and how this indestructible store of primary climate data — earth's black box — could see us pass invaluable information to future generations. hello and welcome to bbc news. britain has accused the kremlin of planning to install a pro—russian leader in ukraine, as fears of an invasion grow. the foreign office in london says a former ukrainian mp is being considered as a potential candidate, along with four other politicians, who it says have links to the russian intelligence services. russia has 100,000 troops on ukraine's border, but denies it intends to invade. james waterhouse reports now from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. the friendship of nations arch, built by the soviets to celebrate the closeness between russians and ukrainians. that crack was painted on by activists a few years ago as relations between the two countries deteriorated. and as talks intensify about a possible invasion, the hope is things don't break down completely. tensions are still rising on the border and today russian jets made their way to joint military drills with neighbouring belarus. ukrainian ministers have welcomed a delivery of american military equipment and now there's a call for the uk to step up its own support. the british government has delivered 2,000 anti—tank missiles this week and says it is open to sending more weapons. as president putin continues to up the pressure. he has actually boxed himself into a corner. because so much effort has been put into this. but he also recognised he will never again be as strong as this to take advantage of the west's weakness. i suspect invasion is now imminent. so does kyiv feel like a city preparing for an invasion? evelyn and lillian are too small to appreciate the power struggle surrounding their country, but their parents obviously aren't. it is definitely concerning. it definitely seems more tense than the past times that we were concerned about this. i would say it is definitely increasing anxiety and stuff, for sure. i don't feel good that i can come back to my hometown easily. because i always have to think whether i will be able to do it safely or not. and of course i am afraid. translation: ifi see others do it, i'm ready to defend my country. i'm not going to run away, but then again there might not be anywhere to run away to. moscow denies it is planning an invasion. but it is easy to forget ukraine has already endured eight years of russian aggression. it's brought fighting, cyber attacks, misinformation and constant uncertainty. next week the us will continue to discuss russian demands that nato will both scale back its military presence and rule out ever letting ukrainejoin. for the country at the heart of it, that uncertainty goes on. james waterhouse, bbc news. let's get more now on our top story, claims by the british foreign office that the kremlin is looking to install a pro—russian leader in kyiv. with me is our reporter, mark lobel. mark, who said what on this particular claim? as you say, the big question is what is president putin thinking? the british foreign office are suggesting president putin is considering installing a pro—moscow leader in kyiv of the a potential invasion... we know they are both building up for potential military conflict. and they are also saying ukrainian politicians inside ukraine are helping russian intelligence at the moment. the british foreign office have declassified 0ffice have declassified information to back up those claims. if we look at what liz truss the british foreign secretary has said, she said the information being released today shines a light on the extent of what an activity designed to subvert ukraine, and it is an insight into kremlin thinking. so what does the information show? well, the british claim the former ukrainian mp yehven murayev is being lined up as a potential leader of the ukraine. if they are to invade and win the military conflict, of course. this man ran for president in 2019, he set up his own party, admittedly it doesn't have any seeds in the ukrainian parliament. he has denied the claims in a text message to the telegraph in britain saying it is stupidity and nonsense, pointing out that he is under sanctions himself, he has been barred from russia and his father had his assets frozen in russia. he said it is hard to comment on the foreign office statement. but wasser also said this was misinformation from the office, and accuses them of escalating tensions. i guess the important point is it as part of the narrative from the uk. -- part of the narrative from the uk. —— russia also said. one of the people the uk said is helping, he was also sanctioned by america on thursday folsom will accusations. so both america and the uk are adding to the arming of the ukrainians with this kind of narrative about president putin's intentions.— about president putin's intentions. , intentions. yesterday we were talkinu intentions. yesterday we were talking about _ intentions. yesterday we were talking about the _ intentions. yesterday we were talking about the meeting - intentions. yesterday we were talking about the meeting in l talking about the meeting in geneva between the american secretary of state and his russian counterpart sergei lavrov role, diplomacy but then a lot of harsh words.— a lot of harsh words. what can we look at _ a lot of harsh words. what can we look at if _ a lot of harsh words. what can we look at if we _ a lot of harsh words. what can we look at if we think - a lot of harsh words. what can we look at if we think about i we look at if we think about the week ahead? that diplomacy didn't get very far last week, it continues this week with a visit from the british defence secretary to moscow to visit his counterpart there, the first meeting in nine years. and america has this written answer it has promised the russians, responding to their far—reaching demands, for example trying to get ukraine to pledge never tojoin nato. all these things coming together, but there is a lot of friction between the two sides, and this will certainly ramp it up. thank you, mark. good to have you here in the studio. islamic state fighters have continued one of their biggest attacks in syria since the group's self—declared caliphate was defeated nearly three years ago. a british—based monitoring group said more than 75 people, most of them jihadists, had been killed in three days of fighting with kurdish—led forces in the northern city of hasa kah. the bodies of suspected militants could been seen on the streets — many residents have fled. the fighting began on thursday, when is fighters attacked a prison in which thousands of militants are held. foreign aid is now being distributed in tonga, following last weekend's devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami. the un says more than 80% of the population has been affected, with almost all crops badly affected by volcanic ash. jatinder dhillon reports. relief at last. a new zealand naval ship, with a desalination plant on board, which can produce 70,000 litres a day, started cleaning the sea water from tonga's harbour, ready for distribution to desperate residents. japan is the latest to deliver urgent supplies, including clean water. and equipment to clean the volcanic ash. it is a complicated operation. the pacific kingdom is covid—free and has strict border control policies, requiring contactless delivery of aid. that means aid workers cannot enter the country unless they have undergone a three—week isolation period. supplies are quarantined for 72 hours after arrival, before being distributed by tongan authorities. the un says the country will be heavily reliant on food aid for some time. almost all the crops have been badly affected by volcanic ash. farmers have lost their homes and livelihoods. in the first update since the eruption triggered a tsunami, the government says the country has been hit by an unprecedented disaster. tonga's recovery from this disaster is going to be long—term, and i think we need to ensure that we keep the momentum up. after tonga has got enough water we will have to rebuild and it will be a long road to recovery. tongan communities abroad have also been providing support and donations. in new zealand, entire families filled this auckland car park and loaded trucks with supplies of food, water and other essentials. a tongan born rugby player, who lives in the uk, has not heard from his family and has launched a fundraising page to help with reliefs. the tongan government has asked for the international aid effort led by australia and new zealand to be paced so the island's small airport and harbour are not overwhelmed. in the next few days, a repair ship will arrive to reconnect the undersea cable that links tonga to international telecoms networks. jatinder dhillon, bbc news. new zealand has already pledged just over $2 million us dollars to the devastated nation. we can now speak to nanaia mahuta, foreign minister for new zealand. thank you forjoining us. how would you describe the situation right now when it comes to getting aid to tonga? it's a challenge because of covid, however close friends and neighbours are quickly understanding the catastrophic impact of the eruption on the outer islands, so we are doing as much as we can. we are moving swiftly to support the tongan government. truth? moving swiftly to support the tongan government.- moving swiftly to support the tongan government. why is covid such a challenge _ tongan government. why is covid such a challenge in _ tongan government. why is covid such a challenge in concrete - such a challenge in concrete terms? , ., ., ., terms? delivering humanitarian aid under covid _ terms? delivering humanitarian aid under covid conditions - aid under covid conditions means you how to abide by the tongan government's isolation requirements, so it does make the whole situation a bit challenging, but we have identified a way in which we can provide aid within 72 hours with contactless consideration. we are also mindful that tonga doesn't have any active covid cases right now, so they are being quite vigilant as they respond domestically, and as they deal with countries like australia, new zealand, the us, the uk and france, who are helping in their humanitarian aid effort. . helping in their humanitarian aid effort-— helping in their humanitarian aideffort. . , , ., ., aid effort. that must be a real challenge. _ aid effort. that must be a real challenge. i — aid effort. that must be a real challenge, i can _ aid effort. that must be a real challenge, i can imagine, - aid effort. that must be a reall challenge, i can imagine, while you have the clock ticking, basically, because so many people have been affected. water, one of the big aspects, trying to get people clean water. i know there is a desalination effort by new zealand. how long do you think that can continue?— zealand. how long do you think that can continue? look, one of the primary _ that can continue? look, one of the primary ask _ that can continue? look, one of the primary ask very _ that can continue? look, one of the primary ask very early - that can continue? look, one of the primary ask very early was l the primary ask very early was for water, 4% of the island was covered by ash, so we have sent three navy vessels up, all of which contain water, but also desalination equipment, engineering equipment, but also support to help with the clean—up, and experts who can help with the assessment and impact of the eruption on maritime routes. so there is a huge effort undertaken by new zealand, also australia, as i say, both the uk, the us, japan, samoa have also offered assistance. japan, samoa have also offered assistance-— assistance. quite interesting some of the _ assistance. quite interesting some of the countries - some of the countries operating, curiously your thoughts on how long this will need to go down the road... i was reading that tonga are quite heavily indebted to china, perhaps also offering a, and i am wondering whether some geopolitical concerns play into it as well. some of these decisions you need to make when it comes to helping tonga? —— offering aid. it comes to helping tonga? -- offering aid-— offering aid. right now it is a clean-no _ offering aid. right now it is a clean-up effort _ offering aid. right now it is a clean-up effort for _ offering aid. right now it is a clean-up effort for those - offering aid. right now it is a l clean-up effort for those most clean—up effort for those most vulnerable. the rebuilt challenge will be a further consideration, those who need to help rebuild the resilience in the face of this catastrophic event, the significant challenges, for example food crops have been extensively impacted. it will impede the way in which crops can be restored. thankfully samoa and fiji have offered assistance on that front, but it will still be some time before the ground is fertile enough to regenerate its own harvest from its native plants and food resources.— and food resources. that is some of— and food resources. that is some of the _ and food resources. that is some of the situation - and food resources. that is - some of the situation happening in tonga. new zealand... they are going to impose their mast mandate rules from midnight on sunday after a cluster of omicron, just nine cases i believe, but do you feel that is necessary, briefly? == believe, but do you feel that is necessary, briefly? -- mask mandate- _ is necessary, briefly? -- mask mandate. the _ is necessary, briefly? -- mask mandate. the onset _ is necessary, briefly? -- mask mandate. the onset of - is necessary, briefly? -- mask| mandate. the onset of omicron has been anticipated around what we are doing, so we are lolling out our booster, the vaccination to those who have been double vaccinated already, and also rolling out young people vaccinations, so the way we are managing slowing down omicron coming down to our community, to reduce the numbers going into hospitals is the effort at this moment, and it is the right way to go. limiting the numbers who can gather, making sure people wear masks in close settings, and also maintaining the distance and hand washing, the public health that has always been suggested alongside the covid response. suggested alongside the covid resonse. . ~' suggested alongside the covid resonse. . ~ i. suggested alongside the covid resonse. . . ., response. thank you so much for “oininu response. thank you so much for joining the _ response. thank you so much for joining the interesting how - joining the interesting how covid infiltrates into every story we are covering. you're watching bbc news — our main headline. britain is accusing russia of planning to install a pro—kremlin leader in ukraine, as fears of an invasion grow. foreign aid is being distributed in tonga, with the un saying more than 80% of the population has been affected by last weekend's volcanic eruption and tsunami. hollywood actor arnold schwarzenegger has been involved in a multi—car crash in la. one woman has been taken to hospital. a spokesperson for the former california governor said he was unharmed. nickjohnson explains what happened. from the sky above the la suburbs, arnold schwarzenegger's black suv flanked by tow trucks, some hours after it was involved in a multi—vehicle crash. photos taken by us showbiz news site tmz showed the body—builder, actor and politician standing at the scene talking to a police officer, with the black suv teetering on top of both a toyota prius and a porsche. police say the four vehicle collision happened on friday afternoon in the wealthy brentwood area of la. one woman was taken to hospital but it is not thought her injuries are life—threatening. well, i told tom to get a six pack. but he got a cake instead. a spokesperson for the actor confirmed the 74—year—old was behind the wheel of his car at the time but was unharmed. los angeles police department say no arrests have been made and neither drugs or alcohol were involved, but the investigation is continuing. nickjohnson, bbc news. it's exactly two years since china locked down the city of wuhan and its ten million inhabitants. the aim was to try to stop the spread of coronavirus from the place where it first emerged. it worked — china's official death toll from the virus stands at just 5,700. but as beijing prepares to host the winter olympics next month, it's turned to extreme measures again in the fight to maintain its strict zero covid—19 policy. 0ur china correspondent robin brant reports. 27 days into lockdown, confined to her apartment. hello... sandlin is one of millions in china still subject to the ultimate covid control. when covid hit wuhan, the country didn't have much experience dealing with the outbreak. but now it's different. it's better. she's in xian, a city famous for its motionless army of terracotta warriors, but normal life for 13 million people there has come to a halt. there's fresh evidence, too, that some people have just had enough. crowd clashes with police at a compound in xian, where they were put in lockdown for 35 days. a couple of men are taken away. assessing the overall impact on people's lives, economic and psychological, is almost impossible. all of this is part of a massive effort to stop a few thousand new covid cases from spreading. and in terms of the official reported case numbers, it seems to be working. china's leader xi jinping hailed the economy's resilience earlier this week, saying he is fully confident about its development. so is zero covid in china the new normal? other small and frequent disruption, but not like a massive shutdown. so for china, it seems to be working. china is still manufacturing construction equipment. all these activities can be isolated, so that's why zero covid so far makes sense. but this country has deeper problems to deal with — a huge debt, a faltering property market, as well as the hyper—vigilance against more covid spikes. it's difficult to take a scientific survey, but there does appear to be widespread support for the government's policy on covid. because you get this, it looks quite normal. but no—one knows the answer to the big question. how long will it go on for? i think the epidemic control in shanghai is very good. the government uses big data to quickly trace and control people who are close contacts. the negative impacts of lockdowns are quite bad., people are worried. two years on, the borders here remain all but closed. international flights are at a bare minimum. china's communist party leaders are sticking with their zero—covid promise. in the run—up to hosting the olympics, china has shown how far it's willing to go. international mail is the new enemy. authorities in beijing this week claimed a package from canada brought 0micron in. we were in contact with someone in another city who was ordered to stay behind her sealed front door simply after receiving a delivery from abroad. she didn't want us to name her, but she's deeply frustrated. she sent us a text message saying it's good for epidemic control, but it's not a good thing from the human rights perspective. robin brant, bbc news, shanghai. as the impact of climate change is felt around the world the possible consequences for humanity are growing by the day. so how can we pass on our experiences to future generations? a project under way in tasmania, earth's black box, an indestructible store of primary climate data, may be the answer. butjust like the black box on an airplane, the hope is it never gets used for its main purpose. i'm joined now byjim curtis, one of the principals behind the project in melbourne. good to have you with us. a black box to me sounds pretty ominous. talk me through what is in it, why it is necessary, for our viewers coming to this for our viewers coming to this for the very first time?- for the very first time? thank ou for for the very first time? thank you for having _ for the very first time? thank you for having me. _ for the very first time? thank you for having me. as - for the very first time? thank you for having me. as you - for the very first time? thank i you for having me. as you said, the black box is a device that will record every step humanity takes towards or hopefully away from this impending climate catastrophe. just like an aeroplane flight recorder, if the plane goes down, we find the plane goes down, we find the flight recorder, we find what went wrong and we hope we don't mistake that —— we don't make the same mistakes. as we get closer to this catastrophe, we need to make sure whoever is left over afterwards won't make the same mistakes we did. my goodness, that does sound pretty ominous! if you were going to put something in today, what would it be? it has already started _ today, what would it be? it has already started recording, - already started recording, primary data related to the planet, ocean temperatures and acidification and so forth, but also secondary data, relating to political speeches, social commentary, both sides of the argument. so its very objective, just recording our approach as a species to this disaster. i5 approach as a species to this disaster. . approach as a species to this disaster. , ., ,., ,., , disaster. is it that somebody would only — disaster. is it that somebody would only access _ disaster. is it that somebody would only access it - disaster. is it that somebody would only access it after- disaster. is it that somebody i would only access it after some terrible apocalypse catastrophe? 0r terrible apocalypse catastrophe? or is it something the public will be able to access as this evolves? well, look, access as this evolves? well, look. yes. — access as this evolves? well, look. yes. it _ access as this evolves? well, look, yes, it is _ access as this evolves? well, look, yes, it is meant - access as this evolves? well, look, yes, it is meant to - access as this evolves? well, look, yes, it is meant to be l access as this evolves? well, look, yes, it is meant to be aj look, yes, it is meant to be a tool to learn from but we hope it inspires change. we hope people realise the type of change is now, and when the boxes up and running people will be able to access the data online on a website or you can visit the box to access the data. we will also use the data as a learning tool in schools and universities.— as a learning tool in schools and universities. what would ou sa and universities. what would you say to — and universities. what would you say to those _ and universities. what would you say to those who - and universities. what would you say to those who call- and universities. what would you say to those who call it | and universities. what would j you say to those who call it a pr stunt? i would say once it is built and it is fully functional, i would is built and it is fully functional, iwould invite is built and it is fully functional, i would invite them to check it out. if functional, i would invite them to check it out.— to check it out. if it is a pr stunt and _ to check it out. if it is a pr stunt and it _ to check it out. if it is a pr stunt and it works, - to check it out. if it is a pr stunt and it works, and - to check it out. if it is a pr stunt and it works, and it i stunt and it works, and it makes people change and we don't need the box, i am all for that too. it don't need the box, i am all for that too.— for that too. it is in tasmania, - for that too. it is in tasmania, why - for that too. it is in tasmania, why did| for that too. it is in - tasmania, why did you pick for that too. it is in _ tasmania, why did you pick that part of the world? the tasmania, why did you pick that part of the world?— part of the world? the west coast of tasmania - part of the world? the west coast of tasmania was - part of the world? the west i coast of tasmania was picked for geographical and political stability. the box will be safe there, and it will last for a very long time.— there, and it will last for a very long time. some of our viewers would _ very long time. some of our viewers would be _ very long time. some of our viewers would be thinking . very long time. some of our viewers would be thinking it| viewers would be thinking it would be a small box, but it is a massive structure that looks like an art gallery or something, in this quite barren landscape. will it be a place for people to actually go and visit in that part of the world? . �* , visit in that part of the world? . 2 ., ., world? yeah, it's not far from a highway _ world? yeah, it's not far from a highway so _ world? yeah, it's not far from a highway so you _ world? yeah, it's not far from a highway so you will- world? yeah, it's not far from a highway so you will be - world? yeah, it's not far from a highway so you will be able| a highway so you will be able to see it and walk up to it and look at it, if that's something you want to do. but as you say, it has been built purely for purpose, it has solar panels, it is self powered, three inches of steel, it is ten metres long. so i don't think you will miss it.— you will miss it. let's hope it beains you will miss it. let's hope it begins to _ you will miss it. let's hope it begins to record _ you will miss it. let's hope it begins to record positive - begins to record positive features. thank you forjoining us. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @bbcnuala. the normal pattern of january temperatures was turned upside down on saturday, 12 degrees in northern scotland, four in southern england. a little bit of sunshine across parts of north—east england, most places have another cloudy day for part two of the weekend. despite the cloud, a lot of dry weather around, high—pressure close by, exerting unsettling influence on our weather. high—pressure close by, exerting a settling influence on our weather. underneath the high pressure and around, all of this cloud coming in. weather front approaching northern scotland, and that it does so it will strengthen the does mean a mild start after a mild day, a hint of blue through parts of wales and england, later went any chance of frost with clear spells. mist and fog patches building, but will be more or less in the clear on sunday. a lot of cloud around, north—east scotland's parts of wales and eastern counties of northern ireland favoured, elsewhere if you break your breaks., a few breaks. a breezy day in northern england and northern ireland, especially scotland and north—west, another mild day here, temperatures not as high as they have been. probably the lower temperatures are in for cloud hangs around all day through parts of central and southern england. dry elsewhere, a lot of cloud around. with any breaks in the cloud through wales and england a touch of frost possible. outbreaks of rain, further south and into northern ireland as we go into monday. barely any rain to register in northern ireland. ahead of that there may be a few sunny spells around, parts of northern england and north wales and the midlands, south of that a good deal of cloud, temperatures around 6—9 celsius. by monday evening and night, perhaps a little patchy rain reaching towards northern england. tuesday looking mainly dry, rain moving in scotland and northern ireland on wednesday, sweeping south on wednesday night, weakening as it does so. what that whether front does do is sweep away a lot of the cloud that surrounds at the moment. not much rain moving south, but brighter skies following that system across much of the uk. a bit of breeze on thursday. this is bbc news. the headlines: britain is accusing russia of planning to install a pro—kremlin leader in ukraine, as fears of an invasion grow. the foreign office in london says a former ukrainian mp is being considered as a potential candidate — along with four others who it says have links to russian intelligence services. islamic state fighters have continued one of their biggest attacks in syria since the group's self—declared caliphate was defeated nearly three years ago. a british—based monitoring group said more than 75 people — most of them jihadists — had been killed in three days of fighting with kurdish—led forces in the northern city of hasakeh. foreign aid is now being distributed in tonga, following last weekend's devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami. the united nations says more than 80% of the population has been affected with almost all crops badly affected by volcanic ash. now on bbc news it's the travel show with carmen roberts.