hello, and welcome to bbc news. just days before the first anniversary of the russian invasion of ukraine, western leaders have appealed for countries around the world to unite in providing long—term military support for kyiv. speaking at a security conference in munich, rishi sunak said russia was betting the west would lose its nerve and now was the time to "double down" and provide more weapons. a separate meeting of g7 foreign ministers in the city agreed to tighten sanctions against moscow and quickly provide more weapons to kyiv. our diplomatic correspondent james landale reports from munich.

this is a conference like few others — a chance for western allies, yes, to put on a show of unity, but also a chance to reaffirm their support for ukraine and demonstrate their resolve to stay the course. so today the prime minister urged allies to double down on their support for ukraine, and called for a new nato charter to ensure its long—term security, but he also said this... what's at stake in this war is even greater than the security and sovereignty of one nation. it's about the security and sovereignty of every nation. because russia's invasion, its abhorrent war crimes and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, are symptomatic of a broader threat to everything we believe in. that argument was echoed by america's vice president, who said no country would be safe if russia could violate territorial integrity. and as for the torture and rape

she said its forces had committed... we know the legal standards and there is no doubt these are crimes against humanity. in other words, this is about more than ukraine — an argument yet to be accepted by some leaders in africa and asia who say it is damaging their economies, and they want peace fast. we suffer disruption of supply chains, increasing prices, recession of the economy. this money by russia in the west that is used to buy weapons, to enable russia and ukraine to kill one another, could be better utilised to promote development. it's opinions like that that is concentrating minds here, with western policymakers realising that even after almost a year of war,

they have still yet to convince some countries that it's right to arm and defend ukraine. so this war is being fought on the snowy plains of eastern ukraine, but there is a diplomatic battle, too, and the west is realising it has work to do. james landale, bbc news, munich. james landale there. well, as tensions simmer over chinese surveillance balloons in the us, the top diplomats of both countries met on the sidelines of the conference in munich. james has more details. well, you know, they are two of the most senior diplomats, if you like, for both china and the united states, so i think it was important for both of them to have this meeting, just to try and calm some of the tensions that have been surrounding this incident in recent days. you know, the chinese foreign minister mr wang was pretty inflammatory about it when he arrived here, saying that america had behaved in a way that was absurd, shooting down these balloons.

i think both sides will have restated their positions. i think both sides will want that particular attention to be dialled down. because the sense i get from both sides is, this is not necessarily a fight they want to have, there are bigger issues to worry about. certainly, ithink, they're looking for some kind of clarity on that. whether this will end the matter, i think remains to be seen. let's look at some other stories in brief. north korea says it test—fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the sea of japan on saturday. state media says the test demonstrated pyongyang's efforts to build nuclear counter—attack capabilities against what it said were heightened military threats by the us and south korea. washington, tokyo, and the eu have condemned the missile launch. south africa's state—owned power firm has cut off electricity supplies until 5:00 in the morning local time as the energy crisis escalates. eskom says shorter blackouts will then be brought in until further notice. south africa's president

cyril ramaphosa declared a state of disaster last week. the family of the former us president jimmy carter says he's decided to spend his remaining time at home, after a series of short stays in hospital. the carter center said the 98—year—old would receive hospice care. rishi sunak said a deal on post—brexit trading arrangements between the eu and uk was by no means done. he met the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, on the sidelines of the munich security conference. they said there had been very good progress towards finding a solution, but intensive work was still needed. our political correspondent ben wright reports. after a dash to belfast on friday, today, a meeting in munich. while this summit in germany is focused on ukraine, rishi sunak and eu leaders seem to be edging closer to a deal

on an issue which has soured relations for ages — the rules governing trade between great britain and northern ireland. we're working through them hard and intensely with the eu but we are by no means done and there is no deal that is done. there's work to do and that is what we will set about doing. the northern ireland protocol is a product of brexit, the decision, approved by the uk and eu, to effectively put a trade border down the irish sea. it means goods can travel freely between northern ireland and the republic. but many unionist politicians hate the way it has disrupted trade and treats northern ireland differently from the rest of the uk. after rishi sunak�*s talks today with the head of the european commission, downing street said there had been very good progress to find solutions, so what might those be? a big sore for the uk has been the role of the european court ofjustice in settling disputes — compromise on that will be tough. more straight forward, a so—called green lane for goods staying in northern ireland and a red lane

with more checks on goods heading south. that should mean lighter regulation for firms trading within the uk. politically, this is a very tricky needle for the prime minister to thread. first, he wants a deal that meets the concerns of unionist politicians in belfast and persuades them back into government at stormont. second, he needs to think about his own tory mps here. will it be sellable to the brexit purists who want much of the current protocol ripped up? labour has said it would support a new deal but rishi sunak might be very wary of trying to get a plan through parliament on the back of labour votes. third, of course, he needs the eu to agree that it's time to do a deal. there is a willingness on both sides to find a compromise, to find a way out, and it's important for the eu but also important for the uk. applause. there has been a clear shift in tone as both sides

look to finalise a deal that could mark a reset in uk—eu relations for the first time since brexit. but for rishi sunak there are still big political hurdles to clear. ben wright, bbc news. british children and teachers returning from half—term school trips in europe have been hit by long delays at calais. uk border staff are currently on a four—day strike leading to people waiting in queues for up to six hours. our money and work reporter peter ruddick has more details. so, what we know is that there are massive queues at calais, mainly of coaches trying to get back to the uk from, as you say, these big half—term trips. it's actually one of the busiest days of the year for schools returning from, quite often, ski trips, actually, during half—term. so, we've seen pictures of incredible queues just outside calais and as you were saying, p&0 have been tweeting, warning people that there is a 6.5—hour wait at calais for coaches at the moment. now, this — these queues, these pictures here were taken by a teacher who's actually just messaged to say they've finally got through passport control, they're waiting for the next ferry, they hope to be on board within the next 30 minutes or so, but it's

seven hours after they arrived there. now, these queues coincide with, as you say, a border force strike, which is happening by uk border force staff but on the calais side. however, the home office are very keen to point out that they do not think the queues we're seeing here, these queues, are down to the industrial action itself. they say there are issues with the calais infrastructure and they say it is, as i was saying, one of the busiest days of the year for coach travel. clearly, the strike dates are not helping, or, you know, are exacerbating this situation. sctoland's health secretary humza yousaf has officially announced he's standing to replace nicola sturgeon as first minister. mr yousaf said he would go ahead with the controversial gender recognition reform bill.

confirmation of that decision puts him at odds with ash regan, who has also confirmed she will stand. she recently quit the cabinet over the issue and says she would bin the bill if elected. turkish rescue teams have located more survivors of earthquakes that struck almost two weeks ago. a total of more than 16,000 people are now known to have been killed in turkey and syria, with millions left homeless. the turkish city of antakya is one of the most severly damaged, with residential areas and some significant historic momuments destroyed. caroline davies reports. the devastation only gets closer. until you weave in the gaps between the slipped slabs of concrete, deep into the old city of antakya. for 20 years, mehmet led tourists around these ancient streets. now, even he can't find his bearings. "everything has changed," he says. stones and debris of collapsed

homes block our path at almost every turn. translation: this was a beautiful area where we took our groups to. old antakya houses, old anta kya streets, all destroyed, unfortunately. known as antioch in roman and medieval times, this city has been significant forjudaism, islam, and was one of the earliest centres of christianity. now, the gaping arches are all that remains of the orthodox church here. bell towers and minarets crumbled. outside a restaurant, mehmet makes a call to the owner. translation: i'm afraid to call people because i don't know if they are dead or

alive so i'm scared. i am relieved to hear your voice. the owner is alive but his business partner and their entire family have been killed. this was how these streets used to look. full of life and noise. now drained and empty. outside a butcher's shop, this man weeps for his nephew who used to work there. "my dear one has gone, the world has ended for me," he says. across antakya, the devastation is still raw. but mehmet is taking comfort in the city's history and its record of resilience. translation: so many cultures and civilisations have been and gone here. it has been destroyed and rebuilt. and this time it will be reborn again. caroline davies,

bbc news, antakya. in new zealand, the death toll from cyclone gabrielle has risen to ii, but the prime minister, chris hipkins, says that figure is bound to rise. the cyclone hit new zealand's north island last sunday, causing widespread devastation. a slow recovery process is ongoing in the affected areas. in some areas, new zealanders are taking things in to their own hands — including blocking roads to stop looters. i'm nowjoined byjasen syms, british expat living in new zealand. he isjoining us from hawkes bay, a region on the east coast of new zealand's north island. thank you very much for being with us. i know that this is a very busy and stressful time for you out there. tell us what it is like where you are?- it is like where you are? well, where i am — it is like where you are? well, where i am at _ it is like where you are? well, where i am at the _ it is like where you are? well, where i am at the moment - it is like where you are? well, where i am at the moment is| where i am at the moment is pretty much like paradise, because i have walked a mile over the hills, got picked up by a friend and then brought down into this part of the city where there is actually reception where we are, and the

vast majority of hawke's bay is just devastation. the numbers you just mentioned about loss of life, that is absolutely so far from what we will be. it has been absolutely devastating for hawke's bay. the morale of the people is low, but incredibly nicked together. i mean, communities arejust mean, communities are just helping mean, communities arejust helping each other. we do have the horrific side that you just mentioned, where we have got, you know, the park worlds of society which just literally feeding off people's sadness and misery. —— pack wolves. one of the reasons why it has been so hard to inaudible to you guys, i presume, is that the cell towers, as soon as vodafone or 02 or whoever it is putting generators to get help for people to actually contact loved ones or such things, they are stealing the generators.

holding up people at gunpoint. it isjust holding up people at gunpoint. it is just absolutely unbelievable. anyway, that is something that needs addressing in new zealand as soon as the catastrophe can be somewhat put back on the right axle, which is going to be a lot of years. i mean, hawke's bay is the fruit bowl of new zealand, it is not going to be for a lot of years, a lot of years. decades, maybe. you mentioned the problem with the mobile phone towers and chris hipkins mentioned people still could not be contacted. is that what you're hearing? yeah, well, 4000, what we are hearing here is 4000 people unaccounted for, that's why, i mean, the government is downplaying, same as what i've been listening to the horrific mother first time i've been listening to the horrific motherfirst time i've heard anything about turkey and syria for probably five or six days, you know, the lapthorne heard the death toll was probably at about 15,000 —— the last i

heard. it will be those numbers here but it will certainly be vastly more elevated than what the actual reporting is in the media, what the tolls of reporting, very sad times. we're talking about the community working on the problems with looters, is not the resources to deal with it? to be fair, i don't think this is the resources to deal with it here, we have barelyjust over 5 million people here and for a landmass which is larger than the whole of the great, you know, great britain or the british isles. 50 you know, great britain or the british isles.— british isles. so trying to 'ust do british isles. so trying to just do a _ british isles. so trying to just do a sprinkling - british isles. so trying to just do a sprinkling of, l british isles. so trying to i just do a sprinkling of, you know, emergency service over such a large area as well as just, i mean, hawke's bay is larger than yorkshire which is where i come from. but i mean look my story is insignificant. we have lost everything but my

situation pales into insignificance to what inaudiblejust slightly insignificance to what inaudible just slightly further up inaudible just slightly further up the valley where we are. there's houses just disappeared and people, they are probably still finding people in spaces and people in rooms for hours and people in rooms for hours and hours on end. the amount of helicopters, it's like watching a vietnamese movie —— roofs. it's unbelievable. really tough situation there and our thoughts are with you all but thank you very much.- thank you very much. yes. listen, _ thank you very much. yes. listen. guys. _ thank you very much. yes. listen, guys, yeah. - thank you very much. yes. listen, guys, yeah. we - thank you very much. yes. | listen, guys, yeah. we are inaudible now so all the best, england. inaudible now so all the best, encland. ~ , , ., this is bbc news. the headlines — western leaders put forward a unified front as they call for military support for ukraine in its fight against the russian invasion but britain's prime minister says the country needs more support.

let's stay with our main story. daniel davis is a foreign policy analyst specialising in defence and joins me now. thank you for being with us. there have been this anticipation that russia may have expected western support to slightly drop off perhaps but it seems like that's not happening? it but it seems like that's not happening?— but it seems like that's not happening? it certainly isn't et and happening? it certainly isn't yet and there's _ happening? it certainly isn't yet and there's really - happening? it certainly isn't yet and there's really no - happening? it certainly isn't i yet and there's really no doubt that there was a lot of expectations and concern about that, especially given the energy situation, what we thought was heading into a winter which has been mitigated to a large extent and i think that has been responsible for the economic situation not being as bad and we haven't gone into a bad recession, all of those things help keep the support going on from the western side towards ukraine. but it does a little bit belie all of the things that are going to ukraine because it's still not going to be enough to really turn the table,

certainly not enough to drive russia out, so that's the second issue. the support has been there but then, we have to get into what is the actual objective of all of this? that's a good point because the pledges and promises are one thing but putting it into pro this is a completely different matter and case in point, coming up to the year anniversary of this invasion and ukraine is only now getting tanks from germany and poland. what are the practical challenges with getting military hardware to ukraine? they are nowjust getting the pledges, only a handful of tanks have come across but for example the american abrams tanks that are promised might not be there for a full year, they may not even get there until early 2024, and even the german tanks, they are talking about the leopard two, the more modern ones, being fewer than they thought so they will now give the older ones which is not that much of an upgrade over the t—72 is they already have so the issue with using

these things is the bigger issue because you have to be trained notjust how to use the tank and pull the trigger and drive the vehicle but you have to learn how to operate it in combined arms warfare, someone who has done it and train others to do it over many years, i can tell you it's much more difficult than people seem to understand and ask ukraine to understand and ask ukraine to go on the offensive may be the spring or summer and they haven't even gotten all of the equipment yet while they are still fighting for their life on the current line of contact is a very big ask.— is a very big ask. more recently. _ is a very big ask. more recently, when - is a very big ask. more i recently, when zelensky is a very big ask. more - recently, when zelensky visited europe, he said what we need from the west is fighterjets. do you think he will get them? i would have thought some of these other things they wouldn't have gotten and everything else on the list and understand the british prime minister today said long—range rockets and missiles were now going to be on the list and things they could gift so i could imagine that fighterjets

would not be but man, people need to understand it's the most sophisticated piece of equipment there is and the training for that and how to operate those things is usually measured in years for pilots and i don't think people need to have an expert microphone all they need to have an expectation this will not change the war because of the long time before it gets to ground. long time before it gets to round. , ., ground. daniel davis, foreign oli ground. daniel davis, foreign policy and — ground. daniel davis, foreign policy and defence _ ground. daniel davis, foreign j policy and defence specialist, thank you very much. a uk—based iranian broadcaster, iran international, says it's had to suspend its operations in the uk after mounting threats against its iranian journalists. it comes after what the network calls a "significant escalation "in state—backed threats from iran". the 24—hour channel will continue its output from its washington, dc offices instead. a little earlier, i spoke to our reporter sofia bettiza, who's been following the story. this was a difficult decision for iran international. the tv network said that it was acting on advice from the metropolitan police.

and just to give you a bit of context, rich — in november, two british—iranian journalists were told by police there was a possible threat to their lives. so, after that, armed police were stationed near their offices in west london. but on saturday, the network said that the threats had grown to such an extent that it felt it was no longer possible to protect its staff. in a statement, they said, "this is notjust a threat "to our tv station, but to freedom of speech "and to the british public at large." now, a senior editor for iran international spoke to the bbc a little earlier. let's have a listen. what we heard from the police was that the amount of the threats was so much that actually, the security concerns mounted and it was not possible to maintain the security of the personnel. we know that this has not been a single issue,

this has been a continuous effort against iran international. the metropolitan police said that there have been 15 kidnapping and assassination attempts which were foiled, which probably they were aimed at iran international. sofia, this can be traced back to september, when a young woman, mahsa amini, 22 years old, died at the hands of iran's morality police for not wearing her hijab properly. pressure has been mounting on the regime ever since? that's right. the timing of this is significant. as you just mentioned, iran has seen anti—government protests over the last five months which have posed one of the biggest threats to the islamic republic since the revolution in 1979. now, the network is already banned in iran but it has become one of the main sources of news in a country where internationaljournalists find it very, very — i mean, independent

journalists find it very, very hard to operate, and that is why in october, iran's government imposed sanctions against iran international, accusing them of inciting riots and supporting terrorism over their coverage of the government protests. now, iran international said they will continue to operate in their offices in washington, dc, and that their staff will not be silenced by these threats. there is more on that on our website. 12 south african cheetahs have arrived in india as part of a project to reintroduce the animals to the country. it's the second batch of big cats to be transferred to asia after south africa agreed to relocate 100 of them over the next decade. stephanie prentice reports. an arrival normally reserved for visiting world leaders or film stars but this helicopter carrying even more precious cargo for the park rangers waiting here — the first of a new batch of cheetahs shipped over as part of a deal

with south africa. crowds gather to see it enter a gated holding enclosure, emerging excitedly and maybe slightly dazed by the flight. applause. this animal held here briefly to adapt to hunting and regain full fitness before being released into a national park. translation: i'm veryl happy to inform you that all the cheetahs are completely healthy and very active. they're being released in kuno national park today and they are very alert, active and perfectly normal. cheetahs were declared extinct in india in 1952 after being used for hunting and shot for sport. now, they'll be protected by officials here as part of what they're calling the �*cheetah action plan'. stephanie prentice, bbc news. such amazing animals. that's it

from us for now. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @richpreston. thanks for watching. goodbye. hello. we've a fair amount of cloud out there, a little bit of drizzle here and there, too. how about sunday overall? well, actually, for many of us, it's not looking too bad. a fairly bright day, not necessarily all that sunny but it will be generally dry — at least across england, wales and northern ireland. now, from the motion of the cloud, you can see the weather's coming in generally from the south—west. that's a mild direction, so it is mild out there. and notice this large area of low pressure just sweeping to the north of us. now, it's not mild everywhere — in fact, in eastern scotland through the early hours, temperatures will be pretty low and after the damp weather, there is a chance of one or two icy patches but in contrast, the rest of the country really will be very mild indeed sunday morning — around eight degrees in many major towns and cities.

so, in the north—west, rain and gales — in fact, the gales may strengthen as we go through the course of the day. really windy around the north coast of northern ireland, too, but elsewhere, yes, a breezy day but that bright day and some sunny spells possible, too. temperatures will be typically around 12 degrees or so. now, let's have a look at sunday evening and the gales continue to strengthen across the north of scotland, turning severe as we head into monday, and it's all because of this low pressure. you can see a lot of isobars there. tight pressure gradient — that means strong winds. but to the south of the low pressure, we have a mild south—westerly spreading — at least, across the bulk of the uk. so, here's the forecast for monday, then, and you can see these mild south—westerlies, yes, dragging in a fair amount of cloud, but a few breaks in the cloud as well, and temperatures could actually get up to around 14 or 15 degrees. different story to the north with gale force winds. it's cold — only seven degrees in lerwick. the forecast for tuesday

continues to show these milder south—westerlies across the bulk of the uk so it stays, of course, mild, but this weather front is approaching and that heralds a change for later on in the week. in fact, behind that weather front, we'll see slightly colder air arriving from around wednesday and into thursday. it's not going to turn particularly cold but those temperatures will be widely into single figures. you can see by the time we get to wednesday and thursday, the temperatures are closer to around nine degrees but, you know, overall, it's still on the mild side.

this is bbc news, the headlines. western leaders have put forward a unified front as they called for military support for ukraine in its fight against russia, just days before the first anniversary of the invasion. britain's prime minister rishi sunak said the sovereignty and security of every nation was at stake. mr sunak also met european commission president, ursula von der leyen, about northern ireland's post—brexit trading arrangement. the prime minister said a deal to resolve the dispute was "by no means done." he said good progress was made, but there were still more challenges to work through. the number of people confirmed to have died in the earthquakes in syria and turkey has risen above 46,000. millions are also left homeless.

the turkish city of antakya is one of the most severly