this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines... 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. the united nations and iran reach an agreement that would allow un officials to carry out further inspections of tehran�*s nuclear programme. the only thing that matters is that we are able to inspect, that we are able to account for every gram of enriched material that is there. and this is the spirit of the exchanges, and we have been working satisfactorily in that regard. police in australia say they've made one of their biggest ever drug busts, seizing cocaine worth

one billion us dollars. hello and welcome to bbc news. russian and ukrainian forces are still fighting in the streets of bakhmut — which russia has been trying to capture for several months. the deputy mayor of the city has told the bbc that the 4,000 civilians still living there — out of an original population of 75,000 — have no gas, electricity or water. thousands of russian troops have died trying to take the eastern city. if it falls, it would be the first russian victory of note in more than six months. our diplomatic correspondent,

james landale, reports from kyiv. this is bakhmut, or at least what's left of it, after some of the fiercest fighting since russia invaded ukraine. for more than six months, as the bbc has reported, ukrainian forces have held off a ferocious onslaught. but now russian commandos are growing increasingly confident, including the leader of the mercenaries known as the wagner group, which have been at the heart of the assault. translation: we have - almost surrounded bakhmut. there's only one road that remains in and out of the city, the pincers are closing. before, we were fighting against the professional ukrainian army, but now we fight against old men and boys. ukrainian forces are still defending the city street by street and reports suggest reinforcements are being sent in. but these russian troops, say the ukrainian army,

is destroying bridges like these, potentially to prepare for what western analysts call a "controlled fighting withdrawal" from parts of the city. local officials insist ukraine still controls bakhmut, but they accept there is now fighting in the streets. translation: the city is almost destroyed, i not a single building has remained untouched. currently there is no communication in the city so it's cut off. the russians are shelling everything. they want to destroy bakhmut like they did with mariupol. for sergei shoigu, russia's defence minister, making a flying visit to his forces in eastern ukraine, seizing bakhmut would be a rare military victory for him and his bosses in the kremlin. and perhaps a much—needed diplomatic boost, after an international audience in india laughed at russia's foreign minister. the war which we are trying to stop, and which was launched

against us using ukraine... audience laughs ..ukrainian people... but for now, ukrainian fighters on the ground in bakhmut still seem ready to fight their invaders every inch of the way, with russia paying a much higher and bloodier price. james landale, bbc news, kyiv. some breaking news now. in the past hour few — the united nations and iran have announced an agreement has been reached that would allow un officials to carry out further inspections of tehran�*s nuclear programme. the announcement was made at the end of a two—day visit to the capital by the head of international atomic energy agency, rafael grossi. his trip followed the discovery of traces of uranium, enriched to near weapons—grade level, at an underground nuclear plant in iran. here's mr grossi speaking a little earlier.

i thought it was indispensable for me to establish a dialogue at the highest possible level to try to put things back on track and hopefully get some results. i hope, you may have already seen joint statement which has just been issued in parallel in tehran and here in vienna, which is addressing the points ijust referred to in the first place. the interactions we have, the inspections and what is expected from iran in the second place. the issues related to some of the questions about which, you know, locations where we have been trying to find clarifications from iran.

and finally, very importantly, our ability to establish monitoring and verification measures that we believe are indispensable as a very concrete, very tangible results of this important mission. let's get more on the talks with the bbc�*s bethany bell. she joins us from vienna. hello to you, bethany. we have an agreement in place. however, this follows lea ks, agreement in place. however, this follows leaks, embarrassing leaks from the iaea. who was reaching out to who? ~ . ., ., ., ._ from the iaea. who was reaching out to who? ~ . ., ., ., , to who? what we have heard today is an agreement — to who? what we have heard today is an agreement between _ to who? what we have heard today is an agreement between iran - to who? what we have heard today is an agreement between iran and - to who? what we have heard today is

an agreement between iran and the l an agreement between iran and the iaea to allow more inspections of iran's nuclear programme. the iaea has for a very long time been trying to get to the bottom up certain aspects of iran's past nuclear work. now this joint statement between iran and the iaea says that iran will provide more access to un inspectors and that they will also be able to speak to people they have been wanting to speak to for some time. this also, the iaea recently has been concerned about recent news that traces of uranium enriched up to almost weapon grade were found at an underground nuclear site and this evening mr grossi said that iran had agreed to what he said was 50% more

inspections at that site for the inspectors to try to figure out what was going on there. the big question will be mr grassi said that these rare concrete steps. the big question will be for more cynical countries, iran has promised things before and the promises have not materialised. will that not happen again? i materialised. will that not happen auain? , ., materialised. will that not happen auain? , . . again? i understand the enrichment was around — again? i understand the enrichment was around 82.7, _ again? i understand the enrichment was around 82.7, that _ again? i understand the enrichment was around 82.7, that is _ again? i understand the enrichment was around 82.7, that is nearly - again? i understand the enrichment was around 82.7, that is nearly 84. | was around 82.7, that is nearly 8a. the figure that the nuclear watchdog worries about is 90%, because that is the purity that is needed and would concern a lot of people. why was access denied in the first place because meg why did mr grassi have to to iran? the because meg why did mr grassi have to to iran? ., ., , , , to to iran? the relationship between iran and the — to to iran? the relationship between iran and the agency _ to to iran? the relationship between iran and the agency has _ to to iran? the relationship between iran and the agency has been - iran and the agency has been troubled for a while, particularly since the unraveling of the 2015 nuclear deal, which donald trump

pulled out. there have been attempts in recent years to try and revive the deal. they have stalled because iran has limited its cooperation with the un nuclear inspectors. there are many countries who say they need to have progress in terms of the inspections before can be made on the deal. iran's president for his part has said that he expects the iaea not to have pressure put upon it by western powers. so it's a very complicated situation. we will wait to... what the iaea has been saying is that it needs access to some of these areas to figure out what happened in the past and also to figure out what is happening now. past and also to figure out what is happening nova— past and also to figure out what is happening now. bethany and vienna, thank ou happening now. bethany and vienna, thank you very _ happening now. bethany and vienna, thank you very much _ happening now. bethany and vienna, thank you very much indeed, - happening now. bethany and vienna, thank you very much indeed, thank i thank you very much indeed, thank you. police in australia say they've made what's thought to be the country's biggest ever drug bust, seizing cocaine with a street value

of a—billion us dollars. the joint operation with the united states has led to 12 arrests linked to a mexican cartel. from sydney, phil mercer reports. australian police say the drugs were intercepted by us authorities off the coast of ecuador in november. the large haul of cocaine was bound for western australia. investigators substituted the illicit cargo with plaster of paris, a fine, white powder. the shipment was dropped into the indian ocean, west of perth, and monitored by drones and helicopters. over a number of weeks, our officers and other offices assisted to reconstruct those identical packages and dropped 1.2 tonnes of those drugs into the ocean a0 miles off the coast. over the next few days, the police watched as a criminal

syndicate with alleged links to a mexican cartel used two boats to find and retrieve the consignment. surveillance images show one of the vessels towing the other after it had washed up on a beach where two men were arrested. others suspected members of the gang were later detained at a harbour in perth, the western australian state capital. the police also stopped a vehicle on a highway several hundred kilometres away where they found a large amount of cash. 12 people have been arrested, including a 39—year—old man from the united states. law enforcement authorities say australia's appetite for illegal drugs makes it a potentially aggressive destination for traffickers, but not this time. this haul is estimated to be about half of australia's annual consumption of cocaine. phil mercer, bbc news. some pictures now from

tel aviv where tens of thousands of people have been protesting against prime minister benjamin netanyahu's new right—wing coalition and its judicial reforms to reduce powers of the supreme court. the protests been taking place every weekend. you are watching bbc news. to tunisia now, where hundreds of malians, ivorians and guineans living there have been flown home after a government crackdown on undocumented immigrants. it follows a controversial speech by president kais saied that sparked racial tensions. he claimed sub—saharan africans were engaged in a plot to change tunisia's demographic makeup. rights groups say since he made the comments, many have been attacked, detained or evicted

from their homes. the african union has urged tunisia to avoid "racialised hate speech". president saied denies that his views were racist. the comments also triggered widespread protests this week. let's discuss this further with the bbc�*s africa editor will ross. lovely to see you in the studio here. let's start off at those protests. what more can you tell us about those? the protests. what more can you tell us about those?— about those? the protests taking lace are about those? the protests taking place are against _ about those? the protests taking place are against the _ about those? the protests taking place are against the measures l about those? the protests taking i place are against the measures that the president has taken in recent weeks, including locking up of opposition people, media personalities and really clampdown on freedom of speech, and many of the placards at these protests were really describing it as a police state and saying enough is enough, we have had enough of these measures that the president has pushed through. that the president has pushed throu~h. ., that the president has pushed throu~h. . ., ., , through. then we have had a number of african countries _

through. then we have had a number of african countries who _ through. then we have had a number of african countries who have - of african countries who have reacted and we have had repatriation ends. , , ., ., , reacted and we have had repatriation ends. , , ., .,, ' ends. yes, 'ust over the last 12 hours, ends. yes, 'ust over the last 12 hours. we — ends. yes, just over the last 12 hours, we have _ ends. yes, just over the last 12 hours, we have had _ ends. yes, just over the last 12 hours, we have had two - ends. yes, just over the last 12 hours, we have had two planes ends. yes, just over the last 12 - hours, we have had two planes that have taken off. the first one to molly with 133 people on board, including women and children, a couple of hours later, this is hundred 45 ivory ends set off. we are not clear whether they have to pay for these flights because they were chartered flights that were sent to basically to rescue them because they were begging their embassies to get them out of the country. we understand from the ivorian authorities that over 1000 people have registered their desire to get out and they want help and say they haven't got the money to get home. earlier in the week on wednesday, several dozen canadians were also given the chance to get home. 50 were also given the chance to get home, ., ., , were also given the chance to get home. ., .,, ., , , ~ were also given the chance to get home, ., .,, ., , , �* ., home. so what has happened? and what are they experiencing? _ home. so what has happened? and what are they experiencing? to _ home. so what has happened? and what are they experiencing? to an _ home. so what has happened? and what are they experiencing? to an easy - home. so what has happened? and what are they experiencing? to an easy it - are they experiencing? to an easy it was once regarded as a welcome —— welcoming country. people would go

and study there. it has become hostile. what have they been in during? the sub—saharan so i to leave? during? the sub-saharan so i to leave? , ., during? the sub-saharan so i to leave? , . ., , during? the sub-saharan so i to leave? ., , ., during? the sub-saharan so i to leave? ., , leave? explain really a response straiaht leave? explain really a response straight after — leave? explain really a response straight after that _ leave? explain really a response straight after that speech - leave? explain really a response straight after that speech by - leave? explain really a response straight after that speech by the j straight after that speech by the president, people then started complaining that they were not being picked up by taxes, that was kind of on one level of the scale, and another level, they were saying that they were ordered by their landlords to get out, so people from these countries in sub—saharan africa saying that they were suddenly made homeless and we have seen footage of campsites that have basically set up where people are living in makeshift tents. there have also been some violent attacks against people from sub saharan africa and they said this is purely based on the colour of their skin because these comments from the president gave a green light to racist behaviour and attacks on people from sub—saharan africa. so they are really saying

their whole lives have changed straight after that speech. some of the people who have left the country in the last tiara said that they were there legally, some were even in the middle of degree crisis, but they felt it is not safe for me to stay i have got to get home. often the are stay i have got to get home. often they are escaping _ stay i have got to get home. often they are escaping extreme - stay i have got to get home. often they are escaping extreme conditions in their own country. very quickly, if you could give us a bit of context, why is it that some analysts are saying that the president is using black africans, the people from sub—saharan, as scapegoats? the people from sub-saharan, as scapegoats?— the people from sub-saharan, as scaeroats? , ., ., . scapegoats? because of the economic roblems at scapegoats? because of the economic problems at home, _ scapegoats? because of the economic problems at home, many _ scapegoats? because of the economic problems at home, many people - scapegoats? because of the economic problems at home, many people are i problems at home, many people are saying he is simply diverting attention away from the problems that he needs to fix, especially with the economy and looking for a scapegoat and saying these are the problems that these people from sub—saharan africa are taking away jobs, they are causing crime and they are changing the makeup of the country, so a real diversion away from the problems that he needs to

fix. ~ ., from the problems that he needs to fix. ~ . ., ., fix. we will leave it there for now. thank you — very much indeed. the daily telegraph has published more leaked whatsapp messages about the former health secretary, matt hancock. they appear to show that mr hancock and his staff agonised for hours over whether or not he broke covid guidance when he kissed his aide. mr hancock also criticises the then chancellor's eat out to help out scheme. the revelations come as mps investigating the conduct of the former prime minister borisjohnson, say he may have misled parliament multiple times over gatherings at downing street during the pandemic. for the latest here's our political correspondent helen catt. well, the latest batch are selected messages from over several months. and, of course, it's worth bearing in mind that the infection picture was changing over that time. but it seems to suggest there's a suggestion in a message from the cabinet secretary in october that borisjohnson hadn't been convinced of the need

for action about a week before the second lockdown in england happened, there were also messages from borisjohnson, including one injuly 2020, in which he complains of a general collapse in social distancing at home and in social settings and the need to get absolutely militant in hotspot areas. now, of course, that was just over a month after he had attended a birthday gathering for which he was then later fined for breaking the rules. an earlier sets of leaked exchanges, a separate set appear to show matt hancock, the health secretary, spending several hours going back and forth with a press aide trying to determine if he had broken covid guidance, which, of course, he had helped set and encouraged others to follow, when it emerged that he had kissed another aide in his office. a spokesman for borisjohnson said it wasn't appropriate to comment on these leaks. the public inquiry provides the right process for these issues to be examined. that was echoed by a spokesman for matt hancock, who said there was absolutely no public interest case for this huge breach. all the materials for the book had already been made available to that inquiry.

he said that releasing them in this way gives a partial biased account to suit an anti lockdown agenda. the inaugural match of the women's premier league cricket tournament took place in india on saturday — with experts billing it as a game—changing moment for women's sport. the wpl generated hundreds of millions of dollars — and that's before the first ball was bowled. some players are expected to earn more for the three—week tournament than they normally would in an entire year. the league will see five city teams competing across 22 days. a three week tournament. joining me now is sharda ugra a independent sports writer based in india. thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news. what is your reaction to today? the first game?

it's was awaited for so long and the fact that it is under way and now you have got this competition going, i'm just hoping it becomes like a runaway train that just takes when inspired to where it's never been before and i'm notjust speaking about cricket and about india, but elsewhere around the globe. it's that important of an event. pm? elsewhere around the globe. it's that important of an event. why has it taken so long? _ that important of an event. why has it taken so long? because _ that important of an event. why has it taken so long? because there - that important of an event. why has | it taken so long? because there have been so many voices. you know, we have heard campaigns on social media, people have been saying, you know, it's the women's chance and time as well. what was it that made then say, ok, let's do it? did it come down to money? he. then say, ok, let's do it? did it come down to money?- then say, ok, let's do it? did it come down to money? no, it came down to the fact that — come down to money? no, it came down to the fact that at some _ come down to money? no, it came down to the fact that at some point _ come down to money? no, it came down to the fact that at some point a - come down to money? no, it came down to the fact that at some point a few- to the fact that at some point a few months earlier, pakistan went inside we are going to start our franchise competition and honestly that is the reason. and if you have more time, we could have a long discussion about it, but basically that's what i think it is. any other franchises

that were playing in the men's ipl, the large number of them wanted to feel the women's team, you have ten teams can at least half of wanted to. but itjust did not get under way until right now, and the only reason that seems plausible to me is because the pakistanis say we are going to do it, and that league has been delayed, but it's under way. the response from the media and the franchise team and the player action and shows you how much interest there was and what is a very large market waiting for this kind of an event. i market waiting for this kind of an event. ., w ., ., event. i love the fact that india said no, event. i love the fact that india said no. no. — event. i love the fact that india said no, no, no— event. i love the fact that india said no, no, no we _ event. i love the fact that india said no, no, no we are - event. i love the fact that india said no, no, no we are going . event. i love the fact that india | said no, no, no we are going to event. i love the fact that india - said no, no, no we are going to do it first. that is fantastic. thank you for that. now, australian women, actually, dominate the game. how strongly did a feature in the wpl? they are very much part of the wpl. they are very much part of the wpl. they are very much part of the wpl. they are captains of the team, so one of the teams that played today had an australian captain. and very much they are seen as the country

that has set the benchmark for how women's cricket should be paid and marketed as well. and i think literally the indians, because we have taken so long it will take a some amount of time to catch up. to be very honest, everyone in cricket says that if india gets its act together, we are all in trouble. but that comes to men's franchise cricket, women's franchise cricket. the australians in england are very much seen as, wpl is the last women's franchise tournament that has been started by a major cricketing country. you can look at it and it's there in england, australia, south africa has one. this is what we are seeing. and i think the australians have set the benchmark. at the indians come very close in terms of the amount of depth of talent that they have. they turn up at these were the events and they are constantly there or thereabouts, but they haven't been able to push themselves over the line because they have not got the kind of backing and structures that

both australia and have put into place of the last ten years. thea;r place of the last ten years. they sold for $580 — place of the last ten years. they sold for $580 million, _ place of the last ten years. they sold for $580 million, my - place of the last ten years. they sold for $580 million, my big question now is in terms of accessibility and broadcasting, is it out there for people to watch? absolutely. it is out there. it is free on the streaming platforms and it is free on your normal satellite cable television that there is. so they haven't really been able to say you have to pay to see this and we are not sure what the ticketing is like, but the women's game at the moment is free on television to watch. 0k, ok, so many questions, it has been a fantastic conversation. but for now, thank you so much, thank you very much. ., ~ thank you so much, thank you very much. . ,, ,, thank you so much, thank you very much. . ,, i. ., ,, ,, thank you so much, thank you very much. . ~' i” . ~' i” ., much. thank you, thank you for havin: much. thank you, thank you for

having me- _ a__ the special oil, which will be used to anoint king charles at his coronation in may, has been formally consecrated at a ceremony injerusalem. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell explains more. it is the most sacred moment of the coronation service, so much so that at the coronation of the late queen elizabeth she was shielded from view by a canopy as she was anointed with holy oil. yesterday at the church of the holy sepulchre injerusalem, the oil to be used at the coronation of king charles was consecrated. it has been made from olives harvested from the mount of olives and perfumed with traditional oils and orange blossom. it was brought to the church built on the spot where it is believed christ was crucified to be blessed by the patriarch and the anglican archbishop ofjerusalem. the consecration of the oil for the enthronement and the coronation brings about something of a deep and profound meaning, both to king charles, to the church injerusalem,

to the holy land and i think to the whole world. the oil will be brought to westminster abbey in london where, at the coronation service and in line with ancient tradition, it will be used to anoint the king and queen consort. nicholas witchell, bbc news. the united union has... tens of thousands of staff where due to out next week in england. unison and that gmb called up up the strikes after the government agreed to be up and pay tax —— unison and the gmb called off the strikes after the government agreed to reopen pay talks for both this financial year and the next. unite says it rejected attending the talks because the government's pre—conditions were unreasonable. don't forget that you can reach me on twitter. stay with us, plenty

more coming up. we will catch up with all the latest weather now. hello there. it's been a rather grey and gloomy saturday for many. a few scattered showers around as well. take a look at this weather watcher picture from thurnby in leicester, fairly indicative of the day. now, if you take a look at the satellite picture, you can see how extensive the cloud has been. there were some breaks across north east england and parts of scotland, but also some showers. and drawing your attention to this speckled cloud in the far northeast, potential for some snow showers waiting in the wings to arrive later on monday. so, through the next few hours, we keep that blanket of cloud for many, some coastal showers out to the west and east, perhaps more persistent ones in the far north east of scotland. but because of the cloud around, on the whole, temperatures should just stay up into low single figures, but it's going to be a chilly start to our sunday morning. once again, another grey and gloomy day, almost a repeat performance of saturday's story. there will be some coastal showers around, on the whole, largely quiet and temperatures

sitting between 6—9 celsius, just that little bit colder in the northern isles as that cold air starts to descend. so arctic air pushing its way steadily southwards as we go into monday. so really from monday onwards, you're going to start to notice the difference to the feel of our weather. if you haven't already heard, it's going to turn cold and windy, and snow and ice could be an issue, particularly to the far north and east. so it's likely as we go through the day on monday, this weather front will introduce the colder air. it's going to turn the rain ahead of the front into snow showers behind it, particularly across the far north and east of scotland and northeast england. to the south of that weather front we'll still keep those temperatures around generally 7—9 celsius. but then that sinks it's way steadily south, so we start off on tuesday with some sunny spells, cold and frosty. and, yes, there will be further snow showers across northern and eastern coasts, and those temperatures are going to struggle 4—5 celsius, but factor in the strength

and the direction of the wind, it certainly will feel noticeably colder. so certainly you'll need to wrap up warm. it looks likely that we are going to see that cold snap continuing through the middle part of the week as well. so if you've got outdoor travel plans monday into tuesday, do be aware that there's a potential for snow and ice in the northeast.

this is bbc news. the headlines: russian and ukrainian forces are fighting in the streets of bakhmut, but russia does not control the city, its deputy mayor has said. 4,000 civilians are living in shelters without access to electricity or water. the united nations and iran reach an agreement that would allow un officials to carry out further inspections of tehran's nuclear programme, following talks between iranian officials and the head of the un nuclear watchdog. the uk government's former health secretary, matt hancock, and his staff agonised for hours over whether or not he broke covid guidance when he kissed his aide, leaked messages published

in the daily telegraph newspaper show.