welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. as the number of dead exceeds 40,000 — more aid is promised for the surviors of last week's earthquakes. in syria , this was the only border crossing from turkey until today , but now there's another in use. crossing from turkey until today , nearly one year on from the start of the conflict, nato members meet

to discuss more weapons for ukraine — with concerns kyiv is using them faster than they can be supplied. republican nikki haley enters the us 2024 presidential race in a challenge to donald trump. and the top iranian chess player — exiled for refusing to wear a headscarf at an international tournament. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin with the race to get more aid into southern turkey and northern syria, where the death toll from last week's earthquakes has now almost 41,000. millions are still left without shelter — in freezing conditions — with little food and poor sanitation. the challenge in northern syria is particularly difficult — the political situation is unstable after years of war — and control of the border is split between the syrian government and rebel groups. until today, aid has been routed through a single crossing point — at bab al—hawa. 0ur correspondent laura bicker has been there and sent this report. every day in antakya,

relatives huddle around piles of rubble that were once family homes, waiting for news. but rescue efforts have slowly become recovery missions, and now, as workers comb through bricks and dust, the hope is of finding a body to say a final farewell. 30 people are entombed in what is left of this building. layers of concrete are pulled apart to reveal the remains of someone�*s living room. five of this woman's family live here. translation: all of those people died while screaming, _ "save us, save us." there was no one. human life has no value in turkey. there are some who are still defying the odds. after more than 200 hours, two women were pulled from deep within the ruins.

at least three others were rescued in other parts of turkey, but there are fewer miracle moments each day. and for survivors, living in fractured cities where damaged buildings are still collapsing, coping with freezing temperatures with no heating, little water and food, is becoming more difficult by the day. translation: they're asking for wet wipes, soaps, shampoos. _ there's water, but there's nowhere to take a shower. people are struggling. president erdogan has denied accusations that his administration's response to this disaster was slow. translation: obviously our country has faced issues that would have - been seen in any part of the world, but our people should have no doubt that our state went all out to reach the earthquake zone. the wait for aid has been longer in syria, but more is now on its way.

until today, this was the only route available for aid to get through to syria, but the united nations has now organised two other border crossings. but it leaves key questions. other border crossings. first, will this be enough to help the millions who are now thought to be homeless? and second, if this had happened earlier, could more lives have been saved? the search for survivors in idlib is over. the living are now focused on staying warm and alive. this has been one of the world's deadliest earthquakes, but without urgent help, this disaster could claim even more lives. laura bicker, bbc news, in antakya. for more on this i am joined now by martin schuepp, director of operations for the international committee of the red cross. martin thank you forjoining us on the programme at a time when i

imagine your teams the programme at a time when i imagine yourteams are the programme at a time when i imagine your teams are extremely busy on the ground. we have seen from my colleagues report a glimpse of how difficult it is to try and get aid to those who most need it. what is the situation on the ground now for in turkey? 50 what is the situation on the ground now for in turkey?— what is the situation on the ground now for in turkey? so you are by now familiar of the _ now for in turkey? so you are by now familiar of the terrible _ now for in turkey? so you are by now familiar of the terrible images - now for in turkey? so you are by now familiar of the terrible images of - familiar of the terrible images of the huge devastation the earthquake has caused. tens of thousands have been killed. tens or hundreds of thousands have been injured and millions are scrambling to make sure to keep warm, have a roof over their head and have food and water and just the basics in order to be able to cope with a difficult situation. that's the situation overall, of course, perhaps you could talk to us about the difficulties in syria given the political situation there and given these corridors have not been open to trying get aid to

people. been open to trying get aid to --eole. ., ., ~ been open to trying get aid to --eole. ., .,~ people. indeed. the earthquake has hit both operations _ people. indeed. the earthquake has hit both operations and _ people. indeed. the earthquake has hit both operations and to _ people. indeed. the earthquake has hit both operations and to syria - hit both operations and to syria particularly hard. devastation for people living in syria who have endured a number of crisis and conflicts over the last couple years. this is a publication that has endured already a lot of hardy hardship and has been fragile and destabilised. i know this earthquake has brought them to the brink of exhaustion and into the race against time to make sure that as much aid as possible it can reach these people to help them stay warm and get water and food and get medicine. indeed, as you point out our race against time. there is also a race to try and find as many people who are still alive". in terms of the rescue and relief effort now. what advice are people being given on the

town underground, rescue efforts? {iii town underground, rescue efforts? of course, the chances of finding survivors in the freezing temperatures shrink by every hour. at the same time, we have hundreds of thousands or millions who are no living in desperate situations. so, we are, together with many volunteers of the red cross, scrambling all the goods we can find to bring relief items as quickly as possible to all of those terribly affected. ~ . possible to all of those terribly affected. a, , . ., possible to all of those terribly affected. , . ., ., affected. martin, director of operations— affected. martin, director of operations for _ affected. martin, director of operations for the _ affected. martin, director of. operations for the international community of the red cross. thank you forjoining us on the programme. to the war in ukraine now, and the nato secretary general says allies are talking about how to increase support for ukraine at a meeting of defence ministers. yens stoltenberg says ukraine is using up ammunition faster than it's being provided and has called on member countries

to increase production. today the kremlin said nato demonstrated its hostility towards russia every day, and was becoming more and more involved in the conflict in ukraine. here's yens stoltenberg's opening remarks at the meeting. nato allies are provided on president and support to ukraine to help uphold its right of self—defense. and from the start, we have been working very closely with the european union, determine to support ukraine for as long as it takes. today, we will discuss our continued support, which is essential to have ukraine prevail as an independent sovereign state. let's talk more about this. joining me now is seniorfellow at the us think tank, the atlantic council, ian brezinski. he's also a former deputy assistant secretary of defence for europe and nato. great to get you on the programme mr

rosinski. we have heard from jens stoltenberg trying to drum up more support for ammunition for ukraine. how successful do you think those efforts will be? it’s how successful do you think those efforts will be?— efforts will be? it's hard to say it. ukrainians _ efforts will be? it's hard to say it. ukrainians are _ efforts will be? it's hard to say it. ukrainians are using - efforts will be? it's hard to say i it. ukrainians are using immense amounts of ammunition every day from artillery. this has caused the west to have its weapons stock dropped precipitously. it is clear our industry is struggling to keep up with the production requirements to sustain this effort. it's taking twice as long to produce an unsure of around to get it to the field. so, this is a very serious problem that begins stoltenberg and the ministers of the fence are grappling with. we ministers of the fence are grappling with. ~ ., ., ., ,, with. we have heard from the us as well, right? — with. we have heard from the us as well, right? lloyd _ with. we have heard from the us as well, right? lloyd austin _ with. we have heard from the us as well, right? lloyd austin saint - with. we have heard from the us as well, right? lloyd austin saint the l well, right? lloyd austin saint the us will ensure that the you ukraine will get what it's needed. is the west united in ukraine? the

will get what it's needed. is the west united in ukraine? the us has rovided a west united in ukraine? the us has provided a great _ west united in ukraine? the us has provided a great amount _ west united in ukraine? the us has provided a great amount of - provided a great amount of assistance to ukraine which has enabled them not only to survive but also take back some of the territory that russia sees from it. the concern is that it is still not enough to ensure that ukraine will have the capacity to decisively win this war on its own terms. that is, taking back all the territory russia has taken. to get that confidence, ukraine would have to be provided with far more punch. long—range attack that can reach behind russian lines, combat aircraft to provide air defence. that's what's going to be needed if we are to be seriously confident ukraine will pervade. you have described what ukraine needs. 0nce have described what ukraine needs. once again, there is sort of a reluctance from the west. how

successful do you think that efforts to get what ukraine needs at the time that they needed to be? you hit it riuht time that they needed to be? you hit it ri . ht on time that they needed to be? you hit it right on the — time that they needed to be? you hit it right on the nose. _ time that they needed to be? you hit it right on the nose. this _ time that they needed to be? you hit it right on the nose. this is _ time that they needed to be? you hit it right on the nose. this is an - it right on the nose. this is an issue of time and speed of delivery. president zelensky emphasised that in his recent remarks and he is right. time is becoming a lethal weapon used by putin to get more troops and he is sending more in by the thousands. they are digging in and some of them are driving the russian offensive forward stop so, speed is essential.— speed is essential. thank you so much forjoining _ speed is essential. thank you so much forjoining us _ speed is essential. thank you so much forjoining us on _ speed is essential. thank you so much forjoining us on you - speed is essential. thank you so much forjoining us on you state | much forjoining us on you state with your thoughts. one year on from russia's invasion of ukraine, the kremlin continues to wage another war — against critics at home. draconian laws have been passed to punish dissent. public criticism of president putin's special military operation�* carries the risk

of a long prison sentence. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg travelled to the northern russian city of arkhan—gelsk to see how russian authorities are silencing opposition to the war. 20—year—old student 0lesya krivtsova has been missing a lot of classes lately. she's under house arrest — her every move monitored by this electronic tag. for social media posts critical of the war in ukraine, 0lesya faces up to ten years in prison. she's been charged with discrediting the russian army and justifying terrorism. translation: i never imagined you could get such a long prisonj sentence for posting on the internet. i've already been added to the official list of terrorists — the list that includes school shooters and groups like islamic state. it's crazy. her putin spider tattoo declares "big brother is watching you". it turns out that 0lesya's fellow students were

watching her posts — closely. just before her arrest, 0lesya had discovered this online chat. in it, students, some she knew, were discussing denouncing her to the authorities for her anti—war stance. translation: some of them wanted to tell the security _ services or the police. others were saying it's better just to discredit me. in the end, they decided that it was their duty as patriots to denounce me. the only time 0lesya's allowed out is to be in court. herfashion statement — her protest against young russians being punished for criticising the authorities. thejudge ruled to keep her under house arrest. from the russian people, the russian authorities expect total, unflinching support for the offensive in ukraine.

if you don't support it, you're expected at the very least to stay silent. if you don't stay silent, well, there's a whole string of repressive laws now in russia for punishing descent. this opposition politician was convicted of spreading fake news about the army. ilya yashin was sent to prison for eight and a half years. for vladimir kara—murza, the charge is treason. the kremlin critic and anti—war activist faces 20 years in jail. 0n the streets of arkhangelsk, it's not big brother watching you, he's a russian soldier who was killed fighting in ukraine. the patriotic messaging is persuasive. we found little sympathy here for people with anti—war views who are being prosecuted. "those people who are discrediting our army or spreading fakes, "they are sick in the head", konstantin says.

"they should be sent off to the front line "as cannon fodder." as for 0lesya, she says she dreams of a russia that embraces freedom of speech, where russians are not seen as criminals just for having a different opinion. steve rosenberg, bbc news, arkhangelsk. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. nikki haley announces her 2024 bid for the white house — against her former boss donald trump nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan the last soviet troops were finally coming home. the withdrawal completed in good order but the army defeated in the task it was sent to perform. malcolm has been murdered. that has a terrible effect for the morale of the people. i'm terrified of the reprecussions in the streets.

one wonders who is next. explosions. as the airlift got under way there was no let—up in the erruption itself. lava streams from a vent lower in the crater flow down to the sea to the east of the island, away for the time being. it could start flowing again at any time. the russians heralded the next generation space station with a spectacular night launch. they called it mir, the russian for peace. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines as the number of dead exceeds 40,000 in turkey and syria — more aid is promised for the surviors of last

week's earthquakes. nearly one year on from the start of the conflict, nato members meet to discuss more weapons for ukraine — with concerns kyiv is using them faster than they can be supplied. bbc offices in india have been searched as part of an investigation by the income tax authorities there. the searches — in new delhi and mumbai — come only weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary in the uk critical of india's prime minister — narendra modi. the bbc says it's "fully co—operating" with the authorities there, and hopes to have the situation resolved as soon as possible. to the us now and the white house has said preliminary evidence suggests the three aerial objects shot down by us jets were not involved in a wider chinese espionage programme. the national security spokesman, john kirby, said the leading explanation could be that were simply balloons tied to commercial or research entities and were "therefore benign." the objects were detected after the us made its radar more

sensitive following the shooting down of a suspected chinese surveillance balloon earlier this month which the us says was being used to spy on sensitive military sites. china denies that —and has accused the us of flying at least ten balloons over its own airspace. translation: the us military hasj spent billions of dollars developing high—altitude surveillance airships since 1997. in 2022, the us military converted high—altitude balloons carrying reconnaissance equipment for military services, which could be used to track hypersonic cruise missiles from china and russia. to new zealand now, where the prime minister says the effects of cyclone gabrielle, which battered much of the north island, has caused devastation not seen in a generation. chris hipkins declared a national emergency on tuesday, only the third in the nation's history, as the extent of the damage from the cyclone continues to unfold.

about a third of the country's population live in areas that have been affected, with coastal communities seeing the most severe damage. nikki haley, the former governor of south carolina , has announced she's running to become the next us president. she was appointed by former president donald trump as us ambassador to the united nations, and is the first person to challenge mr trump for the party's 2024 nomination. here's some background on the new republican challenger. the people of south carolina chose me as their first minority and first female governor. i was the proud daughter of indian immigrants. not black, not white. i was different.

a hate filled murderer who massacred our brothers and sisters in charleston has a sick and twisted view of the flag. it's time to move the flag from the capitol grounds. during anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. i can promise you what i'll be doing is campaigning for this one. and we will remember it when so many countries come calling on us, as they so often do, to pay even more and to use our influence for their benefit. america will put our embassy injerusalem. some people look at america and see vulnerability. they all think we can be bullied, kicked around.

you should know this about me. i don't put up with bullies. and when you kick back, it hurts them more if you're wearing heels. i'm nikki haley, and i'm running for president. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. official figures in the uk show pay has grown at the fastest rate for more than 20 years — but is still failing to keep up with inflation. average pay rose by more than six and a half % between october and december — but when adjusted for inflation, it fell by two and a half %. the vehicle manufacturer ford has announced its cutting around a fifth of its workforce in the uk. 1300 jobs are to go, most of them from the company's technical centre at dunton in essex. it's part of a major restructuring which will see 3,800 jobs going in europe, including more than 2,000 in germany. the police watchdog in the uk has decided that two police officers

should be investigated over their failure to check allegations of indecent exposure against wayne cousins . the former policeman pleaded guilty yesterday to three counts of indecent exposure. one of the offences took place just four days before couzens kidnapped and murdered sarah everard in 2021. i want to tell you now about the iranian chess player who removed her headscarf at an international tournament — sara khadem. she has told the bbc she has no regrets and it was the least she could do — while living in exile in southern spain, 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. 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. and before we go — buckingham palace has announced that the queen consort is to wear a recycled crown that will not feature a controversial diamond claimed by india — the kohinoor — at the coronation of king charles in may. queen consort camilla will wear a crown reset with diamonds from the personal collection of the late queen elizabeth. it will be the first time a queen consort crown has been re—used since the 18th century. that's all for now —

stay with bbc world news. hello. after a dry but misty night for some the is actually some rain in the forecast over the next few days which may come as a bit of a shock to places such as benson, 0xfordshire, pershore, worcestershire and bramham in yorkshire, because these areas over the last four weeks have barely seen over a millimetre of rain. now the rain clouds are gathering there out there in the atlantic at the moment. this one will come in through thursday. but we need to shift this one first. it's been held at bay in an area of high pressure, but that high pressure is going to weaken a little bit, allowing that weather front to trundle in by the end of the night. start of wednesday, that rain will be across western scotland. northern ireland would be a mild enough start to the day, but east

of scotland, england and wales, temperatures still low enough for some frost around. and the eastern counties of england, some dense patches of fog that won't last as long as the fog did on tuesday. we'll also see the rain in northern ireland quickly clear to brighter skies before more cloud later. rain through the morning in scotland, sunshine and showers later. but then from late morning through into the afternoon, the rain spreads across wales, northern western parts of england into the midlands, east anglia, the south east, the channel islands staying dry all day long, the breeze picking up relative to the past few days and the mildest conditions in the southeast corner, 14 or 15 celsius, even though for some in the west a bit of a drop compared with tuesday. temperatures still above average for this stage in february. now we finish wednesday with some patchy rain of drizzle. east anglia in the southeast. but after a brief clearer spell, more widespread rain and drizzle spreading across england, wales, southern scotland through wednesday night and into thursday morning, it's going to leave a lot of low cloud around, quite a misty, murky, damp sort of day on thursday, especially around hills and coast. that could be a little bit of brightness here and there, best of which will be in the north of scotland. and another mild day, even with that cloud nine to around 13 celsius, rain's gathering up behind me.

that's a deepening area of low pressure, which will spell to the north of the country as we go through into friday, bringing some rain southwards, but a lot in the way of stronger winds. the winds will be rattling across the country. the cloud and patchy rain pushing its way southwards. sunshine, blustery showers later in the day across northern half of scotland. and temperatures still on the milder side, especially in the south. but the winds will be a key feature and it's one we'll certainly have to watch. we could see winds top 80 miles an hour across some parts of scotland, gusty winds to the east of high ground in northeast england and eastern scotland, too. we'll keep you updated.

good evening, i'm tulsen tollet and this is your sports news where we start with football and tottenham were beaten 1—0 in the first leg of their champions league round of 16 tie against ac milan tonight. brahim diaz scored the only goal of the game at the san siro, as the spaniard reacted quickest following an excellent save from fraser forster in the tottenham goal. spurs' best chance came when son heung min was put through one—on—one with the goalkeeper, only to have his shot saved and then see harry kane hit the bar, before the linesman raised his flag for offside.

the second leg will take place at the tottenham hotspur stadium