this is bbc news broadcasting in the uk and around the globe. i'm martine croxall and these are the latest headlines... aid agencies call for better access to the earthquake disaster zones in turkey and syria as the number of people killed in both countries rises to more than 2a,000. despite the odds, people are still being pulled out alive from the rubble in both countries, more than 120 hours after the first earthquake struck. surviving the earthquake, that's the first hurdle. what will their lives be like in the coming months and years as a result of the destruction we see here today? the united nations estimates the earthquakes may have left nearly 5.5 million people homeless in syria. the government there says it will allow aid to be delivered to rebel—held parts of the country.

this is the scene live in southern turkey as rescuers continue their pain—staking search for survivors. we'll bring you all the latest developments from our correspondents who are there. us fighterjets shoot down an unidentified aircraft over alaska after president biden gave the order to "seek and destroy." troops are trying to salvage the wreckage. in washington — president lula of brazil is seeking joe biden�*s backing for a new global forum to fight climate change. residents in australia and new zealand are urged to take shelter as cyclone gabrielle hurtles towards the islands threatening to bring destructive winds and heavy rain.

hello and welcome to bbc news. the number of people known to have died in monday's earthquakes in turkey and syria has risen to more than 2a,000. millions are thought to be homeless in the region, and rescuers are increasingly focusing on those requiring food and shelter. the united nations says almost 900,000 people are in urgent need of hot meals. let's bring you some live pictures now from southern turkey where we can see the rescue operation is under way. it is still very much a rescue operation. they are still finding people have survived 120 hours after those first tremors were felt. there have been a huge number of casualties as well, more than 211,000 we are told in both of those countries but they haven't given up hope yet. there have been appeals

over the last few days for more heavy lifting equipment to be brought in, especially into syria which has felt it has not received the support that turkey has had. but we are seeing international aid arriving. there has been a huge amount of money donated across the world in the first day of the disasters emergency committee appeal, over £32 million given by the public. people very, very keen to help those in the greatest need in turkey. and in syria. let's go to the veastated city of gaziantep now, where a massive search and rescue operation is under way. it's here — in southeastern turkey — located about 33km or around 20 miles from the epicentre of the earthquake. it's also the place where un aid chief martin griffiths is due to visit later today. nick beake sent us this update from there.

this time last weekend, this community would have been bustling. families out having a coffee, kids running around. look at it now. the heavy machinery has been working for hours now, sifting huge amounts of debris, rubble, because this used to be a residential block. we don't know how many people died here when the earthquake struck, but still, people who live nearby, and relatives have been coming here, staring in disbelief at what has happened. yet, as we hear more debris rained down, yet in another part of this city, overnight a pregnant woman was brought to safety. we don't know her condition, we don't know the condition of her unborn child. we are told the woman had a six—year—old daughter who did survive and these sorts of miracles are still happening five days after the earthquake. in another city, about two hours from here, there was a joint german

and uk rescue attempt and they managed to bring a 15—year—old girl to safety, but these sorts of stories are few and far between now and the focus is shifting onto how the many people who survived the initial quakes survive in the coming days and weeks ahead. the united nations is warning that across the border in syria, for example, more than 5 million people are now homeless, some 800,000 people are in urgent need of a hot meal if they are to survive, and across this region there are grave concerns about food and water and shelter for people. in this particular part of turkey there is also anger as well as the grief. we have been meeting people saying buildings such as this shouldn't have come down. yes, they were very big earthquakes, but they should have been built to withstand this sort of tremor. and a woman we spoke to yesterday told us that earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do, and that's a reference to the fact

here that here in turkey, construction companies can sometimes pay for an exemption so they don't have to follow all the normal rules and regulations. so there is this fusion of anger and grief and of course so many people who survived this dreadful disaster now face a very perilous fight to continue living in the days and weeks and months ahead. tom bateman is in adana in southern turkey for us and sent this report. this is one of the tower blocks we have revisited several times now that came down in the initial quake. you get a sense of how much work is involved in that they have been working day and night on this part of rubble. still quite a lot to clear. this building housed we think at least 100 people. we are told they think they're is still at least

20 bodies under the rubble there. it is notjust people who had to be evacuated when the quake struck but afterwards, because many of the buildings are unsafe and this has become a city of the displaced. all people find they can do is wait and watch individual. we have been chatting to some of the family and friends here. these people were their neighbours. 0ne friends here. these people were their neighbours. one man lived in this building, happened not to be here at the time but these are their family and friends and they sit and wait for news. we are told one man who was a good friend of the people here who was a carpenter who lived in this neighbour, tragically his body was removed last night. these are the moments of grief people are experiencing notjust by the day but by the hour and minute here, and still they wait for more news. at the same time, many of them don't have homes to live in. there are

some camps here in a darn about the facilities are basic and it is freezing at night. it remains a very severe humanitarian crisis notjust in adana but across this region. also on the ground is our reporter mehrdad farahmand, with those that have been evacuated in the city of adiyaman in southeastern turkey. in the middle of this crisis, children are still playing in the park as they used to before the earthquake, but this time there is a difference. the park is now their home. they live here in those tents. and for their parents, there is another difference. they have been forced to live in camps for the second time in their lives. they are syrian refugees. translation: i gathered the kids in the middle of the room - and covered them with my body as the ceiling and walls

collapsed onto us. we were trapped in a very small space but my son managed to dig a hole. we started shouting and crying for help then people came and pulled the kids out one by one. i was the last one to be pulled out. god gave us a second life. praise be to him. today is an exceptionally sunny day. a slightly better day for those who have lost their homes. this is a remote and cold part of turkey. the earthquake and the snowstorm came almost at the same time. the volunteers who have come from all over turkey to help have been through a very long and difficultjourney. translation: i was among one of the first responders _ to reach here after a great deal of difficulty. the roads were completelyjammed. as the people poured out of the town, ambulances were struggling to get into the town.

translation: it took us 20 hours to reach here because some - of the roads were destroyed and tunnels had collapsed. there was also a snowstorm but we took the risk to get here with so many difficulties. almost 1,000 buildings have been completely destroyed in adiyaman. more than 3,000 dead bodies have been taken out of debris so far. help has reached adiyaman very late. aid workers blame the weather and the remoteness of the area. 0thers particularly in the social media blame the government. mehrdad farahmand, bbc, adiyaman. women and girls have been identified as at risk of sexual violence and human trafficking, particularly in syria which has already been suffering after over a decade of war. racha nasreddine from actionaid

joins me now from amman. thank you very much. what are the risks? could you describe those that women and girls are facing at the moment? . ~ women and girls are facing at the moment? ., ~ , ., ., ., , moment? thank you for having me this morninu. moment? thank you for having me this morning- as — moment? thank you for having me this morning- as we — moment? thank you for having me this morning. as we know, _ moment? thank you for having me this morning. as we know, in _ moment? thank you for having me this morning. as we know, in crises, - morning. as we know, in crises, women and girls are at risk of increased violence, abuse and exploitation. the earthquake comes in syria where women and girls were already in a vulnerable situation. just to say that the region there has already been suffering from 12 years of conflict and a lot of the women impacted by this earthquake are head of households. the earthquake meant some of the people have been on the streets, lost their homes and they moved into tents or temporary shelters. their privacy is more exposed. usually in crisis, public spaces are more dominated by

men and this is very common in our communities that is basically where we have structural gender inequalities. it means women in these places are more exposed to violence, discrimination. they lack safe spaces too, for example, breast—feeding, for young girls who want to manage their periods, they don't have access to the right products, pregnant women are at risk of more complications because of the loss or destruction of a lot of health facilities. so of course crowded shelters and tense means there is more exposure to sexual assaults and aggressive behaviours from different family members. all of these risks are very common in disasters and we are witnessing this now in north—west syria. who disasters and we are witnessing this now in north-west syria.— now in north-west syria. who then can women — now in north-west syria. who then can women and — now in north-west syria. who then can women and girls _ now in north-west syria. who then

can women and girls get _ now in north-west syria. who then can women and girls get help - now in north-west syria. who then can women and girls get help fromi can women and girls get help from when the normal structures have disappeared?— when the normal structures have disappeared? luckily a lot of local organisations _ disappeared? luckily a lot of local organisations who _ disappeared? luckily a lot of local organisations who are _ disappeared? luckily a lot of local organisations who are also - disappeared? luckily a lot of local. organisations who are also supported by international ngos like for example my organisation, we provide safe spaces for women and girls. we havejust safe spaces for women and girls. we have just started three days ago opening our static safe spaces that already existed before this earthquake and luckily they were not damaged. so local ngos are responding, international organisations are providing these kind of spaces and providing the right humanitarian aid that is needed by these women. i can give another example, women and girls, some of them are more vulnerable, some of them are more vulnerable, some of them are more vulnerable, some of them are in hard to reach areas so we have initiated mobile social support services that can reuse these women —— reach these

women. it reuse these women -- reach these women. , , . ., women. it is even difficult to vet volunteers _ women. it is even difficult to vet volunteers who _ women. it is even difficult to vet volunteers who may _ women. it is even difficult to vet volunteers who may have - women. it is even difficult to vet volunteers who may have gone l women. it is even difficult to vet | volunteers who may have gone to women. it is even difficult to vet - volunteers who may have gone to the region to try and help. you cannot be sure who you are dealing with. how do you reach the people who are in greatest need, given that the normal communication systems are down? ., , , , ., normal communication systems are down? ., , , ., , down? for us, because we have been workin: down? for us, because we have been working for— down? for us, because we have been working for the _ down? for us, because we have been working for the past _ down? for us, because we have been working for the past couple _ down? for us, because we have been working for the past couple of- down? for us, because we have been working for the past couple of years | working for the past couple of years in this area through local partners, we have already established our strong partnerships in the area. we have established the connection is needed. so we work through our local partners. now, you are totally right. 0nce partners. now, you are totally right. once the earthquake hit, the communication was very hard for the first 48 hours but luckily now it is getting better. we only work with organisations who we know and trust and have been working with for the past years. in and have been working with for the ast ears. , ., , , past years. in terms of the support that ou

past years. in terms of the support that you need _ past years. in terms of the support that you need to _ past years. in terms of the support that you need to keep _ past years. in terms of the support that you need to keep this - past years. in terms of the support that you need to keep this work - that you need to keep this work going, what would help you most? currently we are trying to provide life—saving assistance in the form of shelter, equipping temporary shelters, hygiene kits for women and girls. what we need is for more support. we have already launched different appeals in addition to the appealfrom the different appeals in addition to the appeal from the disasters different appeals in addition to the appealfrom the disasters emergency committee in the uk. 0f appealfrom the disasters emergency committee in the uk. of course the public has been so generous in providing for us the support so we can continue our efforts in north—west syria. can continue our efforts in north-west syria.- can continue our efforts in north-west syria. really good to talk to you- _ north-west syria. really good to talk to you. thank _ north-west syria. really good to talk to you. thank you _ north-west syria. really good to talk to you. thank you very - north-west syria. really good to | talk to you. thank you very much north-west syria. really good to - talk to you. thank you very much for speaking to us on bbc news. let's show you the live pictures here from southern turkey where you can see these exhausted rescuers still trying to find signs of life

under the incredible amounts of rubble that are left behind after all those buildings were demolished in those huge earthquakes earlier in the week. they are still finding survivors so it pushes them onto continue to look but we do no more than 20,000 people have died after monday's earthquakes in southern turkey and northern syria. syrian state media are reporting that damascus has now given permission for international aid to be sent to earthquake victims in rebel held areas across government lines. they are hoping to get aid into those rebel held areas because they are the parts of the country that

are the parts of the country that are missing out. it is feared though that in syria alone more than 5 million people have been made homeless. here we have footage of another rescuer early in the day of another rescuer early in the day of a woman pulled from the rubble. rescue crews are refusing to give up hope of finding people alive but their survival chances plummet after their survival chances plummet after the first 72 hours because of the effects of dehydration and cold. 0ne positive thing is because the earthquake struck in the night, people were in bed, under and so in some ways, have more insulation than you might have expected. you had to look for the bright spots in these cases. plenty more online including stories from survivors on the bbc

news website and the bbc news app. the us military says it has shot down an unidentified object flying at high altitude over alaska. the craft appeared nearly a week after a chinese surveillance balloon was brought down as it travelled through american airspace. here'sjohn kirby — spokesman for the white house national security council. we are calling this an object because that is the best description we have right now. we do not know who owns it. whether it is state owned or corporate owned or privately owned, we just don't know. we've also heard from our north america correspondent nomia iqbal, she gave us this update. the details so far on this are vague but the white house spokesman, john kirby, said that this unidentified object was flying at an altitude that was lower than the chinese spy balloon and therefore it posed a risk to commercial aircraft, which is what they were worried about. it was spotted about 24—hours ago but they shot it down at around about 1.30 eastern time on friday. mr kirby emphasised

that it was the president, president biden, who ordered for it to be shot down. this was after a fighterjet approached the object and assessed that it was unmanned. they will now assess the debris to find out exactly what this object was. mr kirby said that the president ordered for the shoot down out of an abundance of caution but there is a lot of political pressure on him following the chinese spy balloon. republicans have criticised him for not acting more quickly, saying he is weak on china. he was also heckled at his state of the union address about it. mr kirby said that the president has no regrets about how he handled the chinese spy balloon. pro—government rallies with millions of iranians are taking place in tehran and other cities to mark the 44th anniversary of the islamic revolution in 1979. the annual commemoration of the revolution that turned iran into a theocratic state is always a show of strength by the country's leaders. tens of thousands of iranians are taking part across the country —

chanting slogans and waving banners that as usual condemn the us and israel. celebrations in the capital began on saturday morning, here we can see people chanting slogans and waving banners that condemn the us and israel. residents of the australian pacific territory of norfolk island have been urged to take shelter as cyclone gabrielle threatens to bring destructive winds and heavy rain. forecasters say high tides and very heavy surf could cause local damage and coastal erosion. new zealand is also on alert. phil mercer who is live in sydney gives us an update on cyclone gabrielle. if you look at the latest satellite data shows cyclone gabrielle is on track to get very close or over norfolk island over the next few hours. tonight and tomorrow will be criticalfor hours. tonight and tomorrow will be critical for this hours. tonight and tomorrow will be criticalfor this tiny hours. tonight and tomorrow will be critical for this tiny community that lies about 1600 kilometres to

the north—east of sydney. the islands administrators have issued island's administrators have issued a red alert. this means residents are being advised to stay indoors, find the strongest part of the house in which to take shelter. australia's bureau of meteorology saysin australia's bureau of meteorology says in the last 30 or 40 years, only three cyclones have come within 50 kilometres of norfolk island. this is a rare event and also, there are parts of new zealand's north island also preparing for the arrival of the cycling. it is estimating to hit new zealand on sunday. 0nce estimating to hit new zealand on sunday. once again, parts of new zealand on alert for nature's fury.

the brit awards, celebrating uk music, are taking place on saturday for the first time since they began in 1977. harry styles and the indie band wet leg, lead the way with four nominations each. but there has been controversy about the all—male shortlist for british artist of the year. 0ur music correspondent mark savage has been speaking to some of the nominees. and the winner is... the winner is... the brit awards, the biggest night of the year for uk music. ..adele! i want to thank everybody, everyone over there, i love you all. ..sam fender. by now, we're used to seeing pop's guest stars lifting trophies but for a brand new act... shut up! you're joking! ..finding out you've been nominated can be life—changing. # keep on running through these red flags# _ this year's nominees include lizzo, the 1975, beyonce and mimi webb, who's up for best new artist. oh, i couldn't believe it.

i was so inspired when, like, dupa lipa won best new artist and i rememberwatching it and saying to my mum, "i'm gonna do that. i'm gonna get that nomination and i'm going to go one day," so just to kind of have that full—circle moment and, yeah, it'sjust — it's quite emotional, you know? and you broke the news quite sneakily to your mum? i've got something to tell you. you all right? i've just — i've just been nominated as the best new artist at the brit awards. sorry? say that again. the best new artist at the brit awards — i've been nominated. oh, my god! oh, my god — i've goose bumps! oh, come here! she didn't expect it and she wasjust shocked and, like, even now, every day, i get phone calls about it. like, she's like, "oh," like, she'sjust so excited and i think she just can't believe it as well. hey, how are you guys doing? you all right? comedian mo gilligan is hosting the awards for a second time. he says it's hard not to get caught up in the excitement. the thing is the brits, you never know what's gonna happen but you're also seeing people win the biggest award of their life in real—time as well, and i get to feel like i was a part of that.

cheering and applause. i'm also seeing my friends like little simz win and pick up an award and, you know, take her mum onstage. is that a problem, though? if you've got a favourite, like little simz... oh, man! ..and adele beats her, how do you paper over that? yeah. i guess i am impartial but at the same time, you want yourfriends to win, innit? chuckles. # as it was... # as it was. harry styles is the big favourite this year. he's up for four prizes and is widely expected to win album of the year. # 0n the chaise longue, on the chaise longue #i indie band wet leg are also up for four awards including best group... # when we pull up you know it's a shutdown. i and blackpink have made history as the first ever korean girl band to receive a brit nomination for best international group. but there's concern over the lack of female nominees elsewhere. a year after the awards combined the best male and female awards,

not a single woman is up for best artist. the rock band nova twins, who are nominated for best group, say the industry makes it harder for women to succeed. you dream big when you're young because anything — anything's possible. but the reality is when you get into it, it's not as easy. we had to navigate slightly differently, you know, being women, being people of colour, doing rock music. and it was like, "you need to be in hip—hop". so that's what we've got confronted with a lot at the beginning, so we had to navigate very differently. i think the message isjust follow your gut. follow your gut. don't listen to the noise of everything. quote georgia. clears throat. if you take the short road, it will draw blood but if you take the long road, it will draw sweat. you can see the results of that blood and sweat, and maybe a few tears, too, when the brit awards kick off at 8:30pm tonight. mark savage, bbc news. let's leave you with these live pictures now from southern turkey where we can see the rescue

operation is under way. stay with us as in the next hour we'll hear from an expert in the logistics of the ongoing humanitarian work in both turkey and syria. hello. plenty of cloud around and not much sun this weekend but a mild theme. quite a contrast to just a couple of mornings ago where temperatures fell to minus seven celsius in 0xfordshire. but take a look this morning. pewter. despite the cloudy skies, quite quiet out there. we are still under this influence of high pressure at the moment but a subtle change in wind direction has brought this change to the feel of the weather. we have this a milder air source driving in quite a lot of cloud off the atlantic so it's a grey, cloudy start and the cloud of thick enough in one or two spots for a touch of drizzle but there will be some

breaks in the cloud. favoured spots across scotland, south wales. temperature is not bad really for this time of year, peaking perhaps at 13, may be 14 degrees if the sunshine continues in parts of aberdeenshire. 0vernight tonight here we may well keep clear skies but elsewhere a blanket of cloud keeps things frost the ring but that doesn't mean another great start to sunday morning. there will be some differences on sunday, may be the wind is starting to pick up, a blustery afternoon so that means for scotland, northern ireland, coast of wales, greater chance of more sunshine, centraland wales, greater chance of more sunshine, central and eastern england may be cloudy, grey skies. double figures quite widely across the country. as we move out of sunday into monday, there will not be that much change. high pressure will drift further east, more of a southerly and so potential with that breezy story to see the cloud

breaking upjust breezy story to see the cloud breaking up just a touch. breezy story to see the cloud breaking upjust a touch. may breezy story to see the cloud breaking up just a touch. may be central and eastern england again sunshine amounts will be fairly limited but it will be highs of around nine to 12 degrees so a milder story continuing. if you're starting to get desperate for rain, gardeners out there, there is a weather front starting to push in but it will move somewhat erratically in from the west. the potential tuesday into wednesday of seeing outbreaks of rain and then from wednesday onwards, a little bit more unsettled and the rain turns showery but it will be mild for all. take care.

this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall and these are the headlines... aid agencies call for better access to the earthquake disaster zones in turkey and syria as the number of people killed in both countries rises to more than 24,000. despite the odds, people are still being pulled out alive from under the rubble in both countries, more than 120 hours after the first earthquake struck. the united nations estimates the earthquakes may have left nearly five and a half million people homeless in syria. the government there says it will allow aid to be delivered to rebel—held parts of the country. in other news, us fighterjets shoot down an unidentified aircraft over alaska after president biden gave the order to "seek and destroy".

troops are trying to salvage the wreckage.