feels of their relatives and with the emotions of our society. we need to establish all the clear facts as much as possible. in the united states, a convicted murderer loses last—minute appeals to stop his execution with nitrogen gas — which hasn't been used before. a top un official says israel was warned about the location of a shelter for palestinians in gaza before it was attacked, killing nine people. and some of ghana's "crown jewels" stolen by british soldiers more than a century ago, are being returned on loan. welcome to the programme. the emergency services in russia say they've found the black boxes from a military transport plane that crashed on wednesday near the ukraine border. moscow says it was carrying dozens of ukrainian prisoners of war — everyone on board was killed.

the united nations security council will convene later today to discuss moscow's allegations that ukrainian forces shot it down. the bbc verified this video showing the moment of the crash. you can see the aircraft in the distance falling through the sky. the crash took place in russia's southern belgorod region, which lies along its border with eastern ukraine. the ukrainian authorities said the prisoner exchange was due to take place on wednesday, and that it's now been cancelled. none of the details surrounding those on board can be independently verified. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has demanded an international inquiry into the incident. translation: it is obvious that the russians are - playing with the lives of ukrainian prisoners — with the feelings of their relatives and with the emotions of our society. we need to establish all the clear facts as much as possible, given the downing of the plane occurred on russian territory, which is beyond our control.

russia says its radars detected the launch of two ukrainian missiles before the crash. russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov was the one who called an emergency meeting to be held immediately. translation: ukrainian prisoners ofi war were transported to the belogrod region for the next exchange agreed upon between moscow and kyiv. instead of this exchange taking place, the ukrainian side from the kharkiv region launched an antiaircraft missile attack on this plane, which became fatal. our russia editor steve rosenberg has the latest developments from moscow. in the last few moments, dmitry peskov, vladimir putin's spokesman, has made some comments about what happened yesterday. he has called this a "monstrous" action by ukraine. he has also supported the idea of an international investigation, but into the, as he puts it, the "criminal activities of the kiev regime". and he was asked about whether prisoner exchanges between russia and ukraine would

continue after this. he said he didn't know how this would affect future prisoner swaps. those comments coming in in the last few minutes from the kremlin. what we know is that this military transport plane, this ilyushin 76, crashed, right, in a field in in southern russia. we cannot confirm who or what made the plane crash and who was on board. now, the russians say that on board was 7a people, including 65 ukrainian prisoners of war, who moscow says were on their way to take part in a prisoner swap. and russia has been clear, it says that ukraine shot the plane down. ukraine has not confirmed that. it hasn't denied it either. we heard comments there from president zelensky, who has called for an international investigation and has accused the kremlin of playing with the lives of ukrainian pows.

ukraine has confirmed that there was going to be a prisoner exchange yesterday, which didn't happen. interestingly, yesterday the ukrainian general staff and military intelligence issued statements, carefully worded statements, which, when you read them, appear to be an acknowledgment that ukraine may have shot down the plane, although they don't say that directly and they don't talk about who was on board the plane. but, for example, those statements include the suggestion that these military transport planes, like the one that crashed, were legitimate targets, because they'd been delivering weapons which were being used to attack ukraine. but, as i say, the position of moscow is that ukraine brought the plane down and an investigation, an international investigation is needed into the actions of ukraine.

the us supreme court has declined to halt the execution of a death row prisoner in alabama. kenneth smith is due to become the first person in the us to be executed using nitrogen gas. it s a method which the united nations has called cruel and inhuman. it will be the state s second attempt to execute smith, who was convicted in 1989 of murdering a preacher s wife in a hired killing. our correspondent tom bateman reports from atmore in southern alabama. a journey to the alabama jail where the first ever execution by nitrogen gas is due to happen. kenneth eugene smith has spent three decades on death row. he's already dodged death once — his execution was botched in an attempt to kill him by lethal injection. and now he faces suffocation by the state. opponents see this as a crucial test case and are urging alabama's governor to stop it here, led by smith's spiritual adviser, who will be in the execution

chamber with him. so i need some assurance that this is safe. so, this right here is an invitation to governor ivey to accompany me into the execution chamber. it was two weeks ago today... smith was convicted in 1989 for his part in the murder of elizabeth sennett, the wife of a preacher, who paid smith $1,000. the jury said he should get life injail, but thejudge sentenced him to death. 0ne medical expert against capital punishment explains that inhaling pure nitrogen will starve the body of oxygen, but could cause catastrophic mishaps. it's very likely if he doesn't die, he could be significantly injured by this experience. and for that matter, so could other people in the proximity of kenneth smith, because the nitrogen gas, some of it will be exhaled along with carbon dioxide, some of it may leak out of the mask. the victim's family

backs the death penalty. alabama's governor's office claims the method has been thoroughly vetted, saying it is ready to move forward, although the authorities haven't presented any plausible evidence of its safety. so far, urgent calls for a stay of execution, including from the un, have not been heeded. and smith, pictured on the left with his spiritual adviser this week, awaits death for a second time. many us states have been moving away from carrying out executions. alabama remains an outlier and today's case is supercharging america's debate over state sanctioned death. tom bateman, bbc news, atmore, alabama. israel has denied accusations that it hit a united nations facility in southern gaza on wednesday, killing at least nine people and wounded more than 70. the israeli military said

the incident was not caused by an air or artillery strike by its forces and that it was investigating whether hamas was to blame. the training centre in khan younis was sheltering a large numbers of palestinians who've been forced from their homes. a man has been sentenced to death injapan following a deadly arson attack on an animation studio in kyoto — which killed 36 people. shinji aoba had previously admitted to setting the building on fire in 2019. his lawyers had sought an acquital on the grounds of mental incompetence, but the judge rejected their arguments. live now to our correspondent shaimaa khalil. welcome to you. remind us of the background to this awful case. what happened? this background to this awful case. what ha ened? , ..,, background to this awful case. what hauened? , , happened? this case shocked the nation and broke _ happened? this case shocked the nation and broke the _ happened? this case shocked the nation and broke the hearts - happened? this case shocked the nation and broke the hearts of. nation and broke the hearts of thousands of animation fans here and around the world. the kyoto

animation blaze is one of japan's worst mass murders and the perpetrator, shinji aoba, had been sentenced to death. his lawyers argued for his acquittal, based on mental incompetence, but the judge denied that. shinji aoba admitted he set the building ablaze. he said he was sorry for what he had done and he had no idea so many people would die. today thejudge he had no idea so many people would die. today the judge spoke about those deceased. 36 people died and the judge spoke of the pain and fear of those who died and also their colleagues who had to watch them set ablaze without being able to do anything and suffering psychologically. the prosecution said that shinji aoba had falsely thought that the company, that the studio stolen his work, a story he

submitted. while the judge acknowledged the delusion of plagiarism, he said shinji aoba knew what he was doing when he walked into the building, poured petrol on the ground floor and set it ablaze, while shouting, drop dead. fans said while shouting, drop dead. fans said while they felt story for him receiving —— sorry for him receiving the death sentence, this was the right decision. family members were in the court and they were were very emotional as thejudge in the court and they were were very emotional as the judge was speaking. shinji aoba was in court. he suffered 90% burns to his body and almost died, because of the burns. it was a hugely emotional day in court in one ofjapan�*s most shocking cases. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

let's look at some other stories making news. scotland s first minister, humza yousaf, is due to give evidence to the covid inquiry in edinburgh this afternoon. he's expected to face scrutiny over messages he exchanged during the pandemic with scotland s national clinical director, professorjason leitch who'd advised mr yousaf — who was then health secretary — that he could avoid having to wear a face mask at social events if he kept "a drink in his hands." 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon has more. humza yousaf was justice secretary, then health secretary during the pandemic. he's handed his informal messages from that time to the inquiry here. and from one of them that's already been submitted and heard about, we heard an exchange between mr yusuf and jason leitch, in which the then health secretary asked for advice about wearing a mask at a social occasion, and in which jason leitch advised him that if he had a drink in his hand, he would be ok.

you're live with bbc news. israel has denied accusations that it hit a united nations facility in southern gaza on wednesday, killing at least nine people and wounded more than 70. we will hopefully speak to our correspondent soon. it's been more than a century since treasures were looted by british soldiers from ghana — many of them hold huge cultural and spiritual significance. now, in a landmark agreement, the victoria and albert and british museums in london are returning them, on loan, to the ashantee king. our culture editor katie razzall has this exclusive report. there is anger. people look at it in colonial terms,

looting of items, precious items belonging to people, items that they don't easily forget. gold from the royal court of the ashanti kingdom, which was once one of africa's most powerful states. these objects and many more were looted by british troops in the ashanti capital, kumasi, in 1874, during the third anglo—ashanti war. sold at auction then, now they're going back to ghana for the first time in 150 years to kumasi's manhyia palace museum in a landmark loan deal with the victoria and albert, and the british museum. they enter the south kensington museum and they're put on display and they're displayed both as a work of incredible west african goldsmithery, but also as a sort of sign of british imperial and colonial power. 17 v&a items are returning, including a piece pipe used including a peace pipe used by ashanti kings, the asantehene, and heavy cast gold badges worn

by courtiers tasked with cleansing the king's soul. the agreement is not with the ghanaian government but with 0sei tutu ii, the current asantehene who once worked for brent council — monarch for a people whose history is steeped in gold and wealth. the deal�*s chief negotiator is ivor adjei mandir. there's so much interest in these items. these were objects that were created by the royal artisans for all sorts of ceremonial reasons. is the fact that you're taking them on loan a problem? at least these objects would be home. the british museum is also loaning 15 gold items, including a sword of state looted by british troops during the anglo—ashanti war of 1895—96. british law bans some national institutions, including the british museum and the v&a, from permanently returning objects. in giving a piece back, | you're also giving back a missing piece of history. nana 0fori—atta ayim is a special advisor to ghana's culture minister.

she welcomes the loan deals with the ashanti king. the ghanaian government could not have agreed to the terms. the metaphor is someone comes into your home and steal- something from your house, keeps it in their house, - and then x amount of years later comes and says, - i'm going to lend i you your thing back. i mean, it doesn't make any sense. and so in that way, i think it'sl going to be deeply problematic for a lot of people. but because i've been working. with it, i know the kind of politics ithat surrounds it and also the kind i of attachment to the idea of empire. those objects with origins in war and looting in military campaigns, we have a responsibility to the country's origins to think about how we can share those more fairly today. and it doesn't seem to me that all of our museums will fall down if we build up these kind of partnerships and exchanges. have you felt ashamed that these items are here?

i don't feel ashamed they're here. i feel they're part of a history of british—ghanaian interaction, some of which is around war, some of which is around slavery, some of which is an incredible creative ghanaian diaspora in the uk today. the v&a insists this is not restitution by the back door, a loan is not a model that nigerians would accept for the return of the benin bronzes, nor the greeks over the parthenon sculptures. but with british law as it stands for the asantehene, this deal is the best way to bring the gold home for now. katie razelle, bbc news. i will be talking to a guest later. now back to the situation in gaza. israel has denied accusations that it hit a united nations facility in southern gaza on wednesday, killing at least nine people and wounded more than 70.

we can speak to our correspondent in jerusalem. what is the latest, about whether israel or hamas was behind this. , . , whether israel or hamas was behind this. , ., , ~ ., whether israel or hamas was behind this. , ~ ., ., this. this was a strike on a facility run _ this. this was a strike on a facility run by _ this. this was a strike on a facility run by the - this. this was a strike on a facility run by the un - this. this was a strike on a i facility run by the un agency this. this was a strike on a - facility run by the un agency unrwa and we are told about 30,000 people have been sheltering in that facility and about 800 in this building that was hit, causing a blaze there. when the un talked of the hit, it talked of how the building had been hit by two tank shells, so it was blaming israel. now it is talking of two shells having hit, so that does recognise that hamas or a palestinian armed group could have been responsible, firing mortar shells. we know that has happened in the area. after there was condemnation from washington of the strike, we did

have the israeli military saying that it had investigated and found its air and artillery forces were not responsible and said it is looking into the operations of his ground forces in the area and whether hamas might be to blame. tell us about the situation in khan younis, that remains a focus of the israeli military at the moment, doesn't it?— israeli military at the moment, doesn't it? , doesn't it? indeed. over the past coule of doesn't it? indeed. over the past coume of days. — doesn't it? indeed. over the past couple of days, israeli _ doesn't it? indeed. over the past couple of days, israeli forces - doesn't it? indeed. over the past| couple of days, israeli forces have pushed into the west of khan younis, an area where a senior un official has raised a lot of concerns in his latest statement, talking of how there were three hospitals that have been badly affected one in the coastal area, previously described as being a safe zone by israel, had had to be evacuated overnight. the israeli military says it has encountered and killed a number of terrorists in that area, to use its words. but it also acknowledges that

this is an area where there is a very high number of civilians, because of course in the early stages of war, people were told to relocate from the north down to the south. now you have a majority of the population of gaza, 2.3 million people, are squeezed into this area, khan younis is the biggest city in the south. people have been trying to make their way. we have seen that today again on the roads from khan younis going south to rafah. but many people have been scared to leave, because they say there is no such thing as safe passage with all the fighting that is going on. find the fighting that is going on. and when it comes _ the fighting that is going on. and when it comes to negotiations with the, regarding the return of the hostages, more than 120 still being held by hamas, there were more protests in tel aviv, is there any

sign of progress in the negotiations?- sign of progress in the negotiations? sign of progress in the neuotiations? ., , , ., , negotiations? the latest protest involved thousands _ negotiations? the latest protest involved thousands of _ negotiations? the latest protest involved thousands of people i negotiations? the latest protest involved thousands of people in | negotiations? the latest protest. involved thousands of people in tel aviv and there has been a smaller protest again near the main crossing between israel and gaza, where aid has been making its way through from egypt. families blocking the aid convoys, as a mark of their desperation. they're demanding that morris done by the israeli government. we have been told in recent days by media reports there was serious progress in indirect talks being mediated by qatar and egypt, trying to secure a new hostage release deal and ceasefire deal. but then there were reports also in the israeli media, with briefings by israeli diplomats saying there remained a very large

93p- saying there remained a very large i a . _ ., ~' saying there remained a very large la n . ., " , ., the french president emmanuel macron has just landed in indiafor his two—day trip in the asian country — as you can see on the pictures, a red carpet welcome including a parade of decorated elephants awaited macron after landing injaipur in rajasthan, where he will be hosted by prime minister narendra modi at a state banquet in a nineteenth—century maharaja's palace. can't quite see the elephants! . now back to the story of ghana treasure there is a the albert and victoria museum have agreed to return. with me is nana 0foriatta ayim, special advisor to ghana s minister of culture. how significant is this? it is a

first step- — how significant is this? it is a first step. the _ how significant is this? it is a first step. the law _ how significant is this? it is a first step. the law in - how significant is this? it is a first step. the law in the - how significant is this? it is a first step. the law in the uk. first step. the law in the uk prohibits items from going back permanently, but the law has been changed before for the holocaust items. so i think it is a step in the right direction. 0bviously, items. so i think it is a step in the right direction. obviously, a lot of people are not going to be happy with the idea of a loan going back to a country that really should have ownership of its own items, but it's a first step. it have ownership of its own items, but it's a first step-— it's a first step. it wasn't agreement _ it's a first step. it wasn't agreement with - it's a first step. it wasn't agreement with the - it's a first step. it wasn't - agreement with the government it's a first step. it wasn't _ agreement with the government but with the a ashantee king. fit, agreement with the government but with the a ashantee king. a proposal was made to — with the a ashantee king. a proposal was made to the _ with the a ashantee king. a proposal was made to the ghanaian _ with the a ashantee king. a proposal. was made to the ghanaian government, but it was problematic, because the country can't accept a loan back, or can't be seen to accept a loan back. with the king it was a simpler process. the agreement came from the v & a and went to the attorney general�*s office was rejected, because there were so many stipulations on how the items would

be received back. ghana has enough sovereignty to know how to look after its items. tell sovereignty to know how to look after its items.— sovereignty to know how to look after its items. tell us about the items. after its items. tell us about the items- there _ after its items. tell us about the items. there is _ after its items. tell us about the items. there is a _ after its items. tell us about the items. there is a soul _ after its items. tell us about the items. there is a soul disk- after its items. tell us about the items. there is a soul disk that i items. there is a soul disk that would have _ items. there is a soul disk that would have been _ items. there is a soul disk that would have been worn - items. there is a soul disk that would have been worn as - items. there is a soul disk that would have been worn as a - items. there is a soul disk that - would have been worn as a protect or of his soul and there are head pieces and a gold pipe and they have spiritual significance. they are sometimes you might call them subjects, because they're imbued with spiritual significance. i5 subjects, because they're imbued with spiritual significance. is a negotiation — with spiritual significance. is a negotiation that _ with spiritual significance. is a negotiation that could be reached, a compromise, do you think, whereby the government would accept anything other than the full return of these items? i other than the full return of these items? ., ~ ., ., items? i mean, i know that in the lanauuae items? i mean, i know that in the language of— items? i mean, i know that in the language of the — items? i mean, i know that in the language of the v _ items? i mean, i know that in the language of the v & _ items? i mean, i know that in the language of the v & a, _ items? i mean, i know that in the language of the v & a, they - items? i mean, i know that in the language of the v & a, they were | language of the v & a, they were calling it a renewable cultural partnership. i think this is a first step. what would have to happen is

some kind of agreement that goes from government to government. for now the museums have decided to return the items without the involvement of the uk government. 0nce involvement of the uk government. once the uk government gets involved, there is a way forward. how important is it that these items are returned? for how important is it that these items are returned?— are returned? for me, the whole discourse is _ are returned? for me, the whole discourse is almost _ are returned? for me, the whole discourse is almost much - are returned? for me, the whole discourse is almost much bigger| are returned? for me, the whole - discourse is almost much bigger than just about the return of the objects. we all know that the aftermath and the resonance of colonial trauma. a lot of items were taken and the also the idea of our own cultural value and it is almost like a met aforeof for this and it is is a first step to healing on

both sides.— is is a first step to healing on both sides. ., ~ , ., , , both sides. thank you. scientists have blamed _ both sides. thank you. scientists have blamed climate _ both sides. thank you. scientists have blamed climate change - both sides. thank you. scientists have blamed climate change forl both sides. thank you. scientists| have blamed climate change for a drought in amazon. the conditions were described as exceptional and said higher temperatures led to less rain fall and deforestation left the area unable to retain water. that is it from me for the moment. i'm back with more injust a it from me for the moment. i'm back with more in just a few minutes. hello again. today is going to be a cloudy day with some rain for some of us. also a bit of hazy sunshine. we have two weather fronts crossing

us, but in between we are pulling in milder conditions. the wind coming from the south west and that mild weather moving across the country, except for into the far north of the northern isles through the day. so our first front continued to push north across scotland, clearing eastern england and the second one moves out of northern ireland into northern england and wales. ahead of it some sunshine and behind for north—west scotland and northern ireland we will see some sunshine. but wherever you are it is going to feel mild. tonight a first front pushes off to the east and it is followed by a second one, bringing in heavy rain. behind this one the air turns colder as the wind changes from a north—westerly. we will see some wintry showers down to 100 metres across the highlands. it is cold for most, but not in the south—east. but that will happen tomorrow as the front clears, taking the rain with it and this ridge of

high pressure builds in and we are still in this westerly flow. a lot of dry weather behind the rain. some wintry showers in the highlands, but they will move into the mountains. then a return to rain in western scotland and the north of northern ireland. these are our temperatures, temperatures lower than we are looking at today and it is going to be breezy, but windy in the north—west. heading to the weekend, it all changes, we start import a southerly component and that means milder conditions. during saturday, we have got the rain across the north—west of scotland, that will be heavy at times. it is a waving front and will come further south and north. it may clip northern ireland. a lot of dry weather. again variable amounts of cloud. into sunday, once again we have this front not too far away, bringing in some rain, potentially gales in the north—west

of scotland and rain into northern ireland. but a lot of dry weather and some sunshine with highs up to about 13.

this is bbc news, the headlines... ukraine's security service opens a criminal investigation after a plane crash in russia — moscow says over 60

ukrainian prisoners of war who were on board died. in the united states — a convicted murderer loses last—minute appeals to stop his execution with nitrogen gas — which hasn't been used before. israel has denied accusations he hit a united nations facility in which people were killed. ministers introduce new laws to crack down on so—called zombie knives in england and wales. we'll speak to the mother of a teenage victim of knife crime. valdo calocane stabbed 19 year—old university students grace 0'malley—kumar and barnaby webber before attacking 65—year—old school caretaker ian coates in nottingham last year. in a few hours' time, the families of the victims will find out what sentence their killer will receive. a plea to guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility was accepted by the court earlier this week.