this is bbc news. the headlines... storm eowyn continues to better ireland and the uk, bringing a record gust of 114mph. we hearfrom one of the youngest suivivors from the auschwitz concentration camp in poland, as the 80th anniversary of its liberation approaches. the un says the need for aid in gaza is staggering, as palestinians return to their destroyed homes following sunday's ceasefire. we speak to the cast of the brutalist, which is one of the oscars' most nominated films this year. the uk government has banned farmers from the emergency use of a bee—killing pesticide. days into the gaza ceasefire, hamas is expected to hand over to israel the names of four hostages that will be released on saturday. meanwhile, israeli forces

have been carrying out a major military operation in and around the west bank city ofjenin since tuesday. army vehicles are currently controlling the entrance tojenin�*s main hospital and have blocked access to its refugee camp, home to both civilians and armed palestinian groups. israel has said it aims to destroy the armed groups there — backed by hamas and palestinian islamichhad — and stop them carrying out attacks against israeli targets. but civilians have also been killed during this operation. let's speak to a writer and director general of the palestine economic policy research institute in the west bank, raja khalidi. thank you for your time. what are you hearing about events in the west bank this week? silence sorry, we have just lost silence sorry, we havejust lost your sound. is your microphone on? yes, sorry. things have gone into a trajectory totally

unexpected. since the beginning of this war, as economist and is as an observer, i have been watching what is going on in gaza and we have used the word unprecedented to so many times, so we have learned different forms of what is being waged since october the 8th against the palestinian people. the west bank has been not only attacks on israeli forces and settlers over the last year and a half, but tighter restrictions on movements, workers have been returned to their homes in the west bank, there has been an economic decline of around 30% over the last year. the reason it is unprecedented is because, as of the beginning of the ceasefire in gaza, one of the additional war goals that the israeli cabinet adopted was precisely what has begun since sunday, namely a what has begun since sunday, namelya campaign what has begun since sunday, namely a campaign against armed groups in the north for the

moment, and a total lockdown of the west bank between cities, villages, basically holding up hundreds of thousands of people at checkpoints that close, that open, that are tightly inspecting every single person. so this has created a crisis that we have not experienced. it is creating severe strains on people's to patients, people's work, livelihoods, daily lives. this has been accompanied by what appears to be an attempt to achieve in jenin what israel failed to achieve in gaza, and one of the three main components of the israeli coalition, netanyahu, itamar ben—gvir say namely you submit or you are expelled or we crush you. and none of those things happened in gaza. the

west bank for the israeli coalition which is pushing the government, the component pushing the government, the west bank doesn't exist, it is due to area —— judaea and samaria, and hence it is fair game for the israeli settlement project. so that was going on intensively over the last year, but now as of last week, settlers who had been convicted of crimes against palestinians were released, sanctions against them by the united states were lifted, and they went on the rampage last sunday, burning, torturing, luckily not killing anybody. this is what we are facing. just to put one line from israel, the italy defence minister has talked about a shift in strategy, the lesson from gaza is notjust to

eliminate terrorists but to stop them coming back. what are the immediate consequences? obviously we have seen the impact on life in some cases, but what is the immediate impact on people's jobs and the way they are living? you know, the daily economy? it is way they are living? you know, the daily economy?— the daily economy? it is total paralysis- _ the daily economy? it is total paralysis. people _ the daily economy? it is total paralysis. people can't - the daily economy? it is total paralysis. people can't get i the daily economy? it is total paralysis. people can't get toj paralysis. people can't get to work, universities have cancelled classes and exams. goods are not getting through from one area to another. the government is adopting a model where people working in different ministries are told to remain in their governorates. so basically we have been but forcibly on a shelter in place on a mass level. the israeli government has said this will go on for six weeks. if those six weeks produce a second stage of a ceasefire. so i can't really imagine where this could yet go

in terms of building up pressures and hurting people yet more than we have seen. from the palestine economic policy research institute and the west bank, thank you for your time today. on monday, the world will mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz—birkenau. opened by the nazis in occupied poland in 1940 as a concentration and labour camp, it ulimately became the most notorious extermination camp. more than a million people were murdered there, the majority of them jews. the 27th january also marks holocaust memorial day to remember the six million jews killed during the second world war. lucy hockings has been speaking to tova friedman, and american author and therapist, and one of the youngest auschwitz survivors. tova survived the german extermination camp at the age ofjust six years old. originally from poland, she moved to the us with her parents. lucy started by asking tova about her feelings as the 80th

anniversary approaches. what i want the world to do is to please remember. remember us. and let it be a lesson to the world — what can happen if we are not careful, and how we can easily destroy each other if we don't stop this horrible, terrible...fury that is around the world right now. so i want the world to remember us and to learn from it. you're helping so much with that message, particularly the work that you're doing with your grandson — making these tiktoks that are going viral. my my name was 27,633. i was tattooed by a young woman whose

hands trembled because she wasn't happy to tattooed children. my my mother couldn't do anything for me, there was nothing you could do. it's been a fabulous experience, because most of the people who are watching — and there are millions of them — are young, young people. when people say, "well, the young are not interested, the teenagers don't care, the 20—year—olds don't worry about things like that," they may be wrong. from the questions and the inquiries and the interest, they are interested! we're just not giving them enough material. they are there to learn, and we are here to teach. what sort of questions

have young people asked you that have surprised you? well, the question i like — do i still believe in god after this terrible ordeal? do i trust anybody, since i went through the worst experience a person can experience on this earth and still be alive? they ask very, very good questions. if i wouldn't trust people, what's the point of getting up in the morning? yes, i do trust. that's why i'm out there talking. i do hope. and even with this terrible anti—semitism — i hope it's a phase. i hope it goes away when people learn more about who we are, what we are. and that's why i'm there — to talk about who the jews are, what we are.

maybe it'll sort of help with getting rid of some of the terrible anti—semitism. i don't know how many years i have left, but since i was about 45 — and that's a long time ago — i have been trying to tell the world, "remember, and be very careful if...about what's going on around you. be active. leave this world a little bit better than you found it." it's not the first time, tova, that you've been back to poland and to auschwitz — and i know you've been with your family. how was that experience for you, to return — and with them? i took my grandchildren. i wanted them to see. i wanted them to hearfrom me, so they will one day tell their children

and their grandchildren, "yes, i was there." i once took about 200 i6—year—olds, and i gave them a tour of auschwitz. they have my name, they know exactly where i was. they showed me where i slept — although the barrack is gone, but the place is still there. it made it very real for me. don't forget, i was a child. and that, i want to give it to other people to make it real for them. so many of us struggle to remember things from when we were small. how much do you remember of your time there? i remember an awful lot because, as i mentioned before, i think that my mother would tell me. "yes," she said, "that smoke. yes, burning bodies." she never covered up anything. and she said, "yes, those dogs,

those german shepherds — they are trained to kill, but only if you run, so you are not going to run. you're going to stand very... you're going to stand very still." she taught me survival skills. very early, at about five, five and a half — when she was working a whole day in a labour camp, and i was alone on the street — my father was working, as well. i knew... i knew how to take care of myself because she taught me, and i listened and i trusted. i think that's where my trust comes from — itrusted her ioo%, and it saved my life many times. that is an incredible gift, tova — those survival skills that your mother gave you,

— but there were other things that happened in auschwitz that meant you survived when others didn't. can you tell us your story from then? well, at one time, i was beaten terribly because i couldn't stand still at roll call. these roll calls were three hours, four hours. i was five and a half — i wasn't even six — and i was beaten by this gestapo — a woman, in fact — because she didn't like that i was moving around and not standing still. and i remember my mother's eyes said to me, "hold on. don't cry." and she said something else years — or maybe months — earlier. "don't have eye contact." so i remember as this woman was beating me, i did not look at her eyes. i looked at her forehead. i didn't make a sound. because my mother had once told me, "the more you show that they hurt you, the more pleasure they get." that was the... that was the mantra in auschwitz.

don't show — don't give them the satisfaction. suffer in silence. beatings, hunger, freezing weather, being barefoot. so that's the time i let her hit me until her hand hurt. and my cheeks very just. ..completely, completely swollen. but not a single word or tear came out of my eyes. that's a survival skill. don't let them know who you are. eye contact is something that people recognise. don't look into anybody�*s eyes. that is an incredible survival skill for such a little girl, as well, to have learnt and been taught

by your mother. but what about — i understand that there was a trip for you to the gas extermination chamber, and itjust happened to be that one day that it malfunctioned. we really don't know what happened because we don't have the exact date. but i remember going there and i remember... i thought to myself, "why are people unhappy?" because i and my whole group — my whole barrack of children — were going to the gas chamber together. we were like... we were in pairs. we had partners and we were going, and i even said to the little girl, "why are people unhappy?" because when i passed, i saw a group of women, and among them it was my mother, although i didn't see her well, but i heard her voice. she said to me, "where are you going?" and i said, "to the gas chamber!" as if we were going

to the park. and when these people — the women started screaming because they had some of their own children in that group, i turned and i said to this little girl next to me, "why are they crying? doesn't everyjewish child go to the gas chamber?" it was like a normal thing. and when we got there and we were undressed... you know, one of the ways that they dehumanise us is undressed us. people without clothing have much less identity. we had no hair, no clothes, tattooed. and here we stood, waiting for the shower door to open. we knew what it was. everybody knew. except they gave us some kind of a small towel and said,

"ok, here are your... make sure you find your clothes when you come out." did we... were we going to come out? i don't know. it's very hard to contemplate your own death. but i remember standing there, shivering, very, very hungry. and yet, i was waiting for the door to open so we could go in because i thought, that's... "that's life. that's how it is." don't forget, i was only one year old when the war broke out. "that's life." tova friedman there, one of the youngest survivors of auschwitz. and we will be marking the 80th anniversary on

monday. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

farmers in the uk will not be allowed to use neonicotinoid pesticides on sugar beet crops this year, after an application for emergency use was turned down by the government for the first time. neonics are toxic to pollinators like bees and are banned in the eu. environmental groups have welcomed the decision but farmers say, without them, they have no way of protecting their crops. the environment minister emma hardy says the government is working to support an alternative option. let's speak to dave goulson, a professor of biology at the university of sussex with a specialisation in bumblebees. much forjoining us. just tell us why these pesticides are so damaging to bees.— damaging to bees. they are incredibly — damaging to bees. they are incredibly toxic _ damaging to bees. they are incredibly toxic to _ damaging to bees. they are incredibly toxic to all - damaging to bees. they are incredibly toxic to all insect | incredibly toxic to all insect

life. just to illustrate how poisonous they are, it is a bit like another shock for insects. one teaspoon, five grams worth of these chemicals, is enough to give a lethal dose to 1.25 million honeybees. so it only takes a very small amount to kill insects, and we have been using tonnes of them for many years now. so environmentalists are delighted that finally the last farming use of these chemicals has been withdrawn. and what is the alternative? because if the eu has already banned it, presumably farmers that they are using something else? . . , ., , else? yeah, farmers in europe have been _ else? yeah, farmers in europe have been managing _ else? yeah, farmers in europe have been managing without l have been managing without these chemicals for a number of years. in a sugar beet crops in germany and france, etc. if farmers there can grow sugar beet there are successfully, i don't see why there is an insurmountable obstacle for uk farmers. and if in the

worst—case scenario some of can't grow sugar beet, then we import about 70% of our fruits and vegetables, growing something else, something that is healthy rather than sugar, which is not particularly good for us, wouldn't be a disaster anyway, it would seem to me. and is the divergence between the uk and the eu linked with brexit? ~ ., , the uk and the eu linked with brexit? ~ . , , , brexit? well, ultimately, yes. the european _ brexit? well, ultimately, yes. the european ruling _ brexit? well, ultimately, yes. the european ruling to - brexit? well, ultimately, yes. the european ruling to ban . the european ruling to ban these chemicals was actually 2018, and where we still part of europe, we would not have been able to depart from that. so these chemicals would have been banned several years ago. but obviously with brexit, we were free to use what we like. and there is a real danger here, notjust related to this pesticide, but to others, that brexit may be used to allow britain to become the dirty man of europe, the only country in europe still using chemicals banned elsewhere, which was the

case with neonicotinoid.— case with neonicotinoid. when the threat _ case with neonicotinoid. when the threat to _ case with neonicotinoid. when the threat to bees _ case with neonicotinoid. when the threat to bees has - case with neonicotinoid. when i the threat to bees has happened like this, what does that mean for the whole ecosystem, not just the bee population? everybody is focused on bees in this debate, but these chemicals are toxic to all insects. they get into the soil is and they last for years, they get underwater ways, they get into wild flowers they get underwater ways, they get into wildflowers and pollen. they have very broad impact, and that also affects the whole food chain, because there are many organisms, birds and bats and so on, that rely on insects for food. and bats and so on, that rely on insects forfood. so and bats and so on, that rely on insects for food. so the knock—on effects are very pervasive. so from my perspective and those of anyone who really cares about the environment, i think we should have a bit of a celebration today. it is a rare bit of good news which is something we don't get too often, sadly. professor dave goulson from sussex university, thank you for your time today.

the levels of air pollution a child is exposed to could increase their risk of developing dementia in later life, researchers suggest. dementia is an umbrella term for a range of progressive disorders affecting the brain. air pollution in later life has previously been associated with dementia, but this study suggests early life also plays a part. for more on this let's speak to the study�*s lead author, otto—emiljutila. thank you for your time. just explain what your research findings are.— explain what your research findings are. sure. there are several key _ findings are. sure. there are several key findings, - findings are. sure. there are several key findings, one - findings are. sure. there are several key findings, one ofl several key findings, one of them was the early life exposure to air pollution, also in vitro, in the mothers womb, was increased with increased risk of dementia. there are caveats, it was not significant, so more research is needed in larger studies, but it is a very interesting pattern which has been seen before as well.— before as well. and 'ust tell us, oh

before as well. and 'ust tell oh how i before as well. and 'ust tell us, oh how this _ before as well. and just tell us, oh how this effect - before as well. and just tell us, oh how this effect is - us, oh how this effect is happening and to what extent and how much exposure is needed for there is in effect? that and how much exposure is needed for there is in effect?— for there is in effect? that is an excellent _ for there is in effect? that is an excellent question. - for there is in effect? that is an excellent question. there are several underlying mechanisms between air pollution and dementia, it could either directly impacts the brain, for example accumulation of particulate matter reaching the brain, causing inflammation or stress, or indirectly through systematic information, through the body, often in the mother's womb. people are more sensitive, more susceptible to impacts of the negative effects of air pollution, which probably reaches through the mother to the child. but a lot more research is needed in this area to understand the