hello, i'm kasia madera. this is outside source. as criticism grows over turkey's official response to monday's devastating earthquake, its president promises more help. we have mobilised us all our resources at the moment. as of now we will make some preparations, make damage assessments, and give our citizen some support. a family of six are pulled from the rubble — a miraculous escape in a sea of despair. rescue operations will continue into the night in the region. also in the programme... a surprise uk visit from the ukrainian president — with a plea to send fighter

jets to ukraine. we start with the devastating earthquakes which have rocked southern turkey and northern syria and are now known to have killed more than 11,700 people. turkey's president erdogan has been defending his government's response to the disaster on a visit to some of the worst—affected areas. we'll have more on that shortly. but first, with the search operations ongoing in the rubble of collapsed buildings, dramatic pictures continue to emerge of rescues in both countries. cheering. this was the moment that rescuers hauled a boy onto a stretcher — moments after he was rescued from the rubble two days after the earthquake.

there were also cheers ofjubilation at being able to save his life. there have been other glimmers of hope in an otherwise grim landscape of devastation and death. our correspondent, anna foster, has been in the village of karamanmaras. i was watching them take bodies out of here last night and again this morning. it is pulling aside all of this rubble until they see the sign of a body. this morning, it was an arm clad in a purple top. at one point, there was a leg, and then they stop and they gently, with their hands, remove the body, and they give it to the loved ones, their relatives, many of whom you will see actually on the fringes here. they come and go and they wait for news, because what they really want, they know that their loved ones have already perished inside this building, but what they want are essentially some kind of answers. they want a body, they want to be able to have a funeral.

they want to be able to see their loved ones one final time, and when that does happen, the emotion, i watched one man earlier today identify the body of his father and to be in the middle of something like that, just witnessing that extraordinary grief and emotion at the worst moment in that person's life, and to realise that that is only one story, only one experience that has been replicated throughout streets and towns. anna a n na foster anna foster there with that point that this is being replicated throughout this region. just a reminder of where the worst—affected areas are. the epicentre of the first earthquake, in the early hours of monday, was in turkey's gazian—tep province. that earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8. there have been almost 30 other shocks in the region, all powerful enough to magnify the damage. then a second major earthquake struck 130km north of the first. these two quakes were the biggest in the region since 1939.

now, monday's events happened along the east anatolian fault line. this is one of the world's most active areas for seismic activity. drone images are giving us a real idea of the scale of the destruction. this footage is from a drone flying above hatay, in southern turkey. this was one of the worst hit areas. whole neighbourhoods have been completely destroyed. as time is running out to save those people who are trapped, people in some of the worst—hit areas are criticizing the speed of rescue efforts. these are the first officials i see here. i chased two official vehicles in the morning. 0ne told me he was going to add to address. they said their building has collapsed, too. we need urgent help. they say international teams are coming.

translation: mi; international teams are coming. translation:— international teams are coming. translation: g ., , ,, translation: my family and my sister are tra ed translation: my family and my sister are trapped under— translation: my family and my sister are trapped under the _ translation: my family and my sister are trapped under the ruins. _ translation: my family and my sister are trapped under the ruins. we - are trapped under the ruins. we can't reach _ are trapped under the ruins. we can't reach them. we are trying to talk to— can't reach them. we are trying to talk to them but they are not responding. we are not sure how to intervene to — responding. we are not sure how to intervene to save them and we haven't — intervene to save them and we haven't seen any help yet. as we mentioned, turkey's president, reccep tayip erdogan, has visited some of the devastated areas. he's promised urgent aid and also housing for the victims. translation: we will build mass housing in nine provinces, - just as we did immediately before. we will never allow our citizens to stay on the streets. we've mobilised all our resources at the moment. as of now, we will make preparations, make damage assessments and give our citizens some support. president erdogan is insisting that people will be looked after. but the leader of the main opposition party in turkey has laid some blame on him. translation: let me be very clear,

if there is a man responsible - for this process, it is president erdogan — for 20 years, this government has not prepared the country for an earthquake. that is why i never plan to meet with him. i never, ever considered this issue above politics. his politics brought us to the situation, they led the gangs into taxzes for the earthquake. where is that money? it's gone. well president erdogan has hit back at the accusations. translation: this is a period of unity full-time _ translation: this is a period of unity full-time in _ translation: this is a period of unity full-time in such _ translation: this is a period of unity full-time in such a - translation: this is a period of unity full-time in such a period, l translation: this is a period of unity full-time in such a period, i unity full—time in such a period, i do not accept viciously negative campaigns conducted in the name of mere political interest. that was the campaigns conducted in the name of . mere political interest.— mere political interest. that was the resident to - mere political interest. that was the president to begin _ - mere political interest. that was the president to begin a _ - mere political interest. that was the president to begin a little - the president to begin a little earlier on today. we're going to pick on what the leader of the republican people's party has said. kader sevinc, president of the eu representation

for turkey's main opposition party. hejoins us live he joins us live from brussels. the leader has your party has explained to us more of what he is accusing the president of. he said that they are letting gangs eat the taxes for the earthquakes. now to explain for our viewers —— these are taxes imposed on citizens to pay for the damage from the 1999 earthquake. your later saying these taxes are being eaten by gangs. what is he mean? , ., ., ., ~ being eaten by gangs. what is he mean? , ., . . ~' i., being eaten by gangs. what is he mean? , ., ., ., ., mean? first of all, thank you for havin: mean? first of all, thank you for having me _ mean? first of all, thank you for having me tonight. _ mean? first of all, thank you for having me tonight. we - mean? first of all, thank you for having me tonight. we turks - mean? first of all, thank you for having me tonight. we turks are mean? first of all, thank you for- having me tonight. we turks are very angry and sad and angry, because for hours and days, people were waiting for the government to act, to take care of victims and survivors on the streets. and during those cold

nights they were left alone. what our president the main opposition party leader was referring by saying the games, there is a known issue for the turkey borders actually, because in turkey political corruption is a big thing. in the last two decades. as you mentioned earlier, 1999, we had a big earthquake in turkey. and turkey itself is a country of earthquakes. in the government imposed an earthquake tax. and our people have been told to this huge tax for years and years. and now, turkey is hit by a huge earthquake and the government isjust using this a huge earthquake and the government is just using this lack of resources or other excuses for us for their inaction, for their absence. so our

president is underlining, this is unforgivable and this cannot be an excuse for their absence. what we experienced since the earthquake happened, because anger is mounting among people, among survivors and others, because of the absence of the government, and they are questioning why government is not they are, why government is not taking action. where have all the taxes gone? so our party president is indicating that, this political corruption might be the reason behind us. corruption might be the reason behind ne— corruption might be the reason behind us. �* , , , ., behind us. i'm sure president no loner behind us. i'm sure president no longer deny _ behind us. i'm sure president no longer deny allegations - behind us. i'm sure president no longer deny allegations of - longer deny allegations of corruption. we heard him say that he is very much trying to help the people and that they will be housed at least temporarily. but ijust want to ask you about the reports about when it comes to internet access and to twitter in particular. turkey has restricted it. ijust

want to show this tweet from the internet monitoring service which is saying that real—time debt where nader has said twitter has been restricted in turkey, adding that this calms basically as the public is relying on the service in the aftermath of the deadly earthquakes. what is your assessment? what is your understanding about the access to social media in turkey at this crucial moment? he is doing what he needed to do in the country. why then is he afraid of people who are criticising him, who are angry with him and expressing themselves on twitter? twitter is the platform where survivors, victims, and providers are meeting and exchanging information. it has a very substantial role on social media

platforms. and he is blocking it these days. what else exactly is he trying to do? what is his government trying to do? what is his government trying to do? our party again criticised this. our vice president went to the relevant party and the government to ask them what really they are aiming for doing this. and also, they are detaining people, citizens, intellectuals, journalists and academics who are critical of government. some of this is a usual practice in turkey under the government for the last two decades and increasing its intensity during the elections, during the disaster times, crisis times. so physically repressing the opposition. from the o- osition, repressing the opposition. from the opposition. the _ repressing the opposition. from the opposition, the president _ repressing the opposition. from the opposition, the president of - repressing the opposition. from the opposition, the president of the - opposition, the president of the ears representation for the republican people's party. thank you for your time. republican people's party. thank you foryourtime. do republican people's party. thank you for your time. do appreciate it.

now let's turn to northern syria — where more than 2,660 people have been confirmed dead, and thousands more injured. aid agencies and the un are warning the situation is "catastrophic", due to a lack of supplies and rescue personnel. here's the world health organization. we have got a large unfolding huge scale disaster unfolding on us with large geographical spread. we've got a lot of people who have survived now out in the open and in worsening and horrific conditions. we've got major disruption to basic water supplies, we've got major disruption to fuel and electricity supplies, communication supplies, the basics of life. let's ta ke let's take a look at this. this drone footage gives you an idea of the scale of destruction — this is the city of aleppo, but the damage is widespread across idlib province in the north—west of the country. where there are moments of hope,

very rare moments of hope. this young syrian boy called ahmed was rescued by members of the white helmets injandaris — he'd survived under the debris for two days. and then cheers went up when this boy and his family were saved from a demolished building in the village of bisnia. but like i say, rare moments of hope. but despite their best efforts, rescue crews are suffering from the lack of manpower and supplies, here's oubadah alwan from the white helmets rescue group. we are talking about a group of 3000 people working on the ground dealing with a population of 4 million people. there is a lack of supplies and aid kind of on every single level. medical centres are overrun. there is a lack of medical equipment as well. on our part, we are also facing a lack of tools and equipment to properly respond to this. something like diesel fuel or fuel to power our digging equipment and our ambulances and our cars.

so as you can hear, a dire need for lifesaving aid supplies — and as we heard earlier, the syrian government is appealing for international help. some countries have responded — planes have been arriving in damascus and aleppo loaded with supplies, flights coming from iraq, iran, the uae and egypt. but the main route for getting aid into syria is by road from turkey. and this is the condition of the road leading to the main crossing, at bab—al—hawa. the un gave us this update earlier. luckily today we are hearing that the road is opening. we do have a possibility, hopefully to access, to access the border. we are working with our turkish counterparts to also give us all the support. but i think we have a glimpse of hope there that the road is accessible, and we can reach, we can reach the people. so, a potential lifeline of aid may be able to get

through the bab—al—hawa crossing. and people really need help. according to state media, the quake has forced more than 298,000 people to leave their homes. they're lighting fires amid the rubble simply to stay warm, overnight temperatures are below freezing in northern syria. and across the border in turkey, many of the 3.6 million syrian refugees who fled to escape the war in syria have found themselves homeless again. these syrians are sheltering in a mosque in the city of diyar—bakir near the syrian border. translation: the earthquake is worse than the war- because it came suddenly. we were sleeping and then it happened. whereas when there is a war, you know it in advance, you hide in basements, mountains or deserts. the earthquake surprised us, we were not able to run or do anything. we just got out. why can't we go home? because all the houses are shaking. it shook again the other day,

we had no choice but to leave. we have become homeless. we are all here. what can we do? damascus says that western sanctions are to blame for the lack of aid arriving in syria. aha, are to blame for the lack of aid arriving in syria.— arriving in syria. a lot of the car: 0 arriving in syria. a lot of the cargo aeroplane _ arriving in syria. a lot of the cargo aeroplane refused - arriving in syria. a lot of the cargo aeroplane refused to l arriving in syria. a lot of the - cargo aeroplane refused to land on syrian airports because of the american and european sanctions. so, even those countries who want to send humanitarian assistance, they cannot use the aeroplane cargo because of the sanctions. all syria needed this assistance. so whenever, whatever we receive, it will be for all syrians. 50 whatever we receive, it will be for all syrians-— whatever we receive, it will be for alls rians. . , , ., . all syrians. so that suggestion that sanctions are _ all syrians. so that suggestion that sanctions are blocking _ all syrians. so that suggestion that sanctions are blocking aid, - all syrians. so that suggestion that sanctions are blocking aid, and - all syrians. so that suggestion that| sanctions are blocking aid, and that is the government view. i'm going to talk now to almo.

alma hassoun, is from bbc arabic. many police here and the bbc and many people i know have been holding their breath, waiting to hear news about their families, their breath, waiting to hear news about theirfamilies, friends, and neighbours. inside syria and also southern turkey, as there are many syrian refugees in turkey who are also affected by that catastrophe. of course because let's face it, we've been staying over 4 million people from syria have been displaced because of the conflict. and now they are finding themselves in this terrible situation again. it in this terrible situation again. it is important to mention as well that this time, many syrians and government health areas and also in opposition have areas that are in the same boat in this very crisis because of course in the north as we saw in the footage, and also in

western area, which is under the government control, they have been living this catastrophe. of course geography means that the location means that those closest to turkey are affected. but i have been areas where whole areas are flattened. we saw many buildings destroyed. for example, i spoke to someone in jeopardy. it is a city in little nokia. he told me that people are now afraid, there is this fear of sinking buildings. so now they fled to the mountain area to —— where families and friends are hosting them, sheltering their community. others are in playgrounds. again, there is this fear of another wave of you know, another earthquake, fear of the buildings. and we saw also the footage of the north where

also the footage of the north where also those, i mean, everywhere there is lack of equipment. if you see the footage you will see people using very basic tools. there is no heavy equipment as we usually see in such massive catastrophes. that's why there is need everywhere and all those affected areas for such different kind of aids, right? the sheer scale _ different kind of aids, right? the sheer scale of _ different kind of aids, right? the sheer scale of the destruction, as you say. we have been witnessing people just using their hands and buckets and it is just absolutely really difficult. especially given your background reporting on this, but elma thank you for talking us through and for repeating the stories of the people that you have spoken to. thank you. turning now to the war in ukraine. the country's president, volodymr zelensky, has made an impassioned appeal for fighter jets from the west, during a surprise visit to the uk.

this is the moment volodymyr zelensky met the uk prime minister, rishi sunak, earlier today. he addressed parliament, met with king charles and paid a visit to ukrainian troops who are training in dorset. he spoke to reporters afterwards — have a listen. translation: nato armoured vehicles, they are the best, i and yet they are only a few of them, you know? when you only have ten nato armoured vehicles against 1,000 of soviet armoured vehicles, well, what are the chances, you know? and we have no way out, we have to stand firm. we need armoured vehicles, we need tanks. we need fighterjets and, obviously, we've spent a lot of time talking about this together. president zelenskyy here in the uk met with the prime minister. let's take a look at what came out of that meeting. the main takeaway is that the uk

plans to train ukrainian pilots to fly nato—standard fighterjets in the future. as well as this, we know that the defence secretary is investigating whatjets could potentially be given to ukraine. remember, there's some reluctance in the west to giving jets to ukraine. and the uk prime minister stressed that a decision on this wouldn't come soon — calling it a "long term solution." and here is what we heard from him at that press conference. when it comes to fighter combat aircraft, of course they are part of the conversation. we have been discussing that today and have been previously, and that is why we have announced today that we will be training ukrainian air force on nato standard platforms. because the first step in being able to provide advanced aircraft is to have soldiers or aviators that are capable of using them. that is a process that takes some time. we started that process today. that's because we are keen to support the president and his country in delivering a victory. and nothing is off the table. a reporterfrom bbc ukrainian

was also at the press conference — she was called on to ask a question, we had this moment. translation: greeting mr president. we would like to hug you but we are not allowed. why not, please do give me a hug, you know? tears mac security. me a hug, you know? tears mac securi . , , , security. president zelenskyy is 'ust security. president zelenskyy is just saying _ security. president zelenskyy is just saying security. _ security. president zelenskyy is just saying security. it - security. president zelenskyy is just saying security. it is that i just saying security. it is that press conference which surprise visit when he came to the uk. let's remind ourselves of some of the military support the uk has already provided. we know that it plans to send challenger 2 tanks to ukraine — with ukrainian troops receiving

training in how to operate them. in the last half hour we learned that they are to you be deployed next month. it's also provided air defence systems, artillery, and armoured vehicles. you probably didn't see, but we had our bbc ukrainian reporterjust receiving a hug from president zelenskyy. when it comes to his visit to the uk, he was obviously in washington, now he is in the uk. just explain to us in terms of what he is doing. moments like that, it justis he is doing. moments like that, it just is quite extraordinary, isn't it? ~ , just is quite extraordinary, isn't it? ~ y a .,, it? absolutely. it's good to be with ou. so i it? absolutely. it's good to be with yom so i went— it? absolutely. it's good to be with you. so i went struck— it? absolutely. it's good to be with you. so i went struck by _ you. so i went struck by zelenskyy humour. we saw that on full force today in london. that clip you just showed where he made a joke, he gave a hug to a bbc reporter. and then he said where's my security? he did something earlier in the day. he

said —— remember his english is not very good. he's not very fluent in english. but he still manages to convey humour. he said thank you for the strong tea, and thank you in advance for your strong fighter jets. it got a great laugh, but it also got the british government attention. so this is really —— it underscores the significance of zelenskyy. ukraine would not be in this fight without zelenskyy and the strong impassioned leadership and not hush but that he is shown for months and months. lets not hush but that he is shown for months and months.— not hush but that he is shown for months and months. lets go through what the uk — months and months. lets go through what the uk is _ months and months. lets go through what the uk is promising _ months and months. lets go through what the uk is promising then. - what the uk is promising then. ultimately, zelenskyy has always called projects. ultimately, zelenskyy has always called injects-— ultimately, zelenskyy has always called projects. called pro'ects. sure. zelenskyy is be . in called projects. sure. zelenskyy is begging for _ called projects. sure. zelenskyy is begging for checks. _ called projects. sure. zelenskyy is begging for checks. it _ called projects. sure. zelenskyy is begging for checks. it got - called projects. sure. zelenskyy is begging for checks. it got very - begging for checks. it got very close last year, but then there was a backtrack with the polish government. this is a big deal though because britain led on tanks. britain is going to lead on planes. london is sticking its neck out and saying not only are we going to train ukrainian shoulders on either jets, we are looking to the

possibility. but the prime minister stepped out back and said whoa, this is a long—term solution. the bottom line though is not ukraine and russia have entered a very tough part of the war and ukraine needs long reach missiles and fighterjets ended. i think yourformer prime minister borisjohnson nailed it today. he said and it now. send them what they need. i know there is reluctance on many governments parts to send jets, butjohnson is right. would it be that definitive decision? would it really turn the course of the war? would it be such a decisive act to determine the end of the war? it a decisive act to determine the end of the war?— of the war? it depends on when the 'ets would of the war? it depends on when the jets would arrive, _ of the war? it depends on when the jets would arrive, when _ of the war? it depends on when the jets would arrive, when the - of the war? it depends on when the jets would arrive, when the giants i jets would arrive, when the giants would arrive. i hate to give you a wishy—washy answer but it would depend on a lot of variables. with jets make an enormous difference? absolutely. would more western trying to make a huge difference? yes. they have asked for 300 western tanks and 600 armoured vehicles and he says that's what he needs to make

a decisive impact. he doesn't have these weapons yet. we're getting closer and closer. that's great but he needs more leopard dues. just in terms of wishy-washy, _ he needs more leopard dues. just in terms of wishy-washy, it's - he needs more leopard dues. just in terms of wishy-washy, it's a - he needs more leopard dues. just in terms of wishy-washy, it's a great i terms of wishy—washy, it's a great answer because it kind focuses our mind on this. but we are also focused on the fact that the 24th of february is coming up, a anniversary. what position is ukraine and right now? blue 50 ukraine and right now? blue zr everyone is ukraine and right now? blue 3r everyone is focused on point february 2a and the upcoming russian offensive. we don't know when the russians are going to turn up the heat but we know that they are. the big question is will these western tanks that your government and many other governments, including mine, have promised arrive in time? probably not. so that's a very scary scenario. we're seeing a lot of numbers of russian soldiers that are being mobilised and ready. i know the ukrainian government is worried about that. they're worried about artillery as well with this coming offensive. ~ 3, artillery as well with this coming offensive. ~ . ., , artillery as well with this coming offensive. ~ . ., offensive. melinda, really good to net our offensive. melinda, really good to get your analysis _ offensive. melinda, really good to get your analysis and _ offensive. melinda, really good to get your analysis and perspective | offensive. melinda, really good to i get your analysis and perspective on theirs from the atlantic council.

thank you. lots more on the war on ukraine on our website. i'll be back injust a few ukraine on our website. i'll be back in just a few moments time. good evening. today brought us some big weather contrasts from mainly sunny conditions in the south to some windy conditions further north with some clouds, some outbreaks of rain courtesy of this weather front. it shows up very clearly on our earlier satellite picture. this stripe, a bright white cloud. and behind that, see a clearance mix of clear spells and speckled shower clouds. some wintry showers working in across scotland overnight. could be some snow to relatively low levels and some ice in northern scotland as well. all the while, our weather front will be weakening significantly. very little rain getting down into wales or the south of england. these are the temperatures we're expecting by the end of the night. so into tomorrow, the leftovers of this weather front will continue to journey south eastwards,

clearing to leave england and wales with largely sunny skies overhead. some sunny spells too for northern ireland, but the odd shower, and for scotland. quite a few wintry showers, at least for a time. snow mostly over the hills by the afternoon, but falling to low levels across shetland. windy in the north of scotland once again, temperatures around eight, nine or ten degrees. now there'll be a change in the feel of the weather as we head to the end of the week. this area of high pressure to the south of us, this frontal system running across the north, bringing some rain across northern scotland particularly. but this weather setup will be feeding our winds in from the west, from the atlantic. so you can see from the yellow and orange colours on our ams chart, some milder air will be working its way and you'll feel the difference on friday. but with a lot of cloud across the northern half of the country, some rain, particularly in northwest scotland. some bright skies, though, in eastern scotland could lift the temperatures to 13 degrees. best of the sunshine likely to be across parts of the midlands, eastern and southern

parts of england. and then we head into the weekend with high pressure close by, still frontal systems running around the north of that area of high pressure. so, we will see some areas of clouds, maybe some patchy rain into the western side of scotland, further south, closer to the centre of the high. there could well be some fog patches around on saturday morning and i think generally through the day sunshine will be in short supply, but the temperatures will still climb to 11 or 12, maybe 13 degrees, so above what we'd expect at this time of year. and for sunday, still a lot of clouds and mist and fog in the south, but mainly dry and feeling mild.

hello, i'm kasia madera. this is outside source. as criticism grows over turkey's official response to monday's devastating earthquake — its president promises more help. we have mobilised all our resources at the moment. as of now, we will make some preparations, make damage assessments, and give our citizens some support. cheering. a family of six are pulled from the rubble — a miraculous escape in a sea of despair. rescue operations will continue into the night in the region. also in the programme... mcdonald's, signs up to a new agreement, to better

tackle sexual harrassment complaints, among staff. more now on the aftermath of monday's devastating earthquakes. in northern syria, the situation was desperate even before quake struck, with crumbling infrastructure, an outbreak of cholera and freezing conditions. the region is home to millions of refugees displaced by years of civil war. control of the area is divided between the government, kurdish—led forces and other groups. some emergency aid has been flown in from iran and the gulf states ——the group of volunteers known as the white helmets are leading the rescue efforts , as our international editor jeremy bowen reports. something to celebrate at last in a place without much good news. a family of six was rescued alive from the rubble in idlib, the last part of syria still controlled by rebels. the rescuers, a group called

the white helmets that the uk helps to fund, are experts. they've been digging out survivors of the assad regime's air strikes for much of syria's long war. the geological faults that brought down these buildings cut right across the front lines and zones of influence that have devastated syria since 2011. this is aleppo, syria's biggest city, back in regime hands since the rebels here were defeated in 2016. now syria has a huge natural disaster on the back of the man—made catastrophe that broke the country. in aleppo hospital, every bed has its own tragedy. only three members of this man's family survived when their home collapsed. 13 of them were killed. they were, he says my father, my mother, my brother, his wife, and theirfour children. and the wife and two kids of the brother who was rescued with me also died.

faced with such disaster, the un, which already helps care for millions of syrians, appealed for some national solidarity. we are hoping that everybody puts the interest of the people first. we keep the politics aside, all authorities move away from the issue, from the politics, and put the interest of the people first. in damascus, the capital, citizens are rallying around giving blood. so far, grassroots relief efforts seem to be the best hope. but it's not clear whether aid collected and delivered in damascus will make it across the front line into rebel—held idlib province. back in aleppo, russian troops, whose intervention salvaged the rule of the assad family, are helping the syrian red crescent alongside algerian rescue workers. the damascus regime says its allies,

also including iran, are flying in aid. allies and who controls what won't matter much to families who are homeless or nervous about sleeping in damaged buildings. an earthquake tests any nation's resilience. war has taught a generation of syrians that they have to fend for themselves. in idlib province, the white helmets rescued another child, a boy. people do their best. broader aid efforts, let alone rebuilding, will need a miracle to overcome the blight, hatred, and distrust of a generation of war. jeremy bowen, bbc news. let's pick up on some of what we saw injeremy�*s reports. i'm joined now by unicef spokespersonjames elder.

james, it is absolutely debilitating when you see what is happening on the ground in syria. of course, southern turkey was the hub of the aid, the kind of infrastructure where work was being sent and aid was being sent to get to syria itself. ijust wonder, it must be a desperate situation now in terms of your team and your staff on the ground. your team and your staff on the round. ~ , your team and your staff on the round. , ,, ., ground. absolutely desperate, caccia, and _ ground. absolutely desperate, caccia, and as _ ground. absolutely desperate, caccia, and as he _ ground. absolutely desperate, caccia, and as he say, - ground. absolutely desperate, caccia, and as he say, that - ground. absolutely desperate, i caccia, and as he say, that when route was already damaged and allowed by sanctions, it is now a damaged route, it is clearly not enough supply lines to get the sort of supplies, life—saving things these people need. remember, as a correspondent said, this is an economic crisis, it has been 11 years of war. infrastructure destroyed, schools destroyed, homes destroyed. there has been a cholera outbreak over the last few weeks not based on this earthquake, but cholera outbreak has been tormenting these people along with a biting

cold winter. then three or four o'clock on monday morning, there is an earthquake will stop it is unspeakable, but this is what the people are facing, and this is why it is so fundamentally important to do everything to reach them. unicef has had, for a decade, trusted partners in these areas that we continue to work through. but so much more needs to be done for those people, who after correspondent rightly said, keep doing so much themselves. we rightly said, keep doing so much themselves-— rightly said, keep doing so much themselves. ~ . ., ., themselves. we heard the un regional humanitarian — themselves. we heard the un regional humanitarian coronary _ themselves. we heard the un regional humanitarian coronary for _ themselves. we heard the un regional humanitarian coronary for syria - humanitarian coronary for syria called for an appealfor called for an appeal for national solidarity. but the asad regime in damascus wants aid to be delivered and coordinated through them. what do you make of that? because there is a? of how that aid then gets to those parts of the country that are not controlled by the asad regime. as a humanitarian organisation from unicef has been saying this from the beginning of that war, that war that

has been so deadly to so many children. just cannot politicise out of that. as you said, this is what risks happening. right now, the international community has to ensure that — this includes governments and those affected areas— that the loss of homes, the loss of lives, the loss of livelihoods doesn't continue to have a domino effect so that people continue to be exposed to evermore public health risks. when you see devastated hospitals, when you see that the infrastructure, basic water that the infrastructure, basic water thatis that the infrastructure, basic water that is so essential is bitter irony that is so essential is bitter irony that people are standing around in snow and have no clean water. it's a reminder as a creator of the united nations said, enough, you know? what else can these people, what else can these mothers and fathers possibly do to protect their children? and now they have an earthquake. if ever there was a moment for some humanity to stand by the syrians as brothers and sisters and to be led by

government to enable and help that happen for the people, this would be it's because as days go on, this crisis, unbelievably, is going to get worse. these at these moments where we still see children brought from the bible and everyone gets a chill down their spine at that moment ofjoy, but there is going to be a lot of sorrow found under that rubble. we have to make sure those people who have survived get the services they need, frankly, in the past years, those people in those areas have not been getting them and that this war. james, it is a grim note on which to leave it to come up at those moments of hope, they are so rare. itjames, spokesperson for unicef committee un's children fun, thank you very much for your time. —— much foryourtime. —— un's children's fund. now, as we've been reporting, ukraine's president zelensky is in the uk, where he's stepped up his demands for military help. as he was speaking, his forces were engaged in fighting in the eastern ukrainian city of bakhmut.

russian forces are closing in on the city, and have reached one of the main highways leading to the centre. president putin of russia is pushing hard for a victory, before the first anniversary of the invasion in a few weeks' time and before ukraine takes delivery of tanks from western allies. from eastern ukraine, our senior international correspondent orla guerin reports. on the battlefields around bakhmut, we follow ukrainian national guardsmen hunting for the enemy. every minute counts, russian forces are attacking from three sides. this is the safest place, here on the front line. because we have 1.5 kilometres for the russian troops. now it is here. we will fight with a drone and try to find somebody.

and if they find russian forces, they will drop this modified german grenade, held in place with a bit of velcro. we know that here, a lot of russian soldiers walking, living, sitting and so on. and so we just give them some gift and you will see the boom. yes, here. it was our grenade. it is time for us to move now that the drone is back and the grenade is dropped. we cannot stay in this location for more than two or three minutes because there is a risk we will be targeted here.

inside bakhmut, few dare to venture out. it feels like a city on borrowed time. but some still survive here in their basements, in the depths of war. in this darkness we find a bright spark, seven—year—old anna. she lives with her mother, grandfather, two cats and a dog. she is happy to see a familiar face. pavlo from the white angels, ukrainian police team. anna knows how to spring a trap. it can bite, she says.

i sit in the cellar almost all day long, she tells me. in the street i walk and take mooshka for a walk. but she is afraid of the booms and constantly comes back. only in the morning at dawn when it is quiet, i can take her out. anna's mother has turned down police offers of evacuation. she says no where in ukraine is safe and she can't afford to go abroad. all pavlo can do is keep anna warm with a new sleeping bag and hope she survives another night, as russian forces try to shelve this city into submission.

a chance to take you to canada, because it's where police say that they believe a bus has crashed into a daycare centre near the canadian city of montreal, killing two children and injuring six others. police believe it was deliberate. the driver has been arrested and police say he faces charges of homicide and dangerous driving. the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, has said he's "devastated" and cannot imagine what the families are going through. footage from the scene shows the bus smashed into the front of the building at the end of a driveway. the injured children are now said to be out of danger. stay with us on outside source — still to come... we turn to basketball — where lebronjames has become the nba's all—time leading scorer. lancashire police say they are still "fully open—minded",

over the fate of nicola bulley, who went missing 12 days ago, while walking her dog near the river wyre. they are still using a "working hypothesis", that she fell into the river. extensive searches are still taking place along a 10—mile stretch, but a specialist search team helping the police have ruled out the area where it's believed ms bulley may have fallen in. our north of england correspondent judith moritz has the latest. nicola bulley has been missing for 12 days. today her partner paul walked past the bench where her phone was found and went down to the water's edge to the spot where police believe she may have fallen into the river. the private search team who have been looking for her talked him through the work they've been doing. well, paul is extremely, obviously upset. he wanted to go and see where the original entry point was again. if nicola was in that river i would have found her, i can guarantee you that. we would have found her and she's not there in that section of the river up there.

nicola had gone to walk the family's dog along the river wyre when she went missing. boats fitted with sonar equipment have been scanning the water but there's still no sign. their screens revealing nothing but an empty river bed. the private search company has checked the water upstream from here, including the main area where nicola was last seen. but their search stops here — beyond this bridge the river runs down towards an estuary and then out to sea. today police boats carried on searching downstream and the coastguard are helping too. officers say they still believe nicola fell in, but remain open—minded about other possibilities. judith moritz, bbc news, lancashire.

this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is... the devastating earthquakes which have rocked southern turkey and northern syria and are now known to have killed well over 11 thousand people. rescue efforts are continuing into the night. turning to basketball. lebronjames has become the nba's all—time leading points scorer. the la lakers star claimed the record during their match against the oklahoma city thunder in los angeles. going into the game, james needed 36 points to overtake the record of 38,387 — set by kareem abdul—jabbar in 1989 and which many in the game thought was untouchable. the 38—year—old broke the record at the end of the third quarter in a defeat by oklahoma city thunder. play was interrupted as lebronjames celebrated with fans, here hugging former nba star magic johnson.

he'd scored 38 points by the end of the game. afterwards, he was congratulated by kareem abdul—jabbar. he initially broke the scoring record in april 1984, eight months before james was even born. absolute history in the making. let's hear from the los angeles lakers coach, darvin ham: something of this magnitude, outside of a finals match up or a finals win, like, this is definitely the, you know, the electricity was in the building hours before hand. you know, he gave the people what they wanted, you know, in true lebron fashion. the biggest thing is, again, to try and congratulate him, you know, we love him. let's take a look at some reaction on social media. loads of people love him. each reaction on social media but the nba. that's the national basketball association.

the nba — or national basketball association — has posted this pinned tweet, with the image of a crown and simply the figures... i can't even get the words out there are so many. the los angeles lakers tweeted... lots and lots of respect on the socials. the musician and singer john legend says... let's hear from some fans who were at the game: it's really exciting. i started crying. he's going to cry right now.

i am so happy that. he broke the record. i give all respect to kareem - abdul—jabbar, but lebronjames, you did your thing tonight. the energy there was so amazing. it was almost indescribable just to be a part of history. energy is amazing. you can hear that enthusiasm. well let me take you to a sports bar in phoenix, arizona and the moment lebronjames reached the record. our sports news correspondent nesta mcgregor was there. he can see, it speaks for itself, doesn't our sports news correspondent nesta mcgregor was there. two words from last night, actually, there was excitement, like you say, electricity, but also disbelief as well that this record had been

broken. lebronjames breaking it last night wasn't the most impressive thing, the fact that he came anywhere close to this record, as he mentioned, it stood for almost 40 as he mentioned, it stood for almost a0 years. many thought it was insurmountable, because it takes two things, longevity and ability. for 20 years, he's been in the lead, scoring points regularly. at 38, he still a top performer, scoring almost 30 points a game. many people find it would never be broken, so to see it twice in a lifetime, absolutely incredible. shin see it twice in a lifetime, absolutel incredible. �* . , absolutely incredible. an incredible achievement. _ absolutely incredible. an incredible achievement, but _ absolutely incredible. an incredible achievement, but you _ absolutely incredible. an incredible achievement, but you touched - absolutely incredible. an incredible| achievement, but you touched upon longevity there and you mention he is 38. how much longer can he go on for? million dollar question. by the way, i'm $1 million is how much is rumoured that lebronjames spends on his body every year, nutrition, he is supposedly one of the first athletes to sleep in a cryo— chamber. you know, he has his personal masseuse and trainers and everything like that, he takes good care of his body, no one has ever

done this at 38 years of age, so he is the example, he is setting the example. one thing that we do know for sure is that although he is 38, he has made no secret of the fact that he wants to be in the league for at least another two or three years. and that is significant because he wants to be the first nba player to either play with or against his sun, now his eldest, lebronjamesjunior, otherwise known lebron james junior, otherwise known as lebronjamesjunior, otherwise known as brownie, is 18 and will be eligible to play in the nba in a year or two. we could see another fest from lebron if that happens. remarkable that at this age he scoring as many points as he did when he came into the leak at 18. history in the making. as always, thank you very much. thank you for being there for us and relaying the electric atmosphere there. thank you. lots more... the restaurant chain, mcdonald's, has signed a legal agreement with the watchdog, the equality and human rights commission, in response to concerns about its handling of sexual harassment complaints, by staff in the uk. the commission says it's pleased

the company has committed to a zero—tolerance approach. our employment correspondent, zoe conway, has more details. you take a job at mcdonald's, you expect to be trained, you expect to be educated, you expect to learn and move on in life, not be degraded. christine worked in a south london mcdonald's — not this one — for seven years. in 2018, she went into the kitchen stockroom to find a manager. he started making really inappropriate sexual suggestions that i was uncomfortable with, and he pulled his pants down thinking that that was ok. and probably assuming that i would do something, and that was just bang out of order. did you go to a manager? did you complain? i went to my business manager and i said, "one of your managers is giving me unwanted attention and i'd like it to stop." she told me that she was going to investigate it and then she came back to me the next day and told me to go back in the kitchen

and work with him. i'm like, "are you absolutely crazy? he's going to make my life a misery. no!" four years ago, the bfawu trade union said it had received 1,000 complaints by mcdonald's employees of sexual harassment. the bbc has been told cases were settled with confidentiality clauses at mcdonalds�* insistence. now, due to concerns about the company's handling of harassment complaints, it has agreed to let the equality watchdog monitor its workplace practices. should we come to a view that we are unclear as to whether they're doing this, making changes to the extent that we want them to make changes, we can terminate the agreement. we can open a full legal investigation into them under our enforcement powers. we can take them to court.

when i started working at mcdonald's, i'd just come out as a transgender male... mcdonald's says it has a strong track record of making its employees feel respected and included, and says it welcomes the opportunity to work with the ehrc. it was really nice just to feel included... in a statement, a mcdonald's spokesperson said of christine's experience, "we're extremely concerned to hear these allegations. we have a people services helpdesk and an employee assistance phone campaigners are concerned that those who allege they were victimised whilst working at mcdonald's are not being consulted by the company about how to improve their workplace culture. zoe conway, bbc news. much more is always on all of our stories. you can get in touch with

me on twitter. for the time being, thanks for watching. goodbye. good evening. today brought us some big weather contrasts from mainly sunny conditions in the south to some windy conditions further north with some clouds, some outbreaks of rain courtesy of this weather front. it shows up very clearly on our earlier satellite picture. this stripe, a bright white cloud, and behind that, see a clearance, a mix of clear spells and speckled shower clouds. some wintry showers working in across scotland overnight. could be some snow to relatively low levels and some ice in northern scotland as well. all the while, our weather front will be weakening significantly, very little rain getting down into wales or the south of england. these are the temperatures we're expecting by the end of the night. so into tomorrow, the leftovers of this weather front will continue to journey south eastwards,

clearing to leave england and wales with largely sunny skies overhead. some sunny spells too for northern ireland, but the odd shower, and for scotland, quite a few wintry showers, at least for a time. snow mostly over the hills by the afternoon, but falling to low levels across shetland. windy in the north of scotland once again, temperatures around 8—10 celsius. now there'll be a change in the feel of the weather as we head to the end of the week. this area of high pressure to the south of us, this frontal system running across the north, bringing some rain across northern scotland particularly. but this weather setup will be feeding our winds in from the west, from the atlantic, so you can see from the yellow and orange colours on our air mass chart, some milder air will be working its way in, and you'll feel the difference on friday. but with a lot of cloud across the northern half of the country, some rain, particularly in northwest scotland. some bright skies, though, in eastern scotland, could lift the temperatures to 13 degrees. best of the sunshine likely to be across parts of the midlands, eastern and southern parts of england. and then we head into the weekend with high pressure close by,

still frontal systems running around the north of that area of high pressure. so we will see some areas of clouds, maybe some patchy rain into the western side of scotland, further south, closer to the centre of the high. there could well be some fog patches around on saturday morning, and i think generally through the day, sunshine will be in short supply, but the temperatures will still climb to 11 or 12 celsius — maybe 13 celsius, so above what we'd expect at this time of year. and for sunday, still a lot of clouds, some mist and fog in the south, but mainly dry and feeling mild.

hello, i'm kasia madera. this is outside source. as criticism grows over turkey's official response to monday's devastating earthquake — its president promises more help. translation: we have mobilised all our resources at the moment. l as of now, we will make some preparations. make damage assessments, and give our citizens some support. a family of six are pulled from the rubble — a miraculous escape in a sea of despair. rescue operations will continue into the night in the region. also in the programme... a surprise uk visit from the ukrainian president — with a plea to send fighter jets to ukraine.

we start with the devastating earthquakes which have rocked southern turkey and northern syria and are now known to have killed more than 12,000 people. turkey's president erdogan has been defending his government's response to the disaster on a visit to some of the worst—affected areas. we'll have more on that shortly. but first, with search operations ongoing in the rubble of collapsed buildings, dramatic pictures continue to emerge of rescues in both countries. this was the moment rescuers hauled a boy onto a stretcher — moments after he was rescued from the rubble two days after the earthquake. there were cheers ofjubilation at being able to save his life. there have been other glimmers of hope too in an otherwise grim landscape of devastation and death.

our correspondent, anna foster, has been in the village of karamanmaras. i was watching them take bodies out of here last night and again this morning. that is what that big digger is doing. it is pulling aside all of this rubble until they see the sign of a body. this morning, it was an arm clad in a purple top. at one point, there was a leg, and then they stop and they gently, with their hands, remove the body, and they give it to the loved ones, their relatives, many of whom you will see actually on the fringes here. they come and go and they wait for news, because what they really want, they know that their loved ones have already perished inside this building, but what they want are essentially some kind of answers. they want a body, they want to be able to have a funeral. they want to be able to see their loved ones one final time, and when that does happen, the emotion, i watched one man earlier today identify the body

of his father and to be in the middle of something like that, just witnessing that extraordinary grief and emotion at the worst moment in that person's life, and to realise that that is only one story, only one experience that has been replicated throughout streets and towns. just a reminder of where the worst—affected areas are. the epicentre of the first earthquake, in the early hours of monday, was in turkey's gazian—tep province. that one had a magnitude of 7.8. there have been almost 30 other shocks in the region, all powerful enough to magnify the damage. a second major earthquake struck 130km north of the first. these two quakes were the biggest in the region since 1939. monday's events happened along the east anatolian fault line. it's one of the world's most active

areas for seismic activity. drone images are giving us an idea of the scale of the destruction. this footage is from a drone flying above hatay, in southern turkey. this is one of the worst hit areas. whole neighbourhoods have been completely destroyed. as time is running out to save those trapped, people in some of the worst—hit areas are criticising the speed of rescue efforts. translation: these are the first officials i see here. _ i chased two official vehicles in the morning. one told me he was going to an to address. they said their building has collapsed, too. we need urgent help. they say international teams are coming. translation: my family and my sister are trapped under the ruins. _ we can't reach them. we are trying to talk to them but they are not responding. we are not sure how to intervene to save them and we haven't seen any help yet.

as we mentioned, turkey's president, reccep tayip erdogan, has visited some of the devastated areas. he's promised urgent aid and housing for the victims. translation: we will build mass housing in nine provinces, - just as we did immediately before. we will never allow our citizens to stay on the streets. we've mobilised all our resources at the moment. as of now, we will make preparations, make damage assessments and give our citizens some support. president erdogan is insisting that people will be looked after. but the leader of the main opposition party has laid some of the blame on the country's leader: translation: let me be very clear, if there is a man responsible - for this process, it is president erdogan — for 20 years, this government has not prepared the country for an earthquake. that is why i never

plan to meet with him. i never, ever considered this issue above politics. his politics brought us to the situation, they led the gangs into taxes for the earthquake. where is that money? it's gone. well president erdogan has hit back at the accusations. translation: this is a period of unity. j it is the time of solidarity, in such a period, i do not accept viciously negative campaigns conducted in the name of campaigns conducted in the name of mere political interest. we can pick up on what the leader of the republican people's party has said with, kader sevinc, president of the eu representation for turkey's main opposition party. in 1999 we had a big earthquake in turkey. turkey is a country of earthquakes. the government imposed an earthquake tax and our people

have been paying this huge tax for years and years. and now, if turkey is hit by a huge herd quick and the government isjust using is hit by a huge herd quick and the government is just using this lack of resources or other excuses, for us, for their inaction and absence. so, our president is underlining this is unforgivable. it cannot be an excuse for their absence. moreover, what we experienced since the earthquake happened because anger is mounting among people and survivors and others. because of the absence of the government. they are questioning why the government is not there and not taking action. where have all the taxes gone? so, our party president is indicating that that corruption might be the

reason behind this. i’m that that corruption might be the reason behind this.— reason behind this. i'm sure president — reason behind this. i'm sure president early _ reason behind this. i'm sure president early one - reason behind this. i'm sure president early one would . reason behind this. i'm sure i president early one would deny allegations of corruption and we have heard them say that he's trying to help the people and they would be housed at least temporarily. i want to ask you about the reports about when it comes to internet access and to twitter in particular. because turkey has restricted its and i want to show this tweet from the internet monitoring service which says it flagged real—time deity that twitter has been restricted in turkey and it comes as the public is relying on the service in the aftermath of the deadly earthquakes. what is your assessment? what is your understanding about the access to social media in turkey at this crucial moment?— social media in turkey at this crucial moment? that is a point. if the turkish — crucial moment? that is a point. if the turkish president _ crucial moment? that is a point. if the turkish president is _ crucial moment? that is a point. if the turkish president is confident l the turkish president is confident that he's doing what she needed to do as the president and his

government, why is he afraid of people who are criticising him? who are angry with him and expressing themselves on twitter. so are angry with him and expressing themselves on twitter.— are angry with him and expressing themselves on twitter. so that was catered seven _ themselves on twitter. so that was catered seven is _ themselves on twitter. so that was catered seven is the _ themselves on twitter. so that was catered seven is the leader - themselves on twitter. so that was catered seven is the leader of - themselves on twitter. so that was catered seven is the leader of the i catered seven is the leader of the publix main opposition party in turkey. now let's turn to northern syria — where more than 2,660 people have been confirmed dead, and thousands more injured. aid agencies and the un are warning the situation is 'catastrophic�*, due to a lack of supplies and rescue personnel. here's the world health organization. we have got a large unfolding huge scale disaster unfolding on us with large geographical spread. we've got a lot of people who have survived now out in the open in worsening and horrific conditions. we've got major disruption to basic water supplies, we've got major disruption to fuel and electricity supplies, communication supplies, the basics of life. this drone footage gives you an idea

of the scale of destruction — this is the city of aleppo, but the damage is widespread across idlib province in the north—west of the country. rescuers had a rare moment of hope. this young syrian boy called ahmed was rescued by members of the white helmets injandaris — he'd survived under the debris for two days. and cheers went up when this boy and his family were saved from a demolished building in the village of bisnia. these ruminants are rare. but despite their best efforts, rescue crews are suffering from the lack of manpower and supplies, here's oubadah alwan from the white helmets rescue group. we are talking about a group of 3000 people working on the ground

dealing with a population of a million people. there is a lack of supplies and aid kind of on every single level. medical centres are overrun. there is a lack of medical equipment as well. on our part, we are also facing a lack of tools and equipment to properly respond to this. something like diesel fuel or fuel to power our digging equipment and our ambulances and our cars. so a dire need for life—saving aid supplies — and as we heard earlier, the syrian government is appealing for international help. some countries have responded — planes have been arriving in damascus and aleppo loaded with supplies, flights coming from iraq, iran, the uae and egypt. but the main route for getting aid into syria is by road from turkey. and this is the condition of the road leading to the main crossing, at bab—al—hawa. the un gave this update today.

luckily today we are hearing that the road is opening. we do have a possibility, hopefully to access, to access the border. we are working with our with our turkish counterparts to to also give us all the support. but i think we have a glimpse of hope there that the road is accessible, and we can reach, we can reach the people. so a potential lifeline of aid may be able to get through the bab—al—hawa crossing. and people really need help. according to state media, the quake has forced more than 298,000 people to leave their homes. they're lighting fires amid the rubble to stay warm, overnight temperatures are below freezing in northern syria. and across the border in turkey, many of the 3.6 million syrian refugees who fled to escape the war have found themselves homeless again. these syrians are sheltering in a mosque in the city of diyar—bakir

near the syrian border. the earthquake is worse than the war because it came suddenly. we were sleeping and it happened suddenly. whereas when there is a war, you know it in advance, you hide in basements, mountains or deserts. the earthquake surprised us, we were not able to run or do anything. we just got out. "why can't we go home? because all the houses are shaking. it shook again the other day, we had no choice but to leave. we have become homeless. we are all here. what can we do? melinda young from the un children's fund unicef says many children have been displaced multiple times. conflict over the last ten years. you've got covid—19, you've got economic collapse of syria, which has heavily impacted everybody, pushing them into vulnerability, children being forced out into child labour or early marriage, so families can make ends meet. and now an earthquake on top,

for children who have often been displaced up to ten times in northwest syria. the syrian government has called for all aid for syria to be coordinated by them. however northwestern syria is still beyond the control of syria's president bashar al—assad, so there's a question over how any centrally controlled aid would reach those areas. here's our correspondent lina sinjab. international aid is not arriving yet into the northern part of syria under the opposition control, while on the government side, many arab countries have already sent aid and support, like egypt, like algeria, like iraq, like... pakistan now announced they're sending also aid to syria, china. but on the opposition side, where the worst case of the damage and aftermath of the earthquake, they're getting nothing.

damascus says western sanctions are to blame for the lack of aid arriving in syria. lots of the aeroplane, cargo aeroplane, refuse to land on syrian airports, because of the american and european sanctions. so even those countries who want to send humanitarian assistance, they can not use the aeroplane cargo because of the sanctions. of course the lack of equipment, the lack of capabilities all syria need this assistance, so whenever and whatever we receive, it will be for all syrians. a spokesperson blaming the lack of aid for the sanctions against the country. joining me is tjada d'oyen mckenna, chief executive officer of mercy corps, an aid organisation which has been working in syria since 2008.

i know that you've got teams up in the north. i wonder in terms of aid getting up to those regions. how are you doing it at the moment? we have been working — you doing it at the moment? we have been working in _ you doing it at the moment? we have been working in northwest _ you doing it at the moment? we have been working in northwest syria - you doing it at the moment? we have been working in northwest syria for i been working in northwest syria for almost a decade since the conflict started there. so, we have already an established set of suppliers and roots. the challenge is that northwest syria is at the end of a line of a very complicated supply chain, and supply route that goes directly through turkey. so, we do have some concerns about people being able to get through and get in. there are organisations like us who have been on the ground for some time and have already some supplies there that we are using. it is critical that we are able to maintain that supply chain. 50 critical that we are able to maintain that supply chain. so that su -l maintain that supply chain. so that supply chain- _ maintain that supply chain. so that supply chain- we — maintain that supply chain. so that supply chain. we have _ maintain that supply chain. so that supply chain. we have mentioned. maintain that supply chain. so that i supply chain. we have mentioned the crossing and showing the destruction of the road leading to it. are your

teams reliant on that particular crossing? teams reliant on that particular crossin: ? 3, teams reliant on that particular crossin: ? . ., , crossing? there are a few different entrances but _ crossing? there are a few different entrances but we _ crossing? there are a few different entrances but we all— crossing? there are a few different entrances but we all rely _ crossing? there are a few different entrances but we all rely on - crossing? there are a few different entrances but we all rely on those l entrances but we all rely on those crossings. we are, we have these relationships with suppliers and others who are used to working around and doing what they need to do to get things into syria. so, the or into north it northwest syria excuse me. wejust need or into north it northwest syria excuse me. we just need to or into north it northwest syria excuse me. wejust need to make or into north it northwest syria excuse me. we just need to make sure that those continued efforts to access that are not undermined. 50. access that are not undermined. so, when you've — access that are not undermined. so, when you've got members of the asad regime and talking about coordinated all the aid through them to mark how realistic is that? given that they are not controlling those particular parts of northwest syria where you operate. parts of northwest syria where you 0 erate. , ., , ., operate. things in northwest syria are not operate. things in northwest syria are rrot under— operate. things in northwest syria are not under the _ operate. things in northwest syria are not under the control - operate. things in northwest syria are not under the control of - are not under the control of the asad regime. there is a mechanism there. there are groups that are working there and that should go directly to those groups and those

organisations. just directly to those groups and those organisations.— directly to those groups and those organisations. just in terms of your --eole on organisations. just in terms of your people on the _ organisations. just in terms of your people on the ground. _ organisations. just in terms of your people on the ground. just - organisations. just in terms of your| people on the ground. just describe some of the stories that they are telling us because it is obviously very complicated. the lack of machinery and lack of supplies that are ongoing because of the conflict, because of the civil war. it is are ongoing because of the conflict, because of the civil war.— because of the civil war. it is a difficult situation. _ because of the civil war. it is a difficult situation. our- because of the civil war. it is a i difficult situation. our employees are syrians themselves and we are fortunate we did not lose any employees in this quick. some of our employees in this quick. some of our employees lost their families and we have one member still stuck in rubble. the situation in northwest syria was already dire people sleeping in offices. we work in displacement camps because syrians have been moved around quite a bit. the displacement camps were already overcrowded as it was to stop people are sleeping outside of their depletion displacement camps sleeping in cars or mosque or wherever they can find shelter. it

is so wet and cold and snowy that we have put down gravel in the displacement camps to get around. when you think about people outside of the camps and on the streets, it is just really a difficult situation to navigate and it's already was, and is now so much worse in the dead of a very severe winter. you and is now so much worse in the dead of a very severe winter.— of a very severe winter. you paint a ve vivid of a very severe winter. you paint a very vivid and _ of a very severe winter. you paint a very vivid and bleak _ of a very severe winter. you paint a very vivid and bleak picture. - of a very severe winter. you paint a very vivid and bleak picture. and i very vivid and bleak picture. and yes those temperatures go down to freezing in that part of the world overnight. tjada ceo of mercy corps. thank you. thank you for shining light on this. stay with us on outside source. still to come: the ukrainian president volodmyr zelensky renews his plea for fighterjets — we'll be taking a closer look. there's mr mandela, mr nelson mandela, a free man taking his first steps

into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader, ayatollah khomeini, has said he has passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president baby doc duvalier. because of his considerable value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud farm's central block. shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. there stepped down from the plane a figure in mourning, elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and of all her other realms and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith.

this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is? is the continuing devastation in syria. we will come back to that a little later. turning now to the war in ukraine. the country's president, volodymr zelensky, has made an impassioned appeal for fighter jets from the west, during a surprise visit to the uk. this is the moment volodymyr zelensky met the uk prime minister, rishi sunak, earlier today. he addressed parliament, met with king charles and paid a visit to ukrainian troops training in dorset. he spoke to reporters afterwards — have a listen. translation: nato armoured vehicles, they are the best, i and yet they are only a few of them, you know? when you only have ten nato armoured vehicles against 1,000 of soviet armoured vehicles, well, what are the

chances, you know? and we have no way out, we have to stand firm. we need armoured vehicles, we need tanks. we need fighterjets and, obviously, we've spent a lot of time talking about this together. let's take a look at what came out of that meeting. the main takeaway is that the uk plans to train ukrainian pilots to fly nato—standard fighterjets in the future. as well as this, we know that the defence secretary is investigating whatjets could potentially be given to ukraine. remember, there's some reluctance in the west to giving jets to ukraine. and the uk prime minister stressed that a decision on this wouldn't come soon — calling it a "long term solution." and this is what we heard from him at that press conference. when it comes to fighter combat aircraft, of course they are part of the conversation. we have been discussing that today and have been previously, and that is why we have announced today that we will be

training ukrainian air force on nato standard platforms. because the first step in being able to provide advanced aircraft is to have soldiers or aviators that are capable of using them. that is a process that takes some time. we started that process today. that's because we are keen to support the president and his country in delivering a victory. and nothing is off the table. a reporterfrom bbc ukrainian was also at the press conference — when she was called on to ask a question, we had this moment. translation: greetings, mr president. _ i would like to hug you but we are not allowed. why not, please do give me a hug, you know? security, understandable.

let's remind ourselves of some of the military support the uk so what might the impact of president zelensky�*s visit be? i put that to melinda haring from the atlantic council earlier. zelensky�*s chutzpah and humour, these are two of his big weapons, and we saw them on full force today in london. so that clip you just showed where he made a joke, he gave a hug to a bbc reporter and then he said, "where is my security?" he did something similar earlier in the day. he said... and remember, his english is not very good, he's not very fluent in english, but he still manages to convey humour. and he said, "thank you for the strong tea and thank you in advance for your strong fighter jets." and it got a great laugh, but it also got the british government's attention. so this is really... it underscores the significance of zelensky. ukraine would not be in this fight without zelensky and the strong, impassioned leadership and that chutzpah that he's shown for months and months. so let's go through what the uk is promising, then, because ultimately zelensky has always called for jets.

sure. you know, zelensky�*s been begging and begging forjets and he got very close last year, but then there was a backtrack with the polish government. this is a big deal, though, because britain led on tanks and britain is going to lead on planes. so london is sticking its neck out and saying, "not only are we going to train ukrainian soldiers on fighterjets, we're looking into the possibility." but your prime minister stepped that back and he said, "whoa, this is a long term solution." the bottom line, though, is that ukraine and russia have entered a very tough part of the war, and ukraine needs long range missiles and fighterjets to end it. and i think yourformer prime minister, boris johnson, nailed it today. he said, "end it now. send them what they need." and i know there's reluctance on many governments' parts to send jets, butjohnson is right.

melinda harding on that beets a meeting between rishi sunak and president zelensky. if you would like to get more on any of the subjects we covered you can contact me at bbc good evening. today brought us some big weather contrasts from mainly sunny conditions in the south to some windy conditions further north with some clouds, some outbreaks of rain courtesy of this weather front. it shows up very clearly on our earlier satellite picture. this stripe, a bright white cloud, and behind that, see a clearance, a mix of clear spells and speckled shower clouds. some wintry showers working in across scotland overnight. could be some snow to relatively low levels and some ice in northern scotland as well. all the while, our weather front will be weakening significantly, very little rain getting down into wales or the south of england. these are the temperatures we're expecting by the end of the night. so into tomorrow, the leftovers of this weather front will continue to journey south eastwards,

clearing to leave england and wales with largely sunny skies overhead. some sunny spells too for northern ireland, but the odd shower, and for scotland, quite a few wintry showers, at least for a time. snow mostly over the hills by the afternoon, but falling to low levels across shetland. windy in the north of scotland once again, temperatures around 8—10 celsius. now there'll be a change in the feel of the weather as we head to the end of the week. this area of high pressure to the south of us, this frontal system running across the north, bringing some rain across northern scotland particularly. but this weather setup will be feeding our winds in from the west, from the atlantic, so you can see from the yellow and orange colours on our air mass chart, some milder air will be working its way in, and you'll feel the difference on friday. but with a lot of cloud across the northern half of the country, some rain, particularly in northwest scotland. some bright skies, though, in eastern scotland, could lift the temperatures to 13 degrees. best of the sunshine likely to be across parts of the midlands, eastern and southern parts of england. and then we head into the weekend

with high pressure close by, still frontal systems running around the north of that area of high pressure. so we will see some areas of clouds, maybe some patchy rain into the western side of scotland, further south, closer to the centre of the high. there could well be some fog patches around on saturday morning, and i think generally through the day, sunshine will be in short supply, but the temperatures will still climb to 11 or 12 celsius — maybe 13 celsius, so above what we'd expect at this time of year. and for sunday, still a lot of clouds, some mist and fog in the south, but mainly dry and feeling mild.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme.

coming up on this week's show —