the weather forecast with carol. good morning. hello. this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world: residents in kyiv take shelter as russia carries out fresh drone and missile attacks, just a day after western leaders agree to send tanks to ukraine. the key now is the speed and volume — the speed of training our military, the speed of supplying tanks to ukraine, the volume of tanks bought. the volume of tanks support. donald trump is to be allowed back on facebook and instagram after a two year ban following the capitol riots. the number of new cars made in the uk falls to its lowest level since 1956.

due to a global shortage of parts. nhs physiotherapists walk out in england for the first time — they're latest to join strike action over pay in the uk health service. conservationists are worried about the impact of ageing plastics in our seas, as evidence shows they are now entering the human food chain. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. russia has hit back at ukraine with a wave of missiles — the day after two western countries confirmed they would send tanks to help kyiv�*s forces repel the russian invasion. these are pictures from the ukrainian capital this morning where people are taking cover in the metro network. one person has been reported killed and two injured as around 30

missiles were fired at targets across the country. in his nightly address, president zelensky thanked germany and the us for agreeing to send tanks, but said his country now needs more artillery and military aircraft. robin brant reports. for months, he's campaigned for these, in public, and intensely behind the scenes, diplomatically. now, ukraine's leader is going to get this powerful, reliable, and potentially transformative, bit of kit. translation: the key now is speed and volume. - the speed of training our military, the speed of supplying tanks to ukraine, the volume of tank support. we have to form a fist of tanks, a fist of freedom, after which tyranny will not rise again. we can do it together. on social media, he'd already thanked germany for what he called these important and timely decisions. but it took a long time.

germany's leader, olaf scholz, has long been hesitant. he's balancing between a reliance on russia for his country's energy needs, with pressure from within, and neighbouring countries, to give ukraine the boost it needs. in the end, it was likely this helped. president biden announced that the us will also send tanks. putin expected europe and the united states to weaken our resolve. he expected our support for ukraine to crumble with time. he was wrong. his key aim — to keep ukraine well stocked, but also nato and the west united against russian aggression. this war is evolving and nato allies have constantly assessed what type of support they should provide. president putin made a big mistake when he invaded ukraine, because he totally underestimated the ukrainians. but he also made a big mistake because, of course, he totally underestimated nato and nato allies and our unity, our resolve,

to stand by ukraine, to support ukraine with an unprecedented level of military support. but despite enduring almost a year of this, the kit deemed so essential to helping ukraine isn't going to arrive quickly. soldiers need to be trained in how to use those german—made tanks, and there are reports the us hardware could take a year to come. with the tanks promised, ukraine's leader is already talking about what he needs next. translation: we also have to open up the supply of long range _ missiles for ukraine. it's important that we expand our cooperation in artillery and the supply of aircraft for ukraine. this is a dream, and this is a task, an important task, for all of us. this war, almost a year old now, is escalating. more countries are giving more kit to ukraine, as it tries to turn the tide against russia. robin brant, bbc news. nato secretary generaljens

stoltenberg has been speaking to radio 4's today programme. battle tanks are going to make a big difference and therefore i welcome the announcement also by the united kingdom several days ago to deliver main nato standard battle tanks to ukraine. this will help them to repel russian offensives. we all know that russia is planning new offensives. but it will also help them to be able to retake territory, to liberate more ukrainian lands and to win this war and to prevail as a sovereign independent nation. the ukrainians have identified the number of 300 as the one that would really enable them to make a real difference. are you urging nato member countries to deliver as close to that number as possible? i am urging nato allies to deliver main battle tanks and therefore

i welcome the announcements from several allies over the last days to do exactly that. and of course, it is urgent to deliver as many as possible and i know allies are looking into this. but this is not only about delivering battle tanks, it's also about training the crew, providing ammunition and spare parts, maintenance, the whole logistical support that they need. but again, battle tanks is only one part of the total picture. last week in ramstein, several nato allies announced hundreds of new armoured vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles, so it is this totality that is really making that big difference. earlier i spoke to our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse has more from kyiv. i tend to measure the seriousness of these missile strikes by the amount of time we spend on the ground. we

have been here for a few hours. it is clearly a sustained and wide—ranging attack. in the small hours, we heard reports of drone attacks, drones being in the air command reported explosions in the south—eastern of dnipro. no reported casualties there. and then a few hours ago the authorities were saying that there are 30 missiles in the air. and the way ukraine's defences work is that when a missile is launched, either by sea, by land, or ground to air, the regions in that flight path activate the air raid sirens. so in some parts of the country these sirens go off pretty frequently. but this morning we had the sirens, as well as very clear advice not to ignore them. so we have heard a number of explosions in the centre of kyiv. there are reports of a power station has been hit, one person has been killed, we

are told, is well, and this is a continuation of russia's tactic of targeting ukraine's infrastructure to deprive people of power, of water, and if you take kyiv people are learning to live with regular blackouts. some schedules, some aren't, and moscow is hoping it puts pressure on the population to make them want to give up. so far that hasn't worked but sadly this tactic is continuing. i5 hasn't worked but sadly this tactic is continuing-— hasn't worked but sadly this tactic is continuing. is so, looking ahead to a spring — is continuing. is so, looking ahead to a spring offensive _ is continuing. is so, looking ahead to a spring offensive and - is continuing. is so, looking ahead to a spring offensive and beyond, | to a spring offensive and beyond, let's talk about the delivery of those tanks, speed and volume, president zelensky emphasised in his nightly address last night, absolutely crucial. some detail to be filled in on the exact numbers that will arrive, at the timeframe for their arrival, that will arrive, at the timeframe fortheirarrival, but that will arrive, at the timeframe for their arrival, but what options might they give ukraine when they do get to the country? you might they give ukraine when they do get to the country?— get to the country? you are right, the question _ get to the country? you are right, the question is _ get to the country? you are right, the question is time _ get to the country? you are right, the question is time and - get to the country? you are right, i the question is time and quantity, get to the country? you are right, l the question is time and quantity, i think, for ukraine. because at the moment it is clear that ukraine is

only able to hold its defensive line. it is not currently in a position where it can cross the front line, like we saw last year in the autumn, to cross the front line and force the russians out completely. so when these tanks eventually arrive, if they arrive in significant enough numbers, ukraine says it needs 300, then it gives the country the potential to push forward. because these are sophisticated pieces of kit designed for attack. so when used with infantry, when used with artillery and air strikes, their effect can be highly significant. it's interesting the us was keen to describe this commitment as not being offensive. but for giving instead ukraine of the means to force russian troops back to their own country. but the kremlin inevitably has described this declaration is dangerous, and in the words of the kremlin

spokesman dmitry peskov, these modern tanks will burn like other foreign tanks. so it's gone down as you would expect. but ukraine is hoping they arrive quickly. but as we have seen in the past, western military hardware is not as simple as bringing it across, it needs spare parts, you need supply lines and you need training and it all takes time. and you need training and it all takes time-— and you need training and it all takes time. , ., , . ., ., , takes time. james waterhouse in the ukrainian capital. _ takes time. james waterhouse in the ukrainian capital. earlier _ takes time. james waterhouse in the ukrainian capital. earlier francis - ukrainian capital. earlier francis scarr from bbc monitoring told us more about the rhetoric coming from the russian media in response. we have seen some aggressive rhetoric laced with threats from russian state tv. vladimir solovyov, considered a key figure in the kremlin media machine, has said that germany should now be considered a party to the conflict and that strikes on german territory should be considered legitimate. there have also been plenty of attempts to invoke the sense of victimhood from world war ii and remind russian domestic audiences of 1941 when hitler's

tanks rolled into soviet territory. so we have seen accusations last night in the news bulletins, for example, of olaf scholz for getting germany's historic guilt and turning a blind eye to what happened last time german tanks were churning up ukrainian territory. some of the rhetoric has been really quite aggressive, using language that you wouldn't normally expect to hear on tv, offensive terms used against members of the german government, and vladimir solovyov, who ijust mentioned, said the current german government was like the fourth reich. very strong language and rhetoric. what about russian military bloggers? obviously they have been really active throughout this conflict. what have they said about these tanks and the potential difference they could make. this is quite significant if we are gauging the reaction from the kremlin. the kremlin itself, dmitry peskov, putin's spokesman, the idea these

tanks would help ukraine was absurd and they will simply burn. some of these military bloggers have been agreeing with him, pointing to the numbers of tanks pledged so far by western countries saying they are far less than what ukraine has been asking for and that it will take quite some time for ukraine to learn how to use them. they have said that, yes, they are going to give ukraine additional firepower, but they will not give that strategic edge over russia that will allow ukraine to regain its territory. to what extent, francis, throughout this conflict, have we seen a gap between initial reactions on russian state television or from the bloggers and what has transpired on the ground in terms of russia's military capabilities? well, the rhetoric we see in russian media really often has very little bearing on what's happening on the ground. when we saw the russian retreats, for example, from kherson, simply russian tv said nothing about it until the announcement came

from the russian defence ministry. initially they reported factually, referring merely to the official language used by the defence ministry, by the russian military, before then getting their talking points and really expanding on them and making sure that the russian domestic audience is thinking what the kremlin wants it to think. francis scarr from bbc monitoring. some news to bring you from germany just coming into us, from the afp news agency government reporting the german defence minister boris pistorius saying that leopard tanks pledged by germany to help ukraine will arrive in late march to early april. that's what the german defence minister boris pistorius is being quoted as saying about the arrival of those tanks from germany. training of ukrainian troops on german infantry fighting vehicles will start in the next few days, he added. and for the ukrainian soldiers who will be trained on the

leopard tanks, it will be a little later. some confirmation of timeframes from germany, it's an appropriate moment to bring in my next guest. let's speak to dr patrick bury, a defence and security expert at the university of bath and former nato analyst. interesting to hear the line quoted by the german defence minister, doctor bury. in terms of the other countries who are sending tanks to ukraine, what is your professional estimate of when they could get those delivered to the country? goad those delivered to the country? good morninu. it those delivered to the country? good morning- it is — those delivered to the country? (emf. morning. it is interesting to hear that end of march being said by the german defence minister and also last night on newsnight the ukrainian ambassador to the uk said end of march, that was kind of where i was thinking and other analysts were thinking, that we could expect to see potentially the uk challenger there depending on the burden of getting that across because that has a bit of a head start, the uk was the first to say it will go so the

wheels may have been rolling. it also you have these leopards sitting in poland and germany, so that is actually easier to do. so the end of march was exactly where we were thinking. i was going to say i wouldn't be surprised to see these in ukraine by the end of march. that pretty much spot on. what in ukraine by the end of march. that pretty much spot on.— in ukraine by the end of march. that pretty much spot on. what about the us abrams tanks? _ pretty much spot on. what about the us abrams tanks? that _ pretty much spot on. what about the us abrams tanks? that could - pretty much spot on. what about the us abrams tanks? that could be - us abrams tanks? that could be loner. it us abrams tanks? that could be longer- it is _ us abrams tanks? that could be longer. it is not _ us abrams tanks? that could be longer. it is not totally _ us abrams tanks? that could be longer. it is not totally clear - longer. it is not totally clear where they are coming from, whether they are new—builds coming from stock, not sure about that yet, and we have to wait and see what detail comes out. but i think the design at the moment is that they will come from the us rather than use a stock that they have in europe at the moment. , so that's apparently what the conditions are. again it is about... the abrams are more political, that emerged from the white house briefings i saw yesterday, and certainly the back briefings, we are all in this together, we all have skin in the game and that will release the leopards but it's really about the leopards. if you look at the countries that have said they are

definitely pledging, orfloated countries that have said they are definitely pledging, or floated that they are going to pledge, are expected to pledge in europe and the us included, it's over 150, nearly 170 tanks now. obviously there is a lot of detail to be thrashed out, there are lots of things to be confirmed, but if it all comes to pass that's significant, that's nearly two brigades of armoured, very capable armoured main battle tanks going to ukraine, and it's also nearly two thirds of what zielinski has asked. we'll see what materialises but it is in the pipeline. materialises but it is in the --ieline. , , materialises but it is in the pipeline-— materialises but it is in the --ieline. , ., . pipeline. just on that point, president — pipeline. just on that point, president zelensky - pipeline. just on that point, president zelensky talked l pipeline. just on that point, | president zelensky talked in pipeline. just on that point, - president zelensky talked in the order of something like 300 tanks. we don't know whether he requested more expecting he wouldn't get as many as that and is going to end up with, you think, 150—170. what sort of difference do you think that could make in the push against russia? �* ., ., , , ., ~ russia? big. your last guest talked about a strategic— russia? big. your last guest talked about a strategic effect _ russia? big. your last guest talked about a strategic effect on - russia? big. your last guest talked about a strategic effect on the - about a strategic effect on the russians are denying that will

happen. what you have to do is, if they are used correctly, if they are supported correctly, if they are protected correctly, you've got two armoured brigades. an armoured brigade is the kind of unit that punched through russian lines in kharkiv and took back a lot of land in august and september. imagine are able to able to do two of those intu areas, maybe even concurrently. and put together, if both of those were successful, and they are big ifs, see how they use them, but if they did put that together that's quite a significant setback for the russians. the russians have a say in this as well and they will use whatever countermeasures they can to blunt this and that will have an effect too. but it has given the ukrainian is the potential that if it all comes to pass and used correctly it does give and the potential to punch through lines and retake some of their lost ground, that's really important because without them they would have been much more pressed for tanks and find it much more difficult to attack. you said if they are used, supported

and protected correctly. let's focus on the used correctly part of that and the training. how quickly do you think ukrainian forces can get trained upon these various tanks, and a second part to that question, how do you think russia is going to respond to this? {lin how do you think russia is going to respond to this?— respond to this? on how quickly, i think essentially _ respond to this? on how quickly, i think essentially you _ respond to this? on how quickly, i think essentially you will - respond to this? on how quickly, i think essentially you will see - respond to this? on how quickly, i think essentially you will see lots l think essentially you will see lots of people moving quite quickly now to train up. the leopard, and i don't have personal experience of this, is one of the simpler tanks to train up on and the abrams is a bit more complex, for example. the challenger is probably in the middle of those. most of the ukrainian tanks use just three crew members, in fact nearly all of them, as far as i'm aware, whereas all of these tanks need four, so there is a new person that needs to be trained up evenif person that needs to be trained up even if they are already trained. i thought around the end of march you might see them coming on into the battlefield. you don't want to commit these generally piecemeal. you usually commit them as either a

formation of 1a, that will probably be the way they are deployed, so you will wait and see until you have enough mass and probably keep a squadron of 1a tanks, so you keep a few squadrons together, that's where they start having the effect, the cumulative effect. on her russia will respond, they have limited means. we have seen the way the allies are getting it into western ukraine and there hasn't been any interdiction that we know of that's been successful by russia. we can gather from that they are struggling to hit moving targets, struggling to get the intelligence on how these things are moving. i would expect them to hit civilian infrastructure, i would expect them to try to hit the railway lines especially because tanks can be brought in fastest and most of them on trains, so to try and target railway lines to stop them moving around the country. they could also try and target roads and break up the road network a bit so they can also be moved on a low loader trucks. that's a couple of responses. they could be cyberattacks on germany, for example, not sure about that, you

start to raise the question of nato article five and yada yada and the more obvious ones are the ones i mentioned. more obvious ones are the ones i mentioned-— more obvious ones are the ones i mentioned. . �* , ., ~ mentioned. patrick bury, thank you for our mentioned. patrick bury, thank you for your input _ mentioned. patrick bury, thank you for your input on — mentioned. patrick bury, thank you for your input on that _ mentioned. patrick bury, thank you for your input on that story - mentioned. patrick bury, thank you for your input on that story this - for your input on that story this morning, doctor patrick berry, from the university of bath. we have some news from the courts in relation to an incident on the london underground involving the former health secretary matt hancock, british transport police say a 61—year—old man has been charged in connection to a man being assaulted and harassed at westminster station a couple of days ago. he is from leyland and is charged with common assault and two public order offences and been released on bail to appear in court next month. at least four palestinians, including an elderly woman, have been killed in an israeli military raid injenin in the occupied west bank, palestinian officials say.

the israeli army has released few details, but israeli media say that it acted to foil "a major attack" by militants. the israeli military earlier confirmed that an operation was under way injenin and the palestinian armed groups, hamas and islamicjihad, said they were fighting israeli troops there. reports from thejenin refugee camp say that palestinians shot down an israeli army drone. meta is to reinstate the facebook and instagram accounts of former us president donald trump. he was suspended two years ago over posts praising people who stormed congress in an attempt to overturn his election defeat. our north america correspondent, peter bowes, has more details. the attack on congress, when supporters of donald trump tried to stop the certification ofjoe biden's election victory. while it was going on, the then president posted a video on facebook and instagram, expressing his support for the rioters, and then in another post, he repeated false claims about fraudulent voting during the 2020 election. initially, he was banned

from the platforms indefinitely. facebook later said it would review its decision after two years. if i run and if i win, we will treat those people from january 6th fairly. ever since donald trump announced he was running for the white house again, there has been growing pressure on meta from the former president's supporters to reinstate the facebook and instagram accounts, where he had more than 50 million followers. meta's nick clegg said a review had found that mr trump's accounts no longer represented a serious risk to public safety, and that he would be allowed to return in the coming weeks. the former president's response was typically bullish.

what this means is that by giving donald trump access to the largest social media platform in the world, he has the most access that he has had since before january 6th for calls to action. and this isjust simply a risky move. but will donald trump actually return to facebook or instagram? even though he has been allowed back on twitter by elon musk, the former president hasn't posted anything there, yet. in the coming months, the race to become the republican nominee to fight the 2024 election will intensify. and given the reach and power of meta's social networks, the platforms could prove irresistible. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles.

joining me now is zoe kleinman, our technology editor. hello, zoe. tell us why meta, the owner of facebook and instagram, has made this decision. they are also talking about new guardrails that are in place around this decision. what does that mean? meta are in place around this decision. what does that mean?— are in place around this decision. what does that mean? meta has been under a lot of— what does that mean? meta has been under a lot of pressure _ what does that mean? meta has been under a lot of pressure to _ what does that mean? meta has been under a lot of pressure to make - under a lot of pressure to make decisions about this for quite some time. there were many people who thought donald trump should never have been banned or indeed banned for that long, and meta was one of the last social networks to ban him precisely because mark zuckerberg, who is its ceo and founder, had always said we need to hear what these politicians are saying whether you like it or not. he was then the president of the united states and you have a right, the world has a right to hear what he's saying. when he was banned indefinitely there were a lot of people saying, hang on, why? why would you do that for that period of time? and even meta's

own oversight board, an independent bodyit own oversight board, an independent body it set up to review these controversial decisions, had said that it wanted it to be reviewed after two years. that's what has happened now. however, you can hear the caution that is in meta's tone when it says if he does anything again to flout the terms and conditions he will be banned again, suspended for a period of either one month going up to two years depending on what it is. if he talks about delegitimising the elections or about things like the notorious conspiracy group qanon then those posts will not be distributed, so they will be published but nobody will see them, they will not pop up in people's feeds, they will not be ads around them and people will not be able to share them. it's obvious while he is being welcomed back there will be a close eye kept on what he is doing because he is a dynamite figure, he is controversial, he does say things that cause a lot of emotion and upset and delight a lot of people.

he's very, very engaging, which is great for meta, because it wants these eyeballs to be looking at what he says but he is also very divisive and they have to tread that line between him being a popularfigure that they would like people to engage with, whether they love him or loathe him, and him staying, not only within their terms and conditions, but also within the laws of the countries in which they operate. of the countries in which they oerate. ., , , . operate. donald trump, since the caital operate. donald trump, since the capital riots. _ operate. donald trump, since the capital riots, has _ operate. donald trump, since the capital riots, has set _ operate. donald trump, since the capital riots, has set up _ operate. donald trump, since the capital riots, has set up his - operate. donald trump, since the capital riots, has set up his own l capital riots, has set up his own platform, truth social and peter mentioned in his report he hasn't engaged with twitter since he was allowed back on that platform, so will he engage with facebook and instagram? obviously huge numbers of people use those platforms. but now he's got his own one, will there be a dilemma for him there? this he's got his own one, will there be a dilemma for him there?- he's got his own one, will there be a dilemma for him there? this is an enormous problem _ a dilemma for him there? this is an enormous problem for _ a dilemma for him there? this is an enormous problem for donald - a dilemma for him there? this is an l enormous problem for donald trump and it's getting bigger the more he gets invited back in and out of the cold, if you like. he kind of setup truth social one could say out of spite. i don't need meta, i don't need twitter, i will set up my own

and it will be brilliant. true trump bombastic style. along comes truth social. well, it hasn't been that brilliant. we understand there are about 5 million users are of it, we don't know how many of them are active, and he is very active and he is contractually obliged to post on it first, so if he goes back on facebook or twitter, before he has posted an truth social, he could find himself in hot water so he has not only reputation but also money at stake here. however, that said, 5 million users versus the nearly 3 billion that are on facebook now, they are going to be incredibly irresistible and he's going to have to think extremely hard i think about where his loyalties are going to lie now. ., ., ,, about where his loyalties are going to lie now. ., . ~' , to lie now. ok, zoe, thank you very much, to lie now. ok, zoe, thank you very much. zoe — to lie now. ok, zoe, thank you very much, zoe kleinman, _ to lie now. ok, zoe, thank you very much, zoe kleinman, our— to lie now. ok, zoe, thank you very. much, zoe kleinman, our technology editor. thousands of nhs physiotherapists in england are on strike today, in an ongoing dispute about health service pay. more than 4,000 physiotherapists from 30 nhs trusts are supporting the 24—hour strike. physiotherapists in wales are due to walk out next month. our health correspondent,

dominic hughes, reports. becky has worked as a physiotherapist for 30 years. like her colleagues, treating patients, notjust with sports injuries or back pain, but in intensive care units, a&e departments and post—operation rehab. but now, she says, many are burnt out. and that's why they've taken the big step of going on strike. because of the cost of living, they have to work extra shifts to manage their finances. and that causes, obviously, added burn—out to already busy days. and also, the nhs does run on goodwill, and the amount of physios and other nhs professionals that do... ..do overtime without actually getting paid for it as well. and i think that's another reason that people's goodwill has actually run out now. this is the first time members of the chartered society of physiotherapy

have gone on strike. the action covers around 4200 staff, although not all of them the action covers around 4,200 staff, although not all of them will be on shift today. and it involves 30 nhs trusts in england, roughly one in seven. next month will see two more days of strike action in trusts and health boards in both england and wales. those involved in talks with the government say the strike is the result of a crisis that has been a decade in the making. this is about making sure that physiotherapists, physio support workers and other nhs staff, can meet the health needs of the uk population, at a time when we know you only need to turn on the television to see what's happening in emergency departments and outside them. and waiting lists are getting longer and longer for the treatment that people so desperately need. the physiotherapists are just the latest group to go on strike. recent weeks have seen industrial action by nurses, ambulance staff and other health workers. like other strikes, the most urgent, life threatening cases will be covered. but some patients will face

cancelled appointments. so far, there is little sign of an end to this long running dispute. unions are determined to pursue a pay deal they say reflects the cost of living crisis. ministers argue they simply can't afford to pay them what they want. dominic hughes, bbc news. in response to the strike, health and social care secretary steve barclay said, "it is regrettable some union members are taking industrial action. i will continue meeting with unions to discuss what is fair and affordable." joining me now is karen middleton, chief executive of the chartered society of physiotherapy. thank you forjoining us. we have been told by ambulance staff and nurses and other sectors of the nhs who has been taking part in industrial action recently that the reason they are doing that is not only about pay, it is because they are concerned about the safety of the patients they work with. our physiotherapists striking for exactly the same reasons? yes.

exactly the same reasons? yes, exactly the same reasons? yes, exactly the _ exactly the same reasons? yes, exactly the same _ exactly the same reasons? yes, exactly the same reasons. - exactly the same reasons? yes, exactly the same reasons. it - exactly the same reasons? yes, exactly the same reasons. it is. exactly the same reasons? yes, l exactly the same reasons. it is for a fair pay deal but because of the lack of fair pay, we have physiotherapists leaving the profession, leaving the workforce in the nhs, and we know that the workforce in the nhs is really struggling. i have been out this morning with some of our members. morale is at an all—time low, partly because they simply haven't got the workforce that they need to deliver the services they want to deliver. it is about fair play, it is about keeping the staff that we have got as well as bringing in more staff, attracting more staff, to enable the services that need to be delivered to give patients high quality care that they deserve, and that they should have. without physiotherapists, the backlog will continue, the waiting lists will just grow longer. and patient flow through hospitals will really, really slow down so that those weights that we keep seeing in a&e

and in ambulances willjust get worse. —— those waiting times. the government has got to address this urgently. 50 government has got to address this uraentl . ., y., �*, government has got to address this uraentl. ., �*, ., , urgently. so if anyone's appointment has been affected _ urgently. so if anyone's appointment has been affected today, _ urgently. so if anyone's appointment has been affected today, will - urgently. so if anyone's appointment has been affected today, will they i has been affected today, will they have been told?— has been affected today, will they have been told? yes. ok, and which physiotherapy _ have been told? yes 0k, and which physiotherapy appointment will have been told? 123 ok, and which physiotherapy appointment will still go ahead? 50 physiotherapy appointment will still no ahead? ., , ., go ahead? so we have ensured that any emergency _ go ahead? so we have ensured that any emergency and _ go ahead? so we have ensured that any emergency and urgent - go ahead? so we have ensured that i any emergency and urgent respiratory care will take place. ok. any emergency and urgent respiratory care will take place.— care will take place. ok, urgent respiratory _ care will take place. ok, urgent respiratory care _ care will take place. ok, urgent respiratory care for _ care will take place. ok, urgent respiratory care for example, i care will take place. ok, urgent l respiratory care for example, that would include... ? in respiratory care for example, that would include... ?_ would include... ? in intensive care, would include... ? in intensive care. for— would include... ? in intensive care, for example. _ would include... ? in intensive care, for example. ok, - would include... ? in intensive care, for example. ok, let's. would include... ? in intensive. care, for example. ok, let's look back at what— care, for example. ok, let's look back at what the _ care, for example. ok, let's look back at what the health - care, for example. ok, let's look| back at what the health secretary steve barclay has been saying, we mentioned itjust as we came to you, he said it is regrettable some union members are taking industrial action and he will continue meeting with unions to discuss what is fair and affordable. i think it is fair to say the focus of the discussions are on 23—24 rather than last year's pay or the current financial year, still, of course. do you as a group

think you will be able to move forward unless pay for the current financial year is addressed? weill. financial year is addressed? well, we are always _ financial year is addressed? well, we are always very _ financial year is addressed? well, we are always very happy - financial year is addressed? well, we are always very happy to - financial year is addressed? -ii we are always very happy to talk about pay with the government but we have still had no tangible offer from the government to discuss this year's pay award, and that is the one we are primarily trying to work through at the moment. our members need a fair pay deal now, and for this past year, before we start talking about next year. but we will always welcome any conversation with the government about pay. but today, nothing has been offered, nothing new or tangible is on the table. it is in the government's hands to make that step so that we can meet and try to resolve these strikes as soon as possible. try to resolve these strikes as soon as possible-— try to resolve these strikes as soon as possible. what percentage would ersuade as possible. what percentage would persuade you _ as possible. what percentage would persuade you to _ as possible. what percentage would persuade you to stop _ as possible. what percentage would persuade you to stop industrial- persuade you to stop industrial action? it persuade you to stop industrial action? . persuade you to stop industrial action? , ., ., , ., ., action? it is not really about a percentage. — action? it is not really about a percentage. it _ action? it is not really about a percentage, it is _ action? it is not really about a percentage, it is about - action? it is not really about a | percentage, it is about actually being able to have a conversation about pay in the first place. we know that this is about a

negotiation, but to have a negotiation, but to have a negotiation, we have actually got to meet and have a tangible offer on the table and then we can go from there. . . . the table and then we can go from there. . , , ,., there. there has been some discussion — there. there has been some discussion hasn't _ there. there has been some discussion hasn't there - there. there has been some l discussion hasn't there around there. there has been some - discussion hasn't there around lump sums being offered, would that be something that members of your organisation would be open to in terms of dealing with the current financial year?— terms of dealing with the current financial year? financialyear? well, we hear about this but still, _ financialyear? well, we hear about this but still, nothing _ financialyear? well, we hear about this but still, nothing tangible - financialyear? well, we hear about this but still, nothing tangible has i this but still, nothing tangible has been put on the table. we will obviously consider any offer that the government makes and we will look to see what else is tied up with such an offer but as yet, that hasn't come forward. people are talking about it but we haven't been given that offer. ok. talking about it but we haven't been given that offer.— given that offer. ok, thank you for our time given that offer. ok, thank you for your time today. _ given that offer. ok, thank you for your time today. thank _ given that offer. ok, thank you for your time today. thank you. - the number of new cars made in the uk fell sharply last year to its lowest level since 1956. a continuing global shortage of semiconductor chips has been

affecting production. the society of motor manufacturers and traders says the uk doesn't have a strategy to make the country competitive as a destination for investment. earlier, stuart masson, editor at the car expert, told me more about the situation with the car production sector in the uk. there is no clear government strategy but also no clear strategy from most of the car manufacturers that build cars in the uk, and one of the problems we have here with the uk car industry is that we have a lot of car companies, but none of them are british owned. they are owned by german, chinese, japanese or indian companies, so they tend to make strategies about what is best for their global multinational companies in countries far away from here, and that doesn't necessarily prioritise building cars here in the uk. so that leaves the uk at the mercy of decisions being made based on very different rationale? absolutely. the decline in british car manufacturing over the last few years has come about for a number of reasons.

one of which, as i've said, is decisions being made elsewhere. the uk is not a particularly cheap place to manufacture cars compared to other parts of the world. brexit is an issue as well, then we have this transition period from fossil fuel powered cars to electric powered cars, that we are falling behind in. we have heard this phrase before, and a few times over the last few years, the continued global shortage in semiconductor chips is hitting production lines here. first of all, tell our viewers what these semiconductor chips do and why isn't the uk, or is the uk producing any of them itself? and if not, why not? the semiconductor chips, they are tiny microchips that control so many aspects of a car, from mirrors to engine components, gearbox components, safety systems. they are absolutely crucial to almost every aspect of how a car works, and that affects notjust

cars in the uk but cars built around the world, and the newer the car is, the more they are affected by having thousands of microchips that drive how the car works. so every car manufacturer has been affected. again, partly as a result of the uk not controlling its own destiny in the car industry. other car manufacturers have prioritised supplying cars in their own countries and building cars in their own countries rather than worrying about satellite operations they have around the world. most of the semiconductor chips are built in asia, so taiwan, china, and in particular korea, so cars that are built there and car companies headquartered there tend to prioritise their own production rather than worrying about exports. there have been good news stories here in the uk, but overall we are struggling as an industry to keep up with the pace that's going on elsewhere. so what can the uk do to change

this, or is it going to be a really uphill struggle, given the dominance in other parts of the world of motor manufacturing? it is going to be an uphill struggle because we are fighting against global trends, but the uk collectively, industry and government, need to decide, do we want a car manufacturing industry in this country? if we do, there is a lot of investment that is needed. we do have some really good examples. the nissan factory in sunderland is the uk's largest producer of cars and their production is up around 16% last year, and the nissan qashqai was the first uk built car to be the most popular car in the uk since the 1990s. but across a lot of our other factories we are seeing declining production and lack of investment in electrification. we are seeing companies like jaguar land rover who have been shifting production out of the uk to a new factory in slovakia for the best part of the last decade. we are seeing stellantis, which owns vauxhall, has been closing factories or repurposing factories, which

means that production has been down. they are reinvesting, but there is a lot of change going on and the uk needs to decide whether it wants to be part of this, or are we prepared to let uk car manufacturing die a slow death? stuart masson from car expert, there. here in the uk, record number of people switched banks in the last three months of last year. cost of living increases are thought to be behind it, as cash incentives led almost 400,000 customers to move their current accounts. up to £200 was offered by some banks to those switching their custom. however, that number still only represents a fraction of the millions of accounts used across the uk, so lots of people who could perhaps benefit from switching haven't done so. i'm nowjoined by susanna streeter. she is a senior analyst at hargreaves lansdown, a british financial services company. lovely to see you. we can be very reluctant when it comes to switching things, can't we, whether it is our

bank account or energy provider and so forth but it seems that the cost of living crisis has really pushed people to look for better offers from banks?— from banks? yes, and it is not really surprising. _ from banks? yes, and it is not really surprising. you - from banks? yes, and it is not really surprising. you have - from banks? yes, and it is notj really surprising. you have got from banks? yes, and it is not - really surprising. you have got the latest data from the ons showing that more than one in five people are borrowing more than they did this time last year, and our own savings and resilience barometer shows a third of people have very poor debt to resilience so people are really feeling the pinch and they want to try to boost their household incomes anyway they can, which includes, it seems, getting these cash payments for switching accounts. certainly, it is a good idea to try to profit from them if you can, and make that switch. the switch is relatively easy, it takes around seven days, specifically if you go through the switching service. but the thing is, people are not looking elsewhere across their finances. are not looking elsewhere across theirfinances. for example, if you

are lucky enough to have savings, so many people just stay put with their high street bank and don't shop around for a better deal. 50 high street bank and don't shop around for a better deal. so there is a lot more _ around for a better deal. so there is a lot more that _ around for a better deal. so there is a lot more that people - around for a better deal. so there is a lot more that people could i around for a better deal. so there | is a lot more that people could do. beyond that switching bonus, are people getting other benefits when they move banks? yes. people getting other benefits when they move banks?— people getting other benefits when they move banks? yes, so, the types of benefits on — they move banks? yes, so, the types of benefits on offer _ they move banks? yes, so, the types of benefits on offer vary _ they move banks? yes, so, the types of benefits on offer vary pretty - of benefits on offer vary pretty widely. it could be that you were offered a big overdraft facility, insurance, extra insurance for travel, for example, and also, there are some better savings rates out there if you switch. but you do have to look at the small print because actually, you may be locked in and might need to access that money quickly. butjust across—the—board, quickly. but just across—the—board, if quickly. butjust across—the—board, if you just look, and there are plenty of websites, and platforms showing the best deals out there, there are a huge amount of deals and particularly now with interest rates rising, the deals are coming through. and of course, it is very

important to make your money work as hard as it can right now with inflation eroding our spending power. if you want to lock your money away and can do that because you have a longer time horizon, you have got rates at around 4.5%, for example, for savings rates if you can lock their money away for that out of time. at around 3%, and so many people want to access it quickly but with sony people actuallyjust quickly but with sony people actually just staying still and feeling uncomfortable about moving, it means they are losing out with rates at 0.5%.— it means they are losing out with rates at 0.5%. thank you for “oining us. the production of opium in myanmar rose by a third last year, ending what had been a seven—year decline. that's according to the united nations, who put the rise down to increasing economic hardship. opium resin is used to make heroin and the global price for it has risen, with that thought to be another factor in stimulating production of the crop. our south—east asia correspondent jonathan head is following the story.

the reasons for opium cultivation declining in recent years are partly because the big syndicates that make money in many of the lawless areas of myanmar have been switching to synthetic drugs like methamphetamines, and production of that's gone up even more. and also, there have been successful campaigns to persuade farmers there to go to alternative crops. this is a very striking reversal of the trend, up by a third in just one year. and the un assumes this is because farmers... opium provides a lot ofjobs. it's labour intensive. it's one of the reasons the syndicates prefer to make synthetic drugs. but it does provide a lot of work in a country that has lost well over a million jobs since the coup, because of the catastrophic disruption to the economy. i mean, there's a civil war raging in much of myanmar. and in these these traditionally quite problematic areas, there are very few alternative sources of income. people often used to leave them to go to jobs elsewhere in myanmar. those jobs no longer exist. so that's one factor, and it is a worrying trend

because you've got that happening, at the same time, there is a veritable tsunami of synthetic drugs pouring out of the same region of myanmar because again, because of the instability, all these various armed groups that operate there need more funds and more money. and they're just producing "yaba" pills as they're known, these methamphetamine pills, they're so cheap here in thailand, you can get one pill for less than a bottle of water. and that's causing enormous social problems in the villages of thailand and in many other countries in the region. aircraft giant boeing will answer a fraud charge in court later over two plane crashes which killed 346 people. both crashes were down to flaws in the flight control systems on the 737 max aircraft which caused nosedives. boeing was found to have failed to disclose information about the system, but avoided a trial by agreeing to pay £2.5 billion in fines and compensation. plastic items from decades ago are washing up on the shores

of the east coast of england. conservationists say they're increasingly concerned about the impact of ageing plastics in our seas, following evidence that it's now entering the human food chain. our environment correspondent paul murphy reports. the spectacular sight of an east coast winter tide. oh, that's fishing line. but it brings with it little reminders of a planet damaged by plastic. they actually think that we only roughly find about 15% of the litter out at sea. picking up the pieces is an endless task. collected in recent months, some of this was thrown away more than 50 years ago. materials like plastics are extremely durable. they take literally hundreds and hundreds of years to break down, so, for example, take a plastic bottle you drink out of,

it takes roughly 450 years to break down in the sea. so we always collect whatever we can. it's a fantastic way to show people what a problem plastics and other materials are in the sea. and everyone always laughs when i say this. i was born in 1993. so a lot of this is absolutely older than i am. the litter is bad enough to look at. but the real problems start when the plastic begins to slowly break down in sea water, into tiny particles. micro—plastics, as they are known, have been found in supermarket shellfish and in human tissue. we know that microplastics are in our diet. our own work has looked in lungs and found plastics deep inside patients' lungs. other studies have found microplastics in blood, the liver,

and several other organs as well. we know now they get into our bodies. in terms of the impacts of that, and whether there are any, we really don't know. but on the coast at hornsea, they are trying to find solutions. the town wants to be a plastic free community. the motto at this shop is "refill, not landfill." customers can shop with us fully circular, they can either bring their own containers or we have containers for them to borrow. we repurpose jars as well that people donate. there is no need for landfill at all. everything goes into the pots and comes back around again to us for recycling. a ban on single—use plastics, including cutlery and certain kinds of polystyrene, comes into force in england this autumn. more and more people are crying out for plastic—free alternatives, for less single—use products and we are seeing that change in our behaviour. this needs to be a societal change.

but replacing a material in which there is such reliance has been a slow process. it could be many years before these tides are plastic free. paul murphy, bbc news, east yorkshire. left—wing parties in peru have launched an attempt to impeach president dina boluarte, as unrest continues across the country. they accuse her of moral incapacity, but it's not clear if they have the numbers to bring the motion to a vote. ms boluarte, who came to power after the former president was impeached, has called for a "national truce" after the deadly clashes. sofia bettiza reports. these images have become all too common in peru. people have been demonstrating for weeks, demanding the resignation of the president, dina boluarte. these protests have cost the country more than $1 billion worth in economic losses and have forced the government to close machu picchu, a world

famous tourist attraction. so on tuesday, the president called for a national truce. translation: 50 people have died amid these acts of protest - and violence and it pains me. this isn't a peaceful protest. this is a violent action by a group of radical people. i call my dear homeland for a national truce to set up a dialogue. she apologised for the killings, but once again refused to resign, which is why, only hours after she pleaded for dialogue, thousands of people marched in the capital, lima. translation: we are not terrorists. we are not criminals. we are peasants who seekjustice and peace in our country. protesters throwing rocks. police responding with tear gas. some shouting, "boluarte, murderer", referring to the brutality of the police. these are mostly people

from poor, ruralareas. they felt that former president pedro castillo cared about them, but when he tried to dissolve congress, he was impeached and then imprisoned. many feel his replacement ms boluarte is aligned with the elite, and now she refuses to step down, a truce seems a long way away. stephanie prentice, bbc news. protests are being held across australia against the mistreatment of indigenous communities, as the country holds its annual australia day national holiday. phil mercer spoke to protesters in sydney. australia is unusual in that it takes the start of colonisation as its national day. the 26th of january is celebrated by many australians with great pride, and this nation's achievements are celebrated. but for thousands of marchers here in sydney and at other events around the country, today is invasion day. the 26th of january for them marks the start of a lasting

and brutal colonisation. because it was the day that our country was invaded by captain cook. so it started with, you know, murder, rape. like, this was our land and it got taken from us. well, i mean, it's the day of genocide for us, you know what i mean? and for others to celebrate that day is really kind of a slap in the face. it's hard to watch, you know, walking down the street and through central, you know, people are wearing all "i love australia" shirts, and they're just sort of ignoring the other side, the real side, the truth. and this is what we're trying to do here, is speak the truth, speak our truth. and hopefully, year by year, the message gets louder and more people can listen. changing the date of australia day is highly contentious. so are the government's plans to set up the so—called indigenous voice to parliament. this would require the constitution to be changed via a referendum. it would set up an independent

indigenous body to guide official policy regarding aboriginal people and addressing disadvantage. speaking to marchers here, many believe that it is an elitist project driven by white guilt, that won't make any difference to the lives of ordinary first nations people. so debate about that is raging, and certainly debate about changing the date of australia day is also raging. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. the cast and crew of the pioneering american children's tv show sesame street have paid tribute to its co—creator, lloyd morrisett, who has died aged 93. they praised his kindness and wisdom. lloyd morrisett came up with the idea of using tv to teach young children basic skills like counting and recognising letters. sesame street, with its lovable puppets like elmo and cookie monster, was first broadcast

in the us in 1969. the first new rail terminal in new york in more than a century has opened. new york governor kathy hochul rode the first train to grand central madison in manhattan from jamaica station in queens. the $12 billion project was plagued by delays and took 15 years to build. commuters have welcomed the new terminal, with many saying the line will cut theirjourney times in half. building a snowman when the cold weather arrives is something lots of us enjoy, but for many, the skills required for the international snow sculpture championships may be a little out of reach! despite not being able to practise at home in devon, sculptor pippa unwin has decided to swap stone for snow as she joins the british team hoping for gold in colorado. emma ruminski has been to meet her. the standard is high. this is what the teams are aiming to create in just five days. some of last year's entries seems to defy gravity. but how do you practise

if you live in kingsbridge and don't have any snow? well, all four of us are stone carvers, so it's much the same principle. we are taking away from the block. it's basically the same process, butjust on a much bigger scale and with modified garden tools. but it's really exciting. compared with some of the others, we are rank amateurs because we have nowhere to practise at home. pippa is best known for her work in stone. five years ago, i filmed with her at an exhibition at delamore. but it is her work with the gb snow carving team which is winning awards. they have brought home silver and bronze with their past entries. this year, they are chasing gold. this is our maquette, it's a little model of a crocodile and an alligator greeting each other at a club.

so they're lounge lizards — one's got a cocktail and the other has got a cigar. it's about —4, —5 at present so it's absolutely fine. we keep busy, we are very active. the problem is the altitude, we are about 10,000 feet now. so we work slowly and methodically. if you work too fast, you get out of breath. teams with a lack of snow might be at a disadvantage, so what are team gb's chances? you can definitely win this competition if you do not come from a snowy climate. it's really all about artistic skills and what kind of sculptor you are and working with the medium and different kinds of mediums. so i would say the chances are good, any of these teams here today could take home the gold. the 12 international teams have 94 hours to turn their 25 tonnes of snow into a sculpture. some work through the night in gruelling temperatures to finish in time. we should know if the british team have made a podium place on friday. emma ruminski, bbc news. works of art in progress. you can get in touch with me about any of

our stories on twitter. you are watching bbc news. hello again. today's weather is much brighter and sunnier for most of us than it was yesterday. high pressure is really in charge of our weather at the moment and what is happening is we have got not much in the way of isobars in the chart. so it is not particularly windy but there is a breeze coming in from the north sea and across southern areas and that is dragging in a bit more cloud and also some showers, notjust in the north and east but as we go through the day, some of those will continue to get into parts of the midlands, for example, greater london and the home counties. but it should dry up in northern ireland and western scotland, north—west england, wales, south—west england and also northern ireland seeing the lion's share of the sunshine. but in between the showers, there will also be some bright or sunny skies as well. through this evening and overnight, a lot of the showers will fade. there will be some

clear skies around. we could see some patchy mist and fog forming, in the midlands and south—west england for example, and it is going to be a cold night, not as cold as it has been, granted, but we are looking at some frost once again. that is how we start the day tomorrow, on a cold note. any mist and fog that has formed overnight will lift quite quickly. high pressure still clinging on. a weather front in the north—west coming our way but as it bumps into the high pressure, it is going to be fairly weak. on friday, any early morning mist and fog will lift quite rapidly. there will be a lot of sunny spells and areas of cloud. could catch the odd shower in the midlands, for example. here is our weather front draped across parts of northern and western scotland and northern ireland, producing some patchy light rain and drizzle. a more active one is coming in behind it. as it sinks south and bumps into the high pressure as it moves south during the course of saturday, it won't bring much more with it than a band of cloud with some patchy light rain and drizzle. bright skies ahead of it. and bright skies with some sunshine behind it and also just a few showers.

temperatures, seven to about eight or nine degrees. as we head into the weekend, you can see how high pressure pulls away and low pressure comes in and that will be with us on sunday, bringing wet and windy weather to the north, but then high pressure starts to reassert itself in the early part of next week. but still, there will be a few weather fronts across the north and west. on sunday, we will have a band of cloud in the south to clear and we will also have wet and windy weather in the northern half of the country, with gales or even severe gales across parts of northern scotland.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 11: germany confirms they will deliver leopard 2 tanks to ukraine on wednesday, as russia carries out fresh drone and missile attacks on kyiv. the number of new cars made in the uk falls to its lowest level since 1956 due to a global shortage of parts. nhs physiotherapists in england go on strike for the first time — they're the latest to join action over pay in the health service. donald trump is to be allowed back on facebook and instagram after a two—year ban following the us capital riots. the legal definition of a landlord is up for debate in the supreme court today, in a bid to protect tenants in some of england's worst rental properties. a new campaign launches today calling for more organ donors of black and asian heritage to help those waiting for life—saving transplants.

bbc radio 1extra's dj ace tells us more. russia has hit back at ukraine with a wave of missiles, the day after two western countries confirmed they would send tanks to help kyiv�*s forces repel the russian invasion. these are pictures from the ukrainian capital this morning where people are taking cover in the metro network. one person has been reported killed and two injured as around 30 missiles were fired at targets across the country. in his nightly address, president zelensky thanked germany and the us for agreeing to send tanks, but said his country now needs more artillery and military aircraft. robin brant reports.

for months, he's campaigned for these, in public, and intensely behind the scenes, diplomatically. now, ukraine's leader is going to get this powerful, reliable, and potentially transformative, bit of kit. translation: the key now is speed and volume. - the speed of training our military, the speed of supplying tanks to ukraine, the volume of tank support. we have to form a fist of tanks, a fist of freedom, after which tyranny will not rise again. we can do it together. on social media, he'd already thanked germany for what he called these important and timely decisions. but it took a long time. germany's leader, olaf scholz, has long been hesitant. he's balancing between a reliance on russia for his country's energy needs, with pressure from within, and neighbouring countries, to give ukraine the boost it needs.

in the end, it was likely this helped. president biden announced that the us will also send tanks. putin expected europe and the united states to weaken our resolve. he expected our support for ukraine to crumble with time. he was wrong. his key aim — to keep ukraine well stocked, but also nato and the west united against russian aggression. this war is evolving and nato allies have constantly assessed what type of support they should provide. president putin made a big mistake when he invaded ukraine, because he totally underestimated the ukrainians. but he also made a big mistake because, of course, he totally underestimated nato and nato allies and our unity, our resolve, to stand by ukraine, to support ukraine with an unprecedented level of military support. but despite enduring almost a year of this, the kit deemed so essential to helping ukraine isn't going to arrive quickly.

soldiers need to be trained in how to use those german—made tanks, and there are reports the us hardware could take a year to come. with the tanks promised, ukraine's leader is already talking about what he needs next. translation: we also have to open up the supply of long range _ missiles for ukraine. it's important that we expand our cooperation in artillery and the supply of aircraft for ukraine. this is a dream, and this is a task, an important task, for all of us. this war, almost a year old now, is escalating. more countries are giving more kit to ukraine, as it tries to turn the tide against russia. robin brant, bbc news. nato secretary generaljens stoltenberg has been speaking to radio 4's today programme. battle tanks are going to make a big difference and therefore i welcome the announcement also by the united kingdom several days ago to deliver main nato standard

battle tanks to ukraine. this will help them to repel russian offensives. we all know that russia is planning new offensives. but it will also help them to be able to retake territory, to liberate more ukrainian lands and to win this war and to prevail as a sovereign independent nation. the ukrainians have identified the number of 300 as the one that would really enable them to make a real difference. are you urging nato member countries to deliver as close to that number as possible? i am urging nato allies to deliver main battle tanks and therefore i welcome the announcements from several allies over the last days to do exactly that. and of course, it is urgent to deliver as many as possible and i know allies are looking into this. but this is not only about delivering battle tanks, it's also about training the crew,

providing ammunition and spare parts, maintenance, the whole logistical support that they need. but again, battle tanks is only one part of the total picture. last week in ramstein, several nato allies announced hundreds of new armoured vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles, so it is this totality that is really making that big difference. our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse has more from kyiv. the timing of these tank announcements have been described as timely by president zelensky. this is something for the past few months he has very much banged the drum for. it was his 45th birthday yesterday. this is the dream present, but it is something he is not going to be able to unwrap for months if not longer. if you look at the american abrams tank, they are going to need to come with support vehicles, ammunition, spare parts, but also the white house admitted

that it does not have any spares in stock, which means they will have to be sourced from private companies or other countries themselves. that is the difference between the abrams and the german leopard tank, where there are several western allies, other countries, who have them and are willing to donate them to ukraine. so, both models are going to arrive at different times, but what this is it is significant for the potential, because finally, battle tanks could arrive and they could arrive in the numbers that ukraine wants, it's said it wants 300 to beat russian forces in the east. but with spring around the corner and with fears of the russians using an improvement in conditions for further offensives, ukraine wants these tanks as soon as possible. the kremlin reacted this morning saying it viewed any tank deliveries as "direct involvement in the conflict". and on russian tv last night,

the leopard tanks were dismissed as toothless while some channels highlighted germany's role in particular, drawing parallels with world war ii. joining me now is francis scarr from bbc monitoring. tell us first and more about the russian television reaction. me tell us first and more about the russian television reaction. we have seen plenty — russian television reaction. we have seen plenty of _ russian television reaction. we have seen plenty of really _ russian television reaction. we have seen plenty of really quite _ seen plenty of really quite aggressive rhetoric coming from russian tv. they are stressing that now the west is to be considered a direct participant in this conflict and wallet tv host, a very prominent figure in the kremlin immediate machine, called the director strikes on german territory the other night. he also drew parallels with the second world war. this has been something picked up across russian tv, trying to invoke this sense of victimhood that russians have from the second world war. they are referring to the german government

as nazis. they have referred to the german authorities as the fourth right. german authorities as the fourth riuht. ~ . german authorities as the fourth riht_~ ., ., german authorities as the fourth rirht.~ . �*, right. what about the kremlin's reaction? they _ right. what about the kremlin's reaction? they have _ right. what about the kremlin's reaction? they have sought - right. what about the kremlin's reaction? they have sought to l reaction? they have sought to downla reaction? they have sought to downplay this. _ reaction? they have sought to downplay this, they _ reaction? they have sought to downplay this, they are - reaction? they have sought to j downplay this, they are saying reaction? they have sought to - downplay this, they are saying west is becoming a direct participant in the conflict but also said these tanks will not help ukraine and the idea that they will is absurd. president putin's spokesperson said that they would simply burn on the battlefield. ~ . , that they would simply burn on the battlefield. ~ ., , , ., , ., battlefield. military bloggers have been uuite battlefield. military bloggers have been quite active _ battlefield. military bloggers have been quite active throughout, - battlefield. military bloggers have l been quite active throughout, what have they been saying?— been quite active throughout, what have they been saying? you're right, these are people _ have they been saying? you're right, these are people who _ have they been saying? you're right, these are people who have _ have they been saying? you're right, these are people who have garnered| these are people who have garnered this huge following on social media throughout the war, some ion respondents others with that links to the russian military and they are on the side of the kremlin saying these are not being delivered in the kind of numbers that will help ukraine, they are pointing to the fact ukraine is asked for far more that has been praised by the west and they said that the whole logistical system that the ukrainian

army houses go towards old soviet models and even if they do learn to use them, the repair vehicles and the pontoon bridges for going over rivers for example are geared towards the old system rather than new ones. dr patrick bury is a defence and security expert at the university of bath and former nato analyst — he expects the tanks to be in use by the end of march. i think essentially you are going to see a lot of people moving quite quickly now to train up. the leopard apparently, and i don't have personal experience of this, is one of the simpler tanks to train up on and the abrams is a bit more complex, for example. the challenger is probably in the middle of those. most of the ukrainian tanks use just three crew members, in fact nearly all of them, as far as i'm aware, whereas all these tanks need four,

so there is a new person that needs to be trained up even if they are already trained. i would have thought around the end of march you might start to see them coming into the battlefield. you don't want to commit these generally piecemeal. you usually kind of commit them as either a formation of 14, that will probably be the way they are deployed, so you will wait until you have got enough mass and then send it off, and you'll probably even keep a squadron of 14 tanks, so you keep a few squadrons together, that's where they start to have an effect, it's the cumulative effect. ijust want i just want to say sorry if any of you were offended by the language used just a moment ago when he was talking about the way the ukrainian situation is being reported in russia. we apologise. thousands of nhs physiotherapists in england are on strike today, in an on—going dispute about health service pay. more than 4,000 physiotherapists from 30 nhs trusts are supporting the 24—hour strike. physiotherapists in wales are due to walk out next month. our health correspondent,

dominic hughes, reports. becky has worked as a physiotherapist for 30 years. like her colleagues, treating patients, notjust with sports injuries or back pain, but in intensive care units, a&e departments and post—operation rehab. but now, she says, many are burnt out. and that's why they've taken the big step of going on strike. because of the cost of living, they have to work extra shifts to manage their finances. and that causes, obviously, added burn—out to already busy days. and also, the nhs does run on goodwill, and the amount of physios and other nhs professionals that do... ..do overtime without actually getting paid for it as well. and i think that's another reason that people's goodwill has actually run out now. this is the first time members of the chartered society of physiotherapy have gone on strike. the action covers around 4200 staff,

although not all of them will be on shift today. and it involves 30 nhs trusts in england, roughly one in seven. next month will see two more days of strike action in trusts and health boards in both england and wales. those involved in talks with the government say the strike is the result of a crisis that has been a decade in the making. this is about making sure that physiotherapists, physio support workers and other nhs staff, can meet the health needs of the uk population, at a time when we know you only need to turn on the television to see what's happening in emergency departments and outside them. and waiting lists are getting longer and longer for the treatment that people so desperately need. the physiotherapists are just the latest group to go on strike. recent weeks have seen industrial action by nurses, ambulance staff and other health workers. like other strikes, the most urgent, life threatening cases will be covered. but some patients will face cancelled appointments. so far, there is little sign of an end to this

long—running dispute. unions are determined to pursue a pay deal they say reflects the cost of living crisis. ministers argue they simply can't afford to pay them what they want. dominic hughes, bbc news. in response to the strike, health and social care secretary steve barclay said.. "it is regrettable some union members are taking industrial action. i will continue meeting with unions to discuss what is fair and affordable." the number of new cars made in the uk fell sharply last year to its lowest level since 1956. a continuing global shortage in semiconductor chips has been affecting production. the society of motor manufacturers and traders says the uk doesn't have a strategy to make the country competitive as a destination

for investment. i'm joined now in the studio by mike hawes, chief executive of the society of motor manufacturers and traders. just explain a bit about what the issueis just explain a bit about what the issue is and where you think the strategy is lacking?— issue is and where you think the strategy is lacking? what we are seeinr strategy is lacking? what we are seeing globally _ strategy is lacking? what we are seeing globally is _ strategy is lacking? what we are seeing globally is increasing - strategy is lacking? what we are seeing globally is increasing the| seeing globally is increasing the sense of protectionism. in the us it has its inflation reduction act which is effectively to incentivise the production of electrified vehicles and the components of batteries into the us and that can investment towards it. the eu is considering its response and there is talk of them extending the liberalisation of state aid rules to facilitate that, so the question is what will the uk do? despite the figures, fundamentals the of the industry still remain strong, but you need a competitive framework to compete with that level of opportunity that is there elsewhere. what do you think the uk should do? i think we need to look at the cost base we have. we do not qualify as energy intensive industry. secondly, we need to transform the skilled workforce we have, so we need to invest in upscaling for electrified vehicles and also things like business rates at that act as a

disincentive for investment, but overall we need to put together a package which says we are open for business and will attract that investment.— business and will attract that investment. ., ., , ., business and will attract that investment. ., ., , . . investment. how do you explain what is auoin on investment. how do you explain what is going on with _ investment. how do you explain what is going on with commercial- is going on with commercial vehicles, because this is confusing? commercial vehicle production has gone up by 39.3% last year, which was the best annual performance since 2012. was the best annual performance since 2012— was the best annual performance since 2012. , ., ., since 2012. exactly, what you have seen a sum _ since 2012. exactly, what you have seen a sum investment _ since 2012. exactly, what you have seen a sum investment by - since 2012. exactly, what you have seen a sum investment by a - since 2012. exactly, what you have| seen a sum investment by a couple since 2012. exactly, what you have i seen a sum investment by a couple of years ago are beginning to bear fruit and certainly we hope to see both car production and a cb production growth and we may look a bit counter cyclical in that regard but this is a bad supply especially of components. they have been able to get the components for those vehicles which has relieved some of the pressure. —— this is about supply. the pressure. -- this is about su -l . ., the pressure. -- this is about su .l _ ., ., , the pressure. -- this is about su--l. ., .,, ., the pressure. -- this is about su--l. ., ., , ., ., ., supply. how does that feed into what ou're supply. how does that feed into what you're talking — supply. how does that feed into what you're talking about _ supply. how does that feed into what you're talking about earlier? - supply. how does that feed into what you're talking about earlier? the - you're talking about earlier? the issues we have _ you're talking about earlier? tt2 issues we have been facing you're talking about earlier? "tt2 issues we have been facing are you're talking about earlier? tt2 issues we have been facing are a combination of a global issues, especially semiconductors, and in

terms of domestic issues where we have seen the closure of a couple of plants, one that temporarily add one permit which has driven down the figures. we need to attract investment to grow again and we need to compete. haifa investment to grow again and we need to com ete. ., ., ., ,., to compete. how worried are you about the future _ to compete. how worried are you about the future of _ to compete. how worried are you about the future of the _ to compete. how worried are you about the future of the industry? | about the future of the industry? there is some concern. we need critical mass that allows you to support the supply chain. that you need a competitive environment and we need to attract battery manufacturer to sport both those sectors. ts manufacturer to sport both those sectors. . manufacturer to sport both those sectors. , . ., . ., . sectors. is the commercial vehicle production — sectors. is the commercial vehicle production counterbalancing - sectors. is the commercial vehicle | production counterbalancing pretty well domestic? looking at the output of overseas markets went up 63.4%. suddenly very welcome but does not compensate. cb production last year was around 100,000 car production and we need both to grow but it is

the scale of car production, the volume that helps sustain a supply chain and give you that base from which you can grow.— chain and give you that base from which you can grow. thank you very much. more than 25,000 healthcare staff in northern ireland are taking part in a 24—hour strike, in a dispute over pay and staffing levels. some nurses, ambulance and hospital support staff from the unite, unison and nipsa unions are on picket lines, although emergency care will still be provided. they say they've been left with no alternative, and last walked out in december. workers were told they would get a £1,400 pay rise this year, but unions say that's not enough due to high inflation and the rising cost of living. at least four palestinians have been killed in an israeli military raid injenin in the occupied west bank, palestinians officials say. the israeli army has released few details, but israeli media say that it acted to foil "a major attack" by militants. the israeli military earlier confirmed that an operation was under way injenin and the palestinian armed groups,

hamas and islamicjihad, said they were fighting israeli troops there. the supreme court will rule on a landmark case later, which could help protect tenants from so—called "ghost landlords". housing campaigners want a legal definition on who is responsible for property repairs, in cases where the owner of the building is different from the tenant's immediate landlord. jim connolly has been to meetjess, who struggled to work out who was liable when her flat needed urgent work. which one was it? just this one here. it was in a general state of disrepair. the shared bathroom was giving off electric shocks. and we didn't have a fire door either. it did end up being quite unpleasant. you can see it flowing out. that is the water. but poor living conditions were just the start of it. when jess complained to who she thought was her landlord, things got complicated. the owner of the property wasn't the person who let it out to her. it made it impossible forjess to get anyone to take responsibility. even when things did get fixed,

jess says it took a long time. it felt like we were chasing a ghost. any works that needed doing, it was all through text, so there was no peace of mind. you don't know who you are going to. at the time, it was a lot. jess moved out two years ago and even took her landlord to a tribunal. it ruled they should pay back her rent but she hasn't had a penny. the owner of the property told us she doesn't manage it and is appealing the basis for the tribunal�*s findings. the person who rented the flat tojess did not respond to our requests for a comment. this is all connected to something called rent to rent. it is where a person or a company offers a landlord a fixed rental income for the whole property while managing and maintaining it. to make a profit, they then divide it up and let the place out on a room by room basis. often splitting larger rooms and living rooms to make more money. rent to rent is not illegal and it can work well for some property owners.

but campaigners worry it is open to exploitation. so, currently, the way the law works is that a tenant can only take action against their immediate landlord. and what that does is it creates a real blueprint for property owners to put a sham company on the tenancy agreement, to simply crowd as many tenants in as possible, ignore fire safety features. and it is a question of when, not if there will be a number of people dying in one of these death trap properties. this has created a big legal question. who is a landlord? is it the person someone signs their contract with? or is it the property's owner? the supreme court is about to make a decision on a case which could have a big impact on who people can take legal action against. those representing landlords in the court have concerns, too. of course, landlords should be responsible for who they let to, but there are simply things they can't control. if someone has taken a property and lied to them, what would you expect them to do? it is not possible for them to stop that. it is difficult, though, because both parties are victims. butjust because both parties are victims, that doesn't mean that landlords

should be held responsible for that. the court will give clarity on who legally is a landlord but for people like jess, all they want is for someone to take responsibility. it could look like any other rental situation from the eyes of someone who doesn't have the knowledge of what is going on. are they who they say they are? is it their place? jim connolly, bbc news. joining me now is ben beadle, ceo of the national residential landlords association. how many people out there who do not know who their landlords are? this is a small part _ know who their landlords are? this is a small part of _ know who their landlords are? tt 3 is a small part of the market. we estimate less than 10% of the market but it is growing. still estimate less than 1096 of the market but it is growing-— but it is growing. still quite big. it is ve but it is growing. still quite big. it is very large _ but it is growing. still quite big. it is very large and _ but it is growing. still quite big. it is very large and it _ but it is growing. still quite big. it is very large and it is - but it is growing. still quite big. it is very large and it is growing | it is very large and it is growing attraction. the thing we want to see here is absolute clarity and my colleague david smith is absolutely right that previous piece at which as we see there are two victims her, the landlord has entered into an arrangement with a renter to rent

provider because they want someone to take care of all of those things for them. to take care of all of those things forthem. however, it has to take care of all of those things for them. however, it has not happened in this case so both at the landlord and tenant are suffering as a result. flan landlord and tenant are suffering as a result. ., , ., , , ., ., a result. can you 'ust explain how it is that you — a result. can youjust explain how it is that you think _ a result. can youjust explain how it is that you think the _ a result. can youjust explain how it is that you think the landlord i a result. can youjust explain how it is that you think the landlord is | it is that you think the landlord is the victim as well? the it is that you think the landlord is the victim as well?— it is that you think the landlord is the victim as well? the landlord has made a conscious _ the victim as well? the landlord has made a conscious decision - the victim as well? the landlord has made a conscious decision to - the victim as well? the landlord has made a conscious decision to enterl made a conscious decision to enter into an arrangement with a rent to rent provider who will take care of paying the rent, who will take care of executing all of those repairs, thatis of executing all of those repairs, that is the arrangement they enter into. in this case, it has not worked very well. it worked well in a large number of cases, it has not worked well in this instance, said the landlord has been let down by the landlord has been let down by the rent to rent provider and will possibly face a penalty as a result and as have the tenants. it is a no win situation for anybody.- and as have the tenants. it is a no win situation for anybody. when the su - reme win situation for anybody. when the supreme court _ win situation for anybody. when the supreme court makes _ win situation for anybody. when the supreme court makes its _ win situation for anybody. when the supreme court makes its ruling - win situation for anybody. when the supreme court makes its ruling and| supreme court makes its ruling and there is clarity on who is designated as the responsibility,

what impact could that have on these agreements? to what impact could that have on these agreements?— agreements? to get a big impact on the concern — agreements? to get a big impact on the concern we _ agreements? to get a big impact on the concern we have _ agreements? to get a big impact on the concern we have is _ agreements? to get a big impact on the concern we have is not - agreements? to get a big impact on the concern we have is not so - agreements? to get a big impact on the concern we have is not so much| the concern we have is not so much in this case, because this landlord made a conscious decision to go to a rent to rent provider, the issue is if you enter into a contract with a tenant who then does it illegally without permission to sublet to somebody else, the landlord may not know they are in this kind of arrangement and that has implications for licensing, because this is where it comes back to, one of the landlord should have applied for a license with the local authority given that the tenure. they did not and that is why around repayment order is being sought and so our argument here is actually, yes you have two types of rent to rent, people who set out willingly to enter into that arrangement and then you have things that happen that a landlord may not be aware of and i'm worried in that situation but the landlord will get absolutely clobbered through no fault of their own. ., ,., , clobbered through no fault of their own. ., , , ,

clobbered through no fault of their own. ., , ,, ., '::f own. you said it is less than 1096, i'm own. you said it is less than 1096, im assuming _ own. you said it is less than 1096, im assuming it — own. you said it is less than 1096, i'm assuming it is _ own. you said it is less than 1096, i'm assuming it is almost - own. you said it is less than 1096, i'm assuming it is almost 1096 - own. you said it is less than 1096, | i'm assuming it is almost 1096 and i'm assuming it is almost 10% and growing. why is that this trend? abs, growing. why is that this trend? few reasons. firstly, i understand this at landlords was overseas and so there is a great deal of attraction of passing it to a provider who can take care of everything for you in terms of rent collection, maintenance of the property and so forth. that will be an attraction for some people. firstly, i would prefer to deal with my talents directly so i know what is going on, but it is important that this issue is clarified and that this issue is clarified and thatis that this issue is clarified and that is what this supreme court aims to do. . ~ that is what this supreme court aims to do. . ,, ,., that is what this supreme court aims to do. . ~' , that is what this supreme court aims todo. . , . meta is to reinstate the facebook and instagram accounts of former us president donald trump. he was suspended two years ago over posts praising people who stormed congress in an attempt to overturn his election defeat. our north america correspondent peter bowes has more details.

the attack on congress, when supporters of donald trump tried to stop the certification ofjoe biden's election victory. while it was going on, the then president posted a video on facebook and instagram, expressing his support for the rioters, and then in another post, he repeated false claims about fraudulent voting during the 2020 election. initially, he was banned from the platforms indefinitely. facebook later said it would review its decision after two years. if i run and if i win, we will treat those people from january 6th fairly. ever since donald trump announced he was running for the white house again, there has been growing pressure on meta from the former president's supporters to reinstate the facebook and instagram accounts, where he had more than 50 million followers. meta's nick clegg said a review had found that mr trump's accounts no longer represented a serious risk to public safety, and that he would be allowed to return in the coming weeks. "we put new guardrails in place to deter repeat offences. the public should be able to hear what politicians are saying so they can make informed choices."

the former president's response was typically bullish. "facebook, which has lost billions of dollars in value since deplatforming your favourite president — me — hasjust announced that they are reinstating my account. such a thing should never again happen to a sitting president or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution." what this means is that by giving donald trump access to the largest social media platform in the world, he has the most access that he has had since before january 6th for calls to action. and this isjust simply a risky move. but will donald trump actually return to facebook or instagram? even though he has been allowed back on twitter by elon musk, the former president hasn't posted anything there, yet. in the coming months, the race to become the republican nominee to fight the 2024 election will intensify.

and given the reach and power of meta's social networks, the platforms could prove irresistible. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. a man has been charged in connection to assaulting former health secretary matt hancock on the london underground. footage posted online appears to show a man shouting at mr hancock and following him on to a train. a man from from leyland in the north—west of england has been charged with common assault and two public order offences. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. for most of us today it is going to be drier and also sunnier than it was yesterday. what we have is this brisk northerly wind coming in from the north sea, so it is almost going to feel cooler along the north sea coastline, but it is bringing in a bit more cloud at times and some showers and some of those showers are drifting inland, so the best of the sunshine is out towards the west. temperatures today — four to about 8 or 9 degrees. through this evening and overnight,

many of the showers will fade. we will have clearer skies, we could see some patchy mist form for the west midlands, parts of north—west england, northern ireland and south—west scotland and by the end of the night, we will have a new weatherfront coming in, bringing some cloud and patchy light rain and drizzle. also looking at a widespread frost. so, a cold start to the day tomorrow. the mist and fog lifting quite rapidly. a lot of dry weather, some sunshine. the odd shower perhaps in the midlands and the south—west and here's our weather front, not bringing much more than cloud and light rain or drizzle.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines. germany confirms they will deliver leopard 2 tanks to ukraine on wednesday, as russia carries out fresh drone and missile attacks on kyiv. the number of new cars made in the uk falls to its lowest level since 1956 due to a global shortage of parts. nhs physiotherapists in england go on strike for the first time — they're the latest to join action over pay in the health service. a new campaign launches today calling for more organ donors of black and asian heritage to help those waiting for life saving transplants. bbc radio 1xtra's dj

ace will have more. sport and a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. let's start with the australian open — novak djokovic thrashed andrey rublev in straight sets yesterday to get to the semifinals — but today all the talk is about his dad. it's after srdjan was filmed posing for photos with vladimir putin supporters. our tennis correspondent russell fuller has more: he is seen with a man with a russian flag, wearing a t—shirt with pro—war said symbol. these symbols have been band since the opening day of the tournament. it was quite a lively protest for a while last night. tennis australia has issued a statement which says players and

their teams have been reminded of their teams have been reminded of the policy regarding flags and symbols and to avoid any situation that has potential to disrupt, they add a small number of people were evicted from the ground last night. far from evicted from the ground last night. farfrom idealfor novak evicted from the ground last night. far from ideal for novak djokovic. it was 12 months ago that he was the port heard from the tournament. on the court, wimbledon champion elena rybakina has reached the women's final, after beating victoria azarenka in straight sets. it was dominant display from rybakina, who's through to only her second grand slam final, against a player who's won this title twice. she'll face either aryna sabalenka or magda linette for the title. and britain's alfie hewett is through to two wheelchair finals in melbourne — he is of course the world number one in singles —

and is through to his 3rd successive final after beating japan's takuya miki, and along with fellow briton gordon reid, he then beat a japanese pair, as they chase a fourth successive doubles title in melbourne. england captain ben stokes has been named the icc test cricketer of the year, after transforming the side's fortunes with an attacking approach. before he took over, england had won just one test in 17 matches but he was victorious in nine of his first 10 tests in charge. he was also named in the men's test team of the year, alongside jonny bairstow and james anderson. the icc said he "defined the year of test cricket" more "than any other player. england vice captain nat sciver was named women's cricketer of the year, as well as one—day international women's cricketer of the year. she scored over 1300 runs and took 22 wickets over the season. after taking a break, she returned to the side in england's clean sweep over west indies in december. the icc described her

as "as one of the most "pleasing batters to watch". staying with cricket — fast bowlerjofra archer, was one of the stars of england's 2019 cricket world cup victory, on home soil, but he's had such bad luck with injuries, since his last test match nearly two years ago. he's now back in the england squad, for the one—day series with south africa, which starts tomorrow, and he still has hopes of a place in england's ashes squad this summer. it is very exciting. but i need to spend the next two, three, four months making sure that my body regains more resilience. i want to play in the ashes. that's all the sport for now. now back to the war in ukraine where russia has hit back at ukraine

with a wave of missiles — the day after two western countries confirmed they would send tanks to help kyiv�*s forces repel the russian invasion. this is footage from the ukrainian capital this morning where people are taking cover in the metro network. one person has been reported killed and two injured as around 30 missiles were fired at targets across the country. in his nightly address, president zelensky thanked germany and the us for agreeing to send tanks, but said his country now needs more artillery and military aircraft. i'm joined now by denys ganzha, ukrainian youth delegate to the united nations. where are you? what is the situation? it is hard to say good morning. russia has been sending drones against ukraine. right now we are sitting in more peaceful kyiv with no air strikes.

more than 47 rockets were hit in the morning out of 57 russian lodge, in kyiv there was one explosion which killed one person, and two confirmed wounded. also russian target on energy and infrastructure, which means they're still seeking to have ukraine without heating, without water. how do you feel about this situation that you are living through? even though constant stress of 11 months is hard for any human being, you just don't know what is good, what is bad. there is bad news only every day. you already forget what was there one week ago. the id, you arejust focusing on was there one week ago. the id, you are just focusing on what you are doing right now, what will be in the next several hours, and of course you are praying that all your friends and family are safe, not only them, but also all ukrainians

will be safe. how do you respond to the news of the tanks? it took awhile for that agreement to come that the tax would be coming? there has been so much solidarity militarily, but it has taken some time to make that agreement. and volodymyr zelensky says other staff as air defences, more artillery, but in terms of the solidarity that has been shown in what has been delivered, how do you see things? t what has been delivered, how do you see thins? ~' ., ., see things? i like what former prime minister of united _ see things? i like what former prime minister of united kingdom - see things? i like what former prime minister of united kingdom boris - minister of united kingdom boris johnson said in his recent article, what the hell are they waiting for? russia is changing their tactics. they are preparing a new massive counter offensive. ukraine has lost a lot of artillery, a lot of tanks, a lot of artillery, a lot of tanks, a lot of people in this war. we need more. we can only win russia when we

deliver quality, not quantity. by sending tanks the west finally shows that you are here with us, but be sure this is not the last thing we are asking for, because the only way that peace can be achieved is by weapons. what is your situation? have you had to fight? brute what is your situation? have you had to fiuht? ~ . what is your situation? have you had to fiuht? 2 ., ., to fight? we have to fight? fortunately _ to fight? we have to fight? fortunately i _ to fight? we have to fight? fortunately i am _ to fight? we have to fight? fortunately i am not - to fight? we have to fight? fortunately i am not in - to fight? we have to fight? fortunately i am not in the| to fight? we have to fight? - fortunately i am not in the army right now. i have been working with the media close to the front lines and humanitarian support. but at some point we are preparing, we have in kyiv lots of schools of shooting, schools of preparation for the army, right now i see lots of my friends, they are preparing. we are ready at some point. of course we want this war to end as soon as possible. russia knows the way to end it, just to withdraw with troops from all the

territories of ukraine. but for now they are doing this, so please, please, do not stop supporting us, send more weapons, teach our soldiers as you are doing now, and keep talking about it, this is vital. thank you. labour's shadow home secretary said people who have committed crimes against women should not be housed amongst female prisoners. it comes after a transgender woman was convicted in glasgow of raping two women in attacks carried out before she changed gender. the scottish prison service said the decision on where transgender prisoners are housed is taken on a case—by—case basis after appropriate risk assessments. miss cooper said it was "possible to have a framework that both

"supports those who are vulnerable who are trans and also "makes sure there are protections for women." this dangerous rapist should not be in a women's prison. i think it should be really clear cut. if someone poses a danger to women, has committed crimes against women, they should not be being housed among women prisoners. i think that's just should be straightforward, and i think most people would agree with that. the equality act already provides for recognising that there is a difference between gender and whether, however, that's legally recognized and also biological sex and provides for there to be safe spaces for biological women and prisons is one of the cases that's been highlighted as part of that. so i think this has been something that's been a long, you know, had those arrangements in place in the law and it's right that there should be. it is possible to have a framework that both supports those who are vulnerable, who are trans, and also makes sure there are protections for women in these sorts of circumstances. a record number of people switched banks in the last three months of last year. cost of living increases are thought

to be behind it as cash incentives led almost 400,000 customers to move their current accounts. up to £200 was offered by some banks to those switching their custom. however that number still only represents a fraction of the millions of accounts used across the uk — so lots of people who could perhaps benefit from switching haven't done so. i'm joined now by andy webb, money expert at becleverwithyourcash.com. 200 quid up for grabs if someone wants to switch accounts? these volumes about the numbers, the bonus, it is higher than in the past, 100 quid was great, but people really are thinking they need to find extra cash right now if they can. something that they might have thought was too complicated, or they are too scared of doing it, they are looking closer, they are seeing higher amounts of cash, finding out that switching is pretty easy and pretty fast and there are protections if something does go wrong. and they arejumping on it.

it is great to see more people taking advantage of this. before we talk about how to do that, if people want to, what is in it for banks? why are they so keen? why this and the increasing amount of money on offer to get these accounts? a ccou nts ? if accounts? if they can get you as a customer they hope they are going to make money from you further down the line, may be a mortgage, credit card. in terms of the increased incentives, this is notjust out of the goodness of their own heart, it is coming from somewhere else. people who are probably worse off, they may be paying more on overdraft, 14% interest for example, they may be making money over there, passing it over here, hoping to make money. passing it over here, hoping to make mone . ., ., ., ., , passing it over here, hoping to make mone. ., ., ., .,, , money. you have got to be savvy if ou want money. you have got to be savvy if you want to — money. you have got to be savvy if you want to come _ money. you have got to be savvy if you want to come out _ money. you have got to be savvy if you want to come out on _ money. you have got to be savvy if you want to come out on top? - you want to come out on top? how easy is it to do? it is simple. you have to open up a new current account. you don't have to switch for the money, you can switch for another reason, better banking experience, for examples of open up the banking account, if that is

accepted, there will be a credit check, you have to be aware of that, particularly if you're thinking of doing more than one switch in a short space of time, which you can do. . . short space of time, which you can do. , ., ., , ., short space of time, which you can do. , . ., , ., , short space of time, which you can do. , ., ., , ., , ., do. explain that, when you see more than one? you _ do. explain that, when you see more than one? you have _ do. explain that, when you see more than one? you have to _ do. explain that, when you see more than one? you have to look- do. explain that, when you see more than one? you have to look at - do. explain that, when you see more than one? you have to look at the i than one? you have to look at the terms and — than one? you have to look at the terms and conditions _ than one? you have to look at the terms and conditions for - than one? you have to look at the terms and conditions for the - than one? you have to look at the | terms and conditions for the office. some of the might see have to wait for 90 days, some of them might be you get the money in a couple of weeks. if you want to, you can switch again. i have done it to 17 times in the last decade. eventually you run out of banks.— times in the last decade. eventually you run out of banks. then you start the cle you run out of banks. then you start the cycle again? _ you run out of banks. then you start the cycle again? will— you run out of banks. then you start the cycle again? will they _ you run out of banks. then you start the cycle again? will they not - you run out of banks. then you start the cycle again? will they not have i the cycle again? will they not have ou an the cycle again? will they not have you any more? _ the cycle again? will they not have you any more? some _ the cycle again? will they not have you any more? some of _ the cycle again? will they not have you any more? some of them - the cycle again? will they not have| you any more? some of them well. some of the banks are strict. they will see if you have been a customer in the partner had money in the past you cannot get it. others, they will let you do it, every couple of years they will change that threshold. it is a great way of doing it again and again. you don't even have to switch your main current account. you can have an additional current account. people don't always realise you have more than one current account. people are mean and if you like it, use that for everyday banking, open

up use that for everyday banking, open up a second account, switch that, onceit up a second account, switch that, once it goes through, it takes about seven working days for the switch to happen, may be longerfor the management to your account, there might be some terms you have to meet, such as paying some money in or have some direct debits payout. once that is done, you can switch it again if you want, and again. it won't be for everyone. it is certainly something you can do. i can't imagine... i know you say it is simple, but is still potential administrative headache. but you can get something out of it. also, if loads of people go for it, presumably then the backs. offering so much cash? ts presumably then the backs. offering so much cash?— so much cash? is there a finite amount of— so much cash? is there a finite amount of it? _ so much cash? is there a finite amount of it? the _ so much cash? is there a finite amount of it? the offers - so much cash? is there a finite amount of it? the offers come| so much cash? is there a finite - amount of it? the offers come and go. you will find when we talk about these numbers for the last quarter, there were a lot of offers from a lot of backs going on. at the last quarter, there were a lot of offers from a lot of backs going on. i three problems happening. only two of them launched in last couple weeks. they will come and go. these are the highest points that i've ever seen i wouldn't be surprised if they stay at that level for a while

because the other banks will want to match them and compete with them because he might be able to tempt someone away from that other back. thank you. the headlines on bbc news. germany confirms they will deliver leopard 2 tanks to ukraine on wednesday, as russia carries out fresh drone and missile attacks on kyiv. the number of new cars made in the uk falls to its lowest level since 1956 due to a global shortage of parts. nhs physiotherapists in england go on strike for the first time — they're the latest to join action over pay in the health service. a new report published by thejoseph rowntree foundation suggests that living standards in the uk are likely to have fallen since 2020/2021. the uk poverty report 2023 attributes this decline to the cost of living crisis— the russian invasion of ukraine and the lasting effects of the covid—19 pandemic. an estimate of 13.4 million people

in the uk were living in poverty now let's get more on this report from chris birt — he is the associate director at the joseph rowntree foundation. thank you forjoining us. that is a huge number of people that you describe is living in poverty. can you give us the comparison in terms of how much it has increased? there was a slight fall in poverty at the start of the pandemic because the government had put in extra money as a lifeline, but that is now gone, we are also seeing inflation feast on the inadequacy of our social security system. 7 million households in the uk today worrying about essentials such as food or

being able to properly heat their home. we see the cost of living crisis affecting people across the board. people having to make choices. but the ones that you are talking about are those who are really right at the bottom and are struggling. absolutely. one of the most shocking findings in this report is actually very deep poverty in the uk has risen over the last 20 years, and all governments, since the millennium, we have seen people at their sharpest age really suffering. that is playing out today. we have had a story this week in scotland about ambulance crews visiting people in their homes who are freezing, they are taking older people out of their homes, and putting them into hospital, because they are worried that they would not survive a night in very cold homes. in a country as wealthy as the uk, surely we can do better than that?

i mentioned the figures for child poverty, tell us more about that. yes. about 4 million children in the uk live in poverty. but1 million of those are under the age of four. children are coming into this world in our country in poverty. some of them in so—called persistent poverty which is when a family is suffering poverty for three of the last four years. we know that over the child's's life those experiences in very early years can have really negative effects. another thing our report shows is the crazy, wild differences and healthy life expectancy between people who live in our wealthiest communities versus those who live in our poorest communities. what we are doing principally at the moment by underfunding of social security system, is storing up issues, firstly and more importantly for the individuals involved, then also the

challenges that our public services face on a day—to—day basis. can you give us the figures on the differences in life expectancy at the top and bottom end of the scale? in england and wales it is between 13 years for men, and about 16 for women, in scotland it is eye watering, it is almost 25 years difference in healthy life expectancy over a generation of good quality life taken away from people. and we see that playing out in the labour market. we see more people unable to work due to long—term illness, some of that will be because of disease mat, but we also know that covid was more likely to impact on a serious fashion if you are in a more deprived community. these figures should give us pause, and make us think we need to do better than this. most importantly

for the individuals involved, but also for our overall health as a society. thank you. following his kidney failure diagnosis in 2018 dj ace from bbc radio 1xtra, was warned it could take up to six years to find a suitable donor because of his ethnicity. in 2021, he was successfully matched with his donor, naomi, and has now set up a campaign to help others who are waiting for life—saving transplants. it comes after the nhs recently called for more organ donors of black and asian heritage. graham satchell has more. this is radio 1xtra's dj ace. yes, yes, what's going on? it's your boy ace, heavyweight champion of radio, mr 10k! and we are in the building all of the way until one o'clock. ace was told in 2018 that one of his kidneys had stopped working. to hear i had kidney or renal failure was quite shocking. and all i wanted to know

is like, how do i stop it, how do i reverse it? and to hear that the only solution was a kidney transplant was, yeah, quite harrowing. there's black people that don't need to be sitting in dialysis beds. a new social media campaign starts today, called we for us uk. the long and short of it is that i need a kidney. but then you're still at a disadvantage because there aren't enough kidneys to match people of colour. it tells the stories of black and minority ethnic people waiting for a kidney transplant. and they said, "yeah, you know, . you're going to need a transplant." i remember i was sitting i there with like my crunchy nut cornflakes and they were just like, "yeah, no, - "it's not good news." ace is on his way to a dialysis unit, part of the royal free hospital in london. how are you finding dialysis? for me, the first two years were difficult, but the last year for me, year number three was the hardest. tiring. very frustrating,

but i want to do it. most kidney patients will have dialysis three times a week. each session can take four orfive hours. it can be a debilitating process. at the beginning it was very, very worrying and quite stressful, if i'm honest. it really took a toll on my mental health and how i felt about myself and my situation. year three, i think, was the most difficult for me. ace began to realise there were more black and asian people in the dialysis unit than white people, and that they stayed longer. i would go to dialysis and me and three other asian people would sit in one section, and we werejust looking at each other for months and months on end, and our white counterparts would come in, they'd be there for like two or three months and they'd be in and out. my youngest is nine years old, my youngest child, . and i want be knocking _ about with her for the longest time. it was frustrating. i was like, why is this happening? why are we sitting here looking at each other, when other people

that obviously don't have the same skin complexion or are not from our background, are able to just come in, have the treatment for three or four months, and then get that transplant and go? how do we get people - from ethnic minorities — yes? — to have more living kidney transplants? i ace is meeting kirit modi from thejain and hindu organ donation alliance. why are the black and asian community so bad at talking about donation? and why is it such a taboo subject within our community? if you look at all the reasons, - the main barrier is that there isn't enough discussion and - awareness about this issue. my experience is that the vast majority of people, _ after having engaged . in those conversations, will support organ donation. the conversations that we need to have are around why there's this stigma about organ donation within our community. it could be religious, it could be just a lack of trust or old wives' tales.

but no one should be listening to information or old urban myths from years ago. we shouldn't be using really rubbish excuses for not helping out people that look like us, that are waiting for organs. ace and his match, who was found, who is naomi, are both here now. a very good morning to you both. good morning. after waiting more than three years, ace received a new kidney from a live donor, naomi. they appeared together on bbc breakfast last year. very, very good, yeah. i know what i've done, _ and i understand the benefits of it. that's why i've done it. and i'm just grateful that we're both really healthy and well. i she's amazing. that's my twin. we talk all the time. i love her with all my heart. she's giving me a second chance to do things that i wasn't able to do before. she's released me from the shackles of dialysis. she's an amazing person. i can't put into words... ..the way i feel

about my donor's family. the we 4 us campaign puts names and faces to people waiting for a transplant, and those who've had treatment. i cannot thank them enough for giving me a second chance at life. this is about us, we helping us, and i'd love everybody to go on there and check out some of the faces and the people that you could be helping if you just did a little bit more in regards to organ donation. building a snowman when the cold weather arrives sculptor pippa unwin has decided to swap stone for snow as she joins the british team, hoping for gold in colorado. emma ruminski has been to meet her. the standard is high.

this is what the teams are aiming to create in just five days. some of last year's entries seems to defy gravity. but how do you practise if you live in kingsbridge and don't have any snow? well, all four of us are stone carvers, so it's much the same principle. we are taking away from the block. it's basically the same process, butjust on a much bigger scale and with modified garden tools. but it's really exciting. compared with some of the others, we are rank amateurs because we have nowhere to practise at home. pippa is best known for her work in stone. five years ago, i filmed with her at an exhibition at delamore. but it is her work with the gb snow carving team which is winning awards. they have brought home silver and bronze with their past entries. this year, they are chasing gold. this is our maquette, it's a little model

of a crocodile and an alligator greeting each other at a club. so they're lounge lizards — one's got a cocktail and the other has got a cigar. it's about —4, —5 at present so it's absolutely fine. we keep busy, we are very active. the problem is the altitude, we are about 10,000 feet now. so we work slowly and methodically. if you work too fast, you get out of breath. teams with a lack of snow might be at a disadvantage, so what are team gb's chances? you can definitely win this competition if you do not come from a snowy climate. it's really all about artistic skills and what kind of sculptor you are and working with the medium and different kinds of mediums. so i would say the chances are good, any of these teams here today could take home the gold. the 12 international teams have 94 hours to turn their 25 tonnes of snow into a sculpture. some work through the night in gruelling temperatures to finish in time. we should know if the british team have made a podium place on friday. emma ruminski, bbc news.

now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. today's weather is much brighter and sunnier for most of us the best of the sunshine is towards the west. the evening and overnight many showers will fade. patchy miss good form. a new weather front by the end of the night. mist and fog lifting rapidly tomorrow. a lot of dry weather. here is a weather front. not bringing much more than

cloud and light rain or drizzle.

this is bbc news. the headlines: ukraine comes under attack from russian drones and missiles, a day after germany and the us agreed to supply it with battle tanks. the number of new cars made in the uk falls to its lowest level since 1956 due to a global shortage of parts. nhs physiotherapists in england go on strike for the first time — more than 4,000 physios have joined action over pay in the health service. donald trump is to be allowed back on facebook and instagram after a two—year ban following the us capital riots. the legal definition of a landlord is up for debate in the supreme court today, in a bid to protect tenants in some of england's worst rental properties. a new campaign launches today calling for more organ donors of black and asian heritage to help those waiting for life—saving transplants.

bbc radio 1extra's dj ace will have more. russia has hit back at ukraine with a wave of missiles, the day after two western countries confirmed they would send tanks to help kyiv�*s forces repel the russian invasion. these are pictures from the ukrainian capital this morning where people are taking cover in the metro network. one person has been reported killed and two injured as around 30 missiles were fired at targets across the country. in his nightly address, president zelensky thanked germany and the us for agreeing to send tanks, but said his country now needs more artillery and military aircraft. robin brant reports. for months, he's campaigned

for these, in public and intensely behind the scenes, diplomatically. now, ukraine's leader is going to get this powerful, reliable, and potentially transformative bit of kit. translation: the key now is speed and volume. i the speed of training our military, the speed of supplying tanks to ukraine, the volume of tank support. we have to form a fist of tanks, a fist of freedom, after which tyranny will not rise again. we can do it together. on social media, he'd already thanked germany for what he called these important and timely decisions. but it took a long time. germany's leader, olaf scholz, has long been hesitant. he's balancing between a reliance on russia for his country's energy needs, with pressure from within, and neighbouring countries, to give ukraine the boost it needs. in the end, it was likely this helped.

president biden announced that the us will also send tanks. putin expected europe and the united states to weaken our resolve. he expected our support for ukraine to crumble with time. he was wrong. his key aim — to keep ukraine well stocked, but also nato and the west united against russian aggression. this war is evolving and nato allies have constantly assessed what type of support they should provide. president putin made a big mistake when he invaded ukraine, because he totally underestimated the ukrainians. but he also made a big mistake because, of course, he totally underestimated nato and nato allies and our unity, our resolve, to stand by ukraine, to support ukraine with an unprecedented level of military support. but despite enduring almost a year of this, the kit deemed so essential to helping ukraine isn't going to arrive quickly. soldiers need to be trained in how to use those german—made tanks,

and there are reports the us hardware could take a year to come. with the tanks promised, ukraine's leader is already talking about what he needs next. translation: we also have to open up the supply of long range _ missiles for ukraine. it's important that we expand our cooperation in artillery and the supply of aircraft for ukraine. this is a dream, and this is a task, an important task, for all of us. this war, almost a year old now, is escalating. more countries are giving more kit to ukraine, as it tries to turn the tide against russia. robin brant, bbc news. nato secretary generaljens stoltenberg has been speaking to radio 4's today programme. battle tanks are going to make a big difference and therefore i welcome the announcement also by the united kingdom several days ago to deliver main nato standard battle tanks to ukraine.

this will help them to repel russian offensives. we all know that russia is planning new offensives. but it will also help them to be able to retake territory, to liberate more ukrainian lands and to win this war and to prevail as a sovereign independent nation. the ukrainians have identified the number of 300 as the one that would really enable them to make a real difference. are you urging nato member countries to deliver as close to that number as possible? i am urging nato allies to deliver main battle tanks and therefore i welcome the announcements from several allies over the last days to do exactly that. and of course, it is urgent to deliver as many as possible and i know allies are looking into this. but this is not only about delivering battle tanks, it's also about training the crew, providing ammunition

and spare parts, maintenance, the whole logistical support that they need. but again, battle tanks is only one part of the total picture. last week in ramstein, several nato allies announced hundreds of new armoured vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles, so it is this totality that is really making that big difference. our correspondentjames waterhouse is in kyiv. what is the latest? president zelensky has _ what is the latest? president zelensky has called _ what is the latest? president zelensky has called this i zelensky has called this intervention timely, but what has coincided with these promises from a notably the us and germany are another wave of missile and drone strikes across ukraine this morning in the small hours. the authorities are saying that they intercepted a number of drones launched and

earlier this morning we had to go underground, we were told there were 30 missiles in the air and the way ukraine has weaker defences work is that when a missile is launched, either by sea, air or land, the ukrainian regions in that flight path activate their sirens, so it is not always clear where that missile will impact, if it is not intercepted, but we were told this morning by the authorities not to ignore the warnings. you can see why, we usually measure these attacks by how long we spend underground and it was clear this was another sustained attack. no doubt in response to the significant developments in terms of military support for ukraine, but also this is a continuation of russia's tactic of trying to deprive ukrainians of water, power, to try and lessen that their appetite for this war.— their appetite for this war. already volod m r their appetite for this war. already volodymyr zelensky _ their appetite for this war. already volodymyr zelensky has _

their appetite for this war. already volodymyr zelensky has said i their appetite for this war. already| volodymyr zelensky has said thank you for the tanks but it is also time now offer more artillery and military aircraft. what is the issue around military aircraft, because thatis around military aircraft, because that is something that has been discussed many times since the start of the war? t discussed many times since the start of the war? ~ . discussed many times since the start of the war? ~ , of the war? i think this could well be the next _ of the war? i think this could well be the next marker— of the war? i think this could well be the next marker for— of the war? i think this could well be the next marker for what i of the war? i think this could well i be the next marker for what ukraine is going to try and ask for. we have seen western allies, after initial hesitation each time, go from supplying military hospitals for example through to long—range missiles and now battle tanks and you can be sure they will set its eyes on fighterjets. we have already had some western allies rule that out but we know that can change. what is interesting about ukraine's airspace in this war is that neither side, unlike other recent conflicts, has been able to establish air dominance, superiority, which is often pivotal in terms of the tide of the conflict. ukraine has very much been the underdog in every aspect of this

war and in the underdog in every aspect of this warand in terms the underdog in every aspect of this war and in terms of the fighting in the air, it is no different, but it is about using these different pieces of hardware in unison for ukraine, so the hopers it could use a fighterjets along with battle tanks and infantry to try and break the deadlock in the east and to try for ukraine to achieve its ultimate goal with repelling russia completely, but you have heard the tabloids are discussed, months may be longer, this is a war where all signs are pointing to a long and drawn—out conflict. signs are pointing to a long and drawn-out conflict.— the number of new cars made in the uk fell sharply last year to its lowest level since 1956. a continuing global shortage in semiconductor chips has been affecting production. the society of motor manufacturers and traders says the uk doesn't have a strategy to make the country competitive as a destination for investment. earlier, the chief executive of the society of motor manufacturers and traders, mike hawes, told us more.

well, what we are seeing globally is increasing sense of protectionism. in the us it has its inflation reduction act which is effectively going to incentivise both the production of electrified vehicles and the components and batteries into the us and that can suck international investment towards it. the eu is considering its response and there is talk of them extending the liberalisation of state aid rules to facilitate that, so the question is what is the uk going to do? despite the figures, the fundamentals of the industry still remain strong, but you need a competitive framework to compete with that level of opportunity that is there elsewhere. so what do you think the uk should do? i think you need to look at the cost base that we have. energy costs, we do not qualify as an energy intensive industry. secondly, we need to transform the skilled workforce we have, so we need to invest in upskilling for electrified vehicles and also fiscal things like business rates. that actually acts as a disincentive for investment, but overall we need to put together a package that says we are open

for business and we're going to attract that investment. how do you explain what is going on with commercial vehicles, because this is confusing, because commercial vehicle production has gone up by 39.3% last year, which was the best annual performance since 2012? in ten years, exactly. what you have seen is there was some investment from a couple of years ago beginning to bearfruit and certainly we hope to see both car production and cv production grow this year and they both should, and we may look a bit counter—cyclical in that regard, because potentially uplifts of 15% likely, but this is about supply, especially of components. they have been able to get the components for those vehicles which has relieved some of the pressure. if it's components, then, how does that feed into what you were talking about earlier? becauses the issues we have been facing are a combination of international issues, global issues around supply shortages, especially semiconductors, and in terms of domestic issues where we have seen the closure of a couple

of plants, one temporarily and one permanent, which has driven down the figures. so what we need to do is now attract that investment to grow again and to do that we need to compete with the us and europe in particular. so how worried are you about the future of the industry? undoubtedly, there is some concern. we need to have that critical mass in terms of especially car production and van production, that allows you to support the supply chain. for that, you need to have a competitive environment and we need to attract battery manufacturing to support both those sectors. is the commercial vehicle production counterbalancing pretty well the domestic? because also looking at another stat, the output for overseas markets went up 63.4%. it's certainly very welcome but it does not compensate. cv production last year was about around 100,000 car production just under 800,000, we need both to grow

but it is the scale of car production, the volume that helps sustain a supply chain and gives you that base from which you can grow. a man has been charged in connection to assaulting former health secretary matt hancock on the london underground. footage posted online appears to show a man shouting at mr hancock and following him on to a train. a man from from leyland in the north—west of a man has been charged in connection to assaulting former england has been charged with common assault and two public order offences. palestinian officials say at least nine people have been killed in an israeli army raid on a refugee camp injenin in the occupied west bank. the israeli army has released few details, but israeli media say that it acted to foil "a major attack" by militants. the israeli military earlier confirmed that an operation was under way injenin and the palestinian armed groups, hamas and islamicjihad, said they were fighting israeli troops there. thank you for your company. in a

moment we will say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. you can always stay up—to—date with all of the very latest news online. hope you have a good afternoon, goodbye. more than 25,000 health care staff in northern ireland are taking part in a 24 hour strike, in a dispute over pay and staffing levels. some nurses, ambulance and hospital support staff from the unite, unison and nipsa unions are on picket lines, although emergency care will still be provided. they say they've been left with no alternative, and last walked out in december. workers were told they would get a £1,400 pay rise this year, but unions say that's not enough due to high inflation and the rising cost of living. thousands of nhs physiotherapists in england are on strike today, in an ongoing dispute about health service pay. more than 4,000 physiotherapists from 30 nhs trusts are supporting the 24—hour strike. physiotherapists in wales are due to walk out next month. our health correspondent

dominic hughes reports. becky has worked as a physiotherapist for 30 years. like her colleagues, treating patients, notjust with sports injuries or back pain, but in intensive care units, a&e departments and post—operation rehab. but now, she says, many are burnt out. and that's why they've taken the big step of going on strike. because of the cost of living, they have to work extra shifts to manage their finances. and that causes, obviously, added burn—out to already busy days. and also, the nhs does run on goodwill, and the amount of physios and other nhs professionals that do... ..do overtime without actually getting paid for it as well. and i think that's another reason that people's goodwill has actually run out now. this is the first time members of the chartered society of physiotherapy have gone on strike.

the action covers around 4,200 staff, although not all of them will be on shift today. and it involves 30 nhs trusts in england, roughly one in seven. next month will see two more days of strike action in trusts and health boards in both england and wales. those involved in talks with the government say the strike is the result of a crisis that has been a decade in the making. this is about making sure that physiotherapists, physio support workers and other nhs staff, can meet the health needs of the uk population, at a time when we know you only need to turn on the television to see what's happening in emergency departments and outside them. and waiting lists are getting longer and longer for the treatment that people so desperately need. the physiotherapists are just the latest group to go on strike. recent weeks have seen industrial action by nurses, ambulance staff and other health workers. like other strikes, the most urgent, life threatening cases will be covered. but some patients will face cancelled appointments.

so far, there is little sign of an end to this long—running dispute. unions are determined to pursue a pay deal they say reflects the cost of living crisis. ministers argue they simply can't afford to pay them what they want. dominic hughes, bbc news. in response to the strike, health and social care secretary steve barclay said, "it is regrettable some union members are taking industrial action. i will continue meeting with unions to discuss what is fair and affordable." lets me bring you breaking news, we are hearing a transgender woman convicted of rape will not be imprisoned in the all female prison in scotland. nicola sturgeon has just said that to the scottish parliament. there had been a huge amount of controversy around this this was a transgender woman found guilty of rape after a trial in a

glasgow. after the conviction it was understood she was being kept in segregation until sentencing at the end of february. she had only raised to gender identity issues after being charged with the attacks and had first appeared in court in 2019 as adam graham and both victims knew the attacker by that name. it is a case that has caused a lot of concern with opponents of the scottish government's gender recognition reforms, saying this case vindicates their concerns about a lack of safeguards in the bill. transgender woman isla bryson found guilty of raping two women before transitioning who had been remanded in a female prison described as

prosecutors by preying on vulnerable women is now not going to be imprisoned in that that's all female prison in scotland. that has been confirmed by first minister nicola sturgeon. let's start with the australian open — novak djokovic thrashed andrey rublev in straight sets yesterday to get to the semi—finals, but today all the talk is about his dad. it's after he was filmed posing for photos

with vladimir putin supporters. our tennis correspondent russell fuller has more. it was said a small group of people were evicted from the ground last night, so far from were evicted from the ground last night, so farfrom idealfur novak djokovic, and it was ten months ago when his son was deported on the eve of the tournament that he likened it to an assassination. on the court, wimbledon champion elena rybakina has reached the women's final, after beating victoria azarenka in straight sets. it was confident display from rybakina, who's through to only her second grand slam final, against a player who's won this title twice. it looks as though she'll face aryna sabalenka for the title — she's a set and 5—1 up against magda linette. and britain's alfie hewett is through to two wheelchair

finals in melbourne — he is of course the world number one in singles and is through to his third successive final after beating japan's takuya miki and along with fellow briton gordon reid, he then beat a japanese pair, as they chase a fourth successive doubles title in melbourne. england captain ben stokes has been named the icc test cricketer of the year, after transforming the side's fortunes with an attacking approach. before he took over, england had won just one test in 17 matches but he was victorious in nine of his first ten tests in charge. he was also named in the men's test team of the year, alongside jonny bairstow and james anderson. the icc said he "defined the year of test cricket" more than any other player. england vice captain nat sciver was named women's cricketer of the year, as well as one—day international women's cricketer of the year. she scored more than 1300 runs and took 22 wickets over the season. the icc described her as "as one of the most pleasing batters to watch". that's all the sport for now.

gym is being questioned by the public accounts committee said the former chancellor nadhim zahawi former chancellor nadhim za hawi continue former chancellor nadhim zahawi continue to face calls to explain why had to pay millions of pounds in back tax and define it last year. let's go to our correspondent. tell us what he said. this let's go to our correspondent. tell us what he said.— us what he said. this was interesting, _ us what he said. this was interesting, not - us what he said. this was i interesting, not any questions us what he said. this was _ interesting, not any questions about any specific case, not about nadhim zahawi's case, because hmrc cannot legally disclose any individuals' tax affairs, but what mps were trying to get out was a broader context and the key question in what they were talking about was that nadhim zahawi had said when he came out and told us he had had to pay back tax, that that had been declared to be careless, not

deliberate, by h so the question put to the head of hmrc by mps was what did he mean by callous. t’m to the head of hmrc by mps was what did he mean by callous.— did he mean by callous. i'm not commenting — did he mean by callous. i'm not commenting on _ did he mean by callous. i'm not commenting on any _ did he mean by callous. i'm not commenting on any one - did he mean by callous. i'm not i commenting on any one particular person's— commenting on any one particular person's refers a bit careless is a term _ person's refers a bit careless is a term in— person's refers a bit careless is a term in law _ person's refers a bit careless is a term in law. —— what did he mean by careless _ term in law. —— what did he mean by careless. there are no penalties for innocent _ careless. there are no penalties for innocent errors in your tax affairs, so if— innocent errors in your tax affairs, so if you _ innocent errors in your tax affairs, so if you take _ innocent errors in your tax affairs, so if you take reasonable care of it but nevertheless make a mistake, while _ but nevertheless make a mistake, while she — but nevertheless make a mistake, while she will be liable for the tax and in _ while she will be liable for the tax and in and — while she will be liable for the tax and in and interest, you not be liable _ and in and interest, you not be liable bul— and in and interest, you not be liable but in terms of carelessness

penalty _ liable but in terms of carelessness penalty could apply. we need to understand whether or not there is a penalty— understand whether or not there is a penalty due. 50 understand whether or not there is a penalty due-— penalty due. so carelessness could mean an innocent _ penalty due. so carelessness could mean an innocent mistake, - penalty due. so carelessness could mean an innocent mistake, so i mean an innocent mistake, so not innocent _ mean an innocent mistake, so not innocent mistake, _ mean an innocent mistake, so not innocent mistake, is— mean an innocent mistake, so not innocent mistake, is that - innocent mistake, is that where callousness _ innocent mistake, is that where callousness would _ innocent mistake, is that where callousness would be? - innocent mistake, is that where callousness would be? i- innocent mistake, is that where callousness would be? i do i innocent mistake, is that where callousness would be?- innocent mistake, is that where callousness would be? i do not think innocent is the _ callousness would be? i do not think innocent is the statutory _ callousness would be? i do not think innocent is the statutory line. it i innocent is the statutory line. it is that— innocent is the statutory line. it is that despite taking reasonable care, _ is that despite taking reasonable care, so— is that despite taking reasonable care, so if— is that despite taking reasonable care, so if you get it wrong despite having _ care, so if you get it wrong despite having taken reasonable care there is no _ having taken reasonable care there is no question of us are charging your— is no question of us are charging your penalty. you would still have to pay— your penalty. you would still have to pay the — your penalty. you would still have to pay the tax, but if you have been careless _ to pay the tax, but if you have been careless in — to pay the tax, but if you have been careless in your tax affairs and as a result— careless in your tax affairs and as a result of— careless in your tax affairs and as a result of that callousness made a mistake. _ a result of that callousness made a mistake, you could be liable to penalty — mistake, you could be liable to penalty any mistakes you have made. nadhim _ penalty any mistakes you have made. nadhim zahawi says he has acted properly and paid this settlement because it was the right thing to

do, but interestingly the boss of hmrc said hmrc has no direct involvement when the government of prime minister is choosing what's ministers to a point. he said hmrc does not flag up any concerns, it cannot disclose information and so indicating it would not have been involved when mr zahawi was appointed by rishi sunak. meta is to reinstate the facebook and instagram accounts of former us president donald trump. he was suspended two years ago over posts praising people who stormed congress in an attempt to overturn his election defeat. joining me now is zoe kleinman, our technology editor. my my does more of why they were taken and where they are being reinstated? donald trump was banned injanuary 20 following the capitol hill riots which you may remember, hundreds of

protesters protesting against the election which donald trump lost stormed the congress building, the houses of parliament in the us, and the event became violent and that donald trump was accused of inciting violence with his posts and encouraging people to continue with that protest. he was banned from instagram, facebook and twitter. twitter reinstated him when it elon musk took over, although he has not yet tweeted anything, and meta now says at the time his ban was indefinite and that was not the right decision. after two years and says his account is no longer pose a risk to public safety and he is allowed back. ts risk to public safety and he is allowed back.— risk to public safety and he is allowed back. is it likely he will take u- allowed back. is it likely he will take up the _ allowed back. is it likely he will take up the opportunity - allowed back. is it likely he will take up the opportunity then i allowed back. is it likely he will take up the opportunity then if| allowed back. is it likely he will. take up the opportunity then if he did not with twitter?— did not with twitter? if you are donald trump, _ did not with twitter? if you are donald trump, you _ did not with twitter? if you are donald trump, you would i did not with twitter? if you are donald trump, you would be i did not with twitter? if you are l donald trump, you would be in a did not with twitter? if you are - donald trump, you would be in a huge quandary right now because on the one hand, he had an enormous platform on facebook, millions

followed him, he was prolific, controversial, loved the engagement, loved being on that platform, nearly 3 million users. on the other hand, when he was banned from social networks, he decided to set up a zone when she did because truth of social which we think is about five billion users but he has tied himself very much to it. is also contractually obliged to tweet on truth social before he writes anywhere else, so is in this quandary over loyalty to his own brand and at work and the irresistible lure of having this enormous audience again, especially as things start to gear up for the next presidential election which is running an. next presidential election which is running an— running an. does it get reinstated with previous _ running an. does it get reinstated with previous followers _ running an. does it get reinstated with previous followers from i with previous followers from scratch? . with previous followers from scratch? , ., . . ., , . ,, with previous followers from scratch? , , ., scratch? his account will be back to the way he — scratch? his account will be back to the way he was _ scratch? his account will be back to the way he was but _ scratch? his account will be back to the way he was but he _ scratch? his account will be back to the way he was but he will - scratch? his account will be back to the way he was but he will be i scratch? his account will be back to | the way he was but he will be under a tight leash. if you break any

rules he will be suspended again immediately for a period of one month up to two years depending on what he writes.— now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. for most of us today it is going to be drier and also sunnier than it was yesterday. what we have is this brisk northerly wind coming in from the north sea, so it is almost going to feel cooler along the north sea coastline, but it is bringing in a bit more cloud at times and some showers and some of those showers are drifting inland, so the best of the sunshine is out towards the west. temperatures today — four to about 8 or 9 degrees. through this evening and overnight, many of the showers will fade. we will have clearer skies, we could see some patchy mist form for the west midlands, parts of north—west england, northern ireland and south—west scotland and by the end of the night, we will have a new weatherfront coming in, bringing some cloud and patchy light rain and drizzle. also looking at a widespread frost. so, a cold start to the day tomorrow. the mist and fog lifting quite rapidly. a lot of dry weather, some sunshine. the odd shower perhaps in the midlands and the south—west

and here's our weather front, not bringing much more than cloud and light rain or drizzle.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. ukraine comes under attack from russian drones and missiles, a day after germany and the us agreed to supply it with battle tanks. the number of new cars made in the uk falls to its lowest level since 1956 due to a global shortage of parts. nhs physiotherapists in england go on strike for the first time — more than 4,000 physios have joined action over pay in the health service. the legal definition of a landlord is up for debate in the supreme court today —

in a bid to protect tenants in some of england's worst rental properties. more than 100 charities have written to the prime minister demanding the government end the use of hotels for unaccompanied migrant children. the call comes after it was revealed that 460 asylum—seeking children have disappeared from home office—run hotels in the last 18 months and 200 remain unaccounted for. the government has said it is "determined to stop the use "of hotels" for all children. joining us now is beth gardiner—smith from the charity safe passage. are you one of those charities that has written to rishi sunak? yes. we are one of those organisations deeply concerned about what is going on. we know that at least 220 children have gone missing. and the government has no idea where they have gone. i am

afraid this is a real basic neglect of governmental responsibility, to keep children safe. we need to see the end of the use of these hotels immediately. it is notjust us who have been calling for this. they have been calling for this. they have had multiple reports from their inspectorate, and home affairs select committee calling for the end of the use of these hotels. it has to happen now. the government needs to happen now. the government needs to start taking responsibility for the care of these children, and the safeguarding of these vulnerable children. how old are these children and what you think is happening to them? the ares you think is happening to them? tt2 ages range. we know that there are some children who are quite young, some children who are quite young, some children who are quite young, some children as young as perhaps 13 years old, but many of the children may be 16 or 17 years old. these are children that are coming from countries like afghanistan, iran, sudan, albania, these are vulnerable

children who have often experienced exploitation on the journey to the uk. they are particularly vulnerable to then being further exploited when they reach the uk. at the moment what we are seeing is back passing by the government. they can't even confirm, in their minds, who they think has legal responsibility for these children are there in these hotels. that is not good enough. we are talking about the protection of vulnerable children here. the game at the stake — vulnerable children here. the game at the stake responsibility - at the stake responsibility urgently. what exactly is happening in terms of how they are being taken and what you think they are ending up doing? the government does not know. there are reports from whistle—blowers that children are being bundled into cars outside of hotels in broad daylight and been taken, we suspect, by criminal gangs, and by those who are seeking to exploit them, whether

that be in cannabis farms, illegal labour, and otherforms of exploitation. and the government has no way of then tracing these children. and we don't know really how many children are being exploited in this way because the government doesn't know where 200 people are. but children who are still in hotels may also be in touch with and the victims of exploitation as well. this is important because at the moment the government seems to not really know what is going on, and not be taking responsibility for sorting the situation out. when they started using hotels they said it was a temporary measure, but this is almost two years now that they have been using hotels to house children, and they are just not fit for protection and care of vulnerable children. we are would be safer than a hotel?

any residence that is not a secure unit presumably they could be just as vulnerable in? that unit presumably they could be 'ust as vulnerable in?i as vulnerable in? that is not the case, we as vulnerable in? that is not the case. we don't _ as vulnerable in? that is not the case, we don't think. _ as vulnerable in? that is not the case, we don't think. hotels i as vulnerable in? that is not the case, we don't think. hotels in l case, we don't think. hotels in particular are insecure. you have got this issue where local authorities and government are not working together and there is no clarity over who is responsible and what the legal responsibilities for the children there at that time are. we have got outsourced security contracts. we are these children need to be local authority care, and ultimately for some of them that means foster placements or supported accommodation where they have appointed social workers, and a real care plan around them, and support to rebuild their lives. we know this. these are children's that are vulnerable children coming from some of the most precarious regions who have fled war and persecution. they need proper support. the other thing

is, we should not be seeing this level of chaos at all from the government. but what we have found over the last few years if the government has closed out many of the safe routes that some of these children were able to access and in enabled them to come to the uk on eurostar or a flights with these or paperwork to reunite with family or go into local authority care or protection, but since those schemes have been closed down we have seen many more children now resorting to dangerous journeys such as across the channel, and the government has the channel, and the government has the situation on their hands where they are trying to find places for children, dumping them in hotels where they shouldn't be, and putting them at greater risk of exploitation.

it was in a general state of disrepair. shared bathroom was giving off electric shocks. we did not have a fire door either. it did end up being quite unpleasant. but who are living conditions were just the start. when jess but who are living conditions were just the start. whenjess complained to who she thought was her landlord things got complicated. the owner of the property was not the person or let it out to her. it made it impossible forjesse to get anyone to take responsibility. even when things did get fixed, she said it took a long time. tt things did get fixed, she said it took a long time.— things did get fixed, she said it took a long time. it felt like we were chasing — took a long time. it felt like we were chasing a _ took a long time. it felt like we were chasing a ghost. - took a long time. it felt like we were chasing a ghost. any i took a long time. it felt like we | were chasing a ghost. any work took a long time. it felt like we i were chasing a ghost. any work that needed doing it is all through texts, there is no peace of mind.

you do not know who you are going to. at the time it was a lot. jess moved out two years ago and even took her landlord to a tribunal that ruled they should pay back her rent. the person who rented the flat did not respond to a request for comment. this is connected to where a person or landlord offers fixed some, to make a profit they divide it up, and let the place out on room by room basis, often splitting larger rooms to make more money. rent to rent is not illegal and can work well for some property owners but campaigners argue it is open to exploitation. the but campaigners argue it is open to exploitation-_ but campaigners argue it is open to exloitation. .y ., ., exploitation. the way the law works, the tenants — exploitation. the way the law works, the tenants can _ exploitation. the way the law works, the tenants can only _ exploitation. the way the law works, the tenants can only take _ exploitation. the way the law works, the tenants can only take action i the tenants can only take action against the immediate landlord,

property owners can put a sham company on the tenancy agreement, cram in as many tenets as possible, ignore fire safety features. it is a question of when, not if, there will be... who is the landlord? the person who someone signs a contract with or the property owner? the supreme court is about to make a decision. those representing landlords have concerns also. of also. of course landlord should be responsible for it they lets too, but if someone takes the property and lies to them, what you expect them to do? it is difficult, because both parties are the victims. but just because both parties are the victims does not mean landlord should be held responsible. it could look like any other rental

situation — it could look like any other rental situation from the eyes of someone who did _ situation from the eyes of someone who did not — situation from the eyes of someone who did not have the knowledge of what was _ who did not have the knowledge of what was going on. a record number of people switched banks in the last three months of last year. cost of living increases are thought to be behind it as cash incentives led almost 400,000 customers to move their current accounts. up to £200 was offered by some banks to those switching their custom. however that number still only represents a fraction of the millions of accounts used across the uk — so lots of people who could perhaps benefit from switching haven't done so. earlier i wasjoined by money expert andy webb. i asked him why so many people are making the switch. something people may have previously

discounted, they are looking closer, they are seeing higher amounts of cash. switching is easy, fast, there are protection to something goes wrong. they arejumping on it. it is great to see so many more people taking advantage of this. before we talk about how to do that if people want to, what is in it for the banks, why are they so keen? why are they increasing the amount of money on offer to get these accounts? a ccou nts ? if accounts? if they can get you as a customer they hope they will make money from you further down the line, credit card, mortgage. in terms of increased incentives, this is not just about the goodness of their own hearts that they find this extra money, it is coming from somewhere else, people who are worse off may be paying more, an overdraft can be 40% interest for example, they are making money over there, passing it over here, hoping to make more money over here, hoping to make more money over there. you have got to be savvy if you want to come out on top with this. how easy is it to do? it is very simple. you have to open up a new

current account at the bank offering the incentive. you can switch for other reasons, a better banking experience. you open up the account. if that is accepted there will be a hard credit check, you have to be aware of that, particularly if you are thinking of doing more than one switch in a short space of time, which you can do.— switch in a short space of time, which you can do. explain that. you are not bound _ which you can do. explain that. you are not bound by _ which you can do. explain that. you are not bound by a _ which you can do. explain that. you are not bound by a certain - are not bound by a certain timeframe?— are not bound by a certain timeframe? ., ., ., , ., timeframe? you have to get terms and conditions for — timeframe? you have to get terms and conditions for the _ timeframe? you have to get terms and conditions for the office. _ timeframe? you have to get terms and conditions for the office. some - timeframe? you have to get terms and conditions for the office. some of i conditions for the office. some of them might say you had to beat for 90 days, some of them might be you get the money in a couple of weeks. if you want to, you can switch again. i have done it 17 times of the last decade. eventually you run out of bags. the last decade. eventually you run out of bags-— out of bags. then you start the cle out of bags. then you start the cycle again? — out of bags. then you start the cycle again? some _ out of bags. then you start the cycle again? some of - out of bags. then you start the cycle again? some of them i out of bags. then you start the | cycle again? some of them will out of bags. then you start the i cycle again? some of them will have ou aaain. cycle again? some of them will have you again- some _ cycle again? some of them will have you again. some of _ cycle again? some of them will have you again. some of the _ cycle again? some of them will have you again. some of the banks i cycle again? some of them will have you again. some of the banks are i you again. some of the banks are strict. they see if you have been a customer in the past you can't get it, or if you had money in the past, you can't get it, others will let you can't get it, others will let you do it every couple of years, they will change that threshold. it is a great way of doing it again and

again and you don't even have to switch your main current account, you can have an additional current account. you could have more than one current account. keep your main man if you like it. you saturate everyday banking. open up a second account. switch that. it takes seven working days for the switch itself to happen, may be longerfor the money to come into your account. might be some terms you have to meet such as paying some money in, having some direct debits payout. once that is done, you can switch it again if you want, and again. won't be for everyone but this is something you can do. i know you say it is simple, but it is still like a potential administrative headache, but you can get something out of it. also, if loads of people go for it presumably the backs. offering so much cash. is that a finite amount here? the offers come — that a finite amount here? the offers come and _ that a finite amount here? tt2 offers come and go. when we talk about these numbers for last quarter, last november, there were a lot of offers from a lot of banks. at the moment there is only three

proper ones, and the two of those were launched in the last couple of weeks. they will come and go. these are the highest amounts i have ever seenin are the highest amounts i have ever seen in the decade i have been covering this. i wouldn't be surprised if we stay at that level for a while because the other banks will want to match them and compete with them because they may be able to tempt someone away from that at that level for a while because the other banks want to match them and compete with them because they may be able to tempt someone away from that other back. following his kidney failure diagnosis in 2018 — dj ace — from bbc radio one xtra, was warned it could take up to six years to find a suitable donor because of his ethnicity. in 2021, he was successfully matched with his donor, naomi, and has now set up a campaign to help others who are waiting for life—saving transplants. it comes after the nhs recently called for more organ donors of black and asian heritage. graham satchell has more. this is radio 1xtra's dj ace. yes, yes, what's going on? it's your boy ace, heavyweight champion of radio, mr 10k! and we are in the building all of the way until one o'clock.

ace was told in 2018 that one of his kidneys had stopped working. to hear i had kidney or renal failure was quite shocking. and all i wanted to know is like, how do i stop it, how do i reverse it? and to hear that the only solution was a kidney transplant was, yeah, quite harrowing. there's black people that don't need to be sitting in dialysis beds. a new social media campaign starts today, called we 4 us uk. the long and short of it is that i need a kidney. but then you feel at a disadvantage because there aren't enough kidneys to match people of colour. it tells the stories of black and minority ethnic people waiting for a kidney transplant. and they said, "yeah, you know, i you're going to need a transplant." i remember i was sitting i there with like my crunchy nut cornflakes and they were just like, "yeah, no, - "it's not good news." ace is on his way to a dialysis unit, part of the royal free hospital in london.

how are you finding dialysis? for me, the first two years were difficult, but the last year for me, year number three was the hardest. tiring. very frustrating, but i want to do it. most kidney patients will have dialysis three times a week. each session can take four orfive hours. it can be a debilitating process. at the beginning it was very, very worrying and quite stressful, if i'm honest. it really took a toll on my mental health and how i felt about myself and my situation. year three, i think, was the most difficult for me. ace began to realise there were more black and asian people in the dialysis unit than white people, and that they stayed longer. i would go to dialysis and me and three other asian people would sit in one section, and we werejust looking at each other for months and months on end, and our white counterparts would come in, they'd be there for like two or three months and they'd be in and out. my youngest is nine years

old, my youngest child, i and i want be knocking _ about with her for the longest time. it was frustrating. i was like, why is this happening? why are we sitting here looking at each other, when other people that obviously don't have the same skin complexion or are not from our background, are able to just come in, have the treatment for three or four months, and then get that transplant and go? how do we get people - from ethnic minorities — yes? — to have more living kidney transplants? i ace is meeting kirit modi from thejain and hindu organ donation alliance. why are the black and asian community so bad at talking about donation? and why is it such a taboo subject within our community? if you look at all the reasons, i the main barrier is that there isn't enough discussion and i awareness about this issue. my experience is that the vast majority of people, _ after having engaged i in those conversations, will support organ donation. the conversations that we need to have are around why there's this stigma about organ

donation within our community. it could be religious, it could be just a lack of trust or old wives' tales. but no one should be listening to information or old urban myths from years ago. we shouldn't be using really rubbish excuses for not helping out people that look like us, that are waiting for organs. ace and his match, who was found, who is naomi, are both here now. a very good morning to you both. good morning. after waiting more than three years, ace received a new kidney from a live donor, naomi. they appeared together on bbc breakfast last year. very, very good, yeah. i know what i've done, _ and i understand the benefits of it. that's why i've done it. and i'm just grateful that we're both really healthy and well. i she's amazing. that's my twin. we talk all the time. i love her with all my heart. she's giving me a second chance to do things that i wasn't able to do before. she's released me from the shackles of dialysis.

she's an amazing person. i can't put into words... ..the way i feel about my donor's family. the we 4 us campaign puts names and faces to people waiting for a transplant, and those who've had treatment. i cannot thank them enough for giving me a second chance at life. this is about us, we helping us, and i'd love everybody to go on there and check out some of the faces and the people that you could be helping if you just did a little bit more in regards to organ donation. the scottish first minister has confirmed a transgender woman convicted of rape will not serve her sentence in a women's prison. isla bryson was convicted of two attacks

before changing gender. tell us what has happened. it is worth recounting the facts of this case. isla bryson is a convicted double rapist. the 31—year—old started transitioning after being charged with the rate of two women. earlier this week isla bryson was found guilty of those crimes committed while a man, isla bryson is being held at eight women's prison near sterling, kept apart from general population in the prison while a risk assessment is carried out. this has been the subject of considerable public debate. newspaper headlines. and a very heated political debate as well. today at first minister's questions, douglas ross the leader of the scottish conservatives, asked the first minister if a rapist should ever be held in a women's prison. nicola sturgeon restated the general policy that any prisoner who poses a risk of sexual offending are

segregated from other prisoners, including during a risk assessment period. she said there was no automatic right for a trans woman convicted of a crime to serve their sentence in eight women's prison here in scotland, even if they have a gender recognition certificate. today she also went further when she said she agreed with the statement that had been made by, i believe the head of rape crisis scotland, that said she did not see how it was possible to have a rapist at eight women's prison. nicola sturgeon said that in this particular case the understandable public and parliamentary concern was such that this prisoner would not be incarcerated at cornton vale. let me be clear, this prisoner is not going to be incarcerated in cornton vale. either short—term or long—term. allowing the scottish prison service operationally to act

on what i have just said, that is important to stress. we understand that for the moment bryson remains at cornton vale, we understand that is while a decision is taken about where the 31—year—old will be transferred. there are conversations ongoing between senior members of the scottish prison service and members of the scottish government. but douglas ross in first minister questions also said to the first minister that she should go to the present and explain to female inmates there why bryson was being housed alongside them. it has been a matter of considerable interest here in scotland, considerable concern amongst many. nicola sturgeon saying today that she agreed that the statement, that she agreed that the statement, that she didn't see how it was possible to have a rapist and that women's

prison, and bryson who is the focus and subject of this controversy, and we understand at cornton vale just now, will at some point in the near future be transferred to a different prison. it is just about time for me to say goodbye for the last time, as i'm signing off after 23 years at bbc news, and before i go, there are a few things i want to say. i know thisjob is personal — we come directly into your home to tell you what's happening — good, bad, funny, sad — and in doing my work, i always consider how you might respond to the news you are hearing and what you might want to know. but your response to me leaving has been completely unexpected and i have been so touched by the wave of warmth and kindness from you. thank you for all of your good wishes. it means a lot to me. i also want to say thank you to all of the people who have shared their stories with me, and you, over my 30

years as a journalist. many of them have had an impact on me and have shaped the way i see things, and i hope it's been the same for you. it's why i came intojournalism — to give a voice, lend an ear, and shine a light. and finally, my colleagues, past and present. i have learned from you, loved working with you, and valued your support, since i started out at 22. i have neverfailed to be impressed by the talent, skills and dedication of the people around me. we're a team that's felt like family. lucky me to have had this greatjob that has never felt like a job. thank you for having me. goodbye. not as cold and has been in south—eastern parts of the uk.

a northerly wind continuing to bring in cloud from the north sea and a few showers well. these are the temperatures in early evening. we will keep some cloud going for a while across eastern scotland before it breaks up. we will also see some cloud bringing some showers into northern parts of england, down to the midlands. clearer skies across scotland, northern ireland, and later across wales and the north west. these areas are likely to have frost. one or two icy patches. through the east midlands, yorkshire, lincolnshire, east anglia, the south—east, there may be more cloud and enough breeze to keep temperatures above freezing. cloud will break up on friday. most areas will break up on friday. most areas will have a dry day with some spells of sunshine. towards the far north—west we have become implied, that will start to bring drizzle on the north—west of scotland. temperatures getting up to nine celsius here, elsewhere at seven or eight celsius come friday afternoon.

as we head into the weekend, we saw that cloud and rain in the north—west, that is moving southwards and that weather front, moving into this dominant area of high pressure, we are squeezing a lot of that rain out, it is more about cloud moving down into england and wales during saturday, there could be a little drizzle on that. some sunshine across southern parts of england. some sunshine in scotland and northern ireland, maybe if you showers in the north—west of scotland. temperatures fairly even, seven or eight celsius, normal for this time of year. second half of the weekend should be a bit milder, but picking up the winds across northern parts of the uk, and these weather fronts will bring outbreaks of rain. ahead of that there may be summarily sunshine across england and wales. cloud will be increasing, winds picking up through the day. that band of rain coming down through scotland and northern ireland, followed by blustery showers in the far north—west, but temperatures will be higher on sunday, perhaps making double figures in scotland and northern ireland. once pick up through the

day, continually windy. winds could be gusting in excess of 60 mph in the north of scotland.

a wave of russian missiles hit ukraine the day after germany and the us said they would send tanks to the country. people fled for shelter in the capital's underground. germany said it wants to get the tanks to ukraine within weeks i don't have any hints that it could be too late. i think we will deliver all our parts at the latest maybe at the end of march. we'll be live in ukraine for the latest. also this lunchtime. at least nine people are killed in an israeli raid on a refugee camp in the occupied west bank. israel says it was aiming to arrest a member of the banned islamicjihad. more than 4,000 physiotherapists in england become the latest nhs health care staff to go strike over pay.

scotland's first minister says a trans woman convicted of rape