this is bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. the headlines... more than 25,000 people are now known to have died after monday's earthquakes in turkey and syria. 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. and coming up in sport, we will have the latest from rugby union's six nations championship, and the day's

football. mikel arteta is left frustrated as arsenal can only draw at home to brentford in the premier league. the number of people now known to have died in the earthquakes which struck turkey and syria has passed 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. the united nations aid chief, martin griffiths, who is in turkey, says the tragedy is the worst natural disaster to hit the region in a century. mr griffiths praised the international response, saying more than 100 countries had sent help, but said he wasn't clear about the extent to which aid would reach rebel—held

parts of syria. we'll hear from 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. for more on that, we are joined now by ahmed bayram, regional media and communications adviser for the norwegian refugee council. he joins us from amman. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. i was having a look at your website, and one of the things that struck me about this is that one of the worst disasters affecting those who have survived the earthquake is the cold. why? it who have survived the earthquake is the cold- why?— the cold. why? it is. we are talking about -3, minus _ the cold. why? it is. we are talking about -3, minus four— the cold. why? it is. we are talking about -3, minus four degrees. - the cold. why? it is. we are talking about -3, minus four degrees. you | about —3, minus four degrees. you are staying outdoors. a lot of people are starting fires, campfires around sidewalks in bushy sidewalks. people are saying that theyjust

don't have a warm blanket on themselves. a lot of people, 4am in themselves. a lot of people, 4am in the morning, justjumped out of bed in their pyjamas, and they still have those pyjamas on for five days. they have nothing else. this is why one of the first that we are handing out in the cities and towns where people have escaped, survived this earthquake, is simple blankets and jackets for children. this is a situation like no other. just before the earthquake, actually, we were talking about a massive snowstorm which happened unfortunately at the worst time. they are calling this anyway number two after the earthquake, hunger, too, a lot of people don't have hot water. what are reserved in tanks in aleppo, that was damaged —— water

reserved. these are things if you go a long way to keeping someone going just for the night of the day. i wonder if i could jump in very quickly, we have seen so many images of the destruction caused to residential buildings, to homes. for those who were in those refugee camps, what sort of damage did they endure? we are not hearing that story. endure? we are not hearing that sto . ., . endure? we are not hearing that sto. ., ., . , story. you are correct. there needs to be some — story. you are correct. there needs to be some distinction _ story. you are correct. there needs to be some distinction made - story. you are correct. there needs to be some distinction made here, | to be some distinction made here, because people are staying in tented supplements, and it is ironic, because it seems they have taken a lesser hit than those staying in actual structures. people told us on day two that they felt lucky because they had lived in a tent for five or

six years, they feel lucky that they have not been to a home. it is unbelievable that people have to make preferences out of a list of sad choices, it isjust a make preferences out of a list of sad choices, it is just a situation we have not seen in years in syria. thank you very much indeed, joining us from the norwegian refugee council, thank you. 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. 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. defence 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: you are watching bbc news. 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. 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. 0ur 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. 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 bubble gum 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. 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. the storm is also expected to trigger heavy rains in new zealand's north island. forecasters say high tides and very heavy surf could cause local damage and coastal erosion. 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. the 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 they continuously demanded 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 then theyjust barged in. then they snatched the suspect from the police custody and they tortured him to death outside the police station, 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 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 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, his or her life, and they normally seek protection from the police. this is one of the rare cases where the police could not protect the suspect.

crowds welcomed the king and the queen consort to the heart of the british bangladeshi community in brick lane in east london this week. they met community and business representatives as well as those who were involved in the anti—racism movement of the 1970s. nadia ali reports. brick lane, a melting pot of curry houses, vintage outfitters, market stalls and bagel shops. this infamous part of london's east end is in many ways a cultural home for britain's bangladeshi community. one in six bangladeshi residents across england and wales live in tower hamlets. consequently, the borough has by far the largest bangladeshi population compared to anywhere else in the country. for many residents,

brick lane is notjust a collection of restaurants, but rather the beating heart of london's bangladeshis. the reason why this visit was so important is that we wanted to recognise and the legacy of our forefathers, the contribution they have made to this street which has been home for the bangladeshi community. their majesties, the king and the queen consort made a historic visit to brick lane, where they were greeted and met with elders from the community who were actively involved in the anti—racism movement of the 1970s. and they met with individuals from local charities and businesses. it has been incredible. he shook hands with everyone and talked to everyone. brilliant. the king has always been someone that has championed the asian community and the muslim community at a time when it really mattered. and really i'm so - honoured that they came here today to visit _ the british bangladeshi community. we're really blessed to be i in their presence here today. their majesties also visited

the historic building which has housed three abrahamic faiths, now known as the brick lane mosque. we are working to use our collective voices to improve our communities locally, nationally and internationally, and working on projects that are going to make a huge difference. so many schoolchildren from nearby community schools came here. a large number of british, bangladeshi students and children, they were so excited to see the king. so he felt really, really good. he felt like he's their king. many feet have walked through brick lane over the years, walking past the electric street art, smelling the mixture of spices and listening to the street festivals. london's british bangladeshi community has plenty of fascinating stories to tell of the many visitors who have come to its home. it is certain that many years from now, locals will still recount the story of when the king came to town. nadia ali, bbc news.

south african parliament's culture committee has described the murder of one of the country's best—selling rappers as a "professional hit". kiernan forbes, better known as aka, was gunned down outside a durban restaurant. police are searching for two men who fled the scene. he enjoyed 12 years of success and was scheduled to release a new album next month. 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. 0ur entertainment correspondent mark savage has been on the red carpet ahead of tonight's show and a short time ago he spoke to the three band members of flo:

everybody is gearing up for the show tonight, we are going to see harry styles perform, lizzo is performing, stormzy is here, but with me right now are three women who have already won a prize tonight. this is flo, the rising star winners for 2023. that puts them in the same category as people like adele, as ellie goulding, as sam fender, who have won that prize before. how does it feelincredible. it won that prize before. how does it feelincredible.— feelincredible. it feels amazing. for peeple _ feelincredible. it feels amazing. for peeple who _ feelincredible. it feels amazing. for people who have _ feelincredible. it feels amazing. for people who have not - feelincredible. it feels amazing. for people who have not heard. feelincredible. it feels amazing. i for people who have not heard you before, tell us about the music you may? before, tell us about the music you ma ? ~ . , before, tell us about the music you ma ? ~ ., , ., may? we are three girls born and bred in london. _ may? we are three girls born and bred in london. not _ may? we are three girls born and bred in london. not really, - may? we are three girls born and bred in london. not really, but i bred in london. not really, but let's no bred in london. not really, but let's go with — bred in london. not really, but let's go with that. _ bred in london. not really, but let's go with that. we - bred in london. not really, but let's go with that. we make - bred in london. not really, but i let's go with that. we make r&b music, let's go with that. we make r&b music. and _ let's go with that. we make r&b music, and female _ let's go with that. we make r&b | music, and female empowerment let's go with that. we make r&b i music, and female empowerment is what we _ music, and female empowerment is what we are — music, and female empowerment is what we are all— music, and female empowerment is what we are all about. _ music, and female empowerment is what we are all about. you - music, and female empowerment is what we are all about.— what we are all about. you only released your _ what we are all about. you only released your first _ what we are all about. you only released your first song - what we are all about. you only released your first song in - what we are all about. you only released your first song in aprilj released your first song in april last year, soon to be here walking the red carpet with a brit award already guaranteed, that must be pretty mad. what have the last nine months been like?—

months been like? stress. we have been working. _ months been like? stress. we have been working, and _ months been like? stress. we have been working, and working, - months been like? stress. we have been working, and working, and - been working, and working, and working — been working, and working, and working hie _ been working, and working, and workinu. ., , .,~ , been working, and working, and working-_ very - been working, and working, and i working._ very chaotic. working. no brakes. very chaotic. but aood. working. no brakes. very chaotic. but good- but— working. no brakes. very chaotic. but good. but good! _ working. no brakes. very chaotic. but good. but good! you - working. no brakes. very chaotic. but good. but good! you have - working. no brakes. very chaotic. i but good. but good! you have been resented but good. but good! you have been presented with _ but good. but good! you have been presented with already, _ but good. but good! you have been presented with already, whereas i but good. but good! you have been| presented with already, whereas it? they have not given it to us yet, but we're — they have not given it to us yet, but we're going to treasure it with our lives. ., �* , , , , our lives. you've been stripped the award! what _ our lives. you've been stripped the award! what are _ our lives. you've been stripped the award! what are you _ our lives. you've been stripped the award! what are you looking i our lives. you've been stripped the i award! what are you looking forward to tonight, there are so many people don't like amazing people here. meeting people, seeing the performances. i'm looking forward to lizzo, we've never seen her life, or i have never seen her life. fine lizzo, we've never seen her life, or i have never seen her life.- i have never seen her life. one of the big talking — i have never seen her life. one of the big talking points _ i have never seen her life. one of the big talking points ahead i i have never seen her life. one of the big talking points ahead of i i have never seen her life. one of| the big talking points ahead of the brits this year was that, after combining female and male awards in best artist, the award had an all—male shortlist. do you think it is harder for all—male shortlist. do you think it is harderfor women to break

through? is harder for women to break throu~h? ., ,, ., is harder for women to break through?— is harder for women to break throuuh? ., ,, ., ., , through? that speaks for itself, because if it _ through? that speaks for itself, because if it what _ through? that speaks for itself, because if it what wasn't, i through? that speaks for itself, because if it what wasn't, there | because if it what wasn't, there would be women on that shortlist. they are properly more women than men in _ they are properly more women than men in the — they are properly more women than men in the music industry, they are all working — men in the music industry, they are all working so hard. i think we just need _ all working so hard. i think we just need to— all working so hard. i think we just need to big — all working so hard. i think we just need to big up other women, and if people _ need to big up other women, and if people are — need to big up other women, and if people are buying tickets to your shows, _ people are buying tickets to your shows, your winning already. congratulations for tonight, i hope you have a good evening. the show starts at 830 tonight, we are expecting harry styles to when some of the big prizes. you already won the grammy for album of the year last sunday. can he do the same tonight? we are going to find out. now on bbc news, the weather, with ben rich. 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 thousand 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 earthquakes as the worst natural disaster to hit