Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

BBC Verify Live will be wrapping up shortly, so if you’re just joining us here’s a quick rundown of what the team has been covering today.

We opened the page by verifying dramatic video of a huge fire at a market in the north-west of the Iranian capital Tehran. You can watch the footage here.

The verification team then shifted to covering Ukraine, after a night of widespread Russian drone and missile strikes. We’ve mapped all the strikes on Ukraine’s energy plants so far this year as temperatures in the region have plunged.

Plus, our eyewitness team was sent this video of skiers up to their shoulders in record-breaking levels of snow in Japan.

BBC Verify Live will be back tomorrow.

Peter Mwai
BBC Verify senior journalist, reporting from Nairobi

Image source, X

We have verified footage showing Sudanese army troops entering Kadugli, breaking a two-year siege imposed on the city in southern Sudan by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The video shows dozens of people celebrating along a road, one of them carrying the Sudanese flag. The vehicle carrying the people filming has what appear to be bullet holes on its bonnet.

We verified the video’s location as being on outskirts of Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan province where there has been a surge of fighting over recent months, by matching the distinctive hills, houses and trees visible in the background to satellite imagery.

Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de-facto leader of Sudan’s military-led government, announced the ending of the siege while speaking to reporters.

Sudanese forces re-entering Kadugli represents another victory over the RSF in the long-running civil war, following the breaking of another siege on the strategic town of Dilling which we reported on last week.

Rozina Sini and Aisha Sembhi
BBC Verify

Here at BBC Verify, we have journalists working across fact-checking, verification and user-generated content (UGC).

Our eyewitness team look after UGC - they contact people who post material online that could help us report a news story or event.

Earlier today, we came across this video showing skiers stuck in shoulder-height snow after extreme weather in the village of Nozawa Onsen in Japan.

We got in touch with original poster Rowie Geraerts who told us the snow was coming down so quickly that some skiers found themselves stuck during their descent.

Japan has experienced record-breaking levels of snow this winter, prompting troop deployments in worst affected areas and warnings about avalanches and power failures.

But Rowie told us everyone in the video was okay and “loving how much snow there was”.

Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

We’ve been reporting today on fresh attacks described by one of Ukraine’s power companies as Russia’s "most powerful blow" against the country’s energy sector so far this year.

Last Sunday marked the end of the so-called "energy truce" US President Donald Trump requested from his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Moscow paused strikes on Ukrainian cities over three days at the end of last week as Ukraine continues to face the coldest winter of recent years. Temperatures in parts of the country dropped to -20C last night.

Despite the pause, January’s attacks on Ukraine's energy facilities far exceeded the monthly average for the full-scale invasion and left millions without power, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (Acled) monitoring group.

“Energy companies say they are working around the clock on repairs, only for them to be undone by overnight strikes on power stations,” says Olha Polishchuk, Acled’s Eastern Europe research manager.

Polishchuk adds that the freezing winter has also had an impact on Russia’s progress on the front line. “The extreme cold, combined with the winter holidays, has disrupted Russian recruitment, preventing any major advances on the battlefield,” she says.

Graphics by Tom Shiel

Tamara Kovacevic
BBC Verify senior journalist

Image source, EPA

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said on BBC Radio 4 this morning that Peter Mandelson should be stripped of his place in the House of Lords, following allegations that he passed on sensitive government information to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Davey said the legislation needed could take one day: “We can do that today, it’s a very short bill, just to focus on Lord Mandelson.”

But Meg Russell, constitution expert at University College London, told BBC Verify that while “technically it might be true a short bill could be rushed through in a day” such speed “doesn't seem terribly realistic, nor very necessary”.

She says somebody would have to write a bill, other business in both House of Commons and House of Lords would have to be set aside to follow the procedure to pass this bill, and there would need to be some consultation with Buckingham Palace, since peerages are conferred by the monarch.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his cabinet earlier that he has asked officials to look at legislative options for removing Mandelson's peerage "as quickly as possible".

Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify journalist

We reported earlier that we verified photos and videos being shared on social media of a major fire in Iran’s capital, Tehran.

That people were able to do this so soon after the event suggests internet connectivity in Iran has improved following January’s near-total shutdown. Connections were cut as widespread anti-government protests took place across the country.

But while access is better it is not fully restored.

NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, notes that “whitelisting” is taking place in Iran - where only approved users or services are permitted internet access while all others are blocked.

“Iran has been tightening its filtering mechanisms while opening up some of the infrastructure in a highly controlled manner,” NetBlocks said.

It added there is an overall degradation of network quality which points to the use of throttling where internet speeds are intentionally slowed down. This will act as an additional barrier for many users trying to connect to the outside world.

You can read more on Iran’s internet shutdown here.

Image source, Netblocks

Fridon Kiria, Kumar Malhotra and Emma Pengelly
BBC Monitoring and BBC Verify

Image source, EPA

We’re looking at videos posted overnight showing the latest drone and missile strikes across Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X that Russia had launched more than 70 missiles and 450 drones, external overnight.

We found the location of one strike, on a high-rise building in the centre of Kyiv, by matching the exterior design of the tower block and nearby buildings with images on Google Earth. Reverse-image searches on Google confirmed the video is new.

The overnight strikes also included attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure - a move Zelensky said was being done to “terrorise” people as the country continues to be gripped by freezing temperatures.

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

We’re keen to hear what you think the BBC Verify team should be looking into.

We're interested in investigating claims you may've seen online in your social feeds. We're also keen to know if you've think an image may have been made using artificial intelligence to spread disinformation.

You can also get in touch with BBC Verify if you've got a question about how we verify video posted online or work with satellite imagery.

You can send your suggestions to the team here.

Yi Ma and Sherie Ryder
BBC Verify

Image source, X

We’ve been working to verify videos circulating on social media which appear to show the immediate aftermath of a bridge collapse in China’s eastern Jiangsu province.

Authorities in Xiangshui County have confirmed that the under-construction Yuegang bridge collapsed at 17:46 local time yesterday (09:46 GMT).

One video we’ve verified shows people gathered at the site saying that “Yuegang bridge has gone down”.

Another verified clip captures the person filming shouting for others to help rescue people trapped in the collapse. Both videos show exposed supporting pipes standing in the riverbed, and overturned vehicles along the riverside.

We were able to confirm the authenticity of these videos by matching remaining bridge structures and riverbank features visible in the footage with an aftermath image published by Chinese state media, as well as aerial footage of the bridge taken before the collapse.

The latest Chinese state media reports say five people were killed, rescue operations have concluded, and the cause of the collapse remains under investigation.

Aisha Sembhi
BBC Verify Live video journalist

Earlier, we brought you news of a major fire in Iran’s capital, Tehran.

Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA reported that the fire - which broke out in a market building covering about 2,000 sq m that contained some 200 stalls - is now under control and no injuries have been reported so far.

We've compiled some of the videos circulating on social media which show the fire and a huge cloud of smoke in the north-west of Tehran. Click play below:

Joshua Cheetham and Sherie Ryder
BBC Verify

Image source, X

Reports emerged yesterday of Israeli air strikes being carried out in two areas of southern Lebanon, so we’ve been looking into footage that has been shared of social media of the incidents.

Our analysis of the footage showing at least two strikes has confirmed the attacks were carried out in the villages of Kfar Tebnit and Ain Qana.

Earlier in the day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued evacuation orders for both villages, specifying which buildings they intended to attack.

The IDF said they were targeting “military infrastructure” belonging to Hezbollah, in response to the Lebanese armed group’s “prohibited attempts to rebuild its activities in the area”. Hezbollah has denied this and accused Israel of targeting civilian infrastructure.

State news agency NNA reported on other apparent Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon yesterday, including strikes on Ansariyeh which killed one person and injured four others - and four people wounded by a separate attack on al-Qalila.

Posts falsely claiming New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani could be related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have gone viral on social media, despite the fact the images they’re based on have been made using AI.

BBC Verify's Shayan Sardarizadeh talks us through where the claims have come from and how we know they're false.

Emma Pengelly and Ghoncheh Habibiazad
BBC Verify and BBC Persian

Image source, Telegram

Video of a major fire at a market in Iran’s capital Tehran is being shared on social media this morning.

According to Iran's state-run news agency IRNA, the fire was brought under control at 12:00 local time (08:30 GMT) and there are currently no reports of injuries.

We’ve geolocated footage which shows the blaze broke out at Jannat Abad Market in north-west Tehran.

Another verified video, filmed from above in the next door Niayesh Mall, shows the market covered with huge smoke plumes and enormous flames ripping through the building.

Other angles show traffic slowing on the highway adjacent to the building due to the thick clouds of smoke.

Some pedestrians stop and watch from the roadside. The cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed.

The market serves as a hub for small businesses and local shopkeepers selling items such as clothing and accessories, according to Iranian media reports.

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

Good morning.

After reports started coming in this morning that a fire had broken out at a market in Tehran, our verification team has been checking what videos show of the scene. Footage being shared on social media suggests it’s a significant blaze generating a thick cloud of black smoke.

The fact we’re seeing videos suggests more Iranians are able to connect to the internet following the recent blackout in digital communications brought in as a result of deadly, country-wide protests against the government. We’re looking to see what’s happening with internet access in Iran.

We’ve also verified footage of a high-rise apartment block on fire in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv following last night’s Russian drone and missile attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched more than 70 missiles and 450 drones during the night.

And our team is continuing to go through the latest release of US Department of Justice files about the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. We’ll bring you updates here on what we’ve found.

You can get in touch with us by following the link as we’re always keen to hear from you about the stories and claims we should be looking into.