♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: the rules of business are being reinvented with a more flexible workforce. by embracing innovation, by looking not only at current opportunities, but ahead to future ones. man: people who know, know bdo. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

announcer: and now, "bbc world news". ♪ ♪ ros: i'm ros atkins with "outside source." parties at downing street under lockdown are being investigated by police. >> the met is investigating a number of events at downing street and whitehall. ros: metropolitan police decided it is flagrant enough for them to investigate, the worst possible outcome for the prime minister. boris johnson says he welcomes the police involvement, which he says he hopes will draw a line unde the whole affair. in other news, president biden says there will be a norms consequences worldwide of russia invades ukraine. more consignments of americans

have arrived in key avenue saying they call lethal aid to repel any attack that may come. and a mysterious story, john lennon's afghan coat going up for auction, but you don't get the real thing, you get at digital token, a non-fungible token, known as an nft. we will explain what that is about. ♪ the metropolitan police has launched an investigation into rties held at number 10 during the pandemic. let's immediately spend a few minutes on "outside source" looking at how this development fits into the story. back in december, course johnson addressed first reports of a christmas party at number 10. >> all guidance was followed completely. ros: a week later, the governor -- the prime minister said this. ros: i have been assured since

these allegations emerged that there was no party and no covid rules were broken. that is what i have been repeatedly assured. ros: today, the metropolitan police put out a statement. it rea based on the absence of evidence and in line with our policy not to investigate retrospective reaches of such investigations, the met ll not commit to an investigation at this time. that was then. this is now. >> i can confirm the met is investigating a number of events that took place at downing street and whitehall in the last two years in relation to potential breaches of covid-19 regulations. ros: so, why the shift? here is the explanation >> as a result fstly of the information provided by the cabinet office inquiry team and secondly by my own office's assessment. ros: police decided initially not to investigate, but after receiving investigation

information from the civil service, police say they will investigate this is the prime minister. >> i welcome the met's decision to conduct its own investigation because this will help if the public with the clarity it needs and help to draw a line under matters. ros: on tuesday, when mr. johnson's spokesperson was asked if he things he has broken the law, the reply was, i think it is fair to say that he does not. it is also fair to say the opposition has already drawn conclusions. >> potential criminality has been found in downing street. at a truly damning reflection on o nation's highest office. ros: while johnson is under lyrical attack, -- under political attack, supporters have rallied around. >> the leadership of orest johnson has been so brilliant and he has gotten all the decisions right. ros: that opinion is hotly

contested, but police are not concerned with leadership, brilliant or otherwise. they are concerned about whether crimes occurred in number 10. the fallout continued from the itv news report on monday. there had been a birthday event for boris johnson at number 10 during the first lockdown, telling us up to 30 staff lebrated and johnson was surprise with a cake. we are told there was a chorus of happy birthday on those assembled are understood to have eaten picnic foo this was at a time when most indoor gatherings involving more than two people were banned, twitch number 10 says mr. johnson was there for less than 10 minutes. this is the transport secretary. >> this is in the workplace with a bunch of people who work together all the time, they decide to give the prime minister a birthday cake on his birthday. ros: idb news also quoted him, saying the cake being introduced is wrong, all of which raises

questions, a number of which none of us expected to be asking. here is the person who broke the story, tweeting, does a cake make a party, does singing happy birthday qualify as a party? these questions seem absurd but are relevant because of the rules at the time. this man broke them and was punished. >> we were shaved. we -- shamed. we accept our responsibilities. ros: number 10 denies there is any cover up and denies rules were broken. one mp raised this concern. >> when europe stands on the brink of war and there is a cost-of-living crisis, can we please have a sense of proportion over the prime minister being given a piece of cake in his own office by his own staff? ros: that is a russian -- reference to russian troops building up on the ukraine

border, to which the prime minister turned. >> we will not reopen that divide by agreeing to overturn the european security order because russia has placed a gun to ukraine's head. ros: as mr. johnson and other western leaders face down russia, the prime minister and colleagues also face questions about number 10, questions from the press and now questions from the police. the stories continue to develop. in the last couple hours, we heard from the leader of the opposition. >> a report -- until a report is published in full, there must absolutely be no cover-up. but we already know she concluded there is evidence of potential criminal activity. that is why she passed to the metropolitan police. we already know the metropolitan police have decided that it is series enough and flagrant enough for them to investigate. it is the worst possible outcome for the prime minister. ros: and on sue gray's report

and when it will be released, here is laura, the bbc political editor who says number 10 says firmly they have not yet gotten the gray report, nor do they know whether they will get it tonight, nor can anyone know if it will emerge tomorrow. ♪ let's get the latest on russia's buildup of troops near ukraine. in the past hour or so come president biden said the u.s. has no intention of putting american troops in ukraine. but the consequence and so -- consequences of aussian invasion would be severe. this comes as a third batch of lethal aid is delivered to key avenue. these pictures are from the last hour or so. let's hear what joe biden has been saying. there will be -- >> there will be enormous consequences if he would invade

the entire company -- the entire country, not only in terms of economic consequences and political consequences, but it will mean enormous consequences world wide. if he were to mov in, it would be the largest invasion since world war ii. ros: france and germany are missing up to abandon ilog with russia and are warning moscow it will pay a high price if it invades. this was earlier in berlin. >> we both call very strongly for a de-escalation of tensions. i want to say how much germany and france are united on this subject, whether the discussions we have in nato, the european union but also as the european partners of the so-called normandy format. ros: that was the message from the french president, emmanuel macron. on the u.k. side, the foreign secretary announced sh is going to ukraine next week.

prime minister boris johnson has this message for western allies. >> we cannot bargain away the vision of a europe whole and free that emerged in those amazing years from 1989-1991, healing the division of our continent by the iron curtain. weill not reopen that divide by agreeing to overturn the european security order because russia has placed a gun to ukraine's had. ros: -- ukraine's head. ros: in the center of the story is the border between ukraine and russia. there is a buildup of pressure troops, over 100,000 estimated and taking part in frequent military drills. this was said to be near ukraine's eastern border last week. the eu says we are at a critical moment. >> the last two years has seen a serious worsening of the strategic environment to the extent that day, we are living

through the most dangerous moment of the post-cold war period. ros: the kremlin wants assurance ukraine will never be allowed to joint the defense alliance nato. that assurance is not point to come. this map shows current nato members in light blue. russia already shares a small part of its border with nato countries. if ukraine were to join, that would be a significant development in countes within the nato alliance that are close to russia. while all this is going on, the kremlin is accusing the americans of whipping up tensions. >> we are seeing an escalation of tension from the u.s. side. they are watching this with great concern. ros: a possible invasion of ukraine would have consequences across the region. estonia's prime minister has been speaking to bbc. >> this is absolutely nothing russia has a say about, because it is up to nato countries to

decide who can and cannot be part of nato. nato for us is a defense alliance, and it should be like this. nato is not presenting any threat to russia. it is vice versa. ros: let's look at how rheric from the west is being received in ukraine itself. here is the country's security chief. >> we must remain calm. we don't see, in reality, the situation that is being inflated in the media now. ros: but for several months now, many civilians have been choosing to undergo military training. these pictures so volunteers in keavenue. they are preparing a defense force in case they have to help protect their cities against russian invasion. earlier, i spoke to bbc ukraine in kiev. >> some people are really concerned about the war, but not everybody. if you look at the streets -- key avenue -- kiev streets, you

would have the impression that these people don't watch the news or don't see the television because they are so common to about their everyday lives. and the city looks come as well, calm but of course, some people are really worried. and they are stocking up on goods, water, medicine, food, just in order to prepare themselves for a possible full-scale war. ros: tell me about military preparations that ukraine is going through in case there is a russian invasion. >> as you have mentioned, some of the civilians, they have been undergoing preparation in their cities, their towns, to prepare themselves to get acquainted with weaponry, to know how to act when and if another country,

another army is in their city. this hasn't started just yesterday or last year, such kinds of trainings have been going on since russia annexed crimea back in marched when he 14. so, this is not news for ukrainians. but of course, there are far more people enlisting themselves into such units in order to get ready. ros: and fundamentally, these tensions root back to whether ukraine should be aligned with russia or the west, with nato, the european union. within ukrainian politics, do most people argue to align with the west? >> well, according to the latest poll conducted back in december 2021, 59% of ukrainians approve of it joining nato.

they want to join nat if you compare these numbers to march 2014, the months when russia annexed crimea, only 34% of ukrainians wanted to join nato back then. it just shows this dramatic shift in ukrainian politics. it shows how the mood of ukrainians has changed. they used to view russia as a friend, as may be a brother, despite all the complicated history. but starting with 2014 with the conflict in dombas, the shift care is very evident. people don't want to go back to russia anymore. a majority of ukrainians vote for pro-ukrainian, pro-western parties. only about 20% of ukrainians

approve of those parties that are more pro-russian. so, the change is very visible. ros: thanks to my bright colleagues at bbc ukraine for help on that story. stay with me on "outside source," in a few minutes we talked about southern europe dealing with this, a huge storm -- snowstorm. believe it or not, that is athens. ♪ ros: the president of cameroon has ordered an investigation into the fresh killed eight people outside a stadium before a football match in the african cup of nations. two children were among those who died. here is ed wood from bbc sports africa who was commentating on the game. >> i was commentating and i had my head down, focusing on that. it was just after the final whistle that i started to see a bunch of messages coming through about disturbances outside.

what was remarkable is that obviously, this stuff happened for the game. the tragedies happened a half-hour beforehand, yet the game went ahead. by the time some of my colleagues went to check out the site towards the final whistle, most of the dead were either being removed, and by the time i was there twoours or so later, you would have not known anything was going on. the quarterfinal has been moved away, but it is still aligned with the semifinal and the final itself on february 6. ♪ ros: i'm ros atkins with "outside source," we are hearing the bbc news room. our lead story, boris johnson says he welcomes an investigation by metropolitan police into parties at number 10 downing street during lockdown.

now, a heavy snowstorm blanketing much of the mediterranean and causing blackouts and flight disruptions. in greece, some islands are covered in snow for the first time. and this was istanbul monday. the storm swept through, trucks and cars were stuck on the highway, as you can s. over 4000 people were stranded in different ways across the country. ne ourope'ths busiest here, you can see a crew pushing a passenger bus that was stuck. the airport was closed for 24 hours. istanbul is a city of 60 million people but many have not been forbidden from driving their cars at the moment. that is because of the snow that has fallen their end across turkey in the last week. it has even reached the southern beaches. and if that is turkey, have a look at athens in greece. it was paralyzed by the weather. schools were shut down. drone footage shows cars abandoned. thousands had to be rescued just

on this stretch of motorway and many were taken to a shelter at the airport. there has been snow, but also waterspouts. this was on a greek island in the ag and see. -- agn see -- gean -- aegean sea. >> things up somewhat g -- have somewhat calm down but yesterday, we saw heavy snowfall in athens at levels that haven't been seen in many years, covering the hills to the coast. and there was widespread disruption across the capital from flights that had to be canceled. and covid vaccination said to be halted. more importantly, we had thousands of cars stranded on a main athens motorway for many

urs, pretty much an entire day, since yesterday morning. and thousands of people had to be evacuated overnight. ros: presumably, athens is not particularly prepared for this kind of weather. >> not for such heavy snowfall, and in such a short time. heavy snowfall is very rare in athens. having said that, this is the second consecutive year where we have seen such high levels of snow. and in the center of athens, it reached up to 40 centimeters this morning, which is unprecedented. it is not something the authorities are used to having. ros: and tell me about the political dimension of this. is there pressure on the city authorities, the natnal authorities, for the way they have handled this? >> people are very angry, understandably. we spoke to motorists who were stuck in their cars for literally 24 hours, and they were calling the situation

hopeless and said the authorities to be ashamed of this mess. the government did apologize. and the prosecutor asked for an investigation into the causes of this, the roadblock, it is a massive road in athens which is privately owned. we have launched an investigation to see whether the company couldo more to present -- to prevent this chaos yesterday. the opposition called on the government to resig saying this situation is out of control. and people are still there become a very angry. the government has said they would compensate 2000 euros vehicle. but for many people who were stranded in freezing weather, that is basically not enough. ros: finally, what is the forecast, is there going to be respite? >> the storm which swept across

greece beginning monday is expected to persist until later in the week. the government has declared today and tomorrow public holidays, meaning schools will be shut, public as this is, private businesses, everything will be shut and we are bracing for more snow possibly today and tomorrow. things are calming down. ros: here is something i will do my best to explain, but it is going to be a challenge. this has to do with the beatles beuse john lennon's eldest son julian is selling pieces of music history from hi collection. but, and it is a big but, he is keeping the physical items because what is being sold is something called a nonfungible digital token, better known as an nft. let me explain. items being auctioned include handwritten notes for the beatles song hey jude, three guitars given to julian lennon by his father and the famous afghan coat then in war and the

film "the magical mystery tour" and the kp were in the film "help." nft czar assets in a digital world that you can buy and sell like property but they don't ve a tangible form. let's hear from the auction house in charge of the sale. >> he gets to go through his dad's treasures, thgifts john london -- john lennon gave to julian, and at the same time share them with fans all of the world. people are gravitating to digital tokens and you can own items like those three guitars, images of those three guitars, and video of julian talking about the three guitars. they aremportant to him in the world in general, the world of collectibles, and the sentimental journey with his dad. ros: that is definitely as far as i can take this story without help so we ask charlotte gee, technology editor at the review to give me a hand. she is explaining what the

person buying one of these items would actually own. >> you get a url that says you own the item. they only exist in digital form on the internet. ros: what do i actually own? >> you essentially own the url, a link to the item you bought online. ros: i'm sure there a people watching thinking, why would i want to own that? >> yeah, they wouldn't be alone. ros: [laughter] >> i am also baffled by that one, and i have comfort technology for -- covered technology for a decade. ros: this wouldn't happen if there wasn't a potential market. help us understand how the nft market developed. >> basically, it provides a way for you to have ownership of a particular item that makes it tradable. a lot of people who are buying and fts are doing it to flip them and make a profit. i am nicer that will be the case in this instance because these

items are being bought by beatles fans, collectors them and they may be buying because of their attachment to the items, or at least the digital representation of them. ros: so you buy digital representation, is it yours forever? >> in theory, yes. however, the internet is not really forever as an entity. legs break. service go out. stuff doesn't work sometimes. there have been many reports of and fts breaking because the link no longer works that it points to. ros: i'm trying to understand the level of investment people might be willing to ke. is this a publicity stunt or might julian lennon make decent cash? >> i suspect he will let decent cash. the nft market is worth in theory not that far off the traditional art market. people are spending aliens of dollars collectively on and fts.

as much as we may be baffled, i don't think it is something we can dismiss. ros: have people in charge of the auction told us how much they are expecting to get? >> i think each item is starting at about $30,000. i wouldn't be surprised if they go for quite a lot of money. in theory, proceeds are going at least partly to charity, but we don't know how much. ros: a quick reminder of our top story, metropolitan police have launched an investigation into parties held at number 10 downing street during the pandemic. orest johnson, prime minister, has welcomed this and says he is willing to speak to detectives in hopes it will draw a line under the maps or. -- under the matter. westminster meanwhile, is poised for report by civil servant sue gray who has been investigating these parties. her findings are expected to the be -- expected to be published as the police investigation gets underway. exactly when the sue gray report

will arrive, we will have to see. thanks for watching. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thanyou. ♪ ♪ narrator: you're watching pbs. ♪ da-da-da-duh-da-da-da♪ ♪ da-da-da-da-da-da ♪♪

♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: the rules of business a being reinvented with a more flexible workforce. by embracing innovation, by looking not only at current opportunities, but ahead to future ones. man: people who know, know bdo. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.