this is bbc news. the headlines at 6pm... finland tells president putin it plans to join nato, saying the russian invasion of ukraine had altered finland's security situation. it's as representatives from the military alliance are meeting in germany. russian troops have withdrawn from ukraine's second biggest city, kharkiv, according to its mayor. it's been under constant bombardment since the invasion began. both sides say it's not clear when the war might end. translation: the west has declared total hybrid war on us and it's hard i to predict how long this will last but it's clear the consequences will be felt by everyone. a ban on buy—one—get—one—free deals on unhealthy food in england is to be put on hold for a year. a former health minister warns that it undermines the country's commitment to healthy living.

i worry at its commitment to health disparities, to the ten year cancer programme, to the fight to lead a healthy life, to our whole commitment to making britain healthier. after a goalless first half at wembley, the fa cup final is back under way, with chelsea and liverpool both looking for victory. and can he contain his tension ahead of the eurovision final? it begins on bbc one at 8pm. uk hopes are pinned on sam ryder.

welcome to bbc news. the finnish president has told vladimir putin that finland will apply to become a member of nato within days. finland is expected to formally announce its intention to join the western military alliance tomorrow. russia and finland share an 800—mile border and russia says it has no hostile intentions towards finland and sweden, but has warned that their membership of nato would lead to the militarisation of the baltic region. the finnish president is said to have told president putin that russia's invasion of ukraine had "altered" his country's security environment. russian state media claims mr putin replied that abandoning decades of neutrality would be a "mistake" and any changes to finland's foreign policy could be "negative for bilateral relations". russia has cut off some electricity supplies to finland overnight, claiming it had not been paid for previous deliveries.

10% of finland's electricity comes from russia. both sweden and finland are attending an informal meeting of nato foreign ministers in berlin. speaking ahead of that meeting, finland's foreign minister, pekka haavisto explained why his country wanted to join nato and why his president had spoken to president putin. we have 1,300 kilometre common border and it is peaceful and we want to maintain that. it's important we communicate with our neighbour, we don't ask permission. each and every member country of nato has the possibility to prolong the process. there can be delays in the national parliaments and so forth. countries might have their own concerns but i am confident that in the end we will find a solution and finland and sweden will become members of nato. norway's foreign minister has said oslo would fully support finland and sweden joining the organisation.

norway is already a member of nato. in 1945, those countries went different ways. from a norwegian perspective we are 100% behind finland and sweden if they decide to apply for membership in nato and it would strengthen nordic cooperation, because we chose differently after the second world war, so i think this is a historic moment. our europe correspondent, nick beake, is in berlin and he told me what kind of timescale finland and sweden are facing if they were to join nato. of over the weekend, sweden, the social democrats, have been meeting at the prime minister and other visitors in the party have been talking about whether it's a good thing for sweden because traditionally the party has been against swedenjoining

traditionally the party has been against sweden joining nato so the indications are they will be changing their policy. the way it all works, assuming there are no major stumbling blocks in the form of turkish opposition, the thinking is, when there is a big nato summit in madrid, that would be the moment at which the countries join. so that is how it is looking for now. interesting that the finnish president spoke to vladimir putin and explained why finland wants to join, he says because of the attack on ukraine, but also the way that vladimir putin has suggested that no more country should be allowed to join nato, and the finnish president suggesting it is not acceptable, that individual countries have sovereign decision making in this sort of process. yeah, it did sound like a wonderful understatement, he said he would tell president putin that quite a lot of things have changed and that that explains why finland

is now felt it needed to join nato. one would love, i'm sure, to be a fly on the wall for that particular phone conversation, it must have been an interesting one. it is a paradox, given that the war was apparently about preventing nato encroaching on russia's borders, and apparent aggressive moves by nato, as moscow put it, that the consequence of it has been to move nato even closer to russia. well, absolutely. if you look at the map of what the nato footprint would look like, you know, with those two countries joining, you have the likes of sweden and finland right in the north, all the way down along the russian border, you know, obviously belarus is an ally of russia, but president putin will be faced with this wall of nato, really, and something he was talking about at the end of last year as being completely unacceptable. many people have made the point

that it is diametrically opposite to what he was hoping to achieve, and incredible over the last few months, how public opinion has changed in finland and sweden. for decades, in sweden's case, 200 years, they were content with being neutral, certainly in a military capacity. and now public opinion has changed, people think they will be safer within the western military alliance, within nato, and that has changed so quickly, and president putin, you would imagine, surely didn't envisage that or, as we have been hearing over the past few months, he thought that his troops�* progress on ukraine would be much more rapid than it has turned out to be. that was nick beake in berlin. we will have more from that meeting in the next couple of hours. the mayor of kharkiv has told the bbc that russian forces have

withdrawn from the city area and are heading for the russian border. ihor terekhov says shelling has stopped and residents are gradually returning to ukraine's second largest city. but he warned that many residential areas have been badly damaged or destroyed. our correspondentjoe inwood has the latest from lviv. a parting gift from russian forces in retreat. this used to be the palace of culture in derhachi, a small town on the outskirts of kharkiv. on thursday, it was destroyed. translation: we were hit by rockets. three floors were breached. as you can see, the palace of culture is almost completely destroyed. it has nothing to do with military infrastructure. it's a civilian facility. it's a scene replicated right across ukraine's second city, much of which has been reduced to rubble. but kharkiv is known as a fortress city. in this invasion, it has earned that name. its defenders have resisted and now

repelled the russians. the battle for kharkiv, it seems, has been won. it's a very different story from that of mariupol, where russia seems confident enough of the victory to be redeploying troops to the donbas region. the ukrainian government says it wants to arm a million men for what is increasingly looking like a long fight. that this conflict will continue is perhaps the only thing the two sides agree on. translation: today nobody can l predict how long this war will last, but we are doing everything in order to free our land as soon as possible. this is our priority, every day to work towards making the war shorter. however, it doesn't depend only on our people, unfortunately. translation: the collective west has declared total hybrid war on us, - it is hard to predict how long this will last, but it is clear the consequences will be felt by everyone, without exception.

any diplomatic solutions will depend on russia, who today released these pictures showing their troops on the offensive. their top diplomat was also in combative mood. all over the kharkiv region, the scars of the battle for ukraine's second city. this is unlikely to be a turning point in this conflict, but with russian supply lines now in ukrainian sights, make no mistake — this is a major victory. joe inwood, bbc news, lviv. health campaigners have criticised the government's plan to delay a ban on multi—buy deals forjunk food by a year. ministers say they're putting the policy on junk food deals on hold to help with the cost—of—living crisis. here's olivia richwald. as a country, britain is rather chubby and under the government's obesity strategy, junk food ads would have been banned before 9pm.

multi—buy offers on food high in fat sugar and salt would also have been banned. but today the proposed junk food bans were delayed by 12 months. if the government doesn't see through these straight forward measures, which are by the way in line with where history is taking us, i worry if commitment to health disparities, to the ten—year cancer programme, to the five more years of healthy life longevity commitment to our whole commitment to making britain healthier. according to the latest figures 14% of five—year—olds were classed as obese. by 11 it rose to 25%. some of the strategy has been put into place, like new calorie counts on menus. but is that enough? shoppers in leeds had mixed views

on whether a delay on banning junk food deals would stop them eating more healthily. i do believe they deserve a treat and it shouldn't have to put us mums out—of— pocket to do that. some places have taken off multi—buy offers, . it should be put on healthy foods maybe to stop obesity in the uk. j but of course with the cost| of living crisis it is difficult. the british retail consortium says supermarkets have been moving away from multi—buy offers anyway, but it welcomed the delay to changes in advertising. campaigners are urging retailers to promote offers on healthy food instead. in the meantime, the battle between bulging waistlines and skinny wallets continues. olivia richwald, bbc news, leeds. it's the final of the eurovision song contest tonight and thousands of fans are gathering in italy for the big night. singer sam ryder is hoping to end

a run of bad results for the uk, but ukraine is hotly tipped to win. our correspondent mark lowen is in turin. eurovision, and the fans are gathering. durian is this year's host and this is italy's hopeful, mahmoud, and it's his second contest. you have fans here and everywhere. everyone knows you. have you got used to all of this, what eurovision has done to you? are you used to this fame? oh, you know, for me it's always a new thing, you know, because the emotion is always the same, so...yeah. in the past, many looked upon eurovision as a graveyard for careers. but things have changed. for anyone who wonders

what eurovision is all about, this is what it's all about. for mahmood, it's made him a star. and it's also done the same for last year's winners — maneskin. well, we've basically been touring nonstop, making new music. yeah. going all around the world. so it's been like basically all we dreamt of. music: stefania by kalush orchestra. and while the favourites for tonight are ukraine's kalush orchestra, there've also been quite a few bets on a country that's rather struggled in recent years — the uk. # i'm up in space, man... sam ryder and space man has won many admirers. i'll be completely honest, it's quite strange walking around as part of the uk delegation, with people going, "you're going to win, you're going to win!" and we're like, "what? i" # and i wanna go home... winning is perhaps being a bit optimistic, but few expect

another last place. the left side of the leaderboard for us is a win, put it that way. a top ten is a win. a top five is a homecoming bus tour, in my eyes. a win is panic stations — "what are we going to do?" "this is amazing." and given the uk's long fallow period, a bit of eurovision hope is an unexpected turn of events. # and i wanna go home. david sillito, bbc news, turin. our correspondent mark lowen is in turin. what is the party atmosphere like? it's a great party atmosphere. it's a tough gig to cover this kind of story, but it's a real pleasure. the atmosphere is really building because the fans are beginning to

turn up for the live final, which is getting under way in about an hour and 45 minutes. it's going to be packed in a huge global tv audience of close to 200 million people tuning in for of close to 200 million people tuning infora of close to 200 million people tuning in for a festival that, despite some people having a bit of scorn and cynicism about the camp and the kitsch, there is some great music that comes out of eurovision. is the festival that launched abba and lulu and buck�*s fizz, and this year there are some great entries riding high in the odds. you heard some of them in the report, the uk, possibly the first time in 25 years, with sam ryder. the ukraine, benefiting not only from the music but european solidarity and support. one of their band may be stayed in ukraine to fight. i think the dark horses, or perhaps the dark wolves, other norwegians, and here are some of the norwegian fans. they are involved because they have relatives involved because they have relatives in the band. this is sub woofer, and

family of subwoofer, who are singing the song someone give that wolf a banana. i'm going to interrupt this fantastic dance. this man's brother is an interpreter for the group because they don't speak in interviews. how are you feeling for the show? i’m interviews. how are you feeling for the show? �* ., �* , the show? i'm feeling great. it's beautiful weather, _ the show? i'm feeling great. it's beautiful weather, eurovision i the show? i'm feeling great. it's beautiful weather, eurovision is| the show? i'm feeling great. it's l beautiful weather, eurovision is so much _ beautiful weather, eurovision is so much furl — beautiful weather, eurovision is so much fun. we are so happy to be here _ much fun. we are so happy to be here. ., ., , , here. norway are looking pretty aood. here. norway are looking pretty good- you _ here. norway are looking pretty good. you have _ here. norway are looking pretty good. you have a _ here. norway are looking pretty good. you have a memorable . here. norway are looking pretty i good. you have a memorable act, here. norway are looking pretty - good. you have a memorable act, the wolf masks, the leotards, the great lyrics, give that wolf a banana. how are you feeling about way�*s entry? after two years of covid it's time to party, — after two years of covid it's time to party, so_ after two years of covid it's time to party, so i hope europe will like that feeling and dance with us. norway— that feeling and dance with us. norway are quite a successful country with eurovision. how did norwegians come up with this idea of the little red riding hood, the

wolf, the banana, the grandma? it's quite zany. we wolf, the banana, the grandma? it's uuite zan . ~ ., quite zany. we were lucky that keith and jim quite zany. we were lucky that keith and jim leading _ quite zany. we were lucky that keith and jim leading from _ quite zany. we were lucky that keith and jim leading from the _ quite zany. we were lucky that keith and jim leading from the moon - quite zany. we were lucky that keith and jim leading from the moon in i and jim leading from the moon in norway— and jim leading from the moon in norway and wanted to represent us in eurovision _ norway and wanted to represent us in eurovision. ., ., , ., , eurovision. how are the performers feelin: ? eurovision. how are the performers feeling? are _ eurovision. how are the performers feeling? are their— eurovision. how are the performers feeling? are their nerves? - eurovision. how are the performers feeling? are their nerves? have - eurovision. how are the performers| feeling? are their nerves? have you spoken to your colleagues on stage? they are ready to show this dance and this— they are ready to show this dance and this song one last time in the final and — and this song one last time in the final and hopefully two times. i�*m final and hopefully two times. i'm auoin to final and hopefully two times. in going to get a bit more of your dance. take it away. here we go for the chorus. stand by. # give that wolf a banana # give that wolf a banana # for that wolf it's my grandma # for that wolf it's my grandma # give that wolf a banana... i

# for that wolf it's my grandma # give that wolf a banana... i can't to that! # give that wolf a banana... i can't tap that! they're — # give that wolf a banana... i can't top that! they're going _ # give that wolf a banana... i can't top that! they're going to - # give that wolf a banana... i can't top that! they're going to do - # give that wolf a banana... i can't top that! they're going to do well. top that! they're going to do well tonight, mark my words. at top that! they're going to do well tonight, mark my words.- tonight, mark my words. at least to demonstrate _ tonight, mark my words. at least to demonstrate how _ tonight, mark my words. at least to demonstrate how alive _ tonight, mark my words. at least to demonstrate how alive and - tonight, mark my words. at least to demonstrate how alive and vigorous and varied european culture is these days. eurovision is on bbc one at 8pm. enjoy the party. borisjohnson is expected to meet representatives from the main political parties in northern ireland on monday. political paralysis there is continuing, as the democratic unionist party said it would continue to block the restoration of a power—sharing administration with the irish nationalist sinn fein. ahead of the visit, sinn fein's president, mary lou mcdonald, has accused the prime minister of engaging in a "dangerous game of brinkmanship" using the northern ireland protocol. borisjohnson cannot play games with the people of the north or with the island of ireland. he has connived with the dup to use ireland, to use

the north of ireland, to use unionism in ireland as a pawn in a wider game that is being played out with the european union, and that is clearly a shameful tactic and approach, and it is one that is absolutely not acceptable. we will meet borisjohnson on monday in the north, and i know that michelle, as first minister, i hope, we hope will meet with the taoiseach in the course of the coming week also. as discussed more about ukraine. mark cancianjoins me, he's a senior adviser for the centre for strategic and international studies.

hejoins us from he joins us from arlington, virginia. thank you for being with us. how significant do you think this decision is by the finns and, it looks certain, by the swedes? it's very significant. finland and sweden have been neutralfor a while, and they have been careful not to offend the soviet union and russia. their shift from neutrality to nato application is a marked change from the history, and the two countries have been coordinating their nato membership. this is regarded by russia is quite threatening. it moves nato much closer to their borders. it also creates a security commitment by nato. finland has 1500 kilometres of border with russia and nato is now committed to defending that border, so there will need to be some

defence coordination and likely some defence coordination and likely some defence bases in both of these countries to make that article five commitment. countries to make that article five commitment-— countries to make that article five commitment. �* ., commitment. after the soviet union disintegrated. _ commitment. after the soviet union disintegrated, the _ commitment. after the soviet union disintegrated, the then _ commitment. after the soviet union disintegrated, the then president. disintegrated, the then president george bush senior was very anxious about not creating a triumphalist sense about the west had one, he was worried about russia feeling resentful and isolated. there was this interim phase when the country didn'tjoin nato, theyjoined some think a partnership for peace, and at one point it was suggested russia mightjoin it, so it wasn't so buyer on a trip now it's become very binary. does that really make europe a safer place? at, binary. does that really make europe a safer place?— a safer place? a couple have come toaether a safer place? a couple have come together that _ a safer place? a couple have come together that make _ a safer place? a couple have come together that make europe - a safer place? a couple have come together that make europe a - a safer place? a couple have comej together that make europe a much less safe place. they are both related to russia. one is the movement of nato east, which

russians regard as provocative and aggressive. nato, of course, does not see it that way, they argue it is defensive. from our point of view, the idea of nato getting together and decided to launch an attack on russia is literally incredible step you also have the right of putin. putin came to power in 2000 and he has a was regarded the collapse of the soviet union as a great catastrophe, he has signified from the beginning he wants to recreate the soviet empire, the russian empire, re—established russia as one of the great powers, so the combination of these things added to tensions in the east, and now with the invasion of ukraine, it is clear that russia is a rambunctious country and is going to use military force to get its way. one suggestion has been that russia might retaliate by positioning potentially nuclear armed missiles in that little enclave between poland and lithuania, that it might

therefore say, look, just to demonstrate it is still a presence in the baltic region and, as you said, that border now becomes ripe for provocation. you could have an accidental incursion by an armoured vehicle that got lost or something like that. there are presumably lots of ways, and the aerial harassment we have seen even in this country by russia. none of that is going to lead to war, but do you worried we are in that kind of potential environment where accidents happen? we are in an environment where accidents could happen, because there is a lot of tension on both sides. up until now, the russians have been focused on what people call the grey zone, subversion, cyber, below the level of eventual invasion. now they have shown they are willing to use conventional forces, and you wait the question about kaliningrad, the enclave

between poland and lithuania. it could well be that the russians put nuclear weapons there. they are the reasons why it's considered a major power still stationing those leveraged in a way that is depleted conventional forces don't. leveraged in a way that is depleted conventionalforces don't. i wouldn't be surprised to see some tensions along that long finnish border. the russiansjust pointing out that that indefensible, making the finns feel less comfortable. does the expansion of nato, if it happens, really do anything to alter the situation on the ground in ukraine and the prospect of any fast resolution of this conflict? it’s resolution of this conflict? it's really not _ resolution of this conflict? it�*s really not related to ukraine. it's related to future security in europe and the security of the scandinavian areas. ukraine is going to be decided by the ukrainians and by the suppliers and issues that the united

states and allies like the uk are providing it. in the long term, this will change the complexion of european security, and it expands nato and makes russia a bit more nervous, and perhaps at some point in the future russia might be willing to make some accommodations there but, right now, it looks like continue tensions in the east. pleasure to speak to you. thank you for your insight. the north korean leader, kim jong—un, has described the country's covid outbreak as the greatest disaster his country has ever faced. speaking at an emergency meeting, mr kim called for an all—out battle to tackle the spread of the virus, which the government acknowledged only two days ago. official media say another 21 people have died and 170,000 new cases have been identified. in all, more than half a million people are now reported to have shown symptoms. a nationwide lockdown has been imposed to try to stop the spread

of the virus among the population, which has not been vaccinated. the first baby beaver, or kit, to be born on exmoorfor 400 years has just had its first birthday. to mark the birthday of the young beaver, named rashford after the england footballer, the national trust has released this new footage of him hard at work building dams and moving mud with his dad, yogi. i thought that was a bear but apparently that can be a beaver as well. earlier, i spoke to ben eardley, project manager for the national trust at the holnicote estate in somerset, about the project to reintroduce beavers and revive wetlands. they are fantastic animals. they can't sing so they can't help us with eurovision but they do a lot else. they are ecosystem engineers, they are a keystone species and they've been missing for a long time

but we have seen some significant change, and it's great to see rushford doing well and learning the skills he is going to need to be a grown—up beaver. mr; skills he is going to need to be a grown-up beaver.— skills he is going to need to be a grown-up beaver. my dad used to deliver the _ grown-up beaver. my dad used to deliver the post _ grown-up beaver. my dad used to deliver the post to _ grown-up beaver. my dad used to deliver the post to that _ grown-up beaver. my dad used to deliver the post to that estate - grown-up beaver. my dad used to| deliver the post to that estate and i large it is. how enormous the estate is. —— i know how large it is. how is he has it been to create a protected environment where they gradually be reintroduced and get comfortable, not only without people hassling them but other animals? is the largest bit of contiguous land the largest bit of contiguous land the trust has in the south—west, that 12,500 acres, and the national trust is serious about addressing theissues trust is serious about addressing the issues of climate change, biodiversity crisis, and beavers are one tool. they don't get the whole estate. at the moment you can only get a license for an enclosure, so we have a couple, about three hectares each, and yogi and rushford

are in one of those enclosures, and they have modified it significantly. it was woodland and water disconnected, it's now excellent, which is a habitat we have lost, and it seems very otherworldly in there. it's remarkable. irate it seems very otherworldly in there. it's remarkable.— it's remarkable. we are looking at ictures. it's remarkable. we are looking at pictures. building _ it's remarkable. we are looking at pictures. building dams _ it's remarkable. we are looking at pictures. building dams is - it's remarkable. we are looking at pictures. building dams is an - pictures. building dams is an essential activity, pictures. building dams is an essentialactivity, if pictures. building dams is an essential activity, if we are talking about controlling the flow of water, how much water there is, or you could end up where water can't be absorbed. why are we in a situation where there seems so much caution about reintroducing them? what are people worried about? sometimes change is uncomfortable, so we've got is to a landscape and countryside which is very managed and simple, very tidy, and i think beavers are an indicator of something a bit different, perhaps a bit more of a mess. but it's a mess that brings positive change. it

would have to be managed properly, but they bring some of the changes that you've mentioned, so they slow the flow of water through the catchment, but they've also been shown to improve water quality and they create a real variety of habitat, which is a real benefit for other species.— other species. last time i was on the estate _ other species. last time i was on the estate with _ other species. last time i was on the estate with the _ other species. last time i was on the estate with the then - other species. last time i was on | the estate with the then chairman other species. last time i was on . the estate with the then chairman of the estate with the then chairman of the national trust, she will talk about the efforts and we were being shown efforts were being made to try and improve drainage for agricultural land. there is a real issue for highland like exmoor when you talk about, if we are going to see a warming climate, the consequences include heavier rainfall, more prolonged rainfall, and it was only 70 years ago down the road from where you are now that the road from where you are now that the village of lynemouth was wiped out because of burst rivers that had been blocked for so long and then the water burst through from the two rivers and the destruction was

terrifying. rivers and the destruction was terri inc. , rivers and the destruction was terrifying-— rivers and the destruction was terri inr. , .,, ., ., terrifying. yes, it was all about developing _ terrifying. yes, it was all about developing resilience _ terrifying. yes, it was all about developing resilience for - terrifying. yes, it was all about developing resilience for that l terrifying. yes, it was all about - developing resilience for that more extreme weather we are going to