hamas is still holding more than 100 people. plus, donald trump appears in court, briefly, as part of his defence in a defamation case brought by writer e jean carroll. hello, i'm azadeh moshiri. welcome to the programme. for a second time, the us supreme court has ruled that the state of alabama can proceed with the country's first execution by nitrogen gas on thursday. three of the nine justices dissented. death row prisoner kenneth smith is expected to be executed using nitrogen gas. it's a method which the united nations has called "cruel and inhumane". it will be the state's second attempt to execute mr smith, who was convicted in 1988 of murdering a preacher�*s wife, in a hired killing. mr smith's spiritual advisor, reverend jeff hood,

will be in attendance in the chamber and says the execution will be a "horrififc moment" for the country. it isa it is a death days. and execution day. it is just horrible. every time one of these executions happens it is horrible. it is important to point out this is a day nobody wants. it is a sad, awful day for everyone, no matter what your perspective is. alabama's governor kay ivey gave the bbc this statement. she says: "this method has been thoroughly vetted and both "the alabama department of corrections "and the attorney general�*s office have indicated "it is ready to go." governor ivey also said, "the legislature passed this law in 2018, and it is ourjob "to implement it. " alabama is one of 27 us states where the death penalty is still legal. however, there are executive orders in six of those states, shown in orange, that have

placed a hold on executions. that includes california and oregon. all this is data from the non—profit death penalty information centre. 0ur correspondent tom bateman was in alabama and visited the facility where the execution took place. hejoins us live. thank you so much for your time. this was sort of a hail mary and it failed.— mary and it failed. what happens _ mary and it failed. what happens next? - mary and it failed. what happens next? the - mary and it failed. what - happens next? the execution will now take place because we are well within the timeframe that the alabama correctional facility had given for the execution to take place. they basically had a 12—hour window from 6pm local time to 6am in the morning. things were delayed while they waited for that supreme court decision, so that supreme court decision, so that has happened in the last hour, and as you said the supreme court rejecting the petition for a stay of execution. 0ne reporter at the

same, who was observing what was going on with the five media witnesses, because this is part of the alabama execution protocol, that there are five journalists, basically from local media who are part of the formal process to witness and execution. those five, after the supreme court ruling emerged, those five were taken in a bus to, towards the building where the execution chamber is and where the execution will be carried out. it seems the thing is in process. we will not get an update probably until it is finished. there was a press conference that the state holds afterwards. that will likely be the first moment we hear what has happened. but it appears now the process is under way. some of the justices did descent. what are some of the concerns, the reasons people are rejecting to this?-

concerns, the reasons people are rejecting to this? are re'ecting to this? three of the are rejecting to this? three of the nine justices _ are rejecting to this? three of the nine justices on _ are rejecting to this? three of the nine justices on the - the nine justices on the supreme court dissented through the liberaljudges on the caucus. the court now has a conservative majority now and has tended to just bat away any police force days of execution when it comes to capital punishment of late. but the three dissenting judges really repeated quite a lot of the arguments that were in smith's lawyers appeal to the federal court that were turned down by that court and then bounced up to the supreme court. that was by the defence attorneys. saying one of the main 6—page dissenting statement released, one just saying this court permits again alabama to experiment with human life, selecting him as a guinea pig to test a method of execution never attempted before. the justice going on to say, that

this was about the descent, it was about protecting the eighth amendment of the us constitution, which is about barring cruel and unusual punishments. so, clearly the dissentingjudges punishments. so, clearly the dissenting judges believe this amounts to cruel and unusual punishment by the state of alabama. punishment by the state of alabama-— punishment by the state of alabama. ., ., ~ i. punishment by the state of alabama. ., ., ~ . alabama. tom, thank you so much for the update. _ alabama. tom, thank you so much for the update. as _ alabama. tom, thank you so much for the update. as tom _ alabama. tom, thank you so much for the update. as tom said - for the update. as tom said there, we're still waiting to find out how this progresses. joining me to discuss is justin mazzola, who is the deputy director of research at amnesty international usa, an organisation focused on human rights. thank you so much for your time. justin, can i first get your reaction to the supreme court decision to not hold this yes, thank you. it is not surprising considering what was just mentioned around the conservative nature of the court and how they have been handling death penalty cases.

emergency state yesterday and the appeal from the 11th circuit today was denied. the justice dissenting comments were prescient in terms of where we stand in terms of what's about to happen. what are your specific concerns here about the method being used? amnesty international is opposed the death penalty in all circumstances, and all forms and method of execution. it is the ultimate cruel and degrading punishment. there are a number of issues specifically with kenneth smith and this method of execution particularly troubling. for one, like the dissenting justice said, using him as a guinea pig, it is untested. we do not what will happen specifically and they are basically using him as a lab rat to try this new method. there is no humane method for a state to kill somebody. i cannot state that enough. the alabama state government should

work towards abolishing the death penalty rather than coming up with fixes. justin, 'ust to coming up with fixes. justin, just to interrupt _ coming up with fixes. justin, just to interrupt there, - coming up with fixes. justin, just to interrupt there, his i just to interrupt there, his lawyers though, in their appeals, even said that they would rather have methods like a firing squad. could you explain that?— a firing squad. could you explain that? yeah, because obviously — explain that? yeah, because obviously there _ explain that? yeah, because obviously there are - explain that? yeah, because obviously there are a - explain that? yeah, because| obviously there are a number explain that? yeah, because i obviously there are a number of concerns from the fact that kenneth smith underwent a lethal injection execution 1a months ago was basically tortured on the gurney. know that method is not going to work because their inability to find veins. this is basically putting him through something that he has been described as having ptsd now from that experience and placing a mask over his face and trying to force him to and how nitrogen gas, there are real concerns that he could end up vomiting, issues with him vomiting for the past few days. their decision to address that was basically to not feed him since

ten o'clock this morning. so, obviously there may be other ways to kill him that would be better for him specifically to better for him specifically to be executed. but obviously in terms of how amnesty international views this issue is there is no humane way to do this, whether by firing squad or nitrogen gas. find this, whether by firing squad or nitrogen gas.— this, whether by firing squad or nitrogen gas. and i pushed back a little _ or nitrogen gas. and i pushed back a little bit _ or nitrogen gas. and i pushed back a little bit in _ or nitrogen gas. and i pushed back a little bit in that, - back a little bit in that, could you not argue that this has been going through several courts now, notjust the us supreme court obviously, and that this decision has been made and the legal process has been fulfilled? , exactly, but we are also trusting alabama. this is a department of corrections and estate that has a series of botched executions and they are basically saying, trust us, we know it when doing. have told us they have edited but how, and on whom? dash bettered the potential for bust execution is very hike

especially considering the untested method. you are against the death penalty as a whole, as i understand it correctly, what you say to people that would argue that he murdered someone? hired to kill someone? and shouldn't the penalty fit the crime?- penalty fit the crime? yes, obviously _ penalty fit the crime? yes, obviously people _ penalty fit the crime? yes, obviously people who - penalty fit the crime? yes, i obviously people who support the death penalty will feel that way but under the fact that way but under the fact that there is no way, humane way to kill somebody and the factory should not even be on death row to begin with, due to a change of law in 2017, which he was convicted and sentenced by a jury to life without parole, but thejudge by a jury to life without parole, but the judge then overrode that decision. this practice was outlawed in 2017 but never applied retroactively. the alabama legislature has just introduced a bill to do exactly that. but evenif a bill to do exactly that. but even if it does pass this session, it will be too late

for kenneth smith to take advantage of that. there are a number of issues with this specific case. even if you oppose the death penalty in all cases, there are number of issues with this case and the method of execution, which make us come out and say this should not go forward and governor ib should do all she can stop this execution. and move forward on this bill with the legislation, hb 27, to take not only kenneth smith but also roughly 30 other individuals off death row, who had theirjewellery individuals off death row, who had their jewellery sets individuals off death row, who had theirjewellery sets is overridden by thejudge in those circumstances. overridden by the judge in those circumstances. justin, i appreciate — those circumstances. justin, i appreciate your _ those circumstances. justin, i appreciate your time. - those circumstances. justin, i appreciate your time. thank l those circumstances. justin, i i appreciate your time. thank you for coming on. we will have more updates for you throughout this programme and the night as they come in. us presidentjoe biden has appointed william burns, the head of the cia, to broker a deal that would secure the release of israeli hostages in gaza. burns will meet with qatar's prime minister and a top israeli intelligence official this weekend, for talks on another hostage deal. meanwhile on the ground

in gaza, israel has ordered tens of thousands of palestinians sheltering in a un compound in the embattled city of khan younis 0ur middle east correspondent mark lowen is following the latest. the un palestinian agency has confirmed to us that it is rarely evacuation order has been issued for those sheltering in a training centre in hard eunice in southern gaza. they are thought to be around 30,000 people sheltering in the facility who are now being told to evacuate by friday at 5pm to move south towards rougher, right on the southern tip of gaza on the border with egypt, a city now thought to be sheltering some 1.5 million people. that's after, out of gaza's population of 2—.3 million. that facility was hit in fire on wednesday, which killed at least a dozen

people and injured more than 70. israel says it was not behind that attack. it has investigated and said it could have been a hamas rocket. memo, there has been renewed fighting around hospitals in hard eunice. 0ne around hospitals in hard eunice. one of three remaining partly functioning hospitals has now closed and said that women who had given birth by c—section in the middle of the night were forced to evacuate. and that hospital has no close. the world health organization said to thirds of hospitals across gaza are no longer functioning at all. now, there is a diminishing number of health facilities in the south. israel insists hamas launches attacks from medical facility thatis attacks from medical facility that is something hamas and medical authorities deny. mark lowen there. the humanitarian situation remains a pressing issue, and there are continued fears about the limited amount of aid getting into the territory. there's also concern about how it's distributed, once it does arrive.

0n the border between israel and gaza, at kerem shalom near rafah in the south, families of israeli hostages held in gaza have prevented aid from reaching the city. 0ur middle east correspondent lucy williamson reports from there. and a warning — some viewers may find content in her piece distressing. 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 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. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at a major tech story making news. starting in march, apple users in the european union will be able to download apps from rivals to the tech giant. until now they've only been able to access apple's own store. it's a major u—turn for the company. our technology editor zoe kleinman has more. the eu hopes that opening up apple's ecosystem will make it

easier for both customers and businesses to find more choices, but apple's warning that it will also come with increased security risks. there is no chance of this happening here in the uk at the moment, although we do have proposals for similar legislation to the eu going through parliament right now. apple had been accused of creating a monopoly, giving customers and developers no choice but to go through its own channels. it also charged developers commissions of up to 30%. that's meant developers who either fail to meet apple's standards for being on its app store, or do not want to pay its fees, are excluded from millions of consumers. you're live with bbc news. four minutes — that's how long former us president donald trump took the stand for his testimony in a new york court on thursday. trump was testifying in the defamation trial brought by writer e jean carroll. she is seeking more than $10 million in damages for comments trump made in 2019 after she accused him of raping her in the 90s.

trump denies ever meeting carroll, but that's despite a previous ruling that he did in fact sexually assault her. in 2019, trump accused carroll of making up the sexual assault to boost sales of her memoir. a jury has already ruled those claims were defamatory 0ur correspondent in new york, nada tawfik, has more. 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 ejean 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, the judge ordered stricken from the record. but that didn't stop the former president from uttering, "this is not america" and "i never met her", from the defence 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 in damages donald trump should pay for defaming e jean carroll. nada tawfik reporting there. meanwhile, donald trump's former senior adviser, peter navarro, has been sentenced to four months in prison for two counts of contempt of congress. navarro was also handed a fine of $9,500. the 74—year—old was convicted in september after he ignored a subpoena from a house committee investigating alleged efforts to overturn

the 2020 election. federal prosecutors said navarro chose allegiance to former president trump, over the rule of law. the former trump aide has appealed the conviction. let's turn to other news around the world. french farmers blocked highways again on thursday, in protest against new environmental regulations and rising energy costs. farmers said the protests, now in their second week, would continue all the way to paris if their demands are not met. farmers want diesel tax—breaks for agricultural vehicles, the payment of eu subsidies, and aid for winemakers — amongst other things. activists in australia have toppled a statue of the british explorer captainjames cook and defaced a statue of queen victoria. they did this in protest at british settlement of the country more than two centuries ago. friday is australia day, a controversial national holiday, marking the landing of britain's first fleet in 1788.

many indigenous australians refer to it as �*invasion day'. let's return to our coverage of the events in the middle east now. the us and uk issued new sanctions on houthi leaders on thursday. this comes as the group, backed by iran, pledges to continue targeting ships that they claim are linked to israel. they say it's in protest against the war in gaza. got rare access to a us warship on patrol in the red sea and sent us this report. surveying the seas and ready to strike. back in the relative calm of the mediterranean, these us marines are primed for action in the middle east. they have just returned from the red sea where they were the first responders to houthi attacks on commercial shipping. the crew of the uss bataan

warship were on their way home from patrolling the persian gulf when hamas attacked israel on october the 7th and the war began in gaza. they were rapidly diverted towards israel, a show of power and a message to iran and its proxies. i think there is always a risk of miscalculation, but our presence matters, and we serve as a deterrent, prepared to respond and in support of our national security interests or the interests of our allies and partners. but the houthis say they will continue to target ships they claim are linked to israel and the west for as long as civilians are being killed in gaza. and so far the group remain undeterred by us led strikes on some of their military bases in yemen. captain earl ehrhart expected nothing like this when he left georgia lastjuly.

being stationed in the red sea, there was a lot of traffic flying near, over, and then towards us from the houthis and there was one way attack drones. it was definitely a new experience. didn't think i was going to be doing that when we launched out on deployment, for sure. destroyers like this are being used to shield the bataan and other boats by shooting down any threats. we are taken down into its command centre for a simulation. command rooms like this are now at the sharp edge of the us involvement in the middle east and beyond. they are the warship's eyes and ears, tracking friendly vessels, identifying incoming threats and initiating rapid response against the attack. for many in the middle east, including forces aligned with iran, an american presence is always provocative. the us says it doesn't want

any further escalation, but while the war in gaza goes on, this crew won't know when they are heading home. nafiseh kohnavard, bbc news, in the eastern mediterranean. and finally, we have two space stories for you, one a celebration of a job well done and the other a tale of, well, "it was worth a shot". first up, nasa's ingenuity mars helicopter has made its final flight after three years of service. it sustained damage during a recent landing and is no longer capable of flight. the mini—aircraft made history by achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet in 2021. the last of its 72 flights took place last week. this is the final picture it sent back to earth, showing damage to its rotor blade. well, as one mission ends, another one has had a disastrous start. to put it lightly. last week, japan launched a mission to land a research

vehicle on the moon. but despite achieving the difficult task of landing, the spacecraft was struggling to generate the power needed to start operations, confusing the team back on earth. well, we now have the answer. 0n the left is how the slim spacecraft is supposed to look. and on the right — well, that's how it looks instead. it landed upside down, on its nose. meaning the solar panels that power the $120 million space craft were unable to deploy. that is a pretty bad day at the office. thank you so much for watching. i'm azadeh moshiri. please stay with us on 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 weather

front 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—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 northwest 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 southeast 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 it's remaining mostly dry in the south. and certainly for all of us, it's looking mild. bye— bye.

us markets eat fresh record high as the economy continues to grow. de mass layoffs basing

start—ups in india. we will have the latest. 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 last year, led by strong consumer spending, which drove stock markets to new highs. s&p 500 logged its fifth—straight record close. michelle fleury has more from new york. 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 expected, expanding at an annual 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 rate height cycle in years.

biden administration ceased on the moment.