welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. ukraine's president zelensky speaks to the bbc — and warns neighbouring belarus against helping russia launch a new offensive. it will be big mistake for him and for belarus, it will be historical mistake. but belarus�* leader, alexander luckoshenko — tells foreign journalists — he would be prepared to allow his territory to be used again — for any new invasion. translation: yes, i am ready. you say invasion. we have differing views of this. i am ready to provide territory again. we'll have the latest developments — as we appoach the first anniversary of russia's invaion of ukraine. also in the programme...

the un launches an appeal for $1 billion to help turkey recover from last week's catastrophic earthquakes. the british prime minister travels to northern ireland amid speculation about a post—brexit trade—deal that could revive the devolved government in belfast. and — an array of celebrities attend a memorial service for, dame vivienne westwood in london. the era defining, fashion designer died — aged 81, in december. hello and welcome to the programme. next week marks the first anniversary of russia's invasion. ahead of that — ukraine's president zelensky has been speaking to our

world affairs editorjohn simpson — reflecting on what's happened and what may happen ahead. president zelensky claimed his troops could keep defending their country until they are able to launch a counter offensive. and crucially — he ruled out conceding any territory to russia in a potential peace deal. a warning that there are flashing images in this report. a year on, president zelensky may be stressed and deeply tired, but there's a definite spring in his step. compared with the last time i met him, four months ago, he seemed a lot more confident, even though russia may soon unleash a new onslaught. translation: they are coming from several directions - and we understand it but we are holding defence. modern weapons, powerful weapons, when we get them, speed up liberation and peace because weapons are the only language which russia understands. the fact is, he knows

that his nato friends are slowly giving him any of the weapons he needs, and he is sure ukraine can hold out until it is able to launch a major counterattack of its own. —— many of the weapons. so he is certainly not minded to make any concessions to russia. translation: any territorial compromises will only - weaken our country. why? it is not about the word compromise. why would we be afraid of it? we have a million compromises in our lives. they happen every day. the question is, with whom? a compromise with putin? no, because there is no trust. dialogue with him? no, because there is no trust. so no question now of agreeing to let russia have any part of eastern ukraine, and, he says, no peace is possible while russia holds on to crimea. and meanwhile, looking back...

a year ago, would you have thought that you would be sitting here, still president, and the war would still be going on? translation: today, - there is already confidence that we will have a positive, victorious result. there is more confidence in that. now, though, belarus is threatening to let itself be used by russian troops for an attack on neighbouring ukraine. it will be a big mistake, for him and for belarussia. it will be a historical mistake. but if belarussia does involve itself with the attack, can you survive? we will fight. we will survive. we will survive, yeah. john simpson, bbc news, kyiv. meanwhile — the leader of belarus, alexander lukashenko, says he's ready to allow russia, to use his country as a �*staging post�* for a new offensive in ukraine.

last year, the russian military�*s — failed attempt — to seize the capital kyiv, was launched from belarus. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, sent this report. few people know vladimir putin as well as he does. alexander lu kashenko, the authoritarian leader of belarus. he has agreed to take questions about the war in ukraine, and his role in it. one year ago, i say, you let russia use your country as a staging ground for invading ukraine. are you prepared to do that again? translation: i am ready to provide territory again | but i am also ready to wage war, together with the russians, from the territory of belarus, but only if anyone, even one soldier, comes to our land from ukraine to kill my people. a year ago, there wasn't any

threat to you from ukraine. you don't understand the situation very well. the usa and western europe pushed ukraine into this war. well, they've got the war they wanted. russian troops in belarus. these were only exercises, but they make ukraine nervous. it is watching closely for any sign of belarus becoming the launch pad for another russian push. mr lukashenko enjoys making the russian troops feel at home. the other thing he does a lot of is accuse the west of fuelling this war. if you continue this escalation, you will get nuclear weapons, and russia has more than anyone. if nuclear war starts, belarus will cease to exist. so i am saying we need to stop, we need to sit down at the negotiating table because nuclear war will

wipe out the usa too. he is offering to host vladimir putin and joe biden in minsk for talks. the us leader will be in poland next week. iam inviting president biden to belarus. it's not far from warsaw — 30 minutes and he's here. i will persuade the president of russia to come too. we will sit down and reach an agreement. that is unlikely to happen. in the eyes of the west, alexander lukashenko is very much in russia's camp, doing the kremlin�*s bidding. steve rosenberg, bbc news, minsk. special coverage marking the war in ukraine across bbc subdued stay tuned to our reports from our teams on the ground. of course notjust on bbc news television but across

the website and radio platforms as well. but for now to us. president biden says three aerial objects shot down by the us in recent days appear to have nothing to do with china. he told reporters they were probably being used by private companies or for research purposes. i've directed my team to come back to me with sharper rules for how we will deal with these unidentified objects moving forward. distinguishing between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks that necessitate action and those that do not. but make no mistake — if any object presents a threat to the safety and security of the american people i will take it down. let's take a look at the stories making headlines. the governor of ohio has asked the white house for federal support and on—the—ground assistance, after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed there earlier this month. residents in the town of east pall—esteen have reported headaches and nausea in the wake of the derailment, which is also thought

to have caused the deaths of thousands of fish. ——palestine a special grand jury in the us state of georgia has discovered no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. that's a rejection of arguments by donald trump, who has repeatedly claimed the result was rigged. several witnesses were found to have lied under oath during the investigation. the scottish national party says it will announce nicola sturgeon�*s successor as party leader and scotland's first minister on monday the 27th of march. candidates have until next friday to be nominated. the spanish parliament has given final approval to new laws that promote the rights of women and the lgbt community. the measures include paid medical leave for women who have painful periods, and making it easier to change a person's legally—recognised gender on identity cards. one minister described the legislation as a "great step forward" — but it

has proved controversial. to the situation in turkey and syria now — and eleven days on, people are still remarkably being pulled alive from the rubble, left by the powerful earthquakes that hit the region. a teenage girl has been rescued from a collapsed building near the epicentre of the quakes. overall, the death toll is now more than 41 thousand. the united nations has launched a one billion dollars humanitarian appeal for the turkish people. our correspondent, caroline davies, reports from the city of adana, in southern turkey. an incredible story of survival. carefully, with many hands, 17—year—old olena is lifted to safety after 248 hours under the rubble. these stories that have amazed the world are often down to a few factors and chance. to survive long term, so let's say over a week or ten days or something like that, you need mainly access to two things — air and some sort of water source.

so we say people can survive without water intake maybe for about three to five days or so. but i do think there's probably a huge psychological component, in the sense that, if people have hope and they believe that they will be rescued, determination probably does play a factor. many fear how long it may take them to be back in a home. in the snow—covered province of kahramanmaras, tent cities have been erected to provide some shelter. in adana, a food market is now a camp. but not for long. these tents have been in position for the course of the last ten days, but the authorities here say they are now dismantling them. you can see the tents over here and people taking some of their belongings as well. now, that's because the authorities say that there is greater need closer to the epicentre, but people who have been living here tell us that they are very worried. the authorities say people

will be moved to live in other accommodation but some feel they are being moved on too quickly. fatma has been living in the camp since the earthquake hit. translation: it was rainy | and cold, plus we had to see dead bodies coming out of the building nearby. it was like a nightmare — i couldn't wash for ten days. this is the situation we are in. our mental strength has broken. the earthquake has already taken so much, but many feel they are now left in limbo, not knowing how or where they can rebuild their lives. 11 days on there is a real sense of the turkish authorities want to show some signs of progress

but the broadcasters have been showing homes and rebuilt in areas that were almost entirely flattened by the earthquake. one turkish geologist has said these areas need to have ground checks done before more construction is done on top of them. speaking to the people here in southern turkey there is still a large sense of fear, also a sense of distrust and that maybe take a while and is a big challenge for the turkish government to repair. the uk's prime minister rishi sunak has travelled to northern ireland amid speculation that a deal is imminent between the uk and eu on post—brexit trading arrangements. officials from britain and the european union have been in intense talks on the northern ireland protocol — which was agreed as part of britain's departure from the european union. our ireland correspondent emma vardy has this update from belfast. tensions over the northern ireland protocol feel, for people here, like they have dragged on for a very long time. so if there is this possibility of a deal agreed early next week, the prime

minister is here and will try to smooth the way wit the political parties. businesses will be very eager to hear because it will make their day to day lives easier getting goods over from great britain over into northern ireland. and the big question politically is will a deal pave the way for the dup to go back into power sharing. the party firmly believes that the protocol has weakened northern ireland's very place in the uk and there is some scepticism over whether any deal will go far enough to reassure the most staunch unionists. so there is still no guarantee that northern ireland will be getting a government back, at least quickly anyway. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: a blast from the past. a letter lost in 1916 has been delivered to a flat in london more than 100 years later. nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan

the last soviet troops were finally coming home. the withdrawal completed in good order but the army defeated in the task it was sent to perform. malcolm has been murdered. that has a terrible effect for the morale of the people. i'm terrified of the reprecussions in the streets. one wonders who is next. explosions. as the airlift got under way there was no let—up in the erruption itself. lava streams from a vent low in the crater flow down to the sea to the east of the island, away for the town for the time being. it could start flowing again at any time. the russians heralded the next generation space station with a spectacular night launch. they called it mir, russian for peace.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines. ukraine's president zelensky speaks to the bbc and warns belarus against helping russia launch a new offensive. belarus launch a new offensive. says they are happy to back belarus says they are happy to back another russian offensive. the un launches an appeal for $1 billion to help turkey recover from last week's catastrophic earthquakes. to north korea now where leader kimjong—un has broken ground on a large greenhouse project and the development of 10,000 apartments. that's according to a video released by state—run television krt, amid foreign suspicion of food shortages. neighbouring south korea has reported that a food crisis appears to be worsening in the north, and so has a newspaper in the south. north korea though, has not confirmed any food shortages. for more on this i am joined now by ifang bremer — a journalist with north korea news, based in seoul, he's just written an analysis

of the situation and joins me live from singapore. great to get you on the show. just to save for the benefit of our reviewers it is notoriously difficult to get any information from inside of north korea to confirm any information as well, i have to say. so what can you tell us definitively about what we know at this point about these purported food shortages? we know purported food shortages? - know from secretly communicated sources within the country that prices for rice and corn have gone up and me while satellite data shows that north korea crop output has decreased. so these are worsening signs and these are worsening signs and the un estimates that between 2019-2021 the un estimates that between 2019—2021 around a1% of the population was undernourished. select translates to around 11 million people. that number is so high that it is a real risk.

and this time around in terms of the risk of how many people could be affected, you have outlined that, but how do people go about trying to get help in the situation given there is so little information available?— there is so little information available? . available? that is something, one thing _ available? that is something, one thing we _ available? that is something, one thing we do _ available? that is something, one thing we do not _ available? that is something, one thing we do not know - one thing we do not know because the last foreign observers left north korea in march 2021. so we have these big numbers, dated and these are also estimates but the real situation on the ground remains opaque, unfortunately. is it opaque, unfortunately. is it ossible opaque, unfortunately. is it possible to _ opaque, unfortunately. is it possible to say _ opaque, unfortunately. is it possible to say why - opaque, unfortunately. is it possible to say why it - opaque, unfortunately. is it possible to say why it has become as bad as people think it is, at this point in time. has covid contributed to this? north korea has been isolated for such a long time but were things made worse because of covid? ,, ., ., ., ., , covid? sure, north korea has alwa s covid? sure, north korea has always faced _ covid? sure, north korea has always faced issues _ covid? sure, north korea has always faced issues with - covid? sure, north korea has i always faced issues with hunger but during the pandemic the leadership decided to essentially close the country,

blocking its lifeline to china, russia. and through them a lot of food would be imported and illegally smuggled into the country. at the same time? �*s agriculture is vulnerable to extreme weather events that because of climate change seem to happen more and more often. so these are two big reasons why future versus —— food shortages seem to be increasing.— shortages seem to be increasing. shortages seem to be increasinu. , ., , ., shortages seem to be increasinu. , ., ., increasing. given what you have described in _ increasing. given what you have described in the _ increasing. given what you have described in the difficulties - described in the difficulties getting accurate information is there any indication that the authorities there are trying to help? authorities there are trying to hel ? ., ., ., , ., , help? the north korean state is actually very — help? the north korean state is actually very well _ help? the north korean state is actually very well aware - help? the north korean state is actually very well aware of - help? the north korean state is actually very well aware of the l actually very well aware of the situation and the threat it poses to the country. we monitored north korea state media every day and on a deal basis what it causes —— calls

the food problem. north korea has built these large green houses and presented it in their propaganda channels with fanfare but unfortunately none of it seems to make a big difference and the main reason for that is that farmers are simply not incentivised to meet the government ambitious eduction goals and that is a problem inherent to north korea socialist economy. they cannot make a preface, they cannot sell their produce so it is really hard to incentivise farmers to really increase their crops.— farmers to really increase theircros. ., , , their crops. journalists based in seoul. _ their crops. journalists based in seoul, thank _ their crops. journalists based in seoul, thank you - their crops. journalists based in seoul, thank you so - their crops. journalists based in seoul, thank you so much| their crops. journalists based i in seoul, thank you so much for joining us on the programme. the family of the hollywood actor bruce willis say he has frontotemporal dementia, which affects behaviour and language. willis, who starred in blockbuster films such

as die hard and pulp fiction —— is 67. he announced his retirement in spring last year, following a diagnosis of aphasia — which causes difficulties with speech. the actor's family said his condition had since worsened. there are currently no specific treatments for frontotemporal dementia, which is an uncommon form of the disease. tesla is recalling more than 360 thousand vehicles in the united states due to safety concerns. the national highway — traffic safety administration on thursday said the company's full self—driving software may cause a crash. the agency said the tesla software allows a vehicle to "exceed speed limits or travel through intersections in an unlawful or unpredictable manner" tesla said it's not aware of any injuries or deaths related to the recall issue. and now, a blast from the past. or rather, the post. a letter lost in 1916 has been delivered to a flat in london more than 100 years later. our correspondent, harry low, has the story.

when this envelope drops into the letter box in south london flat the recipient was in for a surprise. i noticed on the stamp it was actually king rather than a queen. on closer inspection he realised it had been over a century ago from bath, somerset. in 1916 george v was king and world war one rationing had been yet to be introduced. we were pretty shocked and baffled as to how it could have conceivably happened. then just really curious. as more than 100 years had passed he and his girlfriend decided to see what was inside. it is written by someone called cristobal to their friend katie who was mrs oswald marsh. apologising for what she had said and it opens with,

"will you lend me your aid ifeel quite ashamed of myself of what i had said at circle." it was posted from one wealthy family to another. for local historians this arrival offers a welcome window into the past. it does not happen every day. you could spend days and weeks researching people and then all of a sudden you get a gold mine and that is what has happened here. a gold mine, is that how you think of it? yes because they're so much information to us within a couple of days research. in the statement royal mail said... it seems a pretty incredible occurrence that i suppose it would have justjust gotten hidden somewhere in the office that has been in operation for over 100 years in someone has dug it up and just tucked it in with the day's post. but pretty amazing that it was after all that time. with many deliveries disrupted in the past few months postal service this feels like a case of better late than never.

wonderful to get a letter in the post but i imagine something like that. a memorial service for dame vivienne westwood has been held on thursday in london, with famous faces from around the world paying their respects. the legendary fashion designer and environmental activist died in december aged 81. stephanie prentice has more. they are to say a final goodbye to a friend. victoria beckham joined by helen embolo and carter were alongside kate moss to remember dame vivienne westwood. the environmental activists died in december. her loss felt strongly by the british fashion scene with models turning out to pay their respects. and the funeral drew in people around the world. you

know what tour —— and winter and others in attendance and many dressed in black but others brought touches of her cyclical —— signature style with bold prints. a fitting tribute the grammar school from a small town in england who brought punk faction into the mainstream and built a global brand doing things her own way. a link it'sjust a gesture. attracting friends from _ it'sjust a gesture. attracting friends from all _ it'sjust a gesture. attracting friends from all corners - it'sjust a gesture. attracting friends from all corners of i it'sjust a gesture. attracting | friends from all corners of the inspiration. now finally laid to rest her legacy will continue both in fashion and in culture. many guests at the funeral reposting vogue magazine's tribute to her saying that honouring the englishwoman properly was a

near impossible task. that's it for months thank you for watching and do stay with bbc news. hello there. the winds are really picking up overnight. we're expecting some travel disruption and perhaps some damage across northern parts of the uk. where the winds will be strongest, particularly over scotland, over the pennines and in the north—east of england with the peak of the wind strength expected during friday morning. it's all due to this deepening area of low pressure currently heading to the north of scotland. that is storm otto that will sweep its way down into scandinavia. it's the first named storm of the season, although it was actually named by the danish met service. it'll be a very windy start to friday morning, a very mild start as well. the rain in the south being replaced by showers, but it's the strength of the wind that's the story. could be touching 80 mph in the northern isles for a while, and generally across scotland, gusts of 60 or 70 mph. similar strength over

the pennines and some very gusty winds to the east of the pennines as well. now, the winds do gradually ease down through the day and we'll see this band of thicker cloud with some patchy rain heading down into southern parts of england and wales. other areas should see it brightening up and some sunshine coming through. the showers becoming fewer in scotland as the winds continue to ease during the afternoon. a mild day — temperatures 9 degrees in scotland, highs of 1a or 15 in east anglia in the south—east. northern ireland, though, will turn more cloudy in the afternoon. some rain coming in here as well, and this other area of low pressure comes in overnight. not particularly windy, but it will bring some wet weather for northern areas for a while, maybe some snow over the scottish mountains. most of that wet weather is out into continental europe by saturday morning, leaving behind this band of thicker cloud and patchy rain. southern scotland heading into the central belt, sunshine to the north of that and elsewhere in the uk. we'll see some sunshine at times, there will be some cloud as well, breezy perhaps in southern areas of england. otherwise, the winds are much lighter on saturday and it's another mild day. for the second half

of the weekend, we've got another area of low pressure approaching from the atlantic that will strengthen the winds during sunday and bring some wetter weather for a while in northern ireland, but more particularly across scotland. and we'll see some patchy rain for northern england as well. further south, it may well be dry, a little bit brighter, perhaps some sunshine in southern parts of england. the winds, though, do pick up, always the strongest in the far north—west of the uk. second half the weekend doesn't look quite so mild, but we've still got temperatures of 10—12 celsius.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour

as newsday continues,