Alexei Navalny sentenced to 3.5 years in prison

Russia's leading opposition activist, Alexei Navalny, has denounced court proceedings against him as an attempt to intimidate millions of Russian citizens. Our BBC Russian reporter is outside the Moscow court where a decision was made to jail him for three-and-a-half years for embezzlement. He has already served a year under house arrest which will be deducted from the total.

We head to Turkey where dozens of people are detained by police after a student protest against the appointment of a new rector at Istanbul's Boğaziçi University. Our BBC correspondent reports the story, and, we hear from students on campus.

Also on the programme, news that the UK variant of coronavirus is undergoing genetic changes. Tests on some samples show a mutation already seen in the South Africa and Brazil variants. Our BBC medical correspondent explains the changes and what can be done to help stop the spread.

(Photo: Russian reinforced police units stand guard on the street in downtown of St. Petersburg. Credit: EPA/Anatoly Maltsev).