welcome back, you are all watching bbc news. it's the first anniversary of russia was make invasion of ukraine, president zelensky told journalists at a news conference in kyiv on friday that he welcomed the un vote calling for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of russian troops. is he does web resolution is a powerful signal of global support. ukraine's allies have pledged help kyiv with the russian invasion, the us has announced more sanctions against russia and said it would provide ukraine with another $2 billion worth of weaponry. took part in a parade in the centre of kyiv on friday morning after a minute's silence, the president handed out awards to soldiers and families of those who died. no comment on the wall in russia,

president putin has not spoken but his predecessor said on social media the country would push ukrainian forces away back to poland. more from me at the top of the other, now it's time tojoin from me at the top of the other, now it's time to join the team on the travel show. sitting halfway between the scottish mainland and norway. the shetland islands have a unique combination of cultures. and today the sleepy town

of lerwick is facing an invasion from a long dormant foe, the vikings. so this is up helly aa. it's one of a number of viking festivals that take place in shetland every year. this one in lerwick is the biggest. up helly aa is best known for its night—time procession. almost a thousand people carry flaming torches through the streets, then set fire to a replica viking ship. a group of around 60 locals kitted out in elaborate viking garb. i mean, these this is serious stuff. who makes these? almost all that was done in shetland. and then there was a design committee and the squad.

what kind of money are we talking for an individual kit? it's this kind of strange amalgam of scott and old norton. within the crowd, there are tourists from across the world. i live in a little town called vernon, oregon, in the middle of nowhere. so here i am, the middle of nowhere. i love your costumes. right. but fundamentally, this is a local tradition. there are rules for who can take part, which is why 2023 is a big yearfor up helly aa, because it's the first time in the history of this beardy, testosterone fuelled festival that women can join in. i think it's probably fair

to say that the reaction to the announcement was broadly positive, although probably some people still cherish the format of the festival as it was. traditionally, women parties that follow the procession. claire has some sympathy for those who want to keep it all as it was. my husband has been in nine squads. now he's a joiner. he's a craftsman. i think it's a shame to forget what pride and delight lots of people involved in making these suits and making this event happen from the hostesses and the halls. you know, they do those things very, very well and they love it as it is. but also i am a woman and i have a daughter who's three, and i would love to see her participate on her own terms. women and girls have been taking part in other viking festivals around shetland for a few years, but the changes to up helly aa won't transform it overnight. squad members are nominated 15 years in advance,

so they'll mostly remain male for a while yet. but the changes will have an immediate impact on thejunior up helly aa, which takes place right before the adult one. i'm on my way to meet one young torchbearer. hello. hi there. i'm christa. you must be joni? so can you walk along the route withjoni as well? joni is one of around 30 girls who'll be taking part for the first time. what are you looking forward to most? probably following the torch into the gallery. the torch might get a bit heavy to carry. so we've made these tins where we put it into it, like lift some of the weight off of you. and what was it like for you to get the news that women and girls could be included for the first time? was that quite an exciting thing to find out?

yeah, so i think it'sjust nice everyone getting the opportunity, especially the young ones like joni and her friends. yeah, i'm really happy. it's really good that they're letting girls take part., which is brilliant. can you imagine yourself taking part in the future and becoming a member of the squad? yeah. would you like to wear the armour? keep as the day draws to an end in lerwick, the festivities start to heat up. i'm standing here with a lot of proud parents as the members of the junior procession light up their torches and get ready to set off across town. hopefully we can catch sight ofjohnny. behind the squad, the other rebel is addressed not in viking gear but in fancy dress. and sure enough, we see lots of girls taking part. including joni. not long after thejunior procession, it's the grown ups turn

the atmosphere is brilliant. you've got the singing, lots of shouting. they turned off the streetlights. so you've just got this torchlight around. but you do have to be a bit cautious because if a gust of wind comes by, the embers fly from the torches and land on your clothes, you're going to be vigilant or you'll go home with a few holes. as the adult procession passes by. we don't see many women taking part, but any controversy hasn't stopped crowds of people turning out to watch. did you have any feelings yourself about girls being able to participate? yeah. well, boys are involved. if we would've had two girls, i suppose we would have been keen that they could be involved as well. after a circuit, the procession files into a local play park.

we've got the torches going in with these viking helmets. the galley going up in flames. the embers above just been blown around. there's mad wind. it's this incredible experience. and who knows? maybe they'll make a viking of me yet. i still cry every time i see it. i'm a softie. what can i tell you? it has permeated every aspect of pop culture, and i think there's very few musicals that can do that. it has been a part of my life - for almost half of my adult life. somehow i thought that the show would be running when i was gone.

it's hard to put into words because i love what i do. it makes me a bit teary. i was actuallyjust finishing another show and i hadn't seen my daughter in a while. and then i got this audition for my agents and i said, "no, "i don't want to do that." he stopped and he turned around in his chair and he said, "ben, "if you don't do that audition, you will regret it for "the rest of your life." and i figured a good way of getting out some emotions was to, like, tell my daughter how important it would be if i were to get the job. and i kind of got the panic attack out of my system.

and literally my phone rang and it was my agent telling me i had gotten it. and it's a frustrating thing because the costs have risen since, you know, the post—pandemic world. so the show closing is very bittersweet. it felt like my years of studying and practice had had paid off. this is the first show i ever saw on broadway, and it is my broadway debut. so it's a beautiful, beautiful, full circle moment for me. it meant that for other people and for other young black girls who would come to see me or would see my face and see me playing this role, it meant that they could have a chance and they could see themselves playing a role like this, too, and kind of affirming their hopes and dreams in a way that i didn't necessarily have growing up.

coming closer now to these final performances. i feel an enormous amount of gratitude and i feel honoured. it's just there's nothing not to love about it. it's all, it's all challenging and it's all wonderful. and i'm just so lucky to be able to work on it. i do feel like broadway is losing part of its foundation with the show closing. i don't know how i'll feel the day after the final performance. it's going to be an emotionaljourney. pride is an understatement as to what i would feel. this show is much bigger

than the rest of us. and it has been a wonderful, wonderful ride indeed. well, that's it for this week's programme, but we'll be back before you know it, when, lucy explores brixton in south london to find out how 75 years ago the arrival of one ship from the caribbean changed this corner of the capital forever. we've got thejerk, john. you've got the pounds, you've got the fire. it just screams caribbean and i love it. in the meantime, you can find the longer version of the programme on bbc iplayer, along with lots of our recent adventures. follow us on social media too where you'll discover all sorts of great travel content from around the bbc. right. that's it for me. i'm off to find a nip of whisky

to see if i can ward off this cold. see you next time. hello and welcome to newswatch with me, samira ahmed. did the bbc play a part in a media feeding frenzy around the search for nicola bulley? and did the attention it gave the story intrude on a family's private grief? it was monday evening when news came which many had feared for more than three weeks since nicola bulley first went missing in the lancashire village of st michaels on wyre. police have just confirmed that the body found in the river in lancashire is that of 45—year—old nicola bulley. detectives read a statement from herfamily. you have been found. we can let you rest now. this sad case attracted a huge amount of attention on both

traditional and social media, much of it far from welcome to ms. bulley�*s family. they described the behaviour of some journalists over the past month as absolutely appalling, picking out itv and sky news for particular criticism. but rich warburton felt there were questions to be asked of the bbc too. one particular area of controversy during the investigation was this

revelation by lancashire police last week, reported by danny savage, based on a number of specific vulnerabilities that we were made aware of, nicola was graded as high risk. they later added that she had significant issues with alcohol due to her struggles with the menopause. today there was a new statement from her family. the decision by lancashire police to put those specific issues of nicola's into the public arena attracted a lot of anger, but so did their widespread airing by the bbc. here's dawn jones.