this is bbc news. i'm mark lobel. our top stories... more than 28,000 people are now known to have died after monday's earthquakes in turkey and syria. the un says the death toll is likely to "more than double". visiting the region, the un's aid chief described the massive earthquakes as the worst natural disaster to hit the middle east in a century. the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, has confirmed that a us fighterjet — acting on his orders — has shot down a new high—altitude object which was flying over northern canada. 15 people have been arrested following clashes with police, outside a hotel providing refuge for asylum seekers on merseyside in northwest england. and at the brit awards

in london — as predicted — harry styles is one of the night's big winners with four awards, including the much—coveted album of the year. hello to you in the uk and around the world. let's bring you some breaking news here in the uk first — and a committee of mps has been highly critical of the chairman of the bbc, richard sharp. it has, in effect, urged him to consider his position. the digital, culture, media and sport select committee accuses mr sharp of a significant error ofjudgement for getting involved in facilitating a loan to the then—prime minister, borisjohnson, at the same time as applying for the chairmanship of the bbc — a job ultimately in the gift of the prime minister.

mr sharp has insisted he was appointed bbc chairman on merit. he said that while he hadn't told the committee about the loan offer, he had informed a senior government official. and we'll have more on this a little later. the world health organization says that almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquakes that struck turkey and syria. the number confirmed dead has passed 28,000. on a visit to southern turkey, the un aid chief, martin griffiths, said there was an urgent need for medical assistance, as well as food and shelter for survivors. now rescue efforts are being hampered by a worsening security situation in southern turkey, including reports of looting and clashes between unnamed groups. more than 100 people have been detained across the ten provinces affected by the quakes, with thejustice ministry ordering officials to set up so—called "earthquake crimes

investigations units". 0ur correspondent nick beake is in gazientep. minor miracles are still happening, even after all this time. a five—year—old girl rescued in the city of marash. in hatay, seven—year—old isra freed... cheers and applause ..after 136 hours under the rubble. a woman, five months pregnant, found alive in gazientep, although there's no word on how she and her unborn child are doing. no such joy elsewhere in gazientep. instead, the pain of losing a cousin, who was sleeping here when the earthquake struck. survivors are desperate for whatever they can find, and today, a warning that the world needs to give more to deal with

the magnitude of this disaster. what happened here on monday, the epicentre of the earthquake was the worst event in 100 years in this region. the international community is here already. myjob is to make sure that we raise, through the conscience of the world, we raise the money that's needed for the next few months. this mosque in gazientep has become a refuge for some of those who have nothing and need shelter in any form. well, this is just one of many makeshift communities that have sprung up across the city. here, it's a mixture of turks and syrian refugees who are displaced and homeless once again, and all of them are preparing to spend a sixth night out in the cold. this man is from the syrian city of aleppo. translation: the|

problem is the cold. we have children, we have babies. it's a struggle, but turkey's helping us. but that's not how this turkish mother of three sees it. translation: we got | help from some people. they were generous and they had a conscience. i but no help- from the authorities. and urgent help is what millions across this region need — now more than ever. nick beake, bbc news, gazientep. well, the damage you saw there in southern turkey, is just as bad in war—torn syria, but there, aid workers have been struggling to get the access they need. a un spokesperson says now�*s the time "to put all politics aside". 0ur correspondent quentin sommerville has reached one shattered town, not far from the city of idlib, and sent us this update. this is the town of harem in north—west syria. there's 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're living in tents and if we just swing around here, you can perhaps see the internally displaced people's camp that's been set up over there. they're also telling us that in terms of foreign aid, they've received next to nothing. some spanish doctors made it to some of their hospitals, but nothing else. the contrast here with what's going on in turkey is astonishing. over on that side of the border, there's a constant sound of sirens, of heavy machinery, of people working. there's none of that here. down there, there are small children removing the rubble. while the international community isn't here, it's being left to small boys to remove the rubble from these broken buildings

and to try and find bodies. and it is bodies they're 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're no longer rescuing people, and the reason they're no longer rescuing people is because the aid just didn't come quick enough. 20 of complicated issues here to discuss. —— clint t. 0ur chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, has been speaking to the un humanitarian chief, martin griffiths, on a visit to the turkish city of kahramanmaras. —— plenty of issues. martin griffiths, you have seen so many disasters in so many different parts of the world. how does this compare? i think it's the worst natural disaster that i've ever seen, and it's 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's 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's shocking. it's 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's needed. that's remarkable, and i hope that when we launch our appeals for both turkey and syria in the next day or so, that we'll 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's 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's 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're appealing, which will cover shelter, livelihoods, food, nutrition and healthcare. and so, to give people a sense, those people who've had to leave their homes, that there is a stable future awaiting them, even in this awful time. do you think there is a stable future awaiting them? you know how hard it is to raise money in a world where there's one disaster after another. well, i think it's going to be very difficult. it's going to be very difficult because there's a lot of needs on both sides, and i think, as president erdogan has said, it's going to take a year to rebuild some of the houses... that's optimistic. that, ithink, optimistic.

and in syria, it's going to be much more difficult. the tragedy about syria is it was bad enough in the north—west, as you know... the last rebel held area of syria. the last rebel—held area. ..before this and then all this came. i think we can raise consciousness and money, just as we have seen the response here. we'll see. we'll see how those appeals go. but at least the agencies that we're working with, the international agencies, the ngos and national ngos, we all know each other well, we've been working together for many years in this region. that's an advantage. there's been a lot of criticism of the united nations across the border in syria, particularly in idlib. they're saying you're letting politics get in the way of humanitarian relief because you're not there on the ground. well, we're not there on the ground, as you know, because the security council has only allowed a cross—border resolution these many years, which provides for un aid to go through a single crossing

and to be delivered to international organisations there. no, this is not new. this is eight years old. why does that have to be there? people are asking, why do you have to go through the security council? why should the humanitarian needs to be hostage to the gridlock of the security council, where russia and china veto the un's...? that's a long story, it's to do with the syrian government's claims for sovereignty, but i want to say this on that issue. i don't think it's right to give up hope that we will get access. we are looking very, very actively and firmly and hard for opening up two more crossing points... through turkey into... through turkey into the north—west, in the coming days. we're going to put a resolution where we go before the security council. if anybody wants to veto it, let them do so. the case for those two additional crossing points is a black—and—white humanitarian case. this is not politics, lyse, and people who say that we're

playing with politics — that's not fair. that was the un humanitarian chief, marson griffith �*s, talking to lyse doucet in turkey. the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, has confirmed that he ordered the shooting down of an unidentified high—altitude object which had been flying over northwestern canada. he said us and canadian aircraft were scrambled and that an american fighter aircraft shot the object down. mr trudeau broke the news in a tweet, adding that canadian forces will now recover and analyse the wreckage of the object. he thanked north american aerospace defense command for keeping the watch over north america. i'm nowjoined by cbs correspondent cristian benavides, who is in miami. we've just outlined what we know. what is the latest on this incident?—

know. what is the latest on this incident? mark, we 'ust not a this incident? mark, we 'ust got a statement * this incident? mark, we 'ust got a statement from h this incident? mark, we just got a statement from the i got a statement from the pentagon not too long ago, sort of outlining what happened here, and here's what we've learned. this object that was shot down in canada was first spotted friday evening over alaska, and as this was happening, the us said two f 22 aircraft to follow this along. the third one we've seen over north america in the last week. it approaches canada, and once it gets in canada is when canada gets involved. eventually, this f—22 aircraft ends up shooting the object over the yukon, which is a westernmost part of canada by alaska. d0 westernmost part of canada by alaska. . , , westernmost part of canada by alaska. ., , , ., alaska. do get a sense that the 're alaska. do get a sense that they're searching _ alaska. do get a sense that they're searching more - they're searching more vociferously now and there's more of a feeling they should go public straight away? that

reall is go public straight away? that really is the _ go public straight away? that really is the big _ go public straight away? twat really is the big question— are we spotting these unidentified objects? this is sort of the norm. 0r objects? this is sort of the norm. or is there some sort of stepped up surveillance by some sort of foreign entity here in north america. that's a question that officials are looking to answer. what they may know in the background, we don't know, but what they're saying publicly here is that two unidentified objects near alaska, one of them today in canada, another one yesterday in alaska, and then we go back exactly a week ago, when there was the chinese suspected spy balloon that was brought down outside of the carolinas here. so, that goes right to your question — what exactly is it thatis question — what exactly is it that is happening? is this the norm and we're just looking for now? 0r norm and we're just looking for now? or is there something else

going on? now? or is there something else auoin on? �* , going on? are officials privately _ going on? are officials privately pointing - going on? are officials . privately pointing towards going on? are officials - privately pointing towards any particular country for this? are these revelations making a splash in america?— splash in america? certainly, there is a _ splash in america? certainly, there is a lot _ splash in america? certainly, there is a lot of _ splash in america? certainly, there is a lot of ongoing - there is a lot of ongoing trauma here in america over what's been happening —— ongoing drama. a lot of questions about what is happening. what exactly is it? the answer here is that we just don't know. i think it's important to take a step back and look at what set all this off. this was in late january when this suspected spy balloon was spotted, also in alaska, and us officials sort of said listen — let's wait, because we are concerned about what happens. we bring it down while it's over land and what that could lead to. so they waited until it without in the atlantic, so they let it get across the continental us

before shutting it down, another big question is are they taking action because they're identifying them earlier or is the optics here? the american public saw that this suspected chinese spy balloon went over the us. we waited from late january until last week to shoot it down. that's sort of the rundown. many wondering if a pattern is emerging. cristian benavides, thanks so much forjoining us. 15 people, including a 13—year—old boy, have been arrested after clashes with police last night outside a hotel in merseyside, northwest 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. let's bring you more on our breaking news this hour, and as we've been hearing, a committee of mps has been highly critical of the chairman of the bbc, richard sharp, effectively, urging him to consider his position. 0ur news reporter louisa pilbeam has the latest on the story. louise, not a lot of time has passed since richard sharp appeared in front of this committee. i understand you've read it, how damning did you find it? i read it, how damning did you find it? ., read it, how damning did you find it? . , find it? i did read it. this report. _ find it? i did read it. this report. the _ find it? i did read it. this report, the dcm - find it? i did read it. this report, the dcm at - find it? i did read it. this report, the dcm at his i find it? i did read it. this- report, the dcm at his highly critical. —— the dcm is. the mps who carried it out said that although richard sharp 's believed he acted properly, the committee accuses him of a significant error ofjudgment

significant error of judgment for getting involved significant error ofjudgment for getting involved in facilitating a loan to that then prime minister boris johnson at the same time as he was applying for this public role, which is they point out, is in the gift of the prime minister. mrsharp mr sharp has helped facilitate this loan of nearly $1 million to borisjohnson from of a distant cousin of to boris johnson from of a distant cousin of the then prime minister, and the chairman stated role is to protect the independence of the bbc. so the mps say that mr sharp's failure to tell them about the loan is highly unsatisfactory and they conclude that mr sharp should therefore consider what they call his impact on this omission, on what that will have input trust in the bbc. 50 have input trust in the bbc. so interesting you say facilitating, because the wording really matters. richard sharp has actually apologised

in part, but he's also hit back at some of what the committee has been saying. irate at some of what the committee has been saying.— has been saying. we were discussing _ has been saying. we were discussing this. _ has been saying. we were discussing this. he - has been saying. we were discussing this. he is - has been saying. we were l discussing this. he is saying essentially in response that he acted in good faith and he challenges some of the points of accuracy in this report by the dcms. if we can have a look closely at what his spokesman has said. it also says he agreed... very clear there. it also says he agreed... very clearthere. mr sharp it also says he agreed... very clear there. mr sharp also apologised again to bbc staff, saying at the distraction, and

he apologised for that distraction he's cause. he says he's proud to work for the bbc and he's proud for the work that he's done in driving positive change.- that he's done in driving positive change. here we are discussing — positive change. here we are discussing it _ positive change. here we are discussing it on _ positive change. here we are discussing it on the - positive change. here we are discussing it on the bbc, - discussing it on the bbc, proving his point. he's pushing back on the committees of mps. this is not the end is it? it committees of mps. this is not the end is it?— the end is it? it is not. there will be an — the end is it? it is not. there will be an independent - the end is it? it is not. there | will be an independent report and the government this morning have referred to that report, saying they will not comment at this stage. the office of the commissionerfor public commissioner for public appointments is commissionerfor public appointments is reviewing this process to see whether it's in compliance with the rules. adam casey, an independent lawyer, has been commissioned to carry this out. the government basically saying they won't comment at the moment. those who have commented our labour, who have commented our labour, who said this makes the bbc�*s chair�*s position untenable and it throws into serious doubt,

as they put it, the independence and impartiality of the bbc, which is at the heart of all of this. because this is a political— this is a political appointment. we got the report from the barrister, but also another review by the bbc board nominations committee looking at whether the chairman had any wrongdoing since he took up the post. plenty to go on the story. thank you so much for bringing us the latest details, louisa. poland's president has cast doubt on whether his country can provide ukraine with the fighterjets 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 i that this requires a decision by the allies 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—16s, 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 enoughjust 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—16s, to donate them outside poland is a very serious decision and it is not an easy one for us to take.

let's look at some of the day's other news. tens of thousands of opposition supporters protested in front of the albanian prime minister's office, accusing the government of corruption and the rise of the cost of living. protesters hurled fireworks at the entrance of the government offices, and were then confronted by hundreds of police officers in anti—riot gear. israelis also have been protesting again against plans for a judicial overhaul by prime minister benjamin netanyahu's new government. critics say the reform threatens democratic checks on ministers by the courts. mr netanyahu has dismissed the protests as a refusal by leftist opponents to accept the results of last november's election. in portugal, tens of thousands of teachers have taken to the streets of lisbon, in one of the biggest protests the country has seen in recent years. they demand better pay and working conditions.

it's the latest in a series of protests and strikes, as the socialist government of antonio costa faces a wave of discontent over the cost of living. finally, the biggest names from the world of music, from stormzy to harry styles, to lizzo and sam smith, have attended london's o2 arena for the annual brit awards. let's take a look at some of the winners. mancunian rapper aitch has grabbed the award for best hip hop, grime or rap. best international artist and best international song went to us superstar beyonce. she wasn't at the ceremony, but in a video message told her fans, "the renaissance begins." becky hill has walked away with the award for best dance act — for the second year running. former 0ne direction star harry styles was the biggest winner of the night. he's taken home four awards, including best pop act, song of the year for "as it was," best artist and best album for "harry's house". indie rock band wet leg picked up two prizes: best new artist and best group.

well down to all of those acts. quite a night. thanks for joining us. bye—bye. hello there. much of the country was cloudy on saturday — rather a grey, dismal day. however, the sunshine did break through across northeast scotland and northeast england. we saw temperatures in the low teens. part two of the weekend, i think we should see more sunshine around across northern and western areas, could have more of a breeze to break up the cloud. but earlier, sunday will be rather grey. with this blanket of cloud by around dawn, for most of us, temperatures shouldn't be any lower than 3—6 celsius, but where we have the odd cloud break, there could be a few frost pockets here and there. so, for sunday, we've got high pressure still dominating the weather scene, keeping all weather fronts at bay, so it's staying largely dry, and we're in this mild air mass — ourairsource coming in from the south. so, we start off rather grey for this morning, but as we move through

the morning, more of a breeze across the north and west. that'll help break up the cloud, so we should see more sunshine — scotland, northern ireland, northwest england, wales and southwest england. light winds further east mean we'll hold on to the cloud, so i think rather grey for the eastern half of england, but it will be breezy in the northwest of scotland, where we could see some of the best of the sunshine. and a mild day to come as well — temperatures 10—11, maybe 12—13 degrees in the sunniest spots. through sunday night, we'll hold onto the cloud across more eastern areas, but with more cloud breaks further north and west, this is going to be a recipe for a slightly colder night, i think. where we have those clear skies, we're likely to see some frost, maybe a little bit of mist and fog, too. so, as we head into the start of the new week, from monday, we've still got our area of high pressure with us, but weather fronts will be slowly pushing in from the west. they won't really arrive until late on tuesday and into wednesday to bring a change to our weather. monday, anotherfine and largely dry day, lot of cloud towards the east of england. elsewhere, we should see holes

breaking that cloud to allow for some sunny spells. and again, another mild day to come — temperatures in double figures for most — 12—13, warmest spots in the sun across the south. then, into tuesday and beyond, we start to see weather fronts making inroads. i think from wednesday onwards, this is where we'll start to see the weather turning a bit more unsettled, low pressure bringing slightly stronger winds and outbreaks of rain at times. so, tuesday, another fine, dry, sunny day, very mild once again. and then, from wednesday onwards, we'll start to see things turning a bit more unsettled with rain at times, but even then, it's still going to stay mild.

this is bbc news, the headlines more than 28 thousand people have died in turkey and syria as a result of this week's earthquakes. millions more have been affected. un aid chief, martin griffiths, told the bbc there's an urgent need for medical assistance, as well as food and shelter for survivors. canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, has said a united states military fighterjet, acting on his orders, has shot down a high—altitude airborne object over northwestern canada. he said canadian forces would recover and analyse the wreckage. a committee of mps has been highly critical of the chairman of the bbc, richard sharp. they accuse mr sharp of an error ofjudgment for getting involved in facilitating a loan to then prime minister, borisjohnson, whilstapplying

for the chairmanship of the bbc.