this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 9:003m... the prime minister holds talks with northern ireland's political parties, with hopes that a deal between the uk and the eu on post—brexit trade arrangements could soon be agreed. the royal college of nursing warns there will be "significant impact" on the nhs when members in england stage a 48—hour strike on the 1st of march. the home secretary has raised concerns with police over the release of personal information about nicola bulley, who has now been missing for three weeks. the french energy firm edf — which has some five million customers in the uk — says it earned more than a billion pounds from its operations here last year. the family of the hollywood actor bruce willis say the die hard

and pulp fiction star is now suffering from a type of dementia. and the deadline looms to see who might want to buy manchester united, with offers expected to come in from prospective owners in britain, the us and qatar. good morning and welcome to bbc news. the prime minister will hold talks with stormont leaders in belfast today, with hopes that a deal between the uk and the eu on northern ireland's brexit arrangement could soon be reached as early as next week. the current trading arrangement — know as the northern ireland protocol — was negotiated during brexit talks. it was put in place to deal with the fact that northern ireland is in the uk and the republic

of ireland is in the eu. some goods passing from england, scotland and wales into northern ireland are getting checked when they cross the irish sea in order to keep an open order on the island of ireland. unionist parties argue that this places an effective border across the irish sea which undermines northern ireland's place within the uk. the largest unionist party, the dup, is currently refusing to take part in the country's power—sharing government unless its concerns about the protocol are resolved. our northern ireland correspondent chris page is following the talks in belfast. rishi sunak is trying to get everybody on to the same side. that's right. it's been a pretty early start this morning for rishi sunak. the first two parties he's seeing have already gone in, the

cross community alliance party and the nationalist sdlp, meeting him at a hotel on the outskirts of the city. he will be meeting three more parties, the ulster unionists, sinn fein, now the biggest party in the northern ireland assembly, and the democratic unionist party, and that's the meeting where they will probably be the most focus in that the dup is the party that is currently vetoing the formation of a power—sharing devolved government in this part of the uk. northern ireland has been without a fully functioning devolved government now for more than a year. the dup says it will not relent until its concerns, chiefly the trade border between northern ireland and the rest of the uk, are addressed. the dup want an end to checks on goods arriving here from england, scotland and wales under that arrangement. the northern ireland protocol. also something senior dup politicians have been mentioning more and more, particularly over the last 2a hours, has been the role of eu law in

northern ireland. they don't want the european court ofjustice, the eu's highest court, to have any role in deciding laws for northern ireland. the likes of sammy wilson, the party chief whip at westminster, lord nigel dodds, a former dup deputy leader, have said fundamentally for the dup for unionists, they see it as a democratic deficit, law is being made for northern ireland which are not... which are being made in brussels, essentially, they would argue, not being made by politicians elected by the people of northern ireland. so you get the sense the opening of the anti—by the dup, as speculation has mounted that rishi sunak is close to a deal with the european union on the northern ireland protocol. there have been negotiations on and off on this since 2021 and that has led rishi sunak to visit belfast this morning for talks with the stormont parties.

also other diplomatic activity today. in brussels, foreign secretaryjames today. in brussels, foreign secretary james cleverly has been leading uk negotiators, meeting with the eu commission vice president, and this weekend rishi sunak is due to meet other european leaders in munich so you get the sense all of this is fuelling the expectation that a deal is close but the thinking in downing street and in the dublin government is that a deal isn't on the table just yet and there is still some way to go on this. , . ., ~ , ., we can talk now tojon tonge, professor of politics at liverpool university, and an expert on northern ireland. thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. who needs to be persuaded of this and who is already on side and who isn't? mast persuaded of this and who is already on side and who isn't?— on side and who isn't? most people are on site- — on side and who isn't? most people are on site. the _ on side and who isn't? most people are on site. the nationalist - on side and who isn't? most people are on site. the nationalist partiesl are on site. the nationalist parties are on site. the nationalist parties are on—site. the alliance party is on side but the dup will need some persuading that this is an

acceptable deal. 0n persuading that this is an acceptable deal. on one hand, it's an absurd thing that one party with 180,000 votes can effectively decide the trading arrangements of so many people. but that's where we are right. it might be beyond the task of even the smoothest salesperson to persuade the dup round. 25 years ago tony blair couldn't persuade the dup in favour of the good friday agreement. rishi sunak has got to persuade the dup that those seven tests the dup have set have been passed in the uk. i don't think there is a problem now in terms of there is a problem now in terms of the uk or european union. in effect and for all intents and purposes the deal is done. the problem is persuading the dup that it's worth going back into the power—sharing institutions on the basis that their concerns have been settled by what's been agreed. h0??? concerns have been settled by what's been agreed-— concerns have been settled by what's been agreed. how has it come about, then question — been agreed. how has it come about, then question mark _ been agreed. how has it come about, then question mark somebody - then question mark somebody somewhere must have moved. assuming it's the eu, what have they moved on? ,., ., , ., .,

on? the uk government and dup got a lot of what they — on? the uk government and dup got a lot of what they wanted. _ on? the uk government and dup got a lot of what they wanted. remember i lot of what they wanted. remember that the uk government through liz truss, who was foreign secretary at the time, introduce the protocol bill, which demanded green and red channels. the uk wanted unfettered trade for great britain to northern ireland goods. they would go through a green channel. and the only checks that should be carried out those going, goods going between great britain and northern ireland and then onwards to the eu single market, that is south of the border on the island of ireland. the eu has conceded that had moved on this, so the stumbling block, as chris page outlined, is really the continuing role of the european court of justice, because one of the test set by the dup is that the northern irish people must have a say in the laws that govern them. northern irish people might not have a say in the role of the european court of justice. the other stumbling block among the dup seven tests is the third one that says there must be no border in the irish sea. they will still be a border in the irish sea

but the difference will be that it will only pertain to goods going from gb, to ni and then into the irish republic. the dup might say that test is passed but there is still that stumbling block. the european court ofjustice. there are some signs that some in the dup will not budge on that. can some signs that some in the dup will not budge on that.— not budge on that. can you explain the im act not budge on that. can you explain the impact that _ not budge on that. can you explain the impact that not _ not budge on that. can you explain the impact that not having - not budge on that. can you explain. the impact that not having stormont functioning because the dup won't take part, because of the northern ireland protocol, is having on northern ireland. it’s ireland protocol, is having on northern ireland.— northern ireland. it's been a disaster for— northern ireland. it's been a disaster for northern - northern ireland. it's been a| disaster for northern ireland. northern ireland. it's been a - disaster for northern ireland. the disasterfor northern ireland. the institutions have not been around, they have been in abeyance for 60% of the last three years. the dup conducted the latest walk—out in february last year. you already had a health service crisis because of covid because. there is chronic political instability. the health service is in crisis. no decisions are being taken other than by civil

servants. there is no democratic accountability and has scotland has become the strongest devolved parliament in europe, welsh people has continued, but northern irish people don't have anything other than ad hoc direct rule from westminster and that is not solving local problems. the wider question is, as we come to the 25th anniversary of the good friday agreement, it will be a hollow celebration, that 25th anniversary, in that the institutions associated with that agreement are not functioning. so there is a lot at stake here. functioning. so there is a lot at stake here-— functioning. so there is a lot at stake here. ., , ., ~ ,, functioning. so there is a lot at stake here. ., ., ~ ., stake here. professor, thank you for talkin: to stake here. professor, thank you for talking to us- _ stake here. professor, thank you for talking to us- my — stake here. professor, thank you for talking to us. my pleasure. - the royal college of nursing has announced a 48—hour strike from the 1st of march, the biggest walkout of the dispute so far. the nhs confederation — which represents health trusts — has warned that the government must settle its pay dispute with nhs staff or risk jeopardising its pledge to cut waiting lists in england. 0ur health correspondent jim reed reports. claps don't pay the bills, claps don't pay the bills!

what is already a bitter dispute between nurses and the government is set to ratchet up again next month in england. claps don't pay the bills, claps don't pay the bills! unless there is a sudden breakthrough in talks, two further strike dates will go ahead at the start of march and they're likely to be the most disruptive yet. under the plans, nurses will walk out for 48 hours in a row, with overnight shifts now affected. 128 hospital trusts, along with mental health and community services, will take part, covering around half of england. and for the first time, thousands of nurses in key areas, including critical care, cancer treatment and a&e, will be asked to stop work with services stripped back to an absolute minimum. no nurse during the next period of strike will want to do anything to cause further risk to patients. but what i would say, the prime minister needs to step in now. he needs to decide what he wants. does he want strikes or does

he want to save the nhs? no nurse wants to be in this position at the beginning of march and it is time to start talking. it is time to resolve these strikes for our patients and for our nursing staff. groups representing large hospital trusts reacted with concern to the news. in a letter to the prime minister, the nhs confederation urged the government to negotiate with trade unions or accept the pledges to cut long nhs waiting lists are unlikely to be met in england. that really difficult challenge of reducing waiting lists becomes almost impossible if this industrial action spreads as it is spreading, and particularly ifjunior doctors join the industrial action. so the government's aspiration to lower waiting lists, its public commitment to lower waiting lists, is now being jeopardised by this ongoing industrial action. strike action in scotland and wales is currently suspended while unions consider new pay offers in those parts of the united kingdom. while in northern ireland,

no further strike dates are currently planned. in england, the government says it is working closely with the nhs on contingency plans and remains open to talks based on what is fair and affordable for the next financial year. jim reed, bbc news. let's get more now from matthew taylor, seen in that report, the chief executive of nhs confederation, which is a membership body for organisations that commission and provide nhs services. how concerned how concerned are how concerned are you and other nhs leaders about the proposed strike action? we leaders about the proposed strike action? ~ ., , leaders about the proposed strike action? ~ . , . action? we are extremely concerned. we have written _ action? we are extremely concerned. we have written to _ action? we are extremely concerned. we have written to the _ action? we are extremely concerned. we have written to the prime - we have written to the prime minister, pointing out that at the moment he and his government refused to negotiate with the trade unions on this year's pay settlement and the unions have made clear that they

won't enter negotiations unless that is on the table. well, this has now been going on for two months and it is worsening. these 48 hour strikes are a worrying new development which will pose real challenges in terms of managing those 48 hours but will also contribute to the growing problems which you don't necessarily see on strike days, but behind—the—scenes, which is the impact all this has on our capacity to recover services. and ifjunior doctors also walk out, and many people suspect they will, that will make it even more difficult for us. the government is in an unenviable position, concerned about public spending, concerned about industrial action across the public sector. but really the prime minister and ministers have to recognise that if this industrial action is allowed to become business as usual in the health service then it will become extremely difficult to recover services coming out of a very tough

winter. ., . ., ,~' ., winter. how much at risk are patients? — winter. how much at risk are patients? clearly _ winter. how much at risk are patients? clearly when - winter. how much at risk are l patients? clearly when strikes escalate, when _ patients? clearly when strikes escalate, when we _ patients? clearly when strikes escalate, when we have - patients? clearly when strikes escalate, when we have 48 i patients? clearly when strikes i escalate, when we have 48 hours patients? clearly when strikes - escalate, when we have 48 hours we don't have cover at night and we don't have cover at night and we don't have cover in important parts of the service and it becomes more difficult. also now the trade unions are requiring leaders to agree nationally in terms of derogations, so that's a new process. people i represent, the leaders i represent, what they want to be doing is tackling waiting lists, improving population health, getting the health service into a better position, but they are having to spend time negotiating derogations, changing rotors back, changing council appointments was that we have seen well over 1000 appointments cancelled, many thousands of operations cancelled and this can't go on without undermining the capacity to recover services. imilli undermining the capacity to recover services. ~ ., ., services. will return to waiting lists in a second _

services. will return to waiting lists in a second but _ services. will return to waiting lists in a second but returning | services. will return to waiting i lists in a second but returning to the derogation idea, to expand on that a bit more, rather than coming to agreements locally about how so—called life and limb services will be provided, that will have to be in done nationally so how much more difficult will it be? it remains to be seen because we are now in new territory. certainly if you are a leader then you have a toughjob at the you are a leader then you have a tough job at the best of times. now having to agree nationally and not knowing whether you will get agreement nationally for the derogations you need in place to be able to plan services, i am confident the trade unions will stick to their commitment to protect life and limb, but the reality is that in a health service that is always working full out you can't take significant groups and staff out without it having an effect, so yes, there will be risks to patients, risks both on the strike days but also in terms of slowing down our capacity to recover services. down our capacity to recover servicea— down our capacity to recover services. �* , ., services. briefly, what will the im act services. briefly, what will the impact be _ services. briefly, what will the impact be on _ services. briefly, what will the impact be on waiting - services. briefly, what will the impact be on waiting lists, - services. briefly, what will the i impact be on waiting lists, which services. briefly, what will the - impact be on waiting lists, which is something everybody wants to get

sorted? fist something everybody wants to get sorted? �* ., ., ., ~ sorted? at the moment we are working hard in the health _ sorted? at the moment we are working hard in the health service _ sorted? at the moment we are working hard in the health service to _ sorted? at the moment we are working hard in the health service to hit - hard in the health service to hit the first target we've got, which is to get to the end of march and have nobody waiting more than a year and a half. that's a very tough call. it's in jeopardy. a half. that's a very tough call. it's injeopardy. if we a half. that's a very tough call. it's in jeopardy. if we get the junior doctors walking out next month, these nurses strikes, i worry we won't be able to meet that first target. the broader target is to reduce waiting lists overall. the iss last week published a report saying they felt it was going to be touch and go as to whether the health service could meet that target. that's on the assumption that we're talking about business as usual. if we are talking about industrial action being endemic, a kind of endless war of attrition, then that incredibly hard task could be almost impossible.— be almost impossible. matthew ta lor, be almost impossible. matthew taylor. chief — be almost impossible. matthew taylor, chief executive - be almost impossible. matthew taylor, chief executive of - be almost impossible. matthew taylor, chief executive of the i be almost impossible. matthew. taylor, chief executive of the nhs confederation, thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news... the prime minister holds talks with northern ireland's

political parties — with hopes that a deal between the uk and the eu on post brexit trade arrangements could soon be agreed. the royal college of nursing warns there will be "significant impact" on the nhs when members in england stage a 48 hour strike on the 1st of march. the home secretary has raised concerns with police over the release of personal information about nicola bulley, who has now been missing for three weeks. the home secretary has raised concerns with lancashire police after it revealed personal information about nicola bulley, who has now been missing for three weeks. the force has been criticised for making public that she had ongoing struggles with alcohol and the menopause. the bbc understands that suella braverman was not satisfied with the force's justification for releasing the information. 0ur reporter sarah rogers reports from st michael's on wyre, where nicola bulley went missing. as the days go on, this case gets

more and more complicated and there is more and more interest, but perhaps not for the right reasons. now the home secretary, suella braverman, has got involved, asking lancashire police why they felt it necessary to reveal that really personal information about nicola bulley. now, lancashire police have also referred themselves to the police watchdog. this was over contact that they had with nicola on the 10th of january, so 17 days before she disappeared. they say that was a welfare check and that was because of those issues that she had been having. now it's going to be down to the iopc to look into whether there needs to be an investigation. but there is also a new message from nicola's family. they have been without her for three weeks. she disappeared after dropping her two little girls to school and coming for a walk down the river with her dog. they say, "we as a family believe that the public focus has become

distracted from finding nikki and it's more about speculation and rumours." they also made a direct appeal to her and said, "nikki, we hope you're reading this. know that we love you so much and your girls want a cuddle. we need you at home. don't be scared, we love you so much." now today, the investigation and search will continue, but lancashire police say they are working on that main hypothesis that nicola went into the river and that there is no other involvement. the french energy firm edf, which has some 5 million customers in the uk, says it earned more than a billion pounds from its operations here last year. the firm's underlying profit was £1.1 billion, before stripping out one—off items. that compares with a loss of £21 million in 2021. let's talk to our business reporter peter ruddick.

where have these profits come from? another day, another massive set of profits energy company, but another day where the full story is slightly more complex than the headline might suggest. edf is a global company, a french firm, based in france, and across the whole global firm it actually made quite a significant loss last year because of issues with french nuclear power. however, as you say, in the uk did quite well, underlying profit before one—off items of 1.1 billion essentially hear the firm has benefited from the high electricity price, which is generated from the high wholesale gas price. at the same time as not having to pay the costs associated with generating gas power because it is mainly based in nuclear and wind. however, almost all the profits have come from its electricity generation business here in the uk. its retail business, the one that supplies those 5 million customers you talked about, actually made a £200 million loss last year. why? because the cost it pays to get

the power it supplies to us was still higher than the limits imposed by 0fgem and the government last year. the company will also say and says today, that it is investing billions in the uk nuclearfleet. it runs almost all the uk's nuclear fleet. however, there will still be cold comfort for people receiving their edf bills and they were still associate edf with these massive profits. associate edf with these massive rofits. ~' ., , , ., , profits. like other energy firms, as we have reported _ profits. like other energy firms, as we have reported earlier— profits. like other energy firms, as we have reported earlier in - profits. like other energy firms, as we have reported earlier in the - we have reported earlier in the week. how likely is it that this profit, and other companies' profits will be subject to a windfall tax? edf will be subject to the new electricity generating revenue levy that was introduced injanuary, but of course for campaigners that is just going to be too little too late, given the size of people's energy bills and the size of these profits from last year, it will not be subject to that levy.- be subject to that levy. peter ruddick, thank _ be subject to that levy. peter ruddick, thank you. - scotland's deputy first minister, john swinney, has ruled himself out of the race

to become the next snp leader. mr swinney said he had to do what was right for his family, party and country. another high—profile snp figure, joanna cherry, has also said she won't run. it comes a day after nicola sturgeon announced that she would step down after more than eight years as scotland's first minister. the new leader of the snp will be announced on monday 27th march. let's get more on this with our scotland correspondent lorna gordon. why to make some big names not in the running. who might be? yes. why to make some big names not in the running. who might be? yes, we know some — the running. who might be? yes, we know some of _ the running. who might be? yes, we know some of those _ the running. who might be? yes, we know some of those who _ the running. who might be? yes, we know some of those who are - the running. who might be? yes, we know some of those who are not - the running. who might be? yes, we i know some of those who are not going to go forward. nominations are open and it closes next friday. it's interesting looking at the reasons thatjoanna cherry and john swinney are giving. john swinney saying, calling for an open debate about the party's direction and a fresh perspective, as he puts it, that anchors the snp in the mainstream. joanna cherry saying the new leadership must adopt a more

collegiate approach. whilst not standing they certainly have strong views about what they would like to see going forward. another person not standing is stephen flynn, the leader of the snp at westminster. at the moment it is just speculation about who may go forward to go forward to trying to get the votes to become next snp leader and it feels increasingly likely because of john swinney not standing, he would have been the unity candidate, the one that a lot of people perhaps would have felt they could unite behind, a steady pair of hands. so with him not in the race it feels increasingly likely that there will be a competition. some of the names that are being bandied about are humza yousaf, the health secretary, angus robertson, the man who had a speu angus robertson, the man who had a spell at westminster, a high profile snp politician who is back at holyrood. finance secretary kate forbes, she is due back from maternity leave within the next few weeks. and ash regan, who quit her position in government over the

gender recognition reform bill, that was passed at holyrood just before christmas. they have a week to decide whether they will put their hats into the ring or not. it's not a foregone conclusion. they have to do have the backing of at least 100 party members from 20 different branches, but i think we will see a competition and we might well see a competition and we might well see a competition that could potentially be quite fractious. i saw one mp tweeting a slightly sarcastic comment yesterday evening when joanna cherry said she wasn't standing and it feels like there are potentially quite big divide is among those who will stand, perhaps between those who started their politics in the 90s against those who were born in the 90s. perhaps between those who are candidates for continuity versus those who are candidates for change. to continuity versus those who are candidates for change.- continuity versus those who are candidates for change. to the cut and thrust of— candidates for change. to the cut and thrust of politics. _ candidates for change. to the cut and thrust of politics. lorna - and thrust of politics. lorna gordon, thank you. a young boy has been pulled from the rubble in turkey nearly 11 days after the earthquake hit. rescuers worked through the night in hatay to find him,

and there were cheers of celebration when he was successfully pulled free. it's as the syrian president bashar al—assad made his first public statement, thanking the international community for its help, but said it must go further. more than a week after earthquakes hit syria and turkey, there's growing anger over why so many buildings collapsed, burying tens of thousands of people as they slept. in turkey, more than 100 arrest warrants have been issued in connection with unsafe buildings, and the government has been accused of turning a blind eye. 0ur europe correspondent nick beake has been investigating the collapse of one building in gaziantep. night and day, they've been waiting for a miracle. but there's no sign of one. their relatives lived in the most expensive part of this city. that meant nothing, as their apartment block turned to dust. emre, whose five loved ones are missing, says so many

people are to blame. translation: they have the blood of the people who died _ here on their hands. it's not right to scapegoat the contractor. the ones who approved this building are responsible, together with the government and the state. the next morning, we come back to try to find out why these four blocks collapsed, while all around others stood firm. we learned from officials on the ground that at least 136 people have died here. a community ripped apart in seconds. "everything is gone," emel filik weeps, before revealing there had been concerns that water was weakening the building. translation: it was an accident waiting to happen. _ six months ago, the head

of the residents' association told us about the problems of the building. she said our buildings might collapse at the smallest earthquake. "let's strengthen the pillars," she said. but nothing happened. neighbours tell us a former security guard at the complex could give us more information. translation: | witnessed - the defects with my own eyes. when i touched the concrete columns, it would crumble to dust in my hands as though it wasn't concrete at all. the iron was rusting in the columns. the rainfall was damaging and corroding the iron. in the middle of all this death and destruction, we need to remind ourselves that, these days, homes can be built or strengthened to withstand earthquakes of this magnitude. 24 years ago, this country got a big wake—up call when more

than 17,000 people were killed in a previous quake. since then, the turkish authorities have failed to protect their people — whether it's those living in new builds or in older properties, too. 0pposition politicians say tens of thousands have now paid with their lives. in the civilised countries, earthquakes happen and people don't die. unfortunately, in turkey, these kind of earthquakes happen every ten years, and people die, and they say it is a destiny. no, it is not a destiny. if we just do what the science says, nobody dies. a man connected to our particular complex in gaziantep has been arrested. his lawyer tells us he's done nothing wrong, and the building was well constructed. the local authority says no complaints were made, and so no inspections were ever carried out.

president erdogan says it was not possible to be prepared for such a disaster. but in light of this story — one replicated across the country — how many in turkey can truly sleep soundly? nick beake, bbc news, gaziantep. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt. not looking promising. it's not been great, a ferocious start to friday for some but it's an improving picture. storm 0tto is close by to the north and there could be further disruption in parts of scotland and north—east england to travel and power in particular. this curl of cloudiness on the edge of this bit, where we have some of the strongest winds but it is pulling away from us so hence the wins will start to ease down. we have only started that process across some parts of scotland where winds have been over 80 mph but 0rkney and shetland will continue to

strengthen for a little while longer and they are strengthening still across the pennines and to the north—east of england. the server for the next few hours at least, while the winds are easing down across scotland, we could see gusts of wind of 70—80 across 0rkney and shetland and potentially damaging disrupting the bust of winds across the pennines and eastern england. with the wind is coming from a westerly direction it's a crosswind for the likes of the major roads in the north and southern scotland. today, sunshine across the northern half of the country, showers in the south and increasing the amounts of cloud and patchy rain and drizzle. hello, this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall with the headlines... the prime minister holds talks with northern ireland's political parties — with hopes that a deal between the uk and the eu on post—brexit trade arrangements could soon be agreed.

the royal college of nursing warns there will be "significant impact" on the nhs when members in england stage a 48 hour strike on the first of march. the home secretary has raised concerns with police over the release of personal information about nicola bulley, who has now been missing for three weeks. the french energy firm edf — which has some five million customers in the uk — says it earned more than a billion pounds from its operations here last year. the family of the hollywood actor bruce willis say the �*die hard' and �*pulp fiction' star is now suffering from a type of dementia. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's mike. good morning on a pivotal day for manchester united. after the drama, on the pitch in spain last night, it now continues off it today, with prospective new club owners required to submit their proposals.

bids are expected from groups in qatar, the usa, saudi arabia and the uk. and they will have enjoyed what they saw on the pitch last night, with marcus rashford impressing in a 2—2 draw with barcelona. dan 0gunshakkin reports. back at the scene of their greatest triumph. the �*99 glory days might not be backjust yet, but the current manchester united side are building nicely. barcelona would represent a significant test of man u's developmeny under eric ten hag. of man u's development under eric ten hag. all in all, a positive first half, only a goal was missing. the goals would come, but barcelona struck the first goal. but this is marcus rashford's time.

his cool finish, the equaliser. they found the lifeline. everything to play for next week. dan 0gunshakin, bbc news. with the women's world cup, just months away, the unstoppable lionesses are showing no signs of a drop in form as they made it 27 games unbeaten under coach sarina wiegman. south korea, the latest team to be thrashed, as jane dougall reports from milton keynes. a convincing victory in front of 21,000 fans. england's first match of the arnold clark cup off to a strong start against the lower—ranked side south korea. they had dominated with multiple chances before a penalty gave georgia stanway their first — delighting the excitable young fans. the floodgates had opened. just 16 seconds into the second half, chloe kelly's solo run gave them a second.

england were enjoying themselves now — they quickly scored a third before the ball fell to lauren james. it's james! her first england goal. 4—0, and head coach sarina wiegman's unbeaten record remains intact. jane dougall, bbc news, milton keynes. new zealand proved to be stubborn opponents on the second day of the opening test against england, but ben stokes' side did eventually find a way through and lead by nearly 100 runs heading into day three. the lead could have been bigger, but for the batting of tom blundell. try as they might, england's bowlers had no answers to his batting brilliance as he powered past the century mark. he went on to hit 138 before james anderson, finally removed his threat, to end the kiwi's innings. england led by 19 runs at that point, but suffered the losses of openers ben duckett and then zac crawley here, before the close of play.

�*night hawk�* stuart broad rode his luck at times, but did his duty to close out the day without further losses. england 79—2, a lead of 98 runs. jockey tom scudamore has retired from racing with immediate effect after being unseated from a mount at leicester on thursday, saying he feel he's been given "a bit of a warning." the 40—year—old, who is the son of eight—time champion jockey peter scudamore, is one of the most successfuljump jockeys of all—time, having ridden over 1500 winners. "at my age you have to be careful," he said in an interview," adding "falls i could take in the past are harder to take now." now, how quickly fortunes in rugby league can change. last season warrington wolves were wallowing next to bottom of the super league. but they got the new season off to a flying start, against the team that made the grand final last year, the leeds rhinos. but they were stunned as wolves raced into a whopping half—time lead, and ended up winning 42—10.

that's all the sport for now. nearly one year on from the russian invasion, ukraine says a steady stream of british volunteers are continuing to enlist with its military. they're serving in a number of different battalions — but the risks are high. only this week a fifth british fighter was killed. the bbc has had exclusive access to a group of men who've been on the front lines since the early days of the conflict. they've spoken about wanting to fight the invasion, but also the sense of purpose that comes from serving alongside ukrainians. emma vardy reports. this is the life of a british volunteer on the front lines of ukraine. whoa! a round from a russian tank misses him by inches. everyone 0k? it's landed right next to me. i can't hear nothing.

i can't hear a thing. ukrainian officials say 20,000 international volunteers have traveled to help defend the country and that british fighters make up one of the largest groups in the international legion. but there are others also now fighting in a number of different battalions on the front lines. and they've spoken to newsnight and our world about their experiences. a facebook advertisement, it was all in ukrainian, but i translated it. it said, "we'll give you a month's training and we'll send you out on the front line, you'll be fighting in the kharkiv district." 30—year—old james from yorkshire traveled to ukraine having had no previous military experience. it's legal to enlist in the ukrainian military. fighters get a contract and can receive a wage. but the british government has advised strongly about the risks. they needed help, so i knew i can fight. that's what we're trained to do. those that do have combat experience are seen in ukraine as bringing valuable skills.

we met james chadwick who, aged 21, quit his role with the british army to go. the ukrainians feel like, it makes them feel like they're not alone, like we are there. we are helping them fight. and much of the fighting involves old school trench warfare. we were 600 metres from russians at all times. it was literally our tree line, their tree line and a field in between. social media platforms like tiktok mean we have a greater insight into life on the front lines than ever before. videos posted by british volunteers can get millions of views. whatjust happened to your rifle? got shot. entrance, exit. butjoining the war can end in tragedy. when craig mackintosh from norfolk travelled to ukraine, his family had little warning. i thought at first, why would you do that? why would you leave everyone and not tell anyone? and then i thought, wow, what a courageous thing to do. but they were to receive devastating news.

police came to inform craig's family he'd been shot by a russian soldier. it hurt. most people die of cancer or common illness, not being shot out at war. six weeks later, his body was repatriated to the uk. i don't know, ijust didn't believe it. didn't feel real. ukrainian military officials say a steady stream of volunteers are still signing up to fight. for those willing to swap their lives in the uk for the battlefields of ukraine, it comes with comradeship and adventure, but those in the conflict and families at home can pay a heavy price. emma vardy, bbc news. you can see more of that story on newsnight tonight and in "brits in battle: ukraine" on the bbc iplayer. staying in ukraine, 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 said 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 many 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. 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. prospective buyers of manchester united have until today to reveal their interest in buying the club. the owners of the club —

the glazer family— are considering selling the club as they "explore strategic alternatives". so far there's only been one public declaration from the businessman sirjim ratcliffe — but there are reports of a possible bid from qatar. kieran maguire is a football finance lecturer from the university of liverpool. the university of liverpool are doing well out of this today. we had one of your colleagues on earlier as well. who is going to be interested, besides the very wealthy man some jet —— sirjim ratcliffe that we just mentionwe have seen interest from the qatari sports investment authority. they already own paris saint—germain, but that would not prevent them from a premier league perspective of acquiring manchester united. �* ,., perspective of acquiring manchester united. �* . perspective of acquiring manchester united. ~ ., ., , ., united. also a loss of interest from the us united. also a loss of interest from the us itself, _ united. also a loss of interest from the us itself, hedge _ united. also a loss of interest from the us itself, hedge funds - united. also a loss of interest from the us itself, hedge funds and - the us itself, hedge funds and investment funds to fuel footballers

undervalued —— a lot of interest. the present owners of most clubs have failed to unlock its potential, especially in terms of its commercial objectives. i think we could see quite a few offers comment, i think the deadline is later today, and those will be put to the owners, the glazer family, with a view to going forward effectively to auction at the higher price. effectively to auction at the higher rice. , .,, ~' effectively to auction at the higher rice. , .,, ~ , price. some people think there is too much money _ price. some people think there is too much money in _ price. some people think there is too much money in football - price. some people think there is i too much money in football already, what do these analysts mean by they have not unlock the potential of the game? have not unlock the potential of the ame? ~ ., . , have not unlock the potential of the name? . , .., have not unlock the potential of the name? . , .. ., game? manchester united claim to have 1.1 billion _ game? manchester united claim to have 1.1 billion fans _ game? manchester united claim to have 1.1 billion fans around - game? manchester united claim to have 1.1 billion fans around the - have 1.1 billion fans around the world, and if you take a look at their revenues, it works out as just over £500 million, so effectively getting 50p per fan over £500 million, so effectively getting 50p perfan per year, if you make it £1 then all of a sudden it becomes £1 billion a year business, so as to keep control costs, because we main player wages, then

manchester united goes from a business which is probably breaking even into one which is making spectacular profits and large returns for investors.- spectacular profits and large returns for investors. what is the - rice returns for investors. what is the rice tau returns for investors. what is the price tag likely — returns for investors. what is the price tag likely to _ returns for investors. what is the price tag likely to be? _ returns for investors. what is the price tag likely to be? we've - returns for investors. what is the | price tag likely to be? we've seen manchester _ price tag likely to be? we've seen manchester united's _ price tag likely to be? we've seen manchester united's share - price tag likely to be? we've seen manchester united's share price l price tag likely to be? we've seen - manchester united's share price more than double over the course of the few months since the glazer is made the announcement, so presently the shares are now at around 5.8 billion, there are around 4.5, you need to persuade people to sell, so i think the asking price as far as the glazerfamily is i think the asking price as far as the glazer family is concerned a summer tour seven or 8 billion, but the offer is more likely to be in the offer is more likely to be in the region of five orjust over five. the region of five or 'ust over five. ~ . the region of five or 'ust over five. . . ., , ., the region of five or 'ust over five. ~ . ., , ., . ., five. what will the fans want? what sort of buyer? _ five. what will the fans want? what sort of buyer? fans _ five. what will the fans want? what sort of buyer? fans want _ five. what will the fans want? what sort of buyer? fans want sugar- sort of buyer? fans want sugar daddies, someone _ sort of buyer? fans want sugar daddies, someone to - sort of buyer? fans want sugar daddies, someone to do - sort of buyer? fans want sugar- daddies, someone to do something similar to what has happened at chelsea, under the reign of roman abramovich, for 19 years, he effectively wrote out a cheque for £900,000 a week for 19 years. the club incurred huge losses. we've had

similar at manchester city, but as recently as 2021, those two clubs took part in the champions league final and where the biggest lossmakers financially in the history of the premier league, but they delivered trophies, so football is a talent industry, the talent follows the money, and in order to have the money you need rich owners who are prepared effectively to subsidise it from a business point of view. the headlines on bbc news... the prime minister holds talks with northern ireland's political parties — with hopes that a deal between the uk and the eu on post—brexit trade arrangements could soon be agreed. the royal college of nursing warns there will be "significant impact" on the nhs when members in england stage a 48—hour strike on the first of march. the home secretary has raised concerns with police over the release of personal information about nicola bulley, who has now been missing for three weeks.

firefighters from across the uk have been helping the rescue effort in turkey following the aftermath of the earthquake that hit more than a week ago. fourfirefighters from cheshire made up part of the team — and they've been speaking about how they tunnelled through the rubble to save people, as andy gill reports. rescuers pull a woman from the rubble of a collapsed building near gaziantep in turkey. in a cramped tunnel, and with the risk that aftershocks could bring it all down on them, they get her onto a stretcher and out. among this team was dan reid, a cheshire fire service crew managerfrom penketh. it was a really small space, so there wasn't many people that could fit in that space. so it was a bit of a team effort, you know, passing the rubble back in buckets in a bit of a chain, using small hand tools to break through the wall. a lot of it you were upside down as well in the tunnel. four firefighters from cheshire went to turkey, as part

of the international search and rescue team. andy clark, based at chester, says pictures on tv don't prepare you for what it's like when you get there. the conditions with the dust getting into your nose and your eyes, the smell, as we went through the days, got considerably worse. a photo shows andy's legs sticking out of a tiny gap in the rubble, as they looked for possible survivors. when you're in a tiny space, a dangerous space like that, what's going through your mind? i think you're just thinking of the positives, the benefits that can be achieved. but we'll only take risks to save lives. the point of this deployment was to save lives. so we are taking those risks to go into those small spaces knowing that, yes, the worst could happen. john monahan, who's also based in penketh, says they had to bend the rules they'd normally stick to here to get people out. you could have a collapse at any moment and you knew that - going into it, but the search was more important at that|

time than our own lives. when you get someone out, when you rescue someone, what's that like? oh, it's total— happiness on everyone. we found an old lady, she was 91, and we got her out of a window. . we made a ladder out- of a fence, we climbed up. we wouldn't have been able to do that in the fire service. _ but there, you had to do- what you had to do over there. the fourth member of the team was ian wilson, who's based in lymm. we've heard you all did long, arduous hours. what keeps you going? coffee. coffee and the morale of the team. the cheshire team helped rescue eight people in turkey. seeing turkey the way it was, i don't think nothing could prepare you for that. it was absolutely devastating. andy gill, bbc news. the hollywood actor bruce willis has been diagnosed with dementia — his family released a statement online to say it was a relief

to finally have a clear diagnosis. it comes just months after it was announced he was retiring from acting because of an illness called aphasia, which affects cognitive abilities. david willis has this report. so your lady live out here? the past six months. why didn't you come with her, man, what's up? cos i'm a new york cop. bruce willis in his signature role as the hard—bitten hero of the die hard films, a five—movie franchise that sparked a career that has generated billions of dollars at the box office. sorry, i didn't get that message. mayday, terrorists have seized the nakatomi plaza. this channel is reserved for emergency calls only. do i sound like i'm ordering a pizza?! in all, he appeared in more than 100 films before being forced into retirement last year after suffering what were described as health issues, a condition known as aphasia which can cause speech and cognitive difficulties. a statement released at the time said he would be stepping away from a career that had meant so much to him.

now, in a new statement, the actor's family said... when a person has frontotemporal dementia, what they lose is these abilities to plan and organise their daily actions. and even more importantly, sometimes, to understand how their actions are received by other people around them. bruce willis�*s marriage to demi moore ended in divorce, but they have remained good friends and the updated statement about his condition was issued in her name as well as that of his current wife and his children from both marriages. in a tweet, the alzheimer's association praised the decision to share the diagnosis

of his dementia. "our hearts are with bruce willis and his family," it said. just the woman i wanted to see. just the man i wanted to see. a fixture on the small as well as the big screen for four decades, ever since his breakthrough role in moonlighting, in which he starred alongside cybill shepherd, bruce willis always believed, his family said, in using his voice in the world to help others. got me. hopeless. all right, listen. they added that they hope the news of his plight would raise awareness of a currently incurable disease that merits both more awareness and more research. david willis, bbc news, washington. tesla is recalling more than 350,000 of its us vehicles due to safety concerns. the national highway — traffic safety administration said the company's full self—driving software may cause a crash. tesla said it's not aware of any injuries or deaths related to the recall issue. but as samira hussain explains, the full self—driving beta software is a big part of tesla.

this self—driving technology for tesla is a big part of its business plan. it's what tesla and elon musk has been pushing and they believe it is the absolute future. elon musk has also said this self—driving technology is better, and in many cases, safer than just regular drivers. but what tesla has shown is there has been incidents in which some of these technologies have caused accidents. while in this particular software update instance, they are saying that, look, what we are doing is to try and get this update to happen because there could be some issues when going through traffic, circles, going through intersections, they are constantly updating this kind of software and this

kind of information. but because it is so crucial to tesla's overall business plan, there was a lot of safety concerns regarding it. a world war two veteran has finally received his medals, 80 years after his service. prince albert jacob, known as jake, came from trinidad to liverpool to repair planes in the raf. and just like anyone who served, he was entitled to medals. but he never got them, until now. phil mccann has been to meet him. liverpool, in the blitz. landing in the middle of this from trinidad was jake. he came from a far corner of the british empire to serve in the raf. the good old days! you can't afford to think about the bad old days, you have to think about the good old days. and times have changed — my god, times have changed. he was based at raf kirkham in lancashire, and burtonwood near warrington, where he went on to meet his wife mary. he also met with a lot of racism.

i'm not saying all of them were, but the public, most of the public in those days — "you black...stand back," sort of thing. and it wasn't pleasant at all to know you come to serve, you're doing your best for the country, and...the people that you're doing your best for is the very people that should help you, to guide you or should, you know... not interested. after the war, jake and mary moved to the midlands. he went on to represent great britain in athletics in the �*50s in israel. he became a postmaster. but one thing he didn't do was apply for the medals he was entitled to. "i have to apply?" "yes." i thought, "plenty of time." look... i think i'll wear them all the time, as well! now, though, at the age of 97, jake has his medals. his war medal, his raf

commemorative service medal, and a veteran's badge. it's after his neighbour applied for him. my neighbour came across, knocked the door and she said, "jake, i've got this for you." and i said, "what?" she said, "the post office." i went, "0h — oh, fantastic." so i open it up, and to my surprise... it was medals! phil mccann, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt. some ferocious winds to start the day in parts of scotland and north—east england, easing down as we go through today. storm auto, the curl of cloud around the southern edge of this cloud head where the strongest of the winds are. the southern edge of our low—pressure system, storm 0cto, moving into scandinavia. certainly in the short term we could see winds gusting 70 to 80 miles an hour, particular to

the parties in scotland, 0rkney, shetland and very costly to the east of the pennines. gales elsewhere, easing down throughout the rest of the day. lots of sunshine, despite the day. lots of sunshine, despite the winds from northern england northwards, showers and northern scotland becoming fewer in number, away from shetland. cloud increasing in northern ireland, patchy rain and drizzle and still plenty of cloud, south wales and southern counties of england could be damp and drizzly, but as you can see from the wind gust into the afternoon, strongest still in the far north—east of scotland elsewhere using them considerably. temperatures dropping about how we started this morning on the north, 5—7 , in the south still pretty mild, 13—14. tonight is nowhere near as one day, more cloud, more extensive rain, northern ireland and northern england, scotland, regulated snow across the mountains, cold nights of the north of that with frost and ice, patchy rain just a working its way south with clear skies and a mild night here, 9—11 . it leaves saturday with two weather fronts, one

here, 9—11 . it leaves saturday with two weatherfronts, one pushing here, 9—11 . it leaves saturday with two weather fronts, one pushing the far south, with gusty winds, one straddling some northern areas, vertically through central sun in scotland, parts of northern ireland and northern england, underneath you will see rain and drizzle come all day long but to the north, sunshine and light winds, sunny spells for many breaking through, the archer staying cloudy through the english channel. a mild breeze, 13—15 compared to 5—8, in the far north of scotland, which is above what we should be for the stage of victory. another one topples in around a hedge of high pressure on sunday, for scotland and northern england, more extensive cow, more outbreaks of rain, was persistent in the western isles, patchy in bits of rangers or through eastern counties of england, but further south and west, certainly, it was saturday, a much sunnier day and still pretty mild.

this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. the british prime minister holds talks with northern ireland's political parties, with hopes that a deal between the uk and the eu on post—brexit trade arrangements could soon be agreed. president zelensky tells the bbc he's confident ukraine can hold off russia's attacks until it can launch a major counter offensive, and warns neighbouring belarus against helping president putin. it will be a big mistake for him and for belarus. it would be a historical mistake. the royal college of nursing warns there will be "significant impact" on the nhs when members in england stage a 48—hour strike on the 1st of march. and the family of the hollywood actor bruce willis say the die hard

and pulp fiction star is now suffering from a type of dementia.