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In the weeks leading up to Russia's invasion, I would walk for hours in the central Moscow district of Zamoskvorechiye, where I had lived and worked in the BBC office for seven years. An unspoiled and peaceful part of the city, for me it embodies Russia's complex present and past. For centuries Muscovites have come here to build homes and businesses and get on quietly with their lives, leaving their rulers to pursue greater ambitions on a bigger stage where ordinary Russians have never had a part to play. It is bordered by the Moskva river and the Kremlin on one side, and on the other by imposing Stalinist apartment buildings and 21st Century skyscrapers on the noisy Sadovoye ring road. A maze of narrow streets echo the past, dotted with churches and aristocratic mansions from the 19th Century. Bolshaya Ordinka street takes its name from Tatar-Mongol rule, hundreds of years before, when emissaries would come to collect tributes from Moscow's princely leaders.

The office remains open and functioning !

I'm terrified': Teen's plea to Idaho lawmakers banning transgender treatment for minors The Lead The Idaho House has passed a bill that would make it a felony for doctors to provide treatment to transgender teens under the age of 18. CNN's Jake Tapper speaks to Eve Devitt, a transgender teen directly impacted by the bill. 06:10 - Source: CNN

North Korea is experiencing a critical food crisis, experts say. The country is no stranger to chronic food shortages, but border controls, poor weather and sanctions have worsened the situation in recent years. Top officials are expected to meet at the end of February to discuss a "fundamental change" to agriculture policy, state media has said. This is a "very important and urgent task" amid "pressing" farming issues, news aggregator KCNA Watch reported. The news comes as Pyongyang continues its displays of military might. South Korea's unification ministry has reportedly also sounded the alarm on the food shortages and asked the World Food Programme (WFP) for help. Satellite imagery from South Korean authorities shows that the North produced 180,000 tonnes less food in 2022 than in 2021. In June, the WFP raised concerns that extreme weather conditions like drought and flooding could reduce production of both winter and spring crops. State media also reported late last year that the country was experiencing its "second worst" drought on record.

As the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches, US President Joe Biden and Russia President Putin have given speeches addressing the war. The BBC's Richard Galpin looks at both speeches to see if there are any contradictions in what they said, and what could happen going forward.

A daughter of murdered black civil rights activist Malcolm X says she is suing New York City Police Department and other agencies for his 1965 murder. Ilyasah Shabazz says US officials fraudulently concealed evidence that they "conspired to and executed their plan to assassinate" her father. She announced the planned legal action at the site where he was fatally shot in New York exactly 58 years ago. The FBI and CIA were also named in the legal filing, a lawyer said. Mrs Shabazz, 60, was two years old when she saw her father gunned down. Three armed men shot him 21 times as he was preparing to speak at a Harlem auditorium. "For years, our family has fought for the truth to come to light concerning his murder," she said on Tuesday at the venue, which has since been converted into a memorial site, as she filed notices of claims, a precursor to a lawsuit.

Two top Spanish transport officials have resigned over a botched order for new commuter trains that cost nearly €260m ($275m; £230m). The trains could not fit into non-standard tunnels in the northern regions of Asturias and Cantabria. The head of Spain's rail operator Renfe, Isaías Táboas, and the secretary of state for transport, Isabel Pardo de Vera, have now left their roles. The design fault was made public earlier this month. The Spanish government says the mistake was spotted early enough to avoid financial loss. However the region of Cantabria has demanded compensation. Renfe ordered the trains in 2020 but the following year manufacturer CAF realised that the dimensions it had been given for the trains were inaccurate and stopped construction. The rail network in northern Spain was built in the 19th Century and has tunnels under the mountainous landscape that do not match standard modern tunnel dimensions.

Weeks of no rain and low tides in Italy have left the famous canals of Venice so low that gondolas and water taxis are unable to navigate some of the waterways. A lack of rain, a high-pressure system, a full moon and sea currents are being blamed for the low tides that have left the "floating city" marooned. Ambulances reliant on the canals in this road-less city are being forced to proceed on foot to incidents, Paolo Rossi, the head of emergency health services said. Venice officials blamed the low tides for the dry canals but weeks of dry winter weather have raised concerns Italy is facing another drought after last summer’s emergency.

India's capital Delhi has banned motorbike taxis from its roads, dealing a blow to companies such as Uber, Ola and Rapido. A government notice says that using private two-wheelers to carry passengers for hire violates Indian law. The notice adds that "digital providers... facilitating such operations" could be fined up to 100,000 rupees ($1,208; £1,005). The companies have not commented yet. Thousands of Indians use affordable motorbike taxis every day to zip through slow-moving traffic. They also provide employment to hundreds and thousands of people, many of whom use their private motorbikes to transport passengers. But according to the Motor Vehicles Act, private vehicles cannot be used for commercial operations in India. The Indian Express newspaper spoke to some drivers affected by the ban in Delhi, who said they would find it hard to make ends meet without the extra income.

A South Korean court has for the first time recognised the rights of a same-sex couple in the country. In a landmark ruling, the Seoul High Court found a government health insurer did owe coverage to the spouse of a customer after the firm withdrew it when it found out the pair were gay. The men had held a wedding ceremony in 2019, but same-sex marriage is not recognised in South Korea. Activists say the ruling is a leap forward for LGBT rights in the country. However, the case will be challenged in the Supreme Court. The plaintiff, So Seong-wook said he welcomed the ruling and "recognition of a very obvious right that has not been given". In 2021, he sued the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) after being denied coverage on his partner Kim Yongmin's plan. The couple had been granted coverage at first, but this was then revoked as the NHIS said they had made a mistake in granting it to the same-sex couple. WATCH: BBC Korean speaks to couple at heart of rights battle Celebrating the ruling, Mr So praised the court for seeing "the principle of equality as an important issue".

Banking giant HSBC says its quarterly profit has almost doubled, boosted by rising interest rates around the world. The London-based firm reported profit before tax of $5.2bn (£4.3bn) for the last three months of 2022, up more than 90% from the same time a year earlier. However, pre-tax profit for the year as a whole fell by $1.4bn to $17.5bn, as it absorbs the cost of selling its French retail banking operations. HSBC is also in the process of selling its business in Canada. The bank said it planned to use the money raised from that sale to make payouts to shareholders once the deal is completed. HSBC staff get a uniform of jumpsuits and jeans HSBC to end funding for new oil and gas fields HSBC to close 114 UK branches as more bank online "2022 was another good year for HSBC," chief executive Noel Quinn said. "We are on track to deliver higher returns in 2023," he added.

King Charles III may be attempting to smooth things over with his brother, but royal experts suspect it’s part of a bigger plan. A source recently told The Telegraph that the king will not leave his younger sibling "homeless or penniless," despite forcing the Duke of York out of Royal Lodge, the queen mother’s former home. According to the outlet, Andrew’s annual allowance of nearly $300,000 is reportedly being cut in April, which friends claimed will make it difficult for the 63-year-old to maintain the 98-acre Windsor property. His main source of income is his Navy pension, as well as a "substantial inheritance" from his late parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Two years ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced ambitious plans to make India a green energy colossus. He pledged cutting emissions to net zero or becoming carbon neutral, meaning not adding to the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere by 2070. (Although its demand for power and emissions are lower than Western countries', India is the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses.) Mr Modi also promised for India to get half of its energy from renewable resources by 2030, and by the same year to slash projected carbon emissions by a billion tonnes. The school dropout's high-risk journey to become Asia's richest man One businessman who's key to Mr Modi's green energy plans is Gautam Adani, one of Asia's richest men who runs a sprawling port-to-energy conglomerate with seven publicly traded companies, including a renewable energy firm called Adani Green Energy. Mr Adani, already one of the world's largest solar players, plans to spend $70bn (£58bn) in green energy and become a global renewable player by 2030. This money is expected to be spent on boosting solar generation, making batteries and using wind energy and green hydrogen.

A mission is under way to rescue an Australian professor and three local researchers being held hostage by an armed group in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Police chief David Manning said security forces would use "whatever means necessary" up to and including lethal force to free the group. The team were on a field study trip in remote highlands when they were captured, on an unspecified date. A ransom has been demanded for their release, local officials say. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has reported that a larger group was initially kidnapped and some local guides have since been released. The four people who remain captive are the professor, an archaeologist from an Australian university, and three university students from PNG. The police chief said overnight the kidnappers were "opportunists" who had "obviously not thought this situation through". "We are offering the abductors a way out," he said. "They can release their captives and they will be treated fairly through the criminal justice system, but failure to comply and resisting arrest could cost these criminals their lives."

Congressman George Santos has admitted to having been "a terrible liar" when confronted with his embellished résumé in a new TV interview. The embattled Republican told TalkTV's Piers Morgan he had made mistakes under pressure but his lies were not about "tricking the people". Instead, he said, it was about "getting accepted by the party here locally". Mr Santos has faced fierce controversy since his election in November. He was initially lauded as the first openly gay Republican to win a seat in the House of Representatives as a non-incumbent when he won in New York's third district. But within weeks, the New York Times published a story that called into question large portions of his CV, including his education and work experience, triggering a wave of further reporting. He is alleged to have faced fraud charges in Brazil, presided over prolific campaign spending, lied about working for Goldman Sachs and about owning property - and even claimed to have produced the ill-fated Spider-Man musical on Broadway.

The global payment giants Mastercard and Visa are facing the latest in a string of multibillion-pound competition lawsuits with the launch of a potentially vast class action claim on behalf of British companies. Sky News has learnt that Harcus Parker, a London-based commercial litigation law firm, is close to filing what it believes will be among the biggest competition compensation claims in UK history. The filing, at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), will allege that Mastercard and Visa overcharged businesses for so-called multilateral interchange fees (MIFs), which are paid by businesses to their banks to accept payment by credit or debit card.

A panel of the Japanese Justice Ministry has proposed raising the age of consent from 13 to 16. It forms part of a wider overhaul of Japan's laws on sex crimes, after multiple rape acquittals in 2019 caused outcry. The proposal also aims to criminalise the grooming of minors and expand the definition of rape. The statute of limitations for reporting rape will also be increased to 15 from 10 years. Currently, Japan has the lowest age of consent in developed countries, and the lowest in the G7 group. In Germany and Italy the age is 14, in Greece and France it is 15 and in the UK and many US states it is 16. The current law in Japan means victims of rape need to prove that there was "violence and intimidation" used during the rape and that it was "impossible to resist" to secure a conviction. The panel has not changed this wording but instead added other factors including intoxication, drugging, being caught off guard and psychological control into the definition.

Is China providing Russia with weapons? China has been expanding its military production capabilities and is now the world's fourth largest arms exporter. "China's weapons are getting more advanced now," says Siemon Wezeman from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. "Its drones, for example, are one area that Russia would be very interested in." The US says Chinese firms have already provided "non-lethal support" to Russia, and that it has new information suggesting Beijing could soon provide "lethal support". Maria Shagina, an expert in economic sanctions at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, says China has not overtly supplied Russia with weapons but may be secretly selling it hi-tech products which could be used for military purposes. "There is evidence that China is the biggest exporter of semiconductors - often through shell companies in Hong Kong and the UAE - to Russia," she says. "Some Chinese companies are also supplying civilian drones, exploiting the grey space between military and civilian purposes."

Israel has said it will pause building new settlements in the occupied West Bank for "the coming months". The move appears to be the fruit of behind-the-scenes talks by the US with Israeli and Palestinian officials. It comes as Palestinian leaders are being heavily criticised for agreeing to the withdrawal of a UN Security Council resolution on settlements. The council instead issued a symbolic statement expressing "deep concern and dismay" at recent developments. Last week, Israel announced the legalisation of nine unauthorised outposts and approved the planning and building of nearly 10,000 new housing units in existing settlements. These steps are not expected to be reversed. Washington had previously publicly warned Israel, its closest Middle Eastern ally, not to authorise new settlements. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.