this is bbc news. the headlines... germany has confirmed it will send some leopard 2 battle tanks to ukraine and will allow other countries to send them as well. translation: we countries to send them as well. translation:— countries to send them as well. translation: ~ , ,, , ~ ., translation: we will supply ukraine with leo ard translation: we will supply ukraine with leapard 2 — translation: we will supply ukraine with leopard 2 main _ translation: we will supply ukraine with leopard 2 main battle _ translation: we will supply ukraine with leopard 2 main battle tanks, - translation: we will supply ukraine with leopard 2 main battle tanks, as. with leopard 2 main battle tanks, as a result of intensive consultation with our allies and international partners. more questions for the prime minister over the tax affairs of the tory party chairman — and former chancellor — nadim zahawi. does the prime minister agree that any politician who seeks to avoid the taxes they owe in this country should not be in charge of people's money.

should not be in charge of people's mone . ,, . . , should not be in charge of people's mone . ,, . .,, ~ should not be in charge of people's mone . ,, . ~ ., money. since last week, more information — money. since last week, more information has _ money. since last week, more information has come - money. since last week, more| information has come forward, money. since last week, more - information has come forward, and that is_ information has come forward, and that is why— information has come forward, and that is why i — information has come forward, and that is why i have asked the independent adviser to look into the matter~ _ hundreds of amazon workers in the uk walk out for the first time, in a dispute over pay. and a new study reveals how human communication may have evolved from the hand and body gestures of chimpanzees from the hand and body gestures of chimpanzees. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. after weeks of hesitation, germany has finally confirmed it will send some of its leopard 2 battle tanks to ukraine. ukrainian commanders are hoping they could help turn the tide of the war with russia. germany will also allow nato allies like finland and poland to send ukraine their leopard tanks as well. russia says the move would be a "blatant provocation". here's our defence correspondent jonathan beale.

western main battle tanks will soon be rolling into ukraine, including these german—made leopards. berlin had been resisting pressure, worried about escalation. but it has now relented, a significant u—turn. germany will initially supply ukraine with at least ia leopard 2s with training for their crews to start soon. chancellor olaf scholz told his parliament that germany would now coordinate delivery of its leopard tanks with allies. but he added his country would ensure that nato is not drawn into a war with russia. germany's decision paves the way for other european countries to do the same. poland has been seeking german permission to send ia of its leopards to ukraine, too. the german—made tank is operated by many european nations.

others are expected to follow in their tracks. that is in addition to ia british army challenger tanks already pledged to ukraine. the us is also reported to be on the verge of a decision to supply ukraine with some of its own abrams tanks. ukraine is still unlikely to get the 300 additional tanks it has asked for, but it could now get enough to make a difference. translation: we do everything necessary every day to fill - the deficit in tanks, and i thank everyone who supports us in this. but discussions must be concluded with decisions, decisions on real strengthening of our defence against terrorists. ukraine says it needs tanks to break the deadlock in this brutal war. in the donbas, russian forces are taking heavy casualties, but also making small gains. western main battle tanks originally

designed to go up against russian armour will provide ukrainian crews with more protection, speed and accuracy. better than their old soviet—era tanks, but more complex, too. translation: of course they will be very important for us, _ but we need to teach the crews because that tank is very complicated, but it's very necessary. ukraine will also now face a massive logistics challenge, providing fuel and spare parts for different fleets of tanks. it is also still significantly outnumbered by russian armour. modern main battle tanks alone will not win this war, but combined together with other western—supplied weapons, they could be enough to punch a hole in russian defences. russia says it is a dangerous escalation. jonathan beale, bbc news.

our correspondentjames our correspondent james waterhouse says the tanks are now vital in the war. it says the tanks are now vital in the war. , ~' , says the tanks are now vital in the war. , ~ , ., says the tanks are now vital in the war. , ~' , ., , . ~' says the tanks are now vital in the war. , ~ , ., , .,~ ., war. it is the key to breaking a static front _ war. it is the key to breaking a static front line _ war. it is the key to breaking a static front line in _ war. it is the key to breaking a static front line in a _ war. it is the key to breaking a static front line in a phase - war. it is the key to breaking a l static front line in a phase where it is russia that is on the front foot, really. it is president zelensky�*s a5th day—to—day, and for the past couple of month his dream present has been the delivery of tanks, but it is the equivalent of realising you're going to get that present, but you won't get the parts needed to use it for a little while yet, months, maybe longer, and this has long been the frustration for ukraine's leader. the speed of the military aid that continues to arrive to ukraine in its war effort. there has been a lot of excitement online, notably his chief of staff has been tweeting images of leopard emojis, people have been sharing leopardskin fashion as part of the nationwide campaign for germany to finally make this decision. we are

some way off seeing tanks arrive in significant numbers. president zelensky has talked about it is all good and well talking about five, ten or 15, but we have heard that he wants 300, which he thinks will be enough to prevail in the east. nevertheless, this is a political win in a big way for kyiv, and i would not be surprised if he continues to ask for more, he will not stop at tanks. joining me now is michael linick, senior defense researcher at the us think—tank the rand corporation. thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news. what difference will these tanks make to ukraine, particularly the leopard 2? thanks for havin: particularly the leopard 2? thanks for having me. _ particularly the leopard 2? thanks for having me, and _ particularly the leopard 2? thanks for having me, and the _ particularly the leopard 2? thanks for having me, and the difference | for having me, and the difference the tanks will make will depend a lot on how and when the ukrainians choose to use them. the leopard 2 is in the same class as some of the other tanks you mentioned, the mi or the challenger, so we are talking about the same kind of capability.

what it gives the ukrainians is some options that they don't have right now, and if they are able to use them well, in a combined arms kind of an offensive, to provide some mobility, some protective firepower, for support to their infantry, some chances to maybe exploit a breakthrough, then it can make some differences. but tanks are a tool and like any tool they are as good as the craftsman who uses them, and so the ukrainians need to learn how to use this tool correctly. we have seen them very good at integrating uk ability in their army over the last year, so we will see what happens. last year, so we will see what ha ens. ., last year, so we will see what happens-_ last year, so we will see what ha ens. ., . ., ., . ., happens. how much of a challenge will it be for— happens. how much of a challenge will it be for the _ happens. how much of a challenge will it be for the ukrainian - happens. how much of a challenge will it be for the ukrainian troops l will it be for the ukrainian troops to have to deal with a mixture of different types of tax? it’s to have to deal with a mixture of different types of tax?— different types of tax? it's a tremendous _ different types of tax? it's a tremendous challenge. - different types of tax? it's a tremendous challenge. and | different types of tax? it's a - tremendous challenge. and not different types of tax? it�*s a. tremendous challenge. and notjust different types of tanks, but if we are targeted tanks from several different nato countries, i'm sure each of those countries has adapted its likely to their own national preferences. slightly different

armament, slightly different armour, slightly different to munication systems, so from a logistics challenge, keeping the tanks in the fight, able to operate, able to shoot, having the right ammunition, thatis shoot, having the right ammunition, that is going to be a tremendously complex endeavour. but the ukrainians also have a lot of experience with a very mixed set of logistics requirements, so it is something they can solve it is something they can solve it is something that they need to put the effort into doing. they need to be careful about when and where they use their tanks, in ways that simper five rather than complicated air logistics. in five rather than complicated air loaistics. ., five rather than complicated air loaistics. . ., ., , ., logistics. in an idealworld, if you could pick — logistics. in an idealworld, if you could pick one — logistics. in an idealworld, if you could pick one of _ logistics. in an idealworld, if you could pick one of these _ logistics. in an idealworld, if you could pick one of these tanks, . logistics. in an ideal world, if you i could pick one of these tanks, which would be the most advantageous and why? shill would be the most advantageous and wh ? �* ., , ., would be the most advantageous and why? all of these tanks represent different compromises. _ why? all of these tanks represent different compromises. i - why? all of these tanks represent different compromises. i am - why? all of these tanks represent different compromises. i am not i different compromises. i am not convinced that there is a best of any of them. each can be used to its best advantage. my suspicion is that the leopards are probably the best for the ukrainian specific solution,

simply because they are available in a larger quantity and because at that larger quantity, it simplifies their logistics a little bit. but their logistics a little bit. but the reality is that the differences between these three tanks, the types that we are talking about, in relation to the type of combat that we are facing, i would not try to choose one over the other. haw we are facing, i would not try to choose one over the other. how does this mixture — choose one over the other. how does this mixture of _ choose one over the other. how does this mixture of hardware _ choose one over the other. how does this mixture of hardware compare - this mixture of hardware compare with what the russians have available to them? 50. with what the russians have available to them? , , ., , ., , available to them? so, russians, as i available to them? so, russians, as i understand — available to them? so, russians, as i understand it, _ available to them? so, russians, as i understand it, and _ available to them? so, russians, as i understand it, and i _ available to them? so, russians, as i understand it, and i am _ available to them? so, russians, as i understand it, and i am not - available to them? so, russians, as i understand it, and i am not a - available to them? so, russians, as i understand it, and i am not a huge expert on the russian army, but they have a fairly interesting mix of tanks also, partly because their combat losses and force them to bring out some older models. but they have a common logistics and supply system, these are things that their logistics system, such as it is, is in the practice of using, and as long as the parts are in stock, they can keep it flowing. there tanks don't tend to be as good as

the western tanks, so that could be a challenge. the point i would like to make when we have these discussions about tanks is that today although tanks are very good at killing other tanks, there is lots of other things that can kill tanks. the drones, the precision guided munitions, these are probably as much a threat on each side as the tanks themselves. we as much a threat on each side as the tanks themselves.— tanks themselves. we have already not ke of tanks themselves. we have already got key of saying _ tanks themselves. we have already got key of saying thanks _ tanks themselves. we have already got key of saying thanks for - tanks themselves. we have already got key of saying thanks for what i got key of saying thanks for what you are sending but it is not going to be enough, how likely is it that before much longer, we are going to before much longer, we are going to be involved in another debate about where future supplies come from? i would hesitate to speculate on that. again, the challenge is that we are getting lots of offers of tanks, how quickly they arrive, whether kyiv is able to hold of employing them until they have got a sufficient mass to make a difference or whether they feel compelled by the bucket failed to put them in. they have lots of options on how to use them, but 120

tanks can be a nontrivial contribution in a particular part of the battle space. and so, a lot of this will come down to how they want to use them. as the war goes on, there is absolutely going to be a chance that each month he is going to ask for more, and you would expect that in a war that has either a stalemate or a slow period of progress. we a stalemate or a slow period of rouress.~ . ,, a, a stalemate or a slow period of ”foress. ~ ., ,, . ., y., progress. we appreciate your insi . ht, progress. we appreciate your insight, thank _ progress. we appreciate your insight, thank you _ progress. we appreciate your insight, thank you for - progress. we appreciate your insight, thank you forjoining| progress. we appreciate your. insight, thank you forjoining us, michael linick, from the rand corporation. damien mcguinness is in berlin, so, we have an agreement, damien, after weeks or months of debate? ~ ., debate? indeed, martine. here in the german parliament, _ debate? indeed, martine. here in the german parliament, parliamentariansi german parliament, parliamentarians have been hearing why it is so important in the view of the chancellor to send german—made tanks to ukraine. because of course here in germany that is an incredibly controversial matter, it has divided the country, divided parliament,

even split to a certain extent chancellor scholz�*s own government. and i think today we saw him for the first time explaining himself in quite a lot of detail. what he tends to do quite often is just to meet with experts behind the scenes and then come up with a decision which is what he has done over the past few months. he was heavily criticised internationally as well as here in germany even from within his own party for not being clear enough and not communicating what was going on, all he ever said was, we can't go it alone. it now transpires, and i think now it is a lot clearer, that what he meant by that was that germany needs, in the view of chancellor scholz, american tanks as well, and that coalition of allies in europe, and the united states, to send tanks together, that would leave germany and europe less exposed, in the view of the chancellor, and it makes it an easier sell to the german voters, some of whom are still nervous about escalating the war.— escalating the war. damien mcguinness, _ escalating the war. damien mcguinness, thank- escalating the war. damien mcguinness, thank you - escalating the war. damien | mcguinness, thank you very escalating the war. damien - mcguinness, thank you very much, escalating the war. damien _ mcguinness, thank you very much, in

berlin. the prime minister has faced more questions about the tax affairs of the tory party chairman and former chancellor nadhim zahawi. at prime minister's questions in the commons in the last hour, the labour leader sir keir starmer accused rishi sunak of being hopelessly weak in not sacking mr zahawi. the prime minister said an investigation is under way to establish the facts, while mr zahawi himself says he's confident he acted properly. 0ur political correspondent david wallace lockart reports. there are no prizes for guessing what was going to come up at prime minister's questions this afternoon. are you going to have to sack your party chairman, prime minister? the conservative party chairman nadhim zahawi is facing questions about his previous tax affairs. in the commons last week mr sunak suggested the issue had been dealt with. mr seaker, issue had been dealt with. mr speaker, my honourable friend has already— speaker, my honourable friend has already addressed this matter in full and — already addressed this matter in full and there is nothing more that i full and there is nothing more that i can— full and there is nothing more that i can add — full and there is nothing more that i can add. but full and there is nothing more that i can add. �* , . full and there is nothing more that icanadd.�* ,. ., , i can add. but since that response it has emerged — i can add. but since that response it has emerged that _ i can add. but since that response it has emerged that nadeem - i can add. but since that response l it has emerged that nadeem zahawi paid a penalty while he was chancellor as part of a multi million pound settlement with hmrc. the prime minister has asked his

ethics adviser to investigate whether the ministerial code has been broken. mr zahawi is confident he has acted properly throughout, a difficult backdrop in the commons today. difficult backdrop in the commons toda . �* , difficult backdrop in the commons toda. ., ~ today. anybody watching would think it is fairly obvious _ today. anybody watching would think it is fairly obvious that _ today. anybody watching would think it is fairly obvious that someone - it is fairly obvious that someone who seeks to avoid tax can't also be in charge of tax. yet for some reason, the prime minister can't bring himself to say that or even acknowledge the question. because last week, the prime minister told this house that the chair of the tory party had addressed his tax affairs in full, and there was nothing to add. this week, after days of public pressure, the prime minister now says there are serious questions to answer. what changed? since i commented on this matter last week, — since i commented on this matter last week, more information, including _ last week, more information, including a statement... including a statement _ including a statement... including a statement by the minister without portfolio, — statement by the minister without portfolio, has entered the public domain. — portfolio, has entered the public domain, which is why it is right that— domain, which is why it is right that we — domain, which is why it is right that we do— domain, which is why it is right that we do establish the facts. i

believe — that we do establish the facts. i believe in — that we do establish the facts. i believe in due process. that is why i appointed — believe in due process. that is why i appointed an independent adviser and that— i appointed an independent adviser and that is— i appointed an independent adviser and that is why the independent adviser— and that is why the independent adviser is— and that is why the independent adviser is doing hisjob. the and that is why the independent adviser is doing his job. adviser is doing his “0b. the prime minister said _ adviser is doing his “0b. the prime minister said no — adviser is doing his job. the prime minister said no issue _ adviser is doing his job. the prime minister said no issue was - adviser is doing his job. the prime minister said no issue was raised i minister said no issue was raised with him when he appointed mr zahawi. he with him when he appointed mr zahawi. �* ., with him when he appointed mr zahawi. .. �* ., ., zahawi. he can't even deal with tax avoiders in — zahawi. he can't even deal with tax avoiders in his _ zahawi. he can't even deal with tax avoiders in his own _ zahawi. he can't even deal with tax avoiders in his own cabinet, - zahawi. he can't even deal with tax avoiders in his own cabinet, is - zahawi. he can't even deal with tax avoiders in his own cabinet, is he i avoiders in his own cabinet, is he starting to wonder if this job is just too big for him? the starting to wonder if this “0b is just too big for him? the difference between him _ just too big for him? the difference between him and _ just too big for him? the difference between him and me _ just too big for him? the difference between him and me is— just too big for him? the difference between him and me is that - just too big for him? the difference between him and me is that i - just too big for him? the difference between him and me is that i standj between him and me is that i stand by my— between him and me is that i stand by my values and my principles, even when _ by my values and my principles, even when it— by my values and my principles, even when it is— by my values and my principles, even when it is difficult. rishi by my values and my principles, even when it is difficult.— when it is difficult. rishi sunak is stickinu when it is difficult. rishi sunak is sticking with _ when it is difficult. rishi sunak is sticking with nadhim _ when it is difficult. rishi sunak is sticking with nadhim zahawi, - when it is difficult. rishi sunak is sticking with nadhim zahawi, for| sticking with nadhim zahawi, for now, but the future of the tory party chairman is tied up with any conclusions reached by the prime minister's independent ethics adviser. 0pposition mps don't want to wait for that, they are trying to turn up the pressure right now. at a misty westminster, the ultimate fate of nadhim zahawi is not entirely clear. the point at which rishi sunak will have to make a decision draws nearer. david wallace

lockhart, bbc news, westminster. the headlines... germany will also allow nato allies with leopard tanks to supply them to ukraine — the german chancellor made the announcement in the last hour. more questions for the prime minister over the tax affairs of the tory party chairman — and former chancellor — of the tory party chairman and former chancellor nadhim zahawi. hundreds of amazon workers in the uk walk out for the first time, in a dispute over pay. the court heard that the nurse succeeded in her attempt at the fourth attempt, and the baby died in december 2015. judith morris is following the case. this long—running trial has now reached the point of looking in detail at the point of looking in detail at

the case of baby i, the ninth of 17 babies whom lucy b is accused of attacking, she is accused of murdering and attempting to murder another ten. murdering and attempting to murder anotherten. she murdering and attempting to murder another ten. she denies all the cases against her. the case of baby i, thejury heard, even by the standards of this trial, they've told, is an extreme example. we have been hearing detailed is morning of the prosecution allegation that the nurse tried to murder this baby, this premature baby girl, four times, succeeding on the fourth attempt. we heard a statement which had been written by the mother of baby i which was read out to the court which gave much of the detail of what happened in her experience, harrowing detail. she talked about the fact that she witnessed a resuscitation attempt and she said on the last occasion, she said every time they pumped her, her stats would go up, she would improve, but then she would flatline and the baby's mother said she told staff, you can't keep doing this to her, she watched as they tried

unsuccessfully to resuscitate the little girl, and we heard them from a statement that once her daughter had passed away, that nurse lucy b had passed away, that nurse lucy b had offered to take photographs of baby i's parents as they bathe their daughter, and she said that they would be photos to keep, and that baby i's mother said that the nurse had come in smiling and laughing and talking about time that she, had first bathe the baby, and her mother said in a statement, ijust wished she would stop talking. i think eventually she realised and she stopped, it was just not something we wanted to hear at that point, and she described how lucy letby had wrapped up the belongings of the baby for them to take home. lucy letby denies all of the allegations against her and this trial has many months to go the trial continues. in the last hour, the metropolitan police commissioner has apologised for the "appalling criminality" of former officer david carrick.

speaking to the london assembly's police and crime committee, sir mark rowley said carrick�*s crimes are a "ghastly" case from the met�*s history. the former metropolitan police officer was sacked after admitting to dozens of rape and sexual offences against 12 women over the past 20 years. he will be sentenced in february. here's what mr rowley said in his opening statement. we are all equally horrified that we have hundreds in policing who shouldn't be here and david carrick is an example, an awful example of that. i must reiterate here my sincere apologies to his victims for our failings. he should not have been a police officer, that is very obvious. a range of poor policy and poor decision—making. he shouldn't have been a police officer and we failed. and we haven't applied that same sense of ruthlessness to guarding our own integrity that we routinely apply to confronting criminals and i'm deeply sorry for that. i think we failed as investigators where we should have been more intrusive and joined the dots over his repeated misogyny over decades.

and as leaders our mindset should have been more determined to spot and root out such a misogynist. as i say, i apologise to his victims and i want to say sorry to all the women across london who feel let down by this and whose trust in policing is shaken by this. staff at amazon are staging their first ever strike in the uk in a dispute about pay. their first ever strike in the uk members of the gmb union have walked out at the company's warehouse in coventry over what they call a "derisory" 50p an hour pay rise. some amazon workers say robots at the warehouse are treated better than they are. amazon — which doesn't recognise unions in the uk — says it offers competitive pay. 0ur employment correspondent zoe conway reports. amazon workers being stopped at the picket line as they arrive for work. they are being asked to join the first ever strike at an amazon warehouse. more than 300 employees here in coventry could take part in this action.

they are working for a multi—million pound organisation that is raking in profits still and not willing to share those profits to ensure that those workers are able to live decent lives. they can't afford to heat their homes, they can't afford to pay their bills orfeed theirfamilies. it has just got to the point where enough is enough and they are taking strike action. they are striking over pay. the company gave them a 50p pay rise in august, taking the minimum pay rate to £10.50 an hour. the union says the rate should be £15 an hour, arguing that the company's profits boomed during the pandemic as did the bank account of billionaire founderjeff bezos. we don't want his rockets. we just want to be able to live. darren and garfield work at the coventry side and are leading today's action. we just want a decent wage. we are on our feet for ten hours a day, we get told off if we get

caught leaning or sitting. you get warnings. the coventry site is similar to this amazon centre in essex. garfield and darren say their work is monitored and they have to meet targets. the pressure is intense. as soon as you come in the building you are tracked and then you go to your station where as soon as you logon they know exactly where you are in the building. they know how often you are scanning and if you have not scanned within a certain time they will come and speak to you. they both say they been questioned by managers for taking too long to go to the toilet. sometimes it may take two, three minutes to get the toilet. heaven forbid you get there and all the cubicles are full and then of course you have to use the toilet and come back and that could be 15, 18 minutes in the process and they will then question you, what were you doing? it sounds like you feel you're being treated like robots. i wish we were treated like robots because they are treated better. they get a team of technicians.

they get people to look after them. amazon says the pay is competitive and in a statement said, "we appreciate the great work our teams do throughout the year. amazon does not recognise trade unions in the uk so there's not much hope of any pay negotiating happening soon but darren is undeterred and feels it is his duty to stand up for the workforce. these people need someone who is not frightened, i've been bullied before and i will be bullied again and i'm still standing. i'm in this for the long run. zoe conway, bbc news.

tens of thousands of users around the world have reported being unable to access microsoft services, including teams and outlook. microsoft says it is investigating the outage. with me now to discuss this is our technology editor zoe kleinman. what have people been finding? 1 think a lot of people woke up what have people been finding? i think a lot of people woke up this morning feeling quite frustrated because they were unable to log onto these tools which they use for work. 280 million people use microsoft teams alone, so if you thousand of those, would have had quite a big impact. microsoft say it was due to a fault at its end and it is managing to get stuff back online and there are improvements which appears to rule out a cyber attack, which is good news, there had been suggestions that there may have been some foul play but it doesn't look like that is the case. i think what it does is show us how reliant we are on big tech to run our every day lives, to run our businesses, and when these products go down, we have got absolutely no control over them, have we? ., ., ., ., ., .,

have we? no, not at all, gone are the da s have we? no, not at all, gone are the days of— have we? no, not at all, gone are the days of having _ have we? no, not at all, gone are the days of having bits _ have we? no, not at all, gone are the days of having bits of- have we? no, not at all, gone are the days of having bits of paper i the days of having bits of paper lying around, we communicate with each other so much via these things, so what they have had to do, grow back and work out how they can introduce this upgrade in a different way?— introduce this upgrade in a different way? introduce this upgrade in a differentwa ? ~ . different way? so, microsoft said that it was _ different way? so, microsoft said that it was a _ different way? so, microsoft said that it was a wide-ranging - different way? so, microsoft said i that it was a wide-ranging network that it was a wide—ranging network routers issue, which is to do with the way in which these enormous and robust networks communicate with each other. they are very robust systems, microsoft is extremely well—funded and this is not something that happens every day, it is something that we see from time to time with big tech and it always catches us by surprise when it does. but bearing mind that there is always things being upgraded and maintenance going on which is actually quite a vulnerable time for these systems. something doesn't quite go right or does not do what they expected, and the ripple effect can be enormous. i was seeing tweets from eurostar earlier saying they were having problems with their booking system, and it was all indirectly connected to this microsoft outage, because another

microsoft outage, because another microsoft product that was affected by it is called as your, a cloud computer platform. you might not be aware of it sitting in front of your computer, but a lot of big businesses use it, it is a rival to amazon web services, and they use it not only for storing big amounts of data but also for that extra compute in power. so, something like that goes down and it will affect businesses all over the place. and it is taken quite a long time for this to be resolved. microsoft says that things are changing and that people are reporting improvements, but it has been several hours now, and not everybody is back online. the funeral is being held for a woman who was shot on christmas eve in a pub in wallasey. 26—year—old ellie edwards was not the intended target of a gunman who opened fire at the lighthouse pub. connor chapman, who's 22, has been charged with murder and is due to stand trial injune.

the vicar in charge of today's service said he hoped the funeral would be a celebration of ellie's life, which shouldn't be defined by how she died. eurostar says its trains are carrying 30% fewer passengers between london and paris than before the pandemic. it blames bottlenecks caused by post—brexit checks and staffing issues at the border. its new chief executive gwendoline cazenave said the company might not restore some services suspended last year due to the problems. last year, eurostar announced it was halting its direct service from london to disneyland paris and also stopped services calling at ebbsfleet or ashford international stations. ms cazenave has been talking to our transport correspondent katy austin in brussels. we have a main issue with throughput in eurostar terminals because of the new boarding conditions between the uk and the eu. because of the impact of covid, because of staff in the station, police staff.

because we need more investment at automated doors. so we are not back to the offer we had in 2019. for instance, between london and paris we had 18 frequencies. we have now 1a. we have to cap some trains because it's too long to cross borders. i believe eurostar is not running directly from london to disneyland this year, will that return, and will eurostar trains ever call at ebbsfleet or ashford in kent again? our objective, our project at eurostar group is to build this backbone between big cities, amsterdam, london, paris and brussels. and these are the main cities. these are the main markets. the more dynamic markets. with the covid, with the brexit, with these stations issues, we had to close the stations now, ebbsfleet, ashford, calais, marne—la—vallee. because you know, it's a very big deal to operate in these stations, and in the same way in paris,

in st pancras, in brussels, we don't have enough staff, enough police staff to face our traffic. so for the moment it would not be possible to reopen them because, you know, we have too many issues in our big stations. chris hipkins has been sworn in as new zealand's prime minister by the country's governor—general during a ceremony at government house in wellington, hipkins, the architect of the country's pandemic response, takes over from jacinda aderne who stepped down last week saying she had nothing left in the tank. hello. over the last few days, northern parts of the uk have seen the mildest of the weather, further south it has remained very chilly, but things are now starting to change, we've got this frontal system pushing southwards, a band of cloud with some

outbreaks of rain. behind that, clear spells and showers, but the air turning chillier across the northern half of the uk. conversely, this weather front starting to mix up the air across the south, where that stubborn block of cold air has been holding on. things are starting to mix and the weather is turning just a little bit milder. 0vernight, we lose that weather front, we see clear spells and some showers blowing into north—east scotland, down the eastern side of england. a milder night than last night across the south of the uk, colder than last night across the north, but temperature—wise, really we are all in pretty much the same boat, hovering around freezing. for the next couple of days, a lot of dry weather in the forecast. the weekend will turn very windy across the north of the uk. hello, this is bbc news with martine croxall. the headlines... after months of controversy and debate, germany has confirmed it will send some of its leopard two battle tanks to ukraine, and allow other countries

to supply them as well. translation: we will provide ukraine with leo ard translation: we will provide ukraine with leopard two _ translation: we will provide ukraine with leopard two battle _ translation: we will provide ukraine with leopard two battle tanks. - with leopard two battle tanks. this is a result of intensive consultation once again with our allies and international partners. more questions for the prime minister over the tax affairs of the tory party chairman — and former chancellor — nadim zahawi. does the prime minister agree that any politician who seeks to avoid the taxes they owe in this country should not be in charge of people's money. since i commented on this matter and last week, _ since i commented on this matter and last week, more information has come forward _ last week, more information has come forward and _ last week, more information has come forward and that is why i have asked the independent adviser to look into the independent adviser to look into the matter. hundreds of amazon workers in the uk walk out for the first time, in a dispute over pay. and a new study reveals how human communication may have evolved from the hand and body gestures of chimpanzees. wales are set to become the first uk

nation to introduce mandatory licensing for tattoo artists, body piercers and cosmetic clinics. sport now...and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's mark. nine—time champion novak djokovic is into the australian open semi—finals, after sweeping aside fifth seed andrey rublev in a ruthless display. despite looking frustrated at times, the serbian channelled his emotions into a ruthless win over his russian opponent in melbourne. djokovic was the only major champion in the men's quarterfinals, and is favourite for the title as he chases a record—equalling 22nd grand slam. he will play american tommy paul in the last four on friday. magda linette is a name that keeps hitting the headlines in melbourne. the world number a5 has never been beyond the third round of any grand slam in 29 attempts, but her fairy tale run continues

— she's into the semi finals. she beat karolina pliskova 6—3 7—5 in a fearless display to see off the two time major finalist. alfie hewett reached the semi—finals of the australian open men's wheelchair singles by beating gordon reid before the british pair made a winning start to the defence of their doubles title. world number one hewett beat reid 6—2 6—a to set up a semifinal with takuya miki ofjapan. it's that familiar tale of penalty heartbreak for england, this time at the men's hockey world cup in india. their opponents germany coming from behind to win the shoot out and progress to the last four. liam ansell put england 2—0 up with a well taken short corner. as they led the quarterfinal quite comfortably up until the final two minutes. but the germans came back to score twice and take the game to penalties. it was ansell under pressure once again in the shoot—out, but this time he missed and germany advance to the semi—finals where they will play australia. celtic have completed the signing

of striker 0h hyeon—gyu from south korean club suwon samsung bluewings. the 21—year—old has moved to the scottish premiership leaders for an undisclosed fee after agreeing a five—year contract. celtic manager ange postecoglou says that oh, who has one senior cap for south korea, was "the striker i really wanted and will be a great fit". manchester united are heading to nottingham forest for their league cup semifinal first leg clash. as united remain in contention on a fronts this season. however the club have not won a trophy since 2017. something their manager erik ten haag wants to change.... i have to look at my career to wind some trophies, and it is magnificent, especially for the fans. it is so great and i think the fans. it is so great and i think the fans here have so much experience, especially the colder ones. but it has been a period since united did

not wind trophies and it is too long ago. we have to do everything to bring the trophy in. everton are not for sale according to their owner farhad moshiri, despite supporter protests against his running of the club. disgruntled fans have called for moshiri and the board of directors to resign in recent weeks with the club 19th in the premier league. the merseysiders have won just one of their last 1a matches and sacked manager frank lampard on monday. the five franchises for the inaugural women's premier league in india have been sold for £a65m. the wpl, which takes place in march, is a women's version of the indian premier league, the world's biggest twenty20 franchise competition. owners of three existing ipl teams — royal challengers bangalore, mumbai indians and delhi capitals — secured the rights for women's franchises. that's all the sport for now. after months of controversy and debate, germany has confirmed it

will send some of its leopard two battle tanks to ukraine, and allow other countries to supply them as well. berlin had been under intense pressure from allies to provide the tanks. the russian embassy in berlin called germany's decision "extremely president lenski thanked chancellor schultz calling his decision timely. —— president zelenskyy. the russian embassy in berlin called germany's decision "extremely dangerous" and warned of escalation. joining me now is the russian political scientist and former close advisor to vladimir putin, sergey markov. thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news. have you spoken to vladimir putin since germany took this decision? trio. vladimir putin since germany took this decision?— this decision? no. i didn't talk with him directly, _ this decision? no. i didn't talk with him directly, but- this decision? no. i didn't talk with him directly, but what - this decision? no. i didn't talk with him directly, but what i i this decision? no. i didn't talk - with him directly, but what i could see, psychologically, he is very

much frustrated that it was not so much frustrated that it was not so much a successful, but he is absolutely sure that he is doing the right thing because this work, not just the war between russia and ukraine, but nato and the united states, specifically against russia, aggression. states, specifically against russia, a: uression. ~ . , ., ., , aggression. ukraine is not a member of nato, aggression. ukraine is not a member of nato. need _ aggression. ukraine is not a member of nato, need to _ aggression. ukraine is not a member of nato, need to have _ aggression. ukraine is not a member of nato, need to have not _ aggression. ukraine is not a member of nato, need to have not let - of nato, need to have not let ukrainejoin. and he has launched this war a year ago and he calls it a special operation. how worried as he that germany has agreed to these tanks being sent?— tanks being sent? ukraine is not a member of— tanks being sent? ukraine is not a member of nato _ tanks being sent? ukraine is not a member of nato but _ tanks being sent? ukraine is not a member of nato but nato. .. - tanks being sent? ukraine is not a member of nato but nato. .. howl tanks being sent? ukraine is not a i member of nato but nato. .. how do ou come member of nato but nato. .. how do you come to — member of nato but nato. .. how do you come to that _ member of nato but nato. .. how do

you come to that conclusion? - member of nato but nato. .. how do you come to that conclusion? really| you come to that conclusion? really easil . you come to that conclusion? really easily- you — you come to that conclusion? really easily. you make _ you come to that conclusion? really easily. you make no _ you come to that conclusion? really easily. you make no that _ you come to that conclusion? really easily. you make no that the - easily. you make no that the president of ukraine, or elections have been falsified and can you imagine that 70% of the russian speaking population of ukraine can democratically vote in all official... can the people in great britain democratically support the use of english language and so on? it is impossible. english—language is prohibited in great britain, we knew that there will be no democracy. knew that there will be no democracy-— knew that there will be no democracy. knew that there will be no democra . ., ~ , , ., democracy. you think this is a reason, democracy. you think this is a reason. a _ democracy. you think this is a reason, a debate _ democracy. you think this is a reason, a debate over- democracy. you think this is a i reason, a debate over language democracy. you think this is a - reason, a debate over language is a reason, a debate over language is a reason for the annexation of crimea, which has been rejected by the international community? you think

this is an excuse to invade a sovereign country?- this is an excuse to invade a sovereign country? no, absolutely not. the language _ sovereign country? no, absolutely not. the language issue _ sovereign country? no, absolutely not. the language issue is- sovereign country? no, absolutely not. the language issue is a - sovereign country? no, absolutely| not. the language issue is a mostly simple example of the fact that ukraine is not a democratic country. you think that this is an excuse? a reason for a russia behaving in the way it has, to have invaded parts of ukraine, to have killed thousands of people and put their own soldiers in harms way? he. people and put their own soldiers in harms way?— harms way? no, the reason is the united states _ harms way? no, the reason is the united states have _ harms way? no, the reason is the united states have orchestrated i harms way? no, the reason is the i united states have orchestrated that suffocation of the ukrainian machine, in making a neo—nazi style aggressive under pressure... president zelenskyy was legitimately voted into power. he has the support of allies in the west and nato. well, clearly he does have the support because we are now seeing

all of this hardware being sent to ukraine. the rhetoric we have heard from the kremlin and pro—kremlin voices with suggest there is panic in the russian government. flit voices with suggest there is panic in the russian government. of course there is no panic. _ the german government have sent to ukraine in 19a3, tanks have been perhaps by the russian army, the red army. he perhaps by the russian army, the red arm . , ., ., �* , perhaps by the russian army, the red arm. , ., army. he you don't believe then that the arrival of — army. he you don't believe then that the arrival of these _ army. he you don't believe then that the arrival of these tanks _ army. he you don't believe then that the arrival of these tanks from - the arrival of these tanks from germany, poland, the uk and united states will be a challenge to the russian forces that are occupying parts of ukrainian territory? it

would be a challenge for a russian army which liberated a big part the former ukrainian territory, but we are sure that russia will win the war. ., ., , ., we are sure that russia will win the war. ., ., y., , . war. some time ago, you predicted that russia — war. some time ago, you predicted that russia would _ war. some time ago, you predicted that russia would use _ war. some time ago, you predicted that russia would use nuclear - that russia would use nuclear weapons against the uk. he said that in september last year on bbc radio a. what is your view of how president putin will react to germany in light of its decision today? i germany in light of its decision toda ? ~ , , , germany in light of its decision toda ? ~ , ,, ., today? i think this is sending tanks from germany _ today? i think this is sending tanks from germany and _ today? i think this is sending tanks from germany and britain - today? i think this is sending tanks from germany and britain and - today? i think this is sending tanks i from germany and britain and united states to the ukrainian proxy army is not a reason for using the nuclear weaponry. is not a reason for using the nuclearweaponry. but is not a reason for using the nuclear weaponry. but i strongly believe it is more and more highly possible, and you may know that

nuclear physicists from princeton university, today they moved... nuclear catastrophic. we are having a proxy war between nuclear superpowers, united states of america and russia. it is extremely dangerous. the america and russia. it is extremely dancerous. ., america and russia. it is extremely dangerous-— america and russia. it is extremely dancerous. ., , ., dangerous. the solution here is that president putin _ dangerous. the solution here is that president putin withdraws _ dangerous. the solution here is that president putin withdraws his - president putin withdraws his forces. ., president putin withdraws his forces. trio. last night on forces. no. last night on television, _ forces. no. last night on television, the _ forces. fin. last night on television, the russian tv presenter, who is pro—kremlin, said german tanks appearing in ukraine will lead us to consider german territory, military bases and other sites to be legitimate targets. does he mean then that russia will attack

germany? 0r its assets? trio. he mean then that russia will attack germany? or its assets? no, russia will not attack _ germany? or its assets? no, russia will not attack germany, _ germany? or its assets? no, russia will not attack germany, just - germany? or its assets? no, russia| will not attack germany, just german sent tanks. but if polish and german airports will be used for attacking russian military forces, there will be legitimate attack. but now at this time, no. n be legitimate attack. but now at this time, no.— be legitimate attack. but now at this time, no. i must come back to our this time, no. i must come back to your speculation — this time, no. i must come back to your speculation about _ this time, no. i must come back to your speculation about the - this time, no. i must come back to your speculation about the risk - this time, no. i must come back to your speculation about the risk of i this time, no. i must come back to | your speculation about the risk of a nuclear attack. your speculation about the risk of a nuclearattack. is your speculation about the risk of a nuclear attack. is that speculation informed directly by president putin to you? informed directly by president putin to ou? ., . ~' informed directly by president putin to ou? ., ., ,, ., to you? no, he never talked to me something — to you? no, he never talked to me something about _ to you? no, he never talked to me something about nuclear— to you? no, he never talked to me something about nuclear power. i to you? no, he never talked to me i something about nuclear power. the rhetoric now doesn't use from a

moscow site, and even russians diminish such rhetoric because last autumn, after such rhetoric started, intensively it was... we ask to diminish such nuclear rhetoric. but ou have diminish such nuclear rhetoric. but you have used that rhetoric. is it irresponsible of you to have done that? i irresponsible of you to have done that? , , ., . , , that? i use this rhetoric because i m answering _ that? i use this rhetoric because i m answering your— that? i use this rhetoric because i m answering your question. - that? i use this rhetoric because i m answering your question. i - that? i use this rhetoric because i m answering your question. i am | that? i use this rhetoric because i - m answering your question. i am only a political analyst. iam m answering your question. i am only a political analyst. i am clearly and opening all the questions. —— openly answering the questions. universities strongly believe, as most of the human mind, but now we

are becoming close to the nuclear catastrophic because we are in a proxy war between russia and the united states. this proxy war between nuclear superpowers should between nuclear superpowers should be stopped. with the solution could be stopped. with the solution could be easy, ukraine should be democratised any neutral company, and neo—nazi should be abolished in ukraine. and group should be prohibited. it is our main demands. the west recognises president zelenskyy as legitimately elected leader of a sovereign nature nation. thank you very much talking to us on bbc news. in 2021 facebook admitted its platform was used to incite violence in myanmar during the military crackdown against the muslim rohingya minority. now, two years after a military

coup, the bbc has obtained exclusive research showing social media is being used to target female pro—democracy supporters with coordinated online attacks. reha ka nsara reports. chanting. translation: | even - received about 500 or 600 messages within a day. in some of the messages, they even threatened to kill me. these are not empty threats. this opposition minister is on the burmese military�*s most wanted list. she's speaking to us in hiding. translation: day by day, the army-owned media - and military lobbyists direct message me, "do you want to sleep with me?" "i will just try you." "i will kill you." research by myanmar witness, an ngo documenting human rights abuses, has found that

pro—military supporters, active on facebook and telegram, are systematically abusing women who support democracy. they are online channels and accounts that are spread in horrific, horrifying, derogatory and often sexualised narrative about women. and almost 90% of these abuse posts are coming from the pro—military side. these posts, which the bbc have seen, include misogynistic, sexualised abuse and photoshopped pornography. facebook�*s parent company, meta, told us they don't allow gender—based hate speech and harassment on their apps and are working with burmese speakers to take action on this kind of content. according to myanmar witness�*s research, the most common form of abuse is doxxing, meaning these women's information is publicly posted without their consent. activist thinzar shunlei was doxxed multiple times. she's now fled the country, forced into exile.

they share my screenshot and they were sharing around, in their own account, different accounts, and the next time they include my family information like where i lived, what's my id number what's my phone number, including my sister's face and photos, you know. most doxxing takes place on the encrypted messaging app, telegram, and some come with explicit calls for military action. myanmar witness claims arrests by authorities might be the direct consequence of these posts. we put this to the military government's deputy minister of information, zaw min tun. he said... there is no reason we would be linked to these accounts. after we flagged over 100 abusive posts to telegram, nearly all of them were removed and some of the most prominent channels involved were suspended. they told us... telegram is a platform

for free speech. however, sharing private information or doxing and calling for violence are explicitly forbidden by our terms of service. 0ur moderators use a combination of proactive moderation and user reports to remove such content from our platform. social media in myanmar continues to be a double edged sword, letting supporters of democracy spread their message, but allowing them to be targets for hate. reha kansara, bbc world news. and you can see more on this story on @bbcnewsnight on twitter californian authorities say they have found no evidence ofjulian sands location toddies after he went missing. he disappeared while hiking on the mountains north of los angeles. 0fficials on the mountains north of los angeles. officials say whether conditions are preventing them from searching higher grounds.

justin bieber has sold some of the rights to his music — for what's reported as about 160—million—pounds. it means a company that invests in the industry now owns a bit of tracks like baby and sorry — and will get paid every time they're played. 0ur entertainment reporter guy lambert is here. justin bieber is one of eight growing line of singers to do this. it is something we are seeing more and more, in the past we have seen tina turner, bob dylan, neil young sell the rights to their music and shakira did the same in 2021. but what is fighting backjustin bieber making this move, despite having a career spanning 15 years, he is only 28 years old. it is considered relatively young and selling the rights to your music is something thatis rights to your music is something that is considered to be done at the end of your career, to get that last payoff and secure your financial legacy. he has sold the rights to his music to hypnosis, about hundred

and £60 million. what does it mean? it means the company will receive payment every time justin it means the company will receive payment every timejustin bieber�*s music is played in public, which i think we can agree is frequent. indeed, money is the obvious answer, but were evident artists out rights to their songs? it is part of their creative output. —— why would artists sell the rights to the songs? artists sell the rights to the sonus? artists sell the rights to the son . s? ., , artists sell the rights to the sonus? ., ,., , artists sell the rights to the sonls? ., ,., , ., songs? the most obvious answer for most artists — songs? the most obvious answer for most artists is _ songs? the most obvious answer for most artists is financial _ songs? the most obvious answer for most artists is financial security. - most artists is financial security. there is no guarantee that in 20 years' time your music is going to be as popular as it is in the present, even if you arejustin bieber. if your popularity drops right now, so do your royalties and striking a deal like this has secured a financial future for himself. he doesn't have to worry about these sorts of things and unless you are careless with your money, you do not have to go touring for the rest of your life indefinitely, you did not have to go on a 12 month around the world tour

when you don't feel like it any more. you might be able to spend more. you might be able to spend more time with your kids. he has secured himself a risk—free future. i have a romantic idea of it but i don't have any songs to cell and maybe i feel differently. music companies are happy to pay huge sums of money, how much risk i they taking? of money, how much risk i they takin: ? ., of money, how much risk i they takina? ., , of money, how much risk i they takina? ., _ i, taking? for the company hypnosis, feels about shakira's _ taking? for the company hypnosis, feels about shakira's music- taking? for the company hypnosis, feels about shakira's music in - taking? for the company hypnosis, | feels about shakira's music in 2021. they see it as a worth taking. justin bieber is my figure is artist of the 21st century, and with this deal the acquired rights to songs like baby, sorry, and his christmas songs. the founder of the company hypnosis previously said hit songs can be more valuable than gold or oil. he said justin bieber�*s music was arguably the definitive

soundtrack of a streaming revolution with 13 of his songs achieving over a billion streams on platforms like youtube and spotify. he told us that justin bieber plus are still relatively young so royalties will continue to pour in for 60—70 years which is a very long time in the industry. to him, it is a very wise investment for the company and i think we could probably argue the same can be said forjustin bieber. ijust need to make clear as well, for alljustin bieberfans, you for alljustin bieber fans, you might for alljustin bieberfans, you might be included in this... l am might be included in this... i am not giving _ might be included in this... i am not giving anything _ might be included in this... lam not giving anything away! might be included in this... i am not giving anything away! he - might be included in this... i am| not giving anything away! he sold his riahts not giving anything away! he sold his rights to _ not giving anything away! he sold his rights to his _ not giving anything away! he sold his rights to his music _ not giving anything away! he sold his rights to his music up - not giving anything away! he sold his rights to his music up till- his rights to his music up till 2021, but it doesn't mean he will stop making music.— stop making music. they can all breathe easy. _ stop making music. they can all breathe easy. thank _ stop making music. they can all breathe easy. thank you. - new research suggests that humans can understand gestures used by chimpanzees to communicate with each other in the wild. scientists from the university of st andrews asked volunteers to watch videos and translate the animals' gestures. the results indicate that this form of communication may be the origin

of our own language. here's our science correspondent victoria gill. grooming builds bonds of friendship... 0ur closest living relatives. social, intelligent primates that communicate without speaking. and it seems that we humans can tune into this silent gesturing language. researchers who have spent years observing great apes closely in the wild have recorded a whole gesture dictionary — dozens of signals, expressions and movements that chimps and bonobos use to communicate. by showing videos of these gestures to volunteers, scientists discovered that more than half the time, people are able to understand the message that a wild chimp or bonobo is trying to convey. here is how a chimpanzee says "groom me, please". and this is a bonobo silently demanding food from a companion. some gestures are easier for us to understand than others. this display is apparently flirtation. but the fact that we can derive meaning from these gestures suggest they provided a foundation

for our own language. our last common ancestors with bonobos and chimpanzees probably used quite similar gestures. and these gestures may then have gone on to scaffold the evolution of human gesture and human language as we know it now. gorillas, orangutans and other great apes also use some of these same signals. it is something that people who work with these primates tune into every day. gesture is so important to great apes. all of the little ways they need to regulate their social interactions in these amazingly complex social worlds they live in. it's the sort of communicative grease that gets all of that working. these gestures and our abilities to interpret them, the researchers say, sends a scientific message about how our own language evolved. victoria gill, bbc news. some breaking news from the european court of human rights, it has said

it will hear the case that argues that moscow played a key role in the shooting down of the malaysian airlines flight mh 17 injuly 201a. the malaysian airlines flight was shut down in eastern ukraine on the 17th ofjuly shut down in eastern ukraine on the 17th of july 2014, shut down in eastern ukraine on the 17th ofjuly 201a, and it resulted in the deaths of 298 people, including hundred and 96 dutch nationals. among other things, we are told the court found areas in eastern ukraine were in separatist hands from the 11th of may of that year, and up to at least the 26th of january last year. they were under the jurisdiction of the russian federation. it referred to the large—scale deployment of russian troops from august in that year at the latest, the european court of human rights will hear the case that argues moscow played a key role in the shooting down of mh 17. let's

take a look at the weather forecast. over the last few days, we have had a real split in our temperature fortunes. northern parts of the uk have been very mild, but further south, it has been really cold. another cold and frosty and foggy start for some this morning. but things are now changing. this frontal system pushing southwards is a cold front. as the name suggests, behind it, the area is relatively cold, but ahead of it, we're actually mixing up the air, we are finally pushing away this wedge of very stubborn cold air that has been affecting southern parts for the last few days. so it is actually turning a little milder across some south—eastern parts, as this weather front works its way through. a band of rain pushing southwards across england and wales. much of it quite light and patchy. behind it, some clear spells but also some showers, particularly in scotland and temperatures tending to even out. so less of a split in our fortunes, generally between 7—9c as we end the day. and overnight, that frontal system clears, clear spells behind.

some showers running into eastern parts of scotland and eastern england and it is going to be a relatively chilly night. colder than recent nights in the north of the uk, but not as cold as recent nights down towards the south. we are all in the same boat really for thursday, with some good spells of sunshine, but some showers through eastern scotland, the eastern side of england, where there will also be quite a keen north or north—easterly breeze. but temperatures wherever you look between seven and 9 degrees, so we have lost that split in our temperature fortunes. as we look ahead to friday, there could be some areas of fog around, particularly through england and wales first thing. some patchy cloud but some sunny spells. perhaps more cloud rolling into northern ireland and north—west scotland through the day ahead of this next frontal system. again, those temperatures for all of us between five and 9 degrees. as we look towards the weekend, this first frontal system pushes southwards and weakens. high pressure generally dominates across the south of the uk, whereas further north, this next frontal system for sunday

will bring some outbreaks of rain and some really strong and gusty winds. we could see gales, even severe gales across parts of northern scotland, generally windy across the northern half of the country, whereas further south the winds will be much lighter. there will be a lot of dry weather, some spells of sunshine, often it will be quite cloudy, but temperatures for all of us between seven and 10 degrees.

this is bbc news. the headlines.. after months of controversy and debate, germany has confirmed it will send some of its leopard 2 battle tanks to ukraine and allow other countries to supply them as well. translation: we will also provide ukraine with leopard _ 2 main battle tanks. this is a result of intensive consultation once again with our allies and international partners. more questions for the prime minister over the tax affairs of the tory party chairman and former chancellor nadhim zahawi. does the prime minister agree that any politician who seeks to avoid the taxes they owe in this country is not fit to be in charge of taxpayer money? since i commented on this matter last week, more i information has come forward... and that is why i have asked

the independent adviser- to look into the matter. hundreds of amazon workers in the uk walk out for the first time in a dispute over pay. wales is set to become the first uk nation _ wales is set to become the first uk nation to— wales is set to become the first uk nation to introduce _ wales is set to become the first uk nation to introduce mandatory- nation to introduce mandatory licensing — nation to introduce mandatory licensing for— nation to introduce mandatory licensing for tattoo _ nation to introduce mandatory licensing for tattoo parlours . nation to introduce mandatory. licensing for tattoo parlours and other— licensing for tattoo parlours and other clinics. _ and a new study reveals how human communication may have evolved from the hand and body gestures of chimpanzees. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news channel. after weeks of hesitation, germany has finally confimed it germany has finally confirmed it will send some of its leopard 2 battle tanks to ukraine. ukrainian commanders are hoping they could help turn the tide of the war with russia.

germany will also allow nato allies like finland and poland to send ukraine their leopard tanks as well. russia says the move would be a blatant provocation. here's our defence correspondent jonathan beale. western main battle tanks will soon be rolling into ukraine, including these german—made leopards. berlin had been resisting pressure, worried about escalation. but it has now relented, a significant u—turn. germany will initially supply ukraine with at least 1a leopard 2s with training for their crews to start soon. chancellor 0laf scholz told his parliament that germany would now coordinate delivery of its leopard tanks with allies. but he added his country would ensure that nato is not drawn into a war with russia. germany's decision paves the way for other european countries to do the same. poland has been seeking german permission to send 1a

of its leopards to ukraine, too. the german—made tank is operated by many european nations. others are expected to follow in their tracks. that is in addition to 1a british army challenger tanks already pledged to ukraine. the us is also reported to be on the verge of a decision to supply ukraine with some of its own abrams tanks. ukraine is still unlikely to get the 300 additional tanks it has asked for, but it could now get enough to make a difference. translation: we do everything necessary every day to fill - the deficit in tanks, and i thank everyone who supports us in this. but discussions must be concluded with decisions, decisions on real strengthening of our defence against terrorists. ukraine says it needs tanks to break the deadlock in this brutal war.

in the donbas, russian forces are taking heavy casualties, but also making small gains. western main battle tanks originally designed to go up against russian armour will provide ukrainian crews with more protection, speed and accuracy. better than their old soviet—era tanks, but more complex, too. translation: of course they will be very important for us, _ but we need to teach the crews because that tank is very complicated, but it's very necessary. ukraine will also now face a massive logistics challenge, providing fuel and spare parts for different fleets of tanks. it is also still significantly outnumbered by russian armour. modern main battle tanks alone will not win this war, but combined together with other western—supplied weapons, they could be enough to punch a hole in russian defences. russia says it is a dangerous escalation. jonathan beale, bbc news.

chancellor scholz asked his mps to trust him and understand that his decision—making would not be swayed by public pressure. translation: �* ., , , ., translation: and that is why we have to make very — translation: and that is why we have to make very clear _ translation: and that is why we have to make very clear that _ translation: and that is why we have to make very clear that we _ translation: and that is why we have to make very clear that we are - translation: and that is why we have to make very clear that we are doing i to make very clear that we are doing everything necessary and possible to support ukraine but at the same time try to prevent an escalation of this conflict becoming a war between russia and nato, this is a principle we will always stick to, and this also goes for the latest decision the german government has made. we will provide battle tanks to ukraine, the leopard 2s. this is the result of intensive consultations with our allies and international partners. i want to stress that it is right that we did not allow anybody to pressure us but instead we relied on close co—operation on this special issue and we will continue to do so.

0ur ukraine correspondent james waterhouse explains the response from kyiv and says authorities there believe tanks are now vital to their fight against russia, to their fight against russia. it is the key to breaking a static front line in a phase where it is russia that is on the front foot, really. it is president zelensky�*s a5th birthday today, and for the past couple of months his dream present has been the delivery of tanks, but it's the equivalent of realising you're going to get that present, but you won't get the parts needed to use it for a little while yet, months, maybe longer, and this has long been the frustration for ukraine's leader — the speed of the military aid that continues to arrive to ukraine in its war effort. there has been a lot of excitement online, notably his chief of staff has been tweeting images of leopard emojis, people have been sharing leopardskin fashion as part of the nationwide campaign for germany

to finally make this decision. but we are some way off seeing tanks arrive in significant numbers. president zelensky has talked about it is all good and well talking about five, ten or 15, but you've heard there, he wants 300, which he thinks will be enough to prevail in the east. nevertheless, this is a political win in a big way for kyiv, and it's not going to stop at tanks, and i wouldn't be surprised if he continues to ask for more. earlier damien mcguinness our correspondent gave us this update. chancellor scholz has just spent a bouncy being grilled by parliamentarians explaining why it is now important in his view to send german—made tanks to ukraine because here in germany that is an incredibly controversial matter, it has divided the country and parliament, even split to a certain extent chancellor scholz�*s own

government. and i think what we saw today was him really for the first time explaining himself in quite a lot of detail. what he tends to do quite often is just meet with experts behind the scenes and then come up with a decision and that is what he has done over the past few months, he was heavily criticised internationally as well as here in germany by many even within his own party for not being clear enough and not communicating what was going on, all he ever said was we can't go it alone. it now transpires and i think now it is a lot clearer what is in his mind, what he meant by that was that he needed, germany needs, in his view, american tanks as well, and that coalition of allies in europe and in the states to send tanks together. that in the view of the chancellor would mean germany and europe would be less exposed but also it makes it an easier sell for mr schultz to german voters, some of whom are still nervous about escalating the war. we are joined now by former secretary of state for

defence dr liam fox.— now by former secretary of state for defence dr liam fox. thank you very much forjoining _ defence dr liam fox. thank you very much forjoining us. _ defence dr liam fox. thank you very much forjoining us. what _ defence dr liam fox. thank you very much forjoining us. what is - defence dr liam fox. thank you very much forjoining us. what is your- much forjoining us. what is your view on germany finally making this decision after so much heart searching, it seems, that they were doing? searching, it seems, that they were doinu ? ~ ~ , searching, it seems, that they were doinr? ~ ~ , ., doing? well, i think it is a good decision and _ doing? well, i think it is a good decision and i _ doing? well, i think it is a good decision and i think _ doing? well, i think it is a good decision and i think that - doing? well, i think it is a good decision and i think that it i doing? well, i think it is a good| decision and i think that it shows that the international community is not willing to see their rules—based system of international law being trashed by putin without making a substantial response. i think we have to however remember that it is notjust have to however remember that it is not just the quantity have to however remember that it is notjust the quantity of have to however remember that it is not just the quantity of the armaments we might supply to ukraine, but the timing. we know that russia is moving on to a full war footing, that russia is moving on to a full warfooting, they that russia is moving on to a full war footing, they will be increasing their capacity to produce weapons of their capacity to produce weapons of their own, therefore it is essential that ukraine makes gains on the battleground before that happens, and that means speeding up the supply of weaponry, notjust tanks, as you mentioned, correctly, but also other elements such as air defence, artillery and longer range missiles, which they require to

repulse the attack, the brutal attack, by putin, on their territory. attack, by putin, on their territory-— attack, by putin, on their territory. attack, by putin, on their territo . ., , attack, by putin, on their territo . . , ., territory. the kremlin has said that this is a blatant _ territory. the kremlin has said that this is a blatant provocation, i territory. the kremlin has said that this is a blatant provocation, howi this is a blatant provocation, how should that be regarded by ukraine and its allies rapid it should be disregarded, because how dare they say it is a provocation? they have invaded ukraine, they have committed war crimes, they are daily murdering innocent civilians in ukraine, they are cutting off power, and of course, putin has made it very clear that he wants to eliminate ukraine as a sovereign state. anyone who is in as awful a moral position is that has no right to threaten or lecture anyone. how much of a logistical headache does it create for ukraine, that they are getting this mixed bag of tanks of different types from different places? l of tanks of different types from different places?— of tanks of different types from different places? i think that there is something _ different places? i think that there is something of— different places? i think that there is something of a _ different places? i think that there is something of a problem - is something of a problem particularly with the americans to tanks which are more difficult to

maintain, ithink tanks which are more difficult to maintain, i think they will be looking to get more of the leopard tanks, because i think that they will be easierfor them, tanks, because i think that they will be easier for them, there tanks, because i think that they will be easierfor them, there is tanks, because i think that they will be easier for them, there is a greater commonality with a range of different european allies on that. and i think they really want to see that number pushed up and i think the significance of the german move is notjust the numbers that germany itself is providing but the fact that it itself is providing but the fact thatitis itself is providing but the fact that it is lifting the export ban for other countries, so you may see countries like poland, finland and spain which is what ukraine will be looking for. which is what ukraine will be looking for-— which is what ukraine will be looking for. already president zelensky has _ looking for. already president zelensky has said _ looking for. already president zelensky has said thank i looking for. already president zelensky has said thank you i looking for. already president i zelensky has said thank you for what you're sending but it is not going to be enough. how much more can the uk and other ukrainian allies really give? t uk and other ukrainian allies really rive? ~ ., uk and other ukrainian allies really rive? ~' ., , , uk and other ukrainian allies really rive? ~' ., ,.,,.,_ , give? i think he would probably be lookin: at give? i think he would probably be looking at a _ give? i think he would probably be looking at a force _ give? i think he would probably be looking at a force of _ give? i think he would probably be looking at a force of something i give? i think he would probably be | looking at a force of something like 100 tanks to have the sort of effect he's looking for, he is asking for 300 but in his position, so would i. and i think as well as the numbers it is the speed at which they are delivered. they need to be able to

get some progress on the battlefield as soon as possible, because there is no doubt the russians will be strengthening, and they need to make a breakthrough on that battlefield before the russians are able to provide greater armaments for their side. so, there is an element of time in it as well as the capabilities themselves. time in it as well as the ca abilities themselves. ., ., ,., capabilities themselves. you oversaw si . nificant capabilities themselves. you oversaw significant budget _ capabilities themselves. you oversaw significant budget cuts _ capabilities themselves. you oversaw significant budget cuts to _ capabilities themselves. you oversaw significant budget cuts to the - significant budget cuts to the ministry of defence during your time as secretary of defence, how much can the uk keep giving, realistically, without exposing itself to being in a short supply of hardware that it might need for its own ends? ~ ~ , , ., own ends? well, the ministry of defence has _ own ends? well, the ministry of defence has been _ own ends? well, the ministry of defence has been assuring i own ends? well, the ministry of defence has been assuring us i own ends? well, the ministry of. defence has been assuring us that own ends? well, the ministry of- defence has been assuring us that it is restocking at an adequate level to ensure that the help we give to ukraine doesn't weaken our own capabilities. but the war in ukraine is notjust about ukraine, it is about the international order. russia wants to smash the international order to the point

where might is right, and it doesn't have to have a international law. we can't afford for that to happen. so the ukrainian war is in effect, from the ukrainian war is in effect, from the terms of our values and our security, war of all countries believe in international law and the international order, it is essential that we prevail. dr international order, it is essential that we prevail.— international order, it is essential that we prevail. dr liam fox, former secretary of — that we prevail. dr liam fox, former secretary of state _ that we prevail. dr liam fox, former secretary of state for _ that we prevail. dr liam fox, former secretary of state for defence, i secretary of state for defence, thank you very much for talking to us. marie—agnes strack—zimmermann is a german mp from the liberal fdp party, part of the coalition government in germany, she is also chair of the events committee in germany. thank you very much for joining us here at bbc news. you and your party have been pushing for this agreement by germany, why do you believe 0laf scholz has decided that it you believe 0laf scholz has decided thatitis you believe 0laf scholz has decided that it is the right thing to do now? t that it is the right thing to do now? ~ , , that it is the right thing to do now? ~' , , ., now? i think, yes, indeed, we have -ushed now? i think, yes, indeed, we have ushed a now? i think, yes, indeed, we have pushed a lot. _ now? i think, yes, indeed, we have pushed a lot, and _ now? i think, yes, indeed, we have pushed a lot, and we _

now? i think, yes, indeed, we have pushed a lot, and we have - now? i think, yes, indeed, we have pushed a lot, and we have a i now? i think, yes, indeed, we have pushed a lot, and we have a lot i now? i think, yes, indeed, we have pushed a lot, and we have a lot of. pushed a lot, and we have a lot of discussions, and some people are astonished about it because we are one coalition, but this is a really special moment in all of our lives, and so it is also very important to discuss this. i think for 0laf scholz it was very important that germany is not by itself, that germany is not by itself, that germany works always together, i mean, this is true, we are a part of the european union, we are part of nato, and so of course it is the right sign to russia, to explain them, we are one group, we are really countries which belong together, this is very, very important. i think that the difference between 0laf scholz and my colleagues and me is that we thought maybe it is ambitious, but it's important, that germany learns to lead, and leading is not doing

your own stuff and don't look for what the partners want to do, but to lead is to have ideas, to say, let's do this, let's do this. and i think thatis do this, let's do this. and i think that is the difference. you do this, let's do this. and i think that is the difference.— that is the difference. you are auoted that is the difference. you are quoted as _ that is the difference. you are quoted as saying _ that is the difference. you are quoted as saying that - that is the difference. you are quoted as saying that you i that is the difference. you are quoted as saying that you are | that is the difference. you are i quoted as saying that you are tired of 0laf scholz�*s arguments that russia would consider it a provocation to send german tanks to ukraine, that is exactly what the kremlin has said today. it is a blatant provocation. what sort of risk is germany now put itself in the way of? l risk is germany now put itself in the way of?— the way of? i think it's very important. _ the way of? i think it's very important. i _ the way of? i think it's very important, i mean, - the way of? i think it's very important, i mean, we i the way of? i think it's very i important, i mean, we know, and the way of? i think it's very _ important, i mean, we know, and you could be sure, that we are really thinking about the situation, but i thinking about the situation, but i think it's very dangerous if we tell the story of vladimir putin. you know putin knows germany very well, he lived in germany, he speaks german. so, he knows amen tell. and

i think this is a point that he knows that if he... yes, if he is talking to us in a rough way, that we are anxious to hear it, and i think we couldn't ignore it, of course not, but i think the biggest thought would be if we are telling his story. thought would be if we are telling his sto . ., .,, ., , ., his story. how, as a member of the trovernin his story. how, as a member of the governing coalition _ his story. how, as a member of the governing coalition in _ his story. how, as a member of the governing coalition in germany, i his story. how, as a member of thej governing coalition in germany, are you going to assure those members of the public who are concerned about the public who are concerned about the impact that this is going to have a germany? == the impact that this is going to have a germany?— the impact that this is going to have a germany? -- on germany? i don't think— have a germany? -- on germany? i don't thinkthat — have a germany? -- on germany? i don't think that it _ have a germany? -- on germany? i don't think that it is _ have a germany? -- on germany? i don't think that it is an _ have a germany? -- on germany? i don't think that it is an impact. i i don't think that it is an impact. i think that you have to explain, if i understand you right, that you have to explain the people that it's

really a tough situation, and that we have to be, we have to know what we have to be, we have to know what we have to do, and if we are always anxious that it could happen something, i think it's not the answer of all this provocation. i mean, we could see what happens for ii mean, we could see what happens for 11 months in ukraine, i travelled to times to ukraine, i was two days in kyiv, i was one day the western part of ukraine, i saw all this terrible situation, i talked to people, to soldiers, and so i think there is no doubt we have to stand beside ukraine together, with great britain, together with france, together with all of our european friends and partners in nato, i think it is a must. if we don't do it, our life changes absolutely, our life, my life, the life of my children, my grandchildren, is not

the same life which we love to live in. b. the same life which we love to live in. �* , ., ., ., , the same life which we love to live in. a pro-kremlin tv “ournalist said on television h in. a pro-kremlin tv “ournalist said on television last i in. a pro-kremlin tvjournalist said on television last night _ in. a pro-kremlin tvjournalist said on television last night that - in. a pro-kremlin tvjournalist said on television last night that havingl on television last night that having german tanks in ukraine means that german tanks in ukraine means that german territory, german military bases, are now a potential target. how concerned are you that russia will act in that way against germany?— will act in that way against german ? ., ., , , will act in that way against german? ., ., , , ., germany? you mean because german tanks are in _ germany? you mean because german tanks are in ukraine? _ germany? you mean because german tanks are in ukraine? yes, _ germany? you mean because german tanks are in ukraine? yes, when i germany? you mean because german tanks are in ukraine? yes, when they| tanks are in ukraine? yes, when they arrive in ukraine. _ tanks are in ukraine? yes, when they arrive in ukraine. you _ tanks are in ukraine? yes, when they arrive in ukraine. you know, - tanks are in ukraine? yes, when they arrive in ukraine. you know, this- tanks are in ukraine? yes, when they arrive in ukraine. you know, this is. arrive in ukraine. you know, this is the story of — arrive in ukraine. you know, this is the story of vladimir _ arrive in ukraine. you know, this is the story of vladimir putin, - arrive in ukraine. you know, this is| the story of vladimir putin, because he has own history. and vladimir putin know is of course the history, when german tanks, when adolf hitler, was in ukraine, but if you talk, and you know he creates, he painted pictures now, and this is

definitely, it's really absolutely crazy, because if you talk to ukraine people, i talked to them, and i ask them, german tanks in ukraine? some people in germany said, oh, my god, german tanks in ukraine, 70 years ago, and now again. and ukraine people said, this is the german story, nobody in ukraine, no older people, no young people, have this, how could i tell, have this kind of picture. the other way around, they said, now it is chance that in a good way, germany could be on our side. so, this is really a story of vladimir putin, and it's very important to realise this is a story 77 years ago, and it's not today and it's not the future. ukraine people, it's really different, they see it absolutely in a different way. we have to be

careful really not to tell the narrative of vladimir putin. marie—agnes strack—zimmermann, from the fdp party in berlin, thank you very much for talking to us. the european court of human rights has permitted a dutch case over the downing of a malaysia airlines flight in 201a when close to 300 people were killed when the aircraft which was a passenger plane was brought down by a surface—to—air missile injuly 201a. 0ur correspondent anna holligan is in the hague. remind us of the background to this? this the hague. remind us of the background to this?- the hague. remind us of the background to this? this is a hugely si . nificant background to this? this is a hugely significant moment _ background to this? this is a hugely significant moment because - background to this? this is a hugely significant moment because this i significant moment because this means that russia, for the first time, can be investigated as a state for its alleged responsibility in this air disaster. european court of human rights has decided that the case can be heard. the background, the netherlands took russia to the

european court of human rights accusing it of playing a key role in the shooting down of flight mh17, failing to investigate, failing to cooperate with investigations, and of trying to muddy the waters, to make it harder to find the truth, and by pumping out disinformation campaigns, of compounding the grief of the relatives. russia had actually argued that the netherlands had missed the timeframe, had missed the six—month window to apply to the european court of human rights, and that the legal options within russia had not yet been exhausted, and therefore there was no case to answer at the european court of human rights, and what thejudges today have decided is that actually around the time of the downing of flight mh17 there was so much confusion it was impossible to know whether the european court of human rights was the right place for this, hence the delay, and there is no option, really, forjustice in russia. russia has shown no

willingness really to investigate, and therefore the judges have decided this case can go ahead at the european court of human. it the european court of human. it comes down to the evidence about the territory in question being under russianjurisdiction? territory in question being under russian jurisdiction?— russian “urisdiction? which is reall russianjurisdiction? which is really interesting, _ russianjurisdiction? which is really interesting, because i russian jurisdiction? which is| really interesting, because we already saw in the trial here in the netherlands of three russians, one ukrainian, the investigators had found this territory was under russian control, under russian jurisdiction, that has been reinforced now by this european court which used a lot of the evidence gathered by the team of dutch and international investigators to work out whether russia was in control of the territory at the time. that has really been critical in deciding whether there is indeed a case to answer. but much more has to be done on this because what the judges said was on the face of it there is evidence that russia was in control,

but that has to be investigated further, and now it can be, because this court has jurisdiction, despite the fact, we should say, that russia actually left the european council in march 2020 to, shortly after the invasion of ukraine, and six months later was no longer party to the european convention on human rights, duck but despite this, the european court of human rights still has jurisdiction on cases up until that moment, september2020. so, the geopolitical significance of this, if it goes further, if russia is ultimately found to have been responsible, something which is usually important for the relatives, many of whom were in court today watching this, because they believe this is bigger than any individual, this is bigger than any individual, this is bigger than any individual, this is about russia's role, the role of vladimir putin, who denies any responsibility, if the court ultimately finds russia guilty of involvement, then it could be forced

to pay damages, compensation, to the victims and of course massive geopolitical ramifications beyond that, too. �* . geopolitical ramifications beyond that, too. ., ., ., that, too. anna holligan in the hauue, that, too. anna holligan in the hague. thank— that, too. anna holligan in the hague, thank you _ that, too. anna holligan in the hague, thank you very - that, too. anna holligan in the hague, thank you very much. i more questions for the prime minister over the tax affairs of the tory party chairman — and former chancellor — nadim zahawi. sir kier starmer accused rishi sunak of being hopelessly weak in not sacking mr zahawi. the prime minister said an investigation is under way to establish the facts. mr zahawi says he's confident he acted properly. 0ur political correspondent david wallace lockart reports. there are no prizes for guessing what was going to come up at prime minister's questions this afternoon. are you going to have to sack your party chairman, prime minister? the conservative party chairman nadhim zahawi is facing questions about his previous tax affairs. in the commons last week mr sunak suggested the issue had been dealt with. mr speaker, my honourable friend has already addressed this matter in full

and there is nothing more that i can add. but since that response it has emerged that nadhim zahawi paid a penalty while he was chancellor as part of a multi—million pound settlement with hmrc. the prime minister has asked his ethics adviser to investigate whether the ministerial code has been broken. mr zahawi is confident he has acted properly throughout, a difficult backdrop in the commons today. anybody watching would think it's fairly obvious that someone who seeks to avoid tax can't also be in charge of tax. yet for some reason, the prime minister can't bring himself to say that or even acknowledge the question. now, last week, the prime minister told this house that the chair of the tory party had addressed his tax affairs in full, and there was nothing to add. this week, after days of public pressure, the prime minister now says there are serious questions to answer. what changed ? since i commented on this matter last week, more information, including a statement...

including a statement by the minister without portfolio, has entered the public domain, which is why it's right that we do establish the facts. i believe in proper, due process. that's why i appointed an independent adviser and that's why the independent adviser is doing hisjob. the prime minister said no issue was raised with him when he appointed mr zahawi. he can't even deal with tax avoiders in his own cabinet, is he starting to wonder if this job is just too big for him? the difference between him and me is that i stand by my values and my principles, even when it is difficult. rishi sunak is sticking with nadhim zahawi, for now, but the future of the tory party chairman is tied up with any conclusions reached by the prime minister's independent ethics adviser. 0pposition mps don't want to wait for that, they're trying to turn up the pressure right now.

at a misty westminster, the ultimate fate of nadhim zahawi is not entirely clear. the point at which rishi sunak will have to make a decision draws nearer. david wallace lockhart, bbc news, westminster. staff at amazon are staging their first ever strike in the uk. members of the gmb union have walked out at the company's warehouse in coventry over what they call a derisory 50 pence an hour pay rise. some amazon workers say robots at the warehouse are treated better than they are. amazon — which doesn't recognise unions in the uk — says it offers competitive pay. 0ur employment correspondent zoe conway reports. amazon workers being stopped at the picket line as they arrive for work. they're being asked to join the first ever strike at an amazon warehouse. more than 300 employees here in coventry could take part in this action. they are working for a multi—million pound organisation that is raking

in profits still and not willing to share those profits to ensure that those workers are able to live decent lives. they can't afford to heat their homes, they can't afford to pay their bills orfeed theirfamilies. it has just got to the point where enough is enough and they are taking strike action. they are striking over pay. the company gave them a 50p pay rise in august, taking the minimum pay rate to £10.50 an hour. the union says the rate should be £15 an hour, arguing that the company's profits boomed during the pandemic as did the bank account of billionaire founderjeff bezos. we don't want his boats or his rockets. we just want to be able to live. darren and garfield work at the coventry side at the coventry site and are leading today's action. we just want a decent wage. we're on our feet for ten hours a day, we get told off if we get caught leaning or sitting. you get warnings. the coventry site is similar to this amazon centre in essex. garfield and darren say their work is monitored

and they have to meet targets. the pressure is intense. as soon as you come in the building you're tracked and then you go on to your station where as soon as you log on they know exactly where you are in the building. they know how often you're scanning and if you have not scanned within a certain time they will come and speak to you. they both say they've been questioned by managers for taking too long to go to the toilet. sometimes it may take two, three minutes to get the toilet. heaven forbid you get there and all the cubicles are full and then of course you have to use the toilet and come back and that could be15, 18 minutes in the process and they will then question you, what were you doing? it sounds like you feel you're being treated like robots. i wish we were treated like robots because they're treated better. they get a team of technicians. amazon says the pay is competitive and in a statement said, "we appreciate the great work our teams do

throughout the year. amazon does not recognise trade unions in the uk so there's not much hope of any pay negotiating happening soon but darren is undeterred and feels it is his duty to stand up for the workforce. these people need someone who is not frightened, i've been bullied before and i'll be bullied again and i'm still standing. i'm in this for the long run. we saw stuart richards in that report, he is the gmb union's regionals advisorfor report, he is the gmb union's regionals advisor for the midlands.

amazon say only a tiny proportion of their workforce is involved and under 1% of the uk employees bothered to vote in this ballot. that includes those who voted against industrial action, how much support do you really have? it is against industrial action, how much support do you really have?- support do you really have? it is a very strange _ support do you really have? it is a very strange statistic _ support do you really have? it is a very strange statistic for - support do you really have? it is a very strange statistic for amazon | support do you really have? it is a. very strange statistic for amazon to use because we only balloted members of one site in coventry, so this was never about the whole uk workforce and it kind of shows a little bit the concerns amazon have about the activity that is happening. we have, going into the dispute, 300 members which is a relatively small number at a site of 1a00, but what we have seen over the last week is a massive increase in the number of members and amazon see that as well. it is that concern that the workers are starting to organise and find their voice to get better pay, and it is extremely worrying for amazon. {bitten extremely worrying for amazon. given that amazon — extremely worrying for amazon. given that amazon do _ extremely worrying for amazon. given that amazon do not _ extremely worrying for amazon. given that amazon do not recognise unions in the uk, how much of a risk is it

for your members to be going out on strike at all? t5.th for your members to be going out on strike at all?— strike at all? our members are the same people _ strike at all? our members are the same people who _ strike at all? our members are the same people who were _ strike at all? our members are the same people who were protesting l strike at all? our members are the i same people who were protesting in august last year when amazon first announced they were going to get that derisory 50p per hour to rise. they were doing that without any security or a legal protection, they now have that because we have gone through a lawful statuary industrial ballot process. they have that security of knowing they are doing this as part of a trade union so they are now in a much stronger position. they are now in a much stronger osition. �* , ., . ., , position. anna's aunt claim they offer competitive _ position. anna's aunt claim they offer competitive pay _ position. anna's aunt claim they offer competitive pay which i position. anna's aunt claim they i offer competitive pay which starts at a minimum of £10 50 and £11 a5 depending on the occasion. i was looking at what the campaign living wage foundation says is a real living wage and it is around £10 90 an hour. amazon are not far off what

an hour. amazon are not far off what a complaint group said people should be getting. how much do you think they should have?— be getting. how much do you think they should have? there is a couple thins in they should have? there is a couple things in that _ they should have? there is a couple things in that in _ they should have? there is a couple things in that in relation _ they should have? there is a couple things in that in relation to - they should have? there is a couple things in that in relation to a - things in that in relation to a living wage, maybe we should be talking about going yawned the ways and means that people can just about live —— going beyond. amazon have done a lot of work to stop workers getting organised. as part of that they started to campaign and lobby they started to campaign and lobby the us government for a raise of the minimum wage in america of $15 an hour, they were at one point campaigning to say they were proud to pay $15 an hour in themselves. that has now risen to $19 an hour. all of those figures are way above what they are playing the —— p in the uk workforce. 0ur what they are playing the —— p in the uk workforce. our members and amazon are fed up of being the poor relation in amazon's little stock cupboard. what we want to see is fair recompense for the viable job

they are doing. in april, the minimum wage is going to be 9p within what they have being paid at the moment. a minimum wage employer is not being competitive. thank the moment. a minimum wage employer is not being competitive.— is not being competitive. thank you very much- — now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. over the last few days, northern parts of the uk have seen the mildest of the weather, further south it has remained very chilly, but things are now starting to change, we've got this frontal system pushing southwards, a band of cloud with some outbreaks of rain. behind that, clear spells and showers, but the air turning chillier across the northern half of the uk. conversely, this weather front starting to mix up the air across the south, where that stubborn block of cold air has been holding on. things are starting to mix and the weather is turning just a little bit milder. 0vernight, we lose that weather front, we see clear spells and some showers blowing into north—east scotland, down the eastern side of england. a milder night than last night

across the south of the uk, colder than last night across the north, but temperature—wise, really we are all in pretty much the same boat, hovering around freezing. for the next couple of days, a lot of dry weather in the forecast. the weekend will turn very windy across the north of the uk. hello, this is bbc news with martine croxall. the headlines... after months of controversy and debate, germany has confirmed it will send some of its leopard two battle tanks to ukraine, and allow other countries to supply them as well. translation: we will also provide ukraine with leopard _ 2 main battle tanks. this is a result of intensive consultation once again with our allies and international partners. more questions for the prime minister over the tax affairs of the tory party chairman — and former chancellor — nadim zahawi. does the prime minister agree that any politician who seeks to avoid

the taxes they owe in this country is not fit to be in charge of taxpayer money? since i commented on this matter last week, more i information has come forward... and that is why i have asked the independent adviser- to look into the matter. hundreds of amazon workers in the uk walk out for the first time, in a dispute over pay. and a new study reveals how human communication may have evolved from the hand and body gestures of chimpanzees. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's mark. nine—time champion novak djokovic is into the australian open semi—finals, after sweeping aside fifth seed andrey rublev in a ruthless display. despite looking frustrated at times, the serbian

channelled his emotions into a ruthless win over his russian opponent in melbourne. djokovic was the only major champion in the men's quarterfinals, and is favourite for the title as he chases a record—equalling 22nd grand slam. it was interesting in the interview after the match that he actually said there was a lot more stress going on on the court than the scoreline looked, he looked to be totally in command of the match and came out of the blocks pretty quickly. he was anticipating the play of his opponent, he wasn't allowing him to play some of the great ball striking capabilities he has got. but one moment as he was assessing the break—up, he was bellowing at the support count. it was tricky conditions, and windy. i don't think he was as in control as we thought he was because of the

square. —— score. magda linette is a name that keeps hitting the headlines in melbourne. the world number a5 has never been beyond the third round of any grand slam in 29 attempts, but her fairy tale run continues — she's into the semi finals. she beat karolina pliskova 6—3 7—5 in a fearless display to see off the two time major finalist. alfie hewett reached the semi—finals of the australian open men's wheelchair singles by beating gordon reid before the british pair made a winning start to the defence of their doubles title. world number one hewett beat reid 6—2 6—a to set up a semifinal with takuya miki ofjapan. tra nsfer transfer news for you at football. tottenham hotspur have signed a netherlands forehead. the 25—year—old has emerged as a regular goal threat sincejoining 25—year—old has emerged as a regular goal threat since joining the 25—year—old has emerged as a regular goal threat sincejoining 25—year—old has emerged as a regular goal threat since joining villareal. it will be his second test of english football having presented bournemouth in 2019.

everton are not for sale according to their owner farhad moshiri, despite supporter protests against his running of the club. disgruntled fans have called for moshiri and the board of directors to resign in recent weeks with the club 19th in the premier league. the merseysiders have won just one of their last 1a matches and sacked manager frank lampard on monday. celtic have completed the signing of striker 0h hyeon—gyu from south korean club suwon samsung bluewings. the 21—year—old has moved to the scottish premiership leaders for an undisclosed fee after agreeing a five—year contract. celtic manager ange postecoglou says that oh, who has one senior cap for south korea, was "the striker i really wanted and will be a great fit". manchester united are heading to nottingham forest for their league cup semifinal first leg clash. as united remain in contention on a fronts this season. however the club have not won a trophy since 2017. something their manager

erik ten haag wants to change. we have had good opportunity but we have to go from game to game so now we play forest, two legs, so focus on the first leg, don't think further ahead. on the first leg, don't think furtherahead. because on the first leg, don't think further ahead. because that will distract. injanuary, no big trophies, not even in february but in much we can win one, so we have to aim for that and go for that. —— march. it is all about getting in the right positions, when it is april, to go for it trophies. the five franchises for the inaugural women's premier league in india have been sold for £a65m. the wpl, which takes place in march, is a women's version of the indian premier league, the world's biggest twenty20 franchise competition. a player auction is expected to take place at the beginning of february

head of the tournament. that is all your support for it now. —— sport for now. as we've been hearing this afternoon, germany is to provide its leopard 2 tanks to ukraine after months of debate. president zelenskyy says the hardware will be a game changer in this war. let's take a closer look at them. they are considered one of the world's leading battle tanks. combining firepower, mobility and protection. they are easier to repair than some of the other western alternatives — and require less fuel. they are equipped with a main 120 millimetre smooth bore gun and two coaxial light machine guns. the leopard 2 needs a crew of four — a commander, gunner, loader and driver. and can cover a range of 500km, with a top speed of 68km per hour. senior defense researcher at the us think tank the rand corporation, michael linick, explains what the leopard 2s could mean on the battlefield.

what it gives the ukrainians are some options they do not have right now and if they are able to use them well in a combined arms offensive, to provide some mobility, protective firepower for support for the infantry, some chances to maybe exploit a breakthrough, then it can make some differences, but tanks are a tool and like any tool they are as good as the craftsman who uses them so the ukrainians need to learn how to use this tool correctly. we have seen them very good at integrating new capabilities in their army over the last year so we will see what happens. we are getting leopard tanks from several different nato countries, i am sure each country has adapted it slightly to their own national preferences. slightly different armament, slightly different armament, slightly different armour, different armament, slightly differentarmour, communication different armour, communication systems. differentarmour, communication systems. from a logistics challenge, keeping the tanks in the fight, able to operate, able to shoot, having

the right ammunition, that is going to be a tremendously complex endeavour, but ukrainians have a lot of experience with a very mixed logistics set of requirements. it is something they can solve, but they need to put the effort into doing. they need to be careful about when and where they used their tanks in ways that simplify rather than complicate their logistics. president biden is due to make a statement at around five o'clock this evening from the white house about how the americans are contributing to this export of hardware to ukraine, and we will bring you that life as soon as it begins. wales is to become the first nation to introduce a licensing scheme for tattoo artists and body pierces. it follows a decade of young people needing hospital treatment and even surgery after

going to unlicensed practitioners. it is hoped the move will help reduce infections and poor working practices. let's speak to a senior lecturer at art history. 21 tattoos. i'm pleased you can speak with a great deal of authority. tell us about the need for licensing and regulation given the fact that tatooine has a long history. tattooing has looked after its own for a long time and being generally sceptical of regulation because often regulators did not know the best way to give a safe tattoo or piercing. but i was at a meeting when these changes were being discussed in a room full of tattooists and piercers who are keen for regulation because what with the

easy availability of tattoo machines on the internet and the rising popularity of stick and poke tattoos, there is an increased risk of people getting bad work done and getting infections and having problems that the professionals had to fix. for the first time in really as long as i can remember, tattooists were in favour of getting some government help behind sorting some government help behind sorting some of these problems out. iltrui’hat some of these problems out. what does licensing _ some of these problems out. what does licensing look _ some of these problems out. what does licensing look at _ some of these problems out. what does licensing look at at _ some of these problems out. what does licensing look at at the moment and how that change in wales with this regulation?— and how that change in wales with this regulation? licensing is pretty straightforward _ this regulation? licensing is pretty straightforward at _ this regulation? licensing is pretty straightforward at the _ this regulation? licensing is pretty straightforward at the moment. i this regulation? licensing is pretty. straightforward at the moment. you apply, get a license and then it is “p apply, get a license and then it is up to the council is to inspect you and take your license away if they do not think you are up to the job. the real key change that was discussed, was that they had simply licensing conditions. not really onerous and things are good

tattooists and piercers are already doing in terms of infection control and hygiene, things that have been doing a50 years, but it wasn't happening in these unlicensed institutions. it is very basic check, that the place you are going to have some basic sense of how to keep you safe. it to have some basic sense of how to keep you safe-— keep you safe. it depends on your taste of how _ keep you safe. it depends on your taste of how good _ keep you safe. it depends on your taste of how good the _ keep you safe. it depends on your taste of how good the artist i keep you safe. it depends on your taste of how good the artist is, i l taste of how good the artist is, i suppose. you mentioned to diy tattoos, stick and poke, and you can buy things on the internet. what with this regulation differed that? i don't think the powers extend to stopping this but i know it is something tattooists have been advocating for a long time, even in the pre—internet day, there is scepticism about people being able to buy tattoo machines by mail

order. that has been going on for over 100 years. there was real interest in that room from local councillors and health officials from other parts of the uk who are going to see how it worked in wales, and i wonder if this will lead to some further steps in restricting who can get hold of tattoo machines. tattooing is not that dangerous, it is hard to get infections, if it is done with a basic level of care, but it is that basic level of care that was not being done by people in unlicensed and home studios. this is not going to solve every problem but it is going to put a small barrier in the way of very irresponsible people who are just tattooing their mates, or whatever. you mentioned the idea of— mates, or whatever. you mentioned the idea of a — mates, or whatever. you mentioned the idea of a scratch _ mates, or whatever. you mentioned the idea of a scratch premises - mates, or whatever. you mentioned the idea of a scratch premises whichj the idea of a scratch premises which rather unappealing. if you want a tattoo or piercing, what should you look out for when choosing the place to go to? look out for when choosing the place to no to? ., ., look out for when choosing the place

to ioto? ., ., look out for when choosing the place to uoto? ., ., ., look out for when choosing the place to no to? ., ., ., ., to go to? you need to look at not 'ust to go to? you need to look at not just photos _ to go to? you need to look at not just photos of _ to go to? you need to look at not just photos of tattoos _ to go to? you need to look at not just photos of tattoos beans - to go to? you need to look at notj just photos of tattoos beans done fresh on instagram but look for heeled work. often my personal recommendation, make sure they are posting pictures of work that has been done. on the piercing side, look for studios that are accredited by the uk a pp, the association for professional piercers, which has a high level of certification to make sure their members are up to standard. check for things like autoclaves, new new deals —— new needles. if someone is coming to your home or your mate has brought a machine of the internet, stay away. evenif machine of the internet, stay away. even if you do not get an infection, you might end up with a very bad tattoo, so it is good advice to think about where you are going and make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. find make sure you know what you're getting yourself into.— make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. and be sober when ou getting yourself into. and be sober when you do _ getting yourself into. and be sober when you do it. — getting yourself into. and be sober when you do it, probably. - getting yourself into. and be sober when you do it, probably. thank i getting yourself into. and be soberl when you do it, probably. thank you very much for talking to us. the

time is 12 minutes to four. the trial of lucy let me has been hearing allegations that the neonatal nurse tried to kill a premature baby four times. the court heard the nurse succeeded in her efforts on the fourth attempt and the baby died in october 2015. judith moretz is following the case. this long running trial has now reached the point of looking in detail at the case of baby i, the ninth of 17 babies who lucy let b is alleged to have attacked. she is accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder another ten, she denies all the charges against her. the case of baby i, purred previously, even by the standards of this trial is an extreme example. we have been hearing detail this morning of the prosecution's allegation that the nurse tried to murder this baby, a

premature baby girl, four times, succeeding on the fourth attempt. we heard a statement which had been written by baby i's mother of which is read out to the court and gave much of the detail of what happened in her experience, the harrowing detail. she talked about the fact she witnessed resuscitation attempts and said on the last occasion, she said every time they pumped her, her statistics would go up and she would improve but then she flatlined, and the baby's mother said she told staff, you cannot keep doing this to her. she watched as they tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate the little girl and we heard from this statement, that once her daughter had passed away that her nurse lucy letby had offered to take photographs of baby i's parents as she bathed their daughter and she said there would be filters to keep. baby i's mother had said nurse letby came in smiling and laughing, and talked about the time she had first been with the bbb and her mother

said, in a statement, ijust wished she would stop talking. think eventually she realised and stopped, it was just not something we wanted to hear at point. she described how lucy letby had wrapped up the baby's belongings with them to take on. she denies all of the charges against her, and this trial which still has many months to run, still continues. an asylum seeker from afghanistan has been sentenced to 29 years for murdering a man from bournemouth in an argument over an e scooter. he was found guilty at salisbury in court on monday. he stabbed 2i—year—old tom roberts in march last year. the court heard he had previously shot dead two people in serbia. californian authorities have said they found no evidence of julian sands�*s location 12 days after he went missing. the british actor, 65, disappeared while taking.

officials say whether conditions of preventing and searching higher grounds. one of the biggest employer in anglesey are set to close, the company says the plant needs to match investment and it would be more efficient to move dutch into one of its other sites. if you know has been held for a woman he was shot on christmas eve in a pub in moldavsky, 26—year—old ellie edwards was not the intended target of a gunman who opened fire at the lighthouse pub. colin chapman, who is 22, has been charged with murder and is due to stand trial injune. the vicar residing of a service today said he hoped the funeral would be as celebration of every�*s life but should not be defined by how she died. our reporter was there. . . , ,~ ., there. the church is very close to where the _ there. the church is very close to where the shooting _ there. the church is very close to where the shooting happened - there. the church is very close to where the shooting happened on | where the shooting happened on christmas eve. ellie edwards was shot dead on christmas eve about ten to midnight, she had been celebrating in a pub when there was

a shooting outside and a hail of bullets were fired and she was hit in the head and died shortly afterwards. iman has been charged with her murder and will appear in court in liverpool injune this year. today was a time to celebrate her life. hershort life, year. today was a time to celebrate her life. her short life, as the vicar carrying out the service called it. father tim edwards welcomed moaners to the church, a funeral cottage of white horses pulled a carriage that was carrying her coffin —— mourners. he told the service it was a celebration, he detailed conversations he had with her father and talked of their love of the lake district and had a lot to go walking together. he went on to go walking together. he went on to say he was aware of the sentiments that were being felt in the community at the moment, sadness and grief, anger, fear, shock and bewilderment. he went on to say we are in an emotionalfuss

bewilderment. he went on to say we are in an emotional fuss when nothing feels solid. we don't know whether to laugh or cry or shout or be silent. the family have also thanked neighbours and family, and the people who live in the village area who came today for their love and support, and the messages they have sent to the family, which they say have been some comfort to them in what they say is a terrible, terrible time. new research suggests that humans can understand gestures used by chimpanzees to communicate with each other in the wild. scientists from the university of st andrews asked volunteers to watch videos and translate the animals' gestures. the results indicate that this form of communication may be the origin of our own language. here's our science correspondent victoria gill. grooming builds bonds of friendship... our closest living relatives. social, intelligent primates that communicate without speaking. and it seems that we humans can tune

into this silent gesturing language. researchers who have spent years observing great apes closely in the wild have recorded a whole gesture dictionary — dozens of signals, expressions and movements that chimps and bonobos use to communicate. by showing videos of these gestures to volunteers, scientists discovered that more than half the time, people are able to understand the message that a wild chimp or bonobo is trying to convey. here is how a chimpanzee says "groom me, please". and this is a bonobo silently demanding food from a companion. some gestures are easier for us to understand than others. this display is apparently flirtation. but the fact that we can derive meaning from these gestures suggest they provided a foundation for our own language. our last common ancestors with bonobos and chimpanzees probably used quite similar gestures. and these gestures may then have gone on to scaffold the evolution

of human gesture and human language as we know it now. gorillas, orangutans and other great apes also use some of these same signals. it is something that people who work with these primates tune into every day. gesture is so important to great apes. all of the little ways they need to regulate their social interactions in these amazingly complex social worlds they live in. it's the sort of communicative grease that gets all of that working. these gestures and our abilities to interpret them, the researchers say, sends a scientific message about how our own language evolved. victoria gill, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. over the last few days, we have had a real split in our temperature fortunes. northern parts of the uk have been very mild, but further south, it has been really cold. another cold and frosty and foggy start for some this morning. but things are now changing. this frontal system pushing

southwards is a cold front. as the name suggests, behind it, the air is relatively cold, but ahead of it, we're actually mixing up the air, we are finally pushing away this wedge of very stubborn cold air that has been affecting southern parts for the last few days. so it is actually turning a little milder across some south—eastern parts, as this weather front works its way through. a band of rain pushing southwards across england and wales. much of it quite light and patchy. behind it, some clear spells but also some showers, particularly in scotland and temperatures tending to even out. so less of a split in our fortunes, generally between 7—9c as we end the day. and overnight, that frontal system clears, clear spells behind. some showers running into eastern parts of scotland and eastern england and it is going to be a relatively chilly night. colder than recent nights in the north of the uk, but not as cold as recent nights down towards the south. we are all in the same boat really for thursday, with some good spells of sunshine, but some showers through eastern scotland, the eastern side

of england, where there will also be quite a keen north or north—easterly breeze. but temperatures wherever you look between seven and 9 degrees, so we have lost that split in our temperature fortunes. as we look ahead to friday, there could be some areas of fog around, particularly through england and wales first thing. some patchy cloud but some sunny spells. perhaps more cloud rolling into northern ireland and north—west scotland through the day ahead of this next frontal system. again, those temperatures for all of us between five and 9 degrees. as we look towards the weekend, this first frontal system pushes southwards and weakens. high pressure generally dominates across the south of the uk, whereas further north, this next frontal system for sunday will bring some outbreaks of rain and some really strong and gusty winds. we could see gales, even severe gales across parts of northern scotland, generally windy across the northern half of the country, whereas further south the winds will be much lighter. there will be a lot of dry weather, some spells of sunshine, often it will be quite cloudy, but temperatures for all of us

between seven and 10 degrees.

this is bbc news. the headlines... after months of controversy and debate, germany has confirmed it will send some of its leopard 2 battle tanks to ukraine and allow other countries to supply them as well. translation: we will also provide ukraine with leopard _ 2 main battle tanks. this is the result of intensive consultation once again with our allies and international partners. more questions for the prime minister over the tax affairs of the tory party chairman and former chancellor nadhim zahawi. does the prime minister agree that any politician who seeks to avoid the taxes they owe in this country is not fit to be in charge of taxpayer money? since i commented on this matter last week, more i information has come forward... and that is why i have asked

the independent adviser- to look into the matter. hundreds of amazon workers in the uk walk out for the first time in a dispute over pay. wales is set to become the first uk nation to introduce mandatory licensing for tattoo artists, body piercers and cosmetic clinics. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news channel. after weeks of hesitation, germany has finally confirmed it will send some of its leopard 2 battle tanks to ukraine. ukrainian commanders are hoping they could help turn the tide of the war with russia. germany will also allow nato allies like finland and poland to send ukraine their leopard tanks.

russia says the move would be a blatant provocation. here's our defence correspondent jonathan beale. western main battle tanks will soon be rolling into ukraine, including these german—made leopards. berlin had been resisting pressure, worried about escalation. but it has now relented, a significant u—turn. germany will initially supply ukraine with at least iii leopard 2s with training for their crews to start soon. chancellor olaf scholz told his parliament that germany would now coordinate delivery of its leopard tanks with allies. but he added his country would ensure that nato is not drawn into a war with russia. germany's decision paves the way for other european countries to do the same. poland has been seeking german permission to send iii of its leopards to ukraine, too.

the german—made tank is operated by many european nations. others are expected to follow in their tracks. that is in addition to iii british army challenger tanks already pledged to ukraine. the us is also reported to be on the verge of a decision to supply ukraine with some of its own abrams tanks. ukraine is still unlikely to get the 300 additional tanks it has asked for, but it could now get enough to make a difference. translation: we do everything necessary every day to fill - the deficit in tanks, and i thank everyone who supports us in this. but discussions must be concluded with decisions, decisions on real strengthening of our defence against terrorists. ukraine says it needs tanks to break the deadlock in this brutal war. in the donbas, russian forces

are taking heavy casualties, but also making small gains. western main battle tanks originally designed to go up against russian armour will provide ukrainian crews with more protection, speed and accuracy. better than their old soviet—era tanks, but more complex, too. translation: of course they will be very important for us, _ but we need to teach the crews because that tank is very complicated, but it's very necessary. ukraine will also now face a massive logistics challenge, providing fuel and spare parts for different fleets of tanks. it is also still significantly outnumbered by russian armour. modern main battle tanks alone will not win this war, but combined together with other western—supplied weapons, they could be enough to punch a hole in russian defences. russia says it is a dangerous escalation. jonathan beale, bbc news.

our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse explains the response from kyiv and says authorities there believe tanks are now vital to their fight against russia. it is the key to breaking a static front line in a phase where it is russia that is on the front foot, really. it is president zelensky�*s 45th birthday today, and for the past couple of months his dream present has been the delivery of tanks, but it's the equivalent of realising you're going to get that present, but you won't get the parts needed to use it for a little while yet, months, maybe longer, and this has long been the frustration for ukraine's leader — the speed of the military aid that continues to arrive to ukraine in its war effort. there has been a lot of excitement online, notably his chief of staff has been tweeting images of leopard emojis, people have been sharing leopardskin fashion as part of the nationwide

campaign for germany to finally make this decision. but we are some way off seeing tanks arrive in significant numbers. president zelensky has talked about it is all good and well talking about five, ten or 15, but you've heard there, he wants 300, which he thinks will be enough to prevail in the east. nevertheless, this is a political win in a big way for kyiv, and it's not going to stop at tanks, and i wouldn't be surprised if he continues to ask for more. the prime minister has faced more questions about the tax affairs of the tory party chairman and former chancellor nadhim zahawi. at prime minister's questions in the commons, the labour leader sir kier starmer accused rishi sunak of being hopelessly weak in not sacking mr zahawi. the prime minister said an investigation is under way to establish the facts. mr zahawi says he's confident he acted properly. our political correspondent

david wallace lockart reports. chancellor scholz has just spent an hour being grilled by parliamentarians explaining why it is now important in his view to send german—made tanks to ukraine because here in germany that is an incredibly controversial matter, it has divided the country and parliament, even split to a certain extent chancellor scholz's own government. and i think what we saw today was him really for the first time explaining himself in quite a lot of detail. what he tends to do quite often isjust meet with experts behind the scenes and then come up with a decision and that is what he has done over the past few months, he was heavily criticised internationally as well as here in germany by many even within his own party for not being clear enough and not communicating what was going on, all he ever said was, we can't go it alone. it now transpires and i think now it is a lot clearer what is in his mind, what he meant by that was what he meant by that was that he needed,

or germany needs, in his view, american tanks as well, and that coalition of allies in europe and in the states to send tanks together. that in the view of the chancellor would mean germany and europe would be less exposed but also it makes it an easier sell for mr schultz to german voters, some of whom are still nervous about escalating the war. of course that was not david wallace lockhart, it was damien mcguinness reporting from germany. the jury at the trial of lucy letby has been hearing detail of the allegation that the neonatal nurse tried to kill a premature baby four times. the court heard that the nurse succeeded in her efforts on the fourth attempt and that the baby known as baby and that the baby known as baby i died in october 2015. judith mortiz is following the case. this long—running trial has now reached the point of looking in detail at the case of baby i, the ninth of 17 babies whom lucy letby is alleged to have attacked, she's accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder another ten. she denies all of the charges against her. the case of baby i, the jury

had heard previously, even by the standards of this trial, they were told, is an extreme example. we have been hearing detail this morning of the prosecution's allegation that the nurse tried to murder this baby, this premature baby girl, four times, succeeding on the fourth attempt. we heard a statement which had been written by the mother of baby i which was read out to the court which gave much of the detail of what happened in her experience, harrowing detail. she talked about the fact that she witnessed resuscitation attempts and she said on the last occasion, she said, "every occasion, she said, "every "time they pumped her, her stats would go up," she would improve, but then she would flatline, and the baby's mother said she told staff, you can't keep doing this to her. she watched as they tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate the little girl, and we heard then from this statement that once her daughter had passed away, that nurse lucy letby had offered

to take photographs of baby i's parents as they bathed their daughter, and she said that they would be photos to keep, and baby i's mother said that nurse letby had come in smiling and laughing and talking about the time that she had first bathed the baby, and her mother said in a statement, "i just wished she'd stop talking. i think eventually she realised "and she stopped, it was just not "something we wanted to hear at that point." and she described how lucy letby had wrapped up the baby's belongings for them to take home. nurse letby denies all of the charges against her and this trial which still has many months to run continues. the prime minister has faced more questions about the tax affairs of the tory party chairman and former chancellor nadhim zahawi. at prime minister's questions in the commons, the labour leader sir kier starmer accused rishi sunak of being hopelessly weak in not sacking mr zahawi. the prime minister said an investigation is under way to establish the facts.

mr zahawi says he's confident he acted properly. our political correspondent david wallace lockart reports. there are no prizes for guessing what was going to come up at prime minister's questions this afternoon. are you going to have to sack your party chairman, prime minister? the conservative party chairman nadhim zahawi is facing questions about his previous tax affairs. in the commons last week mr sunak suggested the issue had been dealt with. mr speaker, my honourable friend has already addressed this matter in full and there is nothing more that i can add. but since that response it has emerged that nadhim zahawi paid a penalty while he was chancellor as part of a multi—million pound settlement with hmrc. the prime minister has asked his ethics adviser to investigate whether the ministerial code has been broken. mr zahawi is confident he has acted properly throughout, a difficult backdrop in the commons today. anybody watching would think it's fairly obvious that someone who seeks to avoid tax can't also be in charge of tax.

yet for some reason, the prime minister can't bring himself to say that or even acknowledge the question. now, last week, the prime minister told this house that the chair of the tory party had addressed his tax affairs in full, and there was nothing to add. this week, after days of public pressure, the prime minister now says there are serious questions to answer. what changed ? since i commented on this matter last week, more information, including a statement... including a statement by the minister without portfolio, has entered the public domain, which is why it's right that we do establish the facts. i believe in proper, due process. that's why i appointed an independent adviser and that's why the independent adviser is doing hisjob. the prime minister said no issue was raised with him when he appointed mr zahawi.

when he appointed nadhim zahawi. he can't even deal with tax avoiders in his own cabinet, is he starting to wonder if this job is just too big for him? the difference between him and me is that i stand by my values and my principles, even when it is difficult. rishi sunak is sticking with nadhim zahawi, for now, but the future of the tory party chairman is tied up with any conclusions reached by the prime minister's independent ethics adviser. opposition mps don't want to wait for that, they're trying to turn up the pressure right now. at a misty westminster, the ultimate fate of nadhim zahawi is not entirely clear. the point at which rishi sunak will have to make a decision draws nearer. david wallace lockhart, bbc news, westminster. the metropolitan police commissioner has apologised for the "appalling criminality" of its former officer david carrick. speaking to the london assembly's police and crime committee, sir mark rowley said carrick�*s crimes were a "ghastly case" from the met�*s history. carrick was sacked after admitting

to dozens of rape and sexual offences against 12 women over the past 20 years. he'll be sentenced in february. here's what sir mark said in his opening statement. we are all equally horrified that we have hundreds in policing who shouldn't be here and david carrick is an example, an awful example of that. i must reiterate here my sincere apologies to his victims for our failings. he should not have been a police officer, that is very obvious. a range of poor policy and poor decision—making. he shouldn't have been a police officer and we failed. and we haven't applied that same sense of ruthlessness to guarding our own integrity that we routinely apply to confronting criminals and i'm deeply sorry for that. i think we failed as investigators where we should have been more intrusive and joined the dots over his repeated misogyny over decades. and as leaders our mindset should have been more determined to spot and root out such a misogynist.

as i say, i apologise to his victims and i want to say sorry to all the women across london who feel let down by this and whose trust in policing is shaken by this. an asylum seeker from afghanistan has been sentenced to 29 years for murdering a bournemouth man in an argument over an e—scooter. lawangeen abdulrahimzai was found guilty at salisbury crown court on monday of stabbing 2i—year—old tom roberts in march last year. a court heard he'd previously shot dead two people in serbia. the headlines on bbc news... after months of controversy and debate, germany has confirmed it will send some of its leopard 2 battle tanks to ukraine and allow other countries to supply them as well. more questions for the prime minister over the tax affairs of the tory party chairman and former chancellor nadhim zahawi. wales is set to become the first uk

nation to introduce mandatory licensing for tattoo artists, body piercers and cosmetic clinics. staff at amazon are staging their first ever strike in the uk. members of the gmb union have walked out at the company's warehouse in coventry over what they call a "derisory" 50p an hour pay rise. some amazon workers say robots at the warehouse are treated better than they are. amazon, which doesn't recognise unions in the uk, says it offers competitive pay. our employment correspondent zoe conway reports. amazon workers being stopped at the picket line as they arrive for work. they're being asked to join the first ever strike at an amazon warehouse. more than 300 employees here in coventry could take part in this action. they're working for a multi—million pound organisation that is raking in profits still and not willing to share those profits to ensure that those workers are able to live decent lives.

they can't afford to heat their homes, they can't afford to pay their bills orfeed theirfamilies. it's got to the point where enough is enough and they're taking strike action. they're striking over pay. the company gave them a 50p pay rise in august, taking the minimum pay rate to £10.50 an hour. the union says the rate should be £15 an hour, arguing that the company's profits boomed during the pandemic as did the bank account of billionaire founderjeff bezos. we don't want his boats or his rockets. we just want to be able to live. darren and garfield work at the coventry site and are leading today's action. we just want a decent wage. we're on our feet for ten hours a day, we get told off if we get caught leaning or sitting. you get warnings. the coventry site is similar to this amazon centre in essex. garfield and darren say their work is monitored and they have to meet targets. the pressure is intense. as soon as you come in the building

you're tracked and then you go on to your station where as soon as you log on they know exactly where you are in the building. they know how often you're scanning and if you haven't scanned within a certain time they will come and speak to you. they both say they've been questioned by managers for taking too long to go to the toilet. sometimes it may take two, three minutes to get the toilet. heaven forbid you get there and all the cubicles are full and then of course you have to use the toilet and come back and that could be 15, 18 minutes in the process and they will then question you, what were you doing? it sounds like you feel you're being treated like robots. i wish we were treated like robots because they're treated better. they get a team of technicians. they get people to look after them. amazon says their pay is competitive and in a statement said...

amazon does not recognise trade unions in the uk so there's not much hope of any pay negotiating happening soon but darren is undeterred and feels it is his duty to stand up for the workforce. these people need someone who's not frightened, i've been bullied before and i'll be bullied again and i'm still standing. i'm in this for the long run. zoe conway, bbc news. the father of a man who shot five people dead in plymouth has told an inquest that he warned the police not to let his son have a gun licence. jake davison killed his mother

and four passers—by in august 2021. the inquest has heard claims that the police decision—making system that returned the licence to mr davison was "fundamentally flawed". live to plymouth and our south west england correspondentjenny kumah. what has been happening today? mark davis and came — what has been happening today? i— davis and came here and he was wearing a blackjacket and bluejeans and he told the hearing that he spoke to his daughter in 2017 and his daughter told him that his son jake was applying for a gun licence to pursue his hobby of clay pigeon shooting. mr davison said this raised alarm bells, he was very concerned about this so he phoned charles cross police station in plymouth to tell them that his son should not have a gun, he said his son was autistic, was on medication and was living in a volatile environment. mr davison told the hearing that he never heard back. the inquest heard that there was no record of this call, and that might

be because calls, some calls, are deleted after three years. he was questioned over the timing of these calls, and he became angry, he said, i'm telling you the truth, i'm only saying this for future reference. it won't bring anyone back. we also learned more about the relationship between the father and son. he said that in the 12—18 months before the shooting, he have become more and more distant, his son had become more distant, his son had become more withdrawn. he said that when he visited his ex—wife and his son at their home, they often fought he said there were holes in the wall, and he said that his son had a fascination with guns but he was not aware of the disturbing content that he had been accessing online. we also heard today from the head of the firearms licensing unit at devon and cornwall police, superintendent brent davidson, who came here to

months after the shooting, and the inquest heard that the decision—making system there had been fundamentally flawed for around five years, that there was an absence of formalised training for staff, instead there was a learning body system, and that staffing was overstretched. now, we have heard that there have been changes put in place to improve the system and more staff have been recruited. —— buddy system. the vicar in charge of the service today said he hoped the funeral would be a celebration of elle's life which should not be defined by how she died.

the european court of human rights has permitted a dutch case against russia over the downing of a malaysia airlines flight in 2014. close to three hundred people were killed when the malaysia airlines passenger plane was brought down by a surface to air missile in july 2014. this is a hugely significant moment because it means for the first time russia can be investigated as a state for its responsibility in this air disaster. the european court of human rights has decided that the case can be heard, the background, the netherlands took russia to the european court of human rights, accusing it of playing a key role in the shooting down of flight mh17, failing to investigate and failing to cooperate with investigations and of trying to muddy the waters, to make it harder to find the truth by pumping out disinformation campaigns, compounding the relatives is no grief. russia had actually

argued that the netherlands had missed the timeframe, had missed the six months window to apply to the european court of human rights, and that the legal options within russia had not yet been exhausted, and there there was no case to answer at there there was no case to answer at the european court of human rights and what thejudges the european court of human rights and what the judges today have decided is that actually, around the time of the downing of flight mh17, there was so much confusion, it was impossible to know whether the european court of human rights was the right place for this, hence the delay, and there is no option really forjustice in russia, russia has shown no willingness really to investigate, and there for the judges have decided this case can go ahead at the european court of human rights. find ahead at the european court of human richts. �* ., , _, ., .,, rights. and it does come down, as ou are rights. and it does come down, as you are saying. _ rights. and it does come down, as you are saying. to _ rights. and it does come down, as you are saying, to that _ rights. and it does come down, as you are saying, to that evidence i you are saying, to that evidence about the territory in question being under russian jurisdiction? which is really interesting because we already saw in the trial here in

the netherlands of three russians, one ukrainian, the investigators had found this territory was under russian control, under russian jurisdiction. that has been reinforced now by this european court which used a lot of the evidence gathered by the team of dutch and international investigators to work out whether russia was in control of the territory at the time. that has really been critical in deciding whether there is indeed a case to answer. but much more has to be done on this because what the judges said was that on the face of it there was evidence that russia was in control, but that has to be investigated further, and now it can be, because this court has jurisdiction, despite the fact we should say that russia actually left the european council in march 2022 shortly after the invasion of ukraine, and six month later was no longer a party to the

european court of human rights, but despite this, the european court of human rights still has jurisdiction on cases up until that moment in 2022. so, the real geopolitical significance of this, if it goes further, if in the end ultimately russia is found to have been responsible, something that's hugely important for the relatives, many of whom were in court in strasbourg today watching this because they believe this is bigger than any individual, this is about russia's role, vladimir putin's involvement, vladimir putin always denies any responsibility, if the court ultimately finds russia guilty of involvement, then it could be forced to pay damages, compensation to the victims, and of course, massive geopolitical ramifications beyond that, too. �* ., geopolitical ramifications beyond that, too. ., ., ., that, too. anna holligan reporting from the hague. _ that, too. anna holligan reporting from the hague. we _ that, too. anna holligan reporting from the hague. we are - that, too. anna holligan reporting| from the hague. we are expecting president biden to speak at the white house at around five o'clock our time, following the agreement of

various allies of ukraine, including the united states, to send tanks and other military hardware to help kyiv. we are hearing that president biden has called the leaders of britain, france and germany and italy on this very subject this afternoon. no doubt he will be referring to that when we hear from him around five o'clock and we will bring that to you. microsoft says it has rolled back a network change it thinks may have caused widespread problems for users of its services this morning. tens of thousands of people worldwide reported issues accessing outlook e—mail, the teams app and xbox live. our technology editor zoe kleinman gave us this update earlier. i think a lot of people woke up this morning feeling quite frustrated because they were unable to log onto these tools which they use for work. 280 million people use microsoft teams alone, so a few thousand of those, it would have had

quite a big impact. microsoft say it was due to a fault at its end and it is managing to get stuff back online and there are improvements, which appears to rule out a cyber attack, which is good news, there had been suggestions that there may have been some foul play but it doesn't look like that is the case. i think what it does is show us how reliant we are on big tech to run our everyday lives, to run our businesses, and when these products go down, we've got absolutely no control over them, have we? no, not at all, gone are the days of having bits of paper lying around to do it for you, we communicate with each other so much via these things, don't we? so, what they have had to do, row back and work out how they can introduce this upgrade in a different way? so, microsoft said that it was a wide—ranging network router issue, which is to do with the way in which these enormous and robust networks communicate with each other. they are very robust systems, microsoft is extremely well—funded and this is not something that happens every day, it's something that we see from time to time with big tech and it always catches us by surprise when it does. but bear in mind that there is always things being upgraded and maintenance going on which is actually quite

a vulnerable time for these systems. something doesn't quite go right or doesn't do what they expected, and the ripple effect can be enormous. so, i was seeing tweets from eurostar earlier saying they were having problems with their booking system, and it was all indirectly connected to this microsoft outage, because another microsoft product that was affected by it is called azure, it's a cloud computing platform. you might not be aware of it sitting in front of your computer, but a lot of big businesses use it, it's a rival to amazon's web services, and they use it not only for storing big amounts of data but also for that extra compute power that they need. so, something like that goes down and it will affect businesses all over the place. and it's taking quite a long time for this to be resolved. microsoft says that things are changing and that people are reporting improvements, but it's been several hours now and not everybody is back online.

now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello, thank you, good afternoon, and it has been a bit of a slow one to day in terms of getting the temperatures to climb across the southern part of the uk, the satellite picture shows this shield of low cloud which really hasn't suppressed the temperatures. then we've got a band of rain pushing down from the north, behind that we have had some sunshine and going through the night, more and more of us will get into those clearer skies, some showers into eastern scotland and eastern england. it will not be as cold as last night in the south but it will be a bit colder than it was last night across the north of the uk. tomorrow, some good spells of sunshine, some showers across eastern scotland and down the eastern side of england but most places will stay dry, a bit breezy in eastern parts and

temperatures around 7—9. a lot of dry weather around on friday, there could be some patchy fog across parts of england and wales, and temperatures across the uk will be around 7—9. hello, this is bbc news with martine croxall. the headlines... after months of controversy and debate, germany has confirmed it will send some of its leopard two battle tanks to ukraine, and allow other countries to supply them as well. translation: we will also provide ukraine with leopard _ 2 main battle tanks. this is the result of intensive consultation once again with our allies and international partners. more questions for the prime minister over the tax affairs of the tory party chairman — and former chancellor — nadim zahawi. does the prime minister agree that any politician who seeks to avoid the taxes they owe in this country is not fit to be in charge of taxpayer money? since i commented on this

matter last week, more i information has come forward... and that is why i have asked the independent adviser- to look into the matter. hundreds of amazon workers in the uk walk out for the first time, in a dispute over pay. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's mark. good afternoon. four spectators at the australian open have been questioned by police after russian flags were waved and security guards allegedly threatened. russian and belarusian flags have been banned by the tournament. on the court — nine—time champion novak djokovic is into the semi—finals, after sweeping aside russia's andrey rublev in straight sets. the serbian channelled his emotions into a ruthless win over his 5th seeded opponent in melbourne. djokovic was the only major champion in the men's quarterfinals, and is favourite for the title as he chases a record—equalling 22nd grand slam.

it was interesting in the interview after the match that he actually said there was a lot more stress going on than the scoreline looked because he looked to be in total command of the match and came out of the blocks quickly, he was anticipating the play of his opponent, he wasn't allowing him to play some of the great ball striking capabilities he has got. but at one moment, suddenly he was bellowing at the support camp, it was very windy so it was tricky conditions, but i don't think he felt as in control of it as we thought he was, because of the square. —— score. magda linette continues to make all the headlines in melbourne. the world number 45,has never been beyond the third round of any grand slam in 29 attempts, but her fairy tale run continues shes into the semi finals. she beat karolina pliskova 6—3 7—5 in a fearless display to see off

the two time major finalist. alfie hewett reached the semi—finals of the australian open men's wheelchair singles by beating gordon reid before the british pair made a winning start to the defence of their doubles title. world number one hewett beat reid 6—2 6—4 to set up a semifinal with takuya miki ofjapan. tottenham hotspur have signed netherlands forward arnaut danjuma on loan from villarreal until the end of the season. the 25—year—old has emerged as a regular goal threat since joining villarreal in 2021, scoring 22 times in 51 appearances for the la liga side. it'll be danjuma's second taste of english football having represented bournemouth from 2019 to 2021. everton are not for sale according to their owner farhad moshiri, despite supporter protests against his running of the club. disgruntled fans have called for moshiri and the board of directors to resign in recent weeks with the club 19th

in the premier league. the merseysiders have won just one of their last 1a matches and sacked manager frank lampard on monday. manchester united are heading to nottingham forest for their league cup semifinal first leg clash. as united remain in contention on [i fronts this season. however the club have not won a trophy since 2017. something their manager erik ten haag wants to change. i have to look at my career, to win some trophies. it is munificent, especially for the fans, it is so great and i think the fans here have so much experience, especially the older ones. in this period, manchester united didn't win trophies and it is too long ago. we have to do everything to bring a trophy in.

just two weeks after retiring from football gareth bale has played in his first pre—tournament pro—am golf event in the us. the former wales, real madrid and tottenham star took part in the warm—up event on tuesday ahead of the farmer's insurance open at torrey pines, playing in a group with world no. 3jon rahm. i chilled gareth he can't be so good at professional football and golf at the same time, itjust doesn't seem fair. —— i told gareth. you can be dedicated to one thing and had this much talent at golf. it is not fair in the slightest, but he is looking to retire soon and you can tell he loves this sport and he wants to play a little bit more, so hopefully in the future i will seem more times. that's all the sport for now. in china, a bbc investigation has found evidence of many covid—related deaths in the countryside, after the virus spread from the big cities into more remote, rural areas with older populations. the chinese authorities have long been accused of under—reporting the number of people who've died

from the illness. this report from our china correspondent, steve mcdonell. the coffin makers in northern shanxi province have been busy. there's been great debate about the number of covid deaths in china's cities, but there's still no official death toll for rural areas. yet what you see if you visit local crematoriums is that a lot of people have died. orders for these paper funeral ornaments are being placed at two or three times the normal rate because of coronavirus deaths, according to this man. translation: some sick people were already very weak. - then they catch covid and their elderly bodies can't handle it. the government has announced more than 70,000 covid related deaths in china's hospitals. but these rural areas have only sparse facilities,

and many pass away at home. so they're mostly not being counted. translation: she had a severe diabetes. i after she got covid, she had a high fever and her organs began to fail. wang peiwei hasjust lost his sister—in—law, the mother of two was in her early fifties. translation: she was a great person. we must hold a grand event to send her off, the best we can afford. for the spring festival hundreds of millions of younger people have already returned to their hometowns. these are the fireworks, the pictures, the lanterns and the snacks that chinese people buy to help them ring in the new year. it's normally a veryjoyous time, in fact, the most important festival in this country. but this year, people won't necessarily be so happy because they may well have lost friends or loved ones to the coronavirus.

everyone seems to know somebody who has died. i ask this farmer about what appear to be new graves nearby. translation: families have been i burying their elderly relatives. i there are just so many. he points to the fresh mounds of earth. they're marked with red flags. in his village of a few thousand, he says more than a0 people have passed away during the outbreak, but they're hoping that covid's worst work has been done. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, shanxi province. wales is to be the first uk nation to introduce a national licensing scheme for tattoo artists and body—piercers. welsh authorities say it follows cases in the last decade of young people needing hospital treatment and even surgery after going to unlicensed practitioners. it's hoped the move will help reduce infections and poor working practice.

earlier i spoke to tattoo historian and author dr matt lodder and he told me how the new scheme is being perceived tattooing has looked after its own for a very long time and being generally quite sceptical of regulation, especially because regulators often did not know what the best way to do a nice safe tattoo or piercing was, but i was at the meeting in 2018 when these changes were being discussed. in a room full of tattooists and piercers, who were for regulation because what with the easy availability of tattoo machines on the internet and the rising popularity of stick and poke tattooing, people tattooing themselves at home, there is an increased risk of people getting bad work done and getting infections and having problems that the professionals have to fix. i think for the first time in as long as i

can remember, tattooists were really in favour of finally getting some government help behind sorting some of these problems out. what government help behind sorting some of these problems out.— of these problems out. what does licensin: of these problems out. what does licensing look _ of these problems out. what does licensing look like _ of these problems out. what does licensing look like at _ of these problems out. what does licensing look like at the - of these problems out. what does licensing look like at the moment| licensing look like at the moment and have a change in wales with this regulation? and have a change in wales with this reuulation? . , , , , regulation? licensing is pretty straightforward _ regulation? licensing is pretty straightforward at _ regulation? licensing is pretty straightforward at the - regulation? licensing is pretty. straightforward at the moment. regulation? licensing is pretty i straightforward at the moment. if you apply, you get a license and it is up to the council to inspect you and take your license away if they do not think you are up to the job. the real key change that was discussed was that they actually have some pre—licensing conditions, not very onerous, and things that all good tattooists and piercers were already doing in terms of infection control and hygiene. things that tattooists have been doing for 150 years. it was not happening in these unlicensed institutions. it is very basic checks, that is not going to solve all the problems, but the place you

are going to have some sense of how to keep you safe while they are doing that. no guarantee you are going to get a good tattoo. indeed, it de ends going to get a good tattoo. indeed, it depends on _ going to get a good tattoo. indeed, it depends on your— going to get a good tattoo. indeed, it depends on your taste _ going to get a good tattoo. indeed, it depends on your taste and i going to get a good tattoo. indeed, it depends on your taste and how . it depends on your taste and how good the artist is, no matter how clean they are. you mentioned diy tattooing, this idea of stick and poke, and you can buy things on the internet very easily. what with this regulation differed that? i internet very easily. what with this regulation differed that?— regulation differed that? i don't think the powers _ regulation differed that? i don't think the powers extend - regulation differed that? i don't think the powers extend to i regulation differed that? i don't i think the powers extend to stopping this. i know it is something tattooists have been advocating for a long time, even in the pre—internet days. there were scepticism about people being able to buy machines by mail order. there was a real interest in that room from local councillors and health officials from other parts of the uk who are going to see how it worked in wales, and i wonder if this will lead to further steps in restricting who can get hold of tattoo machines.

tattooing isn't that dangerous, it is hard to get infections if it is done with a very basic level of care, but it is that basic level of care, but it is that basic level of care that was not being done by people in unlicensed and home studios. this is not going to solve every problem but it is going to put in the way —— a small barrier in the way of irresponsible people. you mentioned _ way of irresponsible people. you mentioned that _ way of irresponsible people. you mentioned that idea of scratcher premises, which sound rather unappealing. you want a tattoo or piercing, what should you look out for when you are choosing the place you go to? for when you are choosing the place ou no to? ., ., for when you are choosing the place ou uoto? ., ., ., for when you are choosing the place ou no to? ., ., ., ., you go to? you need to look at not 'ust you go to? you need to look at not just photos — you go to? you need to look at not just photos of _ you go to? you need to look at not just photos of tattoos _ you go to? you need to look at not just photos of tattoos beans i you go to? you need to look at not just photos of tattoos beans and i just photos of tattoos beans and fresh on instagram but look for healed work, often by personal recommendation will stop on the piercing side, look for piercing studios that are accredited by the uk atp, the association of professional piercers, which has a

high level of certification to make sure their members are up to standard. check for things like autoclaves, new needles, any of the stuff good shops are doing anyway. if someone is coming to your home or your mate has bought a machine of the internet, stay away. tattoos, evenif the internet, stay away. tattoos, even if you don't get an infection, you might end up with a very bad tattoo. it is good advice to think about where you are going and make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. the singerjustin bieber has sold his share of the rights to all his music for a reported figure of 200 million dollars. bieberjoins a growing group of artists who have cashed out on their catalogues. hipgnosis songs capital now own a share in his catalogue of 290 songs and every time any one of those songs is played in public, the company will get paid.

let's get more on this from serona elton, a former music executive who now teaches as professor of music industry at the university of miami frost school of music. iam going i am going to embarrass myself and say i didn't even know he had that many songs, but that dates me, no doubt. ~ ., . many songs, but that dates me, no doubt. ~ ., , . ., doubt. what is fuelling this? what is viewin: doubt. what is fuelling this? what is viewing it _ doubt. what is fuelling this? what is viewing it as _ doubt. what is fuelling this? what is viewing it as bias _ doubt. what is fuelling this? what is viewing it as bias with _ doubt. what is fuelling this? what is viewing it as bias with a - doubt. what is fuelling this? what is viewing it as bias with a lot i doubt. what is fuelling this? what is viewing it as bias with a lot of i is viewing it as bias with a lot of money to spend. —— what is fuelling this is buyers. the market has been hot for several years now and it is a good time to sell, and people are prepared to spend a lot of money to acquire those catalogues. haifa prepared to spend a lot of money to acquire those catalogues. how good an investment _ acquire those catalogues. how good an investment is _ acquire those catalogues. how good an investment is it? _ acquire those catalogues. how good an investment is it? how— acquire those catalogues. how good an investment is it? how much i acquire those catalogues. how good an investment is it? how much of. acquire those catalogues. how good an investment is it? how much of a | an investment is it? how much of a risk are some of them taking? what risk are some of them taking? what is makin: risk are some of them taking? what is making the _ risk are some of them taking? what is making the market _ risk are some of them taking? what is making the market so _ risk are some of them taking? “wast is making the market so hot as risk are some of them taking? �*linusgt is making the market so hot as they are realising it is a very good investment. we all think of music as the soundtrack to our lives and that includes when times are great and when times are tough. what is now clear is that assets, like music

catalogues, are what we call recession proof, meaning they continue to generate revenue even when the economy takes a downward turn, which makes them very attractive to investors. streaming services mean — attractive to investors. streaming services mean people _ attractive to investors. streaming services mean people are - attractive to investors. streaming | services mean people are listening to stuff at the touch of a button, quite literally.— quite literally. that is right, if ou quite literally. that is right, if you think _ quite literally. that is right, if you think also _ quite literally. that is right, if you think also about - quite literally. that is right, if you think also about ad i quite literally. that is right, if i you think also about ad supported streaming services, even if you lost yourjob streaming services, even if you lost your job and streaming services, even if you lost yourjob and say you cannot play without streaming subscription, —— pay for that streaming subscription, you can listen to it with adverts and that creates an economic benefit, even when times are tough. what is the risk for the artist who are selling the body of creative work? surely they are losing control of how the material is used? we don't of how the material is used? - don't actually know how much control they are losing, because while you can sell the copyright itself into intellectual property and you can sell the right to receive revenue,

you can contractually enter into an agreement with the party you are selling it too, that there are certain things they cannot do without your permission and we don't know if there are contractual rules around how that content can be used without the artist or songwriter“s permission. sometimes they can still put that in place. we will not know about that, that does not get made public. there is risk, but that can be managed. public. there is risk, but that can be managed-— be managed. what is interesting aboutjustin _ be managed. what is interesting about justin bieber _ be managed. what is interesting about justin bieber is _ be managed. what is interesting about justin bieber is he - be managed. what is interesting about justin bieber is he is i be managed. what is interesting about justin bieber is he is still i aboutjustin bieber is he is still on 28. he is not at the end of his career, one would imagine, and yet he is making this decision now. i know, i think it is a financial planning decision, when you are going to sell something that you expect to continue to grow and value, you are trying to gauge how much my ear think that is going to make it over time and the person buying it has their own calculus of how much money they think it is going to make up a time. and ultimately they are prepared to pay you more than you think you would be

able to collect on your own, it is a good time to sell. i think for an artist as young as deeper and others like him, it boils down to a financial calculus based on some future predictions. ——justin future predictions. —— justin bieber. future predictions. -- justin bieber. ., a“ future predictions. -- justin bieber. ., ~' , ., future predictions. -- justin bieber. ., ~ , ., ., future predictions. -- justin bieber. ., ~' , ., ., ., future predictions. -- justin bieber. ., ~ ., ., , eu rostar eurostar says its trains carrying 30% less passengers between london and paris. it blames bottlenecks and staff issues at the border. its new chief executive the company may not restore some services suspended last year due to the problems. last year eurostar announced it was halting its direct service from london to disneyland paris and stop services culling at ebbsfleet or ashford international stations. louie culling at ebbsfleet or ashford international stations. we have a mean issue _ international stations. we have a mean issue with _ international stations. we have a mean issue with eurostar -

international stations. we have a| mean issue with eurostar terminal international stations. we have a i mean issue with eurostar terminal is because of the new budget conditions between the uk and the eu, because of the impact of covid and staff in the station, police staff because we need more investment and optimised doors. we are now back to the offer we had in 2019, we had 18 frequencies, we now have 111. we had to cap some trains because it is too long to cross the border. i to cap some trains because it is too long to cross the border.— long to cross the border. i believe eurostar is — long to cross the border. i believe eurostar is not _ long to cross the border. i believe eurostar is not running _ long to cross the border. i believe eurostar is not running the - long to cross the border. i believe eurostar is not running the route i eurostar is not running the route directly from london to disneyland this year? well that return? and will eurostar trains ever collect ebbsfleet or ashford in kent again? our objective, our project, at eurostar group is to be this backbone between big cities, these are the main market or dynamic markets with the covid, with brexit, with the stations issues, we had to close the station is now. because it

is a very big deal to operate in these stations and in the same way, in paris, in brussels, we don't have enough staff, enough police staff, to face our traffic, so for the moment, it would not be possible to reopen them because we have too many issues in our big stations. humans can understand gestures used by chimpanzees to communicate with each other in the wild — according to new research. scientists from the university of st andrews asked volunteers to watch videos and translate the animal's sign language. the results indicate that this form communication, may be the origin of our own language. here's our science correspondent victoria gill. grooming builds bonds of friendship... our closest living relatives. social, intelligent primates that communicate without speaking. and it seems that we humans can tune

into this silent gesturing language. researchers who have spent years observing great apes closely in the wild have recorded a whole gesture dictionary — dozens of signals, expressions and movements that chimps and bonobos use to communicate. by showing videos of these gestures to volunteers, scientists discovered that more than half the time, people are able to understand the message that a wild chimp or bonobo is trying to convey. here is how a chimpanzee says "groom me, please". and this is a bonobo silently demanding food from a companion. some gestures are easier for us to understand than others. this display is apparently flirtation. but the fact that we can derive meaning from these gestures suggest they provided a foundation for our own language. our last common ancestors with bonobos and chimpanzees probably used quite similar gestures. and these gestures may then have gone on to scaffold the evolution of human gesture and human language

as we know it now. gorillas, orangutans and other great apes also use some of these same signals. it is something that people who work with these primates tune into every day. gesture is so important to great apes. all of the little ways they need to regulate their social interactions in these amazingly complex social worlds they live in. it's the sort of communicative grease that gets all of that working. these gestures and our abilities to interpret them, the researchers say, sends a scientific message about how our own language evolved. victoria gill, bbc news. rapper ye, otherwise known as kanye west, may be denied entry to australia. media there reported he's planning to meet the family of his partner bianca censori who grew up in melbourne, but a government minister condemned the 45—year—old for anti—semitic comments involving hitler and the holocaust. i don't know if he has

applied for a visa yet, but google it and you will see that he seems like he is a pretty big fan of a person who killed 6 millionjewish people last century. people like that who have applied for visas to get into australia in the past have been rejected. i expect that if he does apply, he would have to go through the same process and answer the same questions that they did. californian authorities have said they have found no evidence ofjulian sands“ location, 12 days after he went missing. the british actor, 65, disappeared while hiking in the san gabriel mountains, north of los angeles. officials say weather coditions are preventing them searching higher ground. can you eat chicken without killing a chicken? looks like we might have an answer now. a us company, upside foods, has regulatory approval for lab—grown meat and is aiming to sell “cultivated chicken“ to restaurants this year and plans

to have it in grocery stores by 2028. the part that is remarkable about it is we do not have to raise and slaughter a chicken to get real chicken meat. cultivated meat is meat, it is not a meat alternative. it is meat gone from real animal cells. —— grown. it is the first time the fda has ever approved this meat in the

world. this is a small portion of what we have in the back, this is where we are growing the cells. this is a big cultivator and the animal cells are growing in here and doubling every 18 or 2a hours. it is like chicken, what we have been used eating for thousands of years. that is the unmistakable pioneering advantage of this field because we are offering the choice to continue to eat real meat without giving it up to eat real meat without giving it up were trying to become a vegetarian or a vegan. a vision of the future perhaps. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. iam here, i am here, just not in that

particular screen. good afternoon, we have seen some sunshine today but not everywhere, scotland and northern ireland had the best of that today. further south, northern ireland had the best of that today. furthersouth, looked more like this for many. not much to see there through the fog, compare that with the blue skies in perth and kinross, and the difference brought about by a weather front, difference brought about by a weatherfront, this band of cloud and rain pushing southwards and eastwards. some sunny spells behind with some showers, but where this cloud has lingered to the south, it has been really chilly and temperatures across parts of south and south—east england are languishing at around three celsius. through tonight will see that band of rain pushing its way southwards, clearer skies following on tonight, albeit with one or two showers, especially for northern or eastern scotland, the eastern side of england. is getting down to around freezing, may be below freezing in places. a touch of frost for

thursday morning, but a brighter strike than it was today across southern and central parts of england, wales, sunshine to take us through most of the day. and it will be completely dry, further east, north of scotland, eastern england to be could see one or two showers and temperatures for the majority are seven or eight or 9 degrees. friday, another day of sunny spells, a bit of early fog. a bit of patchy cloud. and then this band of cloud approaching the north—west of northern ireland, the north—west of scotland through the day, head of this frontal system. that will eventually bring some outbreaks of rain as it pushes south and east into saturday morning, but by saturday itself, not much rain left on this by the front, reallyjust saturday itself, not much rain left on this by the front, really just a band of cloud for northern england, to the north midlands, parts of north wales. ahead of that, southern england and south wales should see some sunshine. brighter skies for eastern scotland. around seven or 8

degrees. as get into sunday, high pressure keeping things mainly dry for the south, the further north we see this frontal system approaching which is going to bring some outbreaks of rain, especially into the north—west of scotland but strengthening winds, gales is likely across exposed parts of the north and north—west of scotland. but it is going to be a mild feeling day on sunday with temperatures at best between nine and 11 degrees. goodbye for now.

this is bbc news. i“m ben brown. the headlines at 5pm — after months of controversy and debate, germany has confirmed it will send some of its leopard two battle tanks to ukraine, and allow other countries to supply them as well. translation: we'll also provide ukraine with leopard _ 2 main battle tanks. this is the result of intensive consultation once again with our allies and international partners. and president biden is due to speak at the white house about us military support for ukraine shortly. we'll bring you his comments live. more questions for the prime minister over the tax affairs of the tory party chairman and former chancellor, nadhim zahawi.