Russia has accused Britain of “fuelling the crisis” on its border with Ukraine by sending weapons to the country.
The British military gave Ukraine thousands of anti-tank missiles this week to use in the event of an invasion by Moscow.
In response, the Russian embassy in London tweeted: “It is crystal clear that #UK shipment of lethal weapons to #Ukraine will only fuel the crisis and increase tensions.”
James Heappey, the armed forces minister, has warned that tens of thousands could die if Russia launches into an “extraordinarily stupid” conflict with Ukraine
He said there was a “grave possibility” that Russia could launch military action in the coming weeks. A hastily arranged meeting between the United States and Russia is due this week in an
Experts are trying to assess the impact of volcanic ash and toxic sulphuric gases in the air after a volcano erupted in Tonga on Saturday.
The eruption showered the Pacific islands with ash and triggered a tsunami.
As the eruption happened, many people were told to get to high ground for safety.
Now, the priority is to find safe shelter and clean water, and to escape the volcanic smog.
The plumes of gas, smoke and debris from the volcano reached 20km (12 miles) into the sky - but the main health concerns are from ash in the air which people are breathing.
A New Zealand government minister said there were "high levels of sulphur in the air at the moment and also in the water". They added that this was a risk to drinking water and fishing, which is vital to the Tongan people, and could lead to a rise in water temperatures.
Ash, gases and particles emitted from volcanoes can be a public health risk. They cause problems with breathing and can affect the heart and blood vessels - the cardiovascular system - too.
They can also irritate the lungs, eyes and skin.
Carol Stewart, associate professor of the College of Health, Massey University, said: "Ashfall on the ground is not hazardous to breathing, but fine ash in the air can be inhaled.
"Very fine particles can travel deep into the lungs where, in the short-term, they can cause asthma symptoms to flare up. Slightly larger particles irritate the nose and throat, and cause coughs and sore throats."
Fresh ash particles typically have an acidic surface coating, and if they get in the eyes they can sting and cause scratching damage, and can irritate skin.
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Locals have been advised to drink bottled water and wear masks if they do go outdoors, to avoid breathing in the ash.
Communication lines with the affected islands are down, and getting aid to where it is most needed is not yet possible. Other countries are trying to fly in clean drinking water and other supplies, but so far have been unable to land.
While some of the islands are unscathed, surveillance flights and satellite images reveal mass destruction on others - on one, an entire village is gone.
There are fears that communities may not have access to safe and clean drinking water as a result of salt-water inundation caused by the tsunami waves, and ashfall from the volcanic eruption.
The Red Cross charity has some relief workers on the ground, but has not been able to make contact with them for days. Phone and internet communications are extremely limited, meaning the situation in some areas remains unknown.
Satellite phones are not working because of the ash cloud, and Tonga's main undersea communications cable is broken.
First aid supplies
A spokesman for the Red Cross explained: "The last time we spoke to colleagues was on Saturday. That is a concern. They are trained to provide help and support and will be doing that, but we don't know the extent of need for the 100,000 residents who live in Tonga."
The teams will be supporting evacuations, providing first aid and distributing relief supplies which are already on the islands. "We have enough to support 1,200 families in Tonga, but there could be many more who need them," he said.
The kits contain essential items such as tarpaulins, blankets, kitchen sets, sanitary products and water purification tablets. Clearing up the debris and repairing all of the damage is a priority, but will take time - and the people doing it will need protecting.
Tonga's deputy head of mission in Australia, Curtis Tu'ihalangingie, speaking to the BBC from Canberra, said: "There will be health concerns as people are breathing it [ash], especially with a huge clean-up mission that is happening in Tonga now.
"[We have} about 200 volunteers, people coming to sweep the runway for the airport. We have to do it, but we know that there will be a long-term problem because people are breathing this ash, which is very dangerous."
While aid is urgently needed, Tonga is concerned about the risk of deliveries spreading Covid to the islands, which have avoided the pandemic virus so far.
The clean-up operation will include ships from Australia and New Zealand to help with pumping out water. Stagnant pools could be a breeding ground for diseases such as cholera.
Most of the people in Tonga are involved in agriculture and farming, meaning the longer-term devastation to lives and livelihoods will be huge.
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A key undersea cable that was destroyed in a volcano eruption in Tonga may take at least four weeks to be repaired, said New Zealand's foreign ministry.
The cable was severed during a volcanic eruption on Saturday, crippling communications and cutting the Pacific island off from the outside world.
The eruption also caused a tsunami, which left at least three dead - including a British national.
Teams have been working round the clock to get vital supplies to the region.
"US cable company SubCom advises it will take at least four weeks for Tonga's cable connection to be repaired," a statement by New Zealand's foreign affairs ministry said on Wednesday.
SubCom, a repair contractor for more than 50,000 km (31,070 miles) of cable in the South Pacific, said it was working with telecommunications company Tonga Cable to mobilise a ship for the cable repairs, Reuters reported.
Tonga has been unable to establish contact with the rest of the world since Saturday's violent eruption severed the country's only underwater cable in two places.
Scant communication has been established since then, enabled only through a few satellite phones mainly held by foreign embassies in the capital city Nuku'alofa. Many Tongans abroad have since been waiting to hear news from loved ones.
Telecommunications firm Digicel is expected to set up an interim 2G connection today that prioritises voice and SMS communications, the statement added.
However the connection is expected to be "limited and patchy", covering about 10% of regular capacity.
This is not the first time Tonga's only undersea cable has been damaged. A bout of bad weather in 2019 inflicted unexpected damage on the cable, causing a near total blackout of mobile and internet services for the 100,000 residents in the island nation.
Amanda Watson, a research fellow from the Australian National University's Department of Pacific Affairs, said the incident highlighted the importance of telecommunications and internet access in Pacific island nations. Several of them only have one underwater cable each.
"It would be ideal if each country could have more than one cable, in order to provide for some redundancy in the event that one cable is damaged," she said.
On Wednesday morning the Red Cross said it had "joyfully and happily" been able to make contact with its team in Tonga for the first time since the eruption, its Pacific Head of Delegation Katie Greenwood told the BBC's Newsday programme.
"Unfortunately there is devastating news from Tonga overnight with the loss and destruction of homes," she said.
Ms Greenwood added that the Red Cross teams were working to distribute clean water, and that a recent campaign telling people to cover their rain water tanks to protect them from ash had worked and provided a boost to bottled water supplies.
Ash hampers rescue efforts
The eruption - described by the Tongan government as an "unprecedented disaster" - caused wide swathes of Tonga to be blanketed in thick ash, hampering relief planes from landing and delivering much-needed food and drinking water.
New Zealand authorities say Tonga's main airport runway is expected to be cleared on Wednesday, after rescue teams and hundreds of volunteers desperately worked to clear ash from the tarmac using wheelbarrows and shovels.
A UN representative for the region added that while clearing ash on the main island of Tongatapu had proven more difficult than expected, good progress had been made and it was hoped that flights might soon resume.
"We thought that it would be operational [Tuesday], but it hasn't been fully cleared yet because more ash has been falling," Jonathan Veitch told reporters.
MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES
Mr Veitch also praised the quick response of New Zealand and Australia in working to dispatch aid via navy ships, which he said had the ability to desalinate sea water and provide fresh supplies for the local population.
The ships are expected to arrive on Friday, and the New Zealand government has a C130 Hercules plane also ready to go with supplies, once the airport runway is clear.
But Tongan officials have also expressed concern that deliveries could spread Covid, with the country only recording its first case in October.
The UN said it was unclear if personnel could be sent to assist, but that supplies like water and food could be delivered as the main island's port remained viable.
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There have been reports of food supplies at shops running low and deliveries have been deemed a priority.
Saturday's volcanic eruption was felt as far away as the US. In Peru, two people drowned in abnormally high waves while beaches near the capital Lima were closed off following an oil spill.
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Annual inflation over the course of 2021 rose more than three percent, climbing to its highest point since 1992. Germany's Federal Statistical Office said that after a further price hike for consumers in December, inflation reached 3.1 percent on average for the year.
In 1993, the inflation rate soared to 4.5 percent, whereas during 2020, annual inflation hovered at 0.5 percent.
This comes as the German economy shrank by as much as one percent in the final three months of the year, with reduced output from the European country during coronavirus-related shortages and supply chain disruptions.
The Federal Statistical Office said the economy grew by 2.7 percent in 2020, but the final quarter did drop off compared to earlier parts of the year.
Although an improvement on last year, Europe's largest economy is still trailing behind other key economies, like the UK, France and the US, for post-pandemic GDP.
Georg Thiel, President of the German statistics agency Destatis, said: "Despite the ongoing pandemic situation and increasing supply and material bottlenecks, the German economy was able to recover after the slump in the previous year, although economic output has not yet reached the pre-crisis level.”
Newly-installed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been criticised for "exacerbating the inflation problem" and "ignoring the needs of citizens".
German economist Dorothea Siems argued that the new 'traffic light coalition' headed up by Mr Scholz had a hand in pushing up inflation rates.
She attributed "additional price pressure" to Mr Scholz's "daring monetary policy", adding it was "doing everything to exacerbate the problem".
He told members of the Free Democratic Party: “I promise that, with the means I have available, we will provide such solidarity-based support for the people who are particularly affected.”
A number of European governments have been weighing up how best to shield consumers and tide over suppliers as wholesale gas prices spiked.
The UK is looking into wading into the power market, with the UK Government considering footing the bill for increased prices, rather than consumers, it was reported on Wednesday morning.
A British man living on Tonga said the sounds of the volcano erupting was "like bombs going off around the place".
Alistair Coldrick, who runs whale watching tours on the island of Vava'u, told Sky News he and his family fled to higher ground after hearing the explosion.
He said: "We knew something catastrophic had happened."
Image:The islands have largely been cut off. Pic: Tonga Geological Services/Reuters
Image:Three people are reported to have died. Images: Maxar / NZDF
"We knew he had to get away from the water. We knew this was really bad, we just didn't know how bad," he added.
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Military surveillance flights have been sent from Australia and New Zealand to assess the damage caused by Saturday's eruption from the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano.
Tonga is comprised of 176 islands, only 36 of them inhabited, with a population of just over 104,000 people. It has been largely cut off from the world after an undersea communication cable was severed - repairs will take some time and there is still volcanic activity in the area.
More on Tonga
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1:34
Tonga eyewitness recalls eruption
The tsunami warning system went down following the initial blast, Mr Coldrick said, adding: "Communications were completely severed, but everyone knew this was so drastic that people did move away from the water."
He said the island he is living on is in "fearful limbo" as they wait for communications to be restored: "There has been this general sense of shock because we are kind of in the dark because there is no effective communication between the islands.
Vava'u, which is several hundred kilometres away from the main island of Tonga, had a "light dusting of ash" from the volcano.
"On Monday, people were walking around wearing masks. It was the first time during this pandemic we have had to wear a mask here," said Mr Coldrick.
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4:44
What do we know about Tonga volcano eruption?
The government has confirmed three deaths - two locals and British national Angela Glover- in its first official update since Saturday's volcanic eruption and tsunami.
A 65-year-old woman on Mango and a 49-year-old man on Nomuka are the other confirmed deaths, while a number of injuries were also reported.
Irish police investigating the death of Ashling Murphy have arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of murder.
Ashling was a 23-year-old primary teacher at Durrow National School, and was from from Tullamore in County Offaly, Ireland.
Her body was found by authorities on Wednesday afternoon on the banks of the Grand Canal in Cappincur.
Tens of thousands of people have also attended vigils in recent days to honour Ashling.
Here is everything you need to know about the situation.
The funeral of murdered teacher Ashling Murphy took place on Tuesday.
What is the latest development in the inquiry?
The arrest comes hours after the 23-year-old’s funeral took place.
Irish police said the man, aged in his 30s, is being questioned in Tullamore garda station in Co Offaly.
On Monday police asked anyone who saw a man dressed in black tracksuit top with no hood, black tracksuit bottoms with a large white stripe or white writing on the side and black runners to come forward.
Officers have asked members of the public whether they saw this man walking in the Tullamore area, or if they gave the man a lift on the evening last Wednesday.
The gardai had said at the weekend that the investigation had made “significant progress”
Floral tributes and candles are left after a vigil outside the London Irish Centre in Camden.
Where was Ashling’s funeral?
Crowds gathered for the funeral in the village of Mountbolus, and outside St Brigid’s Church, where Ashling’s funeral mass was taking place.
Irish president Michael D Higgins and Irish premier Micheal Martin were among those in attendance.
Children outside the church held photographs of Ashling and roses. The message next to her image read: “Fly high in the sky, Our shining light.”
Representatives from Ashling’s local Gaelic football club as well as from her old school attended at the parish church of Saint Brigid.
Schoolchildren provided a guard of honour outside the church prior to the funeral. A number of children also held fiddles and tin whistles.
Ms Murphy’s sister paid tribute to her on social media.
Amy Murphy described Ashling as the “light of our lives and the heart of our family”.
She asked musicians attending the funeral to bring their instrument and play music at the town’s lower cemetery after the funeral.
Ms Murphy’s parents Raymond and Kathleen, and siblings Amy and Cathal and her boyfriend Ryan were among the chief mourners.
Teacher unions urged schools across Ireland to observe a minute of silence in her memory.
Mourners walk beside the hearse as the cortege arrives at St Brigid’s Church, Mountbolus, Co Offaly, for the funeral of Ashling Murphy.
What have others said about the situation?
Ashling’s death has sparked fresh conversations about the safety of women in Ireland.
Vigils took place across Ireland and beyond on Saturday in memory of Ashling.
Park Run runners in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland held moments of silence on Saturday morning for Ms Murphy.
Later, people gathered at locations across Ireland on Saturday afternoon to remember Ms Murphy, with hundreds attending a vigil in Cork on Saturday morning.
Vigils have spread beyond Ireland in recent days, with events organised in Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as in Brisbane, Australia.
At a vigil in north London on Saturday, people held candles and stood in silent tribute outside the London Irish Centre.
Traditional music was played in honour of Ms Murphy, a talented fiddle player, while some of the crowd quietly sang or hummed along.
Park Run participants at Orangefield Park in Belfast observe a silence in memory of murdered primary school teacher 23-year-old Ashling Murphy.
Thousands of people gathered in the late afternoon in Tullamore, Dublin, and Belfast on Friday, as Ireland continues to reel from the murder of Ms Murphy.
Ms Murphy’s family attended a candlelit vigil near the murder scene on Friday evening.
A woman lays flowers at the scene where Ashling’s body was found in Wednesday afternoon. (Credit: PA)
At the event, her father Ray Murphy paid a poignant tribute to the talented young musician by performing her favourite song on the banjo.
He broke down in tears while playing the final chords of When You Were Sweet Sixteen.
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Ashling Murphy was remembered for being "the chatterbox" in her own primary school days, as well as a fearless footballer.
er endearing smile and the time she played Snow White in the school play were also fondly recalled by her alma mater yesterday.
Coolanarney National School in Blueball was attended by the murdered teacher when she was a child.
Located just yards from her Co Offaly home, yesterday it paid a warm tribute to the much-loved teacher as a beautiful, vibrant, talented, warm and friendly person who past teachers praised as "hard-working and diligent".
Lorraine Mahon, principal at the school, also praised Ashling's parents for moulding her into the young woman she became.
Outside the school, a small shrine to Ashling has been erected, and the pupils will today form a guard of honour at the roadside as her remains are driven from her family home to her funeral mass.
Tributes to Ashling Murphy at a shrine in the Town Park in Tullamore
Tributes to Ashling Murphy at a shrine in the Town Park in Tullamore
Photographs show Ashling smiling and bright from her first days at junior infants right up to her last year there.
Ms Mahon said Ashling was a beautiful, vibrant, talented, warm and friendly person, and was well known, much loved, and will be sadly missed.
Ashling attended Coolanarney school from 2003 to 2011 and was taught by Ms Mahon, Leonie Gath and Frances Lynch.
Speaking to the Herald, Ms Mahon said: "We have so many fond memories of her time in school, of Ashling 'the chatterbox' in class, of Ashling as Snow White in our school play; of Ashling fearless and determined on the school football team and at indoor hurling blitzes; of Ashling with the quick wit and endearing smile and the enduring sense of her absolute joy in life.
"Ashling was a hard-working, diligent student who always gave her best.
"She was ambitious, musical, creative, dramatic and talented in so many ways.
"Her energy, vitality, good humour, kindness and empathy for others was always evident and she had very positive relationships with both her peers and teachers."
In a letter to parents, the school said: "The evening of Wednesday, January 12, 2022, was one that our whole school community will, unfortunately, never forget as news emerged of the tragic death of our dear past-pupil, friend and neighbour, Ashling Murphy.
"We are all profoundly saddened by her senseless death, the loss of the huge potential of her life so tragically cut short, and every thought and prayer of ours is with her heartbroken family: Ray, Kathleen, Cathal and Amy, and with the extended Leonard and Murphy families."
The statement from the school said many current pupils were privileged to be tutored by Ashling in music, or to have become familiar with her kindness as they were cared for after school by Ashling's mother Kathleen.
"These children spoke of her gentle encouragement, her good humour and her sense of fun," it said.
"Children spoke of her encouraging them to play camogie, to play the tin whistle and other instruments, to 'get off that device and let's go out to play'.
"She was generous with her time and helped the children in 'Kathleen's' to do their homework when she was home.
"She played with them and they remember her as a fun, happy person with lots of jokes and time to talk.
"Ashling was also a babysitter to some in her younger years, and those children remember her as being so kind to them.
"She was fun and sometimes let them stay up a little longer than they were meant to.
"All of these children are heartbroken at this time at the sudden and incomprehensible loss of their dear friend and tutor but will remember her fondly through these enduring links and memories.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Ashling's family at this time of indescribable sorrow.
"Ray and Kathleen have been supportive members of our school community for many years.
"Ray, like Ashling, has always been generous with his time in supporting school events, including providing a sound system for our school shows for many years.
"Kathleen is well known as a childminder for many children in the school and her kindness and generosity to the children is renowned. Those less fortunate to attend have often been heard to say, 'Why can't I go to Kathleen's too?'.
"Ashling's brother and sister, Cathal and Amy, also attended Coolanarney NS and their loss is surely beyond words."
Ms Mahon said Ashling's parents were tireless in their support of their three children, ferrying them to sports and music lessons while teaching them to be caring.
"They inspired their children to excel and to be ambitious.
"They are wonderful role models for their children, and raised Ashling to become the inspirational young lady we now grieve."
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