welcome if you're watching this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk oraround welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories... more than 25,000 people are now known to have died after monday's earthquakes in turkey and syria. visiting the region, the un's aid chief has described the massive earthquakes as the worst natural disaster to hit the middle east in a century. in other news, us fighterjets have shot down an unidentified aircraft over alaska after president biden gave the order to seek and destroy. fifteen people 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 bbc world news. the united nations aid chief has described the earthquakes that struck turkey and syria on monday as the region's worst natural disaster in a century. martin griffiths was speaking during a visit to the turkish province of kahramanmaras. the number of people confirmed dead

in both countries has risen to more than 25,000. the turkish president, recep tayyip edrogan, said perhaps 80,000 people had been injured in his country, and thousands of homes have been left uninhabitable. emergency teams are still finding a few people alive in the rubble five days after the earthquakes. we'll hearfrom mr griffiths in a moment; but first, our correspondent quentin sommerville is in harem in the northwest idlib province of syria, which is rebel—controlled. he found no sign of a relief effort, with local people, including children, left scouring through rubble for survivors. 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. 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. defence officials in america, are still trying to identify that was the un humanitarian chief, martin griffiths, speaking to lyse doucet. defence officials in america, are still trying to identify an object, the us airforce was told to shoot out of the sky, by president biden. an f—22 fighterjet fired a short range air—to—air missile, bringing the unmanned object down, in the second such intercept within a few days. last week a chinese balloon sparked concern, when it overflew areas where the us keeps nuclear missiles

and strategic bombers, as 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 people, including a 13—year—old boy, have been arrested after clashes with police last night outside a hotel in merseyside, north west england,

which houses asylum seekers. police said they were facilitating a peaceful protest and counter—protest at the suites hotel, in knowsley, before the event turned violent. hayley 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. the home office has issued a statement on the incident. a spokesman said: 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. bbc�*s umer draz nangiana in lahore gave us more details. this person, he was captured by some people early in the morning today, and they informed the police, accusing him 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 charged 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. then they snatched the suspect from the police custody and tortured him to death outside the police station, and the police and the police could not protect the suspect from the charged 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. 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. exactly were. in most cases, the laws are misused, but whenever somebody is accused

of blasphemy in pakistan it is a very sensitive matter, and that person faces an immediate threat to his life, they normally seek protection from the police. this is one of the rare cases where the police could not protect the suspect. poland's president has cast doubt on whether his country can provide ukraine with the fighter jets that kyiv says it needs to win the war with russia. andrzej duda said any decision would have to be taken collectively by nato. in an interview for tomorrow's sunday with laura kuenssberg programme on the bbc, mr duda warned that by giving jets to ukraine, poland would end up weakening its own military defences. translation: we think that this requires a decision by the allies l anyway, which means that we have to make a joint decision. also, due to the fact that there is a very serious need for maintenance of f—i6s, if they were to be deployed somewhere, it is not only about the jets. you also need maintenance and technical background, technical servicing and so on and so forth.

so it is not enough just to send a few planes, a fewjets. and a problem that we are facing, at least in poland, is as follows. we have some jets, but they are fewer than 50, so as a matter of fact, this is our only stock of jets that we have. this poses a serious problem if we donate even a small part of them anywhere because i don't hesitate to say that we have not enough of these jets. we would need many more of them. a decision today to donate any kind ofjets, any f—i6s, to donate them outside poland is a very serious decision and it is not an easy one for us to take. 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. in the uk, the biggest rail workers' union, the rmt, says it is looking at balloting its members for more strikes, after they rejected a pay offerfrom network rail and the train operating companies. the employers had described their proposal as the "best and final offer." the transport secretary, mark harper called it a kick in the teeth for passengers, who may have been hoping for an end to the dispute.

the rmt�*s current strike mandate will expire in may. president biden has been meeting brazil's president, luiz inacio lula da silva, at the white house. they discussed protecting democracy as well as ways of saving the amazon rainforest. the two leaders found common ground, but they disagreed on how to handle russia's invasion of ukraine. sofia bettiza reports. the first visit for a lula da silva to the us. the priority, the rainforest. when lula's predecessor,

jair bolsonaro was in power, deforestation increase by staggering 75%. now, lula has promised to aim for zero deforestation. he says he needs a president biden's help. translation: i needs a president biden's help. translation:— needs a president biden's help. translation: ., ~ ., translation: i talked about the need for rich countries _ translation: i talked about the need for rich countries to _ translation: i talked about the need for rich countries to take _ for rich countries to take responsibility and to finance countries like brazil which have for rich countries to take responsibility and to finance countries like brazil which have beyond brazil, who countries that have to look after the amazon. but. have to look after the amazon. but, if the leaders _ have to look after the amazon. but, if the leaders could _ have to look after the amazon. but, if the leaders could not agree more on how to fight climate change, on ukraine they have strong differences. biden has rallied behind ukraine. he provided aid, weapons, military training, but brazil has remained on the sidelines, pushing for peace talks instead. ultimately, the two leaders have quite a lot in common. the two

laruest have quite a lot in common. the two largest democracies _ have quite a lot in common. the two largest democracies in _ have quite a lot in common. the two largest democracies in the _ largest democracies in the hemisphere, brazil, united states, stand together to reject political violence and we put great value in our democratic institutions. those democratic _ our democratic institutions. those democratic institutions, _ our democratic institutions. those democratic institutions, they - our democratic institutions. those democratic institutions, they say, | democratic institutions, they say, came under threat in a very similar way in both countries. when biden defeated donald trump in the 2020 presidential election, and recently in brazil, when lula won against right—wing jair bolsonaro. and so, the main message that they wanted to convey from the oval office is this, the two biggest countries in the americas have successfully seen off attacks on their democracies, and will now work together to fight the climate crisis. the stars have begun arriving on the red carpet for this year's brit awards at london's o2 arena. the awards 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. the show starts in just under two hours and the red carpet arrivals are under way, and our entertainment correspondent, mark savage is there. are you on the red carpet? you belong on it. i are you on the red carpet? you belong on it— belong on it. i am on the red caret, belong on it. i am on the red carpet. we — belong on it. i am on the red carpet, we have _ belong on it. i am on the red carpet, we have been - belong on it. i am on the red carpet, we have been here i carpet, we have been here since three o'clock, we have already seen lewis capaldi, we have seen wet leg, we have had s club seven coming down the red to club carpet, 23 years after they won their first brit award, and everybody is gearing up for the show tonight. we will see harry styles perform, liz 0 and stormzy are here, but with me right now are three women who have already won a prize right now. this is flow,

they have already won the rising star award. that puts it in the same category as adele, as ellie goulding, as sam fender. how's it feel? . , , ., ., feel? incredible. it feels amazing. for people — feel? incredible. it feels amazing. for people who — feel? incredible. it feels amazing. for people who have _ feel? incredible. it feels amazing. for people who have not - feel? incredible. it feels amazing. for people who have not heard - feel? incredible. it feels amazing. | for people who have not heard you before, tell me any about the music you make? we before, tell me any about the music ou make? ~ . before, tell me any about the music you make?— you make? we are three girls, born in london- — you make? we are three girls, born in london. not— you make? we are three girls, born in london. not really, but— you make? we are three girls, born in london. not really, but we - you make? we are three girls, born in london. not really, but we will. in london. not really, but we will see that. female _ in london. not really, but we will see that. female empowerment, j in london. not really, but we will- see that. female empowerment, that is what we are — see that. female empowerment, that is what we are all— see that. female empowerment, that is what we are all about. _ see that. female empowerment, that is what we are all about. you - see that. female empowerment, that is what we are all about. you only - is what we are all about. you only released your _ is what we are all about. you only released your first _ is what we are all about. you only released your first song _ is what we are all about. you only released your first song last - is what we are all about. you only released your first song last year, soon to be here with a brit award, that must be quite mad. what of the last nine months been like?- last nine months been like? stress, we have been _ last nine months been like? stress, we have been working _ last nine months been like? stress, we have been working and - last nine months been like? stress, we have been working and workingl last nine months been like? stress, i we have been working and working and working _ we have been working and working and working no _ we have been working and working and workinu. ., , ., ~ we have been working and working and working-_ idut— we have been working and working and working._ but good. - we have been working and working and working._ but good. but - working. no break. but good. but nood! working. no break. but good. but good! where _ working. no break. but good. but good! where is— working. no break. but good. but good! where is the _ working. no break. but good. but good! where is the trophy? - working. no break. but good. but good! where is the trophy? we i working. no break. but good. but. good! where is the trophy? we are auoin to good! where is the trophy? we are going to get _ good! where is the trophy? we are going to get three, _ good! where is the trophy? we are

going to get three, hopefully, - good! where is the trophy? we are going to get three, hopefully, we l going to get three, hopefully, we hoverfl— going to get three, hopefully, we haven't got them yet, but we will treat them with her lives. what are ou treat them with her lives. what are you looking — treat them with her lives. what are you looking forward _ treat them with her lives. what are you looking forward to, _ treat them with her lives. what are you looking forward to, there - treat them with her lives. what are you looking forward to, there are i treat them with her lives. what are | you looking forward to, there are so many people here?— you looking forward to, there are so many people here? meeting people and seeinu the many people here? meeting people and seeing the performances. _ many people here? meeting people and seeing the performances. is _ many people here? meeting people and seeing the performances. is there - seeing the performances. is there an one seeing the performances. is there anyone you _ seeing the performances. is there anyone you are — seeing the performances. is there anyone you are looking _ seeing the performances. is there anyone you are looking for - seeing the performances. is there anyone you are looking for it - seeing the performances. is there anyone you are looking for it in i anyone you are looking for it in particular?— anyone you are looking for it in articular? ., �* , particular? lizzo i've never seen her perform _ particular? lizzo i've never seen her perform before, _ particular? lizzo i've never seen her perform before, so - particular? lizzo i've never seen her perform before, so i'm - particular? lizzo i've never seen i her perform before, so i'm looking forward _ her perform before, so i'm looking forward to — her perform before, so i'm looking forward to that. one her perform before, so i'm looking forward to that.— forward to that. one of things --eole forward to that. one of things people are — forward to that. one of things people are talking _ forward to that. one of things people are talking about - forward to that. one of things people are talking about is i forward to that. one of things| people are talking about is the forward to that. one of things - people are talking about is the fact that the best artist category had no female nominees, what you think about that? it female nominees, what you think about that?— about that? it speaks for itself. there are _ about that? it speaks for itself. there are probably _ about that? it speaks for itself. there are probably more - about that? it speaks for itself. | there are probably more women about that? it speaks for itself. . there are probably more women in about that? it speaks for itself. - there are probably more women in the music— there are probably more women in the music industry— there are probably more women in the music industry than _ there are probably more women in the music industry than men, _ there are probably more women in the music industry than men, to _ there are probably more women in the music industry than men, to be - music industry than men, to be honest. — music industry than men, to be honest. they— music industry than men, to be honest, they are _ music industry than men, to be honest, they are all— music industry than men, to be honest, they are all working . music industry than men, to be honest, they are all working so| honest, they are all working so hard. _ honest, they are all working so hard. so — honest, they are all working so hard. so i — honest, they are all working so hard, so i think— honest, they are all working so hard, so i think we _ honest, they are all working so hard, so i think we just - honest, they are all working so hard, so i think we just need i honest, they are all working soj hard, so i think we just need to bring _ hard, so i think we just need to bring up — hard, so i think we just need to bring up the _ hard, so i think we just need to bring up the other— hard, so i think we just need to bring up the other women, - hard, so i think we just need to bring up the other women, andj hard, so i think we just need to- bring up the other women, and then we can— bring up the other women, and then we can support, _ bring up the other women, and then we can support, and _ bring up the other women, and then we can support, and if— bring up the other women, and then we can support, and if people - bring up the other women, and then we can support, and if people are i we can support, and if people are buying _ we can support, and if people are buying tickets _ we can support, and if people are buying tickets to _ we can support, and if people are buying tickets to your— we can support, and if people are buying tickets to your shows, - we can support, and if people are| buying tickets to your shows, your winning _ buying tickets to your shows, your

winning already _ winning already. listen, congratulations for the night, i hope you have a good evening. the show starts at 830 tonight, we are expecting harry styles to win some of the big rises. he already won the grammy for album of the year on sunday, can he do the same tonight? we are going to find out.— we are going to find out. thank you, mark ou we are going to find out. thank you, mark you are — we are going to find out. thank you, mark you are looking _ we are going to find out. thank you, mark you are looking very _ we are going to find out. thank you, mark you are looking very sharp - we are going to find out. thank you, mark you are looking very sharp in l mark you are looking very sharp in your outfit. hot mark you are looking very sharp in your outfit-— mark you are looking very sharp in your outfit._ you're - your outfit. not at all! you're watching _ your outfit. not at all! you're watching bbc— your outfit. not at all! you're watching bbc news. - vapes should be sold in the same way as cigarettes — in plain packaging and from behind a counter — that's the call from councils in england. the local government association says e—cigarettes are being sold illegally to children and stricter regulation is needed. our health correspondent, catherine burns has this report. vapes don't contain tobacco, so this is safer than smoking, but health experts say inhaling vape fluid into the lungs is still likely to carry some long—term risks. it is illegal to sell vapes

to under—18s, and most teenagers don't vape, but it is getting more popular. the anti—smoking charity ash says that in 2021 about 4% of ii— to 18—year—olds in england were either occasional oi’ regular vapers. or regular vapers. last year that number had doubled to 8.6%, and that compares to about 7% of adults. councils in england say they've had to step up enforcement action against shops selling vapes to underage teens. they think part of the problem is fruity flavours and brightly coloured packs that appeal to children. so we believe that the vaping products that are available should be taken behind the counter, that it shouldn't be available over the counter, and that they should be in plain packaging and they should carry a warning with them, because they really are not available for under—18s.

we're particularly concerned, as well, at the way they're marketed. they're marketed as quite bright colours. they're available as sweet flavours and bubblegum flavours, and we believe that this is in order to attract a younger market. so we need to move that back. we need to move it behind the counter and make sure they're available in plain packaging and not attracting under 18 years. the uk vaping industry association has said it wants outlets selling its products to be licensed, and it thinks that anyone selling them to children should be fined £10,000. the government says it is considering what more can be done to protect children from vaping, but said that it has brought in restrictions on advertising and set limits on nicotine strength. catherine burns, bbc news. the official logo for king charles' coronation has been revealed by buckingham palace. the image shows flowers in the shape of st edward's crown, to reflect the king's

love of nature. the logo has been created by sirjony ive. iamon i am on twitter, i will see you with more shortly. 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 we'll 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 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.

this is bbc news. the headlines — more than 25,000 people are now known to have died after monday's earthquakes in turkey and syria. the united nations estimates the earthquakes may have left nearly five and a half million people homeless in syria. visiting the region, the un's aid chief has described the massive earthquake as the worst natural disaster to hit the middle east in a century. in other news, us fighterjets have shot down an unidentified aircraft over alaska after president biden gave the order to �*seek and destroy�*. fifteen people have been arrested following clashes