asa as a particularly welcoming see us as a particularly welcoming country. _ see us as a particularly welcoming country, whether that is through brexiter— country, whether that is through brexiter the fact we have the uk government to can't even acknowledge that they— government to can't even acknowledge that they have a problem with islamophobia, you can't even say the word, _ islamophobia, you can't even say the word, -- _ islamophobia, you can't even say the word, -- but— islamophobia, you can't even say the word, —— but they can't even say the word, _ word, —— but they can't even say the word, it's _ word, —— but they can't even say the word, it's interesting they're asking — word, it's interesting they're asking us _ word, it's interesting they're asking us to put our trust in them to vote _ asking us to put our trust in them to vote but — asking us to put our trust in them to vote but actually, where is the trust _ to vote but actually, where is the trust from — to vote but actually, where is the trust from them in us? a to vote but actually, where is the trust from them in us?— trust from them in us? a quick comment _ trust from them in us? a quick comment from _ trust from them in us? a quick comment from this _ trust from them in us? a quick comment from this gentleman | trust from them in us? a quick - comment from this gentleman over here in the blue shirt. and comment from this gentleman over here in the blue shirt.— here in the blue shirt. and philip, i am from — here in the blue shirt. and philip, i am from the _ here in the blue shirt. and philip, i am from the jewish _ here in the blue shirt. and philip, i am from the jewish community. | here in the blue shirt. and philip, i i am from the jewish community. it i am from thejewish community. it fully follows directly on, we have increasing racism across the country and it appears to be fuelled by politicians including mps and it appears to be fuelled by politicians including mp5 on both the extreme left and the extreme right. how can we address this? thank you very much. let me come to you, wendy. do you think politicians are acting in a way that is deserving of people's votes at the moment? i deserving of people's votes at the moment? . ., , ~ moment? i certainly think, when i came into politics, _ moment? i certainly think, when i came into politics, i'm _ moment? i certainly think, when i came into politics, i'm one - moment? i certainly think, when i came into politics, i'm one of- moment? i certainly think, when i came into politics, i'm one of the| came into politics, i'm one of the only women— came into politics, i'm one of the only women in this panel but all of

us had _ only women in this panel but all of us had jobs — only women in this panel but all of us had jobs before politics. lots of people _ us had jobs before politics. lots of people talk about the fact that there — people talk about the fact that there are politicians who don't have that but _ there are politicians who don't have that but i_ there are politicians who don't have that but i feel as a woman, would i encourage — that but i feel as a woman, would i encourage other women to get involved — encourage other women to get involved in politics? i also think that i_ involved in politics? i also think that i come into politics assuming that i come into politics assuming that the _ that i come into politics assuming that the majority of mps are the same _ that the majority of mps are the same as— that the majority of mps are the same as me, they got involved in activism — same as me, they got involved in activism because they wanted to make activism because they wanted to make a difference in the communities they represent _ a difference in the communities they represent and i think where we seep about— represent and i think where we seep about using — represent and i think where we seep about using language either of the extreme _ about using language either of the extreme left or extreme right, it means— extreme left or extreme right, it means that it brings the whole discourse _ means that it brings the whole discourse downs and it legitimises abuse _ discourse downs and it legitimises abuse of— discourse downs and it legitimises abuse of us as politicians but also generally— abuse of us as politicians but also generally within the public and the wider— generally within the public and the wider sphere. generally within the public and the wider sphere-— wider sphere. michael, does it concern you — wider sphere. michael, does it concern you that _ wider sphere. michael, does it concern you that people - wider sphere. michael, does it concern you that people in - wider sphere. michael, does it| concern you that people in this wider sphere. michael, does it - concern you that people in this room do not have trust in politicians and believe that the debate is toxic? it's very —— it's very concerning. our democracy only functions if everybody feels they can participate in that democracy. if you are saying that i shall you feel like politics isn't in a place that can change our lives, that's really worrying for all of us. what that does is, it creates a space where more extreme

elements can come into our democracy, which is not good. i do think, we were talking about this earlier, we all do agree on quite a lot. you might not see that tonight. but the real politics that goes on often isn't the prime minister's questions shouting match it often is a thoughtful committees, discussions, exchanges of ideas. that's the bit of politics we probably need to show a lot more of so that you do see where we come from, but i do think there is something important about the selection where there is a chance to turn the corner on iii years of what has been a very divisive government and the chance to vote for change. but we do need to have people contributing to that in a democracy, going out and voting for it and being part of that change. to people in here feel — being part of that change. to people in here feel that _ being part of that change. to people in here feel that politics _ being part of that change. to people in here feel that politics is _ in here feel that politics is capable of change? some of you do. but a lot of you don't. let's try and sort that out before the general election! about it from newsnight.

thanks to our politicians and invited guests who've made the conversation sparkle here in paisley. newsnight is back tomorrow with victoria, and this time next week it's the next in our series of broadcasts around the uk where we'll be coming from monmouthshire in wales. from all of us here outside paisley, good night. applause breaking news from around the world, 2a hours a day. this is bbc news.

particularly about the issues they are facing particularly about the issues they are facin- with particularly about the issues they are facing particularly about the issues they are facin- with hun-er. particularly about the issues they are facing with hunger. don't particularly about the issues they are facing with hunger. don't forget the united nations have said that a quarter of palestinians in gaza are facing starvation at the moment, they won't be breaking there fast with anything like the kind of food you would get here at the end of today. i also want to show you as well down here. this is the narrow street that takes you down to al—aqsa mosque. and we saw last night there were videos that started to circulate on social media of israeli security forces actually pushing back young palestinians. they were beating them with batons, trying to keep people away because this area is always tense at the time of ramadan. and this year is so different

that there are real concerns that, once again, violent clashes could break out here. america's top diplomat is injamaica, for crisis talks on the worsening violence in haiti. i'm joined now by wethzer piercin — he's a journalist in port—au—prince, who writes for ayibo post. tell us what it's like on the ground? what have you seen since the violance started? in 2023, over 3000 people had to flee their homes in haiti. now the capital of haiti, port—au—prince — at the end of the month, february, that two largest prisons in haiti have been emptied. nearly 4000 prisoners escaped — amongst them, there are notorious gang leaders.

the largest hospital in the country is not functioning now. the international airport, businesses, schools remain closed. the ports and main awards are closed now —— block now, and people are confronted with a highly challenging situation. and as the international media reported since the last days, there are a lot of people that are leaving their homes that are forced to leave their homes that are forced to leave their homes because of gaining harm. so i think that haiti is facing a very difficult situation now. it sounds like it could _ difficult situation now. it sounds like it could be _ difficult situation now. it sounds like it could be chaotic— difficult situation now. it sounds like it could be chaotic for- difficult situation now. it sounds | like it could be chaotic for people living in port—au—prince. you yourself live there, can you tell us what you've seen in the streets? yes - eve what you've seen in the streets? jazz — every morning i what you've seen in the streets? 123 — every morning i leave home to go to work. and sometimes you can see corpses in the streets, you see lifeless bodies in the streets. and

you can see men with guns, you can hear men shooting. 50 you can see people with kids that are living in their home and they don't know where they are going. 50 it's kind of a nightmare that we are living in port—au—prince now, a lot of neighbourhoods in the area of the metropolitan area — that is the situation we are facing now, in the streets of port—au—prince especially. it streets of port-au-prince especiallv-_ streets of port-au-prince eseciall. , . , , especially. it sounds incredibly dire, can especially. it sounds incredibly dire. can you _ especially. it sounds incredibly dire, can you tell _ especially. it sounds incredibly dire, can you tell us _ especially. it sounds incredibly dire, can you tell us how- dire, can you tell us how coordinated are these gangs that have seemingly taking control of the capital, port—au—prince? the capital, port-au-prince? the gangs"- _ capital, port-au-prince? the gangs -- l — capital, port-au-prince? the gangs"- i can _ capital, port-au-prince? the gangs... i can say _ capital, port-au-prince? the gangs... i can say that - capital, port—au—prince? ii2 gangs... i can say that they capital, port—au—prince? ti2 gangs... i can say that they have alliances. the last alliances is called... in english, i can say

"living together." yes, there are a lot of gangs in the capital — they are united now and they create an alliance that is called living together. these alliances enable them to co—ordinate their activities towards a certain extent and to have more power to attack the symbol of the state, like police stations, the airport. i think there are people more and more powerful in the country now. more and more powerful in the country now-— more and more powerful in the country now. more and more powerful in the count now. ., . ., country now. thank you so much for talkin: to country now. thank you so much for talking to us — country now. thank you so much for talking to us today, _ country now. thank you so much for talking to us today, do _ country now. thank you so much for talking to us today, do stay - country now. thank you so much for talking to us today, do stay safe. i sweden has become the 32nd member of nato — the north atlantic treaty organisation. to mark the moment, sweden's prime minister, ulf kristersson, took part in a flag—raising ceremony in brussels. sweden formally applied to join — along with finland — after russia's invasion of ukraine

forced the two countries to rethink their national security policies. their accession is the most significant expansion of nato in decades. speaking to the bbc a little earlier, nato's secretary general, jens stoltenberg, spoke of the importance of democratic nations coming together we see how china is propping up the russian economy, and russia is more and more dependent on china. so these are two sides of the same challenge — so when all 33 powers are coming closer closer and closer, and working closer with iran and north korea in it, it is more important that democratic nations stand together with nato important that democratic nations stand together with nate and protect our values. it's been a long—feared development in the worldwide spread of bird flu. for the first time, it's been found in penguins in sub—antarctica. the virus has been discovered

in gentoo and king penguins. hundreds of thousands of them live in south georgia — an island teeming with birdlife. our science editor rebecca morelle has more. they come to the islands of south georgia to nest and raise their chicks. gentoo penguins are a vital part of a wildlife haven. but now avian flu has arrived and five gentoos have tested positive. five more cases have been detected in a separate king penguin colony, too. it's the first time this deadly virus has been confirmed in penguins in the sub—antarctic. south georgia is a spectacular island. there are so many unique concentrations of wildlife, most of which are globally important. so if bird flu were to take ahold and cause very high mortalities across the island, it would would be of conservation concern. scientists think migratory birds — skuas and giant petrels — brought avian flu from south america. but these birds also migrate to antarctica, and the fear is they'll carry the virus to this pristine

wilderness and infect more species there. like emperor penguins — already under threat from climate change as the sea ice vanishes. but there are still many unknowns about how the virus will spread. penguins do form colonies and live in very close proximity to each other so that in itself would lend itself to the idea that they might spread the virus rapidly between each other. but we don't know how susceptible penguins are. we know that there have been die—offs in penguins, but we don't know how easily the virus can get into different penguin species. avian flu has already devastated wild birds around the world, including tens of thousands in the uk. it's crossing over into mammals too. with a virus so widespread, it's been a question of when, not if, it would arrive in the south polar region. so far, it's only had a small impact on the penguins there, but scientists will be monitoring the colonies closely. rebecca morelle, bbc news. the film industry has just

celebrated its biggest night of the year — the oscars. if you haven't been following — who got the main gongs? as expected, the big winner was the christopher nolan epic oppenheimer, which won seven awards, including best picture. next, with four wins, was the quirky period drama poor things. da'vinejoy randolph won the best supporting actress award for her performance in the holdovers. barbie — the highest—grossing film of the year — won the original song oscar for billie eilish's "what was i made for?" meanwhile, celebrated japanese animator hayao miyazaki won his second oscar on sunday with the boy and the heron. the film, about a boy who moves to the countryside during world war ii, won best animated feature. miyazaki won the same award scooped in 2003 for his film spirited away. i'm joined now by film critic matt schley, in tokyo. tell us a bit about the film

the boy and the heron, which won best animated film. good morning. the boy and the heron is the first film from hayao miyazaki in a decade. it kind of wasn't supposed to happen — he announced a decade ago, "i'm retiring, this is it for me." then a few years later he said, "you know what? let me have one more go," and this is the result. it's a very personal film for him, it's got a lot of autobiographical elements — and at 83 years old, he's delivered i think one of his finest films yet. you mentioned it's his second oscar and its semiauto graphical —— semiautobiographical — how much you think it's about him? so semiautobiographical - how much you think it's about him?— think it's about him? so miyazaki crew u- in think it's about him? so miyazaki grew up in world _ think it's about him? so miyazaki grew up in world war— think it's about him? so miyazaki grew up in world war ii, - think it's about him? so miyazaki grew up in world war ii, he - think it's about him? so miyazaki| grew up in world war ii, he was a young boy, and his father's company built parts forjapanese fighter

jets. the same goes for the young character in the film, and things get more experimental and fantastical as the film goes on — as much of miyazaki's films do. that's a starting point, you see a lot of miyazaki's thoughts about life in that character. tell us a bit about godzilla minus one, which won best visual effects. it did, which is quite a feat. the film was reportedly made for less than $15 million us — which, compared to some of the films is up against, was maybe a tenth of their budgets. the director is both a director and also a vfx guy. if you want to even approach the level of hollywood cgi, this is the man you go to — and clearly they went to the right guy this time. if

go to — and clearly they went to the right guy this time. i! i go to - and clearly they went to the right guy this time.— right guy this time. if i can “ust ask ou right guy this time. if i can “ust ask you about i right guy this time. if i can just ask you about representation l right guy this time. if i can just| ask you about representation in hollywood and how important is it that hollywood celebrates films that aren'tjust coming out of hollywood? sure, i mean as you know, over the last few years, there's been some changeups in the academy with younger members and more diverse members — i believe about a fourth of the academy members now live outside the united states. so you've got a younger, more diverse crowd watching films from all around the world, including japan. and you've also got maybe a generation or two of fans of animation now.— of fans of animation now. thanks very much. _ of fans of animation now. thanks very much. matt. _ of fans of animation now. thanks very much, matt, for _ of fans of animation now. thanks very much, matt, for talking - of fans of animation now. thanks very much, matt, for talking to l of fans of animation now. thanks| very much, matt, for talking to us today and telling us about these asian films on the international stage. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there.

we've still got significant problems with a lot of ground water lying around across the southern half of the uk. there are numerous flood warnings out for that and, as well as some large waves around southern western coast. the warnings are all on the website, but we are in for more rain. it's already been moving in through the evening and overnight across the western part of the uk. this is for the rest of the week — you can see the rainfall totals amounting to perhaps 30—40 millimetres — again, for many parts. this is the current arm of cloud that's moving in the next area of low pressure, which will give some wet weather through the remainder of the night and into the start of our tuesday morning. perhaps a little bit of mist and fog in central and eastern areas, a bit chilly here, a touch of frost in the north — but this is the main story, really quite wet through the rush hour across parts of northern ireland, initially across wales and southern and central england, moving towards the southeast, as well. so it could be quite nasty — hazardous driving conditions, lots of spray and standing water around. that main pulse of rain for many of us lasting 3—4 hours

before starting to move out the way, but we will be left with a legacy of cloud following on behind. quite a bit of that even to the north of the front, across scotland, perhaps some brightness in the far north. still quite a keen southeasterly breeze here, but for most of us, it's a south—westerly, brisker wind and it's — milder, 13—14 celsius, because we're in a warm sector. and as we go through the night, we'll see this low pressure gathering forces and becoming closer to the north, bringing windier weather and wetter weather, as well, as it sinks southwards. so, by wednesday, we think sitting as a slow—moving band of rain, parts of northern ireland, northern england, north wales, as well. showers following on behind — a bit chilly, wintry over the hills — but the main story is again, yet more rain, perhaps not arriving into the south and the east until later on. in fact, it mayjust lift northwards then as we go into thursday. still, as you can see, a lot of wet weather in the forecast for the coming week, but milder as we pick up that southerly or south—westerly wind. 15—16 if we see some breaks in the cloud

as we head towards thursday. and that's, as i say, because of our wind direction coming in off the atlantic for much of last week, we had the chilly wind coming in off the north sea. so it really does make a difference, our wind direction — but coming in from the south and west over the atlantic, it does mean we'll see more rain. as i've said, the warnings are online.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines at the top of the hour as newsday continues, straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk with me, stephen sackur. 2024 is a big year for elections worldwide. in some countries, that means political uncertainty, a whiff of change in the air, but not in russia. russians will vote for a new president injust a few days' time with zero expectation of a shift in the established order. ruthless repression of dissent has been vladimir putin's hallmark. and over the course of the last decade and more, i've spoken to the few prominent russians ready to make a stand against putinism. the list includes alexei navalny, who died in prison last month. but navalny was by no means the first putin opponent

to die an untimely death.