this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories... aid agencies call for better access to the earthquake disaster zones from turkey to syria as the number of people killed in both countries rises to more than 25,000. 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. people are still being pulled out alive from under the rubble in turkey, more than 120 hours after the first earthquake struck. the un aid chief calls the scale of the disaster — and the response to it — unprecedented. in other news, us fighterjets have shot down an unidentified aircraft

over alaska after president biden gave the order to seek and destroy. in the uk, thirteen men and two women have been arrested following clashes with police, outside a hotel providing refuge for asylum seekers on merseyside in northwest england. # 0n the chaise longue, on the chaise longue # 0n the chaise longue all day long # 0n the chaise longue...# celebrating uk music — indie band wet leg and singer harry styles lead the way with four nominations each for tonight's brit awards. hello and welcome to the programme. we start a course of the aftermath of the earthquakes in syria and

turkey. the number of people now known to have died in the earthquakes has passed 25,000. we can take you to the area, it is just gone 8pm at night, extraordinary effort still going on there, hours and hours days after there, hours and hours days after the initial impact. we have had two significant visits to the region by the turkish president, president erdogan, who said the laws there will be tightened to try and stop polluting, and also promising that buildings, thousands of buildings, so many which have been flattened, will be rebuilt. the second significant visit there today is by the head of the united nations humanitarian aid effort, a gentleman called martin griffiths, he has been there, and he has questioned the difference in getting aid to turkey on one hand and syria on the other,

and there is a significant difference. 0ur correspondent quentin sommerville is in harem in the northwest idlib province of syria, which is rebel—controlled. just listen to him describe the difference. this is the town of harem in north—west syria. there is a bit of activity here, but nothing like you see there in terms of activity on the other side, on the turkish side of the border. the border is literally just across that hill. the people here have lost about 700 buildings. another 4,000 or so are unsafe. so they are living in tents and if we just swing around here you can perhaps see the internally displaced people's camp that has been set up over there. they are also telling us that in terms of foreign aid, they have received next to nothing. some spanish doctors made it to some of their hospitals, but nothing else. the contrast here with what is going on in turkey is astonishing. over on that side of the border there is the constant sound of sirens, of heavy machinery,

of people working. there is none of that here. down there are small children removing the rubble. while the international community isn't here, it is being left to small boys to remove the rubble from these broken buildings and to try and find bodies. and it is bodies they are trying to find now because they say that the time for looking for survivors has passed here, that that passed 2a hours ago. this is mainly a recovery mission, they are no longer rescuing people and the reason they are no longer rescuing people is because the aid just didn't come quick enough. went on talking so frankly about the issues. 0ur chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, has been speaking to the un humanitarian chief — martin griffiths — on a visit to the turkish city of kahramanmarash.

martin griffiths, you have seen so many disasters in so many different parts of the world. how does this compare? i think it is the worst natural disaster i have ever seen. and it is also the most extraordinary international response, as you know. we have more than 100 countries who have sent people here, so there's been an incredible response. but there is a need for it, as we see behind us. and what is so amazing is that people are still, as you know, lyse, coming out of the rubble alive six days in. so it is shocking. it is also, in a perverse sense, quite heartening. heartening in what way? well, the response. the response. the fact that the people with great expertise who got here very quickly, committed, working day and night to do what is needed. that is remarkable and i hope that when we launch our appeals for both turkey and syria in the next day or so that we will get the generous donor response as well. what do they need the most now?

what they need the most now is to come to a conclusion as to when they call off the rescue efforts, which is a really difficult question because of who is left behind. then, i think, as tedros from the who has said, really worried about medical next, particularly in north—west syria, where we have cholera already. but medical facilities here are obviously overwhelmed, as you know, so there is a huge need for urgent medical care, mobile clinics, field hospitals. i think the united kingdom is sending in a field hospital, for example. and then the period of humanitarian aid, the next three months, for which we are appealing, which will cover shelter, livelihoods, food, nutrition and health care. and so, to give people a sense, those people who have had to leave their homes, that there is a stable future, awaiting them, even in this awful time.

just a sense there of the scale of some of the humanitarian aid challenges going on in that region right now. there is plenty more information on the bbc live page. as i mentioned at the top of the hour, there are some stories of hope. a —year—old boy was pulled from the debris after surviving for hours under the rubble. that was in turkey, but sadly, of course, such stories are diminishing and the chance of surviving are diminishing. plenty more on the website. the united states is trying to recover the debris of an unidentified object which was shot down as it flew over alaska's north coast. a pentagon spokesman said the object was unmanned, and about the size of a small car. it comes almost a week after the us

military brought down what it says was a chinese spy balloon. jon donnison reports. it's almost a week since the us military shot down what it said was a chinese spy balloon off the coast of south carolina. now the pentagon says fighterjets like these have intercepted another unidentified object, this time in the skies above alaska. we have no further details about the object at this time, including any description of its capabilities, purpose, or origin. the object was about the size of a small car, so not similar in size or shape to the high altitude surveillance balloon that was taken down off the coast of south carolina on february 4th. defense officials say this latest object had been flying at around 40,000 feet close to an area called prudhoe bay, much lower than last week's balloon. a military transporter plane, as well as helicopters, have now been sent to try and

recover the debris. the biden administration came under a great deal of political criticism, particularly from republicans in congress and elsewhere, for not dealing with that last balloon more quickly. and i think it's no surprise that when they found an opportunity to take a shot at whatever this was over alaskan waters, they did so, presumably one consideration being that this was to avoid the potential circus of yet another foreign object transiting the continental united states for days or weeks. wreckage of last week's balloon has now been recovered, and is being analysed by us intelligence. they want to do the same with whatever they find in alaska. meanwhile, chinese officials have accused the us of political manipulation and hype. jon donnison, bbc news. fifteen men and two women, aged between 13 and 5a, have been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder after clashes

outside accommodation for asylum seekers on merseyside. crowds gathered near the suites hotel in knowsley last night, where a police van was set on fire. molly brewer reports. flames light up the dark as a police van is set on fire. initially, peaceful, eventually violent. a protest was called after claims about the behaviour of some people staying at the hotel towards locals. some rooms at the suites hotel have been used to house people seeking asylum. but as fighting broke out between protesters, counter—protesters and the police, all those inside could do was watch what was happening as officers tried to restore calm. hundreds of protesters were involved. a number of arrests were made for public order offences and criminal damage. claire moseley, founder of refugee charity carelicalais, was part of a counter—protest in solidarity with migrants. we're talking about victims

of the worst things in this world, and the answer is never mob violence. the answer is never to blame the actions of one person on the many. this is not the way that britain deals with these things. there'll be a visible police presence in the area tonight to make sure things stay calm. molly brewer, bbc north west tonight. and we've had an update on this story from the uk home office. a spokesman said: clare moseley witnessed the protests last night and she is the founder of refugee charity, carelicalais. thank you so much for coming on the programme. thank you so much for coming on the programme-— thank you so much for coming on the programme-_ what - thank you so much for coming on the

programme._ what did - thank you so much for coming on the| programme._ what did you programme. thank you. what did you see last night? _ programme. thank you. what did you see last night? what _ programme. thank you. what did you see last night? what we _ programme. thank you. what did you see last night? what we saw - programme. thank you. what did you see last night? what we saw was - programme. thank you. what did you j see last night? what we saw was very shockin: see last night? what we saw was very shocking and — see last night? what we saw was very shocking and troubling. _ see last night? what we saw was very shocking and troubling. we _ see last night? what we saw was very shocking and troubling. we had - see last night? what we saw was very shocking and troubling. we had gone| shocking and troubling. we had gone there because we had heard there was going to be a protest against asylum seekers being housed at the hotel, and we wanted the people in the hotel not to be afraid and to know that there are some people here who do care about them and do welcome them, but we certainly didn't expect to see any signs of violence, and it was very shocking to see those scenes on the streets of the uk. if people don't want asylum seekers to be houston hotels, then they need to write to the government and tell the government to process their claims so they can move on with their lives. violence and mob scenes cannot ever be the answer, and it is really very shocking to have seen that take place in the uk. fin really very shocking to have seen that take place in the uk.- that take place in the uk. on the issue of peeple _ that take place in the uk. on the issue of people being _ that take place in the uk. on the issue of people being housed - that take place in the uk. on the issue of people being housed in. issue of people being housed in hotels like this, the government say that they do not want to see it, groups such as yours do not want to see it, protesters last night did

not want to see it, it seems a strange situation where nobody wants to see this happen, but yet it is still happening. it to see this happen, but yet it is still happening.— to see this happen, but yet it is still happening. it does, doesn't it? to us, _ still happening. it does, doesn't it? to us, the _ still happening. it does, doesn't it? to us, the answer— still happening. it does, doesn't it? to us, the answer is - still happening. it does, doesn't it? to us, the answer is easy. . still happening. it does, doesn't it? to us, the answer is easy. if| it? to us, the answer is easy. if their claims are processed, taken get on with their own lives and get jobs and get housing. it is an obvious answer, the governmentjust needs to do it. the asylum seekers themselves certainly do not want to be in hotels, they never asked for it, so process their claims and they can get on with their lives. it seems like the obvious fix. what you think the chances _ seems like the obvious fix. what you think the chances are _ seems like the obvious fix. what you think the chances are of _ seems like the obvious fix. what you think the chances are of that - think the chances are of that happening? i think the chances are of that happening?— think the chances are of that happening? think the chances are of that haueninu? ., , , ., happening? i really hope it is going to ha en, happening? i really hope it is going to happen. but _ happening? i really hope it is going to happen. but it— happening? i really hope it is going to happen, but it is— happening? i really hope it is going to happen, but it is not _ happening? i really hope it is going to happen, but it is not my - happening? i really hope it is going to happen, but it is not my place i happening? i really hope it is going to happen, but it is not my place to say. {iii to happen, but it is not my place to sa . u, , ~ to happen, but it is not my place to sa. , . say. of course. we appreciate the time you've _ say. of course. we appreciate the time you've taken, _ say. of course. we appreciate the time you've taken, the _ say. of course. we appreciate the time you've taken, the thank - say. of course. we appreciate thej time you've taken, the thank you. a large crowd has stormed a police station in pakistan, lynching a man being held there on an allegation of committing blasphemy. social media pictures said to be from the scene showed people scaling the gates of the station in nankana sahib,

in punjab province. let's get more on this from bbc�*s umer draz nangiana from lahore. thank you very much for coming on. just tell us what you know about what happened. this just tell us what you know about what happened-— just tell us what you know about what hauened. , , what happened. this person, he was ca tured what happened. this person, he was captured by — what happened. this person, he was captured by some — what happened. this person, he was captured by some people _ what happened. this person, he was captured by some people early - what happened. this person, he was captured by some people early in - what happened. this person, he was| captured by some people early in the morning today, and the inform the police, including of committing blasphemy. the police got to the site and they arrested the person, and brought him to the police station. he was locked up there. then, a large number of people gathered outside the police station, and the demand of the police to hand over the suspect to them. the police officials locked the gates of the police station, and they tried to negotiate with this charge crowd from inside the police station, but certainly the crowd became violent. some of them scaled the gates, they got inside the police station, opened the gates, and barged in. they snatch the suspect from the police custody and tortured him to

death outside the police station, and the police could not protect the suspect from the charge crowd. now, the police are saying that they are trying to analyse the videos, and identify people who were involved in the killing of the person, of the man, and they will arrest the suspects very soon.— man, and they will arrest the suspects very soon. man, and they will arrest the susectsve soon. , , ., suspects very soon. more broadly and more widely. — suspects very soon. more broadly and more widely. can _ suspects very soon. more broadly and more widely, can you _ suspects very soon. more broadly and more widely, can you talk— suspects very soon. more broadly and more widely, can you talk us - suspects very soon. more broadly and more widely, can you talk us through | more widely, can you talk us through the blasphemy laws there? the? more widely, can you talk us through the blasphemy laws there?— the blasphemy laws there? they are ve strict. the blasphemy laws there? they are very strict- their _ the blasphemy laws there? they are very strict. they carry _ the blasphemy laws there? they are very strict. they carry the _ the blasphemy laws there? they are very strict. they carry the death - very strict. they carry the death penalty stop we have seen in the recent past there have been incidents of allegations of blasphemy, and the laws of blasphemy being yet misused. in most cases, what we have seen is that when the matter gets to the court, the police investigation shows that the facts are very different to what the allegations exactly where. in most cases, the laws are misused, but

whenever somebody is accused of blasphemy in pakistan it is a very sensitive matter,... they normally seek protection from the police. this is one of the rare cases where the police could not protect the suspect. in most cases, the police would take the suspect into custody, and then they would investigate and see if blasphemy was committed or not. in this case, police could not protect the suspect from the charge crowd and he was lynched. thank you very much- — thousands of protestors have been demonstrating across france today against pension reforms. the protests have been taking place since mid—january over the government's plans to increase the retirement age by two years to 64. president emmanuel macron says the current system is unsustainable. our correspondent in paris hugh schofield has the latest.

we talk about 62 and 64 as if that's when everyone stops working. of course it's not when everyone stops working. these ages are the ages at which people can, for the first time, claim a state pension. they can stop work at that age. it doesn't mean that they'll get a full pension because they may not have worked enough years, enough annuities, as they call it here. so what the government is doing is trying to push back that age at which people can stop working from 62 to 64. and the argument from people on the left, and it's people on the left who are out here today, is that this favours the people who are better off, more qualified, because they tend to start work later because they're students until their mid—20s. so they weren't retiring at 62 anyway, not even retiring at 64. they may be working up to 66, 67 to get their full pension. it's people who start working, start working earlier. in other words, less qualified people, poorer people who are going to be hit by this compulsory pushing back of the age of retirement. so that's what is motivating this protest, socialjustice, in a word, and of course, a great anti—macron feeling which unites everyone.

lets get the sport from you. ireland have won a six nations game against france, in what could be the game that decides the tournament. ireland scored four tries for a bonus point when that makes it a record i4th home victory for them in a row. france, the defending six nations champions have lost for the first time in 15 games. scotland are currently taking on wales at murrayfield, and there are not quite as many points in the first game, at least. scotland 6—0 wales is the latest score.

premier league leaders arsenal have been held to a one 1—1 draw at home by brentford. the gunners took the lead through leandro trossard twenty minutes into the second half but their london rivals equalised rthrough ivan toney. arsenal are still six points clear of their nearest rivals manchester city who are at home to aston villa on sunday. despite having more than 600 million—worth of talent available... chelsea continue to stutter after being held to a 1—1 draw at west ham. two of theirjanuary signings did combine for the opening goal, enzo fernandez crossing forjoao felix, but after former chelsea player emerson scored an equaliser for west ham, it leaves chelsea still with only one win in the league since december and in ninth place. david's sides are always well organised david's sides are always well or: anise: ., david's sides are always well organise— david's sides are always well or: anise: ., ~ organised under threat. we were caettin u- organised under threat. we were getting up to _ organised under threat. we were getting up to speed _ organised under threat. we were getting up to speed with - organised under threat. we were getting up to speed with the -

getting up to speed with the intensity of 90 minutes in the premier league for some players, but they will get betterfor premier league for some players, but they will get better for that experience, i think. elsewhere fulham beat nottingham forest, leicester thrashed spurs, while ten man wolves came from behind to win at southampton. crystal palace drew 1—1 with brighton. england have beaten west indies by seven wickets in their opening match of the women's t20 world cup sophie ecclestone took three wickets in west indies' total of 135 for 7. nat sciver brunt scored an unbeaten 40 as england knocked off the runs with 33 balls to spare. defending champions australia have just started their first game against new zealand. meanwhile india beat australia by an innings and 132 runs inside three days to win the first test in nagpur. it was a stunning bowling

effort by the home side, who after making 400 in theirfirst innings bowled austrlaia out forjust 91 in their second innings. ravi ashwin taking five wickets. these two are the top two teams in the world test rankings. australia love playing test cricket, they love coming out to represent their country, so we are aware of them bouncing back. by no means are we rolling them out or anything like that. we want to play the cricket that. we want to play the cricket that we played in this game, we will continue to do that in the next three games that we have. scotland have discovered _ three games that we have. scotland have discovered the _ three games that we have. scotland have discovered the first _ three games that we have. scotland have discovered the first try - three games that we have. scotland have discovered the first try of - have discovered the first try of that match in the six nations at murrayfield. they lead ii—0 that match in the six nations at murrayfield. they lead 11—0 at wales. that assault sport for now. —— that is all for sport for now. 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.

0ur music correspondent mark savage has been speaking to some of the nominees. the winner is... 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 are used to seeing pop 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 remember watching it and saying to my mum and dad, "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's just — 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 got goose bumps! oh, come here! she didn't expect it and she was just shocked and, like, even now, every day, i get phone calls about it. like, she's like, "oh," like, she's just 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 your friends to win, innit? chuckles. # 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 # 0n the chaise longue, all day long # 0n the chaise longue...# indie band wet leg are also up forfour awards, including best group... # when we pull up you know it's a shutdown...# ..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 women of colour, doing rock music.

and it was like, "you need to be in hip—hop". so that's what we 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. just before we go i want to take you back to turkey and syria. we will focus a bit on the aid efforts. we are seeing some rescue effort still, but the scale of the humanitarian aid is extraordinary. we have heard about the need for heaters and hot meals, accommodation, and then you get to the health care needs, sanitation, sanitary products, medicines, the list is intimidating.

the efforts, though, continue. that is it. this is bbc news. hello there. for most places today, sunshine was in short supply, but there were exceptions to that rule, particularly in the north east of england and the east of scotland. a decent amount of blue sky overhead for this weather watcher in aberdeenshire. that's because there was a bit of shelter from the westerly flow that brought all of this cloud in across the uk and will keep some large areas of cloud as we head through the night. that cloud in place is thick enough to produce the odd spot of drizzle, perhaps most especially in the north west of scotland. north east scotland, though, should see some clear spells that could allow for a touch of frost. and if the cloud breaks elsewhere, maybe east wales into the west country again there could be a touch of frost, but for most temperatures will stay several degrees above freezing.

so into tomorrow, this area of high pressure still with us, but it tends to slip eastwards and that would allow the winds to strengthen a little around some of these western and northern parts of the uk. and that should help to break up the cloud a little more effectively and give rise to more in the way of sunshine. that said, there could be the odd spot of drizzle in the north west of scotland. in the north west of scotland first thing. central and eastern parts of england, i think, will struggle to break up the cloud because the winds here are set to stay light. but with more of a breeze around some of these western and northern parts, we will see a bit more in the way of sunshine. and it's going to be another mild day with temperatures north to south between nine and 12 degrees. now, as you move out of sunday into monday, we've got the high pressure to the east of us, this frontal system trying to push in from the west, but it is going to take its time to do so. so things are going to change very slowly as we head through the first couple of days of the week. monday, though, should bring a bit

more in the way of sunshine. this southerly breeze should break up a bit more of the clouds. so a slightly brighter day. although parts of eastern england may stay quite grey throughout, temperatures between nine and 12 degrees. so still mild for the time of year. now, as we head towards the middle of the week, this weather front should eventually make some progress eastwards. it'll be moving quite erratically. there are waves along this weather front, so a bit of uncertainty aboutjust how quickly that rain will arrive. but the increasing chance of some wet weather through the middle part of the week. further rain at times for the end of the week, but throughout it is set to stay mild.

mild this is bbc news. the headlines — aid agencies call for improved cross border access to the earthquake disaster zones in turkey and syria as the number of people killed in both countries rises to more than 25,000. 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. people are still being pulled out alive from under the rubble in turkey, more than 120 hours after the first earthquake struck. the un aid chief calls the scale of the disaster, and the response to it, unprecedented. us fighterjets shoot down an unidentified object off the coast

of alaska after president biden gave the order to �*seek and destroy�*.