ministers plan to abolish leasehold homes in england and wales the buildings they live in. the data protection watchdog launches an investigation into how tiktok monitors children's online activity. and the oscar goes to... are they playing us off? 0h, anora! and coming up in sport on bbc news... what next for ruben amorim

and manchester united,

what next for ruben amorim and mancheste that eta; . have will iii-viva;— to “new... .,

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yet where the per minister and the president will speak. presidgptuullnevt creasz ~ ~ is to bridge starmer is trying to act as a bridge"? ii; but starmer is trying to act as a bridge"? ;:; but the are trying to �* the a77 a? 7 presidentof connection. a former president of at gonnenction. a former president of at the ally dmitry medvedev busgg st'ths’s’ltg’am itrymsdvedsv the -.ii-a tl- |-_a-_.-u~_.!l -_j. l—éllel-l istig'eljiql-ft-“h ifléilhfii's eiil—i rusty anti—trump rusty phobic coven. he went on, he wants the went on, heswants to continuethe �* to ukraine. went on, heswants to continuethe �*to ukraine. the prime wsi ts ths lsst'liisisihs; ths fiir'hs say work wsi ts ths tsst'tiisisihst ths fiir'ss say work is going on to 5 if " ”tofiinidhfi tofindaf 77 77 to find a peace 77 77 to find a peace deal 77 to find a peace deal when he apace to find a peace deal when he to the sssshs ts thsfismmsw this" ,., , . —— at pace. so at this stage mps may find there are still more questions than so �* is this being viewed where it matters most? what's the mood like there? limited optimism, i think. limited optimism, ithink. if limited optimism, i think. if you

look about local media are tssls sssst tssst ifissis sifssiiing ’ ’ ’ has undoubtedly tssls sssst tssst mssis’sisss?ing ”" " has undoubtedly a there has been undoubtedly a political around of w i ielensky, not 1 w i ielensky, notjust i i i ielensky, notjust of president zelensky, notjust of european but as fierce political i fierce political rivals i things in an attempt to carved things in an attempt to provide a but is provide a united front. but thereis because we have this european summit, after the turmoil of the oval is turmoil of the oval office, is still an attempt by ukraine and its close to a- iease donald trum- , allies to appease donald trump, to renegotiate him. so we renegstisteswith .him..sr.lwessresnsw. to see, it will moscow, unlike ukraine and its europ to l allies. so moscow, unlike ukraine and its europ to see, as. so moscow, unlike ukraine and its europ to see, and o renegstisteswith.him..schessresnsw. moscow, unlike ukraine and its europ to see, and it will be pledged to see, it will be going to see, and it will be pledged by the to provide 5000 going to see, and it will be pledged by the uk to provide 5000 missiles, e-==z that has been welcomed as part of has part i has part of i that has been welcomed as part of the military package, but the latest military package, but ths '3ts=t m'ta saf'facs bst ~ ~ , ~ 7 ~ , ~~ there a deeper here that you now a deeper ths iatsft m'ta sackacs bst— ~ ~ , ~ — —— , ~~ a deeper here ths '3ts=t m'ta saf'facs bst ~ ~ , ~ 7 ~ , ~~ a deeper here that you now have ukraine and europe trying to ukraine’and ’ w’ir’yin'g’ ukraine and trying to have ukraine and europe trying to the us into this pull the us back into this overall peace process, as it negotiates with pull the us back into this overall process, with 7 tsar” ' 7 7directly7a7r717d 7 7 7directly7a7r717d i577 7 russia directly and in the words of 7 7directly7a7r717d in7t7h7e77777777777 7 russia directly shd in. the wsrds sf opposition one opposition mp, that is the worst russia directly and in. the wsrds sf opposition that is the worst case scenario for ukraine. and not scenario for ukraine. and not

just that, we're talking about an that, is ’f an 7 ilrst that sss'rs tsl'si'ss si�*“":* , ,, ,, , , that as america that as of now trusts a" “it ss ts”"�*: 35�*,"e" , ~ ~ , , that as of ilrst that tss'rs tsl'si'ss sh~t2* , ,, ,, , , that as of now ilrst that tss'rs tsl'si'ss ahhta" , ,, ,, , , that as of now trusts amsrics'thst ssisf nsw trusts moscow, unlike ukraine and its unlike amsricsthst ssisf nsw tissts unlike ukraine and moscow, unlike ukraine and its european allies. so european allies. so it is as an optic a welcome turnaround, but what really matters for ukraine are concrete specific as to what happens next. . i, , concrete specific as to what happens next. . . , ., ~ concrete specific as to what happens next. . . , ., ,, _, 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg joins me now. steve, how has the uk—led proposalfor a peace deal been received in moscow? without any enthusiasm. yes, a kremlin spokesman today said that any constructive initiatives to end the conflict would be welcome, but dmitry peskov also said that what happened in the white house on friday showed how difficult it would be to end the conflict. he accused president zelensky of not wanting peace, he spoke about a party of war in the west which he claimed wanted the hostilities to continue. he said some people should make mr zelensky want peace if the europeans pull

that off, kudos to them. ukrainian president has said consistently that nobody wants peace more than the ukrainians stop the country has been invaded. he wants a just and lasting peace which he says requires security guarantees from the united states. those have not been forthcoming. as yet. meanwhile, moscow says it will push ahead with what it still calls the special military operation, the war in ukraine, no change there, and it is pushing ahead with repairing, rebuilding the relationship with the united states, an astonishing turnaround. i want to tell you something that the kremlin spokesman said yesterday on television, he said yesterday on television, he said america's new foreign policy configurations are largely aligned with russia's. that is an astonishing turnaround in a short space of time. astonishing turnaround in a short space of time-— the next topic of investigation has begun at the covid inquiry, with four weeks of hearings examining the £15 billion

of public money spent on personal protective equipment for health care staff and relatives. there'll be a focus on the so—called vip lane — which fast—tracked offers to supply ppe if they came with a recommendation from a politician or senior official. 0ur health reporter jim reed has the latest. five years ago, as covid spread around the country, there was a frantic rush to get hold of ppe — or personal protective equipment. £15 billion was spent on masks, gowns and aprons. some of those deals, though, proved to be controversial. 10% of covid contracts went to firms with a link to the government at the time, according to the organisation transparency international. now the covid inquiry is opening four weeks of hearings into the way those deals were awarded. 50 witnesses will give evidence, including law experts, civil servants and politicians.

they'll be asked about spending controls, the prevalence of fraud and the so—called vip lane, which fast—tracked offers to supply ppe if they came with a recommendation from a politician or senior official. setting out what to expect this morning, the inquiry�*s lead counsel said the huge value of ppe contracts made them a matter of considerable public interest. one of the questions which has been and continues to be posed is whether during the course of the crisis which faced the country, the public purse was exploited for personal gain by those with close connections to government and officials. but the inquiry has decided it does not need to hear evidence directly from the companies involved, something which has angered bereaved families. lobby akinola lost his father, femi, to covid at the height of the pandemic. i think it's vital that we hear

from the people who supplied ppe during the height of the covid pandemic, and i think it's incumbent otherwise there's a risk of this module being a whitewash. i mean, imagine if the grenfell inquiry didn't call any of the cladding suppliers. it doesn't make any sense to me. the inquiry says it's not its role to investigate individual contracts, but to focus on the actions of ministers and officials. this part of the inquiry will run until the end of march and report its findings next year. jim reed, bbc news. 0ur health editor hugh pym is at the inquiry. hugh, there's some concern about how thorough this module will be? well, yes. as you heard there, the covered name teen bereaved families forjustice feel it is a whitewash. —— covid—i9. that inquiry will not

hear evidence from ppe supplies and don't thinkjustice can really be obtained if that is don't thinkjustice can really be obtained hallett; don't thinkjustice can really be obtained hallett inquiry �*this baroness hallett inquiry chair this morning opening proceedings actually addressed this issue, she said, it role and indeed i am is not my role and indeed i am forbidden by the act to a forbidden by the inquiries act to a tribute to civil or criminal to any individual or liability to any individual or company. she went on to that she company. she went on to say that she has agreed to hear some evidence in relating to one ppe private relating to one ppe supplier, didn't want to prejudice any future investigations, and that is a supplier linked to baroness michelle mone and her husband. the inquiry kc went on to say that they would look in some detail at allegations and evidence surrounding this vip lane for contacts of politicians and senior officials, and he showed a chart revealing that if you look at all the offers at

that time in 2020 of companies offering to ppe, only 2% came the vip line, and yet they won from the vip line, and yet they won 30% of the contracts. —— the vip lane. he range of lane. he said a whole range of evidence will be looked at including the preponderance of suppliers linked to the governing conservative party. a third man has appeared in court charged with murder after a mum and her three children were killed in a house fire in bradford. bryonie gawith, her daughters denisty and aubree, and son 0scar all died after the blaze last august. 39—year—old sharaz ali, from bradford, appeared in court this morning accused of four counts of murder, and one of attempted murder. two other men have already been charged with the same offences. the government has announced plans to abolish the leasehold system for homes in england and wales. currently, third—party landlords own a building and leaseholders can buy the right to live in a flat for a fixed period of time. ministers want to ban the sale

of new leasehold flats and start a move to a commonhold system — giving homeowners a share of the buildings they live in. 0ur reporter tarah welsh has more. the government is proposing to completely overhaul the way blocks of flats are owned. the leasehold system has been used for centuries, and it means that a freeholder or landlord owns a building and a leaseholder buys a flat and the right to occupy it for a set period of time. under commonhold, which is used in other parts of the world, a flat owner buys their home and a share of the building. many leaseholders complain about a lack of control over communal costs and service charges. the housing minister says he wants to change that by moving to a commonhold system. it would mean a ban on new leasehold flats and that people could take ownership of their buildings. the government says this would end an unfair feudal leasehold system.

the important thing is that all those people that own flats in that building will have a direct ownership stake in it, not a third—party landlord, and they'll have greater control over how that building is managed, shared costs, the facilities and how all of the services within it are managed. so there's a much greater level of control, level of autonomy. england and wales that are left behind. we need to catch up and bring the uk into the zist century. every single day it's a living nightmare for lease holders, but this is definitely a step forward and a step in the right direction, which we hugely welcome. but the organisation representing freeholders says it believes leasehold is the most effective way of managing large, complex apartment buildings. and under commonhold, residents would face greater financial and legal responsibilities for block maintenance and management. today's announcement is just the first step and such a big change is likely to face opposition.

tarah welsh, bbc news. our top story this afternoon. sir keir starmer says it's a vital moment for europe, calling intensified efforts to achieve peace in ukraine "a crossroads in history". and anora and the brutalist were the big winners at last night's oscars — we'll have all the news from the red carpet. coming up in sport on bbc news... with their premier league title hopes hanging by a thread, arsenal turn their attention to the champions league — as they prepare to face psv in eindhoven tomorrow night. an investigation into how tiktok monitors children's activity online has been launched by the data protection watchdog. the information commissioner's office says it wants to inspect how the social network tracks 13 to 17—year—olds as they're

using the platform, when it recommends new content to them. our technology editor zoe kleinman reports. music playing. social media companies tend to keep a close eye on their users — what they watch and how long for, what they like and comment on, and of course what they post themselves. this is all used to serve up recommendations of more content they might want to see, keeping them on the platform longer — during which time they're also likely to see more ads. but there are strict rules around gathering, processing and using this data when it belongs to under—18s in the uk. these systems — our hypothesis is — feed on the data of the user, and when that user is a child, extra care is required to keep that child safe and to keep their data safe, and to ensure that nothing prejudicial to their wellbeing occurs as a result of those data—processing practices.

the information commissioner wants to make sure tiktok is complying with both uk data protection law, and the children's code — which is a set of design standards companies are supposed to use, like not turning on location data for children's accounts. tiktok says its systems operate under strict and comprehensive measures that protect the privacy and safety of teens. the ico is also investigating how reddit and imgur verify the ages of those who use their platforms. reddit told us 95% of its uk users are aged over 18, and all accounts are highly private by default. imgur did not respond. if the ico finds that any of these firms have breached uk laws, it can issue fines, which can then be subject to appeal. tiktok is still appealing a £12.7 million fine it received from the ico in 2023 for misusing children's data. zoe kleinman, bbc news.

mayors in northern france are calling on the prime minister to visit calais and the surrounding area — where they say there are hundreds of migrants living in squalid conditions as they wait to cross the channel in small boats. the officials have described the situation as a humanitarian crisis and want sir keir starmer to see it. 0ur correspondent simonjones reports. calais's newest tented city, where people wait before they attempt to cross the channel. charities describe the conditions as inhumane. the camp is squalid. there are no working toilets, no proper washing facilities.

stream of people arriving, wanting a swift departure across the channel and away from conditions like these. akam, from iran, told me he had been on a dinghy that sank. it's very, you know, dangerous. we thought we will die. you thought you would die? yes. but after the french big boat come help us. but you'll try again? i don't know. i'm really scared. from the air and from the land, the police, bolstered by british

cash, are attempting to prevent the boats launching and stop deaths at sea. last year was the deadliest on record for channel crossings, the beach littered with failed attempts. more than 36,000 people crossed the channel in small boats last year. the british government has recently toughened up rules, making it almost impossible for someone who arrives in the uk that way to become a british citizen. but the mayor of the seaside village of ambleteuse, stephane pinto, has joined other officials in calling for the british prime minister to visit the calais region to see first—hand the pressure small boat crossings are putting on the community. translation: i'd say to him, well, i'd show him our beach. _ but once again we must make sure that cooperation between the english and french is strengthened to control what's happening, to put in place measures that mean we no longerfind bodies on our beaches. we can't have that any more.

although the home secretary went to calais last week, the government has stopped short of committing to sir keir starmer doing the same. the prime minister is absolutely determined to put a stop to the exploitation that's going on. we are working very closely with our french counterparts, because the key to dealing with a cross—border issue is to work with otherjurisdictions, both operationally and politically. as patrols continue night and day, calais's mp from marine le pen's national rally party welcomes cooperation but rules out the idea of british police on french beaches. it would make us appear weak, which we are not. it would be perceived very badly by the french population. charities, though, are calling for more safe and legal routes for people to claim asylum in the uk. the increased spending, i guess, you know, the militarisation of the beaches, of the air, you know, barbed wire fences,

this money to my mind changes nothing. it makes people maybe more desperate, it maybe causes people to make bad judgment calls. as people here plan their crossings, the british government says it's investing in technology and capabilities to boost collaboration with european partners to break up the smuggling networks. despite the very obvious dangers out there in the world's busiest shipping lane the crossings have continued once again today, with yesterday 592 some

studio: simon, thank you. some breaking news. police in the german city of mannheim say a car has rammed into a crowd of people and at least one person has been killed. there are reports that several more are reported injured, as a big security operation is under way. 0ur reporter danny aeberhard joins us now.

danny, what more do we know? police so far haven't confirmed whether this is some sort of an accident or attack. the presumption at this stage is it would be an attack. we don't know how many people have been injured. we know from the police as they are advising residents to stay away from city of mannheim. mannheim is about 70 kilometres or so south, south—west of frankfurt in the west of germany. it is carnival time in germany and todayis it is carnival time in germany and today is rose monday, an important carnival day. there is a carnival market in mannheim that is taking place and it appears from pulmonary reports are pleased that this may have been the focus of the incident. the police are dropping in lots of reinforcements, there are also ambulances at the scene and rescue personnel. there are warnings going out that it is a life—threatening situation there. we have also heard from police that they have arrested

one person, so it is a fast—moving situation and obviously germany is on high alert at the moment with a string of previous terror —related incidents, for example the car attack on a christmas market in magdeburg in december in which six killed and almost 300 people were killed and almost 300 people were killed and almost 300 people injured. so it is high alert and withjust come people injured. so it is high alert and with just come out of german elections, so it is a tense situation in germany at the moment. danny, thank you. the scottish painter jack vettriano has died at the age of 73. his publicist says he was found dead at his apartment in the south of france on saturday. it's understood there are no suspicious circumstances. his most famous work, the singing butler, set a record for a scottish painting when it sold at auction for nearly £750,000 in 200a.

the days of your life? i do. i want to thank the academy for recognising a truly independent film. this film was made on the blood, sweat and tears of incredible

indie artists and, um, long live independent film. it's crazy. i'm going to be processing it forever. mikey�*s win, though, is so important to me. mikey madison. star of 0nora mikey madison was named best actress for her portrayal of a feisty lap dancer. i also just want to again recognise and honour the sex worker community. adrien brody. 22 years after his first 0scar win, adrien brody picked up best actor for the 3.5 hour epic the brutalist. let's fight for what's right. keep smiling, keep loving one another. and let's rebuild together. thank you. it seems the responsibility for the conclave falls upon you. conclave, peter sterling. the british screenwriter of conclave, peter straughan, accepted the award for best adapted screenplay. while the host, conan o'brien, delivered some political satire. you know, 0nora's having a good night. yeah. that's great.

yeah, that's great news. i guess americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful russian. unlike some previous years, there were only brief political references at this year's 0scars, which was a largely feel good ceremony, and a night which highlighted indie film—making and saw some less traditional choices for the big winners. karla sofia gascon is here tonight and, yeah... despite doubts, the star of emilia perez and best actress nominee did attend. the film had been a frontrunner until controversy over the transgender actor's social media posts. morgan freeman introduced tributes to absent friends, including a moment for gene hackman, the two—time oscar winner who was this week found dead at home with his wife in uncertain circumstances. the growth of streaming services means fewer people are going to the cinema. evenjames bond has now

been bought by amazon,

scotland with more cloud. in the north—west of scotland this week we're going to see quite a lot of rain. some places may see close to 100 metres of rain but not very much rain at all further south. a fair bit of sunshine. it will turn warmer by day. the nights will slowly turn a bit milder. i will be back with all the details later. let s return to our main story this lunchtime, the ongoing efforts to come up with a pathway to lasting peace in ukraine. after that crucial defence summit with european leaders in london, sir keir starmer has given some details of how it might happen. the prime minister described the moment as "a crossroads in history" and said europe must take the lead in guaranteeing ukraine's security, if a peace deal is struck with russia. he confirmed that the uk and france would lead what he called a "coalition of the willing" to defend ukraine, which he said "a number" of allies had signed up to. but he said some kind of us involement would be needed. he also announced a £1.6

billion deal to provide but where he is likely to be questioned by mps is in the detail of this coalition of the willing that he talked about yesterday at the international summit. how many countries have signed up, what is likely to contribute and what would

a peace deal look like. today we had basically cold water being poured all over a french suggestion that there could be there

zelensky last week, and that there is now people who are willing to move it pays to come up with the kind of contribution they would make in the event

the truth is the us wants europe to do the heavy lifting but donald trump wants an end to the war, a quick end to the war no matter what. and vice president shady bands is expected on fox news likely to