writer ejean carroll. hundreds flee incessant fighting in khan younis in southern gaza, while israeli fire kills 20 people queuing forfood in gaza city. hundreds flee in fighting and something gaza while israeli fire kills 20 people queuing forfood in fire kills 20 people queuing for food in gaza fire kills 20 people queuing forfood in gaza city. the us supreme court has refused to stop the execution of death row prisoner kenneth smith in the state of alabama, meaning he could be executed anytime now. the 58 year old will become the first person in the us

to be executed using nitrogen gas — a method which the united nations has called "cruel and inhumane". smith's adviser said he is absolutely terrified. it will be the state 5 second attempt to execute smith, who was convicted in 1989 of murdering a preachers wife, in a hired killing. for more on this story, i spoke a little earlier to ralph chapoco — he's a reporter with it's been just described it's beenjust described his method. that will involve kenneth smith being led into the execution chamber having an airtight mask strapped to his face and a pure nitrogen pumped from a pressurised tank. find from a pressurised tank. and him of effectively _ from a pressurised tank. fific him of effectively being forced or asked to breathe it in. there have of course been many experts suggesting that one of the problems is this is never been done before. it's interesting, we've heard from some of your contributors there that the state of alabama is waiting to find out whether or

not it will work or whether or not it will work or whether or not it will feel pain and distress. the point which is fundamental but execution is no one has any way of telling because the subject gets killed at the end of it. talking to quite a few of experts, as one of the fundamentals when it comes to the debate over capital punishment, i spoke to an anaesthesiologist is been involved in this case who opposes the death penalty is saysin opposes the death penalty is says in the end there's a pseudoscience carried out by the states that back the death penalty. many medical professional experts won't have anything to do with this process. he talked about a veil of secrecy around it. it's very hard to know whether or not things are truly effective. they might look one—way to a non—expert observers, especially if there is a paralysing effect but somebody is still suffering. in the end there is no way of telling.

this story in this upcoming execution reignited the debate for capital punishment in the us and people saying? it’s for capital punishment in the us and people saying? it's not my sense _ us and people saying? it's not my sense that _ us and people saying? it's not my sense that there _ us and people saying? it's not my sense that there is - us and people saying? it's not my sense that there is a - us and people saying? it's not my sense that there is a huge | my sense that there is a huge clamour around this particular case. it's interesting as another guest said, support for the death penalty has been falling steadily in the us for a number of different reasons. it's still more than half the population that back for convicted murderers. it doesn't feel to me that there is a massive outcry of public debate over this. when we're in alabama in the run things were quiet. there was a quiet acceptance, a lot of support for the death penalty in alabama like many other southern states. the reality remains that there is a very acute campaign of pressure by many campaign groups that

oppose this. they have been very successful over recent yea rs. very successful over recent years. one of the things they've managed to do is make it so that pharmaceutical companies won't supply the drugs needed for lethal injection because it's seems to be shameful. the european union for example has banned the export to the united states of many of these chemicals. that is why states like alabama have been looking for other methods. some of authorise a firing squad again. this nitrogen gas execution. it has tried and untested. it doesn't amount to a test case today. whether or not it will fully spark a big public debate around the death penalty, that is not my sense. it could make a difference about whether or not there is a spike back upwards in the number of executions carried out because they have been dropping steadily over the recent years. former us president donald trump has testified

in court in a second civil defamation lawsuit brought by the writer ejean carroll. mr trump spoke forjust four minutes, saying he stands by the denials in his sworn deposition testimony. ejean carroll is seeking more than $10 million in damages for comments he made in 2019 after she accused him of raping her in the nineties. a judge has already ruled trump's statements were defamatory. the jury's job now is to decide how much trump must pay in damages. 0ur north america correspondent nada tawfik has more on what he said. in court outlining the ground rules for donald trump's testimony took longer than the testimony itself. thejudge, in conversation with his lawyers, left no room for mr trump to go beyond the agreed terms so he couldn't launch into a monologue or campaign from the witness stands. he answered just a few questions in four minutes, saying that he stood

by his deposition, that jean carroll's claims that he raped her were a hoax, that he didn't instruct anyone to hurt ms carroll and that he had himself wanted to defend himself, his family and the presidency. the latter part, thejudge ordered stricken from the record. but that didn't stop the former president from uttering, this is not america and i never met her, rom the defense table where he wasn't under oath. now, donald trump is testing the limits of the courts in his legal cases, but it is keeping his supporters invested and tuned in. and more importantly, he's receiving considerable press coverage as he campaigns for the republican presidential nomination. now, closing statements will be next. and then this case will go to the jury to decide how much and damages donald trump should pay for defaming jean carroll. meanwhile, donald trump's former senior adviser — peter navarro has been sentenced to four months in prison and fined nine and a half thousand dollars on two counts of contempt of congress. peter navarro refused

to comply with a subpoena from the house committee investigating the january 6 attack on congress — claiming he was shielded by executive privilege. federal prosecutors said he "chose allegiance to former president donald trump over the rule of law". his lawyers say he will appeal the conviction. during a visit on thursday. the visit follows the election of a zoo partisan on the january for the day of the first lawmakers to visit the island since the independent party won a third straight term.— straight term. earlier i spoke to one of _ straight term. earlier i spoke to one of the _ straight term. earlier i spoke to one of the lawmakers - to one of the lawmakers involved who is co—chair of the house taiwan caucus. i asked him about the main focus of the meeting. i him about the main focus of the meetinu. ~ ., , meeting. i think it was important _ meeting. i think it was important we - meeting. i think it was important we just - meeting. i think it was l important we just watch meeting. i think it was i important we just watch a meeting. i think it was - important we just watch a free and fair election take place over a week ago here in taiwan. i think it was to reiterate the united states support that the future of taiwan is really up

to the people. i think the people have chosen their ex—president and as one of the cochairs of the congressional caucus we thought the congress of the united states should come out and congratulate the president,. again reaffirm our principles of the taiwan act which is the future of taiwan are really up to the people of taiwan. . . ., , ., ., taiwan. taiwan has an alignment with the us _ taiwan. taiwan has an alignment with the us when _ taiwan. taiwan has an alignment with the us when it _ taiwan. taiwan has an alignment with the us when it comes - taiwan. taiwan has an alignment with the us when it comes to - with the us when it comes to democratic values and it looks to the us as a deterrent to shyness aggression. what does the us get out of the relationship was? i the us get out of the relationship was? i think we aet a relationship was? i think we get a lot- — relationship was? i think we get a lot. date _ relationship was? i think we | get a lot. date manufactured the worlds most semi so they are very critical to the world economy. we also want to maintain the status quo. nobody�*s looking for a confrontation with the prc. i think we want to send a strong

message that the status quo has really been peaceful and prosperous. that is the stance of the president elect. we see the aggressive manoeuvres coming out of beijing in the taiwan straits. we've seen it in the south china sea. that is not what we should be doing in the 21st century. i think reassure the people of taiwan that the status quo is the best way back forward for prosperity in this region.— in this region. this clear bipartisan _ in this region. this clear bipartisan support - in this region. this clear bipartisan support for i in this region. this clearl bipartisan support for the united states is received by the visit and by extension to the visit and by extension to the new president elect are you concerned about escalation from china? they might see us relationship with taiwan and the presence of the region as a threat in itself.— threat in itself. taiwan is not threatening _ threat in itself. taiwan is not threatening mainland - threat in itself. taiwan is not threatening mainland china. | threat in itself. taiwan is not. threatening mainland china. the united states are not threatening. what we're doing is reacting to increase pressure, aggression that we

see coming out of beijing. we see coming out of beijing. we see it in the south china sea. we talked to folks in the philippines, certainly vietnam and their own exclusive economic zones. that isn't the way we should behave in the zist way we should behave in the 21st century. we've seen increased incursions, flights, navy patrols out of beijing, out of mainland china. that's not helpful at this time with the world economy is fairly fragile. now is the time for us to de—escalate tension. i think the biden administration is doing the right thing but trying to open up lines of dialogue. i'm a democrat, iwas here with my republican co—chair and i think congress would also be willing to open up would also be willing to open up lines of communication and dialogue to de—escalate tensions. dialogue to de-escalate tensions.— dialogue to de-escalate tensions. , , tensions. there is still some time before _ tensions. there is still some time before the _ tensions. there is still some j time before the inauguration tensions. there is still some i time before the inauguration in may of president elect william

lai. are you expecting any reaction from china to the ascension? i reaction from china to the ascension?— reaction from china to the ascension? , . ., _ ascension? i wish i could say that i would _ ascension? i wish i could say that i would not _ ascension? i wish i could say that i would not expect - that i would not expect anything coming out of mainland china but i do think they will step up as they approached the main inauguration with more aggression, etc to try and influence the direction. again, he ran on maintaining the status quo. it's been peaceful and prosperous for the region. where here to reiterate that the future of taiwan is really up the future of taiwan is really up to the people of taiwan. the families of three people stabbed to death in nottingham last summer have expressed their fury at how police and prosecutors have handled the case — saying �*true justice has not been served'. the relatives of 65—year—old ian coates, and 19—year—old students grace 0'malley—kumar and barnaby webber were speaking after the sentencing

of their killer, valdo kallowkain, a paranoid schizophrenic. he will be detained indefinitely in a high—security hospital, after pleading guilty to three counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. navtej johal reports from nottingham crown court. taser, taser! stay where you are! this was the moment valdo calocane, a killer who caused carnage on the streets of nottingham, was caught. an hour and a half earlier, at four in the morning, cctv footage shows his first two victims, barnaby webber and grace 0'malley—kumar, 19—year—old students, walking back from a night out, unaware that they will never make it home. he emerged from the alleyway and, without any sort of warning whatsoever, he launched an attack on barnaby to begin with. incredible bravery that grace showed. she tried to intervene, tried to help herfriend, she tried to help barnaby. and the defendant then turned on her and began stabbing at her.

barnaby webber, from somerset, was a keen cricketer, studying history at the university of nottingham. grace 0'malley—kumar, from london, wanted to follow in her parents' footsteps and become a doctor. after killing them, calocane walks across the city. meanwhile, 65—year—old school caretaker ian coates is in his van on his way to work. the defendant causes ian to stop in his van and, again, seemingly without any sort of warning or conversation, he attacks ian and he launches an equally ferocious attack on him. ian was a father of three, a grandfather of eight, and was just five months away from retirement. calocane then drives ian's van towards the city centre and hits three pedestrians. they were wayne birkett, marcin gawronski and sharon miller. they were all injured, but survived. minutes later, the van is tracked down and the killer is arrested.

calocane pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, and guilty to three counts of attempted murder. the court heard he has had a history of mental illness, was in and out of hospital since 2020 and has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. he was also known to mental health services in nottingham and had been sectioned four times. a psychiatrist who assessed him told the court that calocane said the voices in his head told him that if he didn't carry out the attacks, they would kill his family. nottinghamshire police admitted yesterday that more should have been done to arrest calocane prior to the stabbings after a warrant had been issued for his arrest nine months earlier. but after the sentencing, the families of the victims were clear in their anger. to the assistant chief constable, rob griffin, who finally released this information public yesterday, i say this. you have blood on your hands.

if you had just done yourjobs properly, there's a very good chance my beautiful boy would be alive today. there is so much more to say and clearly serious questions regarding this case and events leading up to this monster being out in society. the fails from the police, the cps and the health service have resulted in the murder of my father and these two innocent students. the nhs mental health trusts have to be held accountable for their failures, along with the police. we will never come to terms with the loss of our beloved i daughter grace, and how she lost her life. - her heroic actions, - she was a gift to us and she was a gift to the country. we will look for answers - regarding missed opportunities to intervene and prevent this horrendous crime. l thank you. navteonhal, bbc news.

around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. a court has heard that a baby girl would still be alive if it wasn't for the "callous, cruel, arrogant and ultimately grossly negligent conduct" of her parents. constance marten and her partner mark gordon are on trial for the manslaughter of their newborn daughter victoria, who was found inside a shopping bag covered in rubbish. they deny the charges. the uk covid inquiry has heard that nicola sturgeon called borisjohnson a "clown" in an expletive—laden text conversation with her chief of staff. her successor as first minister humza yousaf has been facing scrutiny at the inquiry over his tenure as scotland's health secretary during the pandemic and the government's use of mobile messaging apps like whatsapp. scientists are warning that children who became overweight during the coronavirus pandemic could face life—long health consequences. the researchers say periods of covid restrictions saw

a sharp rise in obesity among ten and eleven year olds in england. prolonged absence from school, lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating habits have been blamed. president biden isjust president biden is just said cia on the release of hostages in gaza. he will meet the head of the israeli intelligence agency and the prime minister of qatarfor talks in france. more than 100 hostages are still being held by hamas in gaza why israel's siege and ongoing war continued to inflict a devastating toll on civilians. 0n the ground in gaza the hamas run ministries say report will killed in the north while the queued for food. israel has ordered tens of thousands of palestinians sheltering in the un can't put my compound to leave within 2a

hours was border between israel and gaza in the south families of israeli hostages held in gaza have stopped aid reaching the city. in gaza city hunger sometimes offers the best chance of survival. crowds drawn to a delivery of humanitarian aid yesterday driven away by gunfire. bullets arrive faster than starvation. sirens blare. today at the same aid delivery point 20 people were killed by shelling, according to the hamas—run health ministry. more than 100 injured. translation: we were heading to get flour and they shelled - us four times, and some people were martyred and injured, and i was injured in my hand and leg.

rockets are not the only threat to life in gaza. food stripped from trucks by hungry people as soon as they arrive. the un is warning of famine. doctors say diseases are spreading. ruba's chronically ill father died a week after moving to this refugee camp, she says. she shows our cameraman the makeshift train ——drain beside her tent. "this is where the sewage accumulates," she says. "when it rains all our bedsheets, blankets and clothes are soaked with sewage water". protesters arrived at israel's main crossing point today, calling for the release of family and friends held hostage by hamas — barring the path of aid trucks. if they need that aid they will give us our people. they will get all of the aid. we are not monsters.

we cannot give them without we get something back. it's very simple. do you feel any kind of conflict in your heart when you stop those trucks? nope. i feel that i need my people home. israel's private minister is under international pressure to get more aid into gaza and under domestic pressure to get the hostages out. he's sticking to his promise that military pressure is the way to free the hostages, but not everyone in the country or the cabinet agrees. lior peri's father chaim is being held in gaza. he thinks israel's prime minister has made a choice to continue the war — at the expense of the deal to free the hostages. he keeps saying the same thing. that he still thinks there are two objectives to the war, after it's been proven over and over that they cannot work

together, those two. either you bring down hamas and you give up the hostages or you stop the war and you bring back the hostages. chanting. in gaza too some families called for a ceasefire today and the release of prisoners. the price of peace measured in israeli lives as well as palestinian ones. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. to the war in your kramer questions remain over the transport plane that crashed on wednesday. russia accuses ukraine of shooting it down it says missile fragments and the black boxes were found at the side of the crash. defence security services open a criminal inquiry and recovery has called for the united nations and red cross to be given access to the crash site. the bbc has verified a plane going down followed by an

explosion and a fireball. the crash happened north east near the border with ukraine. staying with russia, a man who's planning on taking on vladimir putin is a legend in march told the bbc he would end the war in ukraine on day one of his presidency. boris nadarzin is a prominent anti—war campaigner — a position that carries significant risk in russia, given what has happened to many other opposition politicians. he gave his assessment of his chances in the election campaign. iam not i am not sure that i will wind this time but it shows to make sure that putin will not rule russia six years more. because more and more people each day understand that the track of the and isolation, the start killed the russian empire

in 1917. this site killed in 1991. more and more people understand that we should be away from this. it is a road to no lie. ., , ., , ., no lie. consultants have rejected _ no lie. consultants have rejected a _ no lie. consultants have rejected a pay _ no lie. consultants have rejected a pay rise - no lie. consultants have rejected a pay rise of. no lie. consultants have i rejected a pay rise of strife about the british medical association says 51% of its members voted against the offer of a 4—.6 5% pay rise now on top of a 6% rise in april. walking out four times last year including a joint with out with doctors. they say pay offer does not go far enough. 0ur health editor hugh pym has more on this. the our health editor hugh pym has more on this.— more on this. the government have given _ more on this. the government have given a — more on this. the government have given a strong _ more on this. the government have given a strong message i have given a strong message they thought this was a fair deal because of the money on the table. there were reforms of the whole system to make it easier for consultants to move up easier for consultants to move up the system for them if they had to take time out of the workforce, particularly women leaving and coming back and they would penalise. it was

sold is a very good package. been a lot of debate about it by consultants by this narrow margin it has been rejected by consulted members of the british medical association 51% consultants have a mandate for a further strike action until june. they've chosen not to announce anything along those lines at the stage they say they are in talks with the government to see if the offer can be improved. the reaction from the government so far has been disappointment that they thought it was a fair offer, they're not ruling out further talks with all this still leaves the junior doctors in england that there were no talks between them and the government says they are six—day strike earlier this month. there's a possibility they will stage further action. imagine getting a bit unexpected in your pay package for that what about £1 million extra?

speaking on american tv, the 56—year—old actor said he was once accidentally sent a box office bonus meant for the 27—year—old star of the spiderman movies tom holland. he said the pair briefly had the same agent and the seven figure sum was sent to him by mistake by the accounts department. i don't think i'm in the avengers. and it was an astonishing amount of money. it was not his salary — it was his first box office bonus. not the whole box office, the first one. and it was more money than i've ever... it was a seven—figure sum. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello. thursday was a pretty cloudy but very mild day. temperatures reached 14.1; celsius in a couple of spots. friday won't be quite as mild. a little bit cooler, a little bit fresher, but more in the way of sunshine. and just for some of us, a few showers around,

particularly across parts of scotland. but an overnight weatherfront has brought a lot of us some rain. that's just pushing its way eastwards. now through the early hours of friday it'lljust be lingering across parts of east anglia, the south—east of england as well. so early rain for some in the south and east that clears away. and then we're left with clear spells for all blustery showers coming in across the north—west for scotland over the higher ground. they could be falling as snow for a time. perhaps one or two showers for northern ireland and northern england, but they'll be few and far between. further south, you should stay dry all day. temperatures in the afternoon about 5 to 9 degrees. so for some of us, i think they're actually going to come down a little bit through the day. these are the wind gusts that we're expecting. it's going to be particularly windy up towards the north—west of scotland. western isles could see gales at times. into friday evening, more blustery showers in the north and the west, clearer and lighter winds to the south and east. and we could see some mist and fog patches forming through perhaps the midlands, east anglia, the south—east as well. temperatures getting down to two or three here in the towns and cities, so a slight frost.

further north, they've got more of a breeze, more cloud and patchy rain to keep those temperatures from falling too low. and then into the weekend, then it is back to the mild air, particularly by sunday. the winds coming in from the south where the front approaching from the west later on sunday. but for saturday, early morning mist and frost clearing away quite quickly. a bit of rain for parts of northern scotland where it will still be breezy and perhaps some patchy rain into northern ireland later in the day. but for central and southern scotland, much of england and wales are dry day. top temperatures around about nine or ten degrees. into the second half of the weekend, sunday probably going to be that a little bit warmer than saturday. again, quite a bit of sunshine around, a little bit of cloud drifting around here and there and more rain into northern ireland and western scotland later on in the day. but before it arrives, look at those temperatures, 12 or 13 degrees. so above average, certainly for this time of year into next week, low pressure starts to try and move its way in from the atlantic. we've got higher pressure across the continent, but things could turn a little bit more unsettled, particularly in the north for the middle part

of the week onwards. but its remaining mostly dry in the south. and certainly for all of us, it's looking mild. bye— bye.

us markets hit fresh record highs as the economy continues to grow. but fears for what tensions in the red sea will mean

for global inflation with oil prices hitting their highest levels this year. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. let's begin in the us. the world's number one economy grew at a better than expected pace at the end of last year, led by strong consumer spending. this drove stock markets to new highs. the benchmark s&p 500 index logged its fifth straight record close. 0ur correspondent michelle fleury has the latest from new york. foran for an economy many said was headed for recession, the us continues to defy expectations. in the final three months of last year the american economy grew faster than predicted expanding a manual rate of 3.3% while inflation fell. growth for the entire year also accelerated. even as the federal reserve was engaged in the most aggressive rake height cycles in years. the biden administration seized on the moment. here is the president and the battleground state of

wisconsin. and the battleground state of wisconsin-— and the battleground state of wisconsin. _, ., . ., wisconsin. the economic growth is stronger _ wisconsin. the economic growth is stronger than _