sanchia berg, bbc news.ght the crowds along the route. it was the first full parade for three years and is thought to have attracted up to half a million spectators. anita pointer, one of the original members of the singing group, the pointer sisters, has died. she was 7a. they had a string of hits in the 70s and 80s, winning several grammy awards. steffan powell looks back at her life. thanks to a diverse blend of rhythm and blues, funk and soul, the pointer sisters were responsible for songs that are still lighting up dance floors decades after they were first performed, and making an impact on wider popular culture, too. it was the 1973 song, yes we can can with its anita led vocals calling for togetherness during a time of racial unrest in the us that catapulted the group into the mainstream. originally from oakland in california, anita pointer and her sisters went on to win grammy awards and become prominent features in the american music charts. still performing into her late 60s, anita suffered person

sanchia berg, bbc news.the event saw more than 8,000 entertainers delight the crowds along the route. it was the first full parade for three years and is thought to have attracted up to half a million spectators. we heard earlier about the latest russian attacks in ukraine. it's almost a year now since russia's partial invasion, and millions of ukrainians are still unable to return home after fleeing the country. among them was a troupe of more than 70 ballet dancers. they are now living and training together at the former royal conservatoire in the dutch capital, the hague. 0ur correspondent kate vandy has been to visit them. moving gracefully around the stage, you wouldn't know these performers had recently fled war. when russia began its invasion of ukraine last year, many feared it would be the end of their careers. svetlana was one of them. i didn't have work and i was trying to find the job, and then i found this place and came here and i start to feel myself really, really good. like, before, i didn't

sanchia berg, bbc news.ter, has died aged 7a. #jump for my love... the singers were known for hits including "jump" and "automatic" — both of which won grammys — and "i'm so excited". they won three grammy awards during their career. her publicist said she had cancer and was surrounded by family when she died. let us go live to brasilia in brazil. we are monitoring the various different events through the inauguration of luiz inacio lula da silva. there is the open topped car in which he will be progressing through the streets of the capital. hello. we welcomed in 2023 with a real range of conditions across the uk. parts of scotland had snow and temperatures in the highlands got very close to minus nine celsius. compare that with 11 degrees last night in the south of england and it is mild air that will win out for much of the time. for much of the time, i think, through this coming week. there will be some rain at times, but equally some drier and chillier interludes. so for the rest of today, we will see t

sanchia berg, bbc news. ukraine's armed forces say they've shot down 45 iranian—made drones fired by russia since new year's eve. the latest bombardment follows a wave of attacks on ukraine cities over the christmas season, including residential areas, which forced tens of thousands of people into shelters over the festive season. the bbc�*s 0lga malchevska reports. singing on the front line. these soldiers are celebrating new year's eve in the bunker during a brief moment of calm. this is bakhmut, eastern ukraine, the area that has seen the fiercest fighting. joining them, the mayor of kyiv, vitali klitschko, ex—celebrity world boxing champion. he saw in the new year with the troops, his spokesperson told the bbc. bringing some supplies, a more festive mood and a message for the season. translation: the freedom battalion, bakhmut guys, who defend our - motherland and its territorial integrity, independence and peace of every ukrainian. i will do everything to make the next year, 2023, the year of peace. thi

and hear and speak to families provided they keep their identities anonymous. 0ur correspondent sanchia berg been speaking to one mother who went through the process. actor's voice: he's my best friend. like, it sounds bizarre to say that when it's your child, but ijust don't know what i'd do without him. i absolutely love him. caitlin has a young son and two older children who were taken into care several years ago when they were very small. i've missed out on everything because i've never taken my older two children to school. i don't get to tuck them in bed at night and read them stories. i've lost a lot of time. social workers advised but it was a judge in the family court who decided her children's future. a teenage mother, she says now she was unable to take in what was happening. when i first went to court, the only way that i can explain this is, it's like, i can see everything, i can see people, but i can't hear anything that anyone's saying, and it's all a bit of a blur. and when i heard those words "adoption", it was like everything just stopped, there was nothing happening, i cou

sanchia berg, bbc news. hello there. as we move through the first week of january 2023, it looks like it�*ll stay on the unsettled side for most generally mild, but with spells of wet and windy weather moving in with areas of low pressure. and in between there will be some drier, quieter moments with some sunshine. and in fact, the first, most significant, quieter, drier moment of the week will be for today. bank holiday monday. that ridge of high pressure will be nosing in across the uk, some slightly colder air mixed into it, so it will feel fresher across the board and quite a cold start to come across northern and western parts of the country. watch out for some icy stretches across some northern areas northern ireland, northern england and certainly across scotland where we still have some light snow. but through the morning, the showers will tend to clear away from the channel and the south east of england. plenty of sunshine up and down the country, just a few showers for the north and west of scotland. these wint

sanchia berg, bbc news.he us correspondent for feature story news, was in the chamber until the final vote. he says things got heated, as lawmakers struggled to find consensus. it was pretty wild, actually. an extraordinary night even by us standards and the reason for that is the context that was alluded to in the report just there which is that these representatives who had not really been sworn into the lower chamber of congress had been going through this process for nearly a whole week and there were 15 votes they had to get you to actually get to that stage and i think there was this sense of desperation and a willingness to finally push this over the line and, in a sense, that is why there were so many heightened emotions in the room in the early hours of saturday morning. confrontations between the speaker going face—to—face with one of the rebels who had staunchly opposed him throughout this whole process and intervention from another republican colleague who had to be physically restrained on the h

sanchia berg, bbc news.he prime minister, health secretary, and ministers from the treasury are meeting health experts in downing street to try to tackle the ongoing challenges facing the nhs in england. i asked our political correspondent, damian grammaticas, if this meeting will make a difference. that is a good question because the pressures facing the health service and broader than that, the sort of hold care system from your family doctor all the way through hospitals, emergency surfaces write to the social care that deals with people when they come out of hospital or elderly people, although that is under intense pressure at the minute. and really struggling at this point in the winter so can this deliver? well, the first thing it delivered to the prime minister is the impression, the impact that he is doing something about this. in facing this crisis. the opposition party status too little and too late and he should have done more and actually, there was a meeting back in december which is not preven

sanchia berg, bbc news.cott lucas, professor of us politics at university college dublin. thank at university college dublin. you forjoining us. wh think thank you forjoining us. why do you think it took 15 rounds of voting for kevin mccarthy to get elected, to get the job?— to get the “ob? because of those u-rou to get the “ob? because of those a-rou of to get the job? because of those grow) of 20 _ to get the job? because of those group of 20 trump _ to get the job? because of those group of 20 trump supporting i to get the job? because of those l group of 20 trump supporting and hardline republican representatives who effectively wanted to hold kevin mccarthy hostage to increase their power and influence in the bitter story is beyond kevin mccarthy ultimately becoming speaker that those trumpist and hardline republicans exceeded at least they are in a position now to paralyse the house and even tear it apart and of course that they can paralyse the house and prevented from doing business, that is a challe

sanchia berg, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to thomas gift in washington dc. the centre on us politics at university college london. he explained how kevin mccarthy was able to win over votes within the republican party. there is still a lot that we don't know about exactly the concessions that kevin mccarthy has offered to the rebels. and that's in large part because republicans have been fairly tight—lipped about this. but certainly one mof the main concessions that the anti—mccarthy camp have been trying to extract, and they did so successfully, was to bust up some of the consolidation at the top and devolve more power into the hands of individual members. one of the key ways they have done that is by making it easier to topple that speaker position. essentially, now what rank and file members can do is cast a vote on the speakership of kevin mccarthy. i think really that alone significantly weakens to position kevin mccarthy has going forward. kevin mccarthy was endorsed by donald trump, was in close contact with him, as were some of his opponents. just ex

sanchia berg, bbc news. in ukraine last night, as people marked the turn of the new year, there were further russian missile attacks, including in the capital, kyiv. ukraine's armed forces say they shot down 45 iranian—made explosive drones overnight, most of them since midnight. russia says the attacks targeted sites where it claimed ukraine was producing its own drones. let's get more now on ukraine's front line where many spent new year's eve under attack on the eastern front. the bbc�*s 0lga malchevska reports. singing on the front line. these soldiers are celebrating new year's eve in the bunker during a brief moment of calm. this is bakhmut, eastern ukraine, the area that has seen the fiercest fighting. joining them, the mayor of kyiv, vitali klitschko, ex—celebrity world boxing champion. he saw in the new year with the troops, his spokesperson told the bbc. bringing some supplies, a more festive mood and a message for the season. translation: the freedom battalion, bakhmut guys, i who defend our mothe

sanchia berg, bbc news. i'm joined now by thomas gift in washington dc.of the centre on us politics at univesity college london. kantian thanks very much for being with us. tell us more about the compromises that kevin mccarthy's made to his opponents and what it will mean for him in the party. it is great to be with you, samantha. thanks so much. you know, there is still a lot that we don't know that exactly the concessions kevin mccarthy has offered to the rebels and that's in large part because republicans have been fairly tight—lipped about this but certainly one of the big concessions that the entire mccarthy camp have been trying to extract and that they did so successfully was to bust up some of the consolidation at the top that devolve more power into the hands of the individual members and one of the key ways that they have done that is by making it easier to topple the speaker position so essentially now what rank—and—file members can do is going to be able to call a snap vote on mccarthy's this speakership and that merely by virtue of that fact

hear, and speak to families, provided they keep their identities anonymous. 0ur correspondent sanchia bergd, but ijust don't know what i'd do without him. i absolutely love him. caitlin has a young son and two older children who were taken into care several years ago, when they were very small. i've missed out on everything, because i've never taken my older two children to school. i don't get to tuck them in bed at night and read them stories. i've lost a lot of time. social workers advised, but it was a judge in the family court who decided her children's future. a teenage mother, she says now she was unable to take in what was happening. when i first went to court, the only way that i can explain this is, it's like, i can see everything, i can see people, but i can't hear anything that anyone's saying and it's all a bit of a blur. and when i heard those words "adoption", it was like everything just stopped, there was nothing happening, i couldn't hear anyone any more, i couldn't see anything, i couldn't breathe. every year, there are over 200,000 cases in the family courts in england an