested negative. the exception is western australia, it remains closed until march 3 and it will require three jabs. but there has been an atmosphere of celebration around different airports in other states, including sydney, travellers were welcomed with flowers, toy koalas, vegemite jars and the famous australian tim tams that made me a bitjealous because of course this is very welcome news for the australia's tourism and travel sectors. they have been devastated over the last two years of the pandemic with these closures. we know that things are not going to go back to pre—pandemic numbers right away. remember, tourism was one of australia's fastest growing sectors, earning the country about $32 billion us in 2019, industry officials know it's going to take time and maybe

years to return to these levels, especially with two of their biggest markets, china and new zealand, still heavily restricted when it comes to travel. yes, a step in the right direction and yes, they're saying g'day to people arriving here but it will be a while before it picks up. queen elizabeth is expected to carry out what have been referred to as "light duties" this week, after testing positive for covid. buckingham palace says she's experiencing "mild cold—like symptoms". the news came days after the queen marked 70 years since her accession to the throne. here's our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. 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.

that exclamation, "i can't move", is thought to indicate that she may be having knee or hip trouble. but now, after two years of careful shielding from the risk of covid it is clear that the virus has penetrated windsor castle. several staff have tested positive and so has the queen. in a statement, buckingham palace said: "her majesty is experiencing mild cold—like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at windsor over the coming week. she will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines. " the main concern of the queen's doctors will focus around the fact that she is now just nine weeks from her 96th birthday. any person of that age will need to be monitored fairly carefully and, also, i think given antivirals. we do know that if you give antivirals 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 has given antiviral drugs, they should protect against serious illness. political leaders were quick to tweet their good wishes. 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 february 8, has already made a full recovery. it is to be hoped that his mother will do the same. nicholas witchell, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we look at the life of jamal edwards — a leading figure in britain's rap and grime scene — after his death at the age of 31. prince charles has chosen his bride. the prince proposed to lady diana spencer three weeks ago. she accepted, she says, without hesitation. as revolutions go, this had its fair share of bullets. a climax in the night outside the gates of mr marcos' sanctuary, malacanang — the name itself symbolising one of the cruellest regimes of modern asia.

the world's first clone has been produced i of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have i produced a sheep called dolly using a cell- from another sheep. warren beatty and faye dunaway announced to the world that the winner of best film was la la land. the only trouble was it wasn't. the mistake was put right in the middle of gushing speeches by the team behind the modern musical. not for 20 years have locusts been seen in such numbers in this part of africa. some of the swarms have been ten miles long. this is the last time - the public will see this pope. very soon, for the sake of. the credibility and authority of the next pope, benedict xvi will, in his own words, j "be hidden from the world for the rest of his life". i this is bbc news. the latest headlines:

a diplomatic push to avoid war in ukraine — as the us and russian presidents agree to hold a summit on the deepening crisis. queen elizabeth tests positive for coronavirus. buckingham palace says the 95—year—old is experiencing mild symptoms. jamal edwards, a leading figure in britain's rap and grime scene, has died at the age of 31. no details have been given of the cause of his death. he set up the youtube channel sbtv, which helped launch the careers of artists including dave, rita 0ra, and ed sheeran. mark lobel looks back at his life. jamal edwards set up such a successful film operation straight after leaving school, google asked him to tell his story to help endorse their product. when you're starting off, it's a very lonely place and you need to make sure that you believe in yourself and you believe in your idea to take it to the next level. he got over a million followers by filming up—and—coming and established rap and pop music stars and putting them on his youtube channel, sb.tv.

he was soon rubbing shoulders with some impressive figures, including entrepreneur richard branson and prince charles, becoming an ambassador for his charity, helping young people getjobs. if you can't, nobody can. giggling. not bad for a council estate west londoner whose filming began with no training and just a basic video camera his parents gave him when he was 15. one of the things that i wish i knew when i was a little bit younger was stuff about vat, everything about tax, finance, receipts... he became a multimillionaire by the age of 23, mainly from ad revenue on his youtube channel on which mainly 13— 30—year—olds saw his work with artists including ed sheeran, stormzy and skepta. in a tweet, the organisers of the mob0 awards said:

presenter, comedian and brit awards host mo gilligan mourned the loss of a truly humble and blessed soul, saying: jamal edwards was awarded an mbe in 2015 for his work in music. he set up youth clubs and penned a self—help book. he spoke about getting bad anxiety at times. the london mayor sadiq khan said that: the inspirational entrepreneur will be remembered as a pioneering figure in british rap and grime music. jamal edwards, who's died at the age of 31. the beijing winter olympics has drawn to a close

with a lavish firework display. usually the olympics is a time to bring countries together and celebrate athletic ability. the games also gives the host country the opportunity to showcase itself. china had pledged to deliver a "simple, safe and, splendid" games but did they achieve that? dr susan brownell is an expert on chinese sport and the olympics at the university of 0lympics at the university of missouri in st louis. she told me why the games were very success for china. the games were well organised, covid was kept under control — i think somewhat surprisingly, really, because that could have been a disaster, but after one week into the games, the rate of infection was dropping and very soon, they had zero new infections, so that was really quite a victory for them. and, yeah, everything went smoothly. there were spectacular sport performances. i'm not sure they could have asked for anything more than that. so, in terms of the sport, it went well. as you said — we've

just heard, actually — a spokesman said that today as well zero covid infections again, so that's all worked well, however uncomfortable it might have been as an experience for many athletes and, indeed, for the sort of officials around that. what about the position of china in terms of notjust proving it can do this, but standing up to scrutiny as a country which has faced — of course, we've had the diplomatic boycott of beijing by a number of countries, this sense that whatever they say about human rights and civil rights and improving them, olympic games don't really make much of a difference? well, i'm sure that the chinese were disappointed when there was the diplomatic boycott because in 2008, in particular, us—china relations had perhaps never been friendlier and that was on display as president bush attended the games and was seen sort of hobnobbing with everyday people in beijing. they might have expected that and i'm sure that was a disappointment.

and, yeah, just overall, the political controversy surrounding this games did not fade into the background like they typically do with olympic games. i mean, they faded somewhat but not as much, i think, and so, i'm not convinced this games ended with quite the feel—good sentiment — or at least not as strong a feel—good sentiment as is usually typical of olympic games. and i'm sure that's not helpful towards china's effort to promote its national image around the world. another part of the effort would have seemed to been to bring these winter sports into the sort of bedrock of chinese life almost and get more and more people involved and active. do you think that has worked, or will this be a passing fad for most chinese? i think the development of the winter sports industry and the increase in mass participation in sports is going to be the big legacy of this games — if anybody cares — because i think, you know, what the world was watching

was human rights and political issues, but that was the leading claim they made in trying to sell the bid in the first place to the international olympic committee. and they carried through on it and, by all accounts, these newly built resorts, which were built all over the country, are being flooded with new skiers and the enthusiasm for winter sports really seems to have been built up. and there actually already was a certain degree of popularity of skiing and skating in the north—east, where they have the conditions, so they did actually have a foundation to build on and yeah, i think these will be popular sports and i think pretty soon, china will be a bigger winter sports power than it has been in the past. welcome of course, the olympics gave us all a chance to look at some of the sacrifices many

athletes make just to get to the very top. but how about this as an example, the american injera's athlete who has won the usa track and field 100 mile championship race in nevada and with a new record, she beat her previous best by 90 seconds. she wanted 12 hours, 41 minutes, 11 seconds. that averages out at around seven minutes, 37 seconds per mile. she and her husband and coachjoined me earlier and coach joined me earlier and kamil told coachjoined me earlier and kamil told me how she felt after the win.— kamil told me how she felt after the win. i'm definitely ve , after the win. i'm definitely very. very _ after the win. i'm definitely very, very grateful - after the win. i'm definitely very, very grateful and - after the win. i'm definitely - very, very grateful and pleased for what a wran and they have to give credit to my husband here beside me for it. i should hoe here beside me for it. i should hepe solo. — here beside me for it. i should hepe solo. i — here beside me for it. i should hope solo, i have _ here beside me for it. i should hope solo, i have been - here beside me for it. i should hope solo, i have been asked | here beside me for it. i should l hope solo, i have been asked to say talk us through the race, it is 100 miles, we better keep it is 100 miles, we better keep it pretty tight —— hope so. you feel you are getting stronger as you get older?— as you get older? definitely. you know. — as you get older? definitely. you know, i'd _ as you get older? definitely. you know, i'd say _ as you get older? definitely. you know, i'd say that - as you get older? definitely. | you know, i'd say that women older runners age like fine

wine. they seem to be getting better with age. they willjust enjoy the ride while they can. when you say enjoy the ride, thatis when you say enjoy the ride, that is an interesting use of language. i don't know if you know, i'll book where it is what about running when i'm running, was that expect —— off it, he says suffering is optional. you must suffer when you are running 100 miles, do you are running 100 miles, do you sort of enjoy that suffering? you sort of en'oy that sufferinu? ~ , �* suffering? absolutely. i'm somebody _ suffering? absolutely. i'm somebody who _ suffering? absolutely. i'm somebody who was - suffering? absolutely. i'm somebody who was a - suffering? absolutely. i'm somebody who was a very| suffering? absolutely. i'm - somebody who was a very happy, positive person and a run with a smile on my face. i mean, it is my pleasure to show the world what is possible and to push my human limits. and they enjoy every moment out there. if you like they are born to run and i'm doing what i'm supposed to do for my life. i’m supposed to do for my life. i'm irish and she _ supposed to do for my life. i'm irish and she is _ supposed to do for my life. i'm irish and she is probably running _ irish and she is probably running away from me all the time! — running away from me all the time! |—

running away from me all the time! . , running away from me all the time! ., , ., ., running away from me all the time! .,, ., ., _, ., time! i was going to come to ou, time! i was going to come to you. you _ time! i was going to come to you. you have _ time! i was going to come to you, you have the _ time! i was going to come to you, you have the look- time! i was going to come to you, you have the look of. time! i was going to come to you, you have the look of a l you, you have the look of a runner as well, maybe you are a cyclist if you her —— are her coach. can you keep up with her? �* , , ., coach. can you keep up with her? absolutely not. ways to run a lot _ her? absolutely not. ways to run a lot more _ her? absolutely not. ways to run a lot more than _ her? absolutely not. ways to run a lot more than they - her? absolutely not. ways to | run a lot more than they now. running — run a lot more than they now. running 100 miles takes a lot of effort — running 100 miles takes a lot of effort and you need to have a really — of effort and you need to have a really good crew because nutrition _ a really good crew because nutrition is a big part of that _ nutrition is a big part of that i'm _ nutrition is a big part of that. i'm fortunate to be part of this— that. i'm fortunate to be part of this anai hangout on the sidelines and make sure she has the proper— sidelines and make sure she has the proper nutrition epilepsy comes— the proper nutrition epilepsy comes through. it has been an exciting — comes through. it has been an exciting and funjourney comes through. it has been an exciting and fun journey —— she needs— exciting and fun journey —— she needs when she comes through. in needs when she comes through. in terms— needs when she comes through. in terms of— needs when she comes through. in terms of training, do you say, ok, camille, you are going to do an 80 mile run today, i will see you soon nine hours? no, camille was a former marathon runner before she got into the — marathon runner before she got into the ultramarathon. we continue _ into the ultramarathon. we continue training just like those _ continue training just like those who marathon train. what she did — those who marathon train. what she did then she continues to do. she did then she continues to do part— she did then she continues to do. part of it is that she just has — do. part of it is that she just has reatiy— do. part of it is that she just

has really good genes and, like she is— has really good genes and, like she is in— has really good genes and, like she is in love with the sport and — she is in love with the sport and she _ she is in love with the sport and she loves to win. she won this— and she loves to win. she won this race — and she loves to win. she won this race outright. so she beat all the — this race outright. so she beat all the man as well, which is very— all the man as well, which is very rare _ all the man as well, which is very rare |_ all the man as well, which is very rare-— all the man as well, which is ve rare. , ., ., very rare. i was very motivated auoin very rare. i was very motivated going into _ very rare. i was very motivated going into the _ very rare. i was very motivated going into the race _ very rare. i was very motivated going into the race to - very rare. i was very motivated going into the race to beat - going into the race to beat everybody there, both men and women. and you arejust had everybody there, both men and women. and you are just had to be patient and run my own race and pace myself and i started to catch up to the man later in the race and theyjust really motivated me. the race and they 'ust really motivated me._ the race and they 'ust really motivated me. well, well done for that. how _ motivated me. well, well done for that. how do _ motivated me. well, well done for that. how do you _ motivated me. well, well done for that. how do you relax? - for that. how do you relax? sleeps. for that. how do you relax? slee s. ~ , for that. how do you relax? slees. ~ , ~' ., sleeps. we definitely like our tacos and _ sleeps. we definitely like our tacos and beer. _ sleeps. we definitely like our tacos and beer. i'm _ sleeps. we definitely like our tacos and beer. i'm a - sleeps. we definitely like our tacos and beer. i'm a pretty l tacos and beer. i'm a pretty normal human outside of this amazing talent i have. my husband is a really easy going quy husband is a really easy going guy as well... husband is a really easy going guy as well- - -_ husband is a really easy going guy as well. . .- i - husband is a really easy going | guy as well. . .- i hangout guy as well... am i? i hangout with my husband _ guy as well... am i? i hangout with my husband and - guy as well... am i? i hangout with my husband and our - with my husband and our german shepherd. with my husband and our german sheherd. , . ., , shepherd. they certainly en'o ed shepherd. they certainly enjoyed it- _ a dog has been reunited

with its owner in california, 12 years after going missing. zoey had been dumped from a vehicle earlier this month looking old and unwell. police scanned the dog's microchip and found her original owner, who had reported zoey lost in 2010. the owner says she's delighted to get zoey back and hopes to bring her back to health to happily live out the rest of her life. let mejust remind let me just remind you of our top so this hour. president biden has agreed in principle to hold a summit with his russian counterpart to discuss the situation regarding ukraine. us secretary of state, antony blinken, that the president biden was willing to meet vladimir putin at any time in any format if that can help prevent a war. the virtual gathering of g7 leaders, the president biden among them, has also been scheduled. that will take place on thursday. they should just say, you will find

more about the details, not just of the summit, but everything else that is stewing around you on our website. bbc.com/news. thank you for watching bbc news. hello. sunday brought more squally winds, heavy flooding rain, and travel disruption as yet another named storm approached the uk, storm franklin. and by monday morning, some of its biggest impacts and disruption can already be felt in northern ireland. with a met office amber warning, some gusts of wind along the north coast in particular, up to around 80 mph. it's just squeezing the isobars around storm franklin, pushing very strong and gusty winds as well across many western coastal areas overnight and into the morning, so you can expect some disruption in the morning and, indeed, through a large part of the day — although the winds are going to be slowly easing. but this is where some of the gusts will be at into the morning, the strongest ones in through northern ireland, into western coastal areas but elsewhere, gusting widely 50—60 mph for a time. it's where temperatures will be first thing. now, overnight, wintry showers will be giving a covering of snow in parts of scotland, northern ireland and northern england, especially but not exclusively into the hills, and this area of mostly rain

will clear its way southwards through wales and england by the end of the morning and actually, we're left with increasing sunshine, the odd shower in northern scotland, along the north sea coast, but many places in the afternoon will be dry with sunny spells — and these are the afternoon wind gusts by about four o'clock, so notice how much they've come down — so the winds — the strongest winds are going to be easing and by the end of the afternoon, it may not feel too bad out there with temperatures in double figures. but again, that destruction we'll have after the stormy start may well continue after once those strongest winds have eased. a chilly start on monday night. cloud and patchy rain spreading east, some heavier rain, then, putting on towards scotland and northern ireland as tuesday begins with the winds picking up again and gales developing in places but, from tuesday onwards, although it will be windy at times, the winds are not expected to be as extreme and severe as they've been. we'll see this cold front, though, moving southwards on tuesday with an area of rain. a few wintry showers following on behind. and notice after initially the rain's quite heavy through parts of northern england and wales, too, it does weaken as it reaches eastern and south east england later in the day. now, behind that, we have the sunshine, the showers again turning wintry, particularly

onto the hills of northern britain. these are tuesday's temperatures. now, by wednesday, there'll be another weather front moving into northern areas. a chilly start to the south. it will be cold across all parts on thursday with wintry showers around. it looks like a fine day to friday before low pressure moves back in at the weekend.

this is bbc news, the headlines: a diplomatic push to avoid war in ukraine is taking place — the french president says that bothjoe biden and vladimir putin have agreed in principle to meet to discuss the situation. increased clashes are taking place in donbas region between ukrainian government forces and russian—backed rebels. queen elizabeth is due to carry out light duties this week, after testing positive for covid. buckingham palace says she's experiencing "mild cold—like symptoms". the news came days after the queen marked 70 years since her accession to the throne. australia has opened its borders to fully vaccinated travellers for the first time in almost two years. more than 50 international flights are expected to arrive on monday. the country imposed some of the world's strictest travel bans after shutting itself off in march 2020.