this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines: the un says more than 7 million children are affected by the turkey—syria earthquakes. the syrian government has now agreed to open more border crossings to allow aid into the country — for three months. president asad confirmed the need for urgent aid to enter all region in syria. bbc analysis of a&e waiting times in over 100 hospital trusts shows more than half of patients waited longer than 4 hours, as services struggle to cope this winter. ons figures show wages have been increasing at their fastest rate in more than 20 years. but, pay increases are not keeping

up with the rising cost of living. us military says the sensors from the suspected chinese spy balloon shot down — have been recovered from the atlantic ocean and are being examined by the fbi. the car manufacturer, ford, announces 1,300 job cuts — affecting the uk due to economic uncertainty and the transition towards electric vehicles. and — buckingham palace says the controversial koh—i—noor diamond, will not be used in the coronation this may. the queen consort, will wear queen mary's crown.

the united nations has welcomed a decision by syria's president, assad, to open two more border crossings from turkey, to help the flow of aid. millions of people on both sides of the border are living in the open or in makeshift camps after devastating earthquakes last week. two brothers aged 17 and 21 were today pulled from the rubble in turkey, almost 200 hours after last week's quake. the focus now is on getting desperately needed aid and medical supplies to survivors. 0ur correspondent caroline davies is in southern turkey, and reports from a hospital damaged in the disaster. the final glimmers of this family's hope, gone. after days of waiting, a body was found. "father, father," they scream, as they follow the rescuers.

this metres—high pile of rubble was once an intensive care unit and wards of a hospital. beds, medical notes and machinery, twisted and buried. the rescuers say they believe 300 people were in here when the earthquake hit. they don't know for certain how many got out alive. people are angry about what's happened here, not least because of a report that was published on the health ministry's website in 2012, over a decade ago. when they did an earthquake resistance test on this block, the result, it says, was negative. this man works as a translator. his grandmother and brother were inside the hospital. this is all the fault of a person or people, and the government, of course. i would clearly say that, because it is obvious. everyone can see that. this is not destiny, this is fault.

as bulldozers shift rubble, across the earthquake zone, many are asking could more have been done? in syria, the true devastation is still being discovered. these satellite images show the city ofjenderez before the earthquake — and after. thousands of children faced on 6th february a crisis within a crisis where they continue to face complex situation, of displacement, of fear and extreme cold weather. stories like these are what every person waiting for news hopes for. a 17—year—old rescued alive from the rubble. his brother shortly afterwards. 198 hours trapped. but these rescues are increasingly rare, and for those that wait, hope is turning to despair.

caroline davies reporting from southern turkey. marzen al housaini is a humanitarian capacity strengthening advise from damascus in syria — he's currently in manchester. what are you hearing about the situation on the ground in north western syria?— western syria? first of all, the situation on _ western syria? first of all, the situation on the _ western syria? first of all, the situation on the ground - western syria? first of all, the situation on the ground is - western syria? first of all, the l situation on the ground is really catastrophe. we are hearing sad news day—by—day by the failure of the assistance to pick those under the rubble and the destructed buildings, failing to test them out live. right now most of them are died. and unfortunately we are all blaming this late response. we understand resident this late response. we understand president asad _ this late response. we understand president asad has _ this late response. we understand president asad has agreed - this late response. we understand president asad has agreed to - this late response. we understand| president asad has agreed to allow further border access into turkey

and vice versa. how is that going to help? to what extent will that help those in need? the help? to what extent will that help those in need?— those in need? the situation that previously. _ those in need? the situation that previously. in _ those in need? the situation that previously, in previous— those in need? the situation that| previously, in previous emergency services in north western syria we were relying on turkey and the infrastructure there. we used the border in order to cross the items and the commodities from southern turkey into north—west syria. now because of the veto from russia and china, that has limited the numbers of gate into one gate and that was affected severally and the road is affected severally and the road is affected severely, because of the earthquake, which made it out of access. that has delayed some of the interventions to north—west syria. now, with this opening for additional two gates, one was there before 2020, before the veto from russia and china, has cancelled or closed operation from there. so this

will allow the agencies, the ngos, the un agencies to access additional gates to support particularly those that are in northern aleppo. the situation is we don't that to be just for three month, we want that to be forever, because the situation is it not going to get better after three months. the situation will continue worse. so that is the message that needs to be delived. what exactly do you think can be achieved in those three month and how well coordinated is it in terms of getting the aid to those that need it? , . , . , need it? during any emergency there is several phases _ need it? during any emergency there is several phases to _ need it? during any emergency there is several phases to respond - need it? during any emergency there is several phases to respond to - is several phases to respond to those in need including all people. the first days it is saving lives. none of the international countries or the teams, or whatever have sent their rescue team to support the white helmets or the syrian civilian defence. they were taking their

actions and their responsibilities alone with a limited resources that they have. after a couple of, those days, ngoars provide humanitarian assistance from those who survived. that could continue within those three months, it those people need shelter aid with the water and sewage system. they need to ensure there is schools, there is hospitals, etc and that can't be achieved within three months. that needs to be extended much more. and the funny thing is that we are asking the one who has, who was responsible of killing those civilians in the last decade for the permission in order to allow for humanitarian assistance to access. it is the same thing as asking putin in order to send humanitarian assistance to the ukrainians. thank

ou. thank you for that update. you're watching bbc news. the police watchdog has decided two police officers should be investigated over the failure to check allegations of indecent exposure against former policeman wayne couzens. yesterday couzens pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent exposure. just four days before he murdered sarah everard in 2021 he exposed himself at a mcdonald's drive through in kent. now a metropolitan police constable and a kent police sergeant will face misconduct cases. let's bring in our special correspondent, lucy manning. can you tell us the a bit more about

what has taken place today? we have had a statement _ what has taken place today? we have had a statement from _ what has taken place today? we have had a statement from the _ what has taken place today? we have had a statement from the police - had a statement from the police watchdog the iopc. they have recommended that two police officers involved over different time periods from different forces that were investigating indesent exposure allegations, those police officers should themselves be investigated to see if they did a properjob. i will tell you a bit of background in 2021, just a few days before sarah everard was murdered, wayne couzens went to a mcdonalds and exposed himself. they reported him to the police and passed on his car registration. if the police had checked the details, they would have known that car was wayne couzens's and he was a police officer and presumably he would have been suspended and questioned and

arrested. but none of that happened. and a few days later he went on to murder sarah everard. so the police officer involved, a metropolitan police constable is being investigated for gross misconduct. that means they could be kicked out of the force. to see whether they properly investigated that. there is also an allegation that police officer didn't tell the trut when they were —— truth when they were asked about what happened. there was asked about what happened. there was a separate incident involving kent police in 2015 when a pedestrian reported to police that a driver had exposed himself. it turned out that car was registered to wayne couzens. but the checks were never done there either. and that police officer is also being investigated, this time for misconduct. what we have here and why is this is important, is because it is at least two opportunities when it is possible wayne couzens could have been

identified as somebody who exposes himself, a sex offender, they would have realised he was a police officer and he could have been stopped. it also feeds into this idea that many women have that inde cent exposure dismissed as flashing and we know that often leads to more serious offences. sadly in the case of sarah everard it did lead to more serious offences and we have an officer from serious offences and we have an officerfrom kent serious offences and we have an officer from kent and an officer from the metropolitan police both being investigated. thank you. bbc analysis of accident and emergency waiting times in england shows wide variations in how services have coped this winter. at some of the 107 hospital trusts that provided data, more than half of patients waited longer than four hours — but at the best performing units fewer than one in ten did. 0ur health correspondent,

dominic hughes, has more. it has been the toughest winter for the nhs in a generation. across the uk, there have been record waiting times for ambulances and in a&e departments. and that's had a real impact on patients. the bbc has analysed nhs england data on average waiting times in emergency departments over december and january. among the best performing were nhs trusts in northumbria, maidstone and tunbridge wells, and blackpool. but patients in hull, wye valley, and shrewsbury and telford face the longest waits. and in all, the ten worst performing trusts, patients were five times more likely to face a long wait of over four hours than in the best performing hospital. so what explains the difference between best and worst? 0ne hospital boss says it's staff, teamwork and investment. we've got the greatest staff —

truly dedicated, passionate about the best care possible in extremely difficult and quite challenging circumstances. equally, we've really worked hard on collaboration and working with our partners across lancashire and south cumbria. lastly, we've had fantastic investment into the local system, whereby we've been able to invest in state—of—the—art facilities, such as the same day emergency care. in a statement, one of the trusts that has struggled, shrewsbury nhs england acknowledges the winter has been tough, but says ambulance response times and a&e waits are getting better. but it also said that work continues on improving the speed with which patients can be discharged from hospital when they are well enough to leave. dominic hughes, bbc news. the chief executive of the nhs confederation, matthew taylor, joins us now. good afternoon. you are a very busy man at the moment, where the nhs is

concerned and some of the pressures and challenges. a&e waiting times, this is not new, but why is it concerning this time around? well, we are coming _ concerning this time around? well, we are coming out _ concerning this time around? well, we are coming out of— concerning this time around? well, we are coming out of a _ concerning this time around? well, we are coming out of a really - concerning this time around? -ii we are coming out of a really tough winter and there is a whole number of factors there. there is the backlog of illness in the community due to covid and the number of people on waiting lists. we had the so—called problem of covid and flu. and social care is not able to provide the level of service it wants and that means people get stuck in hospitals. that is still a big problem for the nhs, nearly 14,000 big problem for the nhs, nearly 111,000 people big problem for the nhs, nearly 14.000 people who don't need to be 111,000 people who don't need to be there. the indicators are that we are coming out of winter and that is an opportunity notjust to get

closer to our targets on how long it takes to see people and to start the process of recovery. the big issue is making sure we enter next winter in a more resilient state than we did this one. in a more resilient state than we did this one-— did this one. yet, we have the possibility _ did this one. yet, we have the possibility of _ did this one. yet, we have the possibility of a _ did this one. yet, we have the possibility of a strike - did this one. yet, we have the possibility of a strike of - did this one. yet, we have the | possibility of a strike of nurses looming. surely that is going to set things back? how is the nhs going to achieve those objectives? yes. things back? how is the nhs going to achieve those objectives?— achieve those ob'ectives? yes, that is a very good — achieve those objectives? yes, that is a very good point. _ achieve those objectives? yes, that is a very good point. so _ achieve those objectives? yes, that is a very good point. so what - achieve those objectives? yes, that is a very good point. so what we . is a very good point. so what we want to be able to do is to meet the demand that presents itself to us through primary care, through people using urgent and emergency services. but at the same time to be able to understood take that recovery, to eat into those waiting lists. we are making progress. we hope by the end of march no one will be waiting more than 78 weeks. that is what we want to be. the lead earps i speak to —— leaders i speak to every day, want

to make inroads. but you're right, we have had almost two months of industrial action. there are threats that will intensify and meeting demand and recovering at the same time as managing industrial action, i'm afraid that takes a very difficult task and makes it almost impossible. i difficult task and makes it almost im ossible. ., difficult task and makes it almost impossible-— impossible. i wonder if i could clarify something _ impossible. i wonder if i could clarify something you - impossible. i wonder if i could clarify something you said, i l clarify something you said, i probably misheard. you said even to eight weeks? 3�*8. probably misheard. you said even to eight weeks?— eight weeks? 78. a year and a half. the number — eight weeks? 78. a year and a half. the number of _ eight weeks? 78. a year and a half. the number of people _ eight weeks? 78. a year and a half. the number of people who - eight weeks? 78. a year and a half. the number of people who have - eight weeks? 78. a year and a half. i the number of people who have been waiting more than a year and a half. 0ur target by the end of march no one has been waiting more than a year and a half. it will be tough to hit that target and the industrial action makes it everse harder. == action makes it everse harder. -- even action makes it everse harder. —— even harder. action makes it everse harder. -- even harder. how— action makes it everse harder. -- even harder. how come - action makes it everse harder. -- even harder. how come some - action makes it everse harder. -- i even harder. how come some trusts are doinu even harder. how come some trusts are doing well- _ even harder. how come some trusts are doing well. what _ even harder. how come some trusts are doing well. what are _ even harder. how come some trusts are doing well. what are they - even harder. how come some trusts are doing well. what are they doing | are doing well. what are they doing right? are doing well. what are they doing ri . ht? r, are doing well. what are they doing riuht? ., m g,

are doing well. what are they doing riuht? ., g, ., .,, , right? there are factor, geography, the number — right? there are factor, geography, the number of _ right? there are factor, geography, the number of staff _ right? there are factor, geography, the number of staff vacant, - right? there are factor, geography, the number of staff vacant, the - the number of staff vacant, the quality of social care, the important point is integration, the best hospital runs acute services and community services and has established social care provision and has the capacity to get people out of hospital and into care, a home or care homes. that is an important factor. 0ther home or care homes. that is an important factor. other hospitals aren't doing so well often report they don't have that level of wrap around services. one of the things we need to work on is to achieve that integration between the health service and local government. particularly if we don't have the patients stuck in hospital who don't need to be in hospital, it is not the right place or the them. if we can get them into the community, that frees up beds and eases pressure on if front door of the hospital. we have a new emergency strategy, we have bought into that and we want to clifr that. you're right in identifying if this

industrial action deepens and widens, it is going to be really hard to make the progress we want to. �* g, g, hard to make the progress we want to. �* g, ., ~ , hard to make the progress we want to. g, to. i'm going to keep pushing the oint to. i'm going to keep pushing the point about _ to. i'm going to keep pushing the point about how _ to. i'm going to keep pushing the point about how people _ to. i'm going to keep pushing the point about how people are - to. i'm going to keep pushing the i point about how people are getting it right, because people hold the nhs, it is very dear to them. how is it that some trusts have managed to integrate social care provision within their contract, with the public, how have they done it? that is idea of nhs _ public, how have they done it? trust is idea of nhs running social care services is a new one. social care is provided by local government. because social care has found it hard to recruit people, we have a 30,000 vacancies in the nhs. some hospitals have started ed employing people on nhs wages, because they're slightly better than social care. that is one reason why some places have done better. there are other

factors, the quality of estate, the nhs has been starved of capital. i visited a hospital that is surrounded by scaffolding and they have spent hundreds of thousands just keeping the building standing up. if you have better equipment and a new emergency centre. there are reasons why some places perform better than others. but over all, the system, what we need to do is address the waiting lists, address sickness in the community, so we can start to reduce the demand that represents itself to the health service. that is something we think we can make progress on, but not when we have things like industrial action coming into the picture. i’m action coming into the picture. i'm sure we will— action coming into the picture. i'm sure we will discuss with you as to how long it is going to take for that progress to be made. thank you so much. millions of households are facing an increase in their council tax from april, as local authorities try to balance their books. the county councils network found

three quarters of english councils with social care duties that have published budget details are planning a 5% hike. this is the maximum allowed without a local vote, and would add £100 a year to bills for average band d properties. the government said councils should consider money pressures on residents. let's get more on this with our political correspondent, alex forsyth. just take us through the details of this. for most people all they're hearing is bills going up? yes. this. for most people all they're hearing is bills going up? yes, that has become _ hearing is bills going up? yes, that has become for _ hearing is bills going up? yes, that has become for a _ hearing is bills going up? yes, that has become for a lot _ hearing is bills going up? yes, that has become for a lot of— hearing is bills going up? yes, that has become for a lot of people - hearing is bills going up? yes, that has become for a lot of people a i has become for a lot of people a familiar refrain now, because we know that inflation is high. just the background, last autumn the chancellorjeremy hunt said local councils in england who are responsible for social care could put council tax up 5% from april.

the county councils network represents those local authorities and it has done work to look at the budget proposals of councils who have published them and found all but one plan to increase council tax and most will put it up by 5% that be around £100 a year. but it will depend on where you live and what kind of property you live in. the government has given councils more funding, abouta government has given councils more funding, about a 9% increase, but what councils are saying is that even with that, because of the impact of inflation on their budgets and demand for services like social care, you heard about the pressure the social care sector is under, they're still facing budget short falls and they say they have little choice but to put the tax up. that what is the government's accounted

for, although they know that households are struggling, many of them, with their finances.— them, with their finances. thank ou. pay has grown at its fastest rate in 20 years — but is still failing to keep up with rising prices, according to the latest figures from the office for national statistics. they show pay — excluding bonuses — rose 6.7% between october and december, which amounted to a real terms pay cut of 2.5%, taking into account rising prices. the uk's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7%. here's our business editor, simonjack. under the bonnet of the jobs market, not everything is running smoothly. how fits, like other businesses, is finding it hard a post—brexit

halfords, like other businesses, is finding it hard a post—brexit and post—pandemic to find staff with the right skills. it is having to be more creative about attracting the 1000 new vehicle technicians they need and are targeting the huge number of over 50s who have left the workforce. to get the right people we have to cast the net a bit wider than we have before. the over 50s group is an interesting one because many people through the pandemic have fallen out of employment, they might have taken early retirement or a different career choice. now a couple of years down the line with the cost of living and suchlike at the moment, it's maybe a new opportunity for a new career. there are 3.5 million people between 50 and 64 economically inactive, that means not looking for a job. that's a fall of 56,000 over the last three months. and the demand for workers also fell slightly with a number of vacancies down 76,000 but there are still 1.1 million unfilled jobs. the government wants to see more over 50s back at work. we've got quite a long way to go to get back to where we were pre—pandemic.

we need to see those figures go down by another half a million to get back to that point. there is a huge amount of work to be done but there are some encouraging signs at least, and they are early signs but some encouraging signs over the last quarter that those figures are beginning to come down. we still have millions of working age people who are not actively looking for a job either because they are in education, they are unable to, maybe they are too unwell to look for a job, and that means employers have to compete for the ones looking for a job, pushing wages up, which in turn pushes inflation, which then makes people ask for higher wages, and it's that wage spiral the bank of england is so afraid of. strong wage growth may mean higher interest rates ahead and worker shortages are also a headache for businesses wanting to expand. there is still strong demand for the goods and services but they are not necessarily able to deliver them because they can't get the people. what this means for the uk economy is that these labour supply issues could be a constraint on growth. for now, demand for workers

is still outstripping supply but the outlook for the economy darkens. that's not an option for public services who can't treat or teach fewer people and whose wages are lacking the private sector and inflation, a major reason behind the recent strikes. simon jack, bbc news. joining us now is andrewjones, a computer engineer. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. have you had a pay rise? i have. news. have you had a pay rise? i have- and? _ news. have you had a pay rise? i have. and? not _ news. have you had a pay rise? i have. and? not a _ news. have you had a pay rise? i have. and? not a lot. _ news. have you had a pay rise? i have. and? not a lot. but- news. have you had a pay rise? i have. and? not a lot. but more i news. have you had a pay rise? 1. have. and? not a lot. but more than most. it have. and? not a lot. but more than most- it has — have. and? not a lot. but more than most. it has made _ have. and? not a lot. but more than most. it has made a _ have. and? not a lot. but more than most. it has made a difference, but we are still struggling, because it is still nowhere near what the inflation rate is.— is still nowhere near what the inflation rate is. what would have heled inflation rate is. what would have helped then? _ inflation rate is. what would have helped then? to _ inflation rate is. what would have helped then? to be _ inflation rate is. what would have helped then? to be perfectly - inflation rate is. what would have - helped then? to be perfectly honest, more help from _ helped then? to be perfectly honest, more help from the _ helped then? to be perfectly honest, more help from the government. - helped then? to be perfectly honest, l more help from the government. they are trying, but they're wasting the money they have as far as i can see. bankers' bonuses need to be taxed,

people above 100k, why they are still getting 10%? k they don't need it. they need to rethink tax.- it. they need to rethink tax. there will be people _ it. they need to rethink tax. there will be people watching _ it. they need to rethink tax. there will be people watching saying - it. they need to rethink tax. there will be people watching saying how did you manage to get a pay rise? how did you do it? by did you manage to get a pay rise? how did you do it?— how did you do it? by working reall , how did you do it? by working really. really _ how did you do it? by working really, really hard. _ how did you do it? by working really, really hard. that - how did you do it? by working really, really hard. that is - how did you do it? by working really, really hard. that is the | really, really hard. that is the very simple answer. looking for solutions on the projects i'm working on. i work for a good company. as well, you know. i know people that i worked with haven't had as much of a pay rise as i have, but you know it is by coming in early, going home late that i've managed to earn myself a pay rise. do you work from home? some people say that it only becomes worth while when you don't have to travel? i physically couldn't work around to

do myjob. what i do is create units. i have to be here to do the hands on stuff. it is physical hands on stuff i'm doing.— on stuff i'm doing. what sort of future do you — on stuff i'm doing. what sort of future do you see _ on stuff i'm doing. what sort of future do you see for _ on stuff i'm doing. what sort of future do you see for yourself? | on stuff i'm doing. what sort of- future do you see for yourself? me? literately at — future do you see for yourself? me? literately at the _ future do you see for yourself? is literately at the weekend it is £4 hundred and it has to go on the credit card. longer term it is where will we find the money from? i don't know, it literally is a case of we might have to sell the car, use the money for that and buy a cheaper car. stuff like that.— money for that and buy a cheaper car. stuff like that. james, andrew, we have run — car. stuff like that. james, andrew, we have run a _ car. stuff like that. james, andrew, we have run a report _ car. stuff like that. james, andrew, we have run a report on _ car. stuff like that. james, andrew, we have run a report on council- car. stuff like that. james, andrew, we have run a report on counciltax| we have run a report on council tax also going up. when you add that to

your budget, your monthly budget and the way things are going, i mean, you're sounding as if you know, i have had enough?— you're sounding as if you know, i have had enough? you're sounding as if you know, i have had enou~h? , . . . have had enough? pretty much. we are on the bread — have had enough? pretty much. we are on the bread line _ have had enough? pretty much. we are on the bread line at _ have had enough? pretty much. we are on the bread line at the _ have had enough? pretty much. we are on the bread line at the moment. - have had enough? pretty much. we are on the bread line at the moment. we . on the bread line at the moment. we have never shopped in the more expensive shops, because i have been thrifty with my money and put it towards paying off the mortgage and towards paying off the mortgage and to the bank of dad, big help from him. i don't have a mortgage, i don't have rent, i have worked hard and ifind don't have rent, i have worked hard and i find that all of a sudden, because my partner can't work because my partner can't work because of an accident, we are really struggling. we don't know where the money is going to be coming from is the honest answer at the moment. coming from is the honest answer at the moment-— coming from is the honest answer at the moment. what is the 'ob market like, are the moment. what is the 'ob market he. there * the moment. what is the 'ob market like, are there options? _ the moment. what is the job market like, are there options? say - the moment. what is the job market like, are there options? say you - like, are there options? say you wanted you say you work hard and for a good company, say you needed to

look elsewhere, what is the job market like out there? it is look elsewhere, what is the 'ob market like out there? it is bleak would be perfectly _ market like out there? it is bleak would be perfectly honest. - market like out there? it is bleak would be perfectly honest. the . market like out there? it is bleak i would be perfectly honest. the jobs would be perfectly honest. thejobs that are there, the money isn't really this to make me worth moving at the moment. it might only be a few hundred pounds a year more. it is simply because what i do is specialised. in the it market the wages fell a i way and they're not recovering faster. the jobs that are there, they want people with cross platform skills, but don't want to pay for it and they're struggling to find people, because they aren't there. i find people, because they aren't there. , . . there. i will squeeze a final question — there. i will squeeze a final question in. _ there. i will squeeze a final question in. you _ there. i will squeeze a final question in. you said - there. i will squeeze a final| question in. you said bleak, there. i will squeeze a final- question in. you said bleak, twice, what is your plan, the next six months, if things don't carry on, what would you do? what are you and

your partner planning to do? we honestl your partner planning to do? - honestly don't know. it is really, it is that simple. it is going to be a case of where can we save money? we can't save much, because neither of us drink or smoke, it will be a case of we are already on the market, i go to shopping in the evening, we might have to start selling stuff. evening, we might have to start selling stuff-— evening, we might have to start sellin: stuff. �* g ., , , selling stuff. andrew, jones, i wish ou all the selling stuff. andrew, jones, i wish you all the best. _ now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. a pleasant day out there for many of us and really quite mild, too, in some spots. temperatures approaching the mid—teens and it's going to stay clear into the evening hours as well. but tonight, probably a little on the nippy side once again.

so here's the forecast for the afternoon. lots of fine weather. temperatures will be around 12 to 1a, but in one or two spots, peaking at around 15 to 16, maybe even 17 celsius. but that really will be the exception. so the forecast for tonight. notice this weather front approaching northern ireland and also western parts of scotland. so by the end of the night, yes, it will turn wet here in the western isles, belfast in for some rain too. but elsewhere it should be a clear morning and a touch of frost is possible once again. through the course of wednesday, this weather front will push into other western parts, but as it moves through wales and the midlands, there's very little rain left on that weather front and the temperature is nine in glasgow tomorrow. still very mild in the south at 1a. bye— bye. hello this is bbc news. the headlines... the un says more than 7 million children are affected by the turkey—syria earthquakes.

the syrian government has now agreed to open more border crossings to allow aid into the country for 3 months. syria supports the entry of humanitarian aid into the region through all possible cross points. bbc analysis of a&e waiting times in over 100 hospital trusts shows more than half of patients waited longer than 4 hours, as services struggle to cope this winter. 0ns figures show wages have been increasing at their fastest rate in more than 20 years. but, pay increases are not keeping up with the rising cost of living. the us military says sensors from the suspected chinese spy balloon have been recovered from the atlantic ocean and are being examined by the fbi. the car manufacturer, ford, announces 1,300 job cuts — one fifth of its uk work force.

and — buckingham palace says the controversial koh—i—noor diamond, will not be used in the coronation this may. instead camilla, the queen consort will wear queen mary's crown. sport now, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's delyth. good afternoon. stuart broad will return to the england side for the first test against new zealand which starts on thursday in mount maunganui. the fast bowler missed the 3—0 test series win against pakistan in december because of the birth of his daughter. it means broad and james anderson will get the chance to eclipse australian greats shane warne and glenn mcgrath as the most prolific bowling parterniship in test history this week. 0llie robinsonjoins the pair in the pace attack for the day—night opening match of the two—test series.

west indies have beaten zimbabwe by an inninings and 4 runs in their second test and with it the series 1—0. the test has been affected by bad weather in bulawayo — play was delayed earlier because of heavy rain overnight. when it did get under way the wickets tumbled — first the west indies lost their two remaining wickets. zimbabwe then had a terrible start to their second innings — losing two early wickets. and it didn't get much better, they were all out for 173. bath prop will stuart has returned to the england squad after injury, as kyle sinckler emerges as a doubt for next saturday's crunch six nations match with wales. stuart has been named in the latest 26—man training squad after missing england's games against scotland and italy with an elbow problem. while sinckler will miss training this week because of a facial injury, but he will stay in camp for rehab. england face wales in cardiff on 25th february. sacked leeds united boss jesse marsch has emerged

as southampton's preferred choice to replace nathanjones as manager. marsch who was dicharged by leeds eight days ago, left the club above the relegation zone only on goal difference following a seven—game winless run in the league. meanwhile southampton sacked manager nathanjones on sunday after a 2—1 defeat at home to wolves, and only three months in charge. saints are bottom of the table, three points from safety. premier league referee lee mason has been stood down from var duty this weekend, after failing to spot an offside for brentford's equaliser against arsenal on saturday. mason missed christian norgaard's offside in the build—up to ivan toney�*s equaliser for brentford at the emirates. mason's omission from this weekend's fixtures follows the removal ofjohn brooks from last night's merseyside derby and wednesday's match between arsenal and manchester city. the champions league knockout stages begin tonight with tottenham looking to bounce back

from their premier league defeat to leicester at the weekend, when they face ac milan. spurs are missing several key players for their trip to the san siro, including rodrigo bentancur who is out for the season with a knee injury. antonio conte though has called on his squad to come together, in order to improve their results on the pitch. in the last seven days we had four serious injuries. for this reason, i think, to stay together is very important and to try, in this type of situation, to create the right speed, to help each other much more than before, to overcome this difficult period. good news for paris saint—germain with both kylian mbappe and lionel messi training ahead of their first leg match with bayern munich in the french capital. both have been carrying injuries but will be available for the match against the germans this evening. grimsby town fans have been banned

from taking their "iconic" inflatable fish mascots to the side's forthcoming fa cup fifth round tie against southampton. the club said its request to allow "harry haddocks" into the match on the 1st march had been turned down. in a statement, it said southampton had made similar refusals to other clubs and warned that any inflatables found inside the ground would be confiscated. nearly 5,000 grimsby fans are expected to travel to the match at st mary's next month. that's all the sport for now. the car manufacturer ford has announced major restructuration in europe, with 1,300 job cuts affecting the uk — most of them at its research site in essex. according to the chairman in the uk, tim slatter, the factors for these cuts are the economic uncertainty and the transition towards electric vehicles.

0ur employment correspondent, zoe conway, joins me now. zoe, another business story with potentialjob cuts, we were talking about amazon yesterday, how significant is this story for ford? it is significant because it's about the costs of producing cars in europe. costs are rising, they say, this isn'tjust affecting the uk, more than 2000 jobs are going to go in germany as well, so it's about high inflation in europe, high energy costs. but, is also about the company refocusing towards electric vehicle production and what the company is saying is that electric

cars are easier to produce and easier to develop rather than combustion engine vehicles and it needs fewer people working in development roles. and that is why the bulk of the jobs that are going are in essex which is where the development team is based. so that is what they are saying is happening. but i think it's important to also bear in mind what else is going on. ford is expanding its production in the united states. only yesterday, it announced a new 0nly yesterday, it announced a new car battery production facility in michigan, it's producing these batteries with a chinese company, it's going to cost a couple of billion dollars, it's also worth mentioning that the us government is dangling billions of dollars in subsidies to car—makers that create

electric vehicle supply chains. so, green subsidies, if you like. the european union is also considering doing something similar, so the uk government is now under pressure to think about how it is going to develop the car manufacturing industry in this country in the light of what is going on in the eu and in the us. i light of what is going on in the eu and in the us.— light of what is going on in the eu and in the us. i want to get to the batteries element _ and in the us. i want to get to the batteries element of _ and in the us. i want to get to the batteries element of this - and in the us. i want to get to the batteries element of this in - and in the us. i want to get to the batteries element of this in a - batteries element of this in a moment, but first off, what reaction has there been from the workers whose jobs are at risk? what have they been saying?— they been saying? clearly there is concern. they been saying? clearly there is concern- the _ they been saying? clearly there is concern. the unite _ they been saying? clearly there is concern. the unite union - they been saying? clearly there is concern. the unite union and - they been saying? clearly there is concern. the unite union and the| concern. the unite union and the local mp in essex have voiced their concern about what is going to happen to these workers. the government says it wants to work with them to help them to get back into the labour market, but as i say, a lot of pressure coming now on the government to come up with some sort of idea about how it is going

to revive the car industry in this country because it is now at its lowest level in 66 years. just to give you some numbers, 775,000 cars were produced in this country last year, before the pandemic, it was 1.3 million. there has been a big drop recently. 1.3 million. there has been a big drop recently-— 1.3 million. there has been a big drop recently. this is a question i should probably _ drop recently. this is a question i should probably be _ drop recently. this is a question i should probably be putting - drop recently. this is a question i should probably be putting two i drop recently. this is a question i | should probably be putting two an drop recently. this is a question i - should probably be putting two an ee car manufacturer, but it's the untold story of the electric vehicle. china will be working with the us, like you said, based in michigan. china will be sourcing a lot of the resources from their factories, but most of those resources, that are used in electric vehicles, in batteries, are sourced in africa. lithium, nickel, what is being done to ensure the humanitarian side of getting those resources out of the ground is addressed? has that even been included in this equation yet? that

is an incredibly _ included in this equation yet? t'isgt is an incredibly important question, how the environmental impact of electric vehicle production is addressed, there is clearly an assumption that everything in the supply chain is green and sustainable, and as you point out, it's a lot more complicated than that. ~ ., ., . ,, . that. were going to talk about the small, but thank _ that. were going to talk about the small, but thank you _ that. were going to talk about the small, but thank you very - that. were going to talk about the small, but thank you very much i small, but thank you very much indeed. let's speak now to stuart masson, editor at the car expert. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. ford announcing job cuts, what you think about it all? it’s news. ford announcing 'ob cuts, what you think about it all?_ you think about it all? it's not aood you think about it all? it's not good news. — you think about it all? it's not good news, obviously, - you think about it all? it's not good news, obviously, for- you think about it all? it's not l good news, obviously, for ford you think about it all? it's not - good news, obviously, for ford here in the uk or in europe. as zoe was saying, there are 1300 jobs are going, the idea is that they will be voluntary redundancies here in the uk, of those 1300, 1000 are going to be engineering developmentjobs, 300 administrationjobs. in germany, it is almost double that. it's 2300

being made redundant in this current round. but ford is basically, of the last five years, has shed about 35% of its european star. it is going through a massive transformation. there are a lot of manufacturers now going towards electric vehicles, are they not able to protect some of their staff and re—skill them and redeploy them as well? is there any of that taking place?— of that taking place? absolutely, there certainly _ of that taking place? absolutely, there certainly is. _ of that taking place? absolutely, there certainly is. but _ of that taking place? absolutely, there certainly is. but as - of that taking place? absolutely, there certainly is. but as so - of that taking place? absolutely, there certainly is. but as so we l there certainly is. but as so we were saying, the investment of the engineering required is different so there will certainly be some retraining and reskilling going on, ford is investing about $50 billion worldwide in terms of its electric car investments, it is patching up because ford has been left behind somewhat in the transition to electric cars, yes, there will be some of that going, but as though we

alluded to, the engineering requirements for electric cars are quite different, ford is also doing a lot ofjoint venture work with volkswagen on its electric car programmes and with both of those put companies working together it inevitably means that ford doesn't need as many of its own engineering staff. , . . . . . staff. does that mean that electric vehicles will _ staff. does that mean that electric vehicles will become _ staff. does that mean that electric vehicles will become cheaper - staff. does that mean that electric vehicles will become cheaper as i vehicles will become cheaper as well? , , . ., well? over time. it is starting to ha en well? over time. it is starting to happen and _ well? over time. it is starting to happen and i _ well? over time. it is starting to happen and i think _ well? over time. it is starting to happen and i think this - well? over time. it is starting to happen and i think this year - well? over time. it is starting to happen and i think this year we | well? over time. it is starting to i happen and i think this year we are going to see that improving again. market reasons and development reasons. it is going to get closer, it's not going to achieve parity just yet, but it is getting better. volumes, scale of operations will help that come down. but there is a lot to go on, yet. in help that come down. but there is a lot to go on. yet-— lot to go on, yet. in terms of research _ lot to go on, yet. in terms of research and _ lot to go on, yet. in terms of research and development, i lot to go on, yet. in terms of i research and development, why is lot to go on, yet. in terms of - research and development, why is the uk not attractive? can you hear me? i think we've lost him. can you hear

me? no. 0k. i think we've lost him. can you hear me? no. ok. we have some time here on bbc news so we might come back, i'm sure we will come back to this story. in the meantime, we've got some breaking news for you. police investigating the murder of brianna ghey had been granted an extension of 30 hours to further question to suspect, a boy, and a girl, both aged 15. all lines of inquiry are being explored including whether this was a hate crime. police are being granted more time to question 215—year—olds suspects in the murder investigation concerning brianna ghey. we are going to turn our attention to the african continent. 20 people have been killed and more than 60 others injured in south africa, after a head—on collision between a bus and a transit van.

the accident happened on a highway bridge in the northern province of limpopo. the bus rolled off into the river below. emergency services were still on the scene on tuesday, with heavy downpours delaying their work. the us military has recovered equipment from the first suspected chinese spy balloon which it shot down on ten days ago when it crossed into american airspace. officials said search crews in the atlantic ocean have found "significant debris", including sensors and other electronics — which beijing insists were used to monitor weather patterns. the us has shot down three more objects since then. 0ur north america correspondent, peter bowes, reports. the salvage operation to retrieve the balloon shot down by the us

military earlier this month. these new images show it being dragged onto a boat off south carolina. us officials said it was being used by china to monitor sensitive military sites, but beijing insisted it was a weather platform that had blown off course. investigators say a closer examination of electronic devices attached to the balloon should reveal more about what it was doing. but there are no such clues to the identity of the three additional objects that were brought down in canada and the us states of alaska and michigan between last friday and sunday. they were much smaller, with one being described as having an octagonal shape with strings hanging off it. no, says the white house, it's not what you're thinking. i know there have been questions and concerns about this. but there is no — again no — indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent take—downs. i loved et, the movie, but i'm just

going to leave it there. laughter from the white house press call, but why was it necessary to shoot the objects out of the sky? even though we had no indications that any of these three objects were surveilling, we couldn't rule that out. you want to err on the side of safety in terms of protecting our national security interest. officials say since the chinese balloon was brought down, they've been monitoring us airspace more closely and that may explain why objects have been spotted that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. this bizarre episode has further eroded what was already a contentious relationship between the us and china. washington says beijing has flown surveillance planes over as many as a0 countries in five continents. china says us balloon flights have

passed through its airspace but washington denies that. for now, the search continues for wreckage from the balloon and the three still unidentified objects, while tensions with china show no sign of cooling down. peter bowes, bbc news. a national state of emergency has been declared in new zealand in the wake of cyclone gabrielle. the prime minister said the storm — which caused widespread damage and flooding — is the country's biggest weather event in a century. and as phil mercer reports, nearly a third of new zealand's population ofjust over five million live in the affected regions. about a third of new zealand's population of five million people live in storm—affected regions. for only the third time ever, a national state of emergency has been declared after cyclone gabrielle unleashed its fury. multiple severe weather warnings have been issued. the coast has been battered by gale force winds, heavy rain and wild surf.

rivers have burst their banks. trees have been ripped from the ground and roads closed. civil defence authorities said they couldn't cope with the scale of the damage. this has the potential to be an unprecedented event. it is affecting many regions and many districts and it's asking a lot of a lot of people. the new zealand prime minister has warned that the storm had inflicted widespread devastation. cyclone gabrielle is the most significant weather event new zealand has seen this century. the severity and the breadth of the damage that we are seeing has not been experienced in a generation. this morning we declared a national emergency for only the third time in our history. some communities have been cut off. thousands of new zealanders are without electricity. internet and phone networks have also been disrupted. the authorities have said it could be days, if not weeks before power supplies are restored. phil mercer, bbc news.

buckingham palace says the koh—i—noor diamond will not be used in the coronation on may the 6th. camilla, the queen consort, will wear queen mary's crown, which has been taken out of the tower of london to be re—sized, but it will not feature the controversial gem which was seized in india in 18119 and given to queen victoria. 0ur news correspondent, charlotte gallagher, is here. for many people this is a new story but obviously significant enough for buckingham palace to make this decision. what is the background to this. ., , ., decision. what is the background to this. . , . ., ., this. there had been a lot of speculation _ this. there had been a lot of speculation about _ this. there had been a lot of speculation about whether i this. there had been a lot of i speculation about whether this diamond would be used in a crown by the queen consort, camilla, because

the queen consort, camilla, because the queen consort, camilla, because the queen mother, the last queen consort, had the koh—i—noor diamond in the crown for her coronation and then wore it again when her daughter had her coronation in the 1950s. so there was speculation that camilla would have it in her crown. this is a spectacular diamond. it is one of the largest cut diamonds... i’m the largest cut diamonds... i'm auoin to the largest cut diamonds... i'm going to pause _ the largest cut diamonds... i'm going to pause either because i'm going to pause either because i'm going to pause either because i'm going to ask the director to put that picture back on the screen so you can describe it to us. this is it, i don't know if you can see it in there. so when we talk about the diamond, is it there, can we see it at the moment? i diamond, is it there, can we see it at the moment?— diamond, is it there, can we see it at the moment? i think it's actually at the moment? i think it's actually at the moment? i think it's actually at the front. _ at the moment? i think it's actually at the front. i _ at the moment? i think it's actually at the front, i think _ at the moment? i think it's actually at the front, i think that _ at the moment? i think it's actually at the front, i think that is - at the moment? i think it's actually at the front, i think that is the i at the front, i think that is the side of the crown. that is possibly on the coffin of the queen mother. so it's at the front of the crown, it's an enormous diamond, so it weighs about 20 grams, 105 carats, it's priceless. this was a prized diamond. as you said, it was given to queen victoria, it was taken from india. india wants this diamond

back. but other countries claim ownership as well. iran, pakistan, afghanistan, even the taliban have asked for this diamond back. to have this as part of the coronation it would have raised a lot of eyebrows. what was acceptable in the 1930s and the 1950s isn't seen in the same way now. this was something the royal family had to resolve before the coronation and they have announced today that the diamond will not play any part in the coronation, instead, camilla will wear queen mary was not crown and some diamonds from queen elizabeth's personal collection will be put into this crown. i think this is one thing... that's it. you can see it there, that enormous diamond, right at the front of the crown. that is the koh—i—noor diamond. that that is the koh—i—noor diamond. at the top of the bottom? that is the koh-i-noor diamond. at the top of the bottom? at - that is the koh-i-noor diamond. at the top of the bottom? at the i the top of the bottom? at the bottom, above _ the top of the bottom? at the bottom, above the _ the top of the bottom? at the bottom, above the fair, i the top of the bottom? at the bottom, above the fair, in i the top of the bottom? at the bottom, above the fair, in the middle, that is the koh—i—noor diamond. middle, that is the koh-i-noor diamond. ., �* , middle, that is the koh-i-noor diamond. . �*, ., . ., . diamond. that's not a white, not a clear diamond. _ diamond. that's not a white, not a clear diamond. i'm _ diamond. that's not a white, not a clear diamond. i'm looking - diamond. that's not a white, not a clear diamond. i'm looking at i diamond. that's not a white, not a clear diamond. i'm looking at the l clear diamond. i'm looking at the right diamond. the mac will actually

when it was first brought to britain, queen victoria said she didn't like it she didn't think it was that great.— didn't like it she didn't think it was that great. actually went into one of the great _ was that great. actually went into one of the great exhibitions i was that great. actually went into one of the great exhibitions and l was that great. actually went into one of the great exhibitions and a lot of people said they didn't think it was that brilliant. there is also meant to be a curse attached to this diamond as well so there has been countless articles about it, and now, it looks like the royal family have decided they don't want this to overshadow. in fact, the indian government had said they didn't want it to be part of the coronation. they said it would invoke painful memories of india's colonial past. of course, they want this diamond of course, they want this diamond return to india and whether that will happen, who knows? another issue that has to be resolved before the coronation, always something else, isn't there? is prince harry and the duchess of sussex. will they attend the coronation? will they be invited? what kind of role they have? and that is the next thing now that the royal family has to address. ., , ., ~' , ., address. one more question. like you said, the question _ address. one more question. like you said, the question about _ address. one more question. like you said, the question about whether i said, the question about whether things will be returned, this

continues over many, many, many things including artefacts, you described this mixed ownership. so many people are saying this is ours, i wonder if you could just very quickly, sick singly, put it into context why so many people in terms of the colonial boundaries. it context why so many people in terms of the colonial boundaries.— of the colonial boundaries. it was mined in india, _ of the colonial boundaries. it was mined in india, it _ of the colonial boundaries. it was mined in india, it was _ of the colonial boundaries. it was mined in india, it was taken i of the colonial boundaries. it was mined in india, it was taken from part what was then the british empire and then it has changed handsomely times. it's been seized, it was such a prized jewel, that it was taken by different countries, different people, and then eventually the east india company so they controlled trade in india when it was part of the british empire, they took it and presented it to queen victoria is a gift. so that is how it ended up with the british royal family. how it ended up with the british royal family-— how it ended up with the british royal family. how it ended up with the british ro alfamil. . . ~ royal family. fascinating. thank you very much- — royal family. fascinating. thank you very much- very _ royal family. fascinating. thank you very much. very quickly, _ royal family. fascinating. thank you very much. very quickly, going i royal family. fascinating. thank you very much. very quickly, going to i very much. very quickly, going to take you to some live shots, this is lloyd austin, the us defence

secretary of state, is that right? have i got the right shot in front of me. this is a special nato meeting that is taking place in brussels, and part of these discussions will of course, as expected, be events and decisions that will be taken concerning ukraine. lectures have a listen. you can see the — ukraine. lectures have a listen. ym. can see the importance of our coordination and our common efforts to meet ukraine's needs for armour. among the members of this contact group we have given ukraine's defenders more than eight combat brigades. this includes major contributions from united states, of strikers and bradley's and tanks, it includes the uk's donation of challenger tanks, and the contribution of senator armoured personnel carriers that canada announced last month. it also

includes the refurbished t 72 tanks which the united states, the netherlands and the czech republic are in the process of delivering. as well as poland's latest donation of t 72. it includes the important steps from germany, poland, canada, portugal, spain, norway, denmark and the netherlands on leopard battle tanks. we also heard today about significant new defence relations. that includes italy and france which jointly announced that they will provide ukraine with an air defence system. france also announced that it will work with australia to ramp up it will work with australia to ramp up 155 millimetres ammunition production to support ukraine. let me also thanks, finally, norway, whichjust announced

me also thanks, finally, norway, which just announced that it will provide 7.5 billion euros in military and civilian assistance to ukraine over the coming five years. that's a very significant commitment. all of these capabilities will continue to be important for ukraine's success on the battlefield. as i said last month in ramstein, this isn't about one single capability. it's about delivering all the capabilities that we promised, it's about integrating all these systems together, it's about working with ukrainians to help them fight for their freedom. we also had an important discussion today on our ongoing work on accountability. it is a priority for me, and my contact group colleagues, to ensure that our donations continue to be used as intended. and, that we move proactively to prevent arms proliferation. we will

keep working with our ukrainian partners to ensure that all the equipment that we are providing continues to reach the brave troops on the front line. a year ago, putin assumed that ukraine was an easy target. putin assumed that kyiv would easily full. and putin assumed that the world would stand by. but the kremlin was wrong on every count. 0ver the kremlin was wrong on every count. over the past year, ukraine soldiers have fought valiantly for their country, ukraine's people have shown deep courage in the face of russian cruelty, and countries of goodwill have rallied to defend an open order of rules and rights. together, we seek a world where disputes are resolved peacefully, where sovereignty is respected, where sovereignty is respected, where borders are honoured, and where borders are honoured, and where civilians are protected. those

are the values of this contact group. we stand united in our support for ukraine's fight for freedom. and we will stand together, united and resolute for as long as it takes. with that, let me turn it over to the general.— over to the general. thank you, secretary _ over to the general. thank you, secretary austin _ over to the general. thank you, secretary austin and _ over to the general. thank you, secretary austin and thank i over to the general. thank you, secretary austin and thank you | over to the general. thank you, i secretary austin and thank you for your leadership leading this ninth successive contact group. this is an incredible _ successive contact group. this is an incredible level of effort by many countries — incredible level of effort by many countries. it wouldn't be happening without— countries. it wouldn't be happening without the leadership of secretary austin _ without the leadership of secretary austin. good afternoon everyone and let me _ austin. good afternoon everyone and let me start — austin. good afternoon everyone and let me start by giving my condolences to the people of turkey and syria _ condolences to the people of turkey and syria with the tragic loss of life and — and syria with the tragic loss of life and suffering that has occurred because _ life and suffering that has occurred because of— life and suffering that has occurred because of the recent earthquake. also suffering other ukrainian people — also suffering other ukrainian people. we are approaching the one-year— people. we are approaching the one—year anniversary of russia's illegal— one—year anniversary of russia's

illegal invasion. a sovereign nation, _ illegal invasion. a sovereign nation, the sovereign nation of ukraine — i want to thank the ministers and chiefs— i want to thank the ministers and chiefs of— i want to thank the ministers and chiefs of defence here today, representing 54 countries that continue — representing 54 countries that continue to participate in this group — continue to participate in this group. the actions of those leaders over the _ group. the actions of those leaders over the last year have contributed substantially, with real effect on the battlefield and they collectively have demonstrated commitment to the defence of ukraine — commitment to the defence of ukraine. a special thank you to the ukrainian _ ukraine. a special thank you to the ukrainian minister of defence and his deputy, who continue to display exceptional leadership. and my friend _ exceptional leadership. and my friend who is on the battle field every _ friend who is on the battle field every day — friend who is on the battle field every day leading his country's defence — every day leading his country's defence. ten days from now, is the one-year— defence. ten days from now, is the one—year anniversary. when russia brutally, _ one—year anniversary. when russia brutally, illegally and in a

completely unprovoked way invaded the so _ completely unprovoked way invaded the so rinne nation of ukraine. —— sovereign — the so rinne nation of ukraine. —— sovereign nation of ukraine. putin thought— sovereign nation of ukraine. putin thought he — sovereign nation of ukraine. putin thought he could defeat ukraine quickly — thought he could defeat ukraine quickly and act with impunity. he was wrong — quickly and act with impunity. he was wrong. ukraine remains free. they— was wrong. ukraine remains free. they remain — was wrong. ukraine remains free. they remain independent. nato and its coalition has never been strongen _ its coalition has never been stronger. and russia is now a globe pariah— stronger. and russia is now a globe pariah and _ stronger. and russia is now a globe pariah and the world remains inspired _ pariah and the world remains inspired by ukrainian bravery. in short. _ inspired by ukrainian bravery. in short, russia has lost. they have lost strategically, operationally, and tactically. and they are paying and tactically. and they are paying an enormous price on the battlefield. but until putin ends his war— battlefield. but until putin ends his war of choice, the international community— his war of choice, the international community will continue to support ukraine _ community will continue to support ukraine, with the equipment and capabilities it needs. through this group _ capabilities it needs. through this group we — capabilities it needs. through this group we are collectively supporting ukraine's— group we are collectively supporting ukraine's ability to defend its territory. _

ukraine's ability to defend its territory, protect its citizens and liberate — territory, protect its citizens and liberate the occupied areas. in face of a russian — liberate the occupied areas. in face of a russian invasion, ukrainians remain— of a russian invasion, ukrainians remain resilient, the nation of ukraine — remain resilient, the nation of ukraine is— remain resilient, the nation of ukraine is united for one purpose — to expel— ukraine is united for one purpose — to expel the — ukraine is united for one purpose — to expel the russian forces from their— to expel the russian forces from their territory and to defend themselves. for ukraine, this is not a war— themselves. for ukraine, this is not a war of— themselves. for ukraine, this is not a war of aggression, it is a war of defence — a war of aggression, it is a war of defence for— a war of aggression, it is a war of defence. for russia, it is war of aggression _ defence. for russia, it is war of aggression. the russian military has paid tremendous costs and now they have resorted to sending conscripts and prisoners to imminent death. in recent— and prisoners to imminent death. in recent months, the group who gather here provide to provide battlefield capabilities — tanks, air defence and munitions. 11 countries have pledged — and munitions. 11 countries have pledged tanks. 22 have pledged infantry— pledged tanks. 22 have pledged infantry fighting vehicles. nine more — infantry fighting vehicles. nine more pledged air defence artillery.

the group — more pledged air defence artillery. the group is focussed on delivering and providing the training, spare parts _ and providing the training, spare parts for— and providing the training, spare parts for the employment of these systems — parts for the employment of these systems. training and sustaining ukraine — systems. training and sustaining ukraine remains key for ukraine to prevaik _ ukraine remains key for ukraine to prevail. throughout this war, ukraine — prevail. throughout this war, ukraine has shown resourcefulness in how they _ ukraine has shown resourcefulness in how they adapt. they have innovative tactic— how they adapt. they have innovative tactic and _ how they adapt. they have innovative tactic and empowered their leaders to free _ tactic and empowered their leaders to free their country. russia on contrast— to free their country. russia on contrast has waged a costly war, while _ contrast has waged a costly war, while ukraine is effective using their— while ukraine is effective using their advantages. this war is extremely dynamic and ukraine is fighting _

extremely dynamic and ukraine is fighting today while training and evolving — fighting today while training and evolving for future operations. ukraine — evolving for future operations. ukraine will integrate commitments of armoured vehicles and tanks with fires to— of armoured vehicles and tanks with fires to achieve the effect of synchronised ground manoeuvre. while russia _ synchronised ground manoeuvre. while russia has— synchronised ground manoeuvre. while russia has waged this war for too long. _ russia has waged this war for too long. they— russia has waged this war for too long, they will not outlast the ukrainian people or the group of allies— ukrainian people or the group of allies that met today. the purpose for the _ allies that met today. the purpose for the united states and allies as said pi _ for the united states and allies as said pi by— for the united states and allies as said pi by our leaderership is to maintain — said pi by our leaderership is to maintain the order that rejects the idea that _ maintain the order that rejects the idea that powerful countries can attack _ idea that powerful countries can attack smaller country, that bordered should not change by force. this is— bordered should not change by force. this is the _ bordered should not change by force. this is the foundation of the un. ukraine — this is the foundation of the un. ukraine does not stand a alone. 54 countries _ ukraine does not stand a alone. 54 countries met to make sure ukraine

can defend — countries met to make sure ukraine can defend itself and the principles that guide international conduct and those _ that guide international conduct and those principles will be upheld. we will remain a unified coalition and uphold _ will remain a unified coalition and uphold the values of sovereignty and freedom _ uphold the values of sovereignty and freedom i_ uphold the values of sovereignty and freedom. i welcome your questions. reporter: secretary austin, you said this is a crucial moment for ukraine and that the allies need to get air defences and munitions into ukraine now. what are you seeing from russia that makes this moment different and the nato secretary general has already warned that the ukraine is purposing through munitions faster than a rate that the allies supply it. will you need to ask ukraine to do more with less? and did up with of missiles fired at the lake huron object miss and if so what happened

to that missile. does that change your ideas. are you thinking of alternatives.— your ideas. are you thinking of alternatives. . ,, , ., , your ideas. are you thinking of alternatives. . ,, , ., alternatives. thank you. in terms of where we are _ alternatives. thank you. in terms of where we are in _ alternatives. thank you. in terms of where we are in the _ alternatives. thank you. in terms of where we are in the fight, _ alternatives. thank you. in terms of where we are in the fight, what i alternatives. thank you. in terms of where we are in the fight, what we | where we are in the fight, what we see, what we have seen over the last several months, is a contested battlefield, we see a lot of activity in the bakhmut area. we see russia introducing new troops to the battlefield, many are ill—trained and ill—equipped. so their casualty rate has been really high. what ukraine wants to do in the you

know... at the first possible moment is to establish, or create a momentum and establish conditions on the battlefield that continue to be in its favour. and so we expect to see them conduct an offensive some time in the spring. and because of that, we, all of the partners in the ukraine defence contact group, have been working hard to ensure that they have the armoured capability, they have the armoured capability, the fires, the sustainment to be able to be effective in creating the effects on the battlefield that they want to create. so, we believe that there will be a window of opportunity for them to exercise

initiative and then change or continue to create the right conditions on the battlefield there. in terms of munitions, this has been a tough fight throughout and we have been, ukraine has been at this for a year. so they have used a lot of artillery ammunition. we are going to do everything we can with our international partners to give them as much ammunition, as quickly as possible and that it will do everything we can to sustain our efforts there as well. we are working to, with the ukrainian soldiers and various places in europe, to emphasise additional training on manoeuvre. so that as they place more emphasis on manoeuvre, there is a good chance that they will require less

artillery munitions. but that is left to be seen. we are going to do everything we can to make sure they need to be success. we continue to emphasise here in the ukraine contact group, and we think the training will pay additional dividends as well. fin training will pay additional dividends as well.- training will pay additional dividends as well. ,. ., ., dividends as well. on the balloon shot, dividends as well. on the balloon shot. yes. _ dividends as well. on the balloon shot. yes. first— dividends as well. on the balloon shot, yes, first shot _ dividends as well. on the balloon shot, yes, first shot missed. i dividends as well. on the balloon shot, yes, first shot missed. on | dividends as well. on the balloon i shot, yes, first shot missed. on the fourth _ shot, yes, first shot missed. on the fourth balloon. we are talking about the balloon that was downed over lake huron. the first one, that shot hit. lake huron. the first one, that shot hit the _ lake huron. the first one, that shot hit. the second one over alaska, that one — hit. the second one over alaska, that one hit _ hit. the second one over alaska, that one hit. the third one that landed — that one hit. the third one that landed in — that one hit. the third one that landed in the yukon, first shot missed. — landed in the yukon, first shot missed, second shot hit. the most important — missed, second shot hit. the most important thing is to protect the american — important thing is to protect the american people. so we evaluate the risk of— american people. so we evaluate the risk of balloons themselves and if they are _ risk of balloons themselves and if they are an threat, are they an

intel— they are an threat, are they an intel -- — they are an threat, are they an intel —— intelligence threat. we determine _ intel —— intelligence threat. we determine what the debris field is likely— determine what the debris field is likely to _ determine what the debris field is likely to be with one of those platforms landing on the surface or the water~ — platforms landing on the surface or the water. we make sure that the air space _ the water. we make sure that the air space is_ the water. we make sure that the air space is clear and the backdrop is clean _ space is clear and the backdrop is clean and — space is clear and the backdrop is clear. and in this case the missiles, _ clear. and in this case the missiles, orthe missile landed harmlessly in the water. we made sure that — harmlessly in the water. we made sure that the air space was clear of any commercial or civilian traffic. we do _ any commercial or civilian traffic. we do the — any commercial or civilian traffic. we do the same for the maritime space _ we do the same for the maritime space and — we do the same for the maritime space and we are deliberate in our planning, — space and we are deliberate in our planning, we do that along with the pilots _ planning, we do that along with the pilots themselves. we are careful to make _ pilots themselves. we are careful to make sure _ pilots themselves. we are careful to make sure the shots are in fact safe _ make sure the shots are in fact safe that _ make sure the shots are in fact safe. that is the guidance from the president. — safe. that is the guidance from the president, shoot it down and make sure which— president, shoot it down and make sure which minimise damage and preserve — sure which minimise damage and preserve the safety of people. are ou preserve the safety of people. fife: you concerned preserve the safety of people. fif'e: you concerned the preserve the safety of people. fife: you concerned the other three were like the first one? i you concerned the other three were like the first one?— like the first one? i will 'ust use the word object, h like the first one? i will 'ust use the word object, that h like the first one? i will 'ust use the word object, that is_

like the first one? i willjust use the word object, that is what. the word object, that is what everyone _ the word object, that is what everyone will see. we have not recovered — everyone will see. we have not recovered them, number 2, everyone will see. we have not recovered them, number2, 3 everyone will see. we have not recovered them, number 2, 3 and four _ recovered them, number 2, 3 and four no— recovered them, number 2, 3 and four no 1— recovered them, number 2, 3 and four not we _ recovered them, number 2, 3 and four. no 1 we are recovering. 2, 3 and 4— four. no 1 we are recovering. 2, 3 and dare— four. no 1 we are recovering. 2, 3 and 4are not— four. no 1 we are recovering. 2, 3 and 4 are not recovered. they're in difficult _ and 4 are not recovered. they're in difficult terrain. the second one off the — difficult terrain. the second one off the coast of alaska is in some difficult _ off the coast of alaska is in some difficult terrain with very low temperatures. the second one is in the canadian rockies, very difficult to get— the canadian rockies, very difficult to get that one. the third one is in lake _ to get that one. the third one is in lake huron — to get that one. the third one is in lake huron. we will get them, but it will take _ lake huron. we will get them, but it will take some time the recover those — will take some time the recover those. ., :, ., , those. reporter: national news auen of those. reporter: national news agency of ukraine. _ those. reporter: national news agency of ukraine. was _ those. reporter: national news agency of ukraine. was the - those. reporter: national news i agency of ukraine. was the question of the _ agency of ukraine. was the question of the plane — agency of ukraine. was the question of the plane supplies, _ agency of ukraine. was the question of the plane supplies, i— agency of ukraine. was the question of the plane supplies, i mean - agency of ukraine. was the questionl of the plane supplies, i mean combat 'ets of the plane supplies, i mean combat jets discussed — of the plane supplies, i mean combat jets discussed or— of the plane supplies, i mean combat jets discussed or not? _ of the plane supplies, i mean combat jets discussed or not? and _ of the plane supplies, i mean combat jets discussed or not? and what - of the plane supplies, i mean combat jets discussed or not? and what kind| jets discussed or not? and what kind of security— jets discussed or not? and what kind of security circumstances _ jets discussed or not? and what kind of security circumstances should - jets discussed or not? and what kind of security circumstances should be i of security circumstances should be created _ of security circumstances should be created inside — of security circumstances should be created inside ukraine _ of security circumstances should be created inside ukraine to— of security circumstances should be created inside ukraine to deploy .

of security circumstances should be created inside ukraine to deploy a i created inside ukraine to deploy a new type — created inside ukraine to deploy a new type of — created inside ukraine to deploy a new type of aircrafts _ created inside ukraine to deploy a new type of aircrafts of _ created inside ukraine to deploy a new type of aircrafts of such - created inside ukraine to deploy a | new type of aircrafts of such kind? does _ new type of aircrafts of such kind? does it _ new type of aircrafts of such kind? does it mean _ new type of aircrafts of such kind? does it mean that _ new type of aircrafts of such kind? does it mean that it— new type of aircrafts of such kind? does it mean that it is— new type of aircrafts of such kind? does it mean that it is possible . does it mean that it is possible after— does it mean that it is possible after the — does it mean that it is possible after the integrated _ does it mean that it is possible after the integrated air- does it mean that it is possiblej after the integrated air defence svstem — after the integrated air defence system is — after the integrated air defence system is created? _ after the integrated air defence system is created? and - after the integrated air defence system is created? and to - after the integrated air defence system is created? and to the| system is created? and to the general, — system is created? and to the general, if— system is created? and to the general, if i _ system is created? and to the general, if i may, _ system is created? and to the general, if i may, what- system is created? and to the general, if i may, what is- system is created? and to thej general, if i may, what is your system is created? and to the - general, if i may, what is your risk assessment— general, if i may, what is your risk assessment for— general, if i may, what is your risk assessment for supply— general, if i may, what is your risk assessment for supply routes - general, if i may, what is your risk assessment for supply routes of. general, if i may, what is your risk. assessment for supply routes of the delivery— assessment for supply routes of the delivery of— assessment for supply routes of the delivery of western _ assessment for supply routes of the delivery of western equipment - assessment for supply routes of the delivery of western equipment and i delivery of western equipment and ammunition — delivery of western equipment and ammunition to— delivery of western equipment and ammunition to ukraine? _ delivery of western equipment and ammunition to ukraine? and - delivery of western equipment and ammunition to ukraine? and howl delivery of western equipment and i ammunition to ukraine? and how it could _ ammunition to ukraine? and how it could be _ ammunition to ukraine? and how it could be made _ ammunition to ukraine? and how it could be made more _ ammunition to ukraine? and how it could be made more secure? - ammunition to ukraine? and how itj could be made more secure? thank you. could be made more secure? thank you on _ could be made more secure? thank ou. , , :, ., . ., you. on the issue of aircraft, i don't have _ you. on the issue of aircraft, i don't have any _ you. on the issue of aircraft, i | don't have any announcements you. on the issue of aircraft, i. don't have any announcements to you. on the issue of aircraft, i - don't have any announcements to make on aircraft today. we are going to continue to work with the ukraine to address the ukraine's most pressing needs. again, they are contemplating an offensive in the spring and that isjust an offensive in the spring and that is just weeks away. and so we have a lot to get done. if you think about the numbers of systems that we are

bringing together, bradleys, strikers, martyrs, cb90s, ii3s, artillery and the list goes on and on. it is a monumental task to bring those systems together, get the troops trained and make sure we have sustainment for all the systems and get the systems into the fight. that is really the focus of our conversation today. lines of communication _ conversation today. lines of communication in _ conversation today. lines of communication in warfare . conversation today. lines of. communication in warfare are conversation today. lines of- communication in warfare are always subject— communication in warfare are always subject to _ communication in warfare are always subject to enemy attack. no different here. the line of communication that stretch to the western— communication that stretch to the western portions of ukraine are subject— western portions of ukraine are subject to — western portions of ukraine are subject to russian attack from the air and _ subject to russian attack from the airand artillery and subject to russian attack from the air and artillery and special operations forces. the key to ensure that the _ operations forces. the key to ensure that the supplies get through maintain good operational security, vary maintain good operational security, varv your— maintain good operational security, vary your times, don't set patterns, take different routes and disperse

your take different routes and disperse vour force — take different routes and disperse your force. the security from the polish _ your force. the security from the polish border or any other border, that security is part of the security— that security is part of the security plan for the ukrainian armed — security plan for the ukrainian armed forces. they pick the stuff up and do _ armed forces. they pick the stuff up and do that — armed forces. they pick the stuff up and do that. they practice the good tactics _ and do that. they practice the good tactics that — and do that. they practice the good tactics that i described. i would say it— tactics that i described. i would say it is— tactics that i described. i would say it is not without risk, but it is moderate and it has been successful so far to get through. financiat— successful so far to get through. financial times?— successful so far to get through. financial times? financialtimes? reporter: thank ou. first financialtimes? reporter: thank you. first secretary _ financialtimes? reporter: thank you. first secretary austin, - financialtimes? reporter: thank you. first secretary austin, we - financial times? reporter: thank| you. first secretary austin, we have heard _ you. first secretary austin, we have heard from — you. first secretary austin, we have heard from western _ you. first secretary austin, we have heard from western officials - you. first secretary austin, we have heard from western officials that. heard from western officials that russia's — heard from western officials that russia's air _ heard from western officials that russia's air force _ heard from western officials that russia's air force is _ heard from western officials that russia's air force is well- heard from western officials that russia's air force is well intact. russia's air force is well intact and that— russia's air force is well intact and that the _ russia's air force is well intact and that the russians - russia's air force is well intact and that the russians are - russia's air force is well intact - and that the russians are preparing to launch _ and that the russians are preparing to launch an— and that the russians are preparing to launch an air— and that the russians are preparing to launch an air campaign _ and that the russians are preparing to launch an air campaign as - and that the russians are preparing to launch an air campaign as its - to launch an air campaign as its land— to launch an air campaign as its land forces _ to launch an air campaign as its land forces are _ to launch an air campaign as its land forces are depleted, - to launch an air campaign as its| land forces are depleted, where to launch an air campaign as its i land forces are depleted, where is russ _ land forces are depleted, where is russ massing _ land forces are depleted, where is russ massing aircraft _ land forces are depleted, where is russ massing aircraft and - land forces are depleted, where is russ massing aircraft and has i land forces are depleted, where is. russ massing aircraft and has enough assistance _ russ massing aircraft and has enough assistance been — russ massing aircraft and has enough assistance been provided? _

russ massing aircraft and has enough assistance been provided? and - russ massing aircraft and has enough assistance been provided? and then. assistance been provided? and then the chairman. — assistance been provided? and then the chairman, does— assistance been provided? and then the chairman, does russia - assistance been provided? and then the chairman, does russia have i assistance been provided? and then the chairman, does russia have the| the chairman, does russia have the film the chairman, does russia have the right equipment _ the chairman, does russia have the right equipment to _ the chairman, does russia have the right equipment to pose _ the chairman, does russia have the right equipment to pose a - the chairman, does russia have the right equipment to pose a threat i the chairman, does russia have the right equipment to pose a threat to| right equipment to pose a threat to the ukrainians— right equipment to pose a threat to the ukrainians and _ right equipment to pose a threat to the ukrainians and break— right equipment to pose a threat to the ukrainians and break through . right equipment to pose a threat to| the ukrainians and break through in the ukrainians and break through in the donbas— the ukrainians and break through in the donbas and _ the ukrainians and break through in the donbas and is— the ukrainians and break through in the donbas and is ukraine - the ukrainians and break through in the donbas and is ukraine going i the ukrainians and break through in the donbas and is ukraine going toi the donbas and is ukraine going to -et the donbas and is ukraine going to get enough — the donbas and is ukraine going to get enough equipment— the donbas and is ukraine going to get enough equipment and - the donbas and is ukraine going to get enough equipment and time i the donbas and is ukraine going to. get enough equipment and time and have a _ get enough equipment and time and have a big _ get enough equipment and time and have a big enough _ get enough equipment and time and have a big enough force _ get enough equipment and time and have a big enough force on- get enough equipment and time and have a big enough force on the i have a big enough force on the ground — have a big enough force on the ground to _ have a big enough force on the ground to have _ have a big enough force on the ground to have a _ have a big enough force on the ground to have a serious - have a big enough force on the l ground to have a serious counter offensive? — ground to have a serious counter offensive?— ground to have a serious counter offensive? : ~ , :, , :, offensive? thank you. in terms of whether or _ offensive? thank you. in terms of whether or not _ offensive? thank you. in terms of whether or not russia _ offensive? thank you. in terms of whether or not russia is - offensive? thank you. in terms of whether or not russia is massing | offensive? thank you. in terms of i whether or not russia is massing its aircraft for some massive aerial attack, we don't currently see that. we do know that russia has a substantial number of aircraft and a lot of capability left. that is why we have emphasised we need to do everything we can to get ukraine as much air defence capability as we can. recently, you have seen sus step up and offer patriots and you have seen other countries come forward with equipment. it is not

enough and we are going the keep pushing until we get more. because that threat is out there. but again many countries have stepped up to the place thus far. our effort currently is to get this, these capabilities into the country as quickly as we can. and then integrate the capabilities so we have an integrated air and missile defence capability. i would add that ukraine's done an incredible job of intercepting a lot of rockets launched by russia in the recent attacks. but we want to make sure they have the ability to protect themselves going forward in the event that russia tries to introduce their air force event that russia tries to introduce their airforce into event that russia tries to introduce their air force into the fight. they haven't done because ukraine's air defences have been effective. fin defences have been effective. on whether the russians have the capability to continue to attack in

the donbas? they are attacking in the donbas? they are attacking in the donbas? they are attacking in the donbas right now. their progress is slow— the donbas right now. their progress is slow and _ the donbas right now. their progress is slow and they have taken heavy casuatties — is slow and they have taken heavy casualties and they're struggling. however. — casualties and they're struggling. however, they do have numbers. and as you _ however, they do have numbers. and as you know. — however, they do have numbers. and as you know, vladimir putin did a call up _ as you know, vladimir putin did a call up of— as you know, vladimir putin did a call up of several hundred thousand and those _ call up of several hundred thousand and those folks have been arriving on the _ and those folks have been arriving on the battlefield. they have numbers. whether or not they're successful— numbers. whether or not they're successful in suppresses the fight, that remains to be seen. but that fight _ that remains to be seen. but that fight has — that remains to be seen. but that fight has been going on, it is a slow— fight has been going on, it is a slow grinding battle of atricks. for the ukrainians, i don't want to project — the ukrainians, i don't want to project what the ukrainians may do. we are _ project what the ukrainians may do. we are plussing with a significant amount— we are plussing with a significant amount of— we are plussing with a significant amount of capabilities and ground manoeuvre and artillery. what they do with _ manoeuvre and artillery. what they do with that will up to the ukrainians.— do with that will up to the ukrainians. ~ . :, :,

ukrainians. we have time for one more. studio: this is a press event taking place in brussels, speaking and standing at the podiums, we have the us secretary of defence lloyd austin. and also the second speaker in the green military uniform was general mark miley of the joint chiefs of staff. also the principal military advisor to the president, secretary of defence and the national security council. notjust these two gentlemen who are present at the meeting in brussels. we heard 54 countries are taking place in discussions at the moment. essentially discussing what next for ukraine. just very quickly some of the key points, that i have managed to glean, they were questioned about

new munitions strong and whether ukraine had enough. ukraine is training for the technology. that is the main focus. they can supply it, but ukraine's forces have to be trained in using it. they were unable to give an answer as to where russia was amassing air forces. there is this assumption that there could be an attack by russia. do you have enough time was the question for ukraine? to react? no announcements then on potential fighterjet shipments to ukraine. there are tanks that have been discussed. you have the abraams from the abrahams from if us and the leopard. russia has a high casualty rate, we were also told. but also that russia has lost strategically

operationally and tactically. we will speak to somebody listening to the rest of this conference shortly and bring you the key points from this. and the un secretary general antonio guterres has been speaking and launching an appeal to help earthquake victims in syria, where the disaster has killed thousands of people and left millions more in desperate need of aid and shelter. this what is some of what he said. this brings together the humanitarian partners and help secure desperately needed relief including shelter is, health care, food and protection. the most effective way to stand with the people is by providing this emergency funding. we all know that

life—saving aid has not been getting in at the speed and skill needed. the scale of the disaster is of the worst in recent memory. one week after the devastating earthquakes, millions of people across the region are struggling for survival, homeless, and in freezing faechlts. —— temperatures. we are doing all we can to change these, but much morris needed. == can to change these, but much morris needed. , : can to change these, but much morris needed. , . :, , needed. -- but much more is needed. the human — needed. -- but much more is needed. the human suffering _ needed. -- but much more is needed. the human suffering from _ needed. -- but much more is needed. the human suffering from this - the human suffering from this natural disaster should not be made worse by man made obstacles — access, funding, supplies. aid must get through from all sides to all sides, through all routes, without any restrictions. as we speak, an 11 truck convoy is on the move to move

across with many more to come. as high commissioner or refugees, i witnessed the generosity of the syrian people receiving and protecting refugees from neighbouring countries and always sharing with them their own limited resources. this spirit of generosity must be matched by the global community. i urge member states to fully fund this effort without delay and help the millions of children, women and men whose lives have been upended by this disaster. that women and men whose lives have been upended by this disaster.— upended by this disaster. that was antonio guterres, _ upended by this disaster. that was antonio guterres, speaking - upended by this disaster. that was antonio guterres, speaking a i upended by this disaster. that was| antonio guterres, speaking a short time ago on the situation in syria and turkey as well. over a week on from the earthquake more stories of survivors being pulled from the rubble are emerging from southern turkey.

these pictures show two women being rescued in the city of hatay, turkey. they are among at least five survivors reportedly rescued on from the rubble. zara mohammed is the secretary—general of the muslim council of britain. thank you forjoining us. i don't know if you saw the pictures of rescue, what goes through your mind and heart when you see that? like the international _ and heart when you see that? l «e: the international community and those of us here watching the devastating scenes from turkey and syria, it has been heart—breaking, seeing the children, the families, the grieving. all of us are feeling the grieving. all of us are feeling the pain they're feeling, but we can't imagine the suffering and what the healing is going to be like to get over this. the healing is going to be like to get over this— the healing is going to be like to get over this. the healing is going to be like to net over this. ~ ., :, i. ., ,, :, get over this. what do you make of increased border _ get over this. what do you make of increased border crossings - get over this. what do you make of increased border crossings and i increased border crossings and access that has been allowed by president assad? it is only thee months? it president assad? it is only thee months? , , _, , president assad? it is only thee months? , , , :, months? it is very welcome news of course. months? it is very welcome news of course- we — months? it is very welcome news of course- we have —

months? it is very welcome news of course. we have been _ months? it is very welcome news of course. we have been speaking i months? it is very welcome news of course. we have been speaking to l course. we have been speaking to charities on the ground who have said while there is a welcome action that it has come quite late as well and many from the syrian side have said they felt like their voices haven't been heard and they have been left behind. so we hope with this measure it will facilitate help to those families who are trapped in rubble, who haven't got food or are homeless for the charities to get in. operating in northern syria has been particularly challenging, given the sanctions and the difficulty to operate in that terrain and the current regime.— operate in that terrain and the current regime. operate in that terrain and the current reaime. : , . , ., current regime. that is a phrase we heard, current regime. that is a phrase we heard. voices _ current regime. that is a phrase we heard, voices haven't _ current regime. that is a phrase we heard, voices haven't been - current regime. that is a phrase we heard, voices haven't been heard. i heard, voices haven't been heard. what are they saying? the syrians have, what are they saying? the syrians have. from — what are they saying? the syrians have, from what _ what are they saying? the syrians have, from what we _ what are they saying? the syrians have, from what we have - what are they saying? the syrians have, from what we have heard, l what are they saying? the syrians i have, from what we have heard, they have, from what we have heard, they have felt the forgotten communities and they have been some of the most hard to reach and particularly the way, the devastation of this earthquake has happened and there

has been an incredible outpouring of aid, but it has been difficult to get to people in the most hard to reach places and we have heard of families screaming in the rubble and others watching them pass away, not being able to help, syrian people themselves trying to lift the rubble, trying to get access to their loved ones, but not being able to do that. not even taking into consideration basic things like food and water. it is definitely a difficult time for those suffering right now. difficult time for those suffering riaht now. :, ., :, right now. you have written to the forei . n right now. you have written to the foreign secretary, _ right now. you have written to the foreign secretary, what _ right now. you have written to the foreign secretary, what did i right now. you have written to the foreign secretary, what did you i right now. you have written to the | foreign secretary, what did you say and what response have you had back? we have said that you know we need to urgently offer, open up those humanitarian corridors and we know the level of sanctions that have been imposed and although there has been imposed and although there has been some easing, we need the look towards a more permanent solution, longer term solution for what are we

going to be doing to heal the devastation to make those repairs, because the level and significance and scale will go into the long—term. this can't be a simple easing. but more needs to be done by the international community to make sure that charities can operate and aid workers can do their work without the challenges they have been facing. without the challenges they have been facing-— without the challenges they have been facina. ~ . .,, ~ , been facing. what has the muslim council of britain _ been facing. what has the muslim council of britain being _ been facing. what has the muslim council of britain being doing? i been facing. what has the muslim council of britain being doing? so| council of britain being doing? ’sr we, as council of britain being doing? sr we, as an umbrella body have been working with muslim charities and we can't claim to do the work, they're already doing that, what i can share is the outpouring and generosity from communities in the country has been incredible, with millions of pounds raised, just in several days. it has been one of the most well responded campaigns for help that we have ever seen and what we have been hearing from our members is that there is so much generosity, people

are doing whatever they can, whether it is community centres, families at home donating. that is the kind of help we need so the aid workers can do what they need to support people. can ijump? quickly. three more border crossings have been allowed by president assad. you talk of humanitarian corridors what, is the difference? ~ humanitarian corridors what, is the difference?— difference? well, there isn't, i think what _ difference? well, there isn't, i think what we _ difference? well, there isn't, i think what we are _ difference? well, there isn't, i think what we are talking i difference? well, there isn't, i| think what we are talking about difference? well, there isn't, i. think what we are talking about is lodgistically how easy it will be for charities and aid workers to operate on the the ground the conditions set by the regime. over 90% of people in the region are dependent on aid. they're the same thing, but pit is about how many —— but it is about how much access they can get to the people.— can get to the people. thank you for our time. can get to the people. thank you for your time. secretary _ can get to the people. thank you for your time. secretary general - can get to the people. thank you for your time. secretary general of i your time. secretary general of

muslim council of britain. millions of households are facing an increase in their council tax from april, as local authorities try to balance their books. the county councils network found three quarters of english councils with social care duties that have published budget details are planning a 5% hike. this is the maximum allowed without a local vote, and would add £100 a year to bills for average band d properties. the government said councils should consider money pressures on residents. let's get more on this, i'm joined now by local government expert at the london school of economics, tony travers. thank you for being so patient with us at bbc news, we are very busy. this increase, this hike, is it justified?— this increase, this hike, is it 'ustified? ,:, ., , this increase, this hike, is it 'ustified? ., , , justified? the government has built into its own — justified? the government has built into its own assumptions _ justified? the government has built into its own assumptions that i into its own assumptions that councils will put up the council tax by 5%, not a lower figure, councils will put up the council tax by 5%, not a lowerfigure, which in earlier years, the government set fought the cap. this cap, the cap of council tax, and the rates before it

goes back to the 1980s. the government, in calculating the total amount that councils will have to you spend next year, that's 23 — 21i, starting in april, have effectively assumed that councils push up their council tax by these kind of figures. we are in slightly alice in wonderland world here where the government to cap council taxes but also wants them to go up. it's as a result of that that councils are making their decisions, most going forward around 5%, but smaller proportion going for a lower figure. i understand that croydon, the borough of croydon, is looking, in all, at 15%. how on earth are people going to afford that? croydon, and this is also true of slough and thurrock though to a lesser degree, these authorities have had local borough financial problems particularly to do with very high

levels of borrowing and the need, when some of these investments haven't worked out to write off debt, and as a result of that, the council is having to put up council tax too, in part, but only in part, to pay off effectively the debt that has been built up by those underperforming orfailed investments. but it's true. 5%, slightly lower, but above five, 15% in croydon. and somewhere between 5-15% in in croydon. and somewhere between 5—15% in slough and thurrock. these are well above even the 5% we are discussing for the bulk of councils. so the public are having to pay for bad decisions, when you say failed investments, writing off this debt, whose fault is that? it’s investments, writing off this debt, whose fault is that?— whose fault is that? it's the councillors _ whose fault is that? it's the councillors who _ whose fault is that? it's the councillors who made i whose fault is that? it's the councillors who made the l whose fault is that? it's the i councillors who made the decision whose fault is that? it's the - councillors who made the decision at the time. in croydon, slough and thurrock, i don't think there is any pretence about that. the overwhelming majority of councils didn't and don't get into this kind

of trouble but these three have and at some level the local taxpayers are going to have to to make good that loss. but looking across the board, 5% is high, particularly for households who are facing the problems of inflation, people say it is below the rate of inflation, it is below the rate of inflation, it is definitely a bad increase for people who are facing other increases in their cost, in the cost of living, but it is still below the rate of inflation as we speak. selection same some people say i'm not going to pay it, what's going to the happen to the state of their council, their local services, what is the impact of this council tax not being applied?— is the impact of this council tax not being applied? where councils ut u- the not being applied? where councils put up the council _ not being applied? where councils put up the council tax, _ not being applied? where councils put up the council tax, by - not being applied? where councils put up the council tax, by any - put up the council tax, by any figure, up to 5%, councils have a legal obligation to collect it, and we as householders, have a legal

obligation to pay it. that's not to say in certain circumstances were households have genuine problems they couldn't apply to the council, some lower income households qualify for support, and councils can have hardship funds, but to answer your question directly, if councils don't get the money in, they have less to spend on social care, libraries, roads, education, all the other thing is directly or impact that councils fund. either the money comes in all services get worse. there are so many questions we could discuss here but for your expertise, thank you very much. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. ididn't ididn�*t mean i didn't mean weather, i meant to sport. we are going to the sports centre. it's pretty dry in salford, that's

aware that i can bring you this afternoon. but i've got plenty of sport. starting with cricket. stuart broad will return to the england side for the first test against new zealand which starts on thursday in mount maunganui. the fast bowler missed the 3—0 test series win against pakistan in december because of the birth of his daughter. it means broad and james anderson will get the chance to eclipse australian greats shane warne and glenn mcgrath as the most prolific bowling parterniship in test history this week. ollie robinsonjoins the pair in the pace attack for the day—night opening match of the two—test series. eight days after being sacked by leeds united, jesse marsch has emerged as southampton�*s preferred choice to replace nathanjones as manager marsch left leeds after less than a year in charge and with the club above the relegation zone only on goal difference following a seven—game winless run in the league. meanwhile southampton sacked manager nathanjones on sunday after a 2—1 defeat at home to wolves, and only three months in charge. saints are bottom of the table, three points from safety.

manchester city manager pep guardiola has apologised for comments he made about former liverpool captain steven gerrard. last week city were hit with over a 100 premier league charges over alleged breaches of financial rules. guardiola then referred to gerrard's famous slip against chelsea in 2014 which led to city winning the title, asking "was that our fault?" iam i am ashamed of myself, what i said, because he doesn't deserve it. i truly believe my comments were said in my press conference about defending my club, but i didn't represent my club well. putting his name in these stupid comments, so i apologise, i said to him personally, but i comment publicly, i have to do it here as well. i am so sorry for him, for his wife, kids, family,

because it was stupid. the champions league knockout stages begin tonight with tottenham looking to bounce back from their premier league defeat to leicester at the weekend, when they face ac milan. spurs are missing several key players for their trip to the san siro, including rodrigo bentancur who is out for the season with a knee injury. antonio conte though has called on his squad to come together, in order to improve their results on the pitch. in the last seven days we had four serious injuries. for this reason, i think, to stay together is very important and to try, in this type of situation, to create the right speed, to help each other much more than before, to overcome this difficult period. good news for paris saint—germain with both kylian mbappe and lionel messi training ahead of their first leg match with bayern munich in the french capital. both have been carrying injuries but will be available for the match against the germans this evening.

grimsby town fans have been banned from taking their "iconic" inflatable fish mascots to the side's forthcoming fa cup fifth round tie against southampton. the club said its request to allow "harry haddocks" into the match on the ist march had been turned down. in a statement, it said southampton had made similar refusals to other clubs and warned that any inflatables found inside the ground would be confiscated. nearly 5,000 grimsby fans are expected to travel to the match at st mary's next month. there's been a big shock at snooker�*s welsh open with the two—time champion neil robertson crashing out. the australian failed to get on the board as he lost by 4—0 to wales' own dominic dale in llandudno. another former winner, china's ding junhui has also been knocked out. world number one ronnie o'sullivan is also in action this afternoon at the welsh open — you can watch him take on scotland's ross muir on bbc iplayer.

that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport the car manufacturer ford has announced major restructuration in europe... with 1,300 job cuts affecting the uk — most of them at its research site in essex. according to the chairman in uk, tim slatter, the factors for these cuts are the economic uncertainty and the transition towards electric vehicles. our employment correspondent, zoe conway, explains why this decision is significant for ford. it is significant because it's about the costs of producing cars in europe. costs are rising, they say, this isn'tjust affecting the uk, more than 2000 jobs are going to go in germany as well, so it's about high inflation in europe,

it's about high energy costs. but, it's also about the company refocusing towards electric vehicle production and what the company is saying is that electric cars are easier to develop rather than combustion engine vehicles and it needs fewer people working in development roles. and that is why the bulk of the jobs that are going are in essex which is where the development team is based. so that is what they are saying is happening. but i think it's important to also bear in mind what else is going on. ford is expanding its production in the united states. only yesterday, it announced a new car battery production facility in michigan, it's producing these batteries with a chinese company, it's going to cost a couple of billion dollars.

it's also worth mentioning that the us government is dangling billions of dollars in subsidies to car—makers that create electric vehicle supply chains, so, green subsidies, if you like. the european union is also considering doing something similar, so the uk government is now under pressure to think about how it is going to develop the car manufacturing industry in this country in the light of what is going on in the eu and in the us. ok, i want to get to the batteries element of this in a moment, but first off, what reaction has there been from the workers whose jobs are at risk? what have they been saying? clearly there is concern. the unite union and the local mp in essex have voiced their concern about what is going to happen to these workers. the government says it wants to work with them to help them to get back

into the labour market, but as i say, a lot of pressure coming now on the government to come up with some sort of idea about how it is going to revive the car industry in this country because it is now at its lowest level in 66 years. just to give you some numbers, 775,000 cars were produced in this country last year, before the pandemic, it was 1.3 million. there has been a big drop recently. the uk, us, france, germany and italy have expressed dismay at the israeli government's decision to expand settlements. on monday, the israeli cabinet approved ninejewish settlements in the occupied west bank which were previously illegal outposts. our middle east correspondent, yolande knell, joins us live from jerusalem. tell us a little bit more about

this. , , ., , tell us a little bit more about this. , .,, . ., tell us a little bit more about this. , . ., ., this. just to be clear, all settlements _ this. just to be clear, all settlements are - this. just to be clear, all settlements are seen i this. just to be clear, all settlements are seen asj this. just to be clear, all- settlements are seen as illegal under additional national law although israel disagrees with that but these were actually what seen as wildcat outposts. they were set up even without israeli government approval and are deep in the west bank on land the palestinians want for their hoped—for future state. in some cases, they are actually on private palestinian land. so when this announcement was made by the israeli security cabinet a couple of days ago, saying it was in response due to recent deadly attacks by palestinians against israelis in occupied eastjerusalem, there was very quickly condemnation from the palestinians, from some other regional players, we know that the far right pro—settler parties in the relatively new israeli government coalition had said before that they wanted to legalise dozens of these settlement outposts and expand settlements that already exist in the occupied west bank, that is something that they are committed

to, that is something that has consistently concerned the international community, they are worried about these, sort of, hard—line positions that key ministers have in the government. the fact that they are openly opposed to the idea of palestinian statehood. i think it's very notable that this statement has been made jointly by the foreign ministers of france, germany, italy, the united kingdom, the united states, they say they are deeply troubled, we strongly oppose unilateral actions which only served to exacerbate tensions between israelis and palestinians, they undermine efforts to achieve a negotiated two state solution, they said. this to achieve a negotiated two state solution, they said.— solution, they said. this issue of theiudicial_ solution, they said. this issue of the judicial review, _ solution, they said. this issue of the judicial review, many - solution, they said. this issue of the judicial review, many people j the judicial review, many people came out onto the streets against the government of benjamin netanyahu, has now gone away? it hasn't gone away, but it's tied down for a bit because on monday a strike was called by some parts of the private sector, there were huge numbers of people that turned out,

estimates of 80 or 90,000 where i was, close to the israeli parliament. with people that said that they were really very much opposed to the government was make plans forjudicial reform, that opposed to the government was make plans for judicial reform, that they thought they were attracted to israeli democracy, now, what we are waiting for is for the government potentially to bring those plans, the first measures, to an initial vote in the israeli parliament. they do have the number of seats that they would need in the parliament, they would need in the parliament, they have the majority they would need to try to win any votes on what they are calling the reforms to the judicial system, they are calling the reforms to the judicialsystem, but they are calling the reforms to the judicial system, but the country is just so deeply divided there have been calls by the israeli president who serves in a kind of figurehead role after these protests, there were comments from some of the government ministers that they were ready to talk to members of the

opposition to try to come up with a compromise, members of the opposition reply to that that, festival, legislation had to be frozen in order for dialogue to take place. that is actually left us with something of a political stalemate. thank you very much. you are watching bbc news. a reminder of our headlines. eight days after it was hit by two deadly earthquakes, the syrian government agrees to open more border crossings to allow aid into the country, for three months. bbc analysis of a&e waiting times in over 100 hospital trusts shows more than half of patients waited longer than 4 hours, as services struggle to cope this winter. the police watchdog say that two police officers should be investigated over the failure to check allegations of indecent exposure against former policeman, wayne couzens.

the us military has recovered equipment from the first suspected chinese spy balloon, which it shot down on ten days ago when it crossed into american airspace. officials said search crews in the atlantic ocean have found "significant debris", including sensors and other electronics — which beijing insists were used to monitor weather patterns. the us has shot down three more objects since then. our north america correspondent, peter bowes, reports. the salvage operation to retrieve the balloon shot down by the us military earlier this month. these new images show it being dragged onto a boat off south carolina. us officials said it was being used by china to monitor sensitive military sites, but beijing insisted it was a weather platform that had blown off course. investigators say a closer examination of electronic devices attached to the balloon should reveal more about what it was doing. but there are no such clues to the identity of the three

additional objects that were brought down in canada and the us states of alaska and michigan between last friday and sunday. they were much smaller, with one being described as having an octagonal shape with strings hanging off it. no, says the white house, it's not what you're thinking. i know there have been questions and concerns about this. but there is no — again no — indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent take—downs. i loved et, the movie, but i'm just going to leave it there. laughter from the white house press call, but why was it necessary to shoot the objects out of the sky? even though we had no indications that any of these three objects were surveilling, we couldn't rule that out. you want to err on the side of safety in terms of protecting our national security interest.

officials say since the chinese balloon was brought down, they've been monitoring us airspace more closely and that may explain why objects have been spotted that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. this bizarre episode has further eroded what was already a contentious relationship between the us and china. washington says beijing has flown surveillance planes over as many as a0 countries in five continents. china says us balloon flights have passed through its airspace but washington denies that. for now, the search continues for wreckage from the balloon and the three still unidentified objects, while tensions with china show no sign of cooling down. peter bowes, bbc news. an iranian chess player

who removed her headscarf at an international tournament has told the bbc she has no regrets. living in exile in southern spain, sara khadem says it was the least she could do, given the sacrifices protestors in iran were making. she says she hopes she'll play for her country again. razia iqbal reports. sara khadem is 25 now but has been playing competitively since she was eight. chess was unbanned in iranjust before ayatollah khamenei's death and, in the decades after that, the country has become a chess powerhouse and sara khadem one of its biggest and most promising stars. in december last year she decided not to wear the compulsory hijab when competing. her life has changed utterly, not least where she lives now on the spanish coast. chess is a game that requires a player to calculate their opponent's third orfourth move. 25—year—old sara khadem has made a few calculations, but to remove her headscarf was the least she could do given

what was happening in iran. but it was the right thing to do. that decision, though, has led to her exile and for now a life lived in a secret location. when i was playing in almaty there were many things going on in iran. and many young women, they were not wearing the scarf on the streets, and that was the rule in the country. so i would say i was really inspired by what they were doing back at home. but presumably you realised that you were taking a risk. yeah. the things that happened was not really something that i was hoping for. i mean, leaving the country. leaving iran completely was not what was going on in my mind, and that is something i really miss, but i wouldn't say i regret it. since september last year, iran has been shaken by girls and women protesting against the death in custody of mahsa amini...

chanting. ..for an apparent hijab infraction. many have been killed and many more arrested. there have been enormous sacrifices. for me, leaving my family was one of the most difficult things that i have ever done, and also iran, but if i want to compare what i did to what people are doing, i wouldn't say that it was difficult, because the risk that they are taking is much higher. led by the prime minister of the country, there is, though, some comfort in spain's embrace of sara khadem. it was kind of a mixed feeling to see that in a country you would be really appreciated, to be invited by the prime minister, and in your own country that you have achieved lots of success, you just get arrestment orders! the current loss of her country has not dimmed sara's

commitment to chess. yeah, i consider myself as a professional chess player. that is the only thing i know. razia iqbal, bbc news, southern spain. buckingham palace says the koh—i—noor diamond will not be used in the coronation on may the 6th. camilla, the queen consort, will wear queen mary's crown, which has been taken out of the tower of london to be re—sized, but it will not feature the controversial gem, which was seized in india in 1819 and given to queen victoria. for more on the context to this story, i was joined by our correspondent charlotte gallagher. the queen mother, the last queen consort, had the koh—i—noor diamond in the crown for her coronation and then wore it again

when her daughter had her coronation in the 1950s. so there was speculation that camilla would have it in her crown. this is a spectacular diamond. it is one of the largest cut diamonds... i'm going to pause you there because i'm going to ask the director to put that picture back on the screen so you can describe it to us. this is it, i don't know if you can see it in there. so when we talk about the diamond, is it there, can we see it at the moment? i think it's actually at the front, i think that is the side of the crown. that is possibly on the coffin of the queen mother. so it's at the front of the crown, it's an enormous diamond, so it weighs about 20 grams, 105 carats, it's priceless. this was a prized diamond. as you said, it was given to queen victoria, it was taken from india. india wants this diamond back, but other countries claim ownership as well.

iran, pakistan, afghanistan, even the taliban have asked for this diamond back. to have this as part of the coronation it would have raised a lot of eyebrows. what was acceptable in the 1930s and the 1950s isn't seen in the same way now. this was something the royal family had to resolve before the coronation and they have announced today that the diamond will not play any part in the coronation, instead, camilla will wear queen mary's crown and some diamonds from queen elizabeth's personal collection will be put into this crown. i think this is one thing... that's it. you can see it there, that enormous diamond, right at the front of the crown. that is the koh—i—noor diamond. at the top of the bottom? at the bottom, above the fur, in the middle, that is the koh—i—noor diamond. that's not a white, not a clear diamond. i'm looking at the right diamond. well actually when it was first brought to britain, queen victoria said she didn't like it she didn't

think it was that great. it actually went into one of the great exhibitions and a lot of people said they didn't think it was that brilliant. there is also meant to be a curse attached to this diamond as well so there has been countless articles about it, and now, it looks like the royal family have decided they don't want this to overshadow. the indian government had said they didn't want it to be part of the coronation. they said it would invoke painful memories of india's colonial past. of course, they want this diamond returned to india and whether that will happen, who knows? another issue that has to be resolved before the coronation, always something else, isn't there? ..is prince harry and the duchess of sussex. will they attend the coronation? will they be invited ? what kind of role they have? and that is the next thing now that the royal family has to address. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. hello. well, earlier on today it was a cold and frosty start for some of us,

but, this valentine's day, mother nature really is warming things up for us — possibly 17 degrees celsius in one or two spots. the average is eight, but we're not beating records. that's closer to 19 degrees celsius set in somerset in the late '90s. here's the reason for the milder air. it's coming all the way from the canaries past portugal, through the bay of biscay, spreading across the uk. in fact, going even further north into the norwegian sea. typical temperatures today will be closer to around 11 in scotland and more like 12 to 14 across england, sojust one or two areas we'll get temperatures in the mid, maybe the high teens. a lot of clear weather through this afternoon, this evening, but out towards the west a weather front is approaching and that does spell rainfall. belfast, eventually glasgow a little bit milder with the cloud and the rain, but where it will be clear overnight a touch of frost is certainly possible. here's the weather map for tomorrow.

that high pressure we had for quite some time has now slipped away towards the east and we have a weather front crossing the uk, but the high pressure is still close by. in fact, it's very much influencing the weather across the bulk of europe and still eastern areas of the country. that does mean as this weather front pushes eastwards, look at that, you can see the rain mostly fizzles away, so there'll be a little bit of rain, but not much. still mild in the south—east tomorrow, 14, but in the north showers, breezier and around nine expected in glasgow and stornoway. here's the forecast for thursday. for most of england and wales as well as northern ireland it's going to be an overcast day, a little bit of rain. i think the best of the weather will be in the north of scotland on thursday. here temperatures will be around seven or eight degrees celsius. a change on the way, though, for the end of the week. friday sees a nasty low pressure sweeping across the country, the north, that will bring gates for a time at least through early friday morning. here's the outlook through the rest of the week and into the weekend. it certainly looks like things are turning. you can see the dark clouds

there and remember the gates expected on friday in the north. bye— bye.

# this is bbc news: the headlines: more than eight days — or 200 hours — after the earthquakes hit turkey and syria, there are still more survivors being rescued from the rubble. this footage is from the hatay region in turkey. after days of struggling to get aid into syria, the country's government agrees to open more border crossings to allow better access. the un secretary general says more needs to be done to help syrians. we all know that life—saving aid has not been getting in at the speed and scale needed. the scale of the disaster is of the worst in recent

memory. the police watchdog says two police officers should be investigated over the failure to check allegations of indecent exposure against former policeman wayne couzens. bbc analysis of a&e waiting times in over 100 hospital trusts shows more than half of patients waited longer than four hours, as services struggle to cope this winter. the car manufacturer, ford, announces 1,300 job cuts — one fifth of its uk work force. and buckingham palace says the controversial koh—i—noor diamond, will not be used in the coronation this may. instead camilla, the queen consort will wear queen mary's crown.

good afternoon. the united nations has welcomed a decision by syria's president, assad, to open two more border crossings from turkey, to help the flow of aid. millions of people on both sides of the border are living in the open or in makeshift camps after devastating earthquakes last week. two brothers aged 17 and 21 were today pulled from the rubble in turkey, almost 200 hours after last week's quake. the focus now is on getting desperately needed aid and medical supplies to survivors. our correspondent caroline davies is in southern turkey, and reports from a hospital damaged in the disaster. the final glimmers of this family's hope, gone. after days of waiting, a body was found.

"father, father," they scream, as they follow the rescuers. this metres—high pile of rubble was once an intensive care unit and wards of a hospital. beds, medical notes and machinery, twisted and buried. the rescuers say they believe 300 people were in here when the earthquake hit. they don't know for certain how many got out alive. people are angry about what's happened here, not least because of a report that was published on the health ministry's website in 2012, over a decade ago. when they did an earthquake resistance test on this block, the result, it says, was negative. this man works as a translator. his grandmother and brother were inside the hospital. this is all the fault of a person or people, and the government, of course. i would clearly say that,

because it is obvious. everyone can see that. this is not destiny, this is fault. as bulldozers shift rubble, across the earthquake zone, many are asking could more have been done? in syria, the true devastation is still being discovered. these satellite images show the city ofjenderez before the earthquake — and after. thousands of children faced on 6th february a crisis within a crisis where they continue to face complex situation, of displacement, of fear and extreme cold weather. stories like these are what every person waiting for news hopes for. a i7—year—old rescued alive from the rubble. his brother shortly afterwards. 198 hours trapped. but these rescues are increasingly rare, and for those that wait, hope is turning to despair.

these pictures two women being rescued. they were among at least five survivors reportedly rescued from below the rubble earlier today. you can see her there being pulled out on the stretcher. secretary general antonio guterres has been speaking, to launch an appeal to help earthquake victims in syria, where the disaster has killed thousands of people and left millions more in desperate need of aid. let's hear what he had to say the syria effort brings together the entire un system and humanitarian partners and will help secure

desperately needed life—saving relief for nearly five million syrians, including shelter, health care, food and protection. the most effective way to stand with the people is by providing this emergency funding. we all know that life—saving aid has not been getting in at the speed and scale needed. the scale of the disaster is the worst in recent memory. one week after the devastating earthquakes, millions of people across the region are struggling for survival, homeless, and in freezing temperatures. we are doing all we can to change this, but much more is needed. and i have an urgent message to the international community, the human suffering from this epic natural disaster should not be made worse by man made obstacles — access, funding supplies.

aid must get through from all sides to all sides, through all routes, without any restrictions. as we speak, an 11 truck convoy is on the move to cross into the area, with many more to come. as high commissionerfor refugees, i witnessed the enormous generosity and humanity of the syrian people receiving and protecting refugees from neighbouring countries and always sharing with them their own limited resources. this spirit of generosity must be matched now by the global community. i urge member states and others to fully fund this effort without delay and help the millions of children, women and men, whose lives have been up ended by this generational disaster. now the secretary of general nato,

jens stoltenberg is addressing a number of issue, mainly ukraine. here is what he has to say. russia launched its _ here is what he has to say. russia launched its invasion _ here is what he has to say. russia launched its invasion of _ here is what he has to say. russia launched its invasion of ukraine. | here is what he has to say. russia i launched its invasion of ukraine. an illegal war of aggression which has brought untold suffering to the people of ukraine. shattered peace in europe and affected people around the world through the food and energy crisis. president putin made two big strategic mistakes. he underefs mated the strength and the bravery of the the people of ukraine and its armed forces and he underestimated the unity of nato and their partners. nato allies are providing support to ukraine. from the start, we have been working very chosely with the european —— closely with the eu, determined to support ukraine for as long as it takes.

today we will discuss our continued support, which is essential to help ukraine prevail as an independent sovereign state. and to uphold the international rules—based order. before we start, let me convey on behalf of all allies our heart felt condolences to all the victims of the earthquake last week. allies are providing much—needed support. we will now pause for a moment of silence in solidarity with our ally turkey. so please rise.

thank you. this concludes the public part of the meeting. i thank the media forjoining us at the top of the meeting. then we continue the discussions injust the meeting. then we continue the discussions in just a the meeting. then we continue the discussions injust a moment. qm. the meeting. then we continue the discussions in just a moment. discussions in 'ust a moment. ok, so that was jens — discussions injust a moment. ok, so that was jens stoltenberg, _ discussions injust a moment. ok, so that was jens stoltenberg, bringing l that was jens stoltenberg, bringing to a close the public aspect of a meeting that is taking place in brussels. this was a meeting of north atlantic council of defence. this is the defence ministers' session. and ukraine i understand have also been invited to participate in this meeting. the secretary generaljens stoltenberg there was giving a summary of nato's position on russia's attack of ukraine. we have heard from a number of people actually on this issue.

earlier we had the us defence secretary, lloyd austin, speaking. as well as a general. putting the us position on supporting ukraine as well. so a number of meetings taking place in brussels. key points will be brought to you as and when they emerge to us here in london at the bbc. you are of course watching bbc news. the police watchdog has decided two police officers should be investigated over the failure to check allegations of indecent exposure against former policeman wayne couzens. the police watchdog has decided two police officers should be investigated over the failure to check allegations of indecent exposure against former policeman wayne couzens. yesterday couzens pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent exposure. just four days before he murdered sarah everard in 2021 he exposed himself at a mcdonald's drive through in kent. now a metropolitan police constable and a kent police sergeant

will face misconduct cases. our special correspondent, lucy manning, has the latest. yes, well we have had a statement from the police watchdog, the iopc. they have recommended that two police officers involved over different time periods from different forces that were investigating indecent exposure allegations that turned out to be wayne couzens. those police officers should themselves be investigated to see if they did a properjob. i will tell you a bit of background. in 2021, just a few days before sarah everard was murdered, wayne couzens went to a mcdonalds, where he exposed himself to the staff. it is not the first time he had done this. they reported him to the police and they passed on his car registration details. and if the police had properly checked those car registration details, they would have known that car was wayne couzens' and they would have seen

seen he was a police officer and presumably he would have been suspended and questioned and arrested. but none of that happened. and a few days later he went on tragedy to murder sarah everard. so the police officer involved in that, a metropolitan police constable, is now being investigated for gross misconduct. that means they could be kicked out of force. to see whether they properly investigated that. and there is also an allegation that police constable didn't tell the truth when they were later asked questions about what happened. there is a separate incident as well, involving kent police. that was back in 2015, when somebody, a pedestrian, reported to kent police that a driver had exposed himself. it turned out that car was registered to wayne couzens. but the checks were never done there either. and that police is also being involved, this time for misconduct. what we have here and why is this important, because it is at least two opportunities when it is possible

wayne couzens could have been identified as somebody who exposes himself, a sex offender, they would have realised he was a police officer and they could have been stopped. officer and he could have been stopped. it also feeds into the idea that many women have that indecent exposure is just dismissed as flashing and as we know that often leads to more serious offences and desperately sadly in the case of sarah everard, it did lead to more serious offences and now we have an officer from kent and an officer from the met police both being investigated over whether they took these investigations seriously. bbc analysis of accident and emergency waiting times in england shows wide variations in how services have coped this winter. at some of the 107 hospital trusts that provided data, more than half of patients waited longer than four hours, but at the best performing units fewer than one in ten did. our health correspondent

dominic hughes has more. it has been the toughest winter for the nhs in a generation. across the uk, there have been record waiting times for ambulances and in a&e departments. and that's had a real impact on patients. the bbc has analysed nhs england data on average waiting times in emergency departments over december and january. among the best performing were nhs trusts in northumbria, maidstone and tunbridge wells, and blackpool. but patients in hull, wye valley, and shrewsbury and telford face the longest waits. and in all the ten worst performing trusts, patients were five times more likely to face a long wait of over four hours than in the best performing hospital. so what explains the difference between best and worst? one hospital boss says it's staff, teamwork and investment. we've got the greatest staff — truly dedicated, passionate about the best care possible in extremely difficult and quite

challenging circumstances. equally, we've really worked hard on collaboration and working with our partners across lancashire and south cumbria. lastly, we've had fantastic investment into the local system, whereby we've been able to invest in state—of—the—art facilities, such as the same day emergency care. in a statement, one of the trusts that has struggled, shrewsbury and telford hospital nhs trust, said it was sorry that patients are facing long waits, but the staff were offering patients as much care as possible while they wait. and it added that recent weeks have shown some improvement in a&e waiting times, despite significant pressures. hello, sir. there are schemes like this one in manchester, that we reported on in december, that have brought together health and social care services. the idea is to try and see more people in their homes and ease the pressures on busy a&e departments, and there are signs these schemes work.

the hospitals which are doing well against things— like the four—hour target . are usually those hospitals which have managed to keep their occupancy levels down, so the hospital doesn't become so full, so there is always - a little bit of headroom and a bit of flexibility. in how they use their beds, - and they are able, they have a good working arrangement with local social care, so that patients - who finish their acute hospital stay can be safely discharged _ from hospital when it is the right time to do so. j nhs england acknowledges the winter has been tough, but says ambulance response times and a&e waits are getting better. but it also said that work continues on improving the speed with which patients can be discharged from hospital when they are well enough to leave. dominic hughes, bbc news. matthew taylor joined matthew taylorjoined us earlier. we

matthew taylor 'oined us earlier. we want matthew taylorjoined us earlier. - want to meet the demand that presents itself to us through primary care and people using urgent and emergency services, but at the same time to be able to eat into those waiting lists. we have made good progress. nobody has been waiting two years. we hope by the end of march no one will wait more than 78 week. the leaders i speak to every day want to be in a situation where they are making inroads into that level of waiting and sickness in the community. but you're right, we have now had almost two months of industrial action. there are threats that that industrial action will intensify. and meeting demand and recovering at the same time as managing industrial action that, makes it almost impossible. i wonder if i could clarify _ makes it almost impossible. i wonder if i could clarify something _ makes it almost impossible. i wonder if i could clarify something you - if i could clarify something you said. i probably misheard. you said seven to eight weeks or 78? 3�*8.

said. i probably misheard. you said seven to eight weeks or 78?- said. i probably misheard. you said seven to eight weeks or 78? 78. so a ear and a seven to eight weeks or 78? 78. so a year and a half- _ seven to eight weeks or 78? 78. so a year and a half. the _ seven to eight weeks or 78? 78. so a year and a half. the number- seven to eight weeks or 78? 78. so a year and a half. the number of- year and a half. the number of people wait gt more than a year and a half. the target is by the end of march there will be no one waiting more than a year and a half. it will be difficult to hit that target and the industrial action makes it harder. ., , ,, the industrial action makes it harder. ., , harder. how is it some trusts are doinu harder. how is it some trusts are doing well. _ harder. how is it some trusts are doing well, what _ harder. how is it some trusts are doing well, what is _ harder. how is it some trusts are doing well, what is it _ harder. how is it some trusts are doing well, what is it they're - doing well, what is it they're getting right?— doing well, what is it they're getting right?_ doing well, what is it they're caettin riuht? ., , doing well, what is it they're caettin riuht? , ., ., , ., getting right? there is a variety of factors here- _ getting right? there is a variety of factors here. geography. - getting right? there is a variety of factors here. geography. the - getting right? there is a variety of. factors here. geography. the number of staff that are vacant. the quality of social care. an important point is integration. the best hospital in the country runs acute and community services and has established its own social care provision. it has the capacity to get people out of out and into care at home or in care homes. that is an important factor. other hospitals aren't doing so well often report they don't have that level of wrap around service, that integrated offer. one of the thins we need to

work on is to achieve that integration between the health service and local government. particularly if we don't have the patients stuck in hospital, who don't need to be in hospital, if we can get those people out into the community, that frees up beds and means it eases the pressure on if front the front door of the hospital. we have a new emergency care strategy and we want to deliver that. but you're right if this industrial action deepens and widens, it is going to be really hard to be able to make the progress we want to. that hard to be able to make the progress we want to. . . , hard to be able to make the progress we want te— we want to. that was matthew taylor ofthe we want to. that was matthew taylor of the the nhs _ we want to. that was matthew taylor of the the nhs confederation. - we want to. that was matthew taylor of the the nhs confederation. now. of the the nhs confederation. now the headlines. more than eight days — or 200 hours — after the earthquakes hit turkey and syria, there are still more survivors being rescued from the rubble. this footage is from the hatay region in turkey.

after days of struggling to get aid into syria, the country's government agrees to open more border crossings to allow better access for humanitarian relief. the police watchdog says two police officers should be investigated over the failure to check allegations of indecent exposure against former policeman wayne couzens. the indian tax authorities have entered the bbc�*s property in mumbai. the move comes weeks after the government blocked the sharing of clips from a bbc documentary aired in the uk that questioned the role of prime minister narendra modi during riots in 2002 in the western state of gujarat when he was the state's chief m minister. minister.

the bbc has issued a statement saying: the us military has recovered equipment from the first suspected chinese spy balloon which it shot down on ten days ago when it crossed into american airspace. officials said search crews in the atlantic ocean have found "significant debris", including sensors and other electronics — which beijing insists were used to monitor weather patterns. the us has shot down three more objects since then. our north america correspondent peter bowes reports. the salvage operation to retrieve the balloon shot down by the us military earlier this month. these new images show it being dragged onto a boat off south carolina. us officials said it was being used by china to monitor sensitive

military sites, but beijing insisted it was a weather platform that had blown off course. investigators say a closer examination of electronic devices attached to the balloon should reveal more about what it was doing. but there are no such clues to the identity of the three additional objects that were brought down in canada and the us states of alaska and michigan between last friday and sunday. they were much smaller, with one being described as having an octagonal shape with strings hanging off it. no, says the white house, it's not what you're thinking. i know there have been questions and concerns about this. but there is no — again no — indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent take—downs. i loved et, the movie, but i'm just going to leave it there. laughter from the white house press call, but why was it necessary to shoot the objects out of the sky? even though we had no indications

that any of these three objects were surveilling, we couldn't rule that out. you want to err on the side of safety in terms of protecting our national security interest. officials say since the chinese balloon was brought down, they've been monitoring us airspace more closely, and that may explain why objects have been spotted that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. this bizarre episode has further eroded what was already a contentious relationship between the us and china. washington says beijing has flown surveillance balloons over as many as a0 countries in five continents. china says us balloon flights have passed through its airspace but washington denies that. for now, the search continues for wreckage from the balloon and the three still unidentified objects, while tensions with china show no sign of cooling down. peter bowes, bbc news.

a moment ago, general mark a milley, the principal military adviser to the president, updated us on the recovery of the suspected chinese spy balloons. number two, three and four are not recovered yet. number one, we are recovering and getting a lot of stuff off that. but two, three and four not yet recovered. they are in very difficult terrain. the second one off the coast of alaska is that's up in in some really, really difficult terrain in the arctic circle with very, very low temperatures in the minus forties. the second one is in the canadian rockies and yukon. very difficult to get that one. and the third one is in in lake huron. it probably a couple of hundred feet depth. so we'll get them eventually. but it's going to take some time to recover those. pay has grown at its fastest rate in 20 years,

but is still failing to keep up with rising prices, according to the latest figures from the office for national statistics. they show pay — excluding bonuses — rose 6.7% between october and december, which amounted to a real terms pay cut of 2.5%, taking into account rising prices. the uk's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7%. here's our business editor, simonjack. under the bonnet of the jobs market, not everything is running smoothly. halfords, like other businesses, is finding it harder, post—brexit and post—pandemic, to find staff with the right skills. it is having to be more creative about attracting the 1000 new vehicle technicians they need and are targeting the huge number of over 50s who have left the workforce. to get the right people we have to cast the net a bit wider than we have before. the over 50s group is an interesting group, because many people through the pandemic have fallen out of employment, they might have taken early retirement or took a different career choice.

now a couple of years down the line with the cost of living and suchlike at the moment, it's maybe a new opportunity for a new career. there are 3.5 million people between 50 and 64 economically inactive — that means not looking for a job. that's a fall of 56,000 over the last three months. and the demand for workers also fell slightly, with the number of vacancies down 76,000, but there are still i.i million unfilled jobs. the government wants to see more over 50s back at work. we've got quite a long way to go to get back to where we were pre—pandemic. in fact, we need to see those figures go down by about another half a million to get back to that point. there is a huge amount of work to be done, but there are some encouraging signs at least, and they are early signs, but some encouraging signs over the last quarter that those figures are beginning to come down. we still have millions of working age people who are not actively looking for a job either because they are in education, they are unable to, maybe they are too unwell to look for a job, and that

means employers have to compete for the ones that are looking for a job, pushing wages up, which in turn pushes inflation, which then makes people ask for higher wages, and it's that wage spiral the bank of england is so afraid of. strong wage growth may mean higher interest rates ahead, and worker shortages are also a headache for businesses wanting to expand. there is still strong demand for their goods and services| but they are not necessarily able to deliver them because they - can't get the people. what this means for the uk economy l is that these labour supply issues l could be a constraint on growth. for now, demand for workers is still outstripping supply, a but falling vacancies are assigned some employers are scaling back on hiring as but the outlook for the economy darkens. that's not an option for public services, who can't treat or teach fewer people and whose wages are lagging the private sector and inflation — a major reason behind the recent strikes. simon jack, bbc news. the car manufacturer ford has announced major restructuration in europe, with 1,300 job cuts affecting

the uk — most of them at its research site in essex. according to the chairman in uk, tim slatter, the factors for these cuts are the economic uncertainty and the transition towards electric vehicles. a i'm joined a i'mjoined by a i'm joined by a guest who is a car industry specialist. _ a i'm joined by a guest who is a car industry specialist. thank- a i'm joined by a guest who is a car industry specialist. thank you - a i'm joined by a guest who is a car industry specialist. thank you for l industry specialist. thank you for joining us, professor bailey. can we start off, fist, why do you think the uk is losing in terms of future potential with these job losses? i think the job cuts were expected, ford had dire results recently and they said there would be job cuts in europe, partly because they're shifting from making low margin cars and going into electric cars, which need fewer workers to design and

build. we expected job cuts. my concern is that a lot of these job cuts have been at the research and development centre in the uk. that means less research and development here. and a question mark about whether that is viable in the long—term. so ford seem to be saying they're going to be building electric cars, not much evidence they will be doing much in the uk. ? is the ukjust they will be doing much in the uk. ? is the uk just not good enough at r & d? is the uk 'ust not good enough at r & d? ., , ., ., is the uk 'ust not good enough at r &d? ., ., & d? the uk has a great track record. ford _ & d? the uk has a great track record. ford say _ & d? the uk has a great track record. ford say they - & d? the uk has a great track record. ford say they need - & d? the uk has a great track i record. ford say they need fewer workers. they are piggybacking on volkswagon. they say a lot of technology will come from the united states and be developed for europe. president biden is putting huge

resources into supporting us manufacturing through the inflation reduction act too reindustrialise and develop new technologies. the eu looking at doing something similar. it leaves the uk outside of that, looking at this on the sidelines and perhaps not doing enough to support the transition to electric vehicles. how much is the electric vehicle sector to the uk?— how much is the electric vehicle sector to the uk? last year about one in five _ sector to the uk? last year about one in five cars _ sector to the uk? last year about one in five cars that _ sector to the uk? last year about one in five cars that were - sector to the uk? last year about one in five cars that were sold - sector to the uk? last year about l one in five cars that were sold were plug—ins. that could be pure electric or hybrid. that is set to grow quite quickly. as prices come down, more and more people are switching over to electric vehicles, remember the uk government has set a target of the sale of petrol and diesel cars to be ended, and only today, the european parliament banned the sale of petrol and diesel cars in europe from 2035. we know that this is the direction of travel. i think the big issue here is how much of this kind of activity

will take place in the uk and how much of it in the eu and other countries. much of it in the eu and other countries-_ much of it in the eu and other countries. �* , ., , . ., , , countries. it's not 'ust direct 'obs within the an“ countries. it's notjust direct 'obs within the car industry, a countries. it's notjust direct 'obs within the car industry, you b countries. it's notjust direct jobs within the car industry, you had i countries. it's notjust direct jobs i within the car industry, you had the satellite technologies around it, as well, that spring up. is that something that the uk is going to have to deal with? is that where we will also see job losses? we have to deal with? is that where we will also see job losses?— will also see 'ob losses? we are ttoin to will also see 'ob losses? we are going to — will also see job losses? we are going to see major— will also see job losses? we are going to see majorjob - will also see job losses? we are going to see majorjob losses i will also see job losses? we are j going to see majorjob losses as will also see job losses? we are - going to see majorjob losses as the industry transitioned into electric vehicles. both in terms of actually making the cars but also the components that go into them. a lot of those job losses are likely to be in the supply chain. the uk government needs to be doing a lot more to support the building of a electric vehicle supply chain in the uk including things like making batteries, and having some sort of industrial strategy to help the uk auto industry make that transition to an electric future.— to an electric future. thank you very much- _ you are watching bbc news. we are going to remind you of the headlines.

more than eight days — or 200 hours — after the earthquakes hit turkey and syria, there are still more survivors being rescued from the rubble. this footage is from the hatay region in turkey. after days of struggling to get aid into syria, the country's government agrees to open more border crossings to allow better access. the un secretary—general says more needs to be done to help syrians. we all know that life—saving aid has not been getting in at the speed and scale needed. the scale of this disaster is of the worst in recent memory. the police watchdog says two police officers should be investigated over the failure to check allegations of indecent exposure against former policeman wayne couzens. bbc analysis of a&e waiting times in over 100 hospital trusts shows more than half of patients waited longer than 4 hours to be seen. the car manufacturer, ford, announces 1,300 job cuts — one fifth of its uk work force.

and — buckingham palace says the controversial koh—i—noor diamond, will not be used in the coronation this may. instead camilla, the queen consort will wear queen mary's crown. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's delyth. good afternoon. manchester city manager pep guardiola has apologised for comments he made about former liverpool captain steven gerrard. last week city were hit with over a 100 premier league charges over alleged breaches of financial rules. guardiola then referred to gerrard's infamous slip against chelsea in 2014 which led to city winning the title, asking i am ashamed of myself, what i said, because he doesn't deserve it. i truly believe my comments

were said in my press conference about defending my club, but i didn't represent my club well. putting his name in these stupid comments, so i apologise, i said to him personally, but i comment publicly, i have to do it here as well. i am so sorry for him, for his wife, kids, family, because it was stupid. eight days after being sacked by leeds united jesse marsch has emerged as southampton's preferred choice to replace nathan jones as manager. marsch left leeds after less than a year in charge and with the club above the relegation zone only on goal difference following a seven—game winless run in the league. meanwhile southampton sacked manager nathanjones on sunday after a 2—1 defeat at home to wolves, and only three months in charge. saints are bottom of the table, three points from safety. the champions league knockout stages

begin tonight with tottenham looking to bounce back from their premier league defeat to leicester at the weekend, when they face ac milan. spurs are missing several key players for their trip to the san siro, including rodrigo bentancur who is out for the season with a knee injury. antonio conte though has called on his squad to come together, despite their many injuries. in the last seven days we had four serious injuries. for this reason, i think, to stay together is very important and to try, in this type of situation, to create the right speed, to help each other much more than before, to overcome this difficult period. paris saint germain take on bayern munich in the evening's other last 16 tie. and some good news for psg with both kylian mbappe and lionel messi training ahead of the first leg in the french capital. both have been carrying injuries but are set to be available for the match at the parc des princes. stuart broad has been recalled

to the england side for the first test against new zealand which starts on thursday in mount maunganui. the fast bowler missed the 3—0 test series win against pakistan in december because he was on paternity leave. it means broad and james anderson will get the chance to eclipse australian greats shane warne and glenn mcgrath as the most prolific bowling parterniship in test history this week. ollie robinsonjoins the pair in the pace attack for the day—night opening match of the two—test series. there's been a big shock at snooker�*s welsh open with the two—time champion neil robertson crashing out. the australian failed to get on the board as he lost 4—0 to wales' own dominic dale in llandudno. another former winner, china's ding junhui, has also been knocked out. world number one ronnie o'sullivan is also in action this afternoon, you can watch him take on scotland's ross muir on bbc iplayer. in the last few minutes he has beaten ross muir 4—2. that is him

making it to the last round of the welsh open in at llandudno. you can watch that on the bbc sport website. that's all the sports for now, i will be back at 5:30pm. buckingham palace says the koh—i—noor diamond will not be used in the coronation on may the 6th. camilla, the queen consort, will wear queen mary's crown, which has been taken out of the tower of london to be re—sized, but it will not feature the controversial gem, which was seized in india in 1819 and given to queen victoria. let's speak now to someone from this organisation who knows a lot about this diamond, anita anand. she has co—written with william dalrymple the book koh—i—noor: the story of the world's most infamous diamond, and she also presents the empire podcast. lovely to have you with us. the

jewel in the crown that has bought a lot of trouble.— lot of trouble. entirely. the thing about this diamond _ lot of trouble. entirely. the thing about this diamond is _ lot of trouble. entirely. the thing about this diamond is that - lot of trouble. entirely. the thing about this diamond is that it - lot of trouble. entirely. the thing about this diamond is that it is i about this diamond is that it is said to be wrapped in a case, that it is going to bring to ashes any man who attempts to wear it. that's why, even when it came to britain, the only person who has, as a reigning monarch, worn it, in a crown or in a brooch, has been queen victoria. and there after it has always gone to the queen consort. i don't know if whether the theory is that as a spice you are disposable, but no reigning monarch has won it because one suspects this whole idea of the curse has been quite a tier 2. it of the curse has been quite a tier 2. ., , , of the curse has been quite a tier 2. it was first brought to the uk to be hut on 2. it was first brought to the uk to be put on exhibit _ 2. it was first brought to the uk to be put on exhibit in _ 2. it was first brought to the uk to be put on exhibit in 1851, - 2. it was first brought to the uk to be put on exhibit in 1851, people i be put on exhibit in 1851, people went impressed. it was half the size, so it was sent to the jewellers, and then it was re—presented and it was more acceptable. re-presented and it was more acceptable-—

re-presented and it was more acceptable. absolutely. almost completely _ acceptable. absolutely. almost completely correct. _ acceptable. absolutely. almost completely correct. it - acceptable. absolutely. almost completely correct. it came i acceptable. absolutely. almostl completely correct. it came over acceptable. absolutely. almost i completely correct. it came over in 1850, queen victoria received it. she was really nervous about wearing it, in fact, she was really nervous about wearing it, infact, she she was really nervous about wearing it, in fact, she kept writing to india saying are you sure it's not cursed, is it, can can i really work, is it not going to do terrible things to me. it was presented to the nation in the great exhibition which was a huge museum in glass which was a huge museum in glass which was a huge museum in glass which was built in hyde park or the crystal palace and berwick really failed to shine in anybody�*s eye which was in the moghul style which is like arthurs seat in edinburgh, a big flat top with flabby sites. prince albert decided it was a bit humiliating to have all of this hype which was going to be so important because it represented india. it hurts even to this day dominion over the east. he had it recut and the cutting was the disaster that happened because it halved the size of this diamond. it's much sparkly, if you go to the tower of london,

you may have gone past the conveyor belt which holds it, it is smaller but it's bling year if you like, a lot shinier, those sharp edges still cause a great deal of hurt in india. when the announcement came that it won't be used in the coronation, i immediately saw indian twitter going to waste. the first wave said that's a sensible decision because this is diplomatically very sensitive. the second one was ok, great, you're not using it, can we have it back. so it's very much a live issue. it’s it's very much a live issue. it's the mountain _ it's very much a live issue. it's the mountain of— it's very much a live issue. it's the mountain of light, shouldn't the light to be put out? put back into storage, because it continues to cause so much controversy, so much hurt, for people who are aware of history. hurt, for people who are aware of histo . ., , , ., history. certainly, there is that the argument _ history. certainly, there is that the argument that _ history. certainly, there is that the argument that don't - history. certainly, there is that the argument that don't flaunt | history. certainly, there is that l the argument that don't flaunt it because it is a reminder of colonial loot. there is also controversy about even who owns a diamond. if

you are going to send it back, this whole cry of send it back, where you going to send it to? pakistan made an official plea to have it back because it was a jewel of the treasury of lahore. lahore is now in pakistan, it wasn't at the time, but it is now. the sikhs want it sent back may be due the golden temple because they say it was part of the seat kingdom. even further, iran has a claim on it, afghanistan has a claim on it. as far as blood diamonds are concerned, this one is dripping in blood. it has never passed peacefully from one place to another. right now, with india, it is and most certainly with the government that is in charge, it is so of nationalist muscularity to say it's not ok to flaunt this in our faces. i think what has happened with the coronation decision, certainly takes it off the front pedestal that it was out and it won't be the thing that is talked about at the coronation. does the

controversy go away? you're right, if it's in a treasury box, does it shine any less brightly or burn any less brightly in the psyche of people who feel that they have been wronged? fit, people who feel that they have been wronted? �* ., . , ., wronged? a wonderful conclusion. the blood diamonds _ wronged? a wonderful conclusion. the blood diamonds of _ wronged? a wonderful conclusion. the blood diamonds of blood _ wronged? a wonderful conclusion. the blood diamonds of blood diamonds. i blood diamonds of blood diamonds. thank you very much. you are watching bbc news. millions of households are facing an increase in their council tax from april, as local authorities try to balance their books. the county councils network found three—quarters of english councils with social care duties that have published budget details are planning a 5% hike. this is the maximum allowed without a local vote, and would add £100 a year to bills for average band d properties. the government said councils should consider money pressures on residents. earlier i spoke to local government expert at the london school of economics, tony travers — i began by asking him if the increases are justified.

the government has built into its own assumptions that councils will put up the council tax by 5%, not a lower figure, which in earlier years, the government set for the cap. this cap, the cap of council tax, and the rates before it, goes back to the 1980s. but the government, in calculating the total amount that councils will have to you spend next year, that's '23—�*2li, starting in april, have effectively assumed that councils push up their council tax by these kind of figures. we are in slightly alice in wonderland world here where the government caps council taxes but also wants them to go up. it's as a result of that that councils are making their decisions, most going forward around 5%, but a smaller proportion going for a lowerfigure. i understand that croydon, the borough of croydon, is looking, in all, at 15%. how on earth are people

going to afford that? yes. well croydon, and this is also true of slough and thurrock though to a lesser degree, these authorities have had local borough financial problems particularly to do with very high levels of borrowing and the need, when some of these investments haven't worked out, to write off debt, and as a result of that, the council is having to put up council tax in part, but only in part, to pay off effectively the debt that has been built up by those underperforming or failed investments. but it's true. 5%, slightly lower, but above five, 15% in croydon. and somewhere between 5—15% in slough and thurrock. these are well above even the 5% we are discussing for the bulk of councils. so the public are having to pay for bad decisions?

when you say failed investments, writing off this debt, whose fault is that? well, it's the councillors who made the decision at the time. in croydon, slough and thurrock, i don't think there is any pretence about that. the overwhelming majority of councils didn't and don't get into this kind of trouble but these three have and at some level the local taxpayers are going to have to to make good that loss. but looking across the board, 5% is high, particularly for households who are facing the problems of inflation, of course, it is below the rate of inflation, it is definitely a bad increase for people who are facing other increases in their costs, in the cost of living, but it is still below the rate of inflation as we speak. let's just say, some people say, i'm not going to pay it,

what's going to the happen to the state of their council, their local services, what is the impact of this council tax not being applied? where councils put up the council tax, by any figure up to 5%, councils have a legal obligation to collect it, and we as householders, have a legal obligation to pay it. that's not to say in certain circumstances where households have genuine problems they couldn't apply to the council, some lower income households qualify for support, and councils can have hardship funds, but to answer your question directly, if councils don't get the money in, they have less to spend on social care, libraries, roads, education, all the other thing is directly or impact that councils fund. either the money comes in or services get worse. now lets turn to the cost of living. the office for national statistics reveals pay has grown at the fastest rate in more than 20 years, but is still failing

to keep up with inflation. the ons also said that 843,000 working days were lost to strike action in december, which was the highest number since november 2011. joining us now is huw dixon, he is a professor of economics at cardiff university. thank you forjoining us. when you look at these figures and you look at the headlines, what do you make of it? ._ at the headlines, what do you make ofit? ,,., at the headlines, what do you make ofit? ., , of it? pay gross is starting to rise to tuite of it? pay gross is starting to rise to quite high _ of it? pay gross is starting to rise to quite high levels, _ of it? pay gross is starting to rise to quite high levels, 6.7%, i of it? pay gross is starting to rise to quite high levels, 6.7%, it- to quite high levels, 6.7%, it still, as the previous peak was singh, it still below the light of inflation which is 10.5%. it's a very heterogenous picture as well because in the private sector it is 7.3%, in the public sector it is lower at li.2%, some people doing quite well, for example, skilled

workers in textile printing, drivers have got pay rises well above 10%, other places it's much lower, 2%. there is great heterogeneity in what's going on in the cost of living crisis. i think that wages, we are going to see a reduction in real wages, that is our wages after you've taken into account reflation which simplyjust reflects reality is, what's going on in the economy at the moment, the rising energy crisis, post—brexit situation, so on. we are in a stagnant economy with little growth. we haven't even got back to our pre—pandemic level of output yet and the forecast from the bank of england etc suggest that stagnation is going to continue through 2023. we are going to have to wait at least one year or 18 months before we see growth coming back. that's the story, i don't want to be too pessimistic about it.

wages will catch up, but that is exactly what the bank of england is a bit worried that if rangers rise by too much force, more future inflation. and indeed, we are seeing that to some extent in the service sector so that prices in the service sector so that prices in the service sector are rising by more than in other sectors. ii sector are rising by more than in other sectors.— sector are rising by more than in other sectors. if you are hoping to -a our other sectors. if you are hoping to pay your bills. _ other sectors. if you are hoping to pay your bills. why _ other sectors. if you are hoping to pay your bills, why should - other sectors. if you are hoping to pay your bills, why should you i other sectors. if you are hoping to pay your bills, why should you be | pay your bills, why should you be looking to for a job. public or private sector? looking to for a 'ob. public or private sector?— looking to for a 'ob. public or private sector? currently, the tublic private sector? currently, the public sector _ private sector? currently, the public sector is _ private sector? currently, the public sector is not _ private sector? currently, the public sector is not doing i private sector? currently, the public sector is not doing too | private sector? currently, the i public sector is not doing too well. certainly, there are openings in the private sector, particularly if you have the relevant skills, but i think you don't want to obsess too much about what's happening now. i do think even in the public sector, wages will tend to catch up. this is what happens historically. if you take a slightly longer term view, wages will catch up with inflation.

but in the short run, it is a very difficult situation. some people take on second jobs, do over time, various things like that. those are things, if you're able to, it brings more money into your budget. rather than changing jobs, which lengthens the process. i than changing 'obs, which lengthens the trocess. ., than changing 'obs, which lengthens the poss— the process. i can confirm that that is totin the process. i can confirm that that is going on- — the process. i can confirm that that is going on. people _ the process. i can confirm that that is going on. people are _ the process. i can confirm that that is going on. people are taking i is going on. people are taking second and third jobs, i've heard first—hand stories that that is happening and these are people you have said are skilled people but it is something that they are having to do to take the bills. when was the last time you saw something like this? the situation, this economic situation, so bad and so difficult. it's sort of unique. i'm probably a little bit older than you are, but i remember the 1980s, the early 1980s, at that time, we had a similar problem but we had very high unemployment. the difference with

the current situation is that employment is still holding up and as your previous speakers have said, the labour market is still tight although i suspect unemployment will rise later in the year, is not going to write anything like the levels that we saw in the 1980s. there was mass unemployment, if you like. you have to go back a long time, both in terms of inflation and in terms of the cost of living squeeze to get a historic comparison.— historic comparison. professor, thank you _ historic comparison. professor, thank you so — historic comparison. professor, thank you so much. _ the uk, us, france, germany and italy have expressed dismay at the israeli government's decision to expand settlements. on monday, the israeli cabinet approved ninejewish settlements in the occupied west bank which were previously illegal outposts. earlier, our middle east correspondent, yolande knell, told us more. just to be clear, all settlements

are seen as illegal under additional international law although israel disagrees with that but these were actually what's seen as wildcat outposts. they were set up even without israeli government approval and are deep in the west bank on land the palestinians want for their hoped—for future state. in some cases, they are actually on private palestinian land. so when this announcement was made by the israeli security cabinet a couple of days ago, saying it was in response to recent deadly attacks by palestinians against israelis in occupied eastjerusalem, there was very quickly condemnation from the palestinians, from some other regional players, we know that the far right pro—settler parties in the relatively new israeli government coalition had said before that they wanted to legalise dozens of these settlement outposts and expand settlements that already exist in the occupied west bank, that is something that they are committed to, has consistently concerned the international community, they are worried about these, sort of, hard—line positions that key ministers have

in the government. the fact that they are openly opposed to the idea of palestinian statehood. i think it's very notable that this statement has been madejointly by the foreign ministers of france, germany, italy, the united kingdom, the united states, they say they are deeply troubled, we strongly oppose unilateral actions which only served to exacerbate tensions between israelis and palestinians, they undermine efforts to achieve a negotiated two state solution, they said. this issue of the judicial review, many people came out onto the streets against the government of benjamin netanyahu, has that now gone away? it hasn't gone away, but it's died down for a bit because on monday a strike was called by some parts of the private sector, there were huge numbers of people that turned out, estimates of 80—90,000 where i was, close to the israeli parliament.

with people that said that they were really very much opposed to the government's plans forjudicial reform, that they thought they were attracted to israeli democracy, now, what we are waiting for is for the government potentially to bring those plans, the first measures, to an initial vote in the israeli parliament. they do have the number of seats that they would need in the parliament, they have the majority they would need to try to win any votes on what they are calling the reforms to the judicial system, but the country is just so deeply divided there have been calls by the israeli president who serves in a kind of figurehead role after these protests, there were comments from some of the government ministers that they were ready to talk to members of the opposition to try to come up with a compromise, members of the opposition reply

to that that, first of all, legislation had to be frozen in order for dialogue to take place. that has actually left us with something of a political stalemate. a work by the famous graffiti artist, banksy, has been dismantled liy artist, banksy, has been dismantled by the local council just artist, banksy, has been dismantled by the local counciljust hours after it appeared on a wall in margate. the mural called valentine's day mascara shows a 19505 valentine's day mascara shows a 1950s housewife with a swollen eye and missing tooth. apparently shutting a man in a freezer. but council workers removed the mural saying it was taken away for safety reasons from public land. after nearly 50 years on our supermarket shelves, the soft drink, lilt, is being rebranded. this is what it'll look like. it'll become fanta pineapple and grapefruit following a makeover

by its owner, coca cola. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. hello. well, earlier on today it was a cold and frosty start for some of us, but, this valentine's day, mother nature really is warming things up for us — possibly 17 degrees celsius in one or two spots. the average is eight, but we're not beating records. that's closer to 19 degrees celsius set in somerset in the late '90s. here's the reason for the milder air. it's coming all the way from the canaries past portugal, through the bay of biscay, spreading across the uk. in fact, going even further north into the norwegian sea. typical temperatures today will be closer to around 11 in scotland and more like 12 to 1a across england, sojust one or two areas we'll get temperatures in the mid, maybe the high teens. a lot of clear weather through this afternoon, this evening, but out towards the west a weather front is approaching and that does spell rainfall. belfast, eventually glasgow a little bit milder with the cloud

and the rain, but where it will be clear overnight a touch of frost is certainly possible. here's the weather map for tomorrow. that high pressure we had for quite some time has now slipped away towards the east and we have a weather front crossing the uk, but the high pressure is still close by. in fact, it's very much influencing the weather across the bulk of europe and still eastern areas of the country. that does mean as this weather front pushes eastwards, look at that, you can see the rain mostly fizzles away, so there'll be a little bit of rain, but not much. still mild in the south—east tomorrow, 1a, but in the north showers, breezier and around nine expected in glasgow and stornoway. here's the forecast for thursday. for most of england and wales as well as northern ireland it's going to be an overcast day, a little bit of rain. i think the best of the weather will be in the north of scotland on thursday. here temperatures will be around seven or eight degrees celsius. a change on the way, though, for the end of the week. friday sees a nasty low pressure sweeping across the country, the north, that will bring gates for a time at least through early friday morning. here's the outlook through the rest of the week and into the weekend.

it certainly looks like things are turning. you can see the dark clouds there and remember the gates expected on friday in the north. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines — more than eight days — or two hundred hours — after the earthquakes hit turkey and syria, there are still more survivors being rescued from the rubble. this footage is from the hatay region in turkey. after days of struggling to get aid into syria, the country's government agrees to open more border crossings to allow better access. the un secretary—general says more needs to be done to help syrians. we all know that life—saving aid is not getting in at the speed and scale needed. the skill of this