this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. the search begins for a new first minister of scotland, after the shock announcement that nicola sturgeon is standing down. thousands of syrian refugees, arrive at the turkish border as they try to cross back into their home country after last week's earthquakes. residents near the site of a toxic train derailment in ohio demand assurances about their health. british gas owner centrica reports record profits — earning £35 billion in 2022. the shadow home secretary, yvette cooper, says that the actions of lancashire police were "very unusual", after the force disclosed that nicola bulley suffered "some significant issues with alcohol".

and tributes for the hollywood film starand model, raquel welch, who's died at the age of 82. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the search has begun for the next leader of the scottish national party and first minister of scotland —— following nicola sturgeon�*s surprise decision to stand down on wednesday afterjust over eight years in power. the snp's national executive committee will meet on thursday to draw up a timetable for a leadership race. nominations have already opened. the party's constitution says a candidate for leader needs to have the backing of 100 members — from at least 20

different snp branches. if there's more than one candidate — a vote of party members will choose the new leader. ms sturgeon plans to remain in office until her successor is elected — and continue on as an msp until at least the next holyrood election. with more on wednesday's events, here's alexandra mackenzie. scotland's first female and longest—serving first minister, nicola sturgeon is now preparing to step aside. giving absolutely everything of yourself to this job is the only way to do it. the country deserves nothing less. but in truth, that can only be done by anyone for so long. for me, it is now in danger of becoming too long. # bye—bye, nicola...# across scotland and the political parties, people were quick to react to the surprise resignation. nicola and i didn't agree _ on everything, but in the short time that we did work together, -

i was pleased that we were able to announce two freeports - in scotland, that's joint working between the uk governmentl and the scottish government. those freeports are going to attract investment and create jobs - in scotland, which is great, i and i look forward to working with whoever the new first minister is to continue working _ constructively to deliver i for the people of scotland. one thing you can't doubt is this is someone that is an able politician, someone who has been in politics for 20 years, and that level of service is, of course, worthy of respect and thanks. alex salmond was once a close friend and mentor. now he's a political opponent. the key litmus test is going to be whether the next leader sees the opportunity to redefine the strategy for independence, to broaden the base of the independence campaign, and starts articulating the fundamental case for scottish self—determination. i am not going to say who my preference will be to succeed me. but many are asking that question. one possibility is the deputy first minister, john swinney,

who has done thejob before, or angus robertson, the former snp westminster leader and now constitution secretary. the finance secretary, kate forbes, who is currently on maternity leave, the health secretary humza yousaf, or the mpjoanna cherry, a critic of nicola sturgeon�*s leadership. nicola sturgeon wanted a referendum this october. when it was blocked by the supreme court, she announced a special conference due in march to discuss the way forward. now a way forward with a new leader. the risk undoubtedly is that the party can't find somebody who can provide it with the kind of leadership that both mr salmond and ms sturgeon

have provided it with, can't unite it on the independence strategy, can't appeal to the public, and therefore, as a result, the independence movement goes backwards. nicola sturgeon said she's confident her successor will deliver independence and said this is the final phase of thatjourney. alexandra mckenzie, bbc news. let's get more on this now with our scotland correspodent, james shaw, whojoins me now from edinburgh. it has caused surprise, if not short. how clear is it for the real reasons for deciding to go? hill less than 2a hours since nicola sturgeon and she was leaving, so the smoke are starting to clear a little. ., , , ., smoke are starting to clear a little. , ., ~ , , smoke are starting to clear a little. ., , , ., ~ , , ., little. probably two key things to think about. _ little. probably two key things to think about. one _ little. probably two key things to think about. one is _ little. probably two key things to think about. one is the - little. probably two key things to think about. one is the difficulty| think about. one is the difficulty is that the snp and nicola sturgeon had with reforming gender recognition, making it easierfor transgender people to change their legally recognised gender. that was highly controversial in the scottish political sphere and the legislation was bought by the government, and then there is the central, key question for the snp, how do you achieve independence. different ways

of doing that had been tried by nicola sturgeon, could the scottish government hold its own referendum, the supreme court signal. nicola sturgeon�*s next plans for the next general election to be in, referendum and independence. that has been controversial, some people thinking it may not work, as knowledge and tragedy. now they have to move on to find a figure, a replacement for dental surgeon who can address some of these really difficult questions and that progress clearly has already started. ., ., ., , started. you are the frontrunners, is an one started. you are the frontrunners, is anyone sending _ started. you are the frontrunners, is anyone sending out? _ started. you are the frontrunners, is anyone sending out? you - started. you are the frontrunners, is anyone sending out? you heard| is anyone sending out? you heard some names _ is anyone sending out? you heard some names mentioned - is anyone sending out? you heard some names mentioned in - is anyone sending out? you heard some names mentioned in the - is anyone sending out? you heard . some names mentioned in the report before, and that is a fair representation of some of the people who will be interested, perhaps there are others we do not know about the stage, but it seems valued at the moment, the parliament is in

recess, no one putting the head of the parapet to the moment but you can be absolutely sure that key figures in the snp will be thinking hard right now about whether they do want to put their names forward. that is a difficult question to answer, because of the challenges i mention. it is notjust that the injuries fill, is stacked, you could say it is practically on fire. there are so many difficult things that a new leader of the snp has got to deal with. we will start to get a sense of that later on today when the executive committee of the snp, the executive committee of the snp, the ruling body of the party starts to figure out how the choreography of getting a new leader is going to work. so there is a lot going on, a lot we don't know about at the moment, but again, the picture will start to become clearer, then, in the few days. —— next few days.

earlier i spoke tojim sillars, who's a former deputy leader of the snp, and began by asking him how surprised he was by nicola sturgeon�*s decision. i am very surprised, so is everyone, because i have been 60 years in politics and i have never known a politician who held power actually wanting to give it up. so that gave us a great surprise. whatever the reason is, nicola sturgeon is now in history, the party and the independence movement have got to look at where we are and how we get to our objective of a sovereign state. that is the key thing we've got to discuss now. how much of a setback is it that she has stepped back in these circumstances? it was only recently that the supreme court said no, you can't have another referendum. you know, we have had six wasted

years under nicola's leadership since the day after the brexit vote. the scottish national party became the referendum party, not the independence party. and a vacuum was created in the policy sphere. if i went and knocked a door this morning and an old—age pensioner came and said to me what happens to my pension, state pension, when we are independent? i could not tell her because there is no policy. if someone says to me what is the economic policy? i could not tell, because there is no policy. if someone says what about currency, what will happen with currency? how do you setup your own? i could not tell them, because... why is there this policy vacuum in all this time when the clue of your party's intention is in its very name? because we have concentrated on a referendum, which never actually was deliverable by holyrood or its own. if you don't get a section from the schedule,

from the westminster government, you have no legal right to hold a referendum, and for anybody who believed that was possible, they were leading the people astray. so we have had six wasted years, we have now got to say to ourselves, forget about this referendum, we need a new conversation, forget about the referendum, the biggest challenge before the scottish national party now and the independence movement is to go from 44% to round about 55, 56, 57%. when you get to that, you need the economic policies to get to that, and when you get to that, no westminster government, because it is a democratic organisation down there, could then see you are right to hold a referendum, we are miles away from that because of the six wasted years. the party has now got to get real about this. what sort of leader does the party need nxt?

someone who understands that you never again will develop the cult of personality inside the snp. that has been the undoing of alex salmond and it has been the undoing of nicola sturgeon. for example, the party as such outside the parliamentary group counts for nothing today. it does exactly what nicola has told it. but if the party was not involved in worshipping the cult of personality, it would have been able to tell nicola you're gender recognition bill is dynamite, political and social dynamite. don't go down that road. but there was nobody able to say that under the cult of personality. and that is the key thing. whoever becomes the new leader has to understand and make

the government, the party and the government in hollywood much more collegiate than it has been in the salmond or sturgeon heroes. in the salmond or sturgeon eras. thousands of refugees who fled the war in syria to cross into turkey have arrived at the border hoping to go back to their home country after last week's earthquakes. turkey has said it will allow them to leave for up to six months. nato chiefjens stoltenberg is beginning a two day visit to southern turkey, offering support to the country. the combined death toll in turkey and syria has climbed to more than 41,000, and millions are in need of humanitarian aid. the bbc�*s laura bicker has been to antakya close to the turkish border, where desperate syrian families continue to arrive. the last time these syrian families crossed this border, it was with dreams of a better life. their homeland has been ripped apart by a civil war. their new life in turkey lies in ruins after the earthquake. so once again, they are on the move, carrying whatever they have left.

reem has lived in antakya for nine years. her children were born there, but she believes hostility towards syrians in her host country is worse since the quake. translation: we've lost our house. we try to find another place to stay. but they kept chasing us away, asking us to return to syria. should i stay in the street with my children? where should we go? the turkish government has said syrians can come back within two months. but many ask, what do they have to come back to? this is a broken city, full of loss and fallen concrete. it's no longer a home. those who choose to stay have nowhere else to go. ahmed knows there's little here for him and his family, but he's nothing left in syria. he's stuck. translation: | think | about the children a lot, about their situation

and what will happen to them. when it's dark, their night turns into terror. ifearfor them more than i do myself. it is rare, but survivors are still being found. 74—year—old shamil was found alive 226 hours after the earthquake struck. earlier today, three people were rescued from within this rubble. two were children. and tonight, they believe there are signs of life in that building and they are continuing to work away, which shows that even amid the amount of human despair we've seen in the last ten days, there's still sign of light. laura bicker, bbc news in antakya. caroline davies is in southern turkey and i asked her about mr stoltenberg's visit to turkey. i think there are several different reasons why

jens stoltenberg is visiting today, the first port of call is because of the earthquake, and having these conversation for the leadership providing further support in showing visible support by actually coming to the country. we are seeing there will be visitors from other political arenas as well, we know the us secretary of state, blinken, is also due to visit turkey, as well as other political leaders that have said they're planning to come and show support for the country, but we also know jens stoltenberg is planning to speak to the government here about the accession of sweden and finland to nato. we know there needs to be an agreement ratified from the 13 member states' governments, and so far turkey and hungary are the two that have not done that, so there is a continued conversation, if you will, between nato and turkey about what will happen next, and what can be done further to progress this. hundreds of angry residents gathered in a small town in the us state of ohio to demand assurances about their health after a train

derailed, spilling toxic chemicals and spreading a gas cloud. the train — which crashed almost two weeks ago — had been carrying vinyl chloride, which can cause cancer. nomia iqbal was at the meeting in ohio. a meeting hasjust wrapped up here in the town hall where residents got together to try and get some answers. they are angry, upset and fearful. one woman said, do not portray us as some small, poor community. another woman said to me that she believes that if this had happened in a bigger city in america, they would be getting answers. they want to know why did a train carrying chemical toxins pass through their town without any warning. they tell me they are too scared to drink the water, even though officials here say it is safe. they say their pets have fallen ill, they feel ill, their houses are of no value, and so they want to get down to the bottom of it. what's made it worse for many of them is that the train company, norfolk southern,

which owns the train, didn't show up here, their representatives. they said it was out of fear of their safety, which has really angered residents. the firm has provided a fund of more than $1 million to help people, but everyone here is worried about the long—term effects when it comes to the environment and their health. the energy giant, centrica — which owns british gas — has reported huge profits of £35 billion last year — more than triple those of 2021. the increase is largely down to the surge in energy prices because of the war in ukraine. british gas has recently been criticised for entering the homes of vulnerable customers to force—fit prepayment meters. our business correspondent theo leggett tells us more about the record profits of energy companies. centrica is not alone here, one of a number of energy companies producing record profits at the moment. we heard from bp and shell last week, much the same picture. that led to renewed calls

for windfall taxes to be increased. the uk does have a windfall tax, the energy profits levy, and from the 1st of january, that is 35%, applicable to profits generated in this country, but some environmental groups, some opposition politicians say that is simply not enough with the size of these profits, basically unearned, the result of the oil and gas prices going up, a feeling that perhaps these companies should be paying more and we are likely to see renewed calls for that to happen. simon francis from end fuel poverty coalition spoke to us earlier. he said the energy market is broken and hurting the most vulnerable. these profits are being made off the back of people who are vulnerable, off the elderly and families with young children, disabled, people with long—term health conditions, who have been condemned to live in cold and damp homes this winter. whilst they are profiting because of the increase in energy prices worldwide, they do, we feel, have a duty to recognise the impact those prices are having on customers

here in the uk and indeed elsewhere in the world. because they will say their retail arm makes little profit. it still makes a decent sized profit, and the profits that are really driving the big numbers are from the production and the trading arm. so that's where the profits and the price rises we have all seen have come from. because of the excess profits are being made by energy producers and the trading and markets teams, trading electricity and gas and making money at every turn. but centrica don't set these prices. how easy would it be for one arm of the business to cross—subsidise the other arm? they kind of admit they do that a little bit anyway. they have said they provide some additional support for vulnerable households, which is more than they make in profit, they say, from the retail arm.

so they clearly are fine doing that if they want to do it. it's a choice that they are making. i think what's interesting is that elsewhere in the report they go on to talk about the fact that more needs to be done to help vulnerable customers and even go as far as calling for a review into energy market regulation. clearly they feel, as we do, that the energy market is broken, it's not working, it's hurting the vulnerable the worst and we need to see a whole review of britain's broken energy system. as you say, centrica do think more needs to be done to protect customers, but to what extent is it one individual company's or all individual company's response ——responibility as opposed to national legislation? it's clearly a collective responsibility. the way the market is structured at the moment, we need energy firms, regulators and government to work together. we would urge them to speak

to people who are working with charities, so members of the end fuel poverty coalition, members of the warmest winter campaign. these people working on the front line to deal with these issues. they have come up with proposals like a social tariff, reducing the tariff for vulnerable households, and the idea of energy for all, a basic band of energy that everyone gets for free, with people who go above that paying slightly more to subsidise it. there are lots of really interesting ways the energy firms and government could work together to create a system that is better for consumers and fairer for the most vulnerable. simon francis from the end fuel poverty coalition. here in the uk, the labour party's spokesperson on home affairs, yvette cooper, says that the actions of lancashire police were "very unusual", after the force disclosed that nicola bulley suffered "some significant issues with alcohol" — brought on by struggles with the menopause. the 45—year—old disappeared nearly three weeks ago while walking her dog in st michael's on wyre.

0ur correspondent yunus mulla is in st michael's—on—wyre, and gave us more information on the police's actions. lancashire police took the unusual step of revealing details, private details of nicola bulley, making them public. that was to give us a better understanding of their investigation. what they said was nicola bulley had significant issues with alcohol which had been brought upon by the struggles she had with the menopause, and those struggles had resurfaced in recent months. what they also said was that police and professionals had been called to her home just last month with concerns for welfare but no arrest had been made and that incident is being investigated. that is why they revealed these new details, they said there is a lot of speculation out there and they wanted us to give an insight into their investigation and why she was high—risk on the start of this investigation. there has been quite a reaction to them releasing these very personal details on people asking how much difference is this

earlier i asked zoe billingham, former inspector of her majesty's constabulary, for her reaction to the actions of lancashire police. being honest, it stopped me in my tracks. not wanting to comment on this ongoing, terrible case, which is so unimaginably upsetting for nicola's family, the police need to be left to get on with the investigation but this was truly unprecedented, to release this sort of private, personal information, 20 days into an investigation. i think most people will be wondering how on earth is that going to help the police in their bid to bring nicola home. and if it was relevant at any point in the investigation, why wasn't it released in an appropriate way without going into all of that personal detail much earlier on? and it caused me to think, well, why are the police releasing this information in this way now?

it smacked either of panic or perhaps even a deliberate decision on the part of the force to think about how they can maintain their reputation, and that's quite disturbing on so many fronts, isn't it? the police said they are struggling to dispel persistent myths about nicola, about this case, and that's what they were trying to dispel. how adequate an explanation is that for you? i'm not sure that completely adds up because if you look at the chronology of yesterday, the senior investigating officer, who i thought, for what it's worth, did a really good job at the press conference to explain where the police have got to, she very specifically refused to answer questions around the details relating to nicola that have now come into the public domain. it was only a few hours later that the police force, lancashire police, decided to put that information out there. i think they have done the job during the day,

in the press conference, to try to dispel the myths and that's why it was so extraordinary that later in the day this information relating to really private matters. i mean, people are rightly asking, how does the reproductive status of a woman who has gone missing relate to the bid to find her, and would that same question, would that same information be put into the public domain if she were a man? it's difficult to raise these situations, but we have to think about public confidence here. what the police have done sets an incredibly unusual precedent. if my mum, granny or sister went missing now, iwould be thinking, well, what private information relating to them that may not be at all relevant might get into the public domain? i think we have now got to the point where probably the chief constable or the police and crime commissioner needs to step forward,

not talk about the details of the investigation, but actually give the public some reassurance that the force is managing this whole issue in the right way. zoe billingham, former inspector of constabulary. a new way of screening less urgent ambulance calls is to be introduced in england, to try to improve response times. the focus is on category two calls — which include emergencies such as heart attacks and strokes. but, crews are being asked to review incidents which may not need such a fast response. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes reports. ambulance, is the patient breathing? ambulance call centres have seen record levels of demand in recent months, contributing to some of the worst ever response times. so in london and the west midlands, they have been experimenting with a new way of dealing with calls in an effort to make sure help gets where its needed the most. this new system will allow a clinical conversation between a nurse, a paramedic or a doctor and the patient, and between them they will be able to decide whether an ambulance is the best response for that patient, or they are better cared

for in a different environment. it does not mean anyone loses their place in the queue. what it does is provide more individualised care for an individual patient. it also allows us to free up the resources for our most vulnerable patients. category two ambulance call—outs make up over half of all emergency calls. they are meant to cover an immediate risk to life, things like a heart attack or stroke, but they also include conditions such as burns, diabetes or headaches, where the severity of the problems can vary enormously and some of which do not always need an immediate response. through having a more detailed conversation with some of those patients, a pilot scheme found around one in five of all category two calls could be better treated elsewhere and did not need an ambulance. i'm just calling back to follow up on your earlier call... with ten years experience as a paramedic, dave has used the new scheme to help a patient who called 999 after getting a nasty cut on his hand. when i phoned back,

he was in a much calmer state, the bleeding had stopped, the pain had subsided somewhat, and i was able to give him advice to make his own way to the urgent care centre to treat his wound, which saved an ambulance but still got him the right treatment he needed. those running the pilot scheme say no patients were disadvantaged. some even found themselves moved from category two to the most urgent category one. the scheme is now being expanded to all ten ambulance services across england, with the hope it can help improve response times and focus help for those who need it. "crippling delays", "unprecedented demand" and "a system in crisis" — those are just some of the words used to describe emergency care this winter. for children with severe disabilities, a&e departments are vital — but with mounting pressures, families are concerned whether they can continue to rely on the essential care, that keeps their children alive. ruth clegg reports.

it that emily's favourite song? it's 7:00am in the watson household, and the morning routine has just begun. so for breakfast, christopher has about seven different meds. emily has seven as well, but a different combination. it's busy. it's intense. and for emily and christopher, it's life—saving research. so we've got feeding tubes, they've got epilepsy. the 12—year—old twins were born prematurely and have complex medical needs. each one on their own could be life threatening. if we have a problem with chris' breathing tube, he's tracheostomy and unable to resolve it. he'd be dead within minutes. and that's why emergency care is vital. get the lady to come round here and see. just before christmas, with ambulances in short supply, and hospitals declaring critical incidents, christopher started to have problems with his breathing tube. we changed his tube to make sure he had a good airway,

to make sure it was clear. we're increased his oxygen to make sure that the oxygen was getting around his body right. but he didn't seem to improve. he seemed to be getting worse. he was presenting in a way that we'd never seen before. he was presenting in a way that we weren't trained to deal with. they called for an ambulance, but were told that despite christopher being a category one, which means paramedics should arrive within ten minutes, it could be a three—hour wait. what's going through your head at this point? you've tried everything. you literally know that it's got to be emergency care. it's scary. yeah, it's scary. and you start to think, "what's going wrong now? what can we do? how is this going to end up?" that's really, really difficult because it's something that many people would never have to experience. yeah.

like nearly 100,000 children across the uk, emergency care is a crucial part of their everyday lives. these families are caring for such complex children, and their homes are like intensive care units. normally we would be saying to them, "well, you know, if this is happening, this is when you call the ambulance, and don't worry, they'll be there within10, 20 minutes." at the moment, you can't rely on there actually being an ambulance able to come in that short length of time. the families may have to make a decision about whether they should bring the child to hospital themselves. got emergency blue box with a standard tracheostomy tube. and christopher's family were in that dilemma after being told it would be a three—hour wait for an ambulance. christopher's got a history of having seizures where he loses respiratory effort, and then you have to start cpr. really, you don't want to be doing that for more

than five or ten minutes. we did phone back to say, you know, "look, we'll get christopher to hospital ourselves." and that was the point at which we were told, "there's actually an ambulance in the next village. it's making its way to you." he was finally rushed to hospital, where a resuscitation team were ready and waiting. these children need that extra level of care. it's not their fault that they need it. the health system needs to work. it's essentially important that it works. christopher survived and is back at school. but the worry is always there. if the health service breaks down and does not function, is christopher has an episode like that, he would not be here. the government says it is planning to improve services with 5000 more beds and 800 new ambulances. check off you've got everything

they need to keep christopher safe. everybody needs a functioning health service, but for a significant group of disabled children, they are not only more likely to use it, but when they do need it, it is a matter of life and death. ruth clegg, bbc news. we can talk now to ruth clegg, our disability reporter, who has been working on this story. explain why emergency care is so vitalfor explain why emergency care is so vital for these children. this explain why emergency care is so vital for these children.— vital for these children. this is a significant _ vital for these children. this is a significant group _ vital for these children. this is a significant group of _ vital for these children. this is a significant group of children, - significant group of children, nearly 100,000 who need either ventilator support you have life limiting conditions that need extra support at home. going to see the house like the ones you saw in the peace there, they live in what could be described as a high dependency unit. maybe 20 or 30 years ago these children may have been cared for in hospital but now because of advances in medical science and the kind of equipment they can use, they are able to live really fulfilling lives at home. as you saw with emily and

christopher in my report, they go to school every day, they love watching the simpsons, they love rock music, but they also need vast amounts of equipment and that extra level of care to stay alive. and their parents are very, very highly medically trained. they can deal with most situations but when it comes to something like with christopher and a blocked tracheostomy and he starts to deteriorate, they need that emergency care and they need it to come within minutes. i spoke to doctor tony wolff, chair of the british academy of trial disability and she said parents are being put in a really difficult position. when they call for an ambulance they have it in their emergency health care plan. this is a document they discuss with their paediatrician, all about how to cope when things go wrong and they can go wrong very quickly, but they can no longer give that guarantee that an ambulance will arrive within minutes. she says that's a very difficult position for

parents to be in. her advice to those parents is definitely called for an ambulance and definitely keep in touch with the call handler and keep them informed and if they do decide to take the child themselves, which is a very difficult endeavour in themselves, to keep in touch because there's always that chance that an ambulance could be diverted. what is the government saying now because latest figures suggest that ambulance waiting times have improved over the last month. yes. improved over the last month. yes, it's definitely _ improved over the last month. yes, it's definitely important _ improved over the last month. yes it's definitely important to know there have been big improvements when it comes to critically ill patients in the middle of december when they were waiting up to 90 minutes for an ambulance. that is down to around 32 minutes, still double the target that they should be aiming for but the government are saying they are taking immediate action. as you have been hearing today, they are looking at category two calls that can cover a whole array of different conditions, may be looking at different

classifications. also the government says it is investing in more beds, 5000 more beds, and also 800 new ambulances to try and relieve the pressure on accident and emergency departments. it is important to know that it's not that these families are being classed as priorities, they are being classed as a priority, but when the service gets overwhelmed, as we saw in the last couple of months, it's this significant group of children who are most likely to need it. ruth clea ., are most likely to need it. ruth clegg. thank— are most likely to need it. ruth clegg, thank you. _ the war in ukraine has, unsurprisingly, seen little to no diplomacy between kyiv and moscow. one area of cooperation has been around prisoner of war exchanges. more than 1,700 ukrainian men and women have reportedly made it home through them so far. the bbc has been given rare access to one facility where captured russian soldiers are held in the west of the country. kyiv says most of the prisoners will be swapped, but some will be held on suspicion of possible war crimes. 0ur ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse, has sent this report.

under the watchful eye of ancient ukrainian rulers and guards, march these russian prisoners of war. both sides have been accused of abusing captured soldiers in the past. so these are the belongings of some prisoners of war who arrived last week. now, it's unlikely they're going to speak freely. but what this is is an insight into ukraine's information war, as well as a look at how prisoners of war are used as currency. now kyiv wants to show us these men, who they insist are being treated fairly. they're using this workshop to take shelterfrom russian missiles. some hide their faces to further protect their identities. ukraine needs these soldiers to trade for their own.

we're under supervision, but the guards don't interfere. this prisoner tells us he surrendered near the eastern town of soledar last month. several say they just want to go home. some here are just days off the battlefield, a mixture of conscripts, soldiers and mercenaries. many are pale, their eyes glazed over. sometimes history has echoes. this gritty fortress once held soviet and then german inmates in the second world war. everyone here appears to know the drill. air raid alerts seem to be the only breaks from a monotonous routine. the bite of the cold is followed by the relief of lunch. today it's corn soup

and barley and meat before a choreographed finish. "thank you for lunch," they say, in ukrainian. this might look like free time, but the guards have the remote. the pick of the day, a documentary on ukrainian history. but not everyone will speak the language. translation: more or less, i'mj starting to understand ukrainian. these programmes are educational. this looks more like a re—education. these inmates are waiting to make a phone call home. the conversations are recorded. "where are you?"

asks his mum. "i'm in captivity. i can't say more," he says. "with the bloody ukrainians?" she asks. "enough, mum," he replies. the most important thing is that i'm alive and healthy. this economy of prisoner exchanges has grown, which means they're more valuable to both sides regardless of whether they return to the fight. james waterhouse, bbc news, western ukraine. the humanitarian crisis in turkey and syria has provoked a huge international response. unicef�*s largest warehouse is in copenhagen. boxes of aid are put together here ready to be sent to the earthquake—struck regions. adrienne murray has been behind—the—scenes to see how the operation and logistics work. it's the size of three football pitches. this is the world's biggest humanitarian warehouse. the assembly line behind me is where boxes of aid and dozens

of different types of emergency kits are put together ready to be sent out to crises around the globe. the first round of earthquake relief was sent from here last week. the bundles on these pallets contain thermal blankets and these are going to be shipped out to turkey by truck. we've sent a lot of medical kits, hygiene kits, but i mean, what they need most at the moment is blankets, plastic sheeting, tents. it's an enormous operation, and if you take a quick look around you can see just how highly automated it is. monorails and forklift trucks are constantly on the move, and over there are robots. robert, roberta and robin are shifting boxes and pallets. all these supplies are stored in this huge temperature—controlled bay that can handle 36,000 pallets. these are some of the items that going to the kits here.

here you've got essentials for sanitation, medical equipment to help give birth safely, and this is a classroom in a box. there is even black paint for a chalk board, and of course it's really important to have toys for children. supplies are also being sent to other places affected by disaster, conflict and health issues. to afghanistan, yemen and over the past year to ukraine. there are so many emergencies that the shifts have been doubled and the operation is running from 6:30am to 11:30pm. we know that a lot of hospitals have been destroyed. it's the middle of winter and the earthquake could not have happened at a worse time. there have been challenges getting aid to turkey and particularly syria, so how will these boxes of kit and equipment reach the affected areas? we've got supplies on trucks that are heading in by road.

we are using planes, commercial, charter and just trying to move supplies as quickly as possible. obviously it is a challenge. some of the airports were damaged in the earthquake. we've got some roads that are also damaged. the number of emergencies right now in the world has just never been higher and the need is desperate. some of the aid is being airlifted to damascus and soon to adana, and this truck is about to go overland to turkey. adrienne murray, bbc news, copenhagen. some breaking news from liverpool crown court where our correspondent fiona trott has reported that two children have appeared being charged with the murder of 16—year—old brianna ghey in warrington. the teenager, a transgender girl, was found lying in a park with stab wounds last saturday afternoon.

today a boy and girl, both aged 15, appeared via video link. they only spoke to confirm their name and age. today the's meeting, hearing, was to set dates for a future provisional trial and it's likely to last three weeks injuly. hollywood star raquel welch, who will be remembered as an international sex symbol in the 1960s, has died aged 82, following a brief illness. the actor is often credited with breaking the mould for modern day action heroines. 0ur media and arts correspondent david sillito looks back at her life and career. raquel welch did not expect anyone to remember what she thought was just a silly dinosaur movie. but one million years bc, with its giant malevolent turtles, poor grasp of evolution and prehistoric bikinis, turned raquel welch into a star of teenage bedrooms across the world. "in one fell swoop, everything about the real me was," she said, "swept away." # you make me feel so young...

it was pretty clear how she was being marketed. coffee ? in bedazzled, she was given the role of lilian lust. it's strong and black and sweet. in public, she played the role. but she said she had little control over her career. now, listen here, boys. i used to be a square... she was bornjo raquel tejada, the daughter of a bolivian engineer, and her heart was really lay in song and dance. light—hearted, old school glamour. a lot of people want to be great artists. i don't know that i'm capable of being that, but i hope i entertain a few people. the producer behind many of her projects was the man she married in 1967, film producer patrick curtis. it would be fair to say she was better known than many of her films. never again will i let you go into such terrible danger. but she did win a golden globe for the three musketeers.

# i can rub and scrub this house and it's shining just like a dime... and on stage and television, she got a chance to show off her song and dance skills. # you got the shake and i got the shimmy... raquel welch had set out wanting to be ginger rogers, and ended up being defined by a doeskin bikini. that was david sillito on the life of raquel welch, who's died at the age of 82. glaciers in the antarctic might be more sensitive to rising sea temperatures than previously thought. using an underwater robot, a team of scientists have been researching the thwaites glacier, which is the size of britain. they've found that warmer water is posing a serious threat to its stability. 0ur climate editor, justin rowlatt was given special access to the expedition. west antarctica is a challenging place to work. it is the stormiest part

of the world's stormiest continent. it took more than a month and more than a dozen flights to get the scientists and their equipment to the front of the glacier. ice—hardened ships brought in fuel and other bulky supplies, which were then dragged over the ice in an epic 1,000 mile overland journey. this was the final destination. a campsite at the point this vast glacier goes afloat. if we are thinking about what is sea level going to be like in ten years, this glacier is the place to be. boilers turned snow into water. hot water was used to melt down into the ice. this is a historic moment. the first time anyone has tried to drill down through this glacier. beneath the 600 metres of ice below me is the most important point of all, the point at which the ice meets the ocean water. for the first time ever, scientists could take

measurements under the ice, to the surprise of some local creatures. they sent down ice fin, a remotely operated robot submarine, packed with scientific instruments. 0h—ho—ho! yes! what we could see is that instead of this kind of flat ice that we had all pictured, there were all kinds of staircases and cracks in the ice that weren't really expected. a team from the british antarctic survey using different instruments also found that the overall melt rate was lower than expected. it showed how sensitive the glacier is to even small changes in sea water temperature. what the results show us is that you actually don't need to increase the melt rate that much to drive very fast retreat. so has the glacier passed a tipping point where collapse becomes inevitable? 0ur observations don't necessarily tell us that, but what it does tell us is how the ice shelf is currently melting

and we can use that knowledge from today to produce better models which will tell us more about the future. thwaites is at the bottom of the world, but what happens here will affect us all. the better the processes that work under this glacier are understood, the better forecasts we will have of how our seas will rise in the decades to come. forewarned is forearmed, they say. that is particularly important because carbon emissions, which are driving the processes warming this glacier, continue to rise rapidly. justin rowlatt, bbc news, thwaites glacier. how about this for a job advert? a small town in cornwall in southwest england has gone viral after turning to song in a desperate attempt to recruit a new gp. more than 500 residents — some musically talented and others not — have taken part. danjohnson has the story.

# we've got a surgery that's needed you. # we've got a surgery that's needed ou. �* , ., , ., # we've got a surgery that's needed ou. �*, ., , you. here's how you make the search for a gp 90 — you. here's how you make the search for a gp go viral. _ you. here's how you make the search for a gp go viral. this _ you. here's how you make the search for a gp go viral. this cornish - for a gp go viral. this cornish community came together to voice their plea for a new doctor. # have you got faith, have you got time? �* , , ., ., # have you got faith, have you got time? �*, , ., ., , time? it's been amazing, the support we have had- — time? it's been amazing, the support we have had. we _ time? it's been amazing, the support we have had. we have _ time? it's been amazing, the support we have had. we have done - time? it's been amazing, the support we have had. we have done this - time? it's been amazing, the support we have had. we have done this in i we have had. we have done this in two weeks — we have had. we have done this in two weeks from start to finish. we have _ two weeks from start to finish. we have had _ two weeks from start to finish. we have had every shopkeeper we have spoken— have had every shopkeeper we have spoken to _ have had every shopkeeper we have spoken to prepared to take part. all the groups— spoken to prepared to take part. all the groups that go on, the toddlers and yoga _ the groups that go on, the toddlers and yoga and everything in between, and yoga and everything in between, and the _ and yoga and everything in between, and the big _ and yoga and everything in between, and the big film shoot with the cherry— and the big film shoot with the cherry picker on the big sports fietd~ — cherry picker on the big sports field we _ cherry picker on the big sports field. we must have had 200,300 people _ field. we must have had 200,300 people there. it's been immense. # we've — people there. it's been immense. # we've tonnes of children, all so infectious # who need a doctor # who need a doctor # we've got love. # who need a doctor # we've not love. ~ �*, # we've got love. looks like there's len of # we've got love. looks like there's

plenty of patients. _ # we've got love. looks like there's plenty of patients. it's _ # we've got love. looks like there's plenty of patients. it's a _ # we've got love. looks like there's plenty of patients. it's a town - # we've got love. looks like there's plenty of patients. it's a town of- plenty of patients. it's a town of 5000. it's a long way from the nearest hospital, so people here rely on the gp. indie nearest hospital, so people here rely on the gp.— nearest hospital, so people here rely on the gp. nearest hospital, so people here rel on the gp. ~ ., ., ., rely on the gp. we want someone who is auoin to rely on the gp. we want someone who is going to thrive _ rely on the gp. we want someone who is going to thrive in _ rely on the gp. we want someone who is going to thrive in this _ rely on the gp. we want someone who is going to thrive in this small - is going to thrive in this small environment, seeing a baby at eight weeks _ environment, seeing a baby at eight weeks old _ environment, seeing a baby at eight weeks old for their primary checks and then— weeks old for their primary checks and then being able to see them as a young— and then being able to see them as a young adult, as i have done, and enjoying — young adult, as i have done, and enjoying that relationship. this is a unique — enjoying that relationship. this is a unique surgery, it's a unique tow“, — a unique surgery, it's a unique town, and _ a unique surgery, it's a unique town, and the only way we can really -et town, and the only way we can really get that _ town, and the only way we can really get that across was to say, hey, this is— get that across was to say, hey, this is what— get that across was to say, hey, this is what we've got to offer. you could _ this is what we've got to offer. you could he _ this is what we've got to offer. you could he a — this is what we've got to offer. you could be a part of this. # we've _ could be a part of this. # we've lots of hills... at the local pharmacy. _ # we've lots of hills... at the local pharmacy, kerry - # we've lots of hills... at the local pharmacy, kerry and - # we've lots of hills... at the i local pharmacy, kerry and tracy # we've lots of hills... at the - local pharmacy, kerry and tracy were part of the ensemble supporting the surgery�*s search. do you think it's going to do the trick? surgery's search. do you think it's going to do the trick?— going to do the trick? yeah, hepefully- — going to do the trick? yeah, hopefully. it's _ going to do the trick? yeah, hopefully. it's been - going to do the trick? yeah, hopefully. it's been sent - going to do the trick? yeah, j hopefully. it's been sent out going to do the trick? yeah, - hopefully. it's been sent out far and wide. . , ., ., and wide. certainly a few more --eole and wide. certainly a few more peeple have — and wide. certainly a few more people have heard _ and wide. certainly a few more people have heard of— and wide. certainly a few more people have heard of this - and wide. certainly a few more | people have heard of this place and wide. certainly a few more - people have heard of this place now. certainly put it on the map. i in certainly put it on the map. i in our

certainly put it on the map. i in your room- _ certainly put it on the map. i in your room. the _ certainly put it on the map. i in your room. the last gp is away this week. his final chance for a break before it's all on him. the six—month search for a new colleague has so far proved unresponsive. so what's up, doc? i has so far proved unresponsive. so what's op. doc?— what's up, doc? i think if you looked at _ what's up, doc? i think if you looked at the _ what's up, doc? i think if you looked at the medical- what's up, doc? i think if you | looked at the medicaljournals what's up, doc? i think if you - looked at the medicaljournals and the vacancies and the advertisements, it's about 20 pages of adverts that all say the same, we are all flexible, successful, and all the cliche words that go with that. and why would you stop there as opposed to anywhere else? there's just not enough doctors, that's a fact. ., ., , �* just not enough doctors, that's a fact. ., ., ,�* ~ ., fact. that doesn't sound like a cornwall accent _ fact. that doesn't sound like a cornwall accent to _ fact. that doesn't sound like a cornwall accent to me. - fact. that doesn't sound like a cornwall accent to me. you i fact. that doesn't sound like a i cornwall accent to me. you must fact. that doesn't sound like a - cornwall accent to me. you must have moved here. cornwall accent to me. you must have moved here-— moved here. yes, i trained in south africa and then _ moved here. yes, i trained in south africa and then did _ moved here. yes, i trained in south africa and then did a _ moved here. yes, i trained in south africa and then did a year— moved here. yes, i trained in south africa and then did a year of- africa and then did a year of masters in oxford. i did a six—week locum cornwall and never left. i have two cornish children here now and i'm not going anywhere. # it's a special place to live...

they— # it's a special place to live... they hope _ # it's a special place to live... they hope someone takes the same opportunity, and with publicity like this, who knows, there may even be a waiting list. danjohnson, bbc news. most people have a bad hair day once in a while — but a 10—year—old boy from lincolnshire is celebrating his unique, unruly locks. sam barley has a rare condition called uncombable hair syndrome — a genetic disorder characterised by frizzy hair that's difficult to comb flat. there are only 100 cases worldwide — and sam has made it his mission to raise awareness. hi, i'm sam and i'm ten years old. i'm here to talk about my hair because i want to raise awareness that uncombable hair syndrome is a thing because people come up to me and say have you bleached it or dyed it? what have you done to your hair? it looks like you stuck your finger in a plug socket. this is something he's wanted to do for the last year or so. the more comments it gets, the more

he wants to raise awareness. he's a really unique little boy. i'm really, really proud of him. i think he's really special. he's a really nice brother to have uncombable hair syndrome. i when we initially found out about it, my mother in law actually messaged me and she said, turnover, bbc one show's on, there's a couple of young girls on there with uncombable hair syndrome. this must be what our sam has. and what does it say on your t—shirt there? i notice it says something. big hair, don't care! nice _ there was a moment when he was sort of four or five years old and we discovered that he had it, he wasn't sure, and he would have his head shaved. but the more he learned to embrace it, the more he learned to love the comments he was getting, the more he grew it and the more... i can't even get him to the hairdressers to get it cut now! he loves it long, which is wonderful. well, that's easier! we've got a nickname for my brother, and it was fluffnut. _ fluffy, fluffyhead, fluffnut! fluffyhead fluffnut?

it's really fluffy. i feel really proud about my hair because it's really rare, and it feels good to be, like, one in a million. it's really amazing. the earliest and most complete hebrew bible ever discovered, is to be sold at auction, and is expected to fetch as much as $50 million. the volume — referred to as the codex sassoon — dates back more than 1000 years. london—based auction house sotheby�*s says it is a critical link between the dead sea scrolls and the bible of today. its valuation makes it the most costly historical document or manuscript to appear at auction. rare footage from the 1986 dive that was the first to film the sunken luxury liner titanic has been released. most of this new video has never been made available before. the footage from woods hole oceanographic institution was shot about three kilometres below

the ocean's surface. hello again. it's been a fairly cloudy, murky, wet start to the day for some of us. the clearer skies have been across the north of scotland. we've got this weather front which is sinking steadily southwards clearing, but then later in the day we've got this next weather front coming our way. so a lot of cloud, brightening up, though, as the rain clears away across east wales, the midlands, east of the pennines and later east anglia and the southeast. and at the same time we've got more rain coming in across northern ireland and western scotland. but once again today it's going to be a mild day across the board with temperatures 7—14 degrees. now, this evening and overnight, a rapidly deepening area of low pressure crosses us, taking some heavy and persistent rain across northern ireland and scotland. sinking slowly south is a weaker feature,

but the winds will really be strengthening and by the end of the night we'll have severe gales across the west and the north of scotland, and it's going to be a mild night. so that's how we start tomorrow, with this deep area of low pressure pushing away. you can see from the isobars it's still going to be windy in the north, less so in the south. this weather front sinking south, producing some patchy rain. so we're going to have gusts, 60—80 miles an hour, so gales, severe gales across the north and the west of scotland. and down the east coast, down towards the east of the pennines and north—east england, gusts, 50—70 miles an hour. there's the potential for disruption of course from this, and also the potential for some damage. you're likely to find some delays and also potentially power cuts, so bridges may well have restrictions on them, ferry crossings cancelled, that kind of thing. as we go through the day, our weather front sinks south, taking its cloud across the rest of england and wales with some patchy light rain. clearer skies follow on behind. cooler air comes into the north so the showers will be wintry on the tops of the hills. but further south we are still looking at double figures, 11 to about 1k degrees.

heading on into saturday, our rain pushes away, then there'll be a lot of cloud left in its wake. we'll still see some wintry showers at lower levels in the northern isles and the tops of the hills as far south as the lake district. and still relatively mild. it's not really until we get towards the middle of next week that they start to slide away and before then we'll have periods of cloud, there will be some rain and strong winds across the northwest.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 11: british gas owner centrica reports record profits, earning £3.3 billion in 2022. the search begins for a new first minister of scotland — after the shock announcement that nicola sturgeon is standing down. the shadow home secretary, yvette cooper, says that the actions of lancashire police were "very unusual", after the force disclosed that nicola bulley suffered "some significant issues with alcohol". a new way of screening 999 calls will be introduced in england, in an effort to speed up ambulance response times. thousands of severely disabled children's lives are at risk

because of long waits for ambulances, doctors warn. # i can rub and scrub this house until it's shining just like a dime #. and tributes for the hollywood film starand model, raquel welch, who's died at the age of 82. the energy giant, centrica, which owns british gas, has reported huge profits of £3.3 billion last year, more than triple those of 2021. the increase is largely down to the surge in energy prices because of the war in ukraine. british gas has recently been criticised for entering the homes

of vulnerable customers to force—fit prepayment meters. our business correspondent theo legett gave us the background of energy companies' recent record profits. centrica is not alone here, one of a number of energy companies producing record profits at the moment. we heard from bp and shell last week, much the same picture. that led to renewed call for windfall taxes to be increased. the uk does have a windfall tax, the energy profits levy, and from the 1st of january, that is 35%, applicable to profits generated in this country, but some environmental groups, some opposition politicians say that is simply not enough with the size of these profits, basically unearned, the result of the oil and gas prices going up, a feeling that perhaps these companies should be paying more and we are likely to see renewed calls for that to happen. ruth london is the co—founder of fuel poverty action. is that the sort of thing you are

going to be calling for as a result of this roof?_ going to be calling for as a result of this roof? , �* , .., of this roof? yes we've been calling for windfall— of this roof? yes we've been calling for windfall tax _ of this roof? yes we've been calling for windfall tax is _ of this roof? yes we've been calling for windfall tax is to _ of this roof? yes we've been calling for windfall tax is to be _ of this roof? yes we've been calling for windfall tax is to be increased i for windfall tax is to be increased massively for a long time. they could not reflect the massive hype thatis could not reflect the massive hype that is going on where basically, the money that people need to keep warm and feed our children is being taken by these companies, and being used to fund individuals bonuses. people are only bonuses that are more than people can expect to earn in their lifetime. 0ne more than people can expect to earn in their lifetime. one year, just as a bonus. the dividends going to private individuals to heat their private individuals to heat their private swimming pools, while people are at home and not daring to put on the heating on all winter. that is completely unacceptable. the money is also going into further

investment in fossil fuels and fossil fuels are not cheap, they are very polluting and they are destroying the climate that we all depend on. mil destroying the climate that we all deend on. �* , , depend on. all those things might be true, but depend on. all those things might be true. but given _ depend on. all those things might be true, but given the _ depend on. all those things might be true, but given the circumstances i depend on. all those things might be true, but given the circumstances in l true, but given the circumstances in which we are, this profit is a result of transitory factors. if the war were to end tomorrow, prices could drop back quite dramatically. these prices, it's not that they are in to spend more to get the oil out, they can take advantage of it. so long as it is in their hands to decide, we want to take everybody�*s money and use it to invest in polluting climate changing feels and our luxuries, so long as it's in their hands to make that decision, it's not going to work. the

government _ it's not going to work. the government stated - it's not going to work. the government stated its position on windfall tax. the opposition, labour said it would introduce one. we can park that discussion, but what about the practical thing here because anyone looking at those figures would say it's outrageous when i compare this figure to what i'm paying on my fuel bill. but then whatever gas or energy is generated ljy whatever gas or energy is generated by british gas, it's not allowed to sell it to its own customers. that might be a problem in competition, do you think it's a problem? its, 11th do you think it's a problem? a lot of thins do you think it's a problem? a lot of things seem _ do you think it's a problem? lot of things seem impossible until suddenly they are possible, until recently, prepayment meters, the company said we can't do without installing prepayment meters by force in peoples homes. but we said, know you can do without it. water bills are not paid that well. we

went in 2016, 20 british gas agm and read out a letter from a lady who had had people turn up and install a metre, she was disabled and couldn't use it. . , , , , metre, she was disabled and couldn't useit. . ,, ,, , metre, she was disabled and couldn't useit. . , , ,, use it. can i 'ust press this point with you. — use it. can ijust press this point with you, where _ use it. can ijust press this point with you, where do _ use it. can ijust press this point with you, where do you - with you, where do you want the competition or change so that they could actually provide the energy they are generating to their customers? irate they are generating to their customers?— they are generating to their customers? ~ ~' ., , ., , customers? we think there has to be ve ve customers? we think there has to be very very date _ customers? we think there has to be very very date they — very very date they make basic changes in the whole energy market. we are proposing energy fall, which is that every household were to receive free, enough energy, electricity and gas to keep the heat on, to keep the lights on, hot water, things that we actually need. and that would be paid for largely ljy and that would be paid for largely by these profits by the energy

companies and that is part of it. part of it is also, a lot of people think that he should not be in private hands, the competition law has certainly not been working to make sure that people are getting low prices or good service. the way that the electricity prices paid to the price of gas is entirely wrong because electricity is now made by renewable energy which is cheaper than gas, so the whole things need overturning. it's upside down now. people are paying more if they use less energy and pay less if he they use more, that can't be right. thank ou so use more, that can't be right. thank you so much — use more, that can't be right. thank you so much for— use more, that can't be right. thank you so much for your _ use more, that can't be right. thank you so much for your time, - use more, that can't be right. thank you so much for your time, they're l you so much for your time, they're eager to speak to you. the search has begun for the next leader of the scottish national party and first minister of scotland, following nicola sturgeon's surprise decision to stand down yesterday, afterjust over eight

years in power. the snp's national executive committee will meet this evening to draw up a timetable for a leadership race. ms sturgeon plans to remain in office until her successor is elected, and continue on as an msp until at least the next holyrood election. with more on yesterday's events, here's alexandra mackenzie. scotland's first female and longest—serving first minister nicola sturgeon is now preparing to step aside. giving absolutely everything of yourself to this job is the only way to do it. the country deserves nothing less. but in truth, that can only be done by anyone for so long. for me, it is now in danger of becoming too long. # bye—bye, nicola...# across scotland and the political parties, people were quick to react to the surprise resignation. nicola and i didn't agree _ on everything, but in the short time that we did work together, i

i was pleased that we were able to announce two freeports i in scotland, that's joint working between the uk governmentl and the scottish government. those freeports are going to attract investment and create jobs - in scotland, which is great, i and i look forward to working with whoever the new first minister is to continue working _ constructively to deliver i for the people of scotland. one thing you can't doubt is this is someone that is an able politician, someone who has been in politics for 20 years, and that level of service is, of course, worthy of respect and thanks. alex salmond was once a close friend and mentor. now he's a political opponent. the key litmus test is going to be whether the next leader sees the opportunity to redefine the strategy for independence, to broaden the base of the independence campaign, and starts articulating the fundamental case for scottish self—determination. i am not going to say who my preference will be to succeed me. but many are asking that question. one possibility is the deputy first

minister, john swinney, who has done thejob before, or angus robertson, the former snp westminster leader and now constitution secretary. the finance secretary, kate forbes, who is currently on maternity leave, the health secretary humza yousaf, or the mpjoanna cherry, a critic of nicola sturgeon's leadership. nicola sturgeon wanted a referendum this october. when it was blocked by the supreme court, she announced a special conference due in march to discuss the way forward. now a way forward with a new leader. the risk undoubtedly is that the party can't find somebody who can provide it with the kind of leadership that both mr salmond and ms sturgeon have provided it with, can't unite it on the independence strategy, can't appeal to the public, and therefore, as a result, the independence movement goes backwards. nicola sturgeon said she's confident her successor will deliver independence and said this

is the final phase of thatjourney. alexandra mckenzie, bbc news. 0ur scotland correspondent james shawjoins me now. in the building behind you, what has been their reaction, has the mood settled a bit because this seems to genuinely come out of the blue fur many scottish mps? it is genuinely come out of the blue fur many scottish mps?— genuinely come out of the blue fur many scottish mps? it is a strange moment, holyrood _ many scottish mps? it is a strange moment, holyrood is _ many scottish mps? it is a strange moment, holyrood is in _ many scottish mps? it is a strange moment, holyrood is in recess i many scottish mps? it is a strange moment, holyrood is in recess atl many scottish mps? it is a strange i moment, holyrood is in recess at the moment, holyrood is in recess at the moment but he could be absolutely sure that there is a huge amount of activity going on behind—the—scenes. the national executive committee of the snp meets this evening to figure out a timetable as to how to find a replacement for nicola sturgeon. and then the question is, who is going to put themselves forward? who is willing to confront this whole series of difficulties and challenges that the snp and the scottish government have? those reasons, to some extent, why nicola

sturgeon left in the first place. it will be interesting to see who comes forward. there is a range of different candidates from different parts of the party who could take it. they could take it in quite different directions. we will hope to find something more about that in the hours of come. it to find something more about that in the hours of come.— the hours of come. it didn't when the hours of come. it didn't when the majority _ the hours of come. it didn't when the majority of — the hours of come. it didn't when the majority of seats _ the hours of come. it didn't when the majority of seats at _ the hours of come. it didn't when the majority of seats at the i the hours of come. it didn't when the majority of seats at the last l the majority of seats at the last elections for holyrood, although it did better than it did the previous elections, it managed as a minority before. it's currently in a coalition deal with the greens, is that completely accepted across the board that they should be in a coalition? 0r board that they should be in a coalition? or do you think that something coming in fresh might look at things are basic as that again? that's an interesting question and when you look at some of the names that are mentioned as potential leaders, john swinney. 0r angus

robertson, similarly, not as long as john swinney. then you have kate forbes, who is the finance secretary on maternity leave at the moment. she is seen as being young and charismatic but, she has quite a strong christian background on social issues and in terms of the things that are important to the scottish grains, like transgender rights and other issues like that, it's possible that she might not be the mac see eye to eye with them. so if kate forbes was to become the leader of the snp and the next first minister, i think that does raise a question about the feature of that agreement between the snp and scottish greens going forward. let's talk now to the co—leader of the scottish green party, patrick harvey.

is itfair is it fair that you are surprised everybody else?— is it fair that you are surprised eve bod else? , ., everybody else? nobody last forever in olitics everybody else? nobody last forever in politics but _ everybody else? nobody last forever in politics but i _ everybody else? nobody last forever in politics but i think _ everybody else? nobody last forever in politics but i think most _ everybody else? nobody last forever in politics but i think most people i in politics but i think most people expected nicola sturgeon to continue as first minister for certainly the immediate future perhaps, perhaps longer than that. i thought it is worth acknowledging though, it is pretty rare in politics to see a leader stepped down because i think it's the time is right. nicola sturgeon has done this with a degree. sturgeon has done this with a decree. ~ , , ., ,, degree. must be a bit nervous but what comes _ degree. must be a bit nervous but what comes next _ degree. must be a bit nervous but what comes next because - degree. must be a bit nervous but what comes next because you i degree. must be a bit nervous but| what comes next because you have degree. must be a bit nervous but i what comes next because you have had a pretty constructive and collaborative relationship with the current first minister, but the ants mp and there are other

pro—independence parties like yourself. it's perfectly possible that a new leader comes in and says actually, i want to focus on the snp's identity and not on this collaborative approach and the gender recognition legislation, could be an issue on which you clearly take a different view as a party? clearly take a different view as a .a ? ., �* clearly take a different view as a -a ? ., �* , clearly take a different view as a .a ? ., �* , ., clearly take a different view as a -a ? ., �* , ., , , , party? you've mixed up two issues there. party? you've mixed up two issues there- let's _ party? you've mixed up two issues there. let's take _ party? you've mixed up two issues there. let's take the _ party? you've mixed up two issues there. let's take the last _ party? you've mixed up two issues there. let's take the last one i there. let's take the last one first, the gender recognition reform. the bill was passed by the overwhelming majority from the scottish parliament. even the tories as a party used to support it. clearly is one of the issues that put nicola sturgeon on the back foot. i don't think even her supporters would acknowledge it wasn't a problem, she found it a

difficult issue to communicate to the public. i difficult issue to communicate to the ublic. . . , ~ the public. i certainly think there's been _ the public. i certainly think. there's been misinformation the public. i certainly think - there's been misinformation about it and that needs to be challenged. but the idea that if that new first minister would set themselves against the overwhelming majority of parliament and roll over and let the uk devolved the legislation, i don't think that's going to happen. you're quite right to say that the bute house agreement, that of the political agreements, allows either side to talk about it again. i think the the factors that led to that are not just about locking the the factors that led to that are notjust about locking in a pro—independence majority in the majority of a government programme but actually in it needs to challenge the government. scotland has addressed several climate change agreements before that. it is clear

that we need a new set of proposals that we need a new set of proposals that are going to close the gaps between our emissions targets. that challenge is the role that the greens are playing in the government, bringing new fresh thinking to bear on that critically important issue.— thinking to bear on that critically important issue. whether you like it or not or whether _ important issue. whether you like it or not or whether you _ important issue. whether you like it or not or whether you think - important issue. whether you like it or not or whether you think it i or not or whether you think it shouldn't be relevant, given the work of the scottish government and the scottish parliament, it is natural for the snp to be thinking about the next westminster general election. 0n about the next westminster general election. on that question, there are people in the snp saying, one of the things that strengthens the credibility of our case for independence is to be able to say they gas door reserves off the coast of scotland, we won't go back to the old arguments from the 70s, but it still part of the story of scottish identity, is that it's our oil. but the point about it is, that is still a thread in the thinking and that is

something that helps financially and when you think about the green agenda, that is something that you could argue blurs that message. i do could argue blurs that message. i do think you're — could argue blurs that message. i do think you're a _ could argue blurs that message. i if think you're a bit behind on where scottish politics has come to. i know people think that all politics are about uk general elections. but this is about the future of scotland, and that is not going to be oil and gas. d0 scotland, and that is not going to be oil and gas-— scotland, and that is not going to be oil and gas. do you think the snp acce ts be oil and gas. do you think the snp accepts that? _ be oil and gas. do you think the snp accepts that? even _ be oil and gas. do you think the snp accepts that? even a _ be oil and gas. do you think the snp accepts that? even a few _ be oil and gas. do you think the snp accepts that? even a few years i be oil and gas. do you think the snp accepts that? even a few years ago, | accepts that? even a few years ago, the greens — accepts that? even a few years ago, the greens were _ accepts that? even a few years ago, the greens were the _ accepts that? even a few years ago, the greens were the only _ accepts that? even a few years ago, the greens were the only political. the greens were the only political party questioning the idea of oil and gas extraction. scotland's feature is changing, scotland's is going to be about renewable emission, which can help other countries help their emission targets. there is a huge positive future for scotland's economy, based on a green economy and that is the

direction that not only the snp, but all scottish politics by a few dinosaurs on the right wing are doing. dinosaurs on the right wing are doinu. . ~' ,. , dinosaurs on the right wing are doinu. . ~ ,, , . ., dinosaurs on the right wing are doin., ., ~' , . ., ., doing. thank you very much, go to seak to doing. thank you very much, go to speak to you _ doing. thank you very much, go to speak to you again. _ doing. thank you very much, go to speak to you again. we _ doing. thank you very much, go to speak to you again. we will- doing. thank you very much, go to speak to you again. we will more i speak to you again. we will more have on the snp later on bbc news. a new way of screening less urgent ambulance calls is to be introduced in england, to try to improve response times. the focus is on category two calls — which include emergencies such as heart attacks and strokes. but, crews are being asked to review incidents which may not need such a fast response. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes reports. ambulance, is the patient breathing? ambulance call centres have seen record levels of demand in recent months, contributing to some of the worst ever response times. so in london and the west midlands, they have been experimenting with a new way of dealing with calls in an effort to make sure help gets

where it's needed the most. this new system will allow a clinical conversation between a nurse, a paramedic or a doctor and the patient, and between them they will be able to decide whether an ambulance is the best response for that patient, or they are better cared for in a different environment. it does not mean anyone loses their place in the queue. what it does is provide more individualised care for an individual patient. it also allows us to free up the resources for our most vulnerable patients. category two ambulance call—outs make up over half of all emergency calls. they are meant to cover an immediate risk to life, things like a heart attack or stroke, but they also include conditions such as burns, diabetes or headaches, where the severity of the problems can vary enormously and some of which do not always need an immediate response. through having a more detailed conversation with some of those patients, a pilot scheme found around one in five of all category two calls

could be better treated elsewhere and did not need an ambulance. i'm just calling back to follow up on your earlier call... with ten years experience as a paramedic, dave has used the new scheme to help a patient who called 999 after getting a nasty cut on his hand. when i phoned back, he was in a much calmer state, the bleeding had stopped, the pain had subsided somewhat, and i was able to give him advice to make his own way to the urgent care centre to treat his wound, which saved an ambulance but got him the right care that he needed. those running the pilot scheme say that no patients were disadvantaged. some patients even found themselves moved from category two to the most urgent category one. the scheme is now being expanded to all ten ambulance services across england, with the hope it can help improve response times and focus help for those who need it. here in the uk, the labour party's

spokesperson on home affairs — yvette cooper, says that the actions of lancashire police were "very unusual", after the force disclosed that nicola bulley suffered "some significant issues with alcohol" — brought on by struggles with the menopause. the 45 year old disappeared nearly three weeks ago while walking her dog in st michael's on wyre. 0ur correspondent yunus mulla is in st michael's on wyre, and gave us more information on the police's actions. lancashire police took the unusual step of revealing details, private details of nicola bulley, making them public. that was to give us a better understanding of their investigation. what they said was nicola bulley had significant issues with alcohol which had been brought upon by the struggles she had with the menopause, and those struggles had resurfaced in recent months. what they also said was that police and professionals had been called to her home just last month with concerns for welfare but no arrest had been made and that

incident is being investigated. that is why they revealed these new details, they said there is a lot of speculation out there and they wanted to give an insight into their investigation and why she was high—risk on the start of this investigation. earlier, zoe billingham — who's the former inspector of her majesty's constabulary — gave us her reaction to the actions of lancashire police. this was truly bad to give out private information 20 days into investigation, how would the earth is this going to help the police and their bread to bring nicola home? and if it was relevant in any point in the investigation, why wasn't it released in an appropriate way without going into all that personal

detail much earlier on? and it caused me to think, why are the police releasing this information in this way now? it's either out of panic or a deliberate decision on the part of the force to think about how they can maintain their reputation and that's quite disturbing on so many fronts. if you look at the chronology of yesterday, the senior investigating 0fficer, the senior investigating officer, who i thought it a really good job at the conference to explain where the police have got to. she specifically refused to answer questions about the details relating to nicola that have now come in to public domain. it was only a few hours later that the police force, lancashire police, decided to put information out there. they did that job during the day to try and dispel the myths, and that is why it was so extraordinary that later on during the day, there is information relating to very private matters,

people are asking rightly, how does a reproductive status of the women who's gone missing relate to the bed to find her and with that same question, whether same information be put into the public domain if she were a man? it is difficult to raise these situations, but we have to think about public confidence here. watch the police have done set is an incredibly unusual president. if my mum or my granny, or my sister went missing now, iwould be thinking, what private information relating to them that may not be at or revenant to make go into the public domain? i think that the police need to step forward and not talk about the details of the investigation but give the public some reassurance that the force is managing this whole issue in the right way. in the last hour, the shadow home secretary yvette cooper was asked how concerned

she is about the handling of the disappearance of nicola bulley. obviously, i think there are concerns because the information that they sent out was very unusual for them to do so and i would want to know more from lancashire police about the reasons for doing this. i do think the most important thing right now is to support nicola's family and also to support the ongoing investigation so that they can find out what happened. hollywood star raquel welch, who will be remembered as an international sex symbol in the 1960s, has died aged 82, following a brief illness. the actor is often credited with breaking the mould for modern day action heroines. 0ur media and arts correspondent david sillito looks back at her life and career. raquel welch did not expect anyone

to remember what she thought was just a silly dinosaur movie. but one million years bc, with its giant malevolent turtles, poor grasp of evolution and prehistoric bikinis, turned raquel welch into a star of teenage bedrooms across the world. "in one fell swoop, everything about the real me was," she said, "swept away." # you make me feel so young... it was pretty clear how she was being marketed. coffee ? in bedazzled, she was given the role of lilian lust. it's strong and black and sweet. in public, she played the role. but she said she had little control over her career. now, listen here, boys. i used to be a square... she was bornjo raquel tejada, the daughter of a bolivian engineer, and her heart was really lay

in song and dance. light—hearted, old school glamour. a lot of people want to be great artists. i don't know that i'm capable of being that, but i hope i entertain a few people. the producer behind many of her projects was the man she married in 1967, film producer patrick curtis. it would be fair to say she was better known than many of her films. never again will i let you go into such terrible danger. but she did win a golden globe for the three musketeers. # i can rub and scrub this house and it's shining just like a dime... and on stage and television, she got a chance to show off her song and dance skills. # you got the shake and i got the shimmy... raquel welch had set out wanting to be ginger rogers, and ended up being defined by a doeskin bikini.

now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. under some clear skies across the north of scotland last night we saw some fabulous pictures of the northern lights, and it's here we are seeing the lion's share of the sunshine today. for the rest of us, it's cloudy, it's quite murky. the rain clearing leaving us with some dry conditions and some brightness developing. but by the end of the afternoon, further rain will be coming in across northern ireland and western scotland. once again today, it's going to feel mild. now this rain will sweep across scotland and northern ireland through the course of the night. it will be heavy. it's a deepening area of low pressure crossing scotland, and with it are going to come strengthening winds. by the end of the night we'll have severe gales across the north and west and it's going to be a very mild night. tomorrow we start off with these severe gales across the north and the west of scotland. windier inland and down the east coast and north—east of england we are looking at gales and severe gales as well. further south, for a bit of cloud,

one or two spots of rain and temperatures up to 15.

hello, this is bbc news with shaun ley. the headlines: british gas owner centrica reports record profits — earning £3.3 billion in 2022. the search begins for a new first minister of scotland. the rules will be agreed tonight by the snp executive following the resignation of nicola sturgeon. a new way of screening 999 calls will be introduced in england, in an effort to speed up ambulance response times. the shadow home secretary, yvette cooper, says that the actions of lancashire police were "very unusual", after the force disclosed that nicola bulley suffered "some significant issues with alcohol". thousands of severely disabled children's lives are at risk because of long waits

for ambulances, doctors warn. sport and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's paul. good morning. it's been a great opening day for england's cricketers, in the first test in new zealand. thanks to some strong batting and then a clever piece of captaincy from ben stokes. the stars with the bat were ben duckett, with 84 and harry brook making 89 as the more estabished stars around them struggled. england captain ben stokes, then made the decision, to declare on 325 for 9 after a flurry of late evening england wickets. he was looking to take advantage of the fading light and it paid off. 0llie robinson and then james anderson took wickets. the hosts 37—3 at the close.

so, england well placed. new zealand trail by 288. as we mentioned ben duckett and harry brook top scoring for england after traditional big—hitters ben stokes and joe root failed to make their usual impact. neil wagner impressing with the ball for new zealand with four wickets. devon conway is unbeaten on 17, but as you can see england inflicting damage on the new zealand openers ahead of day two. england women's rugby players are now entitled to 26 weeks' fully—paid maternity leave as well as funds for children to travel to games with them. the new rugby football union policy is being hailed as a "game—changing moment" for women in the sport. the move will normalise motherhood", according to pregnant lock abbie ward, while england prop vickii cornborough says the policy will make the sport "move inclusive". she's played a key role in the new policy which has drawn inspiration from new zealand's

women's team, the black ferns. the development of the women's professional game is a journey and everything can't always happen at once. it has taken us three years or so to get to this point where we are fully launching it. it can only be celebrated and i think it's a really fantastic thing that the rpa and the players in consultation throughout the whole process have achieved. the financial concerns impacting the men's game in wales remain unresolved with rugby bosses saying there is no room for manoeuvre when it comes to budgets for player contracts. 0spreys' head coach toby booth says he understands the player's concerns, but is backing their resilience. possible strike action is one option on the table, at a meeting of the body representing players in wales next week, after proposed wage cuts, but those at wales' four professional teams — scarlets, dragons, 0spreys and cardiff — insist their complaint is around the uncertainty over their immediate futures.

bbc wales understands as many as 70 regional players are out of contract at the end of this season. we keep looking backwards for answers and the answer is not behind us, they are in front of us, so the one thing we got to change before we get into the detail is that the attitude is we have to change now because it's got to a breaking point. 12 months ago we talked about this, but the definition of insanity it means surely we've got to a point where we have to realise that what has gone on before has not worked. it's a huge day in rugby league with the start of the new men's, super league season. it kicks off later, with last year's beaten grand finalists leeds rhinos, looking to go one better with head coach rohan smith, starting his first full year in charge. they go to warrington wolves with both sides, deny defending

champions st helens a fifth super league title in a row. it hasn't really felt like the group has been fully together yet. we got three or four blokes still in rehab that haven't got to team training yet so when they come, it will be another stage of our progression as another stage of our progression as a team and like tony said, it's a bit unknown in the first period at least. there will be some highs and lows as the year goes and hopefully we get enough decent results to be competing later on. that's all the sport for now. more sport later. more now on the search for the next leader of the scottish national party and first minister of scotland following nicola sturgeon's surprise decision to stand down yesterday afterjust over eight years in power. the snp's national executive committee will meet this evening to draw up a timetable for a leadership race.

let's talk now to the scottish national party mp for gordon, richard thomson. it's worth reminding people at home that the snp is the third—largest party at westminster which is a reminder as to why people listening around the uk beyond those in scotland, who ends up leading the party matters. are you expecting quite a crowded field? i party matters. are you expecting quite a crowded field?— quite a crowded field? i honestly don't know _ quite a crowded field? i honestly don't know at — quite a crowded field? i honestly don't know at this _ quite a crowded field? i honestly don't know at this stage. - quite a crowded field? i honestly. don't know at this stage. certainly there are a few runners and riders who are touted but it's very early. the first minister only announced her intention to resign yesterday so i think there will be a few people in the party taking soundings with their family, in the party taking soundings with theirfamily, friends in the party taking soundings with their family, friends and in the party taking soundings with theirfamily, friends and colleagues just to see what level of support they have and i would expect more than one candidate to come forward but as to how crowded that field will be, i think but as to how crowded that field will be, ithink it but as to how crowded that field will be, i think it will thin out as the party has discussions but i

would certainly expect a contest. is it unsettling? because in a sense, alex salmond was here for years, nicola sturgeon for the last eight years, it's not a criticism, just an observation, now it feels like there is nobody immediately who people will think, it's obviously going to be that person or those people. i've heard half a dozen names over the last 2a hours. i heard half a dozen names over the last 24 hours-— last 24 hours. i think that's a good thin. last 24 hours. i think that's a good thing- very — last 24 hours. i think that's a good thing. very clearly, _ last 24 hours. i think that's a good thing. very clearly, nicola - last 24 hours. i think that's a good l thing. very clearly, nicola sturgeon was the person to take over from alex salmond. i was reminded on twitter last night it has been 19 years since the snp last had a leadership election. i've been in the party for nearly 30 years now and it will still be quite a novel experience and even given how long the truth i am. but i don't think

it's unsettling at all —— given how long in the tooth i am. it shows the breadth and depth of talent that is available across our parliamentary groups. i think it's a good opportunity for people to set their stall is out, an opportunity for a genuine debate amongst the membership about how they would like to see the party progress. presumably mps cannot stand, you've got to be an msp to be eligible. i could almost exclusively reveal if i hadn't done yesterday, it's not going to be me! there is no strict rule, whoever leads the party, there is an expectation it would be the first minister so we are looking in hollywood rather than elsewhere. let me ask you a strategic but important question, particularly for somebody like you who is defending a majority

of 819 over the conservatives which she won in 2019. what did you make of the first minister's statement that the next general election should be a referendum on independence? in other words, should be a referendum on independence? in otherwords, it should be about the independence question? i wonder how uneasy that would make a person like you sitting in a marginal seat which you would only have one by winning over people who previously voted one of the unionist parties if you were only talking about independence in that campaign although that was predominantly the message the party were sending. it’s predominantly the message the party were sending-— were sending. it's about ballot boxes and _ were sending. it's about ballot boxes and if _ were sending. it's about ballot boxes and if the _ were sending. it's about ballot boxes and if the politics i were sending. it's about ballot boxes and if the politics are i were sending. it's about ballot i boxes and if the politics are right at any election you win and if they are not you don't.— at any election you win and if they are not you don't. with the politics be riaht if are not you don't. with the politics be right if you _ are not you don't. with the politics be right if you did _ are not you don't. with the politics be right if you did that? _ are not you don't. with the politics be right if you did that? i - are not you don't. with the politics be right if you did that? i would i be right if you did that? i would have no fears _ be right if you did that? i would have no fears facing _ be right if you did that? i would have no fears facing the - be right if you did that? i would i have no fears facing the electorate on that message but i think any plebiscite election is not as good as a referendum where it is on that single issue so there are a number

of problems and that's why we pursue the referendum route and i think that's still the best way, the democratic way, the way the people of scotland have expressed a preference to go. but of scotland have expressed a preference to go.— of scotland have expressed a preference to go. of scotland have expressed a reference to no. �* . ., , , preference to go. but that has been ruled out by — preference to go. but that has been ruled out by the _ preference to go. but that has been ruled out by the supreme _ preference to go. but that has been ruled out by the supreme court. it i ruled out by the supreme court. it said they cannot do that so it's only going to happen if the uk government gives permission. the tories want to do it, labour's position is it wouldn't do it if it was in government. you could see why she could argue that this is the only way the snp is going to get that opportunity. i only way the snp is going to get that opportunity-— only way the snp is going to get that opportunity. i think the point that opportunity. i think the point that would be _ that opportunity. i think the point that would be wise _ that opportunity. i think the point that would be wise to _ that opportunity. i think the point that would be wise to consider i that opportunity. i think the point that would be wise to consider is | that would be wise to consider is whatever democratic opportunity is used to test support for independence, whatever route you take, you want to be in a position where you are notjust going to squeak it but are going to win it convincingly such that everybody can accept the result. i don't believe in super majorities because plus one

is enough but fundamentally, we are looking at opinion polls but support for independence is roughly about 50%. i think there's a biggerjob, rather than worrying about the route we take at this stage, there is a more important and compelling job to actually get out there and have those discussions with voters in scotland about why the constitution of scotland is linked to the condition of scotland and why we would be much better with a sovereign parliament with all those powers of independence and also, incidentally, about why if we want to see scotland back at the heart of the european mainstream, after being ripped out of that by the conservatives, the labour party has no intention of putting scotland back there so in terms of how independence can meet our aspirations, that's the discussion we should be going out there and having to build support and if the opportunity does come we will be ready. is opportunity does come we will be read . , ., .,

opportunity does come we will be read. , ., ., ready. is it fair to say, tell me if i'm ready. is it fair to say, tell me if i'm putting _ ready. is it fair to say, tell me if i'm putting words _ ready. is it fair to say, tell me if i'm putting words into _ ready. is it fair to say, tell me if i'm putting words into your i ready. is it fair to say, tell me if i i'm putting words into your mouth, to be clear, will you be looking for a candidate who perhaps can communicate and articulate that better, maybe go out and sell that measure to the unconvinced and the sceptical better than nicola sturgeon was able to do? i think nicola sturgeon _ sturgeon was able to do? i think nicola sturgeon was _ sturgeon was able to do? i think nicola sturgeon was a _ sturgeon was able to do? i think| nicola sturgeon was a formidable advocate and has taken that message to more people... but advocate and has taken that message to more people...— to more people... but she didn't shift the percentage _ to more people... but she didn't shift the percentage showing i shift the percentage showing consistently in the opinion polls that people supported independence beyond the independence referendum a decade ago and there have been some suggestions that it has slipped back slightly. i suggestions that it has slipped back sliuhtl . ~' , suggestions that it has slipped back sliuhtl . ~ , ., slightly. i think there is a narrative _ slightly. i think there is a narrative and _ slightly. i think there is a narrative and some i slightly. i think there is a narrative and some wishl slightly. i think there is a - narrative and some wish fulfilment going on in the quarters that is coming from. there is no doubt the support for independence is higher thanit support for independence is higher than it was in 2014, there is no doubt that more people are receptive to that message now. i think nicola sturgeon was a formidable advocate who took that message to people who were not previously receptive so times move on and i think what we

need is somebody who is able to, as you say, articulate that message well and take us into the commanding position in terms of support for independence which is going to be necessary, whichever route the party decides it wishes to take.— decides it wishes to take. richard thompson. _ decides it wishes to take. richard thompson. mp — decides it wishes to take. richard thompson, mp for _ decides it wishes to take. richard thompson, mp for gordon, i decides it wishes to take. richard thompson, mp for gordon, thank decides it wishes to take. richard i thompson, mp for gordon, thank you for your time. thompson, mp for gordon, thank you for your time-— more on centrica's gigantic profits now. centrica owns british gas and made £3.3 billion last year. simon francis from the "end fuel poverty coalition" spoke to us about what changes he wants to see in the energy market. clearly a collective responsibility in the way that the market is structured at the moment is that we need energy firms, the regulator, the government to work together to urge them to speak to the people who are working with charities, so members of the end fuel poverty coalition, the warm winter campaign, these people are working on the front line dealing with these issues and have also come up with proposals

for things such as a social tariff which reduces the tariff for vulnerable households or a basic band of energy that everyone gets for free with people who go above that paying a slightly more to subsidise it. there's lots of interesting ways the energy firms in the government could work together to create a system that is better for consumers and fader for the most vulnerable. richard neudegg is the director of regulation at the price comparison service uswitch.com. that's the question everybody at home will be asking if they had to be a customer of british gas, they will be grumbling and saying, how can i do anything about this? the answer at the moment is presumably not much. . �* , answer at the moment is presumably not much. . �*, ., , �* not much. that's the trouble we've had for well _ not much. that's the trouble we've had for well over _ not much. that's the trouble we've had for well over a _ not much. that's the trouble we've had for well over a year, _ not much. that's the trouble we've had for well over a year, that i not much. that's the trouble we've had for well over a year, that you | had for well over a year, that you are stuck with the price is currently set with the government and its more or less impossible to actually move around supplier or decide if you want to fix your price and get more certainty for a certain

period of time and it's difficult when you are seeing these really large profits coming from those that are involved in that wholesale end of the market. the good news is we are starting to see the tide turning in what those wholesale prices are, the things that are going to cause these bills to rockets. they look like they are coming down now which means the big question is how much legacy have we got over those temporary interventions when we had this crisis? how soon can we get those out of the way and get those prices flowing through onto our bills? white even allowing for that transitory thing, lots of people were saying even before the invasion of ukraine that the energy market was broken. we've had a series of companies are throwing in the towel and effectively their customers, somebody has to provide the energy and it ends up becoming closer to a monopoly when people look at figures like this and there really are some fundamental questions. i was

mentioning something our economics team told us, the retail side of british gas, which doesn't make much money, but a centrica cannot sell the gas it generates to its own customers because that would be a breach of competition laws which given the state of the market at the moment sounds barmy. the energy market has been broken in different forms and the trouble is we piled on different types of interventions, different types of interventions, different attempts to fix it but it hasn't sold anything —— hasn't solved anything underlying. we need to look at the practical question of how we can get bills down as soon as possible. there are reasons for these different rules and there are these different rules and there are these different rules and there are these different problems but at the moment you cannot even choose your supplier, you can't say you disagree with the practices are customer service and you're going to take your custom elsewhere, even if centrica could offer cheaper prices, how is it fair that only centrica's customers would benefit? it's gotta be something we can make available

to everyone. there are a bunch of rules and things that have been put in place to try and hold the industry together through the crisis and what that has ended up doing is protecting companies like centrica and the others that have remained in the market. the question is, do they still require those same levels of protection? things that basically dis— incentivise them from offering cheaper subsidies to other customers and this incentivises them from upping their game on customer services —— disincentivises them from providing better customer services. they are not offering things like fixed—price options, more certainty and ways to vote with their feet when things aren't good enough. i their feet when things aren't good enou:h. .., , , their feet when things aren't good enouuh. , , , ., enough. i can see this being an issue in the _ enough. i can see this being an issue in the party _ enough. i can see this being an issue in the party election i issue in the party election manifestos at the next general election which could be a year away, possibly not much more. in the meantime, given there's not much appetite among the political parties

to actually tackle this in the way that may throw up a few winners and losers and there might be winners and losers, is there more that regulation could do? they are subject to independent regulation from government —— independent from government regulation. is there more powers that can be used at their disposable, disposal to discipline these companies? in disposable, disposal to discipline these companies?— disposable, disposal to discipline these companies? disposable, disposal to discipline thesecomanies? . . these companies? in some areas, and makin: these companies? in some areas, and making sure — these companies? in some areas, and making sure we _ these companies? in some areas, and making sure we don't _ these companies? in some areas, and making sure we don't receive - making sure we don't receive terrible things like bad practices on prepayment meters and how direct debits are set, there is a big job there for 0fgem, the regulator, to sort that kind of stuff out and they haven't done a good enough job doing that. on the market side, 0fgem has gone above and beyond and intervened to stop the market from delivering prices so there is a strong argument that on that side, it has basically put a protective ring around supplies which says don't worry,

nobody is going to take your customers and we will make sure you have a decent margin on those customers through our own price cap. there are big questions for 0fgem about whether they have gone too far in protecting suppliers which means they have no incentive to offer better prices. and i agree there is a big question around what government should do and should have targeted support to the more vulnerable which we think it should but in principle should it, or should it try and do stuff for everyone? that doesn't absolve the suppliers from feeling pressure to try and get cheaper prices through as soon as possible. we cannot sit and rely on the government alone because we would be waiting until the election and what happens afterwards. there is no time for that for consumers, bills are extremely high, there's the possibility of cheaper deals and they should get them to customers as soon as possible.

thousands of refugees who fled the war in syria to cross into turkey have arrived at the border hoping to go back to their home country after last week's earthquakes. turkey has said it will allow them to leave for up to six months. nato chiefjens stoltenberg is beginning a two day visit to southern turkey, offering support to the country. the combined death toll in turkey and syria has climbed to more than 41,000, and millions are in need of humanitarian aid. the bbc�*s laura bicker has been to antakya close to the turkish border, where desperate syrian families continue to arrive. the last time these syrian families crossed this border, it was with dreams of a better life. their homeland has been ripped apart by a civil war. their new life in turkey lies in ruins after the earthquake. so once again, they are

on the move, carrying whatever they have left. reem has lived in antakya for nine years. her children were born there, but she believes hostility towards syrians in her host country is worse since the quake. translation: we've lost our house. i we try to find another place to stay. but they kept chasing us away, asking us to return to syria. should i stay in the street with my children? where should we go? the turkish government has said syrians can come back within two months. but many ask, what do they have to come back to? this is a broken city, full of loss and fallen concrete. it's no longer a home. those who choose to stay have nowhere else to go. ahmed knows there's little here for him and his family, but he's nothing left in syria. he's stuck. translation: | think |

about the children a lot, about their situation and what will happen to them. when it's dark, their night turns into terror. ifearfor them more than i do myself. it is rare, but survivors are still being found. 74—year—old shamil was found alive 226 hours after the earthquake struck. earlier today, three people were rescued from within this rubble. two were children. and tonight, they believe there are signs of life in that building and they are continuing to work away, which shows that even amid the amount of human despair we've seen in the last ten days, there's still sign of light. laura bicker, bbc news in antakya. hundreds of angry residents gathered in a small town in the us state of ohio to demand assurances about their health after a train derailed, spilling toxic chemicals and spreading a gas cloud. the train — which crashed almost two weeks ago — had been carrying vinyl chloride,

which can cause cancer. nomia iqbal was at the meeting in ohio. a meeting hasjust wrapped up here in the town hall where residents got together to try and get some answers. they are angry, upset and fearful. one woman said, "do not portray us as some small, poor community." another woman said to me that she believes that if this had happened in a bigger city in america, they would be getting answers. they want to know why did a train carrying chemical toxins pass through their town without any warning. they tell me they are too scared to drink the water, even though officials here say it is safe. they say their pets have fallen ill, they feel ill, their houses are of no value, and so they want to get down to the bottom of it. what's made it worse for many of them is that the train company, norfolk southern, which owns the train, didn't show up here, their representatives. they said it was out of fear of their safety,

which has really angered residents. the firm has provided a fund of more than $1 million to help people, but everyone here is worried about the long—term effects when it comes to the environment and their health. the earliest and most complete hebrew bible ever discovered, is to be sold at auction, and is expected to fetch as much as $50 million. the volume — referred to as the codex sassoon — dates back more than 1,000 years. london—based auction house sotheby�*s says it is a critical link between the dead sea scrolls and the bible of today. its valuation makes it the most costly historical document or manuscript to appear at auction. this bible was written in the year 900, approximately the year 900, and this has been confirmed by both carbon dating analysis, which was done in the last years, as well as by scholars who have studied this manuscript and have confirmed it through paleographical and codicological research.

now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. it's been a fairly cloudy, murky, wet start to the day for some of us. the clearer skies have been across the north of scotland. we've got this weather front which is sinking steadily southwards clearing, but then later in the day we've got this next weather front coming our way. so a lot of cloud, brightening up, though, as the rain clears away across east wales, the midlands, east of the pennines and later east anglia and the southeast. and at the same time we've got more rain coming in across northern ireland and western scotland. but once again today it's going to be a mild day across the board with temperatures 7—14 degrees. now, this evening and overnight, a rapidly deepening area of low pressure crosses us, taking some heavy and persistent rain across northern ireland and scotland. sinking slowly south is a weaker feature, but the winds will really be strengthening and by the end of the night we'll have severe gales across the west and the north

of scotland, and it's going to be a mild night. so that's how we start tomorrow, with this deep area of low pressure pushing away. you can see from the isobars it's still going to be windy in the north, less so in the south. this weather front sinking south, producing some patchy rain. so we're going to have gusts, 60—80 miles an hour, so gales, severe gales across the north and the west of scotland. and down the east coast, down towards the east of the pennines and north—east england, gusts, 50—70 miles an hour. there's the potential for disruption of course from this, and also the potential for some damage. you're likely to find some delays and also potentially power cuts, so bridges may well have restrictions on them, ferry crossings cancelled, that kind of thing. as we go through the day, our weather front sinks south, taking its cloud across the rest of england and wales with some patchy light rain. clearer skies follow on behind. cooler air comes into the north so the showers will be wintry on the tops of the hills.

but further south we are still looking at double figures, ii to about 14 degrees. heading on into saturday, our rain pushes away, then there'll be a lot of cloud left in its wake. we'll still see some wintry showers at lower levels in the northern isles and the tops of the hills as far south as the lake district. and still relatively mild. it's not really until we get towards the middle of next week that the temperatures start to slide away and before then we'll have periods of cloud, there will be some rain and strong winds across the northwest.

this is bbc news. the headlines... british gas owner centrica reports record profits — earning £35 billion in 2022. the search begins for a new first minister of scotland — after the shock announcement that nicola sturgeon is standing down. thousands of syrian refugees arrive at the turkish border — as they try to cross back into their home country after last week's earthquakes. residents near the site of a toxic train derailment in ohio demand assurances about their health. # i can rub and scrub this house until it's shining just like a dime #. and — tributes for the hollywood film star and model raquel welsh — who's died at the age of 82.

the energy giant, centrica — which owns british gas — has reported huge profits of £35 billion last year — more than triple those of 2021. the increase is largely down to the surge in energy prices because of the war in ukraine. british gas has recently been criticised for entering the homes of vulnerable customers to force—fit prepayment metres. richard neudegg is the director of regulation at the price comparison service uswitch.com — i asked him earlier if there's anything that disgruntled customers can do.

it's more or less impossible to actually move around supplier or decide if you want to fix your price and get more certainty for a certain period of time and it's difficult when you are seeing these really large profits coming from those that are involved in that wholesale end of the market. the good news is we are starting to see the tide turning in what those wholesale prices are, the things that are going to cause these bills to rocket. they look like they are coming down now which means the big question is how much legacy have we got over those temporary interventions when we had this crisis? how soon can we get those out of the way and get those prices flowing through onto our bills? even allowing for that transitory thing, lots of people were saying even before the invasion of ukraine that the energy market was broken. we've had a series of companies are throwing in the towel and effectively their customers, somebody has to provide the energy and it ends up becoming closer to a monopoly when people look at figures like this

and there really are some fundamental questions. i was mentioning something our economics team told us, the retail side of british gas, which doesn't make much money, but centrica cannot sell the gas it generates to its own customers because that would be a breach of competition laws which given the state of the market at the moment sounds barmy. the energy market has been broken in different forms and the trouble is we piled on different types of interventions, different attempts to fix it but it hasn't solved anything underlying. we need to look at the practical question of how we can get bills down as soon as possible. there are reasons for these different rules and there are these different problems but at the moment you cannot even choose your supplier, you can't say you disagree with the practices or customer service and you're going to take your custom elsewhere,

even if centrica could offer cheaper prices, how is it fair that only centrica's customers would benefit? it's got to be something we can make available to everyone. there are a bunch of rules and things that have been put in place to try and hold the industry together through the crisis and what that has ended up doing is protecting companies like centrica and the others that have remained in the market. earlier we spoke with ruth london, the co—founder of fuel poverty action. she told us she wants to see basic changes in the energy market. we think there have to be very basic changes and an overhaul in the whole energy market, we are proposing energy market, we are proposing energy for all which is every household would receive free, enough energy, electricity and gas to keep the heat on, keep the lights on, hot water, things they actually need and that would be paid for by these profits from the energy companies. that is part of it. part of it also,

people think it shouldn't be in private hands. the competition law has certainly not been working to make sure that people are getting low prices or good service. the way that the electricity prices paid to the price of gas is entirely wrong because electricity is now made by renewable energy which is cheaper than gas, so the whole things need overturning. it's upside down now. people are paying more if they use less energy and pay less less if they use more, that can't be right. let's talk to our business editor, simonjack. how should we read these figures? centre is effectively two different companies, the company gets gas out of the grounds and generate electricity through both gas, nuclear and renewables and that company made tonnes of money, a sickly that accounted for 98% of the £3.73 sickly that accounted for 98% of the £35 billion we saw today. there is the retail arm which we know is

british gas which made 2% of the prophet, just £72 million, a lot of people say why can't this bid subsidise a bid to bring the price down, it is forbidden by competition law for centrica to sell more cheaply to its own retail arm and insult everyone else otherwise we would all be british gas customers because we would be getting cheaper than that or we would be a shout utility customers because they revealed be able to subsidise, it will destroy competent.- revealed be able to subsidise, it will destroy competent. except there isn't an . will destroy competent. except there isn't any- the — will destroy competent. except there isn't any. the resident _ will destroy competent. except there isn't any. the resident which - isn't any. the resident which is one ofthe isn't any. the resident which is one of the reasons _ isn't any. the resident which is one of the reasons why _ isn't any. the resident which is one of the reasons why it _ isn't any. the resident which is one of the reasons why it is _ isn't any. the resident which is one of the reasons why it is retail - isn't any. the resident which is one of the reasons why it is retail arm l of the reasons why it is retail arm makes little money because radiator is basically deciding how much profit these companies can make. nevertheless there is a big call for windfall taxes on the very profitable bits and that is already coming in. we saw windfall tax is added to oil and gas extraction in the uk waters and they are now paying 75% of all profits made in the uk, you can select tax someone international, this argument came up during bp and shell, this is much more uk focus, so 75% on that.

labour are saying that they paid £1 billion in tax last year centrica and expect to pay 2.5 billion over the next four years on extra taxes. labour say that there's not enough and in particular they are calling for closing down what they call a loophole, what rishi sunak called a deliberate policy at the time, which you can offset new upset in oil and gas in the uk to gas profits which can bring those down and they say they need to put your taxes up and close down that they would call loopholes and that others are called albert. ., ., , , ., albert. you mentioned this billion that they paid _ albert. you mentioned this billion that they paid in _ albert. you mentioned this billion that they paid in tax _ albert. you mentioned this billion that they paid in tax last - albert. you mentioned this billion that they paid in tax last year, - albert. you mentioned this billion that they paid in tax last year, 1.6 billion potentially is the bonus that the chief executive could receive. he was very careful. i don't know if it was that much. 1.6 million. ,, ., , .., don't know if it was that much. 1.6 million. ,, ., , , million. still a significant sum, even set against _ million. still a significant sum, even set against 1 _ million. still a significant sum, even set against1 billion - million. still a significant sum, i even set against1 billion profits, even set againsti billion profits, tax, he must be under a lot of political pressure to find a way not to accept that at a time when

salaries are... people site you are not making profit because of anything you have done, any brain piece of management. the question came u- piece of management. the question came up on — piece of management. the question came up on the _ piece of management. the question came up on the media _ piece of management. the question came up on the media call - piece of management. the question came up on the media call this - came up on the media call this morning and he didn't answer it directly. obviously you will be under a lot of pressure to do that. particularly after the times newspaper uncovered the fact that debt collection agencies were breaking into people's houses to forcibly fit prepayment meters by getting a magistrate at a time when a lot of people are struggling. centrica is one of the few companies that could actually afford not to do that could actually afford not to do that probably and so i expect him to come under some pressure. what is oil and gas industry will sometimes tell you is a few years ago we were losing billions and no one offered to subsidise our losses. nevertheless it is a sensitive time but i do think people should realise there are two businesses here, the oil and gas business and the renewable and nuclear business which is making all the money. the retail arm. there are other people who just do the retail bit, they are not making profit. plenty of them

collapsed last year because the price cap as set did not, it meant they were selling is a lot so they went bust. it is a difficult thing to fix but two different companies, the retail arm not making much money and they are not allowed to subsidise it from the gas and electric, oil profits, nevertheless labour is saying you have to do more to try and get of those profits in order be able to redistribute all that money in a more equitable way. thank you. the search has begun for the next leader of the scottish national party and first minister of scotland, following nicola sturgeon�*s surprise decision to stand down yesterday, afterjust over eight years in power. the snp's national executive committee will meet this evening to draw up a timetable for a leadership race. there hasn't been a leadership election in the snp for 19 years because there hasn't been a contest, the last time around she won the

leadership, i think nobody else stood so obviously it wasn't a contest. ms sturgeon plans to remain in office until her successor is elected, and continue on as an msp until at least the next holyrood election. with more on yesterday's events, here's alexandra mackenzie. scotland's first female and longest—serving first minister nicola sturgeon is now preparing to step aside. giving absolutely everything of yourself to this job is the only way to do it. the country deserves nothing less. but in truth, that can only be done by anyone for so long. for me, it is now in danger of becoming too long. # bye—bye, nicola...# across scotland and the political parties, people were quick to react to the surprise resignation. nicola and i didn't agree _ on everything, but in the short time that we did work together, - i was pleased that we were able to announce two freeports -

in scotland, that's joint working between the uk governmentl and the scottish government. those freeports are going to attract investment and create jobs - in scotland, which is great, i and i look forward to working with whoever the new first minister is to continue working _ constructively to deliver i for the people of scotland. one thing you can't doubt is this is someone that is an able politician, someone who has been in politics for 20 years, and that level of service is, of course, worthy of respect and thanks. alex salmond was once a close friend and mentor. now he's a political opponent. the key litmus test is going to be whether the next leader sees the opportunity to redefine the strategy for independence, to broaden the base of the independence campaign, and starts articulating the fundamental case for scottish self—determination. i am not going to say who my preference will be to succeed me. but many are asking that question. one possibility is the deputy first minister, john swinney, who has done thejob before,

or angus robertson, the former snp westminster leader and now constitution secretary. the finance secretary, kate forbes, who is currently on maternity leave, the health secretary humza yousaf, or the mpjoanna cherry, a critic of nicola sturgeon�*s leadership. nicola sturgeon wanted a referendum this october. when it was blocked by the supreme court, she announced a special conference due in march to discuss the way forward. now a way forward with a new leader. the risk undoubtedly is that the party can't find somebody who can provide it with the kind of leadership that both mr salmond and ms sturgeon have provided it with, can't unite it on the independence strategy, can't appeal to the public, and therefore, as a result, the independence movement goes backwards. nicola sturgeon said she's confident her successor will deliver independence and said this is the final phase of thatjourney. alexandra mckenzie, bbc news.

joining me now is christine grahame, who's member of the scottish parliament for midlothian south, tweeddale and lauderdale, and former deputy presiding officer of the snp. let's talk about the kind of shock to you and your colleagues when this announcement was made yesterday. was it as out of the blue as people suggested?— it as out of the blue as people suggested? it as out of the blue as people sunested? , , , suggested? yes. absolutely. i was actually on — suggested? yes. absolutely. i was actually on an _ suggested? yes. absolutely. i was actually on an online _ suggested? yes. absolutely. i was actually on an online meeting - suggested? yes. absolutely. i was actually on an online meeting with | actually on an online meeting with my staff going over cases and one of them interrupted to say nicola sturgeon is making a statement about her resignation and we thought it was a spoof, we didn't believe it. i was a spoof, we didn't believe it. i was absolutely stunned. i have been in parliament the same length of time as nicola, 2a years. there was no way anybody saw this coming,

absolutely not. i do believe an interesting thing she said, in her resignation speech, tending her resignation, she attended the funeral of her colleague, alan angus, i know this man, a lovely man and person, a campaignerfor years, and person, a campaignerfor years, and she says when she was sitting at his funeral she finally made up of mine. it was the tipping point. i think that was true, she was nearly there when she went to that funeral and so the campaigning he had done and so the campaigning he had done and that no person, know one person is bigger than the movement and i think it is when she made up her mind, hence the hasty press conference on the monday morning and i know your colleagues were woken up about it. we i know your colleagues were woken up about it. ~ . ., ., .,, i know your colleagues were woken up about it. ~ . ., ., ., about it. we all had to open out about it. we all had to open out about something! _ about it. we all had to open out about something! that - about it. we all had to open out about something! that is - about it. we all had to open out about something! that is an - about something! that is an interesting story as a journalist. i pick up on your point, no one is bigger than the movement, because i wonder if one of the lessons of the

last 20 plus years is perhaps some of the arguments about independence have become too focused on the person who is leading the snp or in this case the government, first alex salmond, then nicola sturgeon, in a sense perhaps needs to be more of a team identity for the snp going forward. . . , , team identity for the snp going forward. ,, .,, , ., , , forward. she has been absolutely extraordinary. — forward. she has been absolutely extraordinary, having _ forward. she has been absolutely extraordinary, having been - forward. she has been absolutely extraordinary, having been 16 - forward. she has been absolutely l extraordinary, having been 16 years from deputy first minister, out as first minister, huge contribution during the covid crisis and she was quite extraordinary then. but the trouble is today in politics it is personality politics, the same in westminster. that is the way politicians wanted but it is a way it has moved. i think there is an issue here. yes, we have collective responsibility in cabinet, but i am afraid the media quite like personality politics. i afraid the media quite like personality politics. afraid the media quite like ersonali olitics. ., ., personality politics. i wonder from the oint personality politics. i wonder from

the point of _ personality politics. i wonder from the point of view _ personality politics. i wonder from the point of view of _ personality politics. i wonder from the point of view of the _ personality politics. i wonder from the point of view of the party, - personality politics. i wonder from the point of view of the party, it i the point of view of the party, it is a bit different with nicola sturgeon, i only say this because she is a political leader of the snp, elected so, by constituents, but her husband runs the professional side of the party. that is always going to be difficult, at least this will break with that. that may be the case, that is another issue entirely. but i think her resignation, once i had heard her resignation, once i had heard her speech and began to think back, i spoke to her parents at a conference last year, i don't know how she keeps going, i think covid, those two years, every day when she was having to deal with things and come on and explain, i think eventually that took its toll on her and she has run out of steam. she hasn't got the 100% that she had previously and the person you can

kid and you shouldn't kid is yourself. we have all been there. i am talking to you, i have been there. we all know the hardest thing is to admit to yourself i think it is to admit to yourself i think it is time i had a rest and a change. if other people are relying on you so much. also the fact that she quite frankly, she said she felt that she had become a divisive figure, she wished that when she became the story rather than the story of what she was doing... she is a very able and astute politician and i admire herfor choosing her moment when she felt the time was right for her, for parliament of scotland and the party to step aside. . r' scotland and the party to step aside. ., , ., scotland and the party to step aside. ., ,~' , ., ., scotland and the party to step aside. ., i. ., _ aside. let me ask you a policy question- _ aside. let me ask you a policy question. she _ aside. let me ask you a policy question. she has— aside. let me ask you a policy question. she has come - aside. let me ask you a policyj question. she has come under aside. let me ask you a policy - question. she has come under some criticism over the gender reform bill and perhaps more than the bill itself though some of the difficulty

she got into when she was trying to defend its effects, not least the question of the assignment of trans prisoners in scotland's jail system. i know you had some criticism about the bill anyway. on top of this there is the issue of saying the next general election should be a referendum on independence, a defective referendum because your prospects of having a referendum any other way or blocked without the consent of the uk government, she doesn't see it forthcoming anytime soon under the trees or labour if they win, was a sense somebody needs now to take a fresh look at policy, given that she has been part of the development of it for a quarter of a century? development of it for a quarter of a centu ? , ., . century? first of all the gender recognition _ century? first of all the gender recognition issue, _ century? first of all the gender recognition issue, 82 _ century? first of all the gender recognition issue, 82 msps - century? first of all the gender. recognition issue, 82 msps voted century? first of all the gender- recognition issue, 82 msps voted for it across all parties, so it wasn't her policy, it is a parliament's piece of legislation, two thirds voted for it, so let's put that aside. regarding the other matters,

theissueis aside. regarding the other matters, the issue is the uk government. we have 45 mps at westminster and the tories have six. labour has one. the liberal democrats have four from scotland, what of the message can the scottish people sent. we have an overall majority with the greens in the scottish parliament so the issue really is that the scottish people and the scottish parliament issue... to block a nation simply having a referendum, whether or not about independence is undemocratic and the ultimate lack of democracy in the uk, so i am interested, i don't know whether the conference will proceed. i have no notice otherwise, i think there are issues about logistics and bookings and people and so one coming to it, but it seems very close and perhaps just at the end of a leadership campaign, sol close and perhaps just at the end of a leadership campaign, so i will wait to see what happens whether or not it is that conference, if it goes ahead i will commit, a very

democratic party so we open discussion on that, but as i say i don't know whether it will proceed or not so i will see what the party says. or not so i will see what the party sa s. ., y ., or not so i will see what the party sa s. ., , ., ., ~ ., or not so i will see what the party sa s. ., ,~/ ., ~ ., says. lovely to talk to you. let me brina ou says. lovely to talk to you. let me bring you up-to-date _ says. lovely to talk to you. let me bring you up-to-date with - says. lovely to talk to you. let me bring you up-to-date with the - says. lovely to talk to you. let me i bring you up-to-date with the latest bring you up—to—date with the latest news. the search has begun for a new first minister of scotland. no candidates declared jet to replace nicola sturgeon but they might be waiting for the rules of the contest to be announced tonight. british gas owner centrica post record profits earning £35 billion last year, triple of the previous year. thousands of syrian refugees have arrived at the turkish border desperate to get back to their home country and to try and look for friends and relatives affected by the earthquake last week. more sport now and about england cricket. good afternoon. it's been a great opening day

for england's cricketers, in the first test in new zealand. thanks to some strong batting and then a clever piece of captaincy from ben stokes. the stars with the bat were ben duckett, with 84 and harry brook, here making 89, with some of the more estabished stars around them struggling. england captain ben stokes, then made the decision, to declare on 325—9 after a flurry of late evening england wickets. he was looking to take advantage of the fading light. and it paid off. ollie robinson and then james anderson took wickets, the hosts 37—3 at the close. so, england well placed. new zealand trail by 288. as we mentioned duckett and brook top scoring for england, after traditional big—hitters ben stokes and joe root failed to make their usual impact. neil wagner impressed with the ball for new zealand with four wickets. devon conway is unbeaten on 17, but as you can see england inflicting damage on the new zealand openers ahead of day two.

it is the best time to bow under these lights. i think you can extract the most amount of swing and seam, so why not expose their top order to that, it is the hardest time to bat and we got through the best bowlers to ever play the game, so thankfully we got three wickets. england women's rugby players are now entitled to 26 weeks' fully—paid maternity leave as well as funds for children to travel to games with them. the new rugby football union policy is being hailed as a "game—changing moment" for women in the sport. the move will "normalise motherhood", according to pregnant lock abbie ward, while england team—mate vickii cornborough says the policy will make the sport "move inclusive." she's played a key role in the new policy which has drawn inspiration from the support given to new zealand's women's team — the black ferns. tottenham say manger antonio conte will remain at his family home in italy to "further and fully recover" from his recent gall bladder surgery.

it means he'll miss the london derby at home to west ham on sunday. conte went under the knife two weeks ago and has been back on the sidelines for spurs' last two games. following what's being described as a "routine post—operation" check yesterday in italy. it's now been decided that he will take further time away from the club. cristian stellini will assume first team responsibility. and it's been confirmed that the bbc will be uk athletics' broadcast partner for their 2023 major events series. it means fans will be able to watch the likes of laura muir compete in this weekend's uk athletics indoor championships in birmingham as well as the world indoor tour final, uk athletics championships and the london diamond league injuly, across the bbc. that's tv, the bbc iplayer, as well as the bbc sport website and app. that is over now.

the shadow home affairs secretary, yvette cooper, says that the actions of lancashire police were "very unusual", after the force disclosed that nicola bulley suffered "some significant issues with alcohol" — brought on by struggles with the menopause. the 45—year—old disappeared nearly three weeks ago while walking her dog in st michael's—on—wyre. zoe billingham is the former inspector of her majesty's constabulary. this was truly unprecedented to give out private, personal information 20 days into an investigation, most people would be wondering how on earth is this going to help the police in their bid to bring nicola home? and if it was relevant in any point in the investigation, why wasn't it released in an appropriate way without going into all that personal detail much earlier on?

and it caused me to think, why are the police releasing this information in this way now? it smacked either of panic or even a deliberate decision on the part of the force to think about how they can maintain their reputation, and that's quite disturbing on so many fronts. if you look at the chronology of yesterday, the senior investigating officer, who i thought did a really good job at the conference to explain where the police have got to, she specifically refused to answer questions about the details relating to nicola that have now come in to public domain. it was only a few hours later that the police force, lancashire police, decided to put that information out there. they did thatjob during the day, the press conference to try and dispel the myths, and that is why it was so extraordinary that later on during the day, this information relating to very private matters,

people are asking rightly, how does the reproductive status of a woman who's gone missing relate to the bid to find her and would that same question, would that same information be put into the public domain if she were a man? it is difficult to raise these situations, but we have to think about public confidence here. what the police have done sets an incredibly unusual president. if my mum or my granny, or my sister went missing now, i would be thinking, what private information relating to them that may not be at all relevant might get into the public domain? i think that the chief constable or the police and crime commissioner need to step forward, not talk about the details of the investigation, but give the public some reassurance that the force is managing this whole issue in the right way. the shadow home secretary yvette cooper was asked how concerned she is about the handling of the disappearance of nicola bulley.

obviously, i think there are concerns because the information that they set out was very unusual for them to do so. and i would want to know more from lancashire police about the reasons for doing this. i do think the most important thing right now is to support nicola's family and also to support the ongoing investigation so that they can find out what has happened. our correspondent nick garnett is in st michael's—on—wyre. he has been following this case for quite a while now. let's start with what are the police saying today? has there been any reaction from lancashire police to the concerns expressed by people like zoe billingham and yvette cooper about their decision to release this information as well? his

their decision to release this information as well? no reaction as et. we information as well? no reaction as yet- we have _ information as well? no reaction as yet. we have been _ information as well? no reaction as yet. we have been in _ information as well? no reaction as yet. we have been in touch - information as well? no reaction as yet. we have been in touch with - yet. we have been in touch with lancashire police to ask them for comment and to answer this criticism and they haven't been back to us yet. they say they might be later in the afternoon. this all started because in 20 days of searching the police had held just two news conferences. the senior investigating officer hadn't appeared at either of them, it had been a superintendent who could talk to the media. those conversations with the media had been quite obtuse, i think is a good way of describing it. no real detail at all. they were very admin from the outset that no other person was involved and that no criminality was involved and that no criminality was involved in their search. that was the main thrust of the inquiry. why that was the case they did not say, so yesterday after a lot of criticism about that the senior investigating officer and assistant chief constable of lancashire police gave this a news conference and they talked about there being a status of

high risk missing person based on nicola bulley. they said there were specific vulnerabilities but they didn't go into more details. after that news conference, myself and the number of other journalists that news conference, myself and the number of otherjournalists asked number of other journalists asked the number of otherjournalists asked the media team for more clarification, what they meant. we expected that to be in an off the record briefing. howeverjust before 6pm last night they issued a press release which goes out to all journalists which went into huge amounts of detail, basically relating to alcohol usage by nicola. that took us by surprise and an awful lot of other people by surprise and today there has been criticism. we heard from two politicians already but there is another, conservative mp alicia curran says she has deeply come with the police releasing herbal abilities and is struggling to see how this assist in their search and she said i do see those who would

want to victim blame and diminish how it would assist them. another said what had happened is a serious invasion of her privacy with no obvious benefits for the investigation. the former chief crown prosecutor for the north—west of england said the statement should not have been issued as it gives fuel to victims glimmers, armchair salutes and concerted there is an stella creasy the labour mp said the decision to disclose this level of detail on a missing persons private life with no evidence that this is assisting in finding her is deeply troubling. we have approached lancashire police for more detail and they should be going back to us to explain what happened and why it happened and what it does in terms of helping with the inquiry, which 21 days into the search continues. i am down on the coast, in front of me is morecambe bay, to my right is a river estuary of the river wye and across behind me is fleetwood.

throughout the day the tide has been low so there hasn't been underwater searches going on because it is so low, but we understand that further upstream there have been searches that have been going on over the last few days involving these forces, buggies, and involving officers going around any mud banks at low tide and then when tide comes in later in the afternoon it turns into a water based search where the boats will go up and down searching to see if they can find any sign at all of nicola bulley. i to see if they can find any sign at all of nicola bulley.— all of nicola bulley. i 'ust wanted to ick all of nicola bulley. i 'ust wanted to pick up. * all of nicola bulley. i 'ust wanted to pick up. you h all of nicola bulley. ijust wanted to pick up, you painted _ all of nicola bulley. ijust wanted to pick up, you painted a - all of nicola bulley. ijust wanted to pick up, you painted a very - all of nicola bulley. i just wanted i to pick up, you painted a very vivid picture of what is happening there and what we continue to happen and the police have said the sea is a logical option if they haven't encounter in the river, if they are right about what happened, but just picking up on the statement, i am looking back, you said it is not unusualforjournalists looking back, you said it is not unusual for journalists to looking back, you said it is not unusual forjournalists to be breached off the record, i suppose one good thing to say about all this is a put it in a statement, they have been specific, and in a statement they said it is an unusual step for us to take to go into this level of detail that someone's

private but we felt it was important to clarify what we met when we talked about one abilities to avoid any further speculation or misinterpretation, do you get the impression from that and from what the senior investigating officer was saying yesterday that they feel perhaps particularly on social media rather than because guys like you that there has been an atmosphere created that has almost been hostile to the police and that that in some way has inherited their effectiveness in investigating this case? lancashire police feel they have been on the back foot in terms of the way that this has exploded in social media. i of the way that this has exploded in social media-— social media. i asked a question of the senior investigating _ social media. i asked a question of the senior investigating officer - social media. i asked a question of the senior investigating officer at i the senior investigating officer at the senior investigating officer at the news conference about the specific problem and whether she had seen anything like this before. she said on 29 years of policing she had never seen an explosion in social media on this scale and it is absolutely right, if you go on some

apps there are pages and pages of theory and fake stories and rumours and the police were concerned at the amount of those that were coming out. the family were concerned, relatives and family friends would be concerned about the stories that have been there and i think the police wanted to nip that in the bud but the problem was that this was 20 days after the search started. perhaps it would have been better to come out with that type of information early on and explain the reasons for them saying that nobody else was being sought and that there was no evidence at all of any criminal activity. was no evidence at all of any criminalactivity. it's was no evidence at all of any criminal activity. it's that three weeks' worth of gap that has caused a vacuum to be filled by people on social media breaking into houses nearby, searching as much as they could themselves, doing what one officer called "trying to be one detectives" and that's been the problem, it has caused the problem

for lancashire police —— wannabe detectives. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben. how it looking? the weather is set to go downhill over the next 2a hours and that wind is going to continue to pick up to the point it could course some disruption across northern parts of the uk. tonight and into tomorrow morning. it's because of an area of low pressure that has been named storm otto by the danish weather showers. that's because of the impact is likely to have in denmark but for us it is likely to bring strong winds, not yet, relatively quiet this afternoon with brightness across england and wales, sun for northern ireland in western scotland but after dark those winds are going to start to pick up. across scotland, northern ireland and northern england, some gusty conditions with outbreaks of rain

overnight, a mild night to come but the winds picking through the early part of tomorrow morning, gusts in the north of scotland could reach 80 mph but very gusty to the east of the pennines and it could course travel disruption. the wind is gradually easing through the day but for most of us once again, it will be mild. thank you, ben. more now on the search for the next leader of the scottish national party and first minister of scotland. they will also become the first minister. her decision came as a real shock even to her own party. the national executive of that party meets tonight to draw up the leadership roles and we will see how long the contest takes but didn't come as much of a shock for the opposition parties? let's speak to jamie green msp from the scottish

conservatives. he sits for the constituency of west scotland. was it unexpected for the opposition parties as it has been for the snp? i think it was, it came out of the blue. this is our parliamentary february recess so it's quite a quiet media we usually put the call came out yesterday on social media that there was a news conference hastily arranged in edinburgh and lo and behold, we all had to guess what was going to be said. we thought it was going to be said. we thought it was going to be said. we thought it was going to be about the teacher strikes at the moment in scotland but lo and behold it was the first minister resigning which i think came with quite a mixed response depending on what side of the coin you are on. she's quite marmite character in scotland. she you are on. she's quite marmite character in scotland.— you are on. she's quite marmite character in scotland. she has been a significant — character in scotland. she has been a significant political _ character in scotland. she has been a significant political force. - character in scotland. she has been a significant political force. as - a significant political force. as you develop your political career, it's hard to think of the snp

without nicola sturgeon or alex salmond and yet they will both be gone soon. he's already gone from the party, she will stay as an msp for now. it's going to be a different and potentially an opportunity for the opposition parties. opportunity for the opposition arties. �* opportunity for the opposition arties. . ., , , ., opportunity for the opposition arties. ., , , parties. alex salmond seems to be one from parties. alex salmond seems to be gone from front-line _ parties. alex salmond seems to be gone from front-line politics - parties. alex salmond seems to be gone from front-line politics but i gone from front—line politics but seem to be all over the media at the moment so i'm not sure what he's up to these days. nicola sturgeon and alex salmond famously had quite a very public fallout and that's part of the problem of what we've had over the last decade, a number of scandals that the snp have been mired in whether it is the ferry scandal or the drug death crisis, the nhs or the salmond inquiry, all of which nicola sturgeon was wrapped up of which nicola sturgeon was wrapped up in. i think this has been a long time coming even if it was a surprise when it arrived. it gives us an opportunity to reset the balance of scottish politics. i think the snp have been such a

teflon—coated party for so long it's almost unfathomable at how we could ever break that and i think part of that was nicola sturgeon. she was a polarising and divisive character that you either love or loathe. what we have now is an opportunity for a new first minister to focus on the day job. new first minister to focus on the dayjob. i'm far less interested in who takes over as first minister, what i'm interested in is what their priorities will be. will their priorities will be. will their priorities be day to day public services and using devolved powers to the full or will that new first minister be solely focused on independence and the snp is the last one was? ifear that independence and the snp is the last one was? i fear that the latter may be the case but i hope not. you 'ointl be the case but i hope not. you jointly chair— be the case but i hope not. you jointly chair the _ be the case but i hope not. you jointly chair the lgbt+ group at holyrood. what do you make of the handling of the bill on gender recognition? that's obviously now caught up in the court system but is

there a lesson there for whoever succeeds nicola sturgeon? i there a lesson there for whoever succeeds nicola sturgeon? i think there's a lesson. _ succeeds nicola sturgeon? i think there's a lesson. one _ succeeds nicola sturgeon? i think there's a lesson. one delicate - there's a lesson. one delicate matter, the scottish conservatives had a free vote on the matter because we knew there was a range of opinions within our own party, as was the case with another parties including nicola sturgeon's. the problem is the way nicola sturgeon handled the whole matter by whipping her backbenchers into position on this matter, i think that caused some issues and why there was such a large rebellion. i've never seen such a rebellion in my time in a scottish parliament from her own backbench and i think that might have been part of her downfall, triggering that series of events. the better way to have gone about this would be to take some of the heat out of that debate by allowing people to share what i think were genuine, reasonable concerns about the technical details of the legislation and she should have

allowed her members are free vote which is what we did and i think that paid off but that may have taken some of the heat out of it. i don't think it was the only reason she is gone, there's a whole catalogue of failures and it really is hard to see what nicola sturgeon's legacy is and to find positives in that. i know that will come as upsetting to those who support and like her but it may also come as an upset nicola sturgeon herself because she sought to achieve so much but the question is, did she? ., ~ achieve so much but the question is, did she? ., ,, i. , . achieve so much but the question is, did she? ., ~ ,, , . ., did she? thank you very much for talkin: to did she? thank you very much for talking to us- _ london's annual fashion week will kick off tonight and the charity, oxfam will open the event with a show on sustainability. the charity says sales of second—hand fashion is booming, with sales at their stores the highest in six years. they say their aim is to overturn the narrative that second—hand is second—best. leading tonight's event is stylist and sustainable fashion advocate, bay garnett who joins me now.

nervous? yes! i am nervous but i'm also really _ nervous? yes! i am nervous but i'm also really excited _ nervous? yes! i am nervous but i'm also really excited because - nervous? yes! i am nervous but i'm also really excited because we've i also really excited because we've all worked really hard and it's coming together so i'm really excited. �* , ., coming together so i'm really excited. , excited. it's a good cause. the money will _ excited. it's a good cause. the money will go _ excited. it's a good cause. the money will go not _ excited. it's a good cause. the money will go not just - excited. it's a good cause. the money will go not just to - excited. it's a good cause. the. money will go not just to oxfam excited. it's a good cause. the - money will go notjust to oxfam but the disasters emergency committee for the work going on in turkey and syria right now. hopefully people in the fashion industry should be digging deep. in terms of the message you're trying to get out through notjust the message you're trying to get out through not just the fashion message you're trying to get out through notjust the fashion show but the publicity around it which is about sustainability and fashion, they almost sound like words that are in contradiction to each other. i think they used to be, but i don't think they are any more. i think by buying donated and wearing second—hand clothes, it's a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. i also think there is a beauty in it

as well in that the more that you go to second—hand shops and charity shops, oxfam, you go to oxfam, you buy something, not only are you buying second—hand clothes which is better for the environment and also a really great way to give money to help with humanitarian crises all over the world, so it's a really powerful combination.- over the world, so it's a really powerful combination. there is a lovely phrase — powerful combination. there is a lovely phrase used _ powerful combination. there is a lovely phrase used now, - powerful combination. there is a i lovely phrase used now, pre-loved, lovely phrase used now, pre—loved, which is helping to change perceptions of buying second hand because the perception used to be people buy second—hand clothes because they don't have any other choice, it's an act of desperation, and there was a sense that sometimes you went into a charity shop and there was a rack of clothes and they were all a bit moth—eaten and downtrodden are not very appealing to people. now you walk into charity chops as most of us do on a regular basis and there is a different

atmosphere —— now you walk into charity shops. i wonder if that translates to any improvements in the clothing and fashion industry. yes, and i think what you say is true and that people are... it has changed so much around second—hand in the last five years as i've witnessed it. from being on the fringes of the way that people consume, it's a really active choice now and i think that new bands listen —— new brands listen to it and i think young people who are really active and really feel strongly about climate change and the injustice of it and how serious it is, it is their way of being activists by buying second—hand clothes. activists by buying second-hand clothes. ., ., , . , clothes. you are effectively addressing _ clothes. you are effectively addressing these _ clothes. you are effectively addressing these people, i clothes. you are effectively i addressing these people, who are combining the different things to make the best of the catwalk models

you've got, you got some famous people, have you been wandering around oxfam shops over the country with a carrier bag? sort around oxfam shops over the country with a carrier bag?— with a carrier bag? sort of! there is a big warehouse _ with a carrier bag? sort of! there is a big warehouse so _ with a carrier bag? sort of! there is a big warehouse so it's - with a carrier bag? sort of! there is a big warehouse so it's really i is a big warehouse so it's really fun so i go to big warehouse is and i choose things around that and we do a big edit and it's a team effort from oxfam as well, and then it all comes together, people come for their fittings and it's actually really fun because some people love dressing up, other people want to stay true to their style and it's like a jigsaw puzzle. there is a really good energy around it which is lovely to be around. bar; really good energy around it which is lovely to be around. bay garnett, sustainable — is lovely to be around. bay garnett, sustainable fashion _ is lovely to be around. bay garnett, sustainable fashion curator, - is lovely to be around. bay garnett, sustainable fashion curator, good . sustainable fashion curator, good

luck. thank you very much. thank ou, luck. thank you very much. thank you. bye! — we talked about how some of the money from oxfam is being used to support the disasters and emergency committee's ongoing work against the effects of the earthquake in syria and turkey. the chief of nato is in turkey to express support following the devastating earthquakes ten days ago. the death toll from the disaster which hit turkey and syria stands at more than 41,000. these images were taken in the turkish city of antakya. they give a sense ofjust how many buildings have been destroyed by these earthquakes. as a result, many people have been displaced. they also don't have access to the basics like food and water. now, nato bossjens stoltenberg is visiting turkey because it's a member of the alliance and supplies, like emergency housing, is being flown to the country. he spoke a short time ago.

this is the deadliest natural disaster on alliance territory since the foundation of nato. on behalf of nato, i offer my deepest condolences to the turkish people and the families and loved ones of all those who lost their lives or were injured. the focus going forward will be on reconstruction and supporting the displaced. that's why nato is the setting up temporary housing for thousands of displaced people. in addition, nato will also use our strategic airlift capabilities to transport tens of thousands of tents to turkey in the coming days and weeks. thousands of refugees who fled the war in syria to cross into turkey have arrived at the border hoping to go back to their home country after last week's earthquakes. turkey has said it will allow them to leave for up to six months. the combined death toll in turkey and syria has climbed

to more than 41,000, and millions are in need of humanitarian aid. the bbc�*s laura bicker has been to antakya close to the turkish border, where desperate syrian families continue to arrive. the last time these syrian families crossed this border, it was with dreams of a better life. their homeland has been ripped apart by a civil war. their new life in turkey lies in ruins after the earthquake. so once again, they are on the move, carrying whatever they have left. reem has lived in antakya for nine years. her children were born there, but she believes hostility towards syrians in her host country is worse since the quake. translation: we've lost our house. we try to find another place to stay. but they kept chasing us away, asking us to return to syria. should i stay in the street with my children? where should we go? the turkish government has said syrians can come back within two months.

but many ask, what do they have to come back to? this is a broken city, full of loss and fallen concrete. it's no longer a home. those who choose to stay have nowhere else to go. ahmed knows there's little here for him and his family, but he's nothing left in syria. he's stuck. translation: | think | about the children a lot, about their situation and what will happen to them. when it's dark, their night turns into terror. ifearfor them more than i do myself. it is rare, but survivors are still being found. 74—year—old shamil was found alive 226 hours after the earthquake struck. now, as we've mentioned, the head of nato is in turkey.

but disaster relief isn't the only item onjens stoltenberg's agenda. he is also trying to convince turkey to ratify sweden and finland's accession to nato. applications to join must be approved by all member countries, and ankara isn't yet on board. with me now is our europe regional editor, paul moss. what is the background to this? it was an unusual meeting, the country has had this terrible earthquake and you expect foreign visitors like rescue teams and doctors, instead they getjens stoltenberg and he expressed his sympathy for what happened but we all know the real reason that a military leader is there. he set himself when he talked about sweden and finland joining, "now is the time." he made it clear patience is running out although there were niceties but it seems the foreign minister is not playing

ball. turkey's complaint about sweden is that sweden is allowing, they say, turkish terrorists and kurdish separatists to operate. translation: financing of terrorism and recruits for _ translation: financing of terrorism and recruits for terrorism _ translation: financing of terrorism and recruits for terrorism and - translation: financing of terrorism and recruits for terrorism and also i and recruits for terrorism and also propaganda for terrorism, these were all to he _ propaganda for terrorism, these were all to be eliminated and prevented. the law— all to be eliminated and prevented. the law has been amended but the same _ the law has been amended but the same activities of pkk and ykk are continuing — first of all, it's the tone, he is standing next to jens stoltenberg who has bent over backwards to say, we understand your problems and turkey have suffered more from terrorism than any other nato countries, he's flown that way and

you've got a very firm no. but it's worth bearing in mind sweden has made changes. last month they change their constitution so they could in future stop groups which they think support terrorism from associating but as we heard from the foreign minister, that really wasn't enough and he went on to complain that sweden was allowing pictures of the separatist leader to be displayed. it strikes me there is a bit of a misunderstanding of different political culture there. sweden is a liberal democracy, it's not going to ban people from showing a picture of a political leader and the changes that sweden already made to the constitution were met with quite a lot of opposition inside sweden. you feel a bit sorry for the finns because they are caught up in this and they are not directly in turkey's line of sight but the bottom line is, it's a member of an organisation. either everybody says you can come in or you don't get in.

this is the trouble with many organisations demanding unanimity and it's hard to see where they go from here. there seems to be a huge gap between what sweden thinks it is reasonably doing and what turkey is demanding. antony —— antony blinken is coming to turkey to try to convince the foreign minister's arm. turkey is in the midst of recovery from a dreadful disaster and think this nato thing is important they wouldn't be bothering him at this time. i wouldn't be bothering him at this time. ., ., _, time. i wonder if the forthcoming elections have _ time. i wonder if the forthcoming elections have anything - time. i wonder if the forthcoming elections have anything to - time. i wonder if the forthcoming elections have anything to do i time. i wonder if the forthcoming | elections have anything to do with it. paul moss, thank you. glaciers in the antarctic might be more sensitive to rising sea temperatures than previously thought. using an underwater robot, a team of scientists have been researching the thwaites glacier, which is the size of britain. they've found that warmer water is posing a serious threat to its stability. our climate editorjustin rowlatt was given special access to the expedition.

west antarctica is a challenging place to work. it is the stormiest part of the world's stormiest continent. it took more than a month and more than a dozen flights to get the scientists and their equipment to the front of the glacier. ice hardened ships brought in fuel and other bulky supplies, which were then dragged over the ice in an epic 1000 mild ——1,000—mile overland journey. this was the final destination, a campsite at the point of this vast glacier goes afloat. if we are thinking about what the sea level is going to be like in ten years, this glacier is the place to be. boilers turned snow into water. hot water was used to melt down into the ice. this is a historic moment. the first time anyone has tried to drill down through this glacier. beneath the 600 metres of ice below me is the most

important point of all, the point at which the ice meets the ocean water. for the first time ever, scientists could take measurements under the ice, to the surprise of some local creatures. the sent down a remotely operated robot submarine, packed with scientific instruments. what we could see is that, instead of this kind of flat ice that we had all pictured, there are all kinds of staircases and cracks in the ice that weren't really expected. a team from the british antarctic survey using different instruments also found that the overall melt rate was lower than expected. it shows how sensitive the glacier is to even small changes in sea water temperature. what the results show us is that you do not actually have

to reduce the rate that much to stop fast retreat. so has the glacier past a dipping point where collapse becomes inevitable? our observations do not necessarily tell us that, but it tells us how the ice is currently melting and we can use that knowledge from today to produce better models which can tell us more about the future. thwaites is at the bottom of the world, but what happens here will affect us all. the better what happens here is understood, the better forecast we will have of how our seas will rise in the decades to come. forewarned is forearmed, they say. that is particularly important because carbon emissions, which are driving the processes warming this glacier, continue to rise rapidly. justin rowlatt, bbc news, thwaites glacier. rare footage from the 1986 dive that was the first to film the sunken luxury liner titanic has been released. most of this new video has never been made available before.

the footage from woods hole oceanographic institution was shot about 3km below the ocean's surface. the material is being released in celebration of the 25th anniversary ofjames cameron's oscar—winning film, titanic, which has been remastered. tourists have returned to machu picchu — the famous world heritage site in peru. the area had been closed off by demonstrators demanding the removal of the former president. thank you for your company, will be joining the team on bbc one for the news and just a few moments. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. good afternoon. it's been relatively quiet so far but that is set to change as we head through tonight and into the first part of tomorrow, and into the first part of tomorrow, a very windy weather across the northern half of the uk, particularly for scotland, the tops of the pennines and northeast

england. travel disruption is quite likely. on the earlier satellite picture you can see this stripe of cloud to the west and from within this area of cloud, you're going to see this area of low pressure deepening. this has been named storm otto by the danish weather showers for the impact it will have there but it's going to bring us windy weather over the next 2a hours. in the short—term, brightness developing for parts of england and wales this afternoon, conversely patchy rain for northern ireland in western scotland. temperatures for the majority between 10 celsius and 14 the majority between 10 celsius and 1a celsius. this evening and overnight, we will see outbreaks of rain across northern ireland, scotland, northern england and the winds will really start to pick up. some gusty conditions developing across the northern half of the country. it's going to be a really mild night, temperatures between 7 celsius and 10 celsius but if you're travelling into the first part of the morning, across a good part of

scotland we will see wind gusts of 70 or maybe 80 mph for exposed coasts. it's going to be gusty across the pennines, some of the trans pennine routes could be quite problematic with the strength of the wind and also to the east of the pennines across parts of northeast england but generally very windy to start friday across the northern half of the uk. we'll see some cloud in patchy rain pushing southwards. some further showers pushing across scotland, some snow over the highest ground but we should see some spells of sunshine. through the day it will be turning a little bit chillier across northern areas where it is further south it is very mild again, highs of 1a or 15 celsius. saturday will see some outbreaks of rain, may be snow over high ground in scotland. generally a fair amount of cloud, limited spells of sunshine but it's going to be mild, 8 celsius to 15 celsius, quite breezy across the south. for sunday, the strongest winds are further north again with outbreaks of rain with the southern

parts of the uk will be mainly dry and mild.

today at 1:00pm, more big profits for energy firms — this time, centrica, owners of british gas, tripling revenues last year. their earnings were £35 billion, compared to less than a billion the year before. british gas has been heavily criticised over the use of pre—payment meters for vulnerable customers. we'll have the latest. also on the programme... after her surprise resignation, the snp meets to draw up a timetable to find nicola sturgeon's successor. belarus leader alexander lukashenko says he'll allow russian troops to attack ukraine again from his territory. hope amid the despair. 11 days on, a teenage girl is rescued after the turkey—syria earthquakes. and, the research that says antarctic glaciers are more sensitive to sea temperature changes

than previously thought.