bat out of hell album is one of the best—selling of all time the us and russia remain at a diplomatic standoff with their military assets standing by. after months of escalating tensions — the two superpowers have been holding talks about ukraine — which nato fears is the next sovereign territory moscow wants to seize, through force. remember, it's less than a decade since russia annexed crimea. russia says it's concerned nato is sending weapons and military expertise to ukraine, and wants guarantees that the organisation will pull back from its borders. speaking after the talks in geneva, russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov said the dialogue would continue and his country had no plans to attack ukraine. russia is understood to have more than 100,000 troops currently near its border with ukraine. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale sent this report. more russian forces on the move, surface—to—air missiles in the country's far east due to join what moscow says are military exercises near ukraine, part of the growing build—up of troops and equipment shown by images close to the border, what western powers fear may be preparation for war. but for now, the diplomacy continues, too. america's and russia's top diplomats met in geneva and at first couldn't even agree how to greet one another, with one question on everyone�*s lips. is an invasion likely, as president biden suggested? mr lavrov seemed to suggest it was up to the united states and later dismissed talk of invasion as hysterical rhetoric designed to provoke ukraine. what does russia want most, an unstable, dependent ukraine or a new sphere of influence in eastern europe? translation: we are not trying to get a sphere of influence, - but what nato is doing shows it considers ukraine to be a part of its sphere of influence. to the west, ukraine is an independent, sovereign nation. that means it has a right to self—determination, free from russian control, and if it wants to join nato or any other international alliance, well, that is for it to decide. russia's view is different. it sees the former soviet country as historically within its sphere of influence, and also strategically important. crimea was annexed in part to protect russia's access to the black sea, and as for nato membership, that would be seen as a threat to russia's core security. that's why president putin wants nato to rule out ukraine ever becoming a member and withdraw its forces from eastern europe. america's secretary of state rejected these as non—starters and once again sought to deter any military action. we've been clear, if any russian military forces move across ukraine's border, that's a renewed invasion. it will be met with swift, severe and a united response from the united states and our partners and allies. there was no breakthrough at the talks here today, no deal to reduce the threat of war. but there was agreement for diplomacy to continue. the us will put forward ideas for more security co—operation next week. both sides will meet again after that. these are turbulent times. but for now, russia appears willing to continue talking, and western diplomats hope that might mean not fighting. james landale, bbc news, geneva. earlier, i spoke to the former british ambassador to the united states, lord darroch, to ask what he believes are the minimum requirements putin needs to avoid an invasion of ukraine. i don't know the answer, i don't think any of us in the west know the answer. what is clear not acceptable is giving russia some kind of veto over ukrainian membership of nato. ukraine is a sovereign independent country and it has right to join whatever international organisation or whatever foreign policy wants to fulsome what i think is possible, conceivable, is a negotiation with russia on some security architecture for europe. the model here is the imf agreement of the 80s, under which intermediate and short range missiles were banned, and that would, if the russian issue is the risk in the future of nato missiles were the russian —— on the russian border, sitting in ukraine, that would take that away, but it would need the russians would have to destroy missiles or whatever, so we would be a strategic love negotiation. —— would be acer sheet equivalent negotiation. i suspect something like this may be on offer from the americans, but i've no idea whether putin regarded as acceptable. you were performing the national security role at the time that crimea was annexed, or eventual annexation of the process. what lessons do you draw from that time? the lesson that putin will have drawn is that it is extremely unlikely, added to still case, there will be any literary response if you were to send his troops across the border —— military response. not a military response for europe or the united states, for nato, who did not when he annexed crimea, which was part of ukraine, but that doesn't mean they will be no cost to him. there would be international isolation, and it would be a very heavy set of economic sanctions. russia is not directly doing well economically, and this could really damage, especially if hints from the germans that they might cancel the nordstrom to pipeline become german policy. the other cushion i wonder is, what do they think they are after —— the other question i wonder... what would be the strategy? are they going to get bogged down in ukraine indefinitely? quite what the exit strategy would be? �* , , quite what the exit strategy would be? ~ , , g ., quite what the exit strategy would be? apparently joe biden did instruct meteorologist - be? apparently joe biden did instruct meteorologist to - be? apparently joe biden did | instruct meteorologist to look be? apparently joe biden did i instruct meteorologist to look at the weather in ukraine, which to some people might sound a little bit eccentric, but there's quite a serious point, isn't there? there is only able to delete short window in which a military intervention could take place, because ukraine freezes over, rather, if the frost eases, and the weather gets warmer, the tanks don't do well in the mud. there's a long history of armies finding the terrain in that part of the world, whether ukraine or russia, very difficult, whether it is in the depths of winter, with all theice is in the depths of winter, with all the ice and snow, or when the rains come in the ground gets soft and muddy, so i assume that russian military strategists have thought about this, what they intend to do, but it is a mystery to me just what the longer—term plan would be if they were to go ahead with an invasion. maybe they think they can intimidate the ukrainians in the west, but we will see. kim darroch, talking to me little earlier. let's move to another country now with severe problems. in yemen, aid agencies say at least 70 people have been killed after an airstrike by the saudi—led coalition hit a detention centre in the north of the country. it's been almost seven years since the saudi coalition — backed by the us and the uk — intervened in yemen's civil war. but houthi rebels — backed by iran — still control most of the country. all sides have been accused of abuses, including the killing of civilians. 0ur international correspondent 0rla guerin reports, and a warning, some viewers may find her report upsetting. another dawn in yemen. more destruction revealed in the cold light of day. prisoners were held here by houthi rebels, including african migrantsjust trying to transit through yemen. some were among the dead. in this province, the houthi heartland, they dug for survivors with their bare hands. but this was a massive air strike. the death toll is still climbing. the saudi led coalition, which is backed by britain, says it will investigate fully. after a night of devastating strikes, the un secretary—general criticised both the houthis, who carried out an attack on monday, and the coalition. any bombardment that targets civilians or that is not careful enough to protect civilians, is of course also unacceptable. what we need is to stop this vicious circle in which things keep escalating one after the other. but on the ground, war has the momentum. this was a port. the houthis say the coalition hit a telecommunication centre, knocking out the internet across yemen. incredibly, this man was brought out alive. at the hospital, a desperate attempt to revive a child... ..and a heart—rending loss. aid agencies say three children were killed playing football as the air strikes rained down. the houthis sparked the latest escalation with this deadly cross—border attack in the united arab emirates, a partner in the coalition. in the yemeni capital sanaa today, they staged a show of strength. here is the reality that confronts the coalition. after seven years of air strikes, it has failed to dislodge the houthis from these streets. but now, once again, it is bringing nights of terror and death to yemeni civilians. 0rla guerin, bbc news. france's constitutional court has approved government plans to require proof of covid vaccination to enter public spaces, such as bars and cinemas. but the pass will not be needed to attend political meetings. it comes as france reports record cases of covid infections, with nearly half a million new infections confirmed in a single day earlier this week. here's our paris corresponent hugh schofield. no one is surprised. it went through parliament, had a difficult and tricky run through parliament, with opposition mps bringing up all sorts it passed through parliament, and then the senators and mps from mainly the left and opposition exercised their right to bring it to the constitutional council, which must approve all laws, basically checks that laws are in accordance with the constitution, but also the declaration of human rights, going way back to 1789. that is what all this was about, weighing up the various causes, saying, "does this clause or that clause breach the right to assembly, the right to free speech, to balance that against the duty of the nation to protect the nation's health" and so on. in all their deliberations, they came to the conclusion that 99% of it was fine, but one clause was not fine, that was the clause which required a vaccination passport to attend political meetings ahead of the election. they decided that was excessive and did too much tip the balance away from the right to assembly and free speech. the rest of it is there, which means that, come monday, we will be in this slightly different world where the vaccination passport will be required to get access to bars, cafes, restaurants, cinemas, train travel and so on. it is not controversial because it is not actually that different from what we've had before, which was what they called the health pass, but with the health pass, you had the option of giving a negative test before you went on your train or to your bar, so there was not an obligation to actually get vaccinated, and that is what is going to change. for people who are anti—vaccination, it is a big deal. for the vast majority who are vaccinated, it won't actually make much difference. hugh schofield in paris. still to come: 0ur arts correspondent looks back on the colourful life of meat loaf — the rock legend and actor who's died at the age of 7a. donald trump is now the 45th president of the united states. he was sworn in before several hundred thousand people on the steps of capitol hill in washington. it's going to be only america first! america first! | demonstrators waiting for the rebel| cricket team were attacked with tear gas and set upon by police dogs. anti—apartheid campaigners say they will carry on the protests l throughout the tour. they called him the butcher of lyon. klaus altman is being held fraud charge in bolivia. the west germans want to extradite him for crimes committed in wartime france. there, he was the gestapo chief class barbie. millions came to as close as possible to this spot, believed by officials to have broken all records. this is bbc news. our main story this hour: the us and russian foreign ministers have held talks in geneva to try to ease tension over the build—up of russian troops on the border with ukraine. there are growing concerns for women in afghanistan protesting against the curbing of their rights under the taliban, after at least two were reported abducted in night raids. neighbours told that bbc that one of them, tamana paryani, was taken from her apartment by armed men along with her two sisters. the taliban has removed the right of most afghan women to work and study — it denies being responsible for the abductions. quentin sommerville reports from kabul. women chant in body and spirit, afghan women are under attack from the taliban. here, fighting for the right to work, to education, they are pepper—sprayed by taliban fighters at this protest last week. "women have value", they shout. "it takes raw courage to stand up to armed men who want to take away almost everything you've achieved in life". "please help! the taliban have come to my house. my sisters are at home," pleads tamana, one of the protesters, days later. "we don't want you here now", she screams. tamana has been missing for two days now. we went to her home to try and find her. neighbours say women were taken away from here by armed men. you can see a footprint, a bootprint, on the door. three women were taken away, and they still haven't returned. friends and family say they haven't heard from them either. other women protesters were targeted that night. another is missing. still, the taliban denies it took them. if they had detained them, they would say we have detained them, and that is their allegation and they will go to the court to defend themselves. this is something legal. but they are not detained and they are making such fake scenes and shooting films in order to seek asylum abroad. but tamana's friends tell a different story. translation: i told her as soon as possible, "leave your home. i take this more seriously. you are in danger." when i got home, a friend, also a protester, i don't want to mention her name, she was crying that tamana had been arrested by the taliban and that she had released a video on social media. since the fall of the last government, afghan women say, increasingly, they are prisoners in their own home. they can't come out and do shopping, they can't visit friends and family, and those that do raise their voice in protest are facing increasing intimidation from the taliban. over the last 20 years, afghan women have cast off cultural and family prejudice to live freely. it's decades of progress the taliban now want to rip away. quentin sommerville, bbc news, kabul. in britain, levels of coronavirus are falling. but the uk government is still facing the challenge of how to persuade more than four million people to take up the offer of a vaccine. bbc analysis shows that younger people continue to be the most reluctant to be fully vaccinated, with almost a third of 18—29 year olds not having had the first two jabs. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports. a vaccination campaign with a difference. and you could and up with long covid, which is no fun. team halo videos have had more than 250 million views. please don't play this russian roulette with your life. they're focused on debunking vaccine misinformation. let's talk about long covid. dr bnar talabani is one expert working on the project from her home in cardiff. she aims to reassure people that the vaccine is safe. evelyn, whose identity we're protecting, is in her 30s and lives in southern scotland. she has a family history of rheumatoid arthritis, and although she wants the jab, she is worried. we always talk about medicines and i try to work out what hopefully won't trigger off an autoimmune response in myself. and that's what makes me nervous about the covid—i9 jab. there's no evidence to say that you will get rheumatoid arthritis or any autoimmune disease if you have the vaccine. i think a lot of the times, people don't have access to accurate information and knowing how to deal the difference between what's nonsense and what's information and what's accurate is very difficult. elite sports players have been under the spotlight over their vaccination status. at worcester warriors rugby club, they're well ahead of an 85% target set for leading english clubs. guidance was offered to those players who had early doubts. i think with anything, - there's always reluctance until you give them the facts. and that's what we do with anything, whether it's rugby—related _ or medical—related. and i think that's all we did. players are always curious. among the over—60s, more than 90% have had their first two doses, but as you go down the age groups, that falls away quite noticeably. and that's why younger people are seen as a key target group for the continued vaccination programme. it was really confusing. some wanting to start a family have questions. these new mums at the bundle baby class said it wasn't a straightforward decision, but they did get vaccinated while they were pregnant. lots of friends were saying that i shouldn't have the vaccine because i was pregnant and that it might harm the baby. a lot of the research and the data that was out there, even when you're speaking to a gp, it didn't seem like there was a lot of robust information. when i turned 13 weeks, so got into the second trimester, i immediately went to get the vaccine and i'd been waiting to get the vaccine, actually. i was actually having arguments with my husband about it because he was keen for me not to and to wait, because he was worried about the impact on the baby. he wasn't sure, and i was upset with him because i'd been doing a lot of research. some countries are making vaccination compulsory. for now, the approach in the uk is dialogue, but there's clearly more work to be done to convince those who still don't want the jab. hugh pym, bbc news. tributes have been pouring in for the us rock star meat loaf, who has died at the age of 7a. in a career spanning six decades, he was known for his operatic voice and theatrical stage presence. 0ur arts correspondent david sillito takes a look back at his music and life. # like a bat out of hell, i'll be gone when the morning comes...# meat loaf, bat out of hell. a sweat—drenched rock—and—roll epic that turned the man born marvin lee aday into one of the biggest—selling rock stars in the world. there have been many tributes. among them, cher, who sang with him on dead ringer for love, bonnie tyler, and from i'd do anything for love, lorraine crosby. # i would do anything for love # i'd never lie to you, and that's a fact... we just gelled. we gelled perfectly. and obviously, that's why the song went the way it did. so, every time i think of meat loaf, i think about being in the studio with him. you just knew. you knew it was going to be great, you know. i'm sorry, i'm getting... you knew, you just knew instinctively that the album was going to be huge. # i would do anything for love, but i won't do that...#. born in dallas, his mother was a teacher and singer, his father a policeman, and his childhood was tough. he was an alcoholic, and he'd always beat me up as a kid. threw me through a plate—glass window, threw me through a door. his escape was acting and musicals. he got a part in hair, and then the rocky horror picture show. bat out of hell was a project he'd been working on for years with the writerjim steinman. the rock establishment was scornful, but the fans — especially in britain — loved it. # praying for the end of time. # it's all that i can do...# this famous performance on the old grey whistle test was where it all took off. but its huge success, and the pressures it brought, almost killed him. that was then followed by lawsuits and bankruptcy. he claimed that years went by without him making a dime out of it, but nothing would ever top bat out of hell, a glorious, over—the—top, emotional battering ram, a rock—and—roll masterpiece. # ..hell...#. meat loaf, whose death has been announced. hello. it looks like the weather is taking part n'jiejanuary, noticing the rain on the way this weekend, nor indeed into the start of next week. there isn't going to be a huge amount of this either. blue skies and sunshine this weekend. cloud is going to wind out across most places. temperatures edge a little bit higher. you'll notice that most northern ireland and scotland, especially in northern scotland, so what's going on? high pressure close by. that is why we are having a lot of dry weather. around it, having a lot of dry weather. a touch of it in northeast scotland, patchy in wales and england, where he had any clear spells overnight. and chance transfer some early mist and fog patches. you can see the extent of the cloud across the uk for saturday. just a few brighter breaks here and there. they are most likely across eastern parts of scotland and england, whereas towards northwest scotland we are going to see some outbreaks of rain, and it is breezy are here, but it is also my order — ii are here, but it is also my order — 11 degrees in stornoway. temperatures elsewhere a little higher than they were on friday. 0vernight and into sunday, quite a bit of cloud around of a few breaks in that cloud here and there where they occur, the chance of seeing a touch of frost. there will be some mist and fog patches developing towards southern areas, where the winds are light, and they could well be slow to clear a few spots on sunday. there is a weather front edging closer towards northwest scotland as the day goes on. it doesn't look as if we will see much in the rain until sunday night. ahead of it, still some patchy rain. the winds going to pick up here. gales is developing in the western isles. light winds elsewhere. a lot of cloud around, just a few sunny spells. if anything on sunday, temperatures would just come down a little bit. by mid week, we are going to see developing weather system heading our way. here it is, and only through wednesday night, we will see an area of rain moving its way southwards, weakening as it does so. and behind that, high pressure building back in again but for a time later in the week, there will be some brighter skies around. that's your weather. this is bbc news. the headlines: us and russia have held what they called "frank" talks on ukraine tension. with more russian troops gathering on ukrainian border, washington warns any invasion will be met with a swift, severe and united response. concern grows for the welfare of female protesters in afghanistan with reports that some may have been abducted during night—time raids. the taliban denies it is behind the abductions. at least 100 people have been killed or wounded in an air strike by the saudi—led coalition in yemen. a detention centre was hit in saada, a stronghold of the rebel houthi movement. and stars including cher, boy george and bonnie tyler lead tributes to the singer meat loaf. the rock legend died at the age of 7a. those are the headlines on bbc news.