this is bbc news. the headlines... president biden makes a surprise visit to kyiv — reaffirming the us's �*unwavering' support to ukraine's democracy. kyiv stands and ukraine stands, democracy stands, the americans stand with you and they will stand with you. —— kyiv stands and ukraine stands, democracy stands, the americans stand with you and the world stands with you. biden�*s visit comes as the anniversary of russia's invasion approaches. president zelensky says the democratic world has to �*win

this historic fight.�* we hope that this year the 2023 will become a year of victory, this unprovoked and criminal, russia's waragainst ukraine and against the whole world. in other news, the family of nicola bulley describe their agony as police find a body in the river near the place she went missing. scotland's finance secretary, kate forbes, becomes the third candidate to enter the leadership contest to replace nicola sturgeon as first minister. bbc analysis shows that some of britain's local bus networks have been slashed by more than a third. and after a tour of the uk, dippy the dinosaurfinds a new home in coventry. good afternoon. welcome to the bbc news channel. us presidentjoe biden has made a surprise visit to kyiv — his first to ukraine since russia invaded almost a year ago.

he met ukraine's president, volodmyr zelensky and both men visited a memorial for ukraine's war dead. at a news conference mr biden announced more military, political and financial support for kyiv and he said ukraine would be supported "for as long as it takes". our correspondent james waterhouse reports form kyiv. in a city no stranger to big visitors, this was the biggest. the most powerful politician in the world, ukraine's biggest ally, arriving to the heart of the war, to the delight of his host. joe biden has been here before, but not as president. that is an important symbol for us, and we are proud of it. thank you very much for coming, mr president. i think it's my eighth trip, and much has changed. much has changed indeed. sirens wail.

just listen to the sirens which accompanied their visit to kyiv�*s saint michael is cathedral. this is no doubt a significant and symbolic visit. you have the us president visiting in the middle of a full—scale conflict with all of those associated risks. but this also sends a message to moscow, that america won't shy away from supporting ukraine. president zelensky will see this as a chance though to ask for more. there was substance to the symbolism. another military package worth $500 million was announced with the promise it will keep coming. we know that there will be very difficult days and weeks and years ahead. russia's aim was to wipe ukraine off the map. putin's war of conquest is failing. translation: the result of this visit will undoubtedly be - felt on the battlefield, strengthening our troops and liberating our territories. there is still a delay between

hardware being promised and used. in a war which is costly and just about every sense, time is not ukraine's friend. this is a conflict which started in 2014. it's nearly a year since russia's full—scale invasion. few expected kyiv would hold, let alone host america's commander—in—chief. james waterhouse, bbc news. let's cross live to kyiv and talk to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet. there have been some high—profile visitors of late but could not get much better than president biden. you do not get much more powerful than presidentjoe biden and he emphasised that he was the first leader to speak with president zelensky when russian troops first rumbled over the border, when you

first explosion sounded in the capital and he mentioned in his comments that when he spoke to president zelensky that he could hear the explosions in the backdrop and here we are one year to the day when that happened, the invasion began, he is back in kyiv in the middle of a war and the choice of kyiv is very symbolic. we understand from sources that other locations were suggested to the american president including what would be much safer options, a much easier option to go to lvivjust across the ukrainian border with poland. but instead he may the ten hour train drive year to the capital to send a strong a symbol as possible while all the while discussing the very difficult substance of this war which still seems to have no end. symbolically important but also a renewal of support for various types.

renewal of support for various es. , ., ., types. yes, it would have been remiss if he — types. yes, it would have been remiss if he arrive _ types. yes, it would have been remiss if he arrive just - types. yes, it would have been remiss if he arrive just to - types. yes, it would have been remiss if he arrive just to say l remiss if he arrive just to say hello, shake hands and send a symbol. he announced another half a billion in vertical support, military support to ukraine with the —— critical support. they have already given a lot in support since president biden became president. britain is the second—largest that around £2.3 billion and you can see what the gap is between the two leading western supporters of ukraine. he did not say... you gave details on what was in that package and then said more details would be provided later but of course what we do not know is what they discussed when they were together, alone, with no cameras. president zelensky must have mentioned what he mentioned recently when he spoke in front of the us congress that they want those fighter jets the us congress that they want those fighterjets to the us congress that they want those fighter jets to try the us congress that they want those fighterjets to try to hasten what

they hope will be the end of the war and what they hope will be a ukrainian victory over russia. no two ways about it, though, this is a very powerful message to moscow, having the president of the united states visit. , having the president of the united states visit-— having the president of the united states visit. , �* , ., ., , states visit. yes, i'm sure that was on president _ states visit. yes, i'm sure that was on president biden's _ states visit. yes, i'm sure that was on president biden's in _ states visit. yes, i'm sure that was on president biden's in mind - states visit. yes, i'm sure that was on president biden's in mind as - on president biden�*s in mind as much, even though he has shown he is an american leader who likes to talk to his adversaries whether they are the chinese president or the russian leader, but he has made it absolutely clear that even though american troops are not on the ground, even though this is a ukrainian waragainst ground, even though this is a ukrainian war against russia, that the united states is leading an alliance of western nato military powers who will do everything necessary to defeat russia in this war in ukraine, this invasion, a violation of the united nations charter so it does send a strong message to president putin but it also does solidify president putin's view in his supporters that they say

they are not fighting against ukraine, they are fighting against the west including the united states and that is what president putin said to his people and he will use this visit to say, see, i told you so, it is notjust the ukrainians and president zelinsky, it is a united states as well which is why this war, or he would have put it, the special military operation, is taking as long it is is, unfolding and costing so much. —— as long as it is. simon smith is the former uk ambassador to ukraine and hejoins me now. there are several different audiences will watch this visit in very different ways, how will it be perceived by the ukrainian public do you believe from a diplomatic perspective? i you believe from a diplomatic pempeetive?_ you believe from a diplomatic perspective? you believe from a diplomatic --ersective? ., ,, , perspective? i am guessing but i think it's a _ perspective? i am guessing but i think it's a pretty _ perspective? i am guessing but i think it's a pretty easy _ perspective? i am guessing but i think it's a pretty easy guess - perspective? i am guessing but i | think it's a pretty easy guess that the ukrainian public will be very thrilled indeed to see president biden appear in kyiv today. i think

what will be on their minds and i know it has been on the minds of many ukrainians i met over the last few weeks or so is as we come up to the one—year anniversary of the war, there will be a fear that those countries supporting ukraine will think, gosh, one year on it is time to reflect on where we are now, whether it has been worthwhile, how much older we can do it and this kind of thing and we had heard a lot of the speeches from the leaders of government making during the munich security conference over the weekend, a lot of very powerful statements of support for ukraine and of determination to keep on going so i think that the biden visit to kyiv is really about the best possible answer you could give to the question in answer to the ukrainian question of whether supporters have the stamina and stomach to stick with them and i

thinkjoe biden�*s visitors saying we have. thinkjoe biden's visitors saying we have. ., thinkjoe biden's visitors saying we have. . , thinkjoe biden's visitors saying we have. ., , , , have. how will it be viewed by the kremlin? it _ have. how will it be viewed by the kremlin? it has _ have. how will it be viewed by the kremlin? it has its _ have. how will it be viewed by the kremlin? it has its own _ have. how will it be viewed by the kremlin? it has its own ways - have. how will it be viewed by the kremlin? it has its own ways of. kremlin? it has its own ways of construing _ kremlin? it has its own ways of construing events _ kremlin? it has its own ways of construing events like - kremlin? it has its own ways of construing events like this - kremlin? it has its own ways of construing events like this and | kremlin? it has its own ways of. construing events like this and to feed its own interpretation. i think we have assumed for some time that vladimir putin himself does not really have a full grasp of what is going on. he has either lost the ability to grasp rationally and clear—sighted we what is happening so i dare say the message will be in some respects deliberately distorted for moscow consumption and i think your correspondence was quite right to say it is likely that one response in moscow will be to exploit the visit, to support the narrative that says this is actually not a war, is not about ukraine. but unfortunately very few people will be around to point out it was russia that started this war. and the

background to which there is no conceivable threat to russia presented by the united states but thatis presented by the united states but that is not a truth that will get through to putin but another message which has a good chance of getting through is the fact of this persistence and determination that the message from ukraine and the supporters is that we will go on finding ways to raise the cost of russia. in finding ways to raise the cost of russia. ., , finding ways to raise the cost of russia. ~' , ., russia. in keeping with that continued — russia. in keeping with that continued narrative - russia. in keeping with that continued narrative of- russia. in keeping with that - continued narrative of whatever the west does, russia will disagree with. he west does, russia will disagree with. .., west does, russia will disagree with. . ., ,., west does, russia will disagree with. ., ~ with. he can disagree and i think unfortunately — with. he can disagree and i think unfortunately the _ with. he can disagree and i think unfortunately the signs - with. he can disagree and i think unfortunately the signs are - with. he can disagree and i think unfortunately the signs are thatl with. he can disagree and i think. unfortunately the signs are that the immediate short—term response from putin will be simply to renew his efforts to grind ukraine down. he

has shown that he is insensitive to the numbers of russian lives that are being needlessly lost in his war and it does very sadly look as though he is prepared to lose tens if not hundreds of thousands more russian lives in what he started out describing as an effort to protect russian speakers and ethnic russians around the world. i think the hollowness of that pretext is clear to us now and his readiness to sacrifice russian lives unfortunately continues and i think we may well see that in a new spring offensive from the russian armed forces in ukraine in the weeks to come but i think the message he is continuing to receive on the other side, the extent to which he is hearing repeated commitments that we

will stay with this for as long as it takes, i think that is going to, and i hope it will, be a message thatis and i hope it will, be a message that is heard by people who are more rational, more open eyed than vladimir putin is in moscow in russia as a whole and they will understand that this is a piece of massive folly that has been undertaken by vladimir putin and the costs to russia of continuing the war can only continue to go up. thank you for your insight. the family of nicola bulley say they are in agony as they wait for police to identify a body, found in the river wyre in lancashire. the discovery was made within a short distance of where nicola went missing, near to the village of st michael's on wyre. she was last seen more than three weeks ago in a field where she was walking her dog. her phone was then discovered on a bench, next to the water.

the body was found down river, about a mile away. two people out walking near the river raised the alarm when they saw the body. lancashire police have been widely criticised for their handling of the investigation, as nick garnett reports. it was a search that stretched from a tiny hamlet to the lancashire coastline, on land, on water and by air and back again. the police were called just after 11.30 yesterday morning. the nearest road was closed and the footpath along the river, sealed off. police divers and specialist officers went into the water and recovered the body from the weeds and undergrowth at the edge of the river bank. a forensic tent, erected while the officers worked. the river at this point is tidal, but the body may have been trapped underwater, hidden from sonar and the search teams. a huge police operation which stretched to the irish sea and yet the discovery was made so close to where nicola bulley was last seen more than three weeks ago.

the 45—year—old had just dropped her children at school. she had left her phone on a bench next to the river wyre and now a body found downstream just a mile away. at the centre of it all, there is a distressed family who are waiting for news and now the focus turns to them. my deepest thoughts and sympathies for the family of nicola bulley. it must be an horrendous experience they are going through right now. we need to let the police carry out and conclude their investigation. the investigation into nicola bulley�*s disappearance on the 27th of january has attracted widespread speculation and criticism. on february the 3rd the police said they had no reason to believe anyone else was involved and didn't think a crime had been committed, she had fallen into the river. a week later with the search failing to find any sign of her, the

family cast doubt on the police's hypothesis. five days later said the missing mum of two young children had specific vulnerabilities. later that day they went further and said she had struggled with alcohol and the menopause. the police, trying to explain why nicola bulley was a high risk missing person, were accused of insensitivity and victim blaming. but today a former police chief from the force has been defending the investigation. we expect high standards from the police, quite rightly so. the media does a brilliantjob in holding the police to account, but some elements of the media basically made it much more difficult. instead of focusing on the priority of finding nicola and supporting the family, they have had to defend their actions every step of the way. the photographs of nicola bulley and the yellow ribbons of hope still fill the village. but today this seems a sad and place as people wait for more news. let's go live to nick garnett now —

—— let's talk to our correspondent rowan bridge — he's in st michael's on wyre. yes, it is extremely difficult for nicola bulley�*s partner, children, sister, parents. her partner described the period as him having no words, just agony which describes what they are going to at the moment and it has affected the entire community, this is a village or even really more of a hamlet with only a few hundred people who have really put their heart and soul into finding out what happens to nicola bulley. there are still missing posters, yellow ribbons tied to a bridge over a canal and daffodils left to raise the profile of nicola bulley. herfamily are left to raise the profile of nicola bulley. her family are still waiting for confirmation as to who the body as that may have been pulled out of the river, there is a formal identification process ongoing but there has been no word as to who

thatis there has been no word as to who that is yet. we heard suella braverman talking who reiterated her misgivings to release personal information about nicola bulley and her struggles with the menopause and with alcohol saying it is a matter for the police themselves and she will be withholding furtherjudgment pending an internal review that lancashire police themselves have said they will now carry out. o, said they will now carry out. a great deal of questions about that. why did it take so long to find a body when there has been a search under way? body when there has been a search underway? it body when there has been a search under way? it is one that has emerged today.— under way? it is one that has emerged today. under way? it is one that has emeraedtoda. , , ., . , emerged today. this search has been auoin on emerged today. this search has been going on extensively _ emerged today. this search has been going on extensively for _ emerged today. this search has been going on extensively for the - emerged today. this search has been going on extensively for the past - going on extensively for the past three weeks and has involved not just police search team, drones, helicopters and a specialist search team that came in at the request of the family of nicola bulley and indeed volunteers who came down the

earlier weeks to search the area as well. one of the points made is that the river is tidal which may have affected what happened to the body. we do not know at the moment if it is indeed nicola bulley�*s body but the fact that a body was found a mile away from where she went missing... it is possible if it is the body of nicola bulley that it was hidden in the reeds. 0ne the body of nicola bulley that it was hidden in the reeds. one theory is that it may have been carried out by the water and brought back in or may well have been hidden in a position underneath the reeds where it was impossible to find the body but at the moment as i say we are still finding that it might waiting to find out who it is, with police not heaving saying whether it is a male or female body discovered and pulled out of the recovery yesterday. —— pulled out of the river yesterday. yesterday. -- pulled out of the river yesterday.— the race is on the succeed nicola sturgeon as snp leader and first minister of scotland. kate forbes, who's currently scotland's finance minister, has announced that she is standing. so too are scotland's health

secretary humza yousaf and the former community safety minister ash regan. our correspondent lorna gordon explains how the leadership contest is beginning to take shape. kate forbes the latest to announce her candidacy this morning, saying that scotland and the snp were at a major crossroads. she promised competent leadership to deliver independence. she said she wanted to lead the snp with integrity and commitment and she pledged to reach out and listen. this morning, humza yousaf, the health secretary, launched his campaign. his pitch was that he has the experience. he's been in government for more than ten years here in scotland. he's seen by many as the continuity candidate. he said that is no bad thing. and he also said he wasn't wedded to nicola sturgeon's preferred strategy for another independence referendum. i have some concerns about using a westminster general election as a de facto referendum. i'm not as wedded to it as the first minister i know has said that it's her preference.

so i'm not going to go in with a preference just now. i'm going to listen to what the membership has got to say, but be in no doubt the westminster election for scotland... of course it will be about that question of independence. well, ash regan is, of course, the third candidate who's announced she will stand. she supports the idea of using the next election as a de facto referendum. she, of course, resigned from the scottish government last year because she said she couldn't support the controversial gender recognition reform bill. we've heard from nicola sturgeon this morning whose sudden resignation has sparked this all. she said she will not endorse any of the candidates to succeed her. she says like every other snp party member, she will have one vote. that's how it will work. one member, one vote. there are more than 100,000 members of the snp. they will get to decide who becomes the next party leader and in effect who becomes the next first minister of scotland. the nominations to stand close on friday.

they have to... it's not a foregone conclusion. they have to get 100 votes from 20 different branches and then there is a wider vote throughout the membership. we will find out who the leader of the party is on march the 27th. lorna gordon. paramedics and other ambulance staff across parts of england, and all of wales, are on strike again today. members of the gmb and unite unions are involved in a long—running dispute about pay and staffing. the government says the walk—outs are not in anyone's best interests. our health correspondent nick triggle says the result is expected shortly of a strike vote byjunior doctors. so far, doctors haven't been involved in any strike action this winter. but in the next few hours, the british medical association will announce the results of its ballot of ofjunior doctors. and when we sayjunior doctors, we're talking about nearly half the medical workforce here. basically, everyone up to consultant level and the bma have already

indicated if they vote yes, they're likely to have a three day walk—out, possibly as early as mid march. now, before that, we've got the nurses going on strike for two days next week across half of services in england. and the truth is, it's hard to see an end to this dispute at the moment. ministers are adamant they won't discuss this year's pay award because it would fuel inflation if they increase it. but unions are refusing to discuss next year's pay award until their concerns about this year are resolved. meanwhile, in northern ireland, we've got some more strike action taking place this week. but elsewhere in the uk there has been some movement in scotland. an offer of 14% over two years has been made and been welcomed by unions and they're consulting their members. in wales there has been an offer of more money. not all the unions have accepted it, however. to keep up to date with strikes in your area, you can visit the bbc news website to get more details about how

they may affect you. bus networks are shrinking across britain, but the cuts have gone much deeper in some areas than others. bbc analysis suggests that in some places, services have been slashed by more than a third. so, what impact do these cuts have on the people that rely on their local bus routes? 0ur transport correspondent katy austin has been to leicestershire and north yorkshire, two counties that have seen significant reductions in services. i'm just going up to the bus stop for a couple of minutes. i've got my phone, if you need me. most days, john makes the short walk from his home to catch the only bus serving the leicestershire village of stapleton. he uses it for shopping or social trips to the nearest town, but the 159 is about to be axed. i, like probably many more people, will be lost when it's gone, devastated. i'm a 24/7 carer and it's nice to think, i want to get out for an hour, i can go and get the bus, go downtown, even if i don't want to buy anything. the point is, it's taking independence away

from a lot of people. the county council says it can no longer afford the heavy subsidy. in future, it will offer alternative bookable transport, for essential trips only. up and down the country, people are finding services have disappeared or been cut back. many of them are commercially funded — like the 128 bus through north yorkshire, which now only runs every two hours and skips the village of ruston. so the older residents are having to walk up through the village, and it's a very steep hill, down the main road, which is a really fast—moving road, erm, to the bus stop, carrying their shopping. the bus companies say they're still getting fewer passengers than before the pandemic and they've had to cope with rising costs. i'm going to get on this bus to speak to the man who runs one operator here in yorkshire. hello, ben. hi, how are you doing? it is very much about money. ultimately, we are a - labour—intensive business. the last two years, we've - increased our driver wages by 25%, in order to remain competitive. 0ur utilities costs have gone up, so gas and electric, _

like they have for everybody, as well as parts for _ repairing vehicles. and we're expecting our fuel costs to go up as we go further- into this year as well. he says this reduced route is now covering its costs. the department for transport said it had now invested more than £2 billion in supporting the industry since the pandemic began and extended a temporary £2 cap on single fares across england until the end ofjune. along the 128 route, residents of pickering are fighting to stop their other bus, the 840, being cut. there's a possibility it might go, what would that mean for you? i'd have to quit myjob, because i don't drive, so i've no other transport. the council here hopes the 840 can be saved. many people have already watched their bus leave for the last time. katy austin, bbc news. research for the bbc shows half of state—funded schools for children with special

educational needs and disabilities in england are oversubscribed, as they struggle to meet growing demand for places. some headteachers say they've been forced to hold classes in cupboards because of a lack of space. 0ur education correspondent elaine dunkley has more details. this is maltby hilltop school in rotherham. like many specialist schools across the country, there's pressure on places. hello. freya! doing some fantastic walking. the classrooms and corridors are cramped and overcrowded, as they take on more pupils. how much of your time do you spend looking for space? well, i mean, it's continual. ten years ago, they had 82 pupils. now, they have 134, and there is a waiting list. what i'm about to show you, this was a former resource cupboard, but now we have members of the visual impairment therapy team conducting therapy with our children in this space. in a resource cupboard? in a resource cupboard. afternoon!

hi! good afternoon. i'm ashamed. you know, as the head teacher of this school, i genuinely do feel it is shameful that this is what we are providing for our children. so what is causing pressure on places? there is increasing diagnosis of special educational needs. some mainstream schools are struggling to cope. we're a little bit cramped. so, we're always a little bit cramped... funding is an issue. local authorities�* high—need budgets are tight, and new specialist schools aren't being built quick enough to cope with the rising demand for places. it's not ideal at all. we can't have more than four, five people in this room, and i have got seven children in my pizza club, and there's four members of staff. we just can't do it. we want the absolute best for them. these children here, this is like my nest and they are the birds, my little chicks. and i want them, you know, to fly, and i want them to flourish. some pupils have had to leave

the school because they can't cope with the overcrowding. sarah was hoping this day wouldn't come. she's in school to collect her son cohen's belongings. he's no longer able to learn in the noisy, cramped portakabins and is now at home. this is where he should be. he should be learning and he should be with his friends. _ he started to have panic. attacks, hyperventilating. he wants to be here, but it's... the space is not allowing it. in a statement, the government says it's providing £2.6 billion — between now and 2025 — to help deliver new school places. this is a school which celebrates every success... look at you, in the pool, on the trampoline, washing your hands... ..but this head teacher is worried that far too many children are being failed by the lack of space and resources in specialist schools across england. elaine dunkley, bbc news, in rotherham. for more on this story you can watch

a documentary on bbc iplayer — it's called send help. let's ta ke let's take you to wiltshire now where king charles has been watching a defensive... for ukrainian troops from partnerforces. this i'm told the last five weeks to deliver basic combat training on these trips will return to fight ukraine. he has been accompanied today by the chief of general staff general sir patrick sanders and this training has been happening sincejuly last year and happening since july last year and will continue happening sincejuly last year and will continue all the way through this year and the recruits are being taught how to survive in a hostile environment so pictures here from wiltshire, as we approach the year anniversary this month of the russian invasion of ukraine. now it's time for a look

at the weather with helen. good afternoon. mild start to the working week but with a lot of cloud around. this is a weak weather front. it is giving some appreciable rain over the hills of scotland just nudging a little bit further north. there's drizzle in coastal and hilly areas further west. but where we see some sunshine, 15 or 16 is well above where it should be at this time of year. but it's windy and it remains windy in the north, only slowly easing down the northern ireland in particular. rain pushes its way northwards on that weather front to overnight. so again, with all the cloud and a fairly stiff breeze, temperatures won't fall much below five or six degrees celsius. but there's some chillier weather on the way later in the week. again, predominantly cloudy through tuesday, perhaps different areas, seeing some sunshine perhaps around the moray firth across the eastern side of the pennines, the eastern side of wales as well. and where those clouds break for any length of time will push those temperatures up in towards the mid—teens again. but rain is gathering further west and it's behind that that we have some slightly

chillier weather on the way. hello, this is bbc news with martine croxall. the headlines: president biden makes a surprise visit to kyiv — his first to ukraine since russia's invasion almost a year ago. the family of nicola bulley describe their agony as police find a body in the river near the place she went missing. scotland's finance secretary, kate forbes, becomes the third candidate to enter the leadership contest to replace nicola sturgeon as first minister. bbc analysis shows that some of britain's local bus networks have been slashed by more than a third. and after a tour of the uk, dippy the dinosaur, finds a new home in coventry. sport now and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's ben. good afternoon. ireland's prospects of rounding off their women's t20 world cup group stage with a win

are looking unlikely with india looking posting a competitive total in gheberha. india won the toss and elected to bat first. they made 155—6. smriti mandhana top scoring with 87 from 56 balls. ireland need their highest ever chase to win. ireland are winless in the tournament so far and have never beaten india. an india victory would take them into the last four. unbeaten england will top the group by avoiding defeat against pakistan tomorrow in their last pool match — a team they've not lost to in 10 years. spinner sophie ecclestone says the atmosphere under new coachjon lewis is one they're all enjoying. i think it's the best environment we've been in a while. we've got a lot of relaxed and chilled vibes and everyone is loving playing and we are really enjoying being part of a squad again and it's really exciting. just going out there and playing your game and not having any fear of getting it wrong, i think it's just exciting for the team and if it doesn't go to plan, that's

just how it is. the batters play their shots and show how good they are. after defeats for spurs and chelsea last week, liverpool play their champions league last 16 first leg tomorrow. and it's a repeat of last year's final asjurgen klopp's side welcome real madrid to anfield. klopp says only one team needs to be at their best to progress. we need to play a super game, we need to play two super games to be honest to get through but i've no problem with that because if you don't play your best, you don't have a chance. real madrid doesn't have to play their best and still have a chance and that's the difference. manchester united return to europa league action on thursday, after sharing a 2—all draw with barcelona in the nou camp. barca will head to old trafford to face a united side full of confidence following their 3—nil win over leicester city in the premier league. marcus rashford scored twice to take his tally for 24 for the season. it's a big week with newcastle waiting in the efl cup final on sunday too.

the managers mentioned it's about momentum for us and we want to test ourselves and play in the biggest games possible and luckily for us, the work we've put in from preseason after not a great start, we managed to fight back and kept the team together and now we are in big games and big moments of the season so hopefully we can take the chances when they come. tottenham hotspur have described online racist abuse directed towards son heung min as utterly reprehensible. the south korean forward was targeted during spurs 2—0 win over west ham yesterday — son scoring the second goal. campaign group kick it out have urged authorities to do more saying the longer it takes social media companies to take action or government to pass the 0nline safety bill, the more players will be abused.

despite a narrow 2—1win over italy in the arnold clark cup, england head coach sarina wiegman said she saw exactly what she wanted from her much changed side. rachel daly — playing up front rather than full back — scored both goals in front of a record crowd for any sporting fixture at the cbs arena in coventry. wiegman made nine changes to the team that beat south korea in their opening match. it's now winner takes all against belgium on wednesday. the lionesses have been nominated for laureus world team of the year following their euros success last year. they've been nominated alongside the france's men's rugby team, f1 world champions and nba team golden state warriors. that's all the sport for now. let's return to our top story and president biden's surprise visit to ukraine, nearly one year on from the russian invasion. this is the moment he met with ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky. mr biden has now left kyiv

but said his visit reaffirms the us's unwavering and unflagging commitment to ukraine's democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. he also said vladimir putin's "war of conquest" in ukraine is failing. let's hear what he had to say. together, we've committed 700 tanks and thousands of armoured vehicles. 1000 artillery systems, more than 2 million rounds of artillery ammunition, more than 58 launch rocket systems, air defence systems, all to defend ukraine and that doesn't count the other $500 million worth we are going to be announcing tomorrow, that's going to be coming your way. and that's just the united

states. and just today, that announcement includes artillery ammunition for himars and howitzers, air surveillance radars that will protect the ukrainian people from aerial bombardment. later this week, we will announce additional sanctions against companies trying to evade sanctions and fuel russia's war machine. thanks to bipartisan support in congress, this week we are delivering billions in direct budgetary support. putin's war of conquest is failing. russia's military has lost half its territory once occupied. young, talented russians are fleeing by the tens of thousands. putin thought ukraine was weak and the west was divided. as you know, isaid weak and the west was divided. as

you know, i said to you at the beginning, he is counting on is not sticking together —— counting on us not sticking together. and one year later, the evidence is right here in this room. we stand here together. it reminds us that freedom is priceless. it is worth fighting for for as long as it takes and that's how long we're going to be with you, mr president, for as long as it takes. applause earlier president zelensky welcomed president biden's visit and said he hoped 2023 would become a "year of victory". this week, we will be marking one year of ourfight against this week, we will be marking one year of our fight against russia's aggression. 50 year of our fight against russia's aggression-— year of our fight against russia's aggression. so it's very symbolic that we solidify _ aggression. so it's very symbolic that we solidify our _ aggression. so it's very symbolic that we solidify our resilience - that we solidify our resilience through two meetings with the president of ukraine. my visit in

december and the visit of mr president to kyiv today. the result of this visit will surely be seen and will surely have a reflection on the battlefield in liberating our territories. the decision of the united states on tanks for ukraine has already presented a foundation for establishing a coalition and it is of historic importance in many other aspects, is of historic importance in many otheraspects, more is of historic importance in many other aspects, more specifically in aerial defence and the defence of our cities. this is a very fundamental reinforcement of our capacities. we've also talked about long—range weapons and weapons that may still be supplied to ukraine even though it was not supplied before. i know there will be very significant package of security support to ukraine and currently it

will serve as a clear signal that russia's attempts will have no chance and that we will, together, defend our cities. staying with ukraine — it's nearly a year since the russian invasion of ukraine caused millions of innocent families to flee their home country. most of them passed though poland but almost1 million ukrainians stayed and started a new life there. 0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford went to meet some of those who have already settled in poland and some who have onlyjust arrived, amid fears of a renewed russian offensive. for a year now, this railway has been a lifeline for people. every night, the train pulls into platform five. bringing families from ukraine to poland, from war to safety and peace. the carriages are much quieter these days, but the refugees are still coming.

0lga has just arrived from northern ukraine. her family spent the night in an abandoned supermarket. they left because 0lga's scared vladimir putin is planning a new deadly offensive to mark the first anniversary of his invasion. translation: no-one in ukraine makes plans any more _ because you don't know what tomorrow will bring, whether there will be a missile strike. people are just lost. you look to the future and you see nothing. that's the mood now for all of us. the family took only what mattered most, including arnold, and then they fled. 0lga's son is nearly 18. if he stayed in ukraine, he could be conscripted. poland has welcomed refugees in their millions, and if others

are forgetting their initial shock at this war, solidarity with ukraine here is still strong. so they work here, they rent houses, their kids going to polish school. so we can't say, you know, they only stay here and, you know, they stay and do nothing. no, they integrate very well. it hasn't been easy. there are special classes in polish schools designed to help ukrainian children fit in. like 11—year—old sofia, who's thrown herself into life here. she's already fluent in polish and there's no sign of the fear she says made her tremble all over when her city was shelled last year and she had to hide in the basement. i ask if she often thinks of home. translation: i try not to think about ukraine | because if i think too much, then i'll start crying. for example, if i think how good it would be to be in ukraine

and in my own house. forsome, poland isjust a transit stop on a tired journey further west. there are free trains from here to hanover. and 0lga and her family have tickets. i'll never forget the scenes i saw in eastern ukraine at the very beginning of this war, when there were huge crowds at the train stations crushing to get onto evacuation trains. there was panic, there was absolute chaos. here now things are far calmer. but a year on, i'd say the mood is less desperate. it's more depressed now. because ukraine's first refugees thought they'd be home within weeks. now no—one dares guess when the war they're still escaping will be over. sarah rainsford, bbc

news, in eastern poland. the headlines on bbc news: president biden makes a surprise visit to kyiv — his first to ukraine since russia's invasion almost a year ago. the family of nicola bulley describe their agony as police find a body in the river near the place she went missing. bbc analysis shows that some of britain's local bus networks have been slashed by more than a third. a bbc investigation has uncovered widespread sexual abuse on tea farms which supply some of the uk's most popular brands including pg tips and lipton, as well as starbucks and supermarkets sainsburys and tesco. dozens of women in kenya told us they have been forced into sex by their managers while working on plantations owned for decades by two british companies. tom 0dula from bbc africa eye has this report — and a warning, it does contain

some distressing scenes. half of all tea drunk in the uk comes from here — kenya's rift valley. it's a big business and we've discovered that sexual exploitation is rife. we sent an undercover reporter to pose as a worker. we are calling her katie. it was time for the general public to know what exactly happens in these companies. she goes for a job interview with a notorious manager, john. he's in charge of hundreds of workers on plantations owned by scottish firm james finlay & company. he tells her to follow him into a hotel room, where he puts pressure on her to have sex with him. members of the production team were stationed nearby

and made a phone call to help her get out. i was so scared and so shocked, it must be really difficult for the women. james finlay & company says it immediately suspended john, and that it has reported him to kenyan police. john did not respond. the company has also launched its own investigation into whether its kenyan operation has an endemic problem with sexual violence. sainsbury�*s says these horrific allegations have no place in its supply chain. tesco supermarket says it's taking the claims extremely seriously and it is in constant dialogue with finlay's to ensure robust measures are taken. starbucks did not provide a response. we also sent katie under undercover on plantations owned for years by multinationalfirm unilever, where pg tips and lipton teas are produced. she was pressured for sex by the divisional manager under her direct supervisor.

unilever has known about this issue for more than a decade. in 2011, a report found sexual exploitation was prevalent on unilever�*s plantations. the company introduced a zero—tolerance policy and other measures, but little appears to have changed. unilever says it's deeply shocked and saddened by our allegations. while we were secretly filming, unilever sold its tea operation in kenya. the new owner, lipton teas & infusions, says it has suspended the managers named in our investigation and has launched an independent inquiry. tom 0dula, bbc news. and you can see that full programme sex for work: the true cost of our tea on panorama this evening on bbc one at eight o'clock. the mayor of london will extend free

schools meals to every primary school pupil in the capital for a year. the scheme which will cost around £130 million, will come into effect from september, but critics say more action is needed. tarah welch reports. you enjoying your watermelon? nice, sweet, is it sweet? incredibly proud to be back here at croft primary school, my old primary school. i remember receiving free school meals when i was a pupil here, and i'm really pleased to announce every child in primary schools across our great capital city will be receiving free school meals from the start of the next academic year. his office says this will help more than 250,000 children and their families through the cost of living crisis next year. i've heard heartbreaking stories about children who haven't got a packed lunch or don't get free school meals pretending to eat at lunchtime to save them from embarrassment.

it's really important in the absence of their government supporting families, i do what i can't help. currently in england, all state schoolchildren can claim free school meals up to year two. from year three some children still qualify for free school meals if their household is on certain benefits. but for some time now, campaigners have said the threshold is too low and many children living in poverty are going hungry. effectively, you have those families from lower incomes with older children paying for the meals of those wealthier families with younger children. and when people are struggling with the cost of living right now, that doesn't seem quite right. in a statement, a government spokesperson said... and it went on to say it's extended the national school

breakfast programme. the most dangerous domestic abusers will be monitored more closely and electronically tagged under new government plans. almost £8.5 million will be spent over the next two years on plans which include specialist victim support programmes. labour welcomed the move but said the government should be doing more to tackle violence against women and girls. senior police officers across england and wales have warned that a failure to increase pay could lead to cuts in staff and delays to recruitment. ajoint statement by the associations of chief constables, superintendents and police and crime commissioners says pay has fallen in real terms by almost 17% in the last 12 years. the government says it remains on track to recruit 20,000 new officers. the legendary sports presenter, dickie davies, has died at the age of 94. he was best known for hosting world of sport on itv for almost 20 years from the 1960s

until it ended in 1985. he also covered the olympics, boxing, darts and snooker. fellow presenters described him as a giant of live sports broadcasting. dickie davies who's died at the age of 94. now, cold water swimming has its fans. it's said to have numerous health benefits, including boosting your immune system and reducing stress. but a woman from chile has taken things to a whole new level in the waters off antarctica, as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. in a normal swimsuit, with nothing for insulation, barbara hernandez dives into the antarctic 0cean. she's a veteran when it comes to this sort of thing but even for her, this was quite the ordeal. translation: it was super difficult because it's a very long swim and after completing

the first mile, i felt i'd never reach the end. i felt my arms getting more and more heavy because the blood stopped circulating to the hands and feet. the waters here at this time of year are around 2 celsius — just above freezing — and barbara swam 2.5km — a new world record. but she insists that that was not her motivation for this extremely chilly dip. this is something that goes far beyond a medal or a record. we can finally talk about antarctica, talk about what each of us can do to protect the oceans, the living waters. 0nce she'd crossed the finishing line, another swimmer — in a full wet suit — helped her to get out. by now, she was actually suffering from hypothermia. undaunted, her next aquatic challenge will take her to new zealand. her only rival, she says, is fear. tim allman, bbc news. world war one epic all quiet on the western front dominated

at the baftas last night, taking home seven awards, including best film. the german—language drama's seven wins broke the bafta record for the most awards for a film not in english. you may remember dippy the diplodicus, probably the world's most famous replica dinosaur skeleton. for more than a century, dippy stood in london's natural history museum, but more recently, he's been touring the uk. and now he's found a more permanent home — in coventry, as jon maguire reports. the wonder and the awe of being the first to see dippy the diplodocus in its new home, in the centre of coventry. i think it's so cool how long the tail is, and how they've kept it upright, without it falling down to the floor. dippy is a replica, made up of casts of various diplodocus discoveries, to form the huge skeleton that first stood in london's natural history museum in 1905.

now, dippy is made up of 292 parts — all the way from the very tip of its whip—like tail through the replica skeleton, all up to the skull at the very front. it's been on display in the natural history museum in london for the best part of 100 years, but now it's in coventry, this is dippy�*s new home for at least the next three years. in 2017, it set off on a tour around the uk and was seen by 2 million visitors, so the hope is that dippy will continue to draw the crowds — this time, here at the herbert art gallery and museum. we're expecting around 300,000 visitors in the first year and, actually, we think that might be quite a conservative estimate as well. dippy was transported in 29 wooden cases and took five days to reconstruct. this morning, daisy was given the honour of putting the final plaster of paris bone in place.

it's basically like a 3d jigsaw puzzle. yeah. apart from anything else, it's absolutely huge. |dippy's got an amazing history, j and so we're really pleased that it's out and about again. from today, visitors will be able if not to walk with dinosaurs, then at least to stand below and beside one, marvelling at its scale and imagining life on earth tens of millions of years ago. john maguire, bbc news, coventry. the latest on dippy the dinosaur. now, have you ever broken something very valuable? if so, you'll know how an art collector in miami is feeling, after she accidentally knocked over a sculpture worth almost £35,000. the artwork — which smashed into tiny pieces — was by us pop artistjeff koons. here's what it looked like beforehand.

the blue dog was one of the smallest from his iconic dog balloons collection, at 16—inches or 40—centimetres tall, and this is how it ended up looking all over the floor. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen. the colours of spring are starting to appear, and it certainly feels mild enough to be spring out there. temperatures popping up to 15 or 16 in the brighter spots, but once we clear the rain midweek, it will turn a little bit chillier back down to the february average. and even with the mild air, there's an awful lot of cloud with us today, this weather front to the north is still giving us some fairly significant rains over the western highlands of scotland. to the north of it, it's blowing a gale across shetland, very gusty winds here, but it's brighter at least for the north mainland and the northern isles,

just the odd shower. elsewhere, to the south of that weather front there is a lot of cloud, so it's drizzly around the hills and the coast in the west, the best chance of brightness and sunshine will be east of any hills, and that is where we'll see the highest temperatures — but, across the board, temperatures will be several degrees up on where they should be for this time of year, and as a consequence of all that cloud, it's not going anywhere overnight, in fact the weather front pushes a little bit further north, the wind starts to stiffen here once again, but with enough breeze and cloud, temperatures won't fall much lower than 5 or 6 degrees, so it stays relatively mild for the moment. so, tuesday, again, a lot of cloud, a lot of dry weather, some drizzle around the coast and the hills in western areas, something more significant tomorrow across the northern isles before that clears away, and pushing back into the western isles later, but temperatures may get again towards 14 or 15, perhaps, around the moray firth, east of the pennines, for example, but there will be just generally a lot of dry, cloudy weather — but once that weather front then moves through into wednesday, well, we notice this change in wind direction.

instead of the southerly or south—westerly we get a north—westerly blowing in. so, a chillier feel to the day on wednesday, but, again, once our weather front clears out of the way, and it could drag its heels across east anglia and the south—east, and there is the hint of a little sleetiness over the hills in the north, but actually just temperatures are tapered down a little bit, 8—10, and that breeze to factor, as well, so it will feel cooler for the day on wednesday, but there will be some sunshine, more sunshine around than we're seeing today, and indeed tomorrow. with the ridge of high pressure then building in to thursday, it means a cold start to thursday morning, a frost potentially first thing, so, quite a difference. just the chance of a few wintry showers, hailand rain and perhaps a little bit of sleet pushing down the east coast, and more rain pushes into the north later, but as you can see, for many of us, it's the temperatures that have tumbled by the end of the week, but there'll be more sunshine in place of it.

this is bbc news. the headlines... president biden makes a surprise visit to kyiv — reaffirming the us's �*unwavering' support to ukraine's democracy. kyiv stands and ukraine stands, democracy stands, the americans stand with you and the world stands with you. biden's visit comes as the anniversary of russia's invasion approaches. president zelensky says the democratic world has to �*win this historic fight.�* we hope that this year the 2023 will become a year of victory, this unprovoked and criminal, russia's waragainst ukraine and against the whole world.

in other news, the family of nicola bulley describe their agony as police find a body in the river near the place she went missing. scotland's finance secretary, kate forbes, becomes the third candidate to enter the leadership contest to replace nicola sturgeon as first minister. bbc research reveals over half of england's schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities are oversubscribed. and after a tour of the uk, dippy the dinosaur, finds a new home — in coventry. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news channel. us presidentjoe biden has made a surprise visit to kyiv —

his first to ukraine since russia invaded almost a year ago. he met ukraine's president volodmyr zelensky and both men visited a memorial for ukraine's war dead. at a news conference mr biden announced more military, political and financial support for kyiv and he said ukraine would be supported "for as long as it takes". our correspondent james waterhouse reports form kyiv. in a city no stranger to big visitors, this was the biggest. the most powerful politician in the world, ukraine's biggest ally, arriving to the heart of a war, to the delight of his host. joe biden has been here before, but not as president. that is an important symbol for us, and we are proud of it. thank you very much for coming, mr president. i think it's my eighth trip, and much has changed. much has changed indeed. sirens wail. just listen to the sirens

which accompanied their visit to kyiv�*s saint michael's cathedral. this is no doubt a significant and symbolic visit. you have the us president visiting in the middle of a full—scale conflict with all of those associated risks. but this also sends a message to moscow, that america won't shy away from supporting ukraine. president zelensky will see this as a chance though to ask for more. there was substance to the symbolism. another military package worth $500 million was announced with the promise it will keep coming. we know that there will be very difficult days and weeks and years ahead. russia's aim was to wipe ukraine off the map. putin's war of conquest is failing. translation: the result of this visit will undoubtedly be - felt on the battlefield, strengthening our troops and liberating our territories. there is still a delay between

hardware being promised and used. in a war which is costly and just about every sense, time is not ukraine's friend. this is a conflict which started in 2014. it's nearly a year since russia's full—scale invasion. few expected kyiv would hold, let alone host america's commander—in—chief. james waterhouse, bbc news. earlier i spoke to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet who is in kyiv. they don't get more powerful than presidentjoe biden. and it was interesting how he emphasised today that he was the first leader to speak with president zelensky when russian troops first rumbled across the border into ukraine, when the first explosions were sounded here in the ukrainian capital. and he mentioned in his comments that when he spoke to president zelensky that he could hear the explosions in the backdrop. and here he is with only days

to go, a year to the day when that happened, the invasion began. he's back in kyiv in the middle of a war. and the choice of kyiv, of course, is very symbolic. we understand from sources that other locations were suggested to the american president, including what would have been a much safer option, much easier visit to go to lviv just across ukraine's border with poland. but instead, he made the ten hour train drive here to the ukrainian capital to send as strong a symbol as possible, while all the while discussing the very difficult substance of this war, which still seems to have no end. so symbolically important, but also a renewal of support of various types. yes. he mentioned... i think it would have been remiss if he arrived just to say hello, just to shake hands, just to send a symbol.

he announced another half a billion in critical support, military support to ukraine. the united states has already given quite a staggering more than 30 billion to ukraine in security support since president biden became president. britain is the second largest and that's at about 2.3 billion. so you see how the gap is between the two leading western supporters of ukraine. he didn't say... he gave details on what was included in that package and then said more details would be provided later. but of course, what we don't know is what they discussed when they were together, alone with no cameras. president zelensky must have mentioned what he mentioned recently when he spoke in front of the us congress that they want those fighter jets to try to hasten what they hope will be the end of the war and what they hope will be a ukrainian victory over russia. let's be in no two ways about it, though. this is a very powerful message to moscow having the president

of the united states visit. yes, i'm sure that was on president biden's mind as much, even though he has shown that he's an american leader who likes to talk to his adversaries, whether they're the chinese president or the russian leader. but he's made it absolutely clear that even though american troops are not on the ground, even though this is a ukrainian war against russia, that the united states is leading an alliance of western nato military powers who will do everything that's necessary to defeat russia in this war in ukraine, this invasion, a violation of a united nations charter. so, yes, it does send a strong message to president putin, but it also does solidify president putin's view and his supporters, which say they're not fighting against ukraine, they're fighting against the west, including the united states. and that is what president putin says to his people. and he will use this visit to say, see, i told you so. it's notjust the ukrainians and that president zelensky,

it's the united states as well. that's why this war or as he would put it, the special military operation is unfolding as it is and is taking so long and is costing so much. let's talk now to malcolm chalmers — deputy director general at the defence and security think tank: the royal united services institute. thank you very much a finding time to talk for this afternoon. what are the various messages you believe this visit by president biden sends? i think the big message here is the united states and indeed the whole west is committed to ukraine's defence, committed ukraine cosmic victory and that commitment will last as long as it takes. but remember, one year ago,

last as long as it takes. but remember, one yearago, president putin and his senior officers were all getting ready for their victory parade through to give, thinking it would come quite quickly and here we are now where the american president believes it is safe enough to visit the capital of ukraine during a war which i think is quite remarkable. what does that say about the trust the americans must have an ukraine security? the americans must have an ukraine securi ? . , the americans must have an ukraine securi ? ., , ~ , security? that is right. americans have confirmed _ security? that is right. americans have confirmed that _ security? that is right. americans have confirmed that the - security? that is right. americans have confirmed that the russians| have confirmed that the russians were told about this visit a few hours beforehand but even so, it is quite remarkable that president biden travelled by train to —— from poland to kyiv and he was walking about the capital. american presidents are always historically very careful or even paranoid about operational security for their presidents at travelling abroad so

to travel to a country which is at war and has seen russian bombardment of its cities, they must feel considerable confidence in ukrainian security within kyiv and indeed against possible attack. hour security within kyiv and indeed against possible attack. how much notable does _ against possible attack. how much notable does it _ against possible attack. how much notable does it make _ against possible attack. how much notable does it make the - against possible attack. how much notable does it make the absent . notable does it make the absent predator that met president putin from the front? == predator that met president putin from the front?— from the front? -- the absent president _ from the front? -- the absent president putin _ from the front? -- the absent president putin from - from the front? -- the absent president putin from the - from the front? -- the absent i president putin from the front? from the front? -- the absent - president putin from the front? it is notable that president putin has not visited his troops in donbas where they are facing a very difficult situation and now taking in many losses and not so long ago president putin announced the annexation to the russian federation of large parts of ukraine and he has preferred to visit —— has not prepared to visit those newly

annexed places and that will heighten the sense of discontent amongst many in russia. we approach the first anniversary _ amongst many in russia. we approach the first anniversary of _ amongst many in russia. we approach the first anniversary of russia's - the first anniversary of russia's invasion, how important will this be evenif invasion, how important will this be even if we do not see an end to the war? i even if we do not see an end to the war? ., ., ., , ~' , ., war? i do unfortunately think you will not see _ war? i do unfortunately think you will not see the _ war? i do unfortunately think you will not see the entity _ war? i do unfortunately think you will not see the entity war - war? i do unfortunately think you will not see the entity war very i will not see the entity war very soon but the next year i think will determine the direction it is going. russia in recent weeks has been pushing an offensive across many parts of the front line with pretty limited success and very considerable losses but the western aid which has been supplied in recent months and continues to be supplied at growing levels will give ukraine the capability of launching counter offences the spring and summer, and much will depend on how successful those counter offences are because if we can get to a situation by the end of this year

where ukraine has made significant advances then we may begin to get to advances then we may begin to get to a place where russia has to recalibrate its own objectives and we can see an end to this horrible war but i think we are a long way from that, we may not end this year, but hopefully this year will be the beginning of the end. ila but hopefully this year will be the beginning of the end. no one should beginning of the end. no one should be under any — beginning of the end. no one should be under any illusion _ beginning of the end. no one should be under any illusion that presidentl be under any illusion that president putin will give in easily. that be under any illusion that president putin will give in easily.— putin will give in easily. that is ri . ht. putin will give in easily. that is right- right — putin will give in easily. that is right. right now— putin will give in easily. that is right. right now russia still. putin will give in easily. that is . right. right now russia still thinks it can achieve its objective against ukraine and ukraine with western support believes quite the opposite, that ukraine can still defeat russia or —— on ukrainian soil and who is right will be determined on the battlefield and we are a long way to the resolution. all wars and at some stage but i think you're quite a long way from that happening and the will of one side or the other will

have to be broken before that happens. at the moment, i think in part because of the strength of western support, the odds are that ukraine will emerge victorious but nothing can be taken for granted. thank you very much for talking to us this afternoon. the family of nicola bulley say they are in agony as they wait for police to identify a body, found in the river wyre in lancashire, near where she went missing. two people out walking raised the alarm when they saw the body, about a mile from where nicola was last seen more than three weeks ago. lancashire police have been widely criticised for their handling of the investigation, as nick garnett reports. it was a search that stretched from a tiny hamlet to the lancashire coastline, on land, on water and by air and back again. the police were called just after 11.30 yesterday morning. the nearest road was closed and the footpath along the river, sealed off. police divers and specialist officers went into the water and recovered the body from the weeds and undergrowth at the edge of the river bank.

a forensic tent, erected while the officers worked. the river at this point is tidal, but the body may have been trapped underwater, hidden from sonar and the search teams. a huge police operation which stretched to the irish sea and yet the discovery was made so close to where nicola bulley was last seen more than three weeks ago. the 45—year—old had just dropped her children at school. she had left her phone on a bench next to the river wyre and now a body found downstream just a mile away. at the centre of it all, there is a distressed family who are waiting for news and now the focus turns to them. my deepest thoughts and sympathies for the family of nicola bulley. it must be an horrendous experience they are going through right now. we need to let the police carry out and conclude their investigation. the investigation

into nicola bulley�*s disappearance on the 27th of january has attracted widespread speculation and criticism. on february the 3rd the police said they had no reason to believe anyone else was involved and didn't think a crime had been committed, she had fallen into the river. a week later with the search failing to find any sign of her, the family cast doubt on the police's hypothesis. five days later said the missing mum of two young children had specific vulnerabilities. later that day they went further and said she had struggled with alcohol and the menopause. the police, trying to explain why nicola bulley was a high risk missing person, were accused of insensitivity and victim blaming. but today a former police chief from the force has been defending the investigation. we expect high standards from the police, quite rightly so. the media does a brilliantjob in holding the police to account, but some elements of the media basically made it much more difficult. instead of focusing on the priority of finding nicola and supporting the family, they have had

to defend their actions every step of the way. the photographs of nicola bulley and the yellow ribbons of hope still fill the village. but today this seems a sad and place as people wait for more news. our correspondent, rowan bridge, is in st michael's on wyre and gave us the latest from the scene. yes, it is extremely difficult for paul ansell, nicola bulley�*s partner, children, sister, parents. paul ansell described the period as him having no words, just agony which describes what they are going to at the moment and it has affected the entire community, this is a village or even really more of a hamlet with only a few hundred people who have really put their heart and soul into finding out what happens to nicola bulley. there are still missing posters,

yellow ribbons tied to a bridge over a canal and daffodils left to raise the profile of nicola bulley. her family are still waiting for confirmation as to who the body as that may have been pulled out of the river, there is a formal identification process ongoing but there has been no word as to who that is yet. we heard suella braverman talking who reiterated her misgivings about the decision to release personal information about nicola bulley and her struggles with the menopause and with alcohol saying it is a matter for the police themselves and she will be withholding furtherjudgment pending an internal review that lancashire police themselves have said they will now carry out. a great deal of questions about that. why did it take so long to find a body when there has been a search under way? it is one that has emerged today. this search has been going on extensively for the past three weeks and has involved not

just police search team, drones, helicopters and a specialist search team that came in at the request of the family of nicola bulley and indeed volunteers who came down the earlier weeks to search the area as well. one of the points made is that the river is tidal which may have affected what happened to the body. we do not know at the moment if it is indeed nicola bulley�*s body but the fact that a body was found a mile away from where she went missing... it is possible if it is the body of nicola bulley that it was hidden in the reeds. one theory is that it may have been carried out by the water and brought back in or may well have been hidden in a position underneath the reeds where it was impossible to find the body but at the moment as i say we are still finding that it might waiting to find out who it is, with police not even saying whether it is a male orfemale body pulled out of the river yesterday. thank you.

the trial of a former metropolitan police officer accused of rape and indecent assault is underway at the old bailey in london. 57 year old stephen kyere is retired from the force. the allegations relate to an alleged incident almost 20 years ago, back in 2004. 0ur reporter frances read is outside the old bailey for us now. tells more about this case. as you said, 57—year—old stephen kyere is a retired met police officer and these allegations relate to an incident which allegedly happened almost 20 years ago so back in 2004 and he is accused of raping and indecently assaulting a woman while off duty, he was serving in the hammersmith and fulham boroughs at the time of the prosecution outlined the case today saying it allegedly happened after a night out in kingston in which he apparently had flashed his met police identification card and

the court heard the victim had been drunk and just wanted to sleep and it was said the defendant climbed over her in bed before proceeding to rape her. it was outlined in court that the defendant said the intercourse was consensual. at the time police were called in the case was originally investigated actually between 2004 and 2006 when it was then abruptly closed and no suspect had ever been identified. it was revealed in court that that original investigation itself has been the subject of a separate investigation by the met pours my own department of professional standards. stephen kyere denies all allegations against him at the trial continues. the race is on the succeed nicola sturgeon as snp leader and first minister of scotland. kate forbes, who's currently scotland's finance minister, has announced that she is standing. so too are scotland's health secretary humza yousaf and the former community safety

minister ash regan. our correspondent lorna gordon explains how the leadership contest is beginning to take shape. kate forbes the latest to announce her candidacy this morning, saying that scotland and the snp were at a major crossroads. she promised competent leadership to deliver independence. she said she wanted to lead the snp with integrity and commitment and she pledged to reach out and listen. this morning, humza yousaf, the health secretary, launched his campaign. his pitch was that he has the experience. he's been in government for more than ten years here in scotland. he's seen by many as the continuity candidate. he said that is no bad thing. and he also said he wasn't wedded to nicola sturgeon's preferred strategy for another independence referendum. i have some concerns about using a westminster general election as a de facto referendum. i'm not as wedded to it as the first minister i know has said that it's her preference. so i'm not going to go in with a preference just now. i'm going to listen to what the membership has got to say, but be in no doubt the westminster

election for scotland... of course it will be about that question of independence. well, ash regan is, of course, the third candidate who's announced she will stand. she supports the idea of using the next election as a de facto referendum. she, of course, resigned from the scottish government last year because she said she couldn't support the controversial gender recognition reform bill. we've heard from nicola sturgeon this morning whose sudden resignation has sparked this all. she said she will not endorse any of the candidates to succeed her. she says like every other snp party member, she will have one vote. that's how it will work. one member, one vote. there are more than 100,000 members of the snp. they will get to decide who becomes the next party leader and in effect who becomes the next first minister of scotland. the nominations to stand close on friday. they have to... it's not a foregone conclusion. they have to get 100 votes from 20 different branches

and then there is a wider vote throughout the membership. we will find out who the leader of the party is on march the 27th. paramedics and other ambulance staff across parts of england, and all of wales, are on strike again today. members of the gmb and unite unions are involved in a long—running dispute about pay and staffing. the government says the walk—outs are not in anyone's best interests. our health correspondent nick triggle says the result is expected shortly of a strike vote byjunior doctors. so far, doctors haven't been involved in any strike action this winter. but in the next few hours, the british medical association will announce the results of its ballot of ofjunior doctors. and when we sayjunior doctors, we're talking about nearly half the medical workforce here. basically, everyone up to consultant level and the bma have already indicated if they vote yes, they're likely to have a three day walk—out, possibly as early as mid march. now, before that, we've got the nurses going on strike for two days next week across half of services in england. and the truth is, it's hard to see an end to this dispute

at the moment. ministers are adamant they won't discuss this year's pay award because it would fuel inflation if they increase it. but unions are refusing to discuss next year's pay award until their concerns about this year are resolved. meanwhile, in northern ireland, we've got some more strike action taking place this week. but elsewhere in the uk there has been some movement in scotland. an offer of 14% over two years has been made and been welcomed by by unions and they're consulting their members. in wales there has been an offer of more money. not all the unions have accepted it, however. to keep up to date with strikes in your area, you can visit the bbc news website to get more details about how they may affect you.

now we arejust now we are just hearing from an inquest in exeter that the five victims of a gunman who were killed in a series of shootings in plymouth in a series of shootings in plymouth in august 2021 were unlawfully killed. an inquestjury meeting at exeter racecourse has come to this conclusion. the gunmen was jake davison he went on to shoot himself. he had had a row with his mother maxine, he went on to

shoot five people, the three—year—old sophie martyn and her father lee and stephen washington, katherine shepherd and it is said that they were unlawfully killed when he should have been unable to retrieve a license. so that news again is that those victims of jake davis were unlawfully killed. —— of jake davison. bus networks are shrinking across britain, but the cuts have gone much deeper in some areas than others. bbc analysis suggests that in some places, services have been slashed by more than a third. so, what impact do these cuts have on the people that rely

on their local bus routes? 0ur transport correspondent katy austin has been to leicestershire and north yorkshire, two counties that have seen significant reductions in services. i'm just going up to the bus stop for a couple of minutes. i've got my phone, if you need me. most days, john makes the short walk from his home to catch the only bus serving the leicestershire village of stapleton. he uses it for shopping or social trips to the nearest town, but the 159 is about to be axed. i, like probably many more people, will be lost when it's gone, devastated. i'm a 24/7 carer and it's nice to think, i want to get out for an hour, i can go and get the bus, go downtown, even if i don't want to buy anything. the point is, it's taking independence away from a lot of people. the county council says it can no longer afford the heavy subsidy. in future, it will offer alternative bookable transport, for essential trips only. up and down the country, people are finding services have disappeared or been cut back. many of them are commercially funded — like the 128 bus through north yorkshire, which now only runs every two hours and skips the village of ruston. so the older residents are having to walk up through the village, and it's a very steep hill, down the main road, which is a really fast—moving road, erm, to the bus stop, carrying their shopping.

the bus companies say they're still getting fewer passengers than before the pandemic and they've had to cope with rising costs. i'm going to get on this bus to speak to the man who runs one operator here in yorkshire. hello, ben. hi, how are you doing? it is very much about money. ultimately, we are a - labour—intensive business. the last two years, we've - increased our driver wages by 25%, in order to remain competitive. 0ur utilities costs have gone up, so gas and electric, _ like they have for everybody, as well as parts for _ repairing vehicles. and we're expecting our fuel costs to go up as we go further- into this year as well. he says this reduced route is now covering its costs. the department for transport said it had now invested more than £2 billion in supporting the industry since the pandemic began and extended a temporary £2 cap on single fares across england until the end ofjune. along the 128 route, residents of pickering are fighting to stop their other bus, the 840, being cut. there's a possibility it might go, what would that mean for you? i'd have to quit myjob, because i don't drive,

so i've no other transport. the council here hopes the 840 can be saved. many people have already watched their bus leave for the last time. katy austin, bbc news. five people who were shot in plymouth were unlawfully killed, an inquestjury has decided. jake davison, who was 22 years old, shot his mother and four others in keyham in august 2021 before turning the shotgun on himself. 0ur correspondentjenny kumah reports now on the background to the case. we are waiting on a press conference to take place at exeter. this is the momentjake davison left home armed with a shotgun. he had just killed his own mother,

51—year—old maxine davison lay dead in a bedroom shot twice after a row. he then murdered for our love others at random. —— murdered four others. sophie martyn was pushing a buggy with a teddy in it and holding the hand of her father lee. stephen washington was walking his dogs and katherine shepherd was returning home from shopping. he then turned his legally owned weapon on himself. the inquest here at exeter racecourse held about a number of failings —— mac had about a number of failings that letjake failings —— mac had about a number of failings that let jake davison get a licence for clay shooting wrongly. it was looked into his violent history at a special school and his disclosed autism. it showed that jake davison viewed disturbing

material on the internet through his history and he also spoke on the incel forums, about groups of men who are unable to attract women. the police gave jake davison his gun back after he carried out this assault on two teenagers in 2020 telling police he snapped after someone insulted him. the police confiscated this gun after those assaults then gave it back to him just weeks before the fatal shootings. the officer involved in both that decision and the one to grant the gunmen the licence in the first place was seen here giving evidence, saying he did not have any specialist training. he said he assessed the risk and thought it was safe to give back the gun. i

assessed the risk and thought it was safe to give back the gun.— safe to give back the gun. i could not believe _ safe to give back the gun. i could not believe it _ safe to give back the gun. i could not believe it had _ safe to give back the gun. i could not believe it had happened - safe to give back the gun. i could | not believe it had happened again, so similar circumstances. mistakes and lessons should have been learned and lessons should have been learned and obviously they clearly have not been. ., . , and obviously they clearly have not been. ~' ., , ., ., been. the killer legally owned a number of _ been. the killer legally owned a number of guns _ been. the killer legally owned a number of guns despite - been. the killer legally owned a number of guns despite a - been. the killer legally owned a| number of guns despite a history been. the killer legally owned a - number of guns despite a history of domestic violence and at one point had had guns taken away and then just weeks later the police returned them. bobby has been campaigning for years for improvements in gun control. ., . ., years for improvements in gun control. ., ., control. you could change the world and save lives. _ control. you could change the world and save lives. firearms _ control. you could change the world and save lives. firearms licence - control. you could change the world and save lives. firearms licence and training nationally would save lives straightaway. the training nationally would save lives straightaway-— training nationally would save lives straiuhtawa. ., straightaway. the actions of davison left a community — straightaway. the actions of davison left a community in _ straightaway. the actions of davison left a community in shock _ straightaway. the actions of davison left a community in shock and - straightaway. the actions of davison left a community in shock and pain | left a community in shock and pain the families with loved ones finally have some answers about why he legally owned a weapon and they now want to see more changes in gun licensing to help stop further deaths. we are expecting to hear from jenny kumar in a short while.

this is the scene outside exeter racecourse where the inquest has been heard and we expect there to be a press conference there very soon. we will take you there when it starts. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen. good afternoon. mild start to the working week but with a lot of cloud around. this is a weak weather front. it is giving some appreciable rain over the hills of scotland just nudging a little bit further north. there's drizzle in coastal and hilly areas further west. but where we see some sunshine, 15 or 16 is well above where it should be at this time of year. but it's windy and it remains windy in the north, only slowly easing down the northern ireland in particular. rain pushes its way northwards on that weather front to overnight. so again, with all the cloud and a fairly stiff breeze, temperatures won't fall much below five or six degrees celsius. but there's some chillier weather on the way later in the week. again, predominantly cloudy through tuesday, perhaps different

areas, seeing some sunshine perhaps around the moray firth across the eastern side of the pennines, the eastern side of wales as well. and where those clouds break for any length of time will push those temperatures up in towards the mid—teens again. but rain is gathering further west and it's behind that that we have some slightly chillier weather on the way. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: president biden makes a surprise visit to kyiv — his first to ukraine since russia's invasion almost a year ago. the family of nicola bulley describe their agony as police find a body in the river near the place she went missing. scotland's finance secretary, kate forbes, becomes the third candidate to enter the leadership contest to replace nicola sturgeon as first minister. bbc research reveals over half of england's schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities are oversubscribed. and after a tour of the uk,

dippy the dinosaur, finds a new home in coventry. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. ireland are on course to finish their women's t20 world cup without a win, with india well on top in their final group game in gheberha. india racked up 155 in their 20 overs with opening smriti mandhana top scoring with 87 from 54 balls. ireland lost two wickets in the first over of the reply and a short time ago were 54—2 with rain stopping play. ireland are five runs behind the rate as it stands. india will qualify for the last four with a win. where they'd join england and australia. unbeaten england can top their group by beating pakistan tomorrow, with spinner sophie ecclestone enjoying life under new head coachjon lewis. i think it's the best

we've been for a while. he's come in with chilled vibes, everyone is absolutely loving playing, we are enjoying being part of the squad and it's really exciting. i think it's just going out there and playing a game and not having any fear of getting it wrong, is exciting for the team. if things don't go to plan, it's just how it is. they play their shots and play how good they are. it's another big week in the champions league with manchester city facing leipzig on wednesday. before that, jurgen klopp has called on anfield to be in full voice as real madrid visit in the last 16 first leg in a repeat of last year's final. klopp says only one team needs to be at their best to progress. we need to play a super game, we need to play two super games to be honest to get through but i've no problem with that because if you don't play your best, you don't have a chance. real madrid doesn't have to play their best and still have a chance and that's the difference. manchester united return

to europa league action on thursday, after sharing a 2—2 draw with barcelona in the nou camp. barca will head to old trafford to face a united side full of confidence following their 3—0 win over leicester city in the premier league. jadon sancho's comeback from 5 months out continued with another goal whilst marcus rashford scored twice to take his tally for 24 for the season. it's a big week with newcastle waiting in the efl cup final on sunday too. the manager's mentioned, it's about momentum, we want to test their end playing the biggest games possible, and luckily for us, well, it's not luck, it's hard work, and the work that we have put in from preseason, after not a great start, we managed to fight back and kept the team together, and now we are running big games and big moments in the season, so now hopefully we can take the chances when they come. tottenham hotspur have described

online racist abuse directed towards son heung min as utterly reprehensible. the south korean forward was targeted during spurs' 2—0 win over west ham yesterday — win son scoring the second goal. campaign group kick it out have urged authorities to do more saying... munster fly halfjoey carberry has been called into the ireland squad for saturday's six nations match against italy — as cover forjonny sexton — who is recovering from a leg injury there's also a return for cian healy and dan sheehan in the front row. both picked up hamstring injuries, whilst tadgh byrne's tournament is done after undergoing ankle surgery. that's all the sport for now.

let's return to our top story and president biden's surprise visit to ukraine, nearly one year on from the russian invasion. this is the moment he met with ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky. mr biden has now left kyiv but said his visit reaffirms the us's unwavering and unflagging commitment to ukraine's democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. he also said vladimir putin's �*war of conquest�* in ukraine is failing. drjenny mathers is a senior lecturer in international politics at aberystwyth university and an expert on russian politics and security. thank you very much forjoining us. how do you think russia will react? i think that putin will be very upset and annoyed by biden's visit to kyiv. his rubbing in the fact. i

think there will be a lot of annoyance and anger but at the same time, i think it will reaffirm what putin and others have been saying in russia, which is basically, russia is not really fighting ukrainians, is not really fighting ukrainians, is fighting nato and the us. what it calls a collective worst. i think there will be a variety of reactions, none of them very positive. reactions, none of them very ositive. ., reactions, none of them very positive-— reactions, none of them very ositive. ., , positive. howl president putin likel for positive. howl president putin likely for traders _ positive. howl president putin likely for traders to _ positive. howl president putin likely for traders to the - positive. howl president putin| likely for traders to the public? there have been criticisms from some russian commentators on social media that president putin hasn't been to visit the donbas for example. putin sa s far visit the donbas for example. putin says far away _ visit the donbas for example. putin says far away from _ visit the donbas for example. putin says far away from the _ visit the donbas for example. putin says far away from the front - visit the donbas for example. flt “1 says far away from the front lines. all of his visits anywhere i very

much stage—managed. this will really highlight the difference between what putin is willing to do and what other leaders are willing to do, so i think that's very important and it does open him up to all other criticisms of that sort. it does also play into something that putin is on sale for a while, that's zelensky is relying on the west and is doing the bidding of the west, so i could see him turning this to a certain amount of propaganda. it wasn'tjust a symbolic certain amount of propaganda. it wasn't just a symbolic visit in that wasn'tjust a symbolic visit in that the united states is indirectly involved and yet president biden chose to turn up in person. how important is it that there is tangible support being offered? i5 tangible support being offered? i3 hugely important, it's an important visit but also important in material terms because it demonstrates not only is the us supporting zelensky

and ukrainians, standing side by side by them but there is an ongoing commitment, its continuing and there is more money and equipment and weapons being put on the table. as a demonstration that the us is in this for the long term and that they are betting on zelensky and and ukrainians winning.- betting on zelensky and and ukrainians winning. there's been a lot of discussion _ ukrainians winning. there's been a lot of discussion that _ ukrainians winning. there's been a lot of discussion that around - ukrainians winning. there's been a lot of discussion that around the i lot of discussion that around the time of the anniversary next week, we could see a russian offensive or certainly in the spring when the weather improves. how antagonistic is a visit like this by the american president? i is a visit like this by the american resident? ., �* , is a visit like this by the american resident? ~ �* , , . ., president? i think it's difficult to decide what _ president? i think it's difficult to decide what putin _ president? i think it's difficult to decide what putin might - president? i think it's difficult to decide what putin might regard l president? i think it's difficult to i decide what putin might regard as being more or less antagonistic. the fact that the west are supporting ukraine in any way it is in some respects antagonistic and throughout the past year, we have seen western willingness to increase the amount

of support that it provides to ukraine. at every stage has been cautious in worried that its actions will be misinterpreted by russia as excessively antagonistic, so the short answer is that we just don't know. but as time has gone on, as more evidence, have been brought to light, the attitude in the west have become much fibre and there's been a greater willingness to take some of those risks, seeing that the cause is just, those risks, seeing that the cause isjust, and those risks, seeing that the cause is just, and that's the west is very much in support of what ukraine is crying to do. much in support of what ukraine is crying to do— crying to do. thank you, drjenny mathers from _ crying to do. thank you, drjenny mathers from the _ crying to do. thank you, drjenny mathers from the university - crying to do. thank you, drjenny mathers from the university of. mathers from the university of aberystwyth. the most dangerous domestic abusers will be monitored more closely and electronically tagged under new government plans.

almost £8.5 million will be spent over the next two years on plans which include specialist victim support programmes. labour welcomed the move but said the government should be doing more to tackle violence against women and girls. let's talk now with dr charlotte proudman. she is a barrister specialising in violence against women and girls — and founded right to equality — an organisation promoting gender eqaulity under the law. doctor proud men, thank you. how adequate do you think these plans are? , . ., adequate do you think these plans are? , ,, adequate do you think these plans are? , , , ., adequate do you think these plans are? , ,, are? domestic of uses return to as serious as — are? domestic of uses return to as serious as terrorism, _ are? domestic of uses return to as serious as terrorism, for _ are? domestic of uses return to as serious as terrorism, for example. j serious as terrorism, for example. and it's seen as a significant first. i think the language is important because many of us have been speaking about domestic abuse as a form of domestic intimate terrorism perpetrated. ithink as a form of domestic intimate terrorism perpetrated. i think the real issue is what's the plans

actually mean in practice, so putting domestic abusers on the violent and sex offenders register potentially tagging them, monitoring them is very important but what's not clear is that the government is going to commit further necessary resources in order to properly fund these plans so that they work in practice. it is wise they don't fall through the cracks. so further harm can't be because two women. but i haven't seen for the government is a commitment to finance this. thea;r haven't seen for the government is a commitment to finance this. they are sa in: that commitment to finance this. they are saying that there _ commitment to finance this. they are saying that there is _ commitment to finance this. they are saying that there is £8 _ commitment to finance this. they are saying that there is £8 million - saying that there is £8 million available over a two—year period, but to monitor a perpetrator, they have to surely have been found guilty in the first place. where

does this leave us with prosecutions in the first place? when we know that victims are terrified of coming forward. we that victims are terrified of coming forward. ~ ~' ., that victims are terrified of coming forward. ~ ~ ., ., ., forward. we know that one in three women will — forward. we know that one in three women will suffer _ forward. we know that one in three women will suffer with _ forward. we know that one in three women will suffer with domestic i women will suffer with domestic abuse and one in four will suffer rape or sexual violence, so these are wide natured abuses and we know that three women every week will be killed by a man, but how can these proposals and plans help those that don't feel comfortable in coming forward in reporting domestic abuse to the police? we are aware that there are real concerns by women and there are real concerns by women and the lack of trust in the police because of claims and findings of misogyny within the police force, so we need to start with women feeling confident in reporting domestic abuse in the first place. as you

say, prosecution, certainly for rape, are at an all—time low. domestic abuse is not much better either. we need to focus on getting these cases through the courts in these cases through the courts in the first place, so that they are properly monitored. i think there is a long way to go before we can store trust in the police force. i a long way to go before we can store trust in the police force.— trust in the police force. i wonder if we need _ trust in the police force. i wonder if we need to _ trust in the police force. i wonder if we need to imagine _ trust in the police force. i wonder if we need to imagine any - trust in the police force. i wonder. if we need to imagine any structure and how women and girls can come forward, if not directly to the police, fire and other independent organisation perhaps, who can act as a mediator. i organisation perhaps, who can act as a mediator. ., organisation perhaps, who can act as a mediator. ~ , organisation perhaps, who can act as a mediator-— a mediator. i think the problem with that proposal _ a mediator. i think the problem with that proposal is _ a mediator. i think the problem with that proposal is that _ a mediator. i think the problem with that proposal is that it _ a mediator. i think the problem with that proposal is that it removes - a mediator. i think the problem with that proposal is that it removes the | that proposal is that it removes the owners and the duty of the police force, which effectively is funded by the state and taxpayers to protect women and girls from violence and to make sure that

perpetrators are held to account. that is the state's obligation and duty and they are not fulfilling that. so the approach must be to look at the police because and make sure there are better vetting in place, so that's misogynistic police officers are not being recruited into the force. and to make sure that when an domestic abuse is reported, there is a 0% tolerance approach. there are cultural changes that are required but ultimately it is the responsibility of the police force, that is theirjob and their role and to suggest that it another parties responsibility, in my view would be wrong in circumstances where the police have a duty to take this seriously and to properly implement changes. i think it's almost shameful that in 2023, we are

onlyjust speaking almost shameful that in 2023, we are only just speaking about almost shameful that in 2023, we are onlyjust speaking about plans of this nature, where yvette cooper and other mps have been campaigning for this for many years, as well as domestic abuse organisations, for example having a register that includes the name of domestic abuse perpetrators so that they can be properly monitored and that we know who they are. as you point out, ordinarily these individuals need to have been convicted and it's very difficult to get a conviction in the first place and one of the reasons is lack of training and understanding for police officers, even those within the cps ofjudges, the real dynamics of domestic envy is understanding how it affects memory of complainants who are likely to be giving evidence in court and how that whole process in

the criminaljustice system can exacerbate trauma, can further reject eyes victims within the system. we need to change the whole cultural dynamics of that so that victims feel that the justice system is on their side, rather than them being treated as perpetrators, as some victims and said they felt. dr charlotte proudman., thank you for having on the programme. five people who were shot in plymouth were unlawfully killed, an inquestjury has decided. jake davison, who was 22 years—old, shot his mother and four others in keyham in august 2021 before turning the shotgun on himself. 0ur correspondentjenny kumah reports now on the background to the case. this has been a long and detailed inquest, but this may be the end of the inquest, but it's not the end of their grief. what he did on that

summer is evening on august was a pure act of evil. the jury found that there were catastrophic failings by the police to protect the public. warning signs were ignored, and a licence to kill was granted. ignored, and a licence to kill was ranted. , ., , ., granted. tell us a bit about the background _ granted. tell us a bit about the background to _ granted. tell us a bit about the background to jake _ granted. tell us a bit about the background to jake davison, i granted. tell us a bit about the - background to jake davison, during the inquest hearing, it was said that he should never have been allowed access to a gun licence. that's right, there were a number of failings that were highlighted and the jerry have failings that were highlighted and thejerry have concluded today. failings within the licensing, the offices that are not properly investigating the background of the gun a man. and not looking to his

autism, there was evidence of fights that happened at school, rows at home and an alleged attack outside a supermarket. but despite this, he was granted a licence. then in 2020, there was an assault on two teenagers in a park in plymouth. this happened after someone in the group had insulted him. he told police afterwards that he had snapped and attacked two children violently, punching them several times. after this, violently, punching them several times. afterthis, he violently, punching them several times. after this, he was put on a charging scheme and there was criticism around that. the licence was taking away seven months after he had committed this assault to patch the licensing unit then took the decision to return it because it

was felt that the impact of the deferred charges scheme had been a positive one and that it was safe to return the gun. a few weeks later, the fatal shootings happened. today with this conclusion, the jury concluded that they should not have happened. this was because of failings by devon and cornwall police. they now say that they will be looking at seeing big changes in gun licensing. be looking at seeing big changes in gun licensing-— the mayor of london will extend free schools meals to every primary school pupil in the capital for a year. the scheme which will cost around £130 million, will come into effect from september, but critics say more action is needed. tarah welch reports. are you enjoying your watermelon? is it nice? is it sweet? it's giant!

i'm incredibly proud to be back here at fircroft primary school, my old primary school. i remember receiving free school meals when i was a pupil here, and i'm really pleased to announce every child in primary schools across our great capital city will be receiving free school meals from the start of the next academic year. his office says this will help more than 250,000 children and their families through the cost of living crisis next year. i've heard heartbreaking stories about children who haven't got a packed lunch or don't get free school meals pretending to eat at lunchtime to save them from embarrassment. it's really important in the absence of their government supporting families, i do what i can to help. currently in england, all state schoolchildren can claim free school meals up to year two from year three. some children still qualify for free school meals if their household is on certain benefits. but for some time now, campaigners have said the threshold is too low and many children living

in poverty are going hungry. effectively, you have those families from lower incomes with older children paying for the meals of those wealthier families with younger children. and when people are struggling with the cost of living right now, that doesn't seem quite right. in a statement, a government spokesperson said since 2010, the number of children receiving a free meal at school has increased by more than two million. over a third of pupils in england now receive free school meals and it went on to say it's extended the national school breakfast programme. tarah welch, bbc london. the artwork would smash into tiny pieces was by us pop artistjeff

kunz. this is what it looked like beforehand, it's the blue dog from his iconic dog balloons collections. this is how it ended up looking all over the floor. you need a lot of superglue and patience. and it dustpan and brush. and it dustpan and brush. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen. the colours of spring are starting to appear, and it certainly feels mild enough to be spring out there. temperatures popping up to 15 or 16 in the brighter spots, but once we clear the rain midweek, it will turn a little bit chillier back down to the february average. and even with the mild air, there's an awful lot of cloud with us today, this weather front to the north is still giving us some fairly significant rains over the western highlands of scotland. to the north of it, it's blowing a gale across shetland, very gusty winds here, but it's brighter at least for the north mainland and the northern isles, just the odd shower.

elsewhere, to the south of that weather front there is a lot of cloud, so it's drizzly around the hills and the coast in the west, the best chance of brightness and sunshine will be east of any hills, and that is where we'll see the highest temperatures — but, across the board, temperatures will be several degrees up on where they should be for this time of year, and as a consequence of all that cloud, it's not going anywhere overnight, in fact the weather front pushes a little bit further north, the wind starts to stiffen here once again, but with enough breeze and cloud, temperatures won't fall much lower than 5 or 6 degrees, so it stays relatively mild for the moment. so, tuesday, again, a lot of cloud, a lot of dry weather, some drizzle around the coast and the hills in western areas, something more significant tomorrow across the northern isles before that clears away, and pushing back into the western isles later, but temperatures may get again towards 14 or 15, perhaps, around the moray firth, east of the pennines, for example, but there will be just generally a lot of dry, cloudy weather — but once that weather front then moves through into wednesday, well, we notice this change in wind direction. instead of the southerly or south—westerly we get a north—westerly blowing in.

so, a chillier feel to the day on wednesday, but, again, once our weather front clears out of the way, and it could drag its heels across east anglia and the south—east, and there is the hint of a little sleetiness over the hills in the north, but actually just temperatures are tapered down a little bit, 8—10, and that breeze to factor, as well, so it will feel cooler for the day on wednesday, but there will be some sunshine, more sunshine around than we're seeing today, and indeed tomorrow. with the ridge of high pressure then building in to thursday, it means a cold start to thursday morning, a frost potentially first thing, so, quite a difference. just the chance of a few wintry showers, hailand rain and perhaps a little bit of sleet pushing down the east coast, and more rain pushes into the north later, but as you can see, for many of us, it's the temperatures that have tumbled by the end of the week, but there'll be more sunshine in place of it.

this is bbc news. the headlines... president biden makes a surprise visit to kyiv — reaffirming the us's �*unwavering' support to ukraine's democracy. kyiv stands and ukraine stands, democracy stands, the americans stand with you and the world stands with you. biden's visit comes as the anniversary of russia's invasion approaches. president zelensky says the democratic world has to �*win this historic fight.�* we hope that this year the 2023 will become a year of victory, this unprovoked and criminal, russia's waragainst ukraine and against the whole world.

in other news, the family of nicola bulley describe their agony as police find a body in the river near the place she went missing. an inquest finds five people were unlawfully killed in a series of shootings by a guman in keyham, plymouth. bbc analysis shows that some of britain's local bus networks have been slashed by more than a third. and after a tour of the uk, dippy the dinosaur, finds a new home — in coventry. good afternoon, welcome to the bbc news channel. us presidentjoe biden has made a surprise visit to kyiv — his first to ukraine since russia invaded almost a year ago. he met ukraine's president,

volodmyr zelensky and both men visited a memorial for ukraine's war dead. at a news conference mr biden announced more military, political and financial support for kyiv and he said ukraine would be supported "for as long as it takes". our correspondent james waterhouse reports form kyiv. in a city no stranger to big visitors, this was the biggest. the most powerful politician in the world, ukraine's biggest ally, arriving to the heart of a war, to the delight of his host. joe biden has been here before, but not as president. that is an important symbol for us, and we are proud of it. thank you very much for coming, mr president. i think it's my eighth trip, and much has changed. much has changed indeed. sirens wail. just listen to the sirens which accompanied their visit to kyiv�*s saint michael's cathedral.

this is no doubt a significant and symbolic visit. you have the us president visiting in the middle of a full—scale conflict with all of those associated risks. but this also sends a message to moscow, that america won't shy away from supporting ukraine. president zelensky will see this as a chance though to ask for more. there was substance to the symbolism. another military package worth $500 million was announced with the promise it will keep coming. we know that there will be very difficult days and weeks and years ahead. russia's aim was to wipe ukraine off the map. putin's war of conquest is failing. translation: the result of this visit will undoubtedly be - felt on the battlefield, strengthening our troops and liberating our territories. there is still a delay between hardware being promised and used.

in a war which is costly and just about every sense, time is not ukraine's friend. this is a conflict which started in 2014. it's nearly a year since russia's full—scale invasion. few expected kyiv would hold, let alone host america's commander—in—chief. james waterhouse, bbc news. earlier i spoke to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet who is in kyiv. they don't get more powerful than presidentjoe biden. and it was interesting how he emphasised today that he was the first leader to speak with president zelensky when russian troops first rumbled across the border into ukraine, when the first explosions were sounded here in the ukrainian capital. and he mentioned in his comments that when he spoke to president zelensky that he could hear the explosions in the backdrop. and here he is with only days to go, a year to the day when that happened, the invasion began.

he's back in kyiv in the middle of a war. and the choice of kyiv, of course, is very symbolic. we understand from sources that other locations were suggested to the american president, including what would have been a much safer option, much easier visit to go to lviv just across ukraine's border with poland. but instead, he made the ten hour train drive here to the ukrainian capital to send as strong a symbol as possible, while all the while discussing the very difficult substance of this war, which still seems to have no end. so symbolically important, but also a renewal of support of various types. yes. he mentioned... i think it would have been remiss if he arrived just to say hello, just to shake hands, just to send a symbol. he announced another half a billion in critical support, military support to ukraine.

the united states has already given quite a staggering more than 30 billion to ukraine in security support since president biden became president. britain is the second largest and that's at about 2.3 billion. so you see how the gap is between the two leading western supporters of ukraine. he didn't say... he gave details on what was included in that package and then said more details would be provided later. but of course, what we don't know is what they discussed when they were together, alone with no cameras. president zelensky must have mentioned what he mentioned recently when he spoke in front of the us congress that they want those fighter jets to try to hasten what they hope will be the end of the war and what they hope will be a ukrainian victory over russia. let's be in no two ways about it, though. this is a very powerful message to moscow having the president of the united states visit.

yes, i'm sure that was on president biden's mind as much, even though he has shown that he's an american leader who likes to talk to his adversaries, whether they're the chinese president or the russian leader. but he's made it absolutely clear that even though american troops are not on the ground, even though this is a ukrainian war against russia, that the united states is leading an alliance of western nato military powers who will do everything that's necessary to defeat russia in this war in ukraine, this invasion, a violation of a united nations charter. so, yes, it does send a strong message to president putin, but it also does solidify president putin's view and his supporters, which say they're not fighting against ukraine, they're fighting against the west, including the united states. and that is what president putin says to his people. and he will use this visit to say, see, i told you so. it's notjust the ukrainians and that president zelensky,

it's the united states as well. that's why this war or as he would put it, the special military operation is unfolding as it is and is taking so long and is costing so much. let's talk now withjohn herbst. john was the us ambassador to ukraine from 2003 to 2006 — and is currently the senior director of the eurasia center at the atlantic council — a us—based international affairs think tank. thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news. why do you believe this visit is important at this stage in the conflict?- this visit is important at this stage in the conflict? well, it is important _ stage in the conflict? well, it is important as — stage in the conflict? well, it is important as a _ stage in the conflict? well, it is important as a symbolic - stage in the conflict? well, it is important as a symbolic step i stage in the conflict? well, it is important as a symbolic step to underscore in ukraine that the united states is with them as they deal with unwanted aggression and to the kremlin that russia will not

succeed in the war with ukraine. they have promised to supply substantial support in their economic supplies to ukraine, to supply the mass of sanctions. the individualfrom the individual from the security council claims this visit only took place thanks to safety guarantees afforded by moscow. how likely is that? i afforded by moscow. how likely is that? 4' ~ ., , , that? i think the white house itself confirmed that _ that? i think the white house itself confirmed that they _ that? i think the white house itself confirmed that they let _ that? i think the white house itself confirmed that they let the - that? i think the white house itselfl confirmed that they let the russians know that biden would be travelling so that they would not take any strike. you can be sure that if moscow understood that if they were to strike the president, this would be a further disaster, one more catastrophic mistake so they chose not to do it but to suggest this

trip was taken at the sufferance of moscow is a bit rich but they have... ~ , ., , have... might explain why it took lace now have. .. might explain why it took place now rather— have... might explain why it took place now rather than _ have... might explain why it took place now rather than on - have... might explain why it took place now rather than on the - have... might explain why it took l place now rather than on the actual anniversary when we are led to believe i could be a renewed offensive by moscow? ida. believe i could be a renewed offensive by moscow? believe i could be a renewed offensiveb moscow? ., ., ., offensive by moscow? no, you have to understand how _ offensive by moscow? no, you have to understand how it _ offensive by moscow? no, you have to understand how it is _ offensive by moscow? no, you have to understand how it is put _ offensive by moscow? no, you have to understand how it is put together, - understand how it is put together, it was decided a while back that the president would travel to poland i think on the 22nd of february and i suggest this trip was added on any length the last few days so i think the humdrum logistical consideration explains the timing. white might guess, nothing as dramatic as i was implying perhaps. tells what more you think zelensky really wants from joe biden. we've heard of the military support, financial support, political support but what else would they ideally like. i've just praised the administration for having what i believe to be an

adequate policy but not a strong policy. if biden was truly a world—class leader by which i mean someone renowned historically for his leadership, he would date to the american people and the world that he has not done yet and the united states has a critical insurance in defeating putin in ukraine because they will directly challenge vital interests and to the west of ukraine if they were successful in ukraine and biden would also do everything possible as opposed to just something is possible to ensure ukrainian victory like sending yesterday f—16s, mussels, water tanks. with thanks arriving they are not just tanks. with thanks arriving they are notjust in tanks. with thanks arriving they are not just in a tanks. with thanks arriving they are notjust in a year but in a couple of months. if we give all those things, ukraine can launch a counter offensive which would cut the language, supplying... from russia itself and that would be a huge

victory for ukraine, a major defeat complicating the war effort and perhaps ending it. you complicating the war effort and perhaps ending it.— complicating the war effort and erha -s endin: it. ., __ , ., perhaps ending it. you say he should do this but cannot. _ perhaps ending it. you say he should do this but cannot. will— perhaps ending it. you say he should do this but cannot. will he _ do this but cannot. will he eventually do this? he do this but cannot. will he eventually do this? do this but cannot. will he eventuall do this? .., , eventually do this? he can but the oli eventually do this? he can but the policy overall _ eventually do this? he can but the policy overall is — eventually do this? he can but the policy overall is too _ eventually do this? he can but the policy overall is too timid. - eventually do this? he can but the policy overall is too timid. they i policy overall is too timid. they understand it would be a bad thing if putin went so they provide enough stuff to make sure that does not happen but they have been partly spooked by the constant nuclear threats which are just nonsense and that i think has stopped them from taking the device of steps quickly in a way that would suit the interests. in a way that would suit the interests-— in a way that would suit the interests. , ., , , interests. sorry to interrupt but how could _ interests. sorry to interrupt but how could mr— interests. sorry to interrupt but how could mr biden _ interests. sorry to interrupt but how could mr biden sell - interests. sorry to interrupt but how could mr biden sell this - interests. sorry to interrupt but how could mr biden sell this at| interests. sorry to interrupt but - how could mr biden sell this at home and how hard would that be? it would be easier than — and how hard would that be? it would be easier than the _ and how hard would that be? it would be easier than the cell— and how hard would that be? it would be easier than the cell he _ and how hard would that be? it would be easier than the cell he has - and how hard would that be? it would be easier than the cell he has right i be easier than the cell he has right now. he said to the american people we must stop this from happening and people ask about the vital interests that are engaged and you do not hear an answer. you should point out the statements from russian officials,

the two draft treaties that were sent december before the big invasion. they want to establish political control across all the area. that happens to include three states, so the ambition to destroy nato is very clear. point out to american security and prosperity being based upon a strong nato and therefore the smart and economical move is to defeat putin by only sending money and weapons to ukraine. $50 billion per year is not a small amount of money. it is only about 6% of the defence budget and with that we have helped ukraine destroy approximately 30% of the conventional military force. these are all compelling reasons to continue to provide support until putin is defeated in ukraine. the president is not showing statesmanship by not putting this

out, he has a way state for support to be with him and the policy to be greater and this would put biden up there with churchill, franklin roosevelt, reagan as a great statesman. roosevelt, reagan as a great statesman-— roosevelt, reagan as a great statesman. ., ., statesman. really good to have your thou . hts statesman. really good to have your thoughts today- _ statesman. really good to have your thoughts today. thank _ statesman. really good to have your thoughts today. thank you _ statesman. really good to have your thoughts today. thank you very - statesman. really good to have your. thoughts today. thank you very much. we are going straight to exeter to hear after that inquest jury we are going straight to exeter to hear after that inquestjury decided that jake davison had hear after that inquestjury decided thatjake davison had unlawfully killed five people in 2000... listen in. —— killed five people so let's listen in. we now know this evil act was facilitated and enabled by serious incompetence from the people and

organisations that are supposed to keep us safe. the system has hopelessly failed us. in particular, the devon and cornwall police force has failed us. the evidence we have heard during this inquest over the past five weeks is a consistent story of individual failures, breathtaking incompetence and systemic failings within every level of the firearms licensing unit of the devon and cornwall police. it is beyond us how davison, a man with a known history of violence and mental health issues with no real need to own a firearm was granted a licence to possess a gun in the first place. davison then brutally battered to innocent children in an assault in the park. the brutal attack was incorrectly categorised as a low assault. following this attack, is

firearms licence was revoked and his gun was seized. despite being charged with violent assaulting two innocent children, unbelievably, he was given his licence and his gun back. he was considered to be a low risk by the devon and cornwall police and the evidence we have heard from devon and cornwall police was that of a system that was a shambles from the top to the bottom. those in charge of making decisions as to who should possess a gun had no training on how to do theirjob. there was no supervision of those individuals, no auditing of the decisions that were being made. there was a culture of granting people firearms licences against a background of serious concern and the case of jake davison was a prime example. the systemic failings have failed to protect the public, failed

to protect our loved ones and we firmly believe these failings of devon and cornwall police have resulted in the deaths of our loved ones. so far, there's been very little evidence of regret or remorse in the decisions, actions, omissions or catastrophic mistakes made by the devon and cornwall police's firearms and explosive unit, multiple other agencies, car services and individuals with warning signs ignored and a licence to kill granted. severalsenior ignored and a licence to kill granted. several senior officers have given evidence trying to defend the indefensible. it has been very difficult for us to watch and it felt to us that senior officers from devon and cornwall police closed ranks during this inquest process. it is too late for an apology from devon and cornwall police and the time for that has passed. we want accountability, ownership and change. we are very grateful to the

jury change. we are very grateful to the jury and for theirfindings. change. we are very grateful to the jury and for their findings. we thank them for the diligent and sensitive way they have conducted themselves during the course of this inquest. we now want seismic change and a complete overhaul of the firearms licensing system and legislation in england and wales. the current system and any perceived changes since this attack does not reassure us and that should not reassure us and that should not reassure the public. during the next few weeks, we will be united in our commitment to making sure the fundamental changes are made to the way firearms are licensed in england and wales. we will work with our legal team and addressed the coroner on our thoughts on how to prevent future deaths. we hope the change can come so no other family has to endure the torment of what we have been and are still going through. we would like to thank all the people

who have supported us during the worst time of our lives. we would especially like to thank the local community and well—wishers who have made contact from all over the world. their support and kind words have made a positive impact during a difficult time and we would also like to specifically thank the senior coroner, his counsel for the sensitive way with which they have conducted this inquest. finally, we have suffered intrusion in our lives on an unprecedented scale from complete strangers since the events of the 12th of august 2021. we respectfully ask the media who assembled here today and those from afar that we are now left alone to die just and process the outcome of this inquest. thank you.— this inquest. thank you. there we have patrick _ this inquest. thank you. there we have patrick mcguire _ this inquest. thank you. there we have patrick mcguire who - this inquest. thank you. there we have patrick mcguire who was - this inquest. thank you. there we have patrick mcguire who was the lawyer for the families affected by

this shooting speaking outside the inquest that was being held in exeter, the inquestjury decided that the five people, jake davison's mother and four others, were unlawfully killed in a series of shootings in august 2021 and patrick mcguire are saying then, outlining the various failings and mistakes he believed were to blame forjake davison being allowed to hold a firearms licence and have that shot gun with which he carried out to those killings and patrick mcguire saying changes are needed to prevent killings like this happening again and what they are seeking is an overhaul of firearms licence system and legislation in this country. patrick mcguire speaking at exeter racecourse they are aware that inquest has taken place. we are just hearing from the british medical

association, the doctor's union, the junior doctor members in england have voted in favour of strike action and they have voted overwhelmingly in favour of it to the tune of 98% of them, turnout was 77.5% of members which is pretty high. that means there was over 44,000 ballot papers received and who will speak to our reporter in just a minute who is poised after walking into the studio. the family of nicola bulley say they are in agony as they wait for police to identify a body, found in the river wyre in lancashire, near where she went missing. two people out walking raised the alarm when they saw the body, about a mile from where nicola was last seen more than three weeks ago. lancashire police have been widely criticised for their handling of the investigation, as nick garnett reports. it was a search that stretched from a tiny hamlet to the lancashire coastline, on land, on water and

by air and back again. the police were called just after 11.30 yesterday morning. the nearest road was closed and the footpath along the river, sealed off. police divers and specialist officers went into the water and recovered the body from the weeds and undergrowth at the edge of the river bank. a forensic tent, erected while the officers worked. the river at this point is tidal, but the body may have been trapped underwater, hidden from sonar and the search teams. a huge police operation which stretched to the irish sea and yet the discovery was made so close to where nicola bulley was last seen more than three weeks ago. the 45—year—old had just dropped her children at school. she had left her phone on a bench next to the river wyre and now a body found downstream just a mile away. at the centre of it all,

there is a distressed family who are waiting for news and now the focus turns to them. my deepest thoughts and sympathies for the family of nicola bulley. it must be an horrendous experience they are going through right now. we need to let the police carry out and conclude their investigation. the investigation into nicola bulley�*s disappearance on the 27th of january has attracted widespread speculation and criticism. on february the 3rd the police said they had no reason to believe anyone else was involved and didn't think a crime had been committed, she had fallen into the river. a week later with the search failing to find any sign of her, the family cast doubt on the police's hypothesis. five days later said the missing mum of two young children had specific vulnerabilities. later that day they went further and said she had struggled with alcohol and the menopause. the police, trying to explain why nicola bulley was a high risk missing person, were accused of insensitivity and victim blaming. but today a former police chief from the force has been defending the investigation.

we expect high standards from the police, quite rightly so. the media does a brilliantjob in holding the police to account, but some elements of the media basically made it much more difficult. instead of focusing on the priority of finding nicola and supporting the family, they have had to defend their actions every step of the way. the photographs of nicola bulley and the yellow ribbons but today this seems a sad and place as people wait for more news. the british medical association has just announced thatjunior doctors just announced that junior doctors have just announced thatjunior doctors have voted majorly in favour of strike action. a big turnout and a big vote in favour.—

big vote in favour. yes, turnout with many _ big vote in favour. yes, turnout with many of — big vote in favour. yes, turnout with many of those _ big vote in favour. yes, turnout with many of those in _ big vote in favour. yes, turnout with many of those in favour i big vote in favour. yes, turnout with many of those in favour of| with many of those in favour of strike action. these are junior doctor members of the medical association and a junior doctor covers those who are first entering the profession is fully qualified doctors right through to consultant level orjust below, so it covers a very large range of the medical profession and what has been said before by thejunior profession and what has been said before by the junior doctors committee is that if they get this mandate in favour which they have now got, they will take three days of strike action back to back and they will walk out of all forms of care, emergency and routine, and other types of procedures, and now working for what they need to give two weeks' notice to employers, they have not given any strike dates yet but that may well come in the next few days so two weeks on it looks as if it will be sometime in the middle of march that this action will take place on top of all the other

strikes in the health service which we know about.— strikes in the health service which we know about. some taken place toda as we know about. some taken place today as well _ we know about. some taken place today as well with _ we know about. some taken place today as well with ambulance i we know about. some taken place i today as well with ambulance workers and paramedics. today as well with ambulance workers and paramedics-— and paramedics. yes, ambulance services out _ and paramedics. yes, ambulance services out today _ and paramedics. yes, ambulance services out today in _ and paramedics. yes, ambulance services out today in large i and paramedics. yes, ambulance services out today in large parts. and paramedics. yes, ambulance. services out today in large parts of england and wales, more ambulance strikes to come with unison, one of the major health unions, going to announce dates in march and last week we learned that the royal couege week we learned that the royal college of nursing had announced three days of strikes, over 48 and was. walking out at 9am on the first and coming back 9am on the third and that would be a more escalated version of what they've been doing before because they would not guarantee the local exemptions for certain types of emergency. so that in itself is quite a ramping up of their action in early march then we have more ambulance strikes and we know there will be junior doctor

strikes almost certainly in england in the middle of march. what movement if any is there from the health secretary and the government on how they will resolve this? none at all. the health secretary has made it clear that his door is open and he is prepared to talk about a whole range of issues around working conditions but the issue of pay for this financial year, the year ending at the end of march, that will not be for negotiation but that is precisely what the unions want to talk about. junior doctors are asking for restoration in real terms of what they were getting in 2008 amounting to a pay rise of 26% will stop that clearly is not going to be well received by the government, it is opening a negotiating position but that is the sort of figure they are talking about and to add an extra layer of complication, in a four—year deal, preagreed when they

have only got 2% this year, when others in the health service got more, that sort of adds to their sense of grievance. i more, that sort of adds to their sense of grievance.— more, that sort of adds to their sense of grievance. i want to go back to what — sense of grievance. i want to go back to what you _ sense of grievance. i want to go back to what you said _ sense of grievance. i want to go back to what you said at - sense of grievance. i want to go back to what you said at the i back to what you said at the beginning. we talk aboutjunior doctors and those fresh out of a medical degree but you say some of them have an incredible amount of experience. them have an incredible amount of experience-— experience. yes, very experienced re . istrars experience. yes, very experienced registrars in _ experience. yes, very experienced registrars in hospitals _ experience. yes, very experienced registrars in hospitals and - experience. yes, very experienced registrars in hospitals and other i registrars in hospitals and other types of moderately senior positions and we had junior doctor strikes backin and we had junior doctor strikes back in 2016, walk out then and that became quite a cause celebre with the bma pitted againstjeremy hunt, the bma pitted againstjeremy hunt, the then secretary of state for health covering england and that was a pretty acrimonious dispute that went on for some time so removed from unions is that it will go on and the word covering england only is that come april, the new financial year begins, new pay review body process, unions should wait till then to actually talk

again about pay and other issues. thank you very much. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen. hello. some fine sunshine around today, 16 celsius we've seen in parts of suffolk in that sunshine. not sunshine for all but we do have some of it around. as we move through the graphic, as they go through the graphic, as they go through here, this in middlesbrough, sunshine in the north of scotland, sunshine in the north of scotland, sunshine and gales and quite an abundance of sunshine for the midlands and east anglia as you can see further west cloud a bit thicker, mild air so that thicker cloud bringing in some rain across the highlands of scotland, in the west and some cold air is on the way as we head towards the middle part of the week so this is the rain pushing northwards through this evening and overnight, a breeze picks up for the south—west so milderfor us

picks up for the south—west so milder for us with does not falling much below five celsius and this average for the daytime at this time of year. but it does mean we will have a lot of clout tomorrow again. sunshine, chance of sunshine, particularly the north and east of the hills, the north of wales and up into parts of pembrokeshire... east pennines, even. very mild.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines: president biden makes a surprise visit to kyiv — his first to ukraine since russia's invasion almost a year ago. in other news, the family of nicola bulley describe their agony as police find a body in the river near the place she went missing. an inquest finds five people were unlawfully killed in a series of shootings by a guman in keyham, plymouth. bbc analysis shows that some of britain's local bus networks have been slashed by more than a third.

and after a tour of the uk, dippy the dinosaur, finds a new home — in coventry. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. ireland's women's t20 world cup has ended without a win after rain thwarted an unlikely run chase against india in their final group game. after winning the toss and choosing to bat, india set ireland 156 to win with opener smriti mandhana smashing 87 from 54 deliveries. ireland lost two wickets in the first over but were just five runs short of the rate when the heavens opened. india progress to the last four. where they'll join england and australia. unbeaten england can top their group by beating pakistan tomorrow, with spinner sophie ecclestone enjoying life under new head coachjon lewis. i think it's the best we've been for a while. he's come in with chilled vibes,

everyone is absolutely loving playing, we are enjoying being part of the squad and it's really exciting. i think it's just going out there and playing a game and not having any fear of getting it wrong, is exciting for the team. if things don't go to plan, it's just how it is. they play their shots and play how good they are. it's another big week in the champions league with manchester city facing leipzig on wednesday. before that — jurgen klopp has called on anfield to be in full voice as real madrid visit in the last 16 first leg in a repeat of last year's final. klopp says only one team needs to be at their best to progress. we need to play a super game, we need to play two super games to be honest to get through but i've no problem with that because if you don't play your best, you don't have a chance. real madrid doesn't have to play their best and still have a chance and that's the difference. manchester united return

to europa league action on thursday, after sharing a 2—2 draw with barcelona in the nou camp. barca will head to old trafford to face a united side full of confidence following their 3—0 win over leicester city in the premier league. jadon sancho's comeback from 5 months out continued with another goal whilst marcus rashford scored twice to take his tally for 24 for the season. it's a big week with newcastle waiting in the efl cup final on sunday too. the manager's mentioned, it's about momentum, we want to test ourselves, playing the biggest games possible, and luckily for us, well, it's not luck, it's hard work, and the work that we have put in from preseason, after not a great start, we managed to fight back and kept the team together, and now we are running big games and big moments in the season, so now hopefully we can take

the chances when they come. tottenham hotspur have described online racist abuse directed towards son heung min as utterly reprehensible. the south korean forward was targeted during spurs 2—0 win over west ham yesterday — win son scoring the second goal. campaign group kick it out have urged authorities to do more saying... the longer it takes social media companies to take action, or government to pass the 0nline safety bill the more players will be abused. we will continue to work tirelessly with our partners across the game to ensure that those responsible for perpetrating discriminatory abuse face the strongest possible consequences for their actions. ireland have recalled joey carbery for saturday's six nations clash against italy in rome. the munster fly half has been drafted in as additional cover forjohnny sexton, whose still recovering from a leg injury. there's also a return for cian healy and dan sheehan in the front row. both picked up hamstring injuries, whilst tadgh byrne's tournament is done after undergoing ankle surgery. fresh from their victory in the world club challenge in australia — several of the st helens team have landed back in the uk. they beat penrith panthers 13—12

to become the first super league club to win the trophy in australia since 1994. they'll begin their super league campaign against castleford tigers this sunday. lance stroll will miss formula 0ne's only pre—season test this week after sustaining injuries in a bicycle accident it means that if he's passed fit — he'll start practice for the opening grand prix in bahrain next week having done just 17 shakedown laps at silverstone in cold and damp conditions in the team's new car. aston martin said they're expecting him to make a quick recovery. that's all the sport for now. let's return to our top story and president biden's surprise visit to ukraine, nearly one year on from the russian invasion. this is the moment he met with ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky. mr biden has now left kyiv but said his visit reaffirms the us's unwavering and unflagging commitment to ukraine's democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

he also said vladimir putin�*s �*war of conquest�* in ukraine is failing. let�*s hear what he had to say. i think it�*s a pretty easy guess that the ukrainian public will be very filled indeed to see president biden appear in kyiv today. i think what will be in their minds is that as we come up to the one—year anniversary of the war, there is going to be a fear that those countries supporting ukraine will think, one year on, it�*s time to reflect on where we go now, whether this is worthwhile, how much longer can we do this, that kind of thing. i think we had a warm up act with this, listening to the speeches that the government have made during the conference over the weekend. a lot of very powerful statement of

support for ukraine and of determination to keep on going. i think that�*s the biden visit to kyiv is really about the best possible answer you could give to the question, have our supporters really got the stamina, the stomach to stick with us? i think biden�*s visit is saying sure. i think the kremlin has its own way. i think we have assumed for some time that putin himself does not have sure about what�*s going on. i dare say that�*s the message will be in some respect, deliberately distorted for moscow consumption, i think your correspondent was quite right to say

that it correspondent was quite right to say thatitis correspondent was quite right to say that it is likely that one response in moscow will be to exploit that the visit, to support the narrative that says this is actually not a raw, it�*s not a war with ukraine, it is a war with the united states. very few people in moscow will be around to point out that it�*s russia that started this war. that�*s not a truth that will get through to putin, but i think that another message which has a good chance of getting through is the fact of this persistence and determination that the message from ukraine and from their supporters is that we will go on finding ways of raising the cost to russia of this senseless and pointless war that putin is

continuing.— with ukraine. staying with ukraine , it�*s nearly a year since the russian invasion of ukraine caused millions of innocent families to flee their home country. most of them passed though poland but almost a million ukrainians stayed and started a new life there. 0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford went to meet some of those who have already settled in poland — and some who have onlyjust arrived, amid fears of a renewed russian offensive. for a year now, this railway has been a lifeline for people. every night, the train pulls into platform five. bringing families from ukraine to poland, from war to safety and peace. the carriages are much quieter these days, but the refugees are still coming. 0lga has just arrived from northern ukraine. her family spent the night in an abandoned supermarket.

they left because 0lga�*s scared vladimir putin is planning a new deadly offensive to mark the first anniversary of his invasion. translation: no-one in ukraine makes plans any more _ because you don�*t know what tomorrow will bring, whether there will be a missile strike. people are just lost. you look to the future and you see nothing. that�*s the mood now for all of us. the family took only what mattered most, including arnold, and then they fled. 0lga�*s son is nearly 18. if he stayed in ukraine, he could be conscripted. poland has welcomed refugees in their millions, and if others are forgetting their initial shock at this war, solidarity with ukraine here is still strong. so they work here, they rent houses, their kids going to polish school.

so we can�*t say, you know, they only stay here and, you know, they stay and do nothing. no, they integrate very well. it hasn�*t been easy. there are special classes in polish schools designed to help ukrainian children fit in. like 11—year—old sofia, who�*s thrown herself into life here. she�*s already fluent in polish and there�*s no sign of the fear she says made her tremble all over when her city was shelled last year and she had to hide in the basement. i ask if she often thinks of home. translation: i try not to think about ukraine. because if i think too much, then i�*ll start crying. for example, if i think how good it would be to be in ukraine and in my own house.

forsome, poland isjust a transit stop on a tired journey further west. there are free trains from here to hanover. and 0lga and her family have tickets. i�*ll never forget the scenes i saw in eastern ukraine at the very beginning of this war, when there were huge crowds at the train stations crushing to get onto evacuation trains. there was panic, there was absolute chaos. here now things are far calmer. but a year on, i�*d say the mood is less desperate. it�*s more depressed now. because ukraine�*s first refugees thought they�*d be home within weeks. now no—one dares guess when the war they�*re still escaping will be over. sarah rainsford, bbc news, in eastern poland. if you�*d like to get an idea of what it�*s like to cover the ukraine war,

head to the bbc iplayer and search for behind the stories. there you can see films from our correspondents steve rosenberg, james waterhouse and sarah rainsford looking back at the russian invasion and how they have reported on it for the last 12 months. we are expecting at 5:30pm this afternoon, a press conference from lancashire police headquarters as part of the investigation into nicola bulley, who has been missing for more than three weeks now. her family have said that they are in agony waiting for a body to be identified, that was found in the river close to the place where nicola was last seen. we are expecting that everything to be led by the police at the press conference at 530. the headlines on bbc news:

president biden makes a surprise visit to kyiv — his first to ukraine since russia�*s invasion almost a year ago. in other news, the family of nicola bulley describe their agony as police find a body in the river near the place she went missing. an inquest finds five people were unlawfully killed in a series of shootings by a guman in keyham, plymouth. the race is on the succeed nicola sturgeon as snp leader and first minister of scotland. kate forbes, who�*s currently scotland�*s finance minister, has announced that she is standing. so too are scotland�*s health secretary humza yousaf and the former community safety minister ash regan. our correspondent lorna gordon explains how the leadership contest is beginning to take shape. kate forbes the latest to announce her candidacy this morning, saying that scotland and the snp were at a major crossroads. she promised competent leadership to deliver independence. she said she wanted to lead the snp with integrity and commitment and she pledged to

reach out and listen. this morning, humza yousaf, the health secretary, launched his campaign. his pitch was that he has the experience. he�*s been in government for more than ten years here in scotland. he�*s seen by many as the continuity candidate. he said that is no bad thing. and he also said he wasn�*t wedded to nicola sturgeon�*s preferred strategy for another independence referendum. i have some concerns about using a westminster general election as a de facto referendum. i�*m not as wedded to it as the first minister i know has said that it�*s her preference. so i�*m not going to go in with a preference just now. i�*m going to listen to what the membership has got to say, but be in no doubt the westminster election for scotland... of course it will be about that question of independence. well, ash regan is, of course, the third candidate who�*s announced she will stand. she supports the idea of using the next election as a de facto referendum. she, of course, resigned from the scottish government last year because she said she couldn�*t

support the controversial gender recognition reform bill. we�*ve heard from nicola sturgeon this morning whose sudden resignation has sparked this all. she said she will not endorse any of the candidates to succeed her. she says like every other snp party member, she will have one vote. that�*s how it will work. one member, one vote. there are more than 100,000 members of the snp. they will get to decide who becomes the next party leader and in effect who becomes the next first minister of scotland. the nominations to stand close on friday. they have to... it�*s not a foregone conclusion. they have to get 100 votes from 20 different branches and then there is a wider vote throughout the membership. we will find out who the leader of the party is on march the 27th. bus networks are shrinking across britain, but the cuts have gone much deeper in some areas than others. bbc analysis suggests that in some places, services have been slashed by more

than a third. so, what impact do these cuts have on the people that rely on their local bus routes? 0ur transport correspondent katy austin has been to leicestershire and north yorkshire, two counties that have seen significant reductions in services. i�*m just going up to the bus stop for a couple of minutes. i�*ve got my phone, if you need me. most days, john makes the short walk from his home to catch the only bus serving the leicestershire village of stapleton. he uses it for shopping or social trips to the nearest town, but the 159 is about to be axed. i, like probably many more people, will be lost when it�*s gone, devastated. i�*m a 24/7 carer and it�*s nice to think, i want to get out for an hour, i can go and get the bus, go downtown, even if i don�*t want to buy anything. the point is, it�*s taking independence away from a lot of people. the county council says it can no longer afford the heavy subsidy. in future, it will offer alternative bookable transport, for essential trips only. up and down the country, people are finding services have

disappeared or been cut back. many of them are commercially funded — like the 128 bus through north yorkshire, which now only runs every two hours and skips the village of ruston. so the older residents are having to walk up through the village, and it's a very steep hill, down the main road, which is a really fast—moving road, erm, to the bus stop, carrying their shopping. the bus companies say they�*re still getting fewer passengers than before the pandemic and they�*ve had to cope with rising costs. i�*m going to get on this bus to speak to the man who runs one operator here in yorkshire. hello, ben. hi, how are you doing? it is very much about money. ultimately, we are a - labour—intensive business. the last two years, we've - increased our driver wages by 25%, in order to remain competitive. 0ur utilities costs have gone up, so gas and electric, _ like they have for everybody, as well as parts for _ repairing vehicles. and we're expecting our fuel costs to go up as we go further-

into this year as well. he says this reduced route is now covering its costs. the department for transport said it had now invested more than £2 billion in supporting the industry since the pandemic began and extended a temporary £2 cap on single fares across england until the end ofjune. along the 128 route, residents of pickering are fighting to stop their other bus, the 840, being cut. there�*s a possibility it might go, what would that mean for you? i�*d have to quit myjob, because i don�*t drive, so i�*ve no other transport. the council here hopes the 840 can be saved. many people have already watched their bus leave for the last time. katy austin, bbc news. research for the bbc shows half of state—funded schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities in england are oversubscribed, as they struggle to meet growing demand for places. some headteachers say they�*ve been forced to hold classes in cupboards because of a lack of space. 0ur

education correspondent elaine dunkley has more details. this is maltby hilltop school in rotherham. like many specialist schools across the country, there�*s pressure on places. hello. freya! doing some fantastic walking. the classrooms and corridors are cramped and overcrowded, as they take on more pupils. how much of your time do you spend looking for space? well, i mean, it�*s continual. ten years ago, they had 82 pupils. now, they have 134, and there is a waiting list. what i�*m about to show you, this was a former resource cupboard, but now we have members of the visual impairment therapy team conducting therapy with our children in this space. in a resource cupboard? in a resource cupboard. afternoon! hi! good afternoon. i�*m ashamed. you know, as the head teacher of this school, i genuinely do feel it is shameful that this is what we are

providing for our children. so what is causing pressure on places? there is increasing diagnosis of special educational needs. some mainstream schools are struggling to cope. we're a little bit cramped. so, we�*re always a little bit cramped... funding is an issue. local authorities�* high—need budgets are tight, and new specialist schools aren�*t being built quick enough to cope with the rising demand for places. it's not ideal at all. we can't have more than four, five people in this room, and i have got seven children in my pizza club, and there's four members of staff. we just can't do it. we want the absolute best for them. these children here, this is like my nest and they are the birds, my little chicks. and i want them, you know, to fly, and i want them to flourish. some pupils have had to leave the school because they can�*t cope with the overcrowding. sarah was hoping this day wouldn�*t come. she�*s in school to collect her son cohen�*s belongings. he�*s no longer able to learn in the noisy, cramped

portakabins and is now at home. this is where he should be. he should be learning and he should be with his friends. _ he started to have panic. attacks, hyperventilating. he wants to be here, but it's... the space is not allowing it. in a statement, the government says it�*s providing £2.6 billion — between now and 2025 — to help deliver new school places. this is a school which celebrates every success... look at you, in the pool, on the trampoline, washing your hands... ..but this head teacher is worried that far too many children are being failed by the lack of space and resources in specialist schools across england. elaine dunkley, bbc news, in rotherham. for more on this story you can watch a documentary on bbc iplayer — it�*s called "send help". the legendary sports

presenter, dickie davies, (pause — upsot 5�*)he was best known such he also covered the olympics, boxing, darts and snooker. fellow presenters described him as a giant of live sports you may remember dippy the diplodocus, probably the world�*s most famous replica dinosaur skeleton. for more than a century, dippy stood in london�*s natural history museum — but more recently, he�*s been touring the uk. and now, he�*s found a more permanent home — in coventry, as john maguire reports. the wonder and the awe of being the first to see dippy the diplodocus in its new home, in the centre of coventry. i think it�*s so cool how long the tail is, and how they�*ve kept it upright, without it falling down to the floor. dippy is a replica, made up of casts

of various diplodocus discoveries, to form the huge skeleton that first stood in london�*s natural history museum in 1905. now, dippy is made up of 292 parts — all the way from the very tip of its whip—like tail through the replica skeleton, all up to the skull at the very front. it�*s been on display in the natural history museum in london for the best part of 100 years, but now it�*s in coventry, this is dippy�*s new home for at least the next three years. in 2017, it set off on a tour around the uk and was seen by 2 million visitors, so the hope is that dippy will continue to draw the crowds — this time, here at the herbert art gallery and museum. we're expecting around 300,000 visitors in the first year and, actually, we think that might be quite a conservative

estimate as well. dippy was transported in 29 wooden cases and took five days to reconstruct. this morning, daisy was given the honour of putting the final plaster of paris bone in place. it�*s basically like a 3d jigsaw puzzle. yeah. apart from anything else, it�*s absolutely huge. |dippy's got an amazing history, j and so we're really pleased that it's out and about again. from today, visitors will be able if not to walk with dinosaurs, then at least to stand below and beside one, marvelling at its scale and imagining life on earth tens of millions of years ago. john maguire, bbc news, coventry. at 5:30pm, we are expecting a press briefing by lancashire police about the ongoing investigation into the

disappearance of nicola bulley. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with helen. the colours of spring are starting to appear, and it certainly feels mild enough to be spring out there. temperatures popping up to 15 or 16 in the brighter spots, but once we clear the rain midweek, it will turn a little bit chillier back down to the february average. and even with the mild air, there�*s an awful lot of cloud with us today, this weather front to the north is still giving us some fairly significant rains over the western highlands of scotland. to the north of it, it�*s blowing a gale across shetland, very gusty winds here, but it�*s brighter at least for the north mainland and the northern isles, just the odd shower. elsewhere, to the south of that weather front there is a lot of cloud, so it�*s drizzly around the hills and the coast in the west, the best chance of brightness and sunshine will be east of any hills, and that is where we�*ll see the highest temperatures — but, across the board, temperatures will be several degrees up on where they should be for this time of year, and as a consequence of all that cloud, it�*s not going anywhere overnight, in fact the weather front pushes

a little bit further north, the wind starts to stiffen here once again, but with enough breeze and cloud, temperatures won�*t fall much lower than 5 or 6 degrees, so it stays relatively mild for the moment. so, tuesday, again, a lot of cloud, a lot of dry weather, some drizzle around the coast and the hills in western areas, something more significant tomorrow across the northern isles before that clears away, and pushing back into the western isles later, but temperatures may get again towards 14 or 15, perhaps, around the moray firth, east of the pennines, for example, but there will be just generally a lot of dry, cloudy weather — but once that weather front then moves through into wednesday, well, we notice this change in wind direction. instead of the southerly or south—westerly we get a north—westerly blowing in. so, a chillier feel to the day on wednesday, but, again, once our weather front clears out of the way, and it could drag its heels across east anglia and the south—east, and there is the hint of a little sleetiness over the hills in the north, but actually just temperatures are tapered down a little bit, 8—10, and that breeze to factor, as well, so it will feel cooler for the day on wednesday, but there will be some sunshine,

more sunshine around than we�*re seeing today, and indeed tomorrow. with the ridge of high pressure then building in to thursday, it means a cold start to thursday morning, a frost potentially first thing, so, quite a difference. just the chance of a few wintry showers, hailand rain and perhaps a little bit of sleet pushing down the east coast, and more rain pushes into the north later, but as you can see, for many of us, it�*s the temperatures that have tumbled by the end of the week, but there�*ll be more sunshine in place of it.

this is bbc news. the headlines. president biden makes a surprise visit to kyiv — reaffirming the us�*s unwavering�* support to ukraine�*s democracy. unwavering support to ukraine�*s democracy. kyiv stands and ukraine stands, democracy stands, the americans stand with you and the world stands with you. mr biden�*s visit comes as the anniversary of russia�*s invasion approaches. president zelensky says the democratic world has to "win this historic fight."

we hope that this year, the 2023 will become a year of victory, this unprovoked and criminal, russia�*s war against ukraine and against the whole world.