this is bbc news, i'm sally bundock, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. british and irish political leaders condemn the shooting of an off—duty policeman in northern ireland. he's in a critical condition. totally devastated and in shock and without words as to why, how, this has happened in any part of our community. china and russia reaffirm their close relationship, with president putin meeting beijing's top foreign affairs official in moscow. in the uk, the cases of thousands of asylum—seekers are to be fast—tracked,

to try and reduce the backlog of applications. millions of americans are facing a weather alert, as a mix of record high and record low temperatures sweeps the country. and, the man who showed the world — a new permanent exhibition is announced, dedicated to david bowie. hello and welcome. police in northern ireland have confirmed that an off—duty officer is in a critical but stable condition after being shot at a sports complex in omagh in county tyrone. the police federation for northern ireland said the shooting happened at around eight o'clock last night while the officer coached young people playing football. sinn fein described the attack as "outrageous and shameful",

while the dup called for those responsible to be brought tojustice. our ireland correspondent, emma vardy reports. the shooting happened the shooting happened in the shooting happened in front the shooting happened in front of young players training at a coaching session, it is thought the off—duty officer was shot multiple times at around eight o'clock in the evening. local political leaders have condemned the attack calling it despicable and cowardly. totally devastated and in shock and without words as to why and how this has happened in omagh orany how this has happened in omagh or any part of our community on this island. there are no words for the details that i am hearing, the impact it has already had and will have when other details emerge, but i am first of all thinking obviously on the family of the gentlemen involved and his colleagues and the community, and the children.—

the community, and the children. . , ~ ., children. the officer is known to be a senior— children. the officer is known to be a senior detective - children. the officer is known to be a senior detective but l to be a senior detective but police haven't said anything official about a potential motive for the shooting. he is being treated at a hospital in londonderry. patrols have been increased in neighbouring counties after reports of the gunman may have fled across the border after the attack. there has continued to be a security threat against police officers since the end of the troubles 25 years ago but attacks are now much rarer. the secretary of state for northern ireland says his immediate thought were with the officer and with his family. china and russia have reaffirmed their close relationship, with president putin meeting beijing's top foreign affairs official in moscow. wang yi, promised more agreements with russia and china's president xi jinping will deliver a "peace speech" on the anniversary of the invasion of ukraine. moscow says the cooperation

between china and russia on the world stage is very important to stabilize the international situation. meanwhile the us has warned china with serious consequences if beijing provides weapons to russia for use in ukraine. well we can now speak to rongbin han who is a china expert and associate professor of international affairs at the university of georgia. a warm welcome to the programme. so from your perspective, what is china's strategy as we see it getting closer to russia right now? thank you very much for having me, i want to emphasise that china has its own interests to pursue and the war is probably not china's best interest. china has maintained relatively good relations with both russia and ukraine before the war. so china is incentivised to promote peace in the region and

in this regard china's proposal might be sincere but at the same time, china and russia were collaborating on a number of strategic goals, particularly because of the shared strategic interest of country in the us so there is a strategic triangle between the us, russia and china. even though china and russia do not see eye to eye on everything, but overall, the china russia relationship is solid. but from china's perspective, russia is not particularly likeable in the united states but because of the strategic triangular relationship in the ongoing us—china competition, china more or less is left without a choice but to side with russia a bit more especially considering the us has not made

any positive gestures in the past few years regarding improving the bilateral relations, so for china to change its stance, the us probably needs to make some compromises or change its policy towards china, but this is unlikely for many reasons especially for domestic politics in the us. especially for domestic olitics in the us. ~ ., ., politics in the us. what do you think might — politics in the us. what do you think might happen _ politics in the us. what do you think might happen next, - politics in the us. what do you | think might happen next, then? because many are asking the question, will china take the step in providing military expertise to russia and that is something the us is warning china against, that would be seen as a step in the wrong direction, it says there will be serious consequences if asian provides weapons to russia. your thoughts on that? this is a worrisome development in some sense. china officially has been quite reserved and

measured so far in terms of supporting russia especially in terms of providing weapons or other military support, at least we don't see any evidence of china officially supporting russia's effort on a mass scale but it is subject to speculation. overall i think china would still be relatively reserved and measured in terms of directly aiding russia in fighting the war. the other types of support might be considered by china at this moment. considered by china at this moment-— considered by china at this moment. ~ ., ., moment. 0k. well we have to leave it there, _ moment. 0k. well we have to leave it there, we _ moment. 0k. well we have to leave it there, we have - moment. 0k. well we have to leave it there, we have run . moment. 0k. well we have to| leave it there, we have run out of time sadly but thank you for your prospect of on that. and just to say that on friday there is the anticipated speech by president xijinping on there is the anticipated speech by president xi jinping on the war in ukraine and we will be covering that here on bbc world news. meanwhile, russia and china

are to begin a full naval exercise with south africa, off the coast of kwazulu—natal. among the vessels is a frigate equipped with hypersonic cruise missiles. russia is expected to fire artillery — but not the cruise missiles — during the exercises. our africa correspondent andrew harding reports. farfrom ukrainea far from ukraine a formidable russian warship, docking in south africa today. bristling with long range missiles and branded unapologetically with the letter v, the symbol of russia's invasion of ukraine. so why is democratic south africa going along with all this, a week of military exercises, and with china too? below decks on the russian frigate, vladimir putin stares from the wall. the captain insists these are just routine drills, nothing provocative. his south african hosts go further, suggesting that this kind of cooperation is actually

what russia and ukraine need today. the republic of south africa, and other countries as well, subscribe to negotiated settlements. maybe we are that country which can assist to bring together different nations who are opposing each other. south africa claims to be neutral regarding the war in ukraine. but the timing of these drills is awkward, to put it mildly. and it's part of a broader trend that's seen south africa's struggling government drawing closer to the kremlin. opposition politicians here are not impressed. it clearly leaves the perception that our government is not neutral. they seem to be giving every opportunity to the russians to showcase their fist, their capability, their military strength.

but the truth is that russia is not the pariah here, that it is in the west. right now across africa, most governments are simply trying to keep their heads down when it comes to ukraine, anxious not to get dragged into the war there on either side. but there's no doubt that today, with these naval exercises, south africa has gifted the kremlin a small propaganda victory. and it's also clear that russian influence on the continent is growing. that influence can be troubling, russian flags waved in places like mali and burkina faso, where the kremlin stands accused of backing coups and undermining democracy. today's russian exercises in south africa have provoked frustration in the west, but they're a reminder that this continent, with its painful colonial history, now wants to keep its options open. andrew harding, bbc

news, south africa. israel has carried out air strikes in the gaza strip after rockets were fired from the palestinian—controlled territory. the israeli military said it shot down five of the devices, the other landed in a field. the attacks follow a deadly israeli raid in the occupied west bank on wednesday. 11 palestinians were killed in nablus, several of them gunmen. our middle east correspondent tom bateman reports. another day of death and bloodshed in nablus. the worst this city has seen since the depths of this conflict two decades ago. it started with israeli undercover forces seen here entering the city in disguise. then, more raided. then it was mid—morning, into streets packed with people, sparking gunfights with palestinian militants.

troops opened fire and blew up a building in the old city. "i was woken by an explosion "and saw special forces "with dogs, troops connecting wires, "which i assumed were for explosives," says this man who lives nearby. the destructive force of an israeli rocket fired at a palestinian house. israel says its troops killed three militants of the lion's den group who refused to surrender. it wanted them over the killing of a soldier last year and for planning new attacks. but as paramedics struggled to move, more people were killed outside, gunmen and civilians, including a 72—year—old man. while others, apparently unarmed, were seen running away as gunshots were heard. palestinian officials called it a massacre. in the hospitals, the wounded

and their relatives pour in. 15—year—old islam says he threw stones towards the soldiers. he got a bullet in the leg. his grandfather tells me young and old were hit. "they came in with so much rage, "so much hatred against the palestinian people, "it is the first time i've known it like that "since 2004," he says. we are seeing more and more relatives arrive here, and on this ward alone, they are treating people in every room now with bullet wounds. one doctor i spoke to said this is one of the worst events of its kind he's seen recently. he called it a disaster. thousands turned out for another day of funerals. today's raid in nablus is now the deadliest in the occupied west bank in nearly two decades. israel says it's been

trying to stem the rise in palestinian attacks on its streets. the northern west bank's become home to growing militancy with the official palestinian leadership losing control here. now, the militant group, islamichhad, is threatening retaliation. the scale of bloodshed shows recent international efforts to restore calm are failing. tom bateman, bbc news, nablus. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: honours even in germany, as manchester city draw i—i with rb leipzig in the champions league. prince charles has chosen his bride. the prince proposed to lady diana spencer three weeks ago. she accepted, she says, without hesitation. as revolutions go, this had its fair share of bullets. a climax in the night outside the gates of mr marcos's sanctuary, malacanang, the name itself symbolising one of the cruellest regimes of modern asia.

the world's first clone has been produced i of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have i produced a sheep called dolly using a cell- from another sheep. warren beatty and faye dunaway announced to the world that the winner of best film was la la land. the only trouble was it wasn't. the mistake was only put right in the middle of gushing speeches by the team behind the modern musical. not for 20 years have locusts been seen in such numbers in this part of africa. some of the swarms have been ten miles long. this is the last time - the public will see this pope. very soon, ifor the sake of the credibility. and authority of the next pope, benedict xvi - will, in his own words, be hidden from the world for the rest of his life. i this is bbc news. the latest headlines: british and irish political leaders condemn the shooting of an off—duty policeman in northern ireland. he's in a critical condition.

china and russia reaffirm their close relationship, with president putin meeting beijing's top foreign affairs official in moscow. now to the us. a fierce winter storm is causing widespread disruptions in the united states. so far, 75 million people in 28 states have been placed under weather warnings. airlines have been forced to cancel more than 1,700 flights. azadeh moshiri reports. in some parts of the united states, life has come to a standstill. states such as minnesota, wisconsin, and the decoders are feeling the brunt of a major storm. the snow has forced many schools and businesses to shut down. officials are warning residents to avoid driving.— to avoid driving. unless you legitimately _ to avoid driving. unless you legitimately have _ to avoid driving. unless you legitimately have a - to avoid driving. unless you legitimately have a need i to avoid driving. unless you legitimately have a need to | to avoid driving. unless you i legitimately have a need to be

out travelling, to stay home and bunker there if you can. it's not worth the risk to yourself. it's not worth the risk to yourself-— it's not worth the risk to yourself. the winds have affected _ yourself. the winds have affected powerlines. - yourself. the winds have affected powerlines. as | yourself. the winds have i affected powerlines. as left hundreds of thousands of customers without electricity during the storm. it is also forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights. hopefully i can aet thousands of flights. hopefully i can get out — thousands of flights. hopefully i can get out of— thousands of flights. hopefully i can get out of here _ thousands of flights. hopefully i can get out of here and - thousands of flights. hopefully i can get out of here and get . i can get out of here and get my daughter tomorrow when they have rebooked my flight. this blizzard has _ have rebooked my flight. this blizzard has its _ have rebooked my flight. this blizzard has its own _ have rebooked my flight. this blizzard has its own travel plans though, forecasters say the storm system could span 1300 miles. it could travel all the way from nebraska to new hampshire. but its cross—country journey hampshire. but its cross—countryjourney is expected to finish in the north—east by friday, that swing local officials and residents will have to pick up the pieces. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. a powerful cyclone is said to be heading towards mozambique after battering madagascar where it killed five people but left less devastation in its wake than feared, emergency officials say. cyclone freddy is expected to land friday in regions between central and southern

mozambique, more than 500 kilometres north of the capital maputo, and could reach zimbabwe. the cases of 12,000 asylum seekers are to be fast—tracked by the home office to try to fulfil rishi sunak�*s pledge to reduce the backlog of applications by the end of the year. migrants from afghanistan, eritrea, libya, syria, and yemen will have their claims decided on the basis of a ten—page questionnaire, which must be completed in english within 20 days. our home editor mark easton reports. afg ha ns afghans who say they are fleeing persecution from the taliban are among five nationalities being offered a fastrack route to be granted asylum in the uk. they will now be able to have their cases decided without ever being

interviewed face—to—face. find interviewed face-to-face. and we expect _ interviewed face-to-face. and we expect to _ interviewed face-to-face. and we expect to abolish - interviewed face—to—face. fific we expect to abolish the backlog of initial asylum decisions by the end of next year. decisions by the end of next ear. . , decisions by the end of next ear, ., , , . , year. last december, the prime minister said _ year. last december, the prime minister said that _ year. last december, the prime minister said that by _ year. last december, the prime minister said that by the - year. last december, the prime minister said that by the end - minister said that by the end of 2023 his government would eradicate the backlog of 92,000 asylum seeking claims that have been stuck in the system for more than six months. those eligible for the fastrack scheme may be granted refugee status if they fill out a ten page form, in english, and return it within 20 days. they must have applied for asylum before lastjuly and be from five countries with an acceptance rate of more than 95% afghanistan, eritrea, libya, syria, and yemen. some of those on the proposed fastrack scheme will have arrived on small boats across the channel, and issue rishi sunak regarded as one of his priorities. the asylum backlog is way thousands of migrants awaiting a decision are currently housed in hotels at a cost of millions every day.

however, having previously stressed the importance of in—person interviews, the home office is likely to face criticism that the fast tracking has more to do with the prime minister's promised to eradicate the backlog than having rigourous checks for identifying individuals with no right to be in the uk stop it will be uncomfortable for our home secretary, who portrays herself as tough on those who claim asylum when having arrived by irregular roots. we need to arrived by irregular roots. - need to ensure we fix this problem of illegal migration. that's my priority. as the prime minister himself has said, he will do whatever it takes to achieve this goal. we have had 115,000 people last year arrive here in small boats. that situation is unacceptable. we need to design a robust framework, we need to have a deterrent to people stop making the journey in the first place. it making the “ourney in the first lace. ., ,, ., , ., place. it appears, however, that downing _ place. it appears, however, that downing street's - that downing street's determination to sort out the asylum backlog means making it simplerfor asylum backlog means making it simpler for thousands of migrants to simplerfor thousands of migrants to get permission to stay in the uk, some of whom

will have arrived in small boats. mark easton, bbc news. atv a tv news journalist has been shot dead while working at a scene of a murder in the us state of boranup a nine—year—old girl was also killed inside a nearby house. police say the motive for the attacks near orlando is unclear. they have arrested a 19—year—old suspect. the unclear. they have arrested a 19-year-old suspect.- 19-year-old suspect. the two shootings _ 19-year-old suspect. the two shootings of _ 19-year-old suspect. the two shootings of the _ 19-year-old suspect. the two shootings of the two - 19-year-old suspect. the two shootings of the two news . shootings of the two news reporters and the shooting of the mother and the nine—year—old child are all connect did, the same suspect, mr moses, is responsible for all the shootings, he has been charged, formally charged in the motor this morning and we expect charges soon on all of the other victims —— on the motor. the other victims -- on the motor. ., ., ., . ., ., motor. now to france for a teacher — motor. now to france for a teacher was _ motor. now to france for a teacher was stabbed - motor. now to france for a teacher was stabbed to - motor. now to france for a i teacher was stabbed to death motor. now to france for a - teacher was stabbed to death by a pupil on wednesday. the victim was a spanish—language teacher,

a woman of around 50. reports say the pupil told another teacher he was possessed and had heard voices that instructed him to attack the deceased. the suspect has since been arrested by local police. education minister pap ndiaye says the public should not jump to conclusions. translation: no quick deduction should be made _ translation: no quick deduction should be made at _ translation: no quick deduction should be made at this _ translation: no quick deduction should be made at this stage. - should be made at this stage. this is a terrible drama in a quiet school with a history which is not especially remarkable in terms of violence or events that could have led to what we have just witnessed. we should let the investigation follow its course. now is the time for national unity. a court in california has sentenced a man convicted to a minimum of 60 years injail. eric holder shot the rapperfour years ago in the los angeles neighbourhood where both men had grown up. he was found guilty injuly of first—degree murder, with additional sentences for using a gun and wounding two other men.

an extensive archive of david bowie's life, work and legacy will go on display to the public for the first time in 2025. the exhibition at the victoria and albert museum in london will include more than 80,000 items from six decades of his career — including costumes, hand written lyrics, and instruments. tim muffett reports. # it's a god—awful small affair, to the girl with the mouse he had... he was so much more than just a singer. # and her daddy has told her to go... david bowie, an icon of self—expression, creativity, and reinvention stop # and she walked through her sunken dream... is extraordinary archive is to be brought together permanently

for everyone to see. this archive _ for everyone to see. this archive will _ for everyone to see. this archive will be _ for everyone to see. this archive will be protected | for everyone to see. this l archive will be protected in one place, so you can really see david bowie as artist, performer, musician, fashion stylist, everything. # this is ground control to major— # this is ground control to major tom... from - major tom... from 2025, more than 80,000 items, spending six decades, will form the david bowie icar —— archive, how is it a new david bowie centre for the performing arts at the queen elizabeth centre in london. there are some remarkable objects, many, many costumes from the ziggy stardust, the aladdin same, there are no books, incredible documents that reveal the process behind songwriting, behind music videos, behind filmmaking. it shows innovation as bowie did in all art forms.—

in all art forms. ten years aro, a in all art forms. ten years ago. a vm _ in all art forms. ten years ago, a v&a exhibition - in all art forms. ten years - ago, a v&a exhibition brought together hundreds of bowie costumes and pieces of memorabilia. but that was temporary. this will be a permanent collection. it’s temporary. this will be a permanent collection. it's a privilege. — permanent collection. it's a privilege, but _ permanent collection. it's a privilege, but it _ permanent collection. it's a privilege, but it will - permanent collection. it's a privilege, but it will be - permanent collection. it's a privilege, but it will be a i privilege, but it will be a privilege, but it will be a privilege for everyone. it will be there for visitors to enjoy for generations to come. he left us in — for generations to come. he left us in 2016, but the influence of david bowie can still be seen and heard. # we can be heroes... tim muffett, bbc news. i will be going to the victoria & albert museum to check that out. next we have all the top business stories. we will be looking at the supply chain that ensures we get our fruit and veg in supermarkets here in the uk. if you have a look at bbc online, is everywhere, it is all over the papers as well. tesco is the latest in the supermarkets to actually start to ration what people can buy in terms of tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, etc, etc. we will be talking about that,

we will get a wider perspective of what the issues are, all that and the top business stories next year on the bbc. so do stay with us. i will see you soon in just a so do stay with us. i will see you soon injust a moment.

hello there wednesday brought up hello there wednesday brought up as appreciable rain for some time. eastern england, more rain that we have seen all february so far. the other element was a cooler day, temperatures dipped from 13 on tuesday to just temperatures dipped from 13 on tuesday tojust eight temperatures dipped from 13 on tuesday to just eight on wednesday.

and the change was due to a change in wind direction behind this rather raggedy looking weather front on our satellite picture, the north—westerly wind developed, and that north—westerly wind is blowing our cloud away further south, although we've had a smattering of snow across the moors and the south—west. so, it is cold air. we could see something a little bit wintry on the hills as that continues southwards through the rest of the night. behind it, temperatures are dropping to freezing and, of course, where we're seeing any wintriness. so with the surfaces damp, it could well be quite icy. so that's something we haven't seen for a while either. so, a cold and frosty start for many of us in the morning. our weather front and its cloud still in the south. the next one starting to approach the north. but the high pressure in between does promise more sunshine for many across scotland, northern ireland, northern england, wales. this cloudier zone, cool. some bits and pieces of rain drizzle takes a while to clear, and later on, something more significant comes back into the north and west and the northern isles, along with a strengthening and quite gusty wind. so, that will make it feel chillier. but some sunshine elsewhere, and temperatures similar to those of wednesday, which, as i say, is about average for this time of year. then through the evening, that weather front will weaken. the rain amounts almost peter out as it pushes its way

southwards. and so behind it, the cloud breaks. and ahead of it, we could see some frost as well. so colder to start friday morning. again, a cold start across central and southern areas, but the high pressure isjust relinquishing its grip for a while. now, these weather fronts will introduce more cloud and also that northerly wind. so i do think it'll feel quite chilly on friday even when the cloud starts to break with some sunshine for the north—east of scotland, eastern england, there's a bracing wind and we will still have some rain on this weather front. again, it doesn't look like anything significant, but it will introduce more cloud across the skies and give us some patchy nuisance rain. but as i say, a little bit chillier than the 9 or 10 would suggest. and then the high pressure's back for the weekend. a strong high pressure building, keeping those weather fronts at bay once again. so as we look towards the end of february and through the weekend, there could be quite a bit of cloud around, some drizzly showers, fog and frost, but not a lot of rain is in the forecast.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a basket of trouble. more uk shops ration fresh fruit and vegetables, as shelves are stripped bare. is it a wake—up call for the food industry? now we get these weather patterns and we are getting proper inflation and i am afraid the british public are going to have two get used to paying a realistic price for the fruit and vegetables. also coming up, higher borrowing costs to come, as officials at the federal reserve indicate they are not done raising interest rates plus, not enough bidders, ebay battles to stay relevant as consumers cut back on spending. and from refugee, to entrepreneur. how ukrainian women

are rebuilding their lives overseas — through business.