this is bbc news, the headlines: the head of russia's wagner group says its forces now surround most of bakhmut — the eastern ukrainian city that's been the focus of extensive fighting. we have practically surrounded bakhmut. only one exit from the city remains. we are seeing other people and children. police in australia say they've made one of their biggest ever drug busts, seizing cocaine worth one billion us dollars. the white house confirms president biden had a cancerous skin lesion removed from his chest during a routine health screening. with the oscars a week away — we hear from some of those involved in the nominated british film

�*living' concept wasn't a remake. it was this thing with bell in it.— feel daunted or oppressed by the original fell by the situation. i just felt that i was very fortunate. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for efe obada: against all odds. honestly, the way i got into the nfl was a miracle. london is definitely still home for me, ioo%. do you still head back to your old haunts? i still do, yeah. one, two, three. let's go. the more people to see your story, the more inspiration that gets people to think that to themselves, i'mjust like efe. i can do exactly what he did. the road to the nfl is well—travelled, but littered with pitfalls and broken dreams.

typically, thatjourney begins age five or six and encompasses high school and college, before a select few reached the promised land. efe obada's route wasn't like many who've gone before, but then again, his story is far from typical. hisjourney to america's biggest show began age 20. far from the glitz and glamour in south london. one of my friends, josh hastings, played american football for the warriors and he saw my size. we were similar built. we went to college together. and at the time, he was, he was very skinny. and when i saw him again, you know, he had some size on him. and he told me that he was playing american football and i would be a good fit. so i went down and i thought nothing of it. like, honestly, it was the first time seeing helmets and pads and all these things. it was very strange. like i never saw... i've never seen anything like that in south london. i think i knocked someone on the ground, thought i did something wrong.

everybody was cheering and happy and it was just that, embrace and that, you know, ok, well, if i can, if i do this and i can be physical, and that kind of what's drawn me to it. obada's progress was rapid and he became the first player to go straight from the european football league to the nfl. but reaching the pinnacle is one thing, staying there, another thing entirely. after spells in dallas, kansas city and atlanta, the breakthrough came in charlotte. from there, the journey continued in buffalo and ultimately washington. the average nfl career lasts a little more than three years, and as an outsider, that battle for acceptance can be long and arduous. it took me a while. it took me a while, because initially it was, ok, i'm in a different country, different culture. then it's like i'm playing a sport that i've never played before. and not only am i navigating real life in a different country, i'm also trying to learn a different sport and train my body and this

different lifestyle as an athlete learn the different languages and the terminologies and just learn the rules of the game. so it took me a while and then also just being thrust into that limelight and itjust, i didn't understand how huge that was, how huge the nfl was. so it took me a while. there were days where i felt like i didn't belong. i had imposter syndromejust because the knocks that i had early in my career, you know, i didn't have success off the bat. lots of rejection, lots of fighting and having to claw and stay around and just keep knocking at the door and keep improving. and, you know, there was a time where i was out of the league for a year and i wanted to go to canada and, you know, just try to develop. so that plays on your confidence and especially when you don't know the game, you're getting your ours kicked every day, you know, and it's that mental fortitude to kind of stick with it, you know, that, you know, it's going to pay off eventually. so yeah, it took me a long time to get comfortable and even to some degree i'm not comfortable. i'm still learning. every year it brings new challenges and you know, and new lessons. osi umenyiora is one of britain's nfl pioneers.

drafted in 2003, having played high school and college football, he knows just how hard it is to make it to the professional game. you've got to think, it's a sport that the entire country loves, the entire country is crazy about, everybody wants to play the game. so they've been playing that game since they were four or five, six years old over there. so it's a very, very difficult, difficult sport to play, very competitive. even getting into the college game is extremely competitive. so what about reaching the nfl, having not played football in your formative years? highly improbable. but the good thing about somebody like efe, he's an outstanding athlete. that's the good thing. and that's the the main differentiating factor between the nfl and a lot of other sports is, if you have an extreme level of athleticism, size, intelligence, you can translate and make it to the game rather quickly. and this is... all these things play to efe's advantage. in the context of obada's life, fighting for a place in pro football is just another obstacle

that's been overcome. born in nigeria, obada left the country of his birth with his sister, age five or six, and moved to the netherlands, where he remembers meeting his motherfor the first time. at ten, he and his sister were trafficked to the uk and abandoned. the pair were looked after by a security guard in hackney before social services took them in. from there they moved from home to home, never truly settling and endured no end of hardship. how much do you remember of your early days in this country? just, just a normal... just normal kids really just going to school, wanting to go college, university, playing outside, you know, it'sjust regularstuff, really. how much of what happened to you in those early days, do you think shaped who you are as a person now? i thinkjust the, in terms of growing up in foster care, just the instability and just uncertainty of where, you know, just not having a place to go home.

i feel like it translates in terms of being in the nfl. just the fact that there's just this level of uncertainty. you can play. you can be on one team with this moment. you can be on another team, you know, living out of a suitcase, you know? and that's, that's something i still do right now. you know, it's just this global lifestyle that i have and just being comfortable and being uncomfortable, i guess. were you angry about your situation when you were growing up? those situations i definitely was angry and i was frustrated. but myjourney isn't, you know, isn't uncommon. and a lot of people that grew up around, a lot of friends of mine in similar situations, i'm very fortunate that i was able to have the opportunities that i was presented and made the most of them. for me, the people that were around me had similar situations. there was an understanding, you know, or their parents were in similar situations, you know, so there was there you know, so there was, there was this level of understanding. so itjust felt normal to me, you know, it's just what it was, you know, the cards that

i was dealt. but it wasn't until i got into the nfl and just, you know, all of us started seeing different environments and different, and having different conversations, that i was able to kind of look back and understand that, well, this part of my life wasn't normal. going through this wasn't normal. these things that i've normalised and just deemed, you know, it wasn't normal. a lot of people find solace in sport. was that the case for you? initially, yeah, it was. it was this outlet of frustration and allowed me to be physical, allowed me to exert my anger and frustration of my situation or lack of opportunities that i had. itjust kind of led to something amazing, you know, that afforded me a great life and it allowed me the opportunity to give back and have an impact in my community. ref: under pressure and down he goes! l and obada with the sack for washington. - i heard you on the podcast saying that you've been running away from something in your life, which i found is interesting because of your role in american football is defensive and you're always running towards something. have you ever worked out

what it is you're running from? i think the lack of opportunities, you know, the frustrationjust of where i was an immigrant, couldn't work, couldn't further my education, you know, the area i grew up, the people that were around me. there's only a certain amount of options that you have. and given those, those cards, you know, and eventually you're just going to get pulled in a certain direction. and that's kind of what i was running away from, because in my heart, that's not really who i am. and your environment kind of turns you into someone else or, you know, just so you can survive, so you can provide. and i think that's what i was running away from. so given the opportunity, like the nfl, something so big like that, i was able to, like, i didn't even have a passport before the nfl, you know, and i was able to get me on a plane. even when i was in a practice squad, i was making really good money that i was able to send back home. and i was like, you know, i'm going to hold on to this because i know what's waiting

for me, i know. and that's not what i want for myself. while you identify as british, thus far, you've been unable to get a british passport, which must be incredibly frustrating. it was frustrating. i was in foster care and you know, when i was a minor, they were supposed to sort it out for me. and my immigration and my papers. but i did fall through the cracks. they didn't sort it out. you know, rules changed. and unfortunately, i wasn't able to get it. and i'm still fighting to get it. and although i do feel british, it's still, i still feel like it's a country thatjust kind of doesn't, you know, accept me. but, you know, hopefully, you know, with time, i'll be able to get that. and then that can be just a part of my life that's just, that'll be behind me. does it hurt, that feeling of not being accepted, given the fact you do so much? a little bit. but, you know, that's, these are the crosses and these are hurdles that i have to overcome and i have to bear. i have a lot of empathy because, like i said, i grew up around people in similar situations and are still in similar situations, probably have more of a right to be

in the country than i do because of the amount of years they've been in this country, but still are struggling and fighting and, you know, going through solicitors and having to, you know, just adjust based on the rules and changes that happened in the uk. and some of them can't even leave the country, you know, and i'm very fortunate. i'm blessed that i have the ability to go in and out as i as i please. it's just having that indefinite inability to just kind of call england my home and be recognised as a british citizen. a traumatic upbringing often leaves scars. in many cases, they aren't always visible to the naked eye or obvious to those who carry them. you're involved heavily in mind. what is your role with them? i think they're a great, great foundation, the great charity that has a huge impact. for the nfl, every year you get to choose my cause, my cleats. and this year, because i went into therapy and i just saw the impact, i saw the change in terms of, like, how i treat

people, how i view the world. you know, it'sjust, itjust impacted everything. my confidence when i play, how i dealt with issues that when growing up and, you know, and you know, then how i cope with certain things and i think like, you know my offer of that space and it's an that's why i wanted to work with them and it's important for people to kind of go there and if they're having issues, the environment in the nfl, it's very macho, it's very alpha male. so opening up about how you feel might be seen as a sign of weakness, but how did you sort of marry the two aspects of your life with that together, notjust only in the nfl, right? you know, just even in in the communities, even in the house, in african households, in lots of households, it's very taboo. and especially as a man like it's like, well, just get on with it. you know, it's always this mindset

of all someone else has it worse. so you just kind of negates your feelings and, you know, and pushes it down. and i have an amazing platform, you know, and i, i felt some type of way and it was impacting my, my life. it was impacting the way i treat people, is impacting my relationships. and i wanted to fix that. and then this isn't something that i could have an opportunity to do it years ago, but i didn't have that. like i said, it was very taboo. i didn't have the space. i've been programmed to feel like, ok, well, just get on with it, you know, like it's, what it is. and also i felt guilty because i was like, well, i'm an nfl player. like, what do i have to complain about? it's a huge thing. men are killing themselves. people are depressed, you know, and people don't know how to cope with what they're dealing with. people are acting out on or on certain things and not understanding. did you feel a great weight off your mind when you started to open up? at first i was. i was so scared, you know, i didn't know how it would be received. i felt so exposed.

i felt vulnerable. it was so therapeutic. once i got it out and i started talking and are you know, i said, this is my stance and this is what i believe and this is what this is. it really helped. like, honestly, it really helped. i even got in front of my team and spoke about myjourney and to use that to kind of galvanize and bring everybody together and just express that, just the gratitude and the immense privilege that we have as nfl players. and honestly, like i would never. like years ago, i would never do something like that. but itjust kind of shows how helpful, you know, looking after your mental health was for me and for it was for me, like it's really helped me. what was the response from your team—mates when you did talk to them about your situation? you know, it's funny. like, you know, at first i was like when i was out there, my heart was beating. but then i shared it. everybody clapped and afterwards we went into our next meeting. but then over the course of the weeks, like, people just started coming to me and just kind of expressing like, you know, they appreciate me sharing and then they also like, itjust kind of created that platform for them to share their experiences and theirjourney as well. and now like that was amazing. like, you know, i learned so much

about my team—mates. i was able to connect on a deeper level, you know, and then also, as you kind of, i gained like friendships to a point. and yeah, so it was it was a very was very helpful. i was going to say, has it made you a better player, do you feel? ioo%. you know, it made me definitely more confident, made me more trust in my abilities and where i come from. initially, i had the imposter syndrome and i feel like that's gone. like i've accepted my role and and who i am as a person. and i've kind of detached from my past and my internal voice and who i see. it's not it's not as negative. and even when it does get negative and when i do dip, i have the tools and and the recognition and the awareness to to understand that. ok, well, i'm ifeel this way instead of catastrophising or spiraling, you know, into a certain point. efe obada the fifth - year man out of nigeria with his first sack of the season. former pro coachjerry glanville once famously declared that nfl

stands for not for long due to the short career span at the top of the game. this makes obada's longevity, coupled with his unusual rise to the top all the more impressive. the average career in the nfl| is three years 3.3 to be exact. so the fact that somebody who's come from his background, _ come from the places that he came from, not played the game - for an extended period of time, has been in the nfl for doublel the league average, is a testament to this guy's character— as a testament to his athletic ability, the testament - to his will, his spirit. and he's going to keep . on playing for quite a few more years, we expect. he's intelligent. he's very aggressive, very, very athletic, . his size, obviously. so all those things you combine - into one person and you have a guy who's been in the league for seven years now. - as a seven year veteran of the nfl, obada has lived in various cities and states across the usa. american football has given him a life he could have only dreamed of, but he's neverforgotten where he comes from. so back in london, is london still home for you? london is definitely still home for me. 100%, yes.

how does life in the usa compared to life in england. it's totally different, you know, because life in the uk it was different because i was younger. i went through the traditional school system and working, normal job. and then in the nfl, i'm some nfl player, i'm an nfl player, you know, i'm a star. so, yeah, it's definitely different. how do you feel whenever you come back home? i feel grounded. so humbled. the nfl is such this... it's this all consuming thing, you know, and it's this. you can you were all in this echo chamber of football then, these large amounts of wages and, you know, and salaries and, you know, and just having being around the best of the best and everything. and then you come back home and it'sjust, you know, you get to see just the disparity and, you know, and it's just different. it's just different. do you still head back to your old haunts or do you try to avoid that? oh, no, no, istill do. yeah, i listen, i'll go back. i'll go back around.

yeah. especially i do some work with the big kids foundation and they're based in south london. they're doing a lot of stuff across london as well. so i try to go and spend time with the kids and interact with them it's a fantastic story. you know, he's been through so much to get to where he is and trying so hard to play at the level he's now playing at. and he's really, you know, someone for the young people to look up to. he came from london and and they're from london, too, and he can do it. it allows those young people to believe that they can as well. what's it been like getting to meet efe? oh, it's been quite lovely. has it changed much from when you first got here and you were growing up there in terms of american football? yeah, definitely. like the sport's grown immensely. like it's it's honestlyjust taken over and it's becoming a part of the english culture. does it help remind you of how far you've come yourself? it does. just being able to play

in the league for this long and then also seeing the new generation of kids, notjust going off to just traditional football and they're talking about american football, you know, flag football and just wanting to go over to america and and study and just being able to do that. and it's huge. like those those conversations would never happen in my community. i feel like it's given me a lot of confidence. it's given me a lot of life skills. american football, especially flag. it's very family orientated. i can't wait for like the next five, ten years cause i know for a fact you'll see a lot more young people involved, a lot more young girls as well. would you like to create something permanent in south london, something that might open pathways up for people? ioo%. i think i like moving forward. one of my one of my dreams is to have my own facility, my own training facility, where people can come and watch, kids can come and just have that place, that safe haven. when i was growing up,

i used to go to, like youth centers, i used to go to, like youth centres, you know, and i used to that's what i used to do my homework. that's where i made friends. that's where i used to just play games because, you know, it was just it was just this safe place and and the sense of community if you just didn't want to be hanging out on the road. so if i can create some of that space, if i can help streamline and create more opportunities for american football and try and get in the grassroots levels and streamline that process. because honestly, the way i got into the nfl was a miracle. the more people see this story, the more people understand where he came from, the more hope that it gives people, the more inspiration it gives people to think that to themselves that, hey, i'mjust like efe. i can do exactly what he did. i didn't have to be playing this game since i was a young kid to be able to make it to the highest level. so it's a massive inspiration for a lot of people. are your experiences part of the reason why you're so heavily invested in the nfl programmes outside the actual game itself? definitely. because, like, my nfl career

isjust mine, for me. and, you know, and i've been afforded this platform. my journey is my journey. and there's a certain demographic of kids and communities and people that i can reach. you know, i don't see beckham, all these stars reaching these these stars landing kids just because there'sjust, you know, they might admire them and, you know, appreciate the accolades. but this is because of where they're from. you know, the connection, the why go to the accent, the, you know, the understanding of south london and even the uk in general. i'm able to connect and also just the african background as well. you know, the immigrant lifestyle, the immigrant parents, the you know, the journeys that i'm able to connect with these kids. and i would be doing the injustice if i don't make the most of the platforms that i have and try and reach back, because i would have wished for someone to do that for me and and show that it's possible. you do have nigerian roots. how do you stay in touch with them? music, food. you know, like when i when i feel homesickjust because of

the different cultures that i experience going to america and having to, like, kind of assimilate. and in that culture,, when i feel homesick, that's my go to african food, music, the film, the language, you know, the banter are the the kind of the interactions, you know, all of it. like it's who i am is deep rooted in my in my dna, like i'm an african man, you know, like nobody allowed one african dish. what would be your go to meal? that's crazy. i'll be fat. yeah. you can't go wrong with the jollof rice it's very meat heavy you know so like anything within me like yeah you're right, you can't go wrong withjollof rice. you do a lot of work with nfl africa. what does that involve? honestly, it's just anything to promote the culture, anything to promote and create opportunities back back in africa, going back to africa with the camps avp programme, letting people know that

there's a space here, you know, for africans. does it have a big following in africa? yeah, there's flag football. there's you know, there's lots of talent. i'm telling you, there's so much talent. you know, i need the nfl to kind of go over there and understand that, you know, africa is an untapped market in terms of talent for the nfl and on sports in general. the final chapters of obada's story have yet to be written, but few would bet against a hollywood ending. since birth, obada has been fighting against forces beyond his control. this has truly been a journey against the odds. anything you'd like to achieve before you hang up your cleats? there's quite a lot of things. i want to obviously love to win to win the super bowl. as you know in your career, there's hall of fame. so i would love to do that pro bowl. i'd love to do that as well,

an experience that i feel like those those games i'll be really good at. hello there. it's staying chilly through the rest of this weekend, but there's colder weather to come early next week. today, we hang on to cloud through the rest of the day. if you do see some sunshine, you're going to be one of the lucky few, perhaps western scotland, some western coasts of england and wales, but a few light showers for scotland coming into eastern parts of england. many other areas may well be dry, but there'll be a lot of cloud and the temperatures are much where they have been over the past few days or so. we keep cloudy skies

for much of the country, actually overnight, maybe a few more showers arriving, too. if the cloud does break here and there, then we are going to see a touch of frost. but for the most part with that cloud, temperatures by early sunday morning will be a chilly two or three degrees. and expect a good deal of cloud, i think, again tomorrow. maybe a few more showers breaking out through the day as well. but we could see something a bit brighter with some sunshine for a while across central southern scotland, perhaps even into northern ireland, and later in the north west of england. again, the winds will be light during tomorrow, but if anything, temperatures will be a shade lower, typically at sixes and sevens. but next week is going to feel colder. we'll have a stronger wind arriving and that's going to bring with it the risk of some snow and ice as well. we're going to have a northerly wind strengthening early next week. air coming all the way down from the arctic will push its way southwards across the uk and bring with it that wintry chill as well. that colder air starts to arrive in northern parts of scotland on sunday night, following that weather front there. and on that weather front, we've got a mixture of rain, but also a bit of sleet

and some snow. that will move across scotland, away from northern ireland on monday, into northern england and north wales. to the south, temperatures about nine degrees, but to the north it's much colder and those showers are turning more and more wintry. by the time we get to tuesday this is what's left of that weather front across southern parts of england. otherwise, we'll have some sunshine. but you can see all those snow showers coming in on that strong wind from the arctic. now, many parts of the country may well be dry with some sunshine, temperatures of four or five degrees. but when you factor in the strength of the wind, it is going to feel significantly colder. and we've got the risk of some snow and ice as well. widespread frosts as we head into next week. most of the snow and ice expected to be across northern and eastern parts of scotland and the north—east of england. and that could lead potentially to some travel disruption. goodbye.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories: the head of russia's wagner group claims its forces now surround most of bakhmut — the eastern ukrainian city that's been the focus of intense fighting. we have practically surrounded bakhmut. only one route out of the city remains. a failure we were fighting against the professional army, now we are increasingly seeing old people and children. police in australia say they've made one of their biggest ever drug busts, seizing cocaine worth one billion us dollars. the british government is preparing to announce where the uk's first "carbon capture" power station will be built, but will the technology make a difference? with the oscars a week away — we hear from some of those involved