it's 8.59am. this is bbc news with the latest headlines. a week on from the earthquakes in turkey and syria, more than 33 thousand people are confirmed to have died — with the united nations predicting the figure will double. concerns grow for those affected in syria as international aid struggles to reach people in the region. this is the scene live in the turkish border city of gaziantep near the epicentre of last week's earthquake. a 15—year—old boy and girl are arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of 16—year—old brianna jie in warrington. the us shoots down another unidentified object in its airspace in the fourth military operation of its kind, this month.

and rihanna had a big reveal during last night's super bowl half time show — confirming that she's expecting her second child. sport will have all the sport action at half past. good morning and welcome to bbc news. it's now a week since devastating earthquakes hit parts of turkey and syria, causing massive damage and destruction. more than 33 thousand people are now known to have died, as rescue workers continue to search through collapsed buildings. the head of the un's relief mission says the death toll could more than double, with the rescue phase in syria now �*coming to a close�*. and he's warned that people in parts of rebel held north—west syria are being failed

by a lack of support and aid. these pictures are coming to us live from gaziantep in southern turkey, not far from the epicentre of the first quake that hit a week ago. our correspondent, laura bicker is in the turkish city of isken—derun, where many of those made homeless by this tragedy are now living in tents. some of the urgent support that is needed is getting through. what you see behind me is a line for blankets and a for heaters. but right now this line is taking about two hours to get here. it is getting agitated at times because people are worried they will not be enough to go round, but we are told it is managing to get to those who need it. the urgent need is for some kind of heat and blankets, because these tents, although they are practical overnight when the temptress get down to —7, i'm told they are freezing. when it comes to how many people are in this need, the government says around 1 million

people within turkey now need shelter. the united nations said that number might be as high as 5 million in syria. as you see families carrying blankets and heading back, what they are telling me is theyjust feel lucky heading back, what they are telling me is they just feel lucky to heading back, what they are telling me is theyjust feel lucky to be alive, that they force many friends, members of their family when the earthquake hit a week ago. they know their friends and earthquake hit a week ago. they know theirfriends and family earthquake hit a week ago. they know their friends and family are buried under the rubble, some have said they want to get their with their bare hands if they could, but now they have to try and find a way to live, and although the question for the last week has been who are still alive, who can we find? the question i'm heeding now is what happens next? and when we come to these tents and caps, every single family looking and wondering what the future holds, for storage and other earthquake might hurt.

well, as we've been hearing, incredibly, people are still being pulled alive from the rubble. when they still find people clinging on after almost a week, galvanised people makes them realise there is still some things, someone underneath they are worth looking for, but a huge amount of resentment and concern, anger, since people feel abandoned, particularly in north—western syria, rebel held parts of the country of course in particular are really struggling to get any aid in at all. and that's something that has been addressed over the weekend. the relief chief, a chief of the united nations has been saying much more must be done to get into north—western syria.

tom bateman has been to antakya city in turkey's hatay province, to see how rescuers are continuing their work around the clock, to find survivors. so he's been under this rubble for six and a half days. carried through here. the most incredible scenes. you saw the crowd here just explode with joy. now watching a man still alive, pulled from this rubble, this is an extraordinary moment. they're lifting him, these rescue workers, lifting him. his hands are in the air, he's conscious, breathing, eyes flickering. well, this has been an extraordinary hour or so since we ran to here, following some rescue workers. it was clear something had been found. they could see somebody�*s legs. he was alive.

and we've just seen one of the rescuers come out here. he was in tears and extremely distressed. we've seen a generator being taken in, some cutting gear that needs power, buckets as well to dig away the earth. and somebody�*s shown me a picture where we can see the legs of this man. he seems to be trapped from his upper body. extraordinary celebration as he was moved out across here. his own father was here in the crowd. did you ever think this would happen? how do you feel? tom bateman reporting from southern turkey. i'm nowjoined by dr

mohamed zahid al—masri from the north aleppo region in syria. he's with physicians across continents, an ngo which provides medical aid during humanitarian crises. thank you for talking to us. tell us how your organisation is involved. from the day one after the earthquake, all these syrian ngos, we were first to respond on the ground, everybody was trying to support the local people and we should mention that for the last seven days we are alone here in north—west syria. it is unlikely in similar catastrophe to respond alone. the committee is responding alone. the committee is responding alone. the committee is responding alone. the syrian ngos and local community without any support from outside. in our organisation we are receiving in our hospitals, this is one of them, a surgical hospital

supported by medical... we are receiving a large number of coma cases, and we are treating them, and at the same time, we are working outside in trying to provide life—saving support for the survivors, including blankets, safe water and energy to eat food. the situation here is catastrophic and still deteriorating after one week of the earthquake.— of the earthquake. what sort of resources _ of the earthquake. what sort of resources and _ of the earthquake. what sort of resources and facilities do - of the earthquake. what sort of resources and facilities do you i of the earthquake. what sort of - resources and facilities do you have in which to treat these people? today in the north—west of syria we have a number of health facilities, hospitals together, we are receiving a large number of trauma cases, but lucky enough some of our partner ngos, especially from the uk, they were supporting those with generous funds, and this is why we agreed with them to respond not only to the health needs but also in relation to

the other vital issues that the people who who are surviving are actually in need of it. in this area the temperature now is below zero for the last ten days, people are outside without shelter. 70 or 80,000 people, they need shelter now, and in this community we are concerned about their health. 0ur facilities are providing surgeries for the trauma cases and also er intervention, and at the same time, our mobile teams are working on the ground and trying to take care of the children, especially regarding their nutrition, for the elderly, and also for patients with chronic diseases. we are concerned about their safety. at the same time, our facilities are still providing routine health services, including dialysis facilities and even we have a mental health facility which is still providing its services, with more than 120 in patients in it. you

talk about trauma, what sort of trauma are we talking about? there is obviously the mental trauma, and the physical trauma, the kind of conditions you are having to treat? yes, today we are still concentrating on the physical trauma, but we are actually thinking in a very significant way about the future of the psychosocial, this community is in need of it, in terms of physical trauma, a large number of physical trauma, a large number of trauma cases and fractures, and the most about facilities, it is to provide life—saving intervention for these patients. we are expecting in these patients. we are expecting in the next one or two months to continue operating on these patients to provide the definitive treatment, and this is more complicated procedures that should be done for these patients, but today we are providing and most of the facilities life—saving interventions, just to treat a larger number of cases and to keep them alive, but of course,

we are concerned about the psychological status of this community, the survivors and those who lost a large number of relatives and they loved, we are concerned about how much they're going to need in terms of psychological support in order to continue their life. it is scary, for the last 11 years it is already an area of conflict, humanitarian situation and now we have this catastrophic earthquake in north—west syria. have this catastrophic earthquake in north-west syria.— north-west syria. extremely long-term — north-west syria. extremely long-term support - north-west syria. extremely long-term support is - north-west syria. extremely long-term support is going l north-west syria. extremely. long-term support is going to north-west syria. extremely - long-term support is going to be long—term support is going to be required, but we are seeing the international community has not yet sent anything like as much aid as is neededin sent anything like as much aid as is needed in your part of syria. what would help the most? yes. needed in your part of syria. what would help the most?— needed in your part of syria. what would help the most? yes, today we are be ond would help the most? yes, today we are beyond one _ would help the most? yes, today we are beyond one week— would help the most? yes, today we are beyond one week and _ would help the most? yes, today we are beyond one week and we - would help the most? yes, today we are beyond one week and we are - would help the most? yes, today we are beyond one week and we are notj are beyond one week and we are not expecting a significant number of survivors under the destroyed buildings, unfortunately, but we are concerned about the health of this

community after this one week. we are concerned about the safety, and as you know, in the last year and until the earthquake we had an outbreak of cholera which is caused by contamination of water resources in this area, so we are concerned about the shelter, because we lost a large number in this area, of houses. 50% in this area are already displaced from other areas, so their housing conditions were already very poor and now they are outside without shelter, though still shelter issue is very important for the future and of course the health services should be supported and continue to be supported for the next few months in order to accommodate all this expected large number of cases.—

accommodate all this expected large number of cases. thank you very much for talkin: number of cases. thank you very much for talking to — number of cases. thank you very much for talking to us. _ we are now being told by the un more than 4300 people have been reported deadin than 4300 people have been reported dead in north—western syria as a result of the earthquake, 7600 people are injured, and as we were hearing from the doctor there, some of those injuries are very complex and are being treated under difficult circumstances. also, turkey�*s disaster management authority says the earthquake death toll there has risen to 301000, 600 and 43 —— toll there has risen to 301000, 600 and 43 -- 31,643. if toll there has risen to 301000, 600 and 43 —— 31,643. if we look at the figures together, around 36,000 dead, with the united nations expecting that to double. un aid vehicles have now begun arriving in syria, but as we've been reporting, the head of the un relief missions as many people have a right to feel

abandoned. part of the problem as rebel group still control of the north—west following years civil war and the syrian government has been reluctant, at times, to allow access. 0ne reluctant, at times, to allow access. one of those areas is it blue province, already ravaged by conflict before the earthquake struck. 0ur middle east correspondent, quentin sommerville, and cameraman robbie wright, have managed to gain access, and sent us their first report from inside, the rebel held area. a border and a catastrophe shared, but in the earthquake's aftermath, syria and turkey couldn't be further apart. we've just crossed into syria at the border crossing. there were about a dozen aid trucks, fuel tankers coming in, but actually, there were more refugees, more corpses coming out than there was aid coming in. the main street in idlib's harem is gone. they waited for help here, but none came. it was here that fadel ghadab's aunt and cousins' families all died.

translation: there is no-one alive here. | everyone is dead. wejust need them to come in and dig the bodies up for burial. i don't know what else to say. the earthquake was untroubled by international borders. the relief effort, well, it was quite a different matter. just look around me in the town of harem here in syria — there is hardly any activity. they have been living with the aftermath of this earthquake for six days now and help hasn't come. even before the earthquake, life was precarious in idlib. people here have been displaced by war many times, so with his bare hands a man digs to retrieve a sack of animal feed. we travel further west. there are no aid convoys here, few signs of relief, but a lot of urgent need. this was the town of besania. these were people's homes. they were newly built.

but look at it now. 80% of this village is gone, and they've had hardly any help since the earthquake struck. more than 100 homes have gone here, and much more besides. abu ala lost two of his children. translation: i started running like a madman in the streets, i shouting, "dear god!" it was then that i saw my wife and seven—year—old daughter alive. i kept on running in the streets until i saw them. she told me my children were gone. they were gone. islamists are in control here. we were accompanied at all times by armed men who didn't interfere with our work, but it's made getting aid here more difficult. at this hospital, they have no time for politics. with few staff, they've had to treat

over 350 earthquake victims. there's not enough medical staffl to help people in normal situation without any catastrophe, without any earthquake, | without any bombs, without any war, there's not enough medical staff. - down the hallway lies mohammed, just three months old. his parents were killed by the earthquake. he was found in the street by a neighbour. mohammed is all alone, and syria, too, again feels forsaken, disregarded by the world in another hour of need. quentin somerville, bbc news, idlib. barak akkurt and his team have been working on a rescue mission in antakya in southeast turkey following the earthquakes. bbc panorama was following their

work, as they received a call from a man desperate to find his parents, wife, and his three—year—old daughter. and a warning you might find some of this clip distressing. untranslated when we first arrived here, we heard a little scratch, and now we have made a 360 degrees listening, and after our calls we heard a little murmuring from a lady, and now we are focusing on the right—hand side of the building, because we know on

the right—hand side of the building there is the entrance, and the stairways, so we are going to go concentrate on that part first. it is a nightmare. in this region is facing one of its darkest days, i can say. it has been so long since the quake happened, do you reckon they could be still alive?— be still alive? yes. we have seen miracles- — be still alive? yes. we have seen miracles. and _ be still alive? yes. we have seen miracles. and i— be still alive? yes. we have seen miracles. and i believe _ be still alive? yes. we have seen miracles. and i believe in - be still alive? yes. we have seen l miracles. and i believe in miracles. you can see the full story on �*aftershock: the turkey—syria earthquake' on bbc one at 8pm, and afterwards on the bbc iplayer. a boy and girl — both aged 15 — have been arrested on suspicion of murder, following the death of a 16—year—old girl in warrington. cheshire police say brianna jie was found by members of the public in a park on saturday afternoon. mairead smyth reports.

detectives say brianna jie was found with multiple stab wounds on a path in linear parkjust before a 3:15 on saturday. emergency services attended, but the 16—year—old was pronounced dead at the scene. a postmortem examination is taking place to establish the exact cause of death. a 15—year—old boy and a 15—year—old girl, both from the local area, are being questioned on suspicion of murder. it's a well known dog walking spot, we know that. we know it's popular with families and ask for anyone who was in the area between around about 1:30 in the afternoon and 4pm, to contact us in relation to that. police say officers are continuing to trace the murder weapon and establish a motive for the attack, and say they are supporting the teenager's family. mairead smyth, bbc news. the defence secretary ben wallace

has said the uk will be conducting a security review after the incursion of at least one suspected spy balloon into united states airspace. china has denied the balloon was used for spying and said it was a weather—monitoring device. three other — as yet unidentified — objects were also shot down in recent days over the us and canada including another object shot down last night. tim allman reports. trails of vapour streak across the skies of eastern michigan. these videos appear to show planes flying very close to where another mysterious object was shot down by us fighterjets. for days now, the airspace above canada and the united states has been playing host to a series of ufos. the latest incident began on saturday, when an object was detected above military sites in the us state of montana. the fighterjets were scrambled, but initially nothing was found. then on sunday, the object, whatever it was, reappeared, and was eventually shot down over lake huron near the canadian border. these are objects.

i am not able to categorize how they stay aloft. it could be a gaseous type of balloon inside a structure, or it could be some type of a propulsion system. it's been a busy few days for the canadian and us air forces, with two other mysterious objects being shot down over alaska and the yukon territory. the hope is, once you find what's left of them, they won't be mysterious for much longer. there is still much to know about it, that's why the analysis of the subject will be very important, that you can know this is something that canada and the united states are taking extremely seriously. us officials have already begun salvaging the balloon that fell into the atlantic ocean more than a week ago. we at least know where that came from — china. tim allman, bbc news. russia has stepped up its attacks in the east of ukraine,

amid fears of a new offensive. some of the fiercest fighting is in and around the city of bakhmut, which russian forces have been trying to capture for more than six months. 0ur senior international correspondent 0rla guerin and cameraman goktay koraltan have been with ukrainian troops at the heart of the battle. explosion. urban warfare in bakhmut. we see ukrainian troops from the 93rd brigade defending this battle—scarred city. they still hold bakhmut but there is street fighting now in some areas and the russians are gaining ground. the city stands as a symbol of ukrainian resistance. president putin has spent months trying to tear it down. 0ur route is carefully planned. anything that moves

here can be a target. time to stay low. and move fast, single file. but suddenly, just behind us, the war comes closer. explosions. i think they have seen us. on our way, a russian shell landed very close behind us. we have to be very careful about our movements. it's a very clear day here, good weather for russian drones that

will be operating in the skies. the nearest russian positions are just two kilometres away. we are taken below ground to commanders at the heart of the battle. like ihor, who is resolute but in a tough corner. "they are trying to push us," he says, "and to encircle us so we have to leave the city, but it hasn't worked yet. of course, we have losses but we are managing and holding on." above ground, they wait for orders. like the young men before them in wars gone by. they get coordinates for an enemy position and rush to fire a 60 millimetre mortar. the second round doesn't fire. sending the troops and us running for cover.

everybody go to the cover. they tell us it was old stock sent from abroad. their other battle here is with lack of ammunition. then a threat above our heads. russian jets. we heard it's a russianjet. 0n the attack radios. fire, fire. in the city centre, the hallmark of russia's war. what it seeks to capture, it destroys. explosion. we are just hearing constant, constant shelling. russian artillery shelling, yes. this is it. do you still believe that ukraine will win? yes, absolutely yes. but how long do you think that might take? it's a really hard question.

we are not high ranking military strategy, but we try, we are trying to do the best to hold this city. just around the corner, the latest strike. the kremlin is stepping up its attacks in the east and south of ukraine, as a grim milestone approaches — the first anniversary of russia's invasion. 0rla guerin, bbc news, bakhmut. yellow ribbons with messages of hope have been tied to a bridge near to where nicola bulley was last seen. the 45—year—old went missing on the 27th of january while walking her dog in st michael's on wyre in lancashire. a footbridge over the river wyre has been adorned with messages from friends and family — as police continue their search for her. our correspondent dave guest has been on the bridge for us this morning.

the people of st michael's 0n wyre started putting these ribbons on it yesterday. basically the message they are sending out is, we have not forgotten nicola, we miss nicola and we want her home. or at least know what happened. 0n the 27th of january, she set out for a walk with her dog along the river bank. she was last seen at quarter past, 20 past nine that morning. no sign of her since. despite a huge police operation to try and locator. the search operation concentrating mainly on the river wyre, because the police believe the most likely explanation is that sadly, she somehow slipped and fell into the river. herfamily say, please keep all other possible options open. her partner, paul ansell, just last week saying he is 100% certain she is not in the river, she is somewhere else. the police say they are looking at all possibilities. they're following up 500 lines of inquiry. they have been trying to track down 700 vehicle drivers who passed through here.

very much still a live investigation. trying to get some answers for paul and for her two little girls as to just what happened to nicola bulley. dave guest reporting. let's get more on a boy and girl — both aged 15 — being arrested on suspicion of murder, following the death of a 16—year—old girl in warrington. cheshire police say brianna jie was found by members of the public in a park on saturday afternoon. 0ur reporter rowan bridge is in warrington. what more is known about the circumstances of brianna jie's death? ~ . , circumstances of brianna jie's death? ~ ., , , ., circumstances of brianna jie's death? ~ circumstances of brianna jie's death? , , death? well, as you can see behind me, the death? well, as you can see behind me. the park _ death? well, as you can see behind me, the park remains _ death? well, as you can see behind me, the park remains closed - death? well, as you can see behind me, the park remains closed as - me, the park remains closed as police continue their investigations into the circumstances of what happened here. briannajie, juicy, bound by members of the publicjust before —— she was found by members of the public and pronounced dead at

the scene. two teenagers from the local area, the scene. two teenagers from the localarea, one the scene. two teenagers from the local area, one boy and wonga were both arrested last night by cheshire police. the police have stepped up patrols in the area, outside birchwood school where she was a pupil, a police presence there, here and through the town to provide reassurance to the local people. these school themselves have also issued a statement this morning saying they are shocked and truly devastated by what has happened and are doing their utmost to support the peoples and wider school community. please see at the moment they are still trying to establish a motive for the attack, but say as far as they are aware of the moment, it is not hate —related. they've also asked for people who might have —— cam footage or cctv footage to come forward in case that may provide them with vital clues. but two arrests _ provide them with vital clues. but two arrests have been made? provide them with vital clues. but. two arrests have been made? yes, that's right. _ two arrests have been made? yes, that's right. a _ two arrests have been made? yes, that's right, a 15-year-old - two arrests have been made? 1913 that's right, a 15—year—old boy and 15—year—old girl both arrested by cheshire police last night, they can be held initially per 24 hours but

police can apply for an extension beyond that, and that happened last night. for beyond that, and that happened last niuht. ., ., ., ~ i. night. for the moment, thank you very much- _ now it's time for a look at the weather. carroll has joined us and we are all in blue today. it's not how we are feeling, though. this morning has been a cloudy start to the day but as we go through the day you will find that with the breeze the cloud will break up and more will see sunshine. it will be dry as well. some cloud will linger across parts of eastern england and south—west scotland. a temperature range today of eight in the north to about 12 as we push further south. this evening and overnight, under clear skies there will be a widespread frost. we also see mist and fog patches developing across eastern england, the south—east and across devon. to the west, cloud is thickening and there is patchy light

rain. the overnight lows, in rural areas they will be lower. into tomorrow, we will lose the mist and fog very slowly from england and wales. then a lot of dry weather but still out towards the west we are looking at some light and patchy rain. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... a week after the earthquakes in turkey and syria, almost 36,000 people are known to have died, with the united nations predicting the figure will double. concerns grow for those affected in syria as international aid struggles to reach people in the region. a boy and girl, both 15 years old, are arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of 16—year—old brianna ghey in warrington. and a big revealfrom rihanna during last night's super bowl half time show — confirming that she's expecting her second child.

sport, and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. everybody just wants to talk about rihanna but we will bring you the latest from super bowl. we start with some breaking news in the last few minutes... former england captain eoin morgan has announced his retirement from cricket. the world cup—winning skipper stepped down from the international game lastjune. under morgan, england won the world cup in 2019 and reached the top of the one—day and t20 rankings. in a statement on social media, the 2019 world cup winner said...

"i am sincerely looking forward to what the future holds". on to one of the biggest events in the sporting calendar, the super bowl, which toook place in the early hours of this morning. as the kansas city chiefs became nfl champions for the second time in four years after fighting back to claim a thrilling 38—35 win over the philadelphia eagles. nesta mcgregor was there. there is no doubt that super bowl lvii will go down as an absolute classic. like you said, it was full of twists and turns, back and forth as well. a game with a nail—biting final two minutes, played in an electric atmosphere. and the game was decided with just eight seconds left on the clock. it was a long field goal kick that gave the kansas city chiefs the narrowest of three—point wins over the philadelphia eagles. this is a young team, the kansas city chiefs. this is their second super bowl

in four years and this was already a game that was going to go down in history, remember, for the first time each team was led out by a black quarterback. and also an nfl super bowl first as well, we had brothers on opposing teams. and it was travis kelce of the kansas city chiefs the winner. an emotional moment at the end where he hugged his brother and said, you know, congratulations. we might be enemies on the field but as soon as that final whistle goes, we are one again. as you can imagine, that victory sparked wild scenes in the kansas city chiefs locker room. chiefs players partied it up with champagne, dancing and nesta mcgregor managed to grab a word with them. cheering. feels incredible. what a team effort, you know? what a finish in the second half. you know, getting that done, no better feeling than that. you see mahomes�*s genius every day.

how good is he? is there anyone that can touch him? i mean, he's one—of—a—kind. he's a great dude, he's a great leader, he's an incredible football player. and, man, i'mjust thankfulto be on the team with him. what time does this party end? it's not ending, i'm not going to sleep tonight! cheering. manchester city are now in a posiiton to go top of the premier league if they beat arsenal on wednesday night. that comes after pep guardiola's side beat aston villa 3—1 at a defiant etihad. ilkay gundogan scored city's second goal of the afternoon after rodri's early opener. a riyad mahrez penalty made it 3—0 at half—time before 0llie wattkins grabbed a consolation goal for villa after the break. marcus rashford scored his 21st goal of the season

as manchester united won 2—0 against leeds united, putting themselves seven points clear of fifth—placed tottenham in the battle for a champions league spot. great britain have their first skateboarding world champion and it's come from 14—year—old sky brown. the teenager won gold in park skateboarding at the world championships in the uae. you may remember she become great britain's youngest ever olympic medal winner with a bronze at the tokyo 2020 games. her gb team—mate lola tambling, also 14, finished in sixth place. that's all the sport for now. i'm feeling like an underachiever again! labour has accused the government of overseeing "lavish spending" by civil servants using taxpayer—funded debit cards. the party has released a dossier on government procurement cards, which suggests that at least £145.5 million was spent on hotels, hospitality and other costs across 14 government departments in 2021.

the tories call it a "political stunt" and say labour spent almost £1 billion on the cards when they were last in government, although that figure was across the whole of the public sector. we can speak to labour's deputy leader angela rayner. thank you very much forjoining us. good morning. thank you very much for “oining us. good morningfi thank you very much for “oining us. good morning. what sort of spending are ou good morning. what sort of spending are you talking _ good morning. what sort of spending are you talking about? _ good morning. what sort of spending are you talking about? can _ good morning. what sort of spending are you talking about? can you - good morning. what sort of spending are you talking about? can you give l are you talking about? can you give an example of things that you think are unacceptable in these cards? there was nearly £2000 spent on a hot pink photo booth for a film screening at an embassy which i don't think is appropriate. there are thousands of pounds worth of money that is frankly bypassing normal channels, going on credit cards, when it shouldn't be happening. at a time of the cost of living crisis, people expect us to spend their public money efficiently and effectively we have seen throughout this situation at

government procurement, whether it's through these credit cards or their the ip fast lane has meant billions of pounds of taxpayer money has been wasted and it's high time we clear up wasted and it's high time we clear up that mess and people have confidence in the processes that are there to ensure their money is being spent wisely. the there to ensure their money is being spent wisely-— spent wisely. the conservative party ress office spent wisely. the conservative party press office reminds _ spent wisely. the conservative party press office reminds us _ spent wisely. the conservative party press office reminds us these - spent wisely. the conservative party press office reminds us these cardsl press office reminds us these cards were introduced by the labour government in 1997. should we assume that an incoming labour government would get rid of them completely? no, we recognise that all businesses need to have credit cards where they put emergency spending on it and government is no different to that. but this has obviously been used in a non—transparent way, bypassing normal processes for things like accommodation. the majority of that could come out of an accommodation budget and most companies and corporations do that. we have seen thousands of pounds of sparkling wine going on these accounts. when we get to the end of the year, where money has to be spent, otherwise

they lose that money, it seems like there is a splurge on the cards at there is a splurge on the cards at the end of march when actually you could argue is that money really needed to be spent? it's a way of bypassing the normal processes and i think that's not acceptable. yes, there are occasions where you need to use a credit card but the majority of the time, in some of these expenditures, that's not the case. if these expenditures, that's not the case. ' ., ., , ., , case. if 145.5 million in a year is too much. _ case. if 145.5 million in a year is too much, what's _ case. if 145.5 million in a year is too much, what's 0k? - case. if 145.5 million in a year is too much, what's 0k? it's- case. if 145.5 million in a year is too much, what's 0k? it's not i case. if 145.5 million in a year is - too much, what's 0k? it's not about the amount — too much, what's 0k? it's not about the amount necessarily, _ too much, what's 0k? it's not about the amount necessarily, it's - too much, what's 0k? it's not about the amount necessarily, it's about i the amount necessarily, it's about what it is spent on as well. i think some of these costs are questionable. you can see in the dossier that thousands of pounds on artwork for example, when we have curators in government and the palace of westminster, where there is already lots of artwork you can choose from and you can get put into the building. so to spend significant amounts of money on a credit card for artwork at a time of a cost of living crisis, i don't think it's appropriate, for example,

and it shouldn't be going on a credit card, it should be dealt with through normal processes of expenditure that is transparent. a lot of the time you wouldn't have even known about these costs because it's not transparent in the way they publish them. i have said it should all be transparent and the public should be able to see what their money is spent on. you should be able to see what their money is spent on.— should be able to see what their money is spent on. you have been held to account _ money is spent on. you have been held to account over _ money is spent on. you have been held to account over the _ money is spent on. you have been held to account over the purchase | money is spent on. you have been i held to account over the purchase of some airport pros that were £249 when you could have bought something cheaper. do you regret that purchase?— cheaper. do you regret that urchase? . ., , ., purchase? there are a couple of thins i purchase? there are a couple of things i would _ purchase? there are a couple of things i would say _ purchase? there are a couple of things i would say in _ purchase? there are a couple of things i would say in regards - purchase? there are a couple of things i would say in regards to | things i would say in regards to that. it was to do with my work and it was also open and transparent. but it was more expensive than it needed to be. but it was more expensive than it needed to toe-— needed to be. they sync with the ipad i have _ needed to be. they sync with the ipad i have to _ needed to be. they sync with the ipad i have to do _ needed to be. they sync with the ipad i have to do my _ needed to be. they sync with the ipad i have to do my work, - needed to be. they sync with the ipad i have to do my work, whichj needed to be. they sync with the - ipad i have to do my work, which i'm speaking to you now on, which have had for more than three years. its value for money and it's transparent and the public know about it because i declared i had spent that money. that's important as well. if you are

spending thousands of pounds on photo booths, sparkling wine, five star luxury hotels, then the public should see that. i think it also means that people think about what they put in their expenditure. i can justify spending £2500 on an ipad and some airpods so i could do my job during the pandemic and i'm doing it right now on that ipad. i think most people see that as value for money over three years. but millions of pounds on luxury items that don't go into the public domain, ithink that don't go into the public domain, i think people would quite rightly argue, why are we not seeing that transparency and why are you spending that money in that way? while we have you here, we must ask about the bbc chairman richard sharp. you said on radio four this morning i believe that you said that he should consider whether it's appropriate for him to stay on in that post. how untenable is his position now in light of the report

from the dcms select committee that says he has shown serious errors of judgment? i says he has shown serious errors of 'udament? ~ , says he has shown serious errors of 'udament? ~' , ., ., , judgment? i think he needs to really consider his — judgment? i think he needs to really consider his position. _ judgment? i think he needs to really consider his position. i _ judgment? i think he needs to really consider his position. i have - judgment? i think he needs to really consider his position. i have said - judgment? i think he needs to really consider his position. i have said i i consider his position. i have said i think he has brought the bbc into disrepute. ifind it negligent and naive at best to not declare at the time of his appointment that he was sorting out a loan for the prime minister. it's a clear conflict of interest and it has undermined people's confidence in him to act in an impartial way people's confidence in him to act in an impartialway and people's confidence in him to act in an impartial way and i think he should consider that. it's not appropriate to not have disclose that information and i can't see how anybody in good sound mind could think that information wasn't relevant. i think it's incredibly relevant. i think it's incredibly relevant and would have had an impact on the panel's decision. iuntimely impact on the panel's decision. when we ask someone _ impact on the panel's decision. when we ask someone to _ impact on the panel's decision. when we ask someone to consider - impact on the panel's decision. when we ask someone to consider their position, we are saying really that it's time to go. i position, we are saying really that it's time to go— it's time to go. i think at the moment _ it's time to go. i think at the moment there _ it's time to go. i think at the moment there is _ it's time to go. i think at the moment there is a _ it's time to go. i think at the moment there is a process l it's time to go. i think at the | moment there is a process in it's time to go. i think at the - moment there is a process in the bbc thatis moment there is a process in the bbc that is looking at his conduct in regards to this and that process is ongoing and they will conclude that.

i think under the circumstances they should really be considering that. when it comes to bbc appointments like this, how valid is the argument for making public appointments completely separate from government? an appointment to the bbc, whether it's the director general, the chairman, how separate from politics should it be? i chairman, how separate from politics should it be?— should it be? i announced last year that we had — should it be? i announced last year that we had set _ should it be? i announced last year that we had set up _ should it be? i announced last year that we had set up an _ should it be? i announced last year that we had set up an ethics and i that we had set up an ethics and integrity committee that would look at all these situations including the appointments of people onto boards. quite frankly, and i must say that in the majority of cases, people act in the best interests of the public when they sit on those boards and that's quite right, but people need to see the transparency on that. i think the question here is, was that a material significance when being appointed and i would argue that yes it was. if you're trying to sort out a personal loan for the prime minister who was

having clear financial difficulties at a time when they get to veto or not your appointment onto the chairmanship of the board of the bbc, i think that was relevant and i find it incredulous that richard sharp wouldn't see that as appropriate at the time. if he had no conflict of interest then frankly that should have been declared at the time. mps are told we should declare things if we think in any way the public would see that as a conflict of interest and i think under these circumstances the public would see it has a conflict of interest. 50 would see it has a conflict of interest. , , would see it has a conflict of interest-— interest. so this is about transparency. _ interest. so this is about transparency. you - interest. so this is about transparency. you have l interest. so this is about - transparency. you have talked interest. so this is about _ transparency. you have talked about that quite a lot this morning. how much more transparent should he have been? you are either transparent or you're not. there aren't degrees of transparency. you're not. there aren't degrees of transparency-— transparency. sure, and as i say, if ou are transparency. sure, and as i say, if you are sorting _ transparency. sure, and as i say, if you are sorting out _ transparency. sure, and as i say, if you are sorting out a _ transparency. sure, and as i say, if you are sorting out a personal - transparency. sure, and as i say, if you are sorting out a personal loan j you are sorting out a personal loan for the prime minister who is having financial difficulties, and at the same time you are asking the prime minister to appoint you as the chairman of the bbc, i think that's

very relevant and i find it difficult that someone in his position would not see that as transparent. this is a real theme at the moment with this government. it seems to be they don't want to be clear about what's happening in government and they don't want to be transparent. i have spent the last 18 months trying to drag out of the government to the situation with the vip lanes and what happened during procurement, and the situation we have seen with conservative mps and the scandal we had with 0wen paterson. it's a constant sleaze and scandal at the moment and it undermines people's trust and confidence in public servants. i have to say that regardless of political party, most mps go into theirjob to do a good job and be good public servants and every time something like this happens it undermines people's trust and confidence in politics in general and that's why we have to clear it up. it's a situation we are all responsible for and we all have to

lead the way so people can see that their money is being spent wisely and public servants like members of parliament, of all political parties, should be there to do the job on behalf of the public and most go in with that intention. i job on behalf of the public and most go in with that intention.— go in with that intention. i suppose the prime minister _ go in with that intention. i suppose the prime minister would - go in with that intention. i suppose the prime minister would say - go in with that intention. i suppose the prime minister would say that. the prime minister would say that accountability is one of the main planks of his leadership, and that's why we saw nadhim zahawi resign. but as you say, it's an ongoing discussion... it as you say, it's an ongoing discussion. . ._ as you say, it's an ongoing discussion... ., ., ~ discussion... it took weeks, quite frankl , discussion... it took weeks, quite frankly. and _ discussion. .. it took weeks, quite frankly. and i— discussion... it took weeks, quite frankly, and i don't _ discussion... it took weeks, quite frankly, and i don't accept - discussion... it took weeks, quite frankly, and i don't accept that i discussion... it took weeks, quite frankly, and i don't accept that in | frankly, and i don't accept that in nadhim zahawi's case, they weren't aware. it's pretty clear they were aware. it's pretty clear they were aware that there were issues with his tax situation. rishi sunak appointed him anyway. we have a home secretary that breached national security and rishi sunak appointed them anyway. the current deputy prime minister has more than 20 allegations of bullying against him and he is still in his post at the moment. there is a constant theme here of them kicking it into the

long grass and saying, nothing to see here, but all the public see is that it's one rule for them and another for everyone else and it undermines their trust and confidence in all of us and that's why it's important we clear it up. dominic raab says he has done nothing wrong. angela rayner, deputy leader of the labour party, thank you for talking to us this morning. we have some breaking news from chelmsford in essex. police officers were called to waterson vale at around 11:30pm last night in chelmsford because of reports a boy had sustained serious injuries. he was taken to hospital but has unfortunately died. in the early hours of this morning an 18—year—old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody. the child who died was 16 years old. police say they have a team of officers working with the family and our hoping to hearfrom officers working with the family and our hoping to hear from anyone who

might have information from the waterson vale area, perhaps cctv footage or door bell footage, dash cam pictures that might be of use to the police. if you are in and around that part of chelmsford last night at around 11:30pm. cold case detectives from north yorkshire police have arrived in thailand to investigate the death of a thai woman whose body was found in the yorkshire dales in 2004. her identity remained unknown for 15 years until a family in thailand read a bbc story about the case and breakthrough dna testing confirmed the body was their daughter, lamduan armitage. officers are to meet the parents as part of the ongoing investigation into her death, and to assist the family's request to repatriate the body. for more on this we can now speak to our south east asia correspondentjonathan head. this story goes back 20 years. are ve sad this story goes back 20 years. are very sad story _ this story goes back 20 years. a": very sad story and one this story goes back 20 years. £74 very sad story and one at this story goes back 20 years. 344 very sad story and one at least where there is some hope of some

closure for the family. i have to say the family who live in the north—east of town, from quite a poor background, are feeling weary about the length this has gone on and they are a bit confused about what will come out of this. they will not meet this team from north yorkshire until wednesday. police officers are hoping to talk to them about the proceedings for bringing back her remains if that's what they still want, but also to find out more about lamduan armitage herself. they know so little about what led to her death but they believe the circumstances do open the possibility that it was not a natural death and perhaps somebody killed her. that's why there is an ongoing investigation. they want to visit her home town and speak to family and relatives to see if it gives any clues. she had been living in the uk for a long time when she disappeared and when her body was found in 2004. they want to try to speak to her husband, david armitage. he and lamduan armitage

got married in thailand in the 1990s and move back to britain and we believe they were still married at the time of her disappearance. he has never spoke about her death and disappearance in public and he moved back to thailand shortly after her disappearance with two children. he is now living in thailand. that's a very important conversation for the police to have, to see whether that will advance their investigation into why she ended up in that very lonely spot in the yorkshire dales. jonathan head, thank you. as many people struggle with the current cost of living, there's a warning today that some people in england are even going without prescriptions to try to save money. the royal pharmaceutical society has told bbc breakfast that they've seen a rise in patients not collecting medicine, requesting cheaper substitutes or even asking what medicines they can "do without." celestina 0lulode reports. it's a choice between food or prescriptions. zoe is a mum of two and a bus driver. she takes multiple medications daily.

i've got polycystic kidney disease, which is an inherited kidney disease. and because of that, i've had to have a transplant. so i have to take these immunosuppressants to keep my body from rejecting my kidney. without those tablets, my kidney would reject. now i'd either end up back on dialysis, which actually would cost the nhs a lot more, or i'd die. some people in england, like children and those over 60, get their prescriptions for free. each item on one of these costs £9.35. take more than three medications in three months, and it's cheaper to get a prescription prepayment certificate. they're like season tickets. £30.25 covers the costs of three months. paying just over £100 covers one year. you can pay in instalments, but zoe says it's not affordable. there's been times when i've gone to the pharmacy to find that my prescription prepayment

certificate hasn't been renewed, because i couldn't afford to pay the direct debit. every month it works out just under £11 a month, which doesn't sound very much. but at the moment i'm averaging about £20 a week in take—home money. last year, the government froze prescription charges for the first time in 12 years, and they're not expected to increase until april, at least. the department of health and social care points out that almost 89% of prescription items are free. but some people who still have to pay say they're struggling. i don't think i ever expected to be in this situation. medical student lily needs prescription drugs to treat multiple conditions, including endometriosis. when i was younger, obviously the prescriptions are free. my parents actually wouldn't have been able to afford the medication. she says the demands of her course mean it's difficult to work part—time. as a medical student,

i am advised and encouraged not to get a part—time job due to the strain of the course, which means that it can be very, very difficult to afford that every month. whilst the cost of living crisis has sharpened the focus on prescription charges, zoe believes an overhaul is long overdue. stop these unfair prescription charges. it's not fair. why are certain illnesses exempt and others not? zoe is not the only one that feels this way. so the current exemption situation, which means that some patients don't have to pay, doesn't make sense. it was made years ago. it doesn't reflect the current times. it isn't up to date. and really, we just need to scrap the prescription charge completely. it's unfair. it's a tax on the sick. we've seen a rise in patients not collecting their prescriptions. and really, this is part of the cost of living crisis. the government says freezing prescription charges has saved patients more than £17 million, but that is little comfort

to people like zoe and lily. celestina 0lulode, bbc news. we can take you back to southern turkey and won the city there where this rescue operation continues a week after the powerful earthquake struck in this part of the country. we can see here that they are fortunate, if you can call it that, to have this heavy lifting equipment, vehicles and hydraulic jacks, that help with the painstaking rescue operations, as specialists try to listen in and look for voids under the rubble. but we are hearing that in syria there is such a scarcity of this equipment that people are having to dig by hand. they are losing hope of finding anyone else alive. more on

that in the next hour. we can go to the weather forecast now with carol kirkwood. today we are a country of mixed fortunes. some of us starting like this with sunshine around but equally there is a fair bit of crowd around. forall of equally there is a fair bit of crowd around. for all of us, equally there is a fair bit of crowd around. forall of us, high pressure is in charge, the weather is settled and dry. we have weatherfronts coming our way later tonight, though. quite a bit of glam still with us this morning, breaking up as we go through the morning allowing more sunshine to come through. cloud lingering across eastern england at times and also south—west scotland at times. it will break up here and there. these white circles represent there. these white circles represent the average wind speed. not really much to talk about except for across the outer hebrides where we are looking at gusty conditions. temperatures, eight in the north to about 12 in the south. at this time of year you would expect roughly

about 8—9 north to south. through this evening and overnight, the temperature will fall away rapidly under clear skies with widespread frost and some mist and fog patches will form particularly across eastern england, the midlands, parts of the south and south—west and some eastern parts of wales. the temperatures tonight, it will be cold, we mention frost. these are the temperatures you can expect in towns and cities. in rural areas they will be a little bit lower. tomorrow, a weak weather front travels across ireland and scotland. much later we see the next one coming in. tomorrow, drawing your attention to the direction of the wind, a savelli that will pull in all this mild air across our shores. it will be a cold start, the frost and the fog. the fog will lift slowly, perhaps sticking around until lunchtime and most of us having a dry day. the weak weather front will produce more clout for a time across northern ireland and scotland and some light and patchy

rain. temperatures, eight in the north, to about 15 across north wales. mild for the time of year. moving tuesday into wednesday, eventually the weather front comes our way, eventually the weather front comes ourway, introducing eventually the weather front comes our way, introducing heavier rain, mountain snow across scotland, heavy rain passing through northern ireland. as it pushes south—eastwards, you will find it will weaken and the rain will become much lighter. ahead of it, a lot of sunshine and also behind it. but still, blustery showers in the west with top temperatures between nine and 13. but it's getting milder and by friday we could hit 16. it will also be wet and windy.

this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. a week on from the earthquakes in turkey and syria, almost 36,000 people are known to have died — as the united nations predict that figure will double. concerns grow for those affected in syria as international aid struggles to reach people in the region. dr mohammed zahid al masri, from syria's north aleppo region, described the situation earlier. for the last seven days we have been alone here in north—west syria. - it's unlikely in a similar- catastrophe to respond alone. the us shoots down another unidentified object in its airspace in the fourth military operation of its kind, this month. a 15—year—old boy and girl are held on suspicion of murder

following the death of 16—year—old brianna jie in warrington.