�*seen such a they have never seen such a violent reaction it to an execution. the international court ofjustice is due to make a decision later on a case brought by south africa which claims israel is committing genocide in gaza. we have a special report on the thousands of people in georgia who were stolen from their parents at birth and sold for adoption. and later in business, soon apple users in europe will be able to download apps from rival stores. hello. i'm lukwesa burak. welcome to bbc news. the us state of alabama has carried out the first known execution of a death row inmate by suffocation with nitrogen gas. kenneth smith, a convicted murderer, was put to death after the supreme court again denied a last minute appeal. the method had never been tried before and smith's lawyers had argued that it amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.

the commissioner of alabama's department of corrections, john hamm, gave details of the execution at a news conference. at 7:53 central time tonight, alabama started carrying out the execution by nitrogen oxide by... smith was executed by the i988 by... smith was executed by the 1988 capital murder of elizabeth sennet in culver county. police confer with many witnesses for smith's last words. he was pronounced dismissed at 8:25pm central standard time. that was the commissioner of alabama's corrections, jon hamm, speaking.

after the execution, a number of witnesses addressed the media and described what happened. once execution began, within a of minutes kenny began to violently push against the straps. he said began to move back and forth violently. this was the fifth execution i've witnessed in alabama and i have never seen such a violent reaction to an execution. charles sennett, whose mother elizabeth was murdered by kenneth smith, also gave his reaction to the execution. nothing happened here today is going to bring mom back. nothing. it's kind of a bittersweet day. we are not going to bejumping around, hooping and hollering hurray and all that. that's not us. but i'm glad at this day is over. live now to our north america correspondent david willis, who's in washington.

hello there to you, david. first what reaction has there been to this execution in the united states?— been to this execution in the united states? well, depending on who you _ united states? well, depending on who you listen _ united states? well, depending on who you listen to, _ united states? well, depending on who you listen to, there - united states? well, depending on who you listen to, there are l on who you listen to, there are those who on the alabama state side who are saying this was carried out in accordance with the plans that had been in place for some while, welcome as you just heard there, there are others who are saying this was quite a long and torturous death for this man, kenneth smith. now, we heard from the alabama state governor, kay ivey, who said after more than 30 years and attempt after attempt to gain the system, she it, only part of kenneth smith he had answered, she put it, for his horrendous crimes. in her statement concluded by saying "ipray that elizabeth

sennefs saying "ipray that elizabeth sennet�*s family can receive closure after all these years dealing with that great loss" as she said in a statement. this is, of course, a highly controversial means of execution. kenneth smith had dodged a previous attempt to execute him more than a year ago after officials in alabama failed to find a vein through which to administer a lethal injection. and there had been various appeals lodged over the planned execution tonight with the us supreme court, the highest court in the land. they were all reject did. and not long after the word came down that those appeals had been reject did came the news that kenneth smith had been put to death at age 20 5pm this evening, localtime death at age 20 5pm this evening, local time in alabama. david, how is it that nitrogen was used for this execution?

well, what this procedure entails is pumping nitrogen gas into a mask which covers the phase and the inmate, the prisoner is therefore made to inhale this nitrogen gas and, basically, they are deprived, the body is deprived of oxygen. but we heard, didn't we, from some of the eyewitnesses to deny�*s execution who told of a mr smith twisting and turning on the gurney, gasping for breath, and spending several minutes alive before this lethal dose of nitrogen gas had overpowered him. there will be a lot of questions, obviously, of how successful or otherwise, if one can put it that way, this method turned out to be and currently, of course, all

we have is the word of those small number of people who were admitted into the execution chamber in alabama tonight's to witness what happened. qm. witness what happened. 0k, david willis, _ witness what happened. 0k, david willis, thank _ witness what happened. 0k, david willis, thank you very much indeed stop thank you. could israel be forced into agreeing a gaza ceasefire in the coming hours? the un's highest court delivers its initial ruling later on a genocide case against israel. if the judges believe there is a case to answer, they could demand israel call a ceasefire in gaza and allow in more un humanitarian aid. israel has challenged the accusation at the court in the hague, but whatever the ruling, there is no guarantee that israel would necessarily abide by its findings. our correspondent anna holligan sent this update from the hague. well, south africa has asked the judges to issue a series of provisional measures like a

restraining order to protect the palestinian people and prevents the situation from escalating while the judges consider the broader accusation of genocide. so today at the icj they will be looking at whether south africa has done enough to show that there is a plausible case under the genocide convention and whether the palestinian population in gaza faces a real and imminent threat of suffering irreparable harm. if that is the case, according to thejudges, harm. if that is the case, according to the judges, they will be able to issue provisional measures like an emergency injunction, which could include an order for emergency injunction, which could include an orderfor an immediate ceasefire. now, israel has said it is at ding in—line, accordance with international law, in self

defence, and has accused south africa of distorting the truth. if the court rules against israel is almost certain that order would be ignored and the court has no enforcement mechanism and yet it would intensify political pressure on israel to work towards a ceasefire, also intensify focus on israel's international allies to work behind the scenes to achieve a resolution and also ensure that humanitarian supplies, food, water, medical care is getting to where it's needed. that was anna holligan. i'm joined now by peter bekker, former international court ofjustice staff lawyer and chair in international law, university of dundee. hello, welcome to the programme. i would like to get your reflections, first off, on the significance of what could take place today.—

take place today. yes, thank ou, take place today. yes, thank you. and _ take place today. yes, thank you. and it's _ take place today. yes, thank you, and it's good _ take place today. yes, thank you, and it's good to - take place today. yes, thank you, and it's good to be - take place today. yes, thank you, and it's good to be with you. i think for the benefit of your viewers, you. i think for the benefit of yourviewers, one you. i think for the benefit of your viewers, one should realise that today's ruling will not be an interim judgement, so at the present stage of these proceedings, the court is not required to ascertain when ever —— any violations of obligations on the genocide convention have occurred in the context of this dispute between south africa and israel, so it is not going to be a definitive ruling. the court is not called upon to make any definitive findings of fact. 50 make any definitive findings of fact, ,, ., ., make any definitive findings of fact. ., , w fact. so what will be achieved then by any — fact. so what will be achieved then by any ruling _ fact. so what will be achieved then by any ruling today, - fact. so what will be achieved then by any ruling today, if i then by any ruling today, if they are found all there is a case there, according to the court, what then? what then achieve? i'mjust thinking achieve? i'm just thinking about achieve? i'mjust thinking about the process of law, because if israel won't even abide by theirfindings, you do ask yourself what's the point?

true. but you have to keep in mind that the function or the object of provisional measures is to prevent or, sorry, to preserve the respective rights of the parties to this case and thatis of the parties to this case and that is pending the court's final decision. so it means that we want to get to a point where the merits of the case can be adjudicated by the court and where the parties are going to adduce evidence. there is a significant in the indication of provisional measures in that the course under its statute must give notice of any provisional measures to the united nations security council in new york and the court has also held since 2001 that provisional measures create international legal obligations for the parties to the case, so a violation of such an order will trigger the responsibility of the noncomplying state under

international law. find of the noncomplying state under international law.— international law. and how long is that process _ international law. and how long is that process is _ international law. and how long is that process is likely - international law. and how long is that process is likely to - is that process is likely to take? ~ ., ., ~' is that process is likely to take? ~ ., , take? well, if we look at past cases, take? well, if we look at past cases. the — take? well, if we look at past cases, the bosnia _ take? well, if we look at past cases, the bosnia case, - take? well, if we look at past cases, the bosnia case, it - take? well, if we look at past| cases, the bosnia case, it was the first genocide convention case that was brought in 1993, it was not adjudicated through a final ruling until 2007, so that's 1a a final ruling until 2007, so that's14 years, and the current case between the gambia and myanmar has been pending since 2019, so that is over four years. these proceedings take a long time. of course, the allegations that are brought our grave and serious and so the court will need to hear from the parties through, probably, several rounds. qm. probably, several rounds. 0k, peter bekker, _ probably, several rounds. 0k, peter bekker, thank— probably, several rounds. 0k, peter bekker, thank you very much for that. thank you. you are most— much for that. thank you. you are most welcome. _ talks on a potential second gaza hostage deal could be on the cards. it's emerged that high—level talks are due to take place in the coming days and that president biden

is sending the director of the cia to help broker a deal. william burns is scheduled to meet his israeli counterpart, as well as egyptian and qatari officials. the negotiations are being seen as a sign of diplomatic progress. they feature all the key players who secured the last release deal in november, which led to a week—long pause in the fighting. benjamin radd, who's a senior fellow at the university of california burkle center for international relations, and a lecturer in middle east studies. hello and welcome to the programme. so, these negotiations, could you tell us exactly what the sticking points are. yes, thank you for having me back. the issue seems to be what exactly would be the phase release of the hostages, if any. israel is hoping for an agreement the results in all the remaining hostages,

proximally 100 the remaining hostages, proximally100 of them, to be released at once, whereas it appears that hamas is favouring appears that hamas is favouring a more phase and said in a press release in the hostages as the year progresses. h0??? as the year progresses. how likel is as the year progresses. how likely is it — as the year progresses. how likely is it that _ as the year progresses. how likely is it that we _ as the year progresses. how likely is it that we could - as the year progresses. how likely is it that we could get to that point?— likely is it that we could get to that point? well, the other stickin: to that point? well, the other sticking point _ to that point? well, the other sticking point is _ to that point? well, the other sticking point is what - to that point? well, the other sticking point is what israel. sticking point is what israel will do in return. hamas wants an extended or, essentially, a permanent ceasefire, israel is offering as of now something like 60 days. so there are those differences that have to be overcome in addition to what prisoners if any israel is going to release in exchange for those hostages. as of now the obstacles are there but there is considerable pressure within israeli domestic politics and the population to do what is necessary to release the hostages. two if that pressure continues it seems that sumdeel is likely. would the cia and — that sumdeel is likely. would the cia and mossad - that sumdeel is likely. would the cia and mossad be - that sumdeel is likely. would l the cia and mossad be involved in the initial ceasefire agreement? is it normal to have spy agreement? is it normal to have spy agencies involved in

negotiations like this? well, in this case _ negotiations like this? well, in this case we _ negotiations like this? well, in this case we have - negotiations like this? well, | in this case we have someone like director burns who has been a diplomat before he became cia director stubby has very established relations with many foreign ministers and governments in the middle east, so in large part he has being tapped not because of his spy agency connections, leadership position, but specifically because of his diplomatic skills and experience and that is what we are seeing. in terms of the israeli mossad chief, he is the one netanyahu trust you handle these negotiations as well. ,,, ., ~ handle these negotiations as well. .,~ ., handle these negotiations as well. ., ~ ., well. speaking of mr netanyahu, he really is _ well. speaking of mr netanyahu, he really is coming _ well. speaking of mr netanyahu, he really is coming under - he really is coming under pressure on this, isn't he? indeed, the process, not only the domestic population, but we are also seeing splits and pushback within his war cabinet, specifically from benny gantz, one of the members of the war cabinet who is in an opposition party. of the war cabinet who is in an opposition party-— opposition party. ben'amin radd, thankfi opposition party. ben'amin radd, thank you h opposition party. ben'amin radd, thank you very]- opposition party. benjaminl radd, thank you very much. opposition party. benjamin - radd, thank you very much. as ever. around the world and across

the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a group representing businesses in the north of england has called for the council tax system to be overhauled for the first time in more than 30 years. the northern powerhouse partnership has written to the chancellor, calling on him to carry out a revaluation of every home in england to make the tax fairer. the government says it has no plans for such a review. a newborn baby found in east london has been discharged from hospital and is in foster care. the baby who was named elsa by authorities, was discovered by a dog walker last thursday, in newham in sub—zero temperatures. elsa's parents have not come forward and there is still no information about her identity. nhs consultants in england have narrowly rejected an offer to resolve their long—running pay dispute. their union, the british medical association, said it would now give

the government a chance to improve its offer. ministers say they're "carefully considering" the options. you're live with bbc news. bbc news has obtained documents showing the government was complicit in a decision by the post office to sack the forensic accountants who had found bugs in its it system. a sub—committee of the post office board took the decision in april 2014. yet the post office kept the government's involvement in it secret — and continued to claim the accountants had vindicated its horizon computer system. andy verity has this exclusive report. the post office hired independent forensic accountant second sight to investigate his complaint that its ingenuity computer system generated false evidence of shortfalls used to prosecute some postmasters. filth.

prosecute some postmasters. 0h, m god. prosecute some postmasters. oh, my god- it — prosecute some postmasters. oh, my god- it has — prosecute some postmasters. on my god. it has doubled prosecute some postmasters. oi, my god. it has doubled right in front of my eyes.— front of my eyes. they found evidence _ front of my eyes. they found evidence of _ front of my eyes. they found evidence of computer - front of my eyes. they found evidence of computer bugs l front of my eyes. they found - evidence of computer bugs doing just that in 76 branches and told the post office injuly 2013. instead of coming clean, the post office kept insisting on public its system was robust while in private it agreed a plan to take second sight of the case. this envelope contains documents to the post office bosses did not want you the public to see. minutes of a subcommittee of the post office board kept from sub—postmasters assay for the way through the courts. they were eventually released a few years later with heavy reductions. look at those blacked out passengers. i have hold of the unredacted document and it showed what was going on and it showed what was going on and who knew about it. spoiler it owed just the government do about it. it showed the post office chair, and a government representative discussed second

sight role... behind reductions it showed that in april 2014 they agreed a plan to continue to investigate cases but bring it within the control of the post office. cutting out second sight�*s independent role and they reveal that post office bosses did not plan to pay anything like that compensation sub—postmasters were claiming. in fact, only a round 1 million pounds for all cases. the post office continued to say... saying there were no systemic issues with horizon. i saying there were no systemic issues with horizon.— saying there were no systemic issues with horizon. i have not not that issues with horizon. i have not got that money. _ issues with horizon. i have not got that money. when - issues with horizon. i have not got that money. when in - issues with horizon. i have not got that money. when in fact i issues with horizon. i have not| got that money. when in fact is told in a tv _ got that money. when in fact is told in a tv drama _ got that money. when in fact is told in a tv drama this - got that money. when in fact is told in a tv drama this month, | told in a tv drama this month, false evidence was used to prosecute people likejo hamilton. prosecute people like 10 hamilton.— prosecute people like 10 hamilton. ., , ., hamilton. what is it all about? do we live _ hamilton. what is it all about? do we live in _ hamilton. what is it all about? do we live in a _ hamilton. what is it all about? do we live in a democracy - hamilton. what is it all about? do we live in a democracy or i do we live in a democracy or don't we? and then they have done some terrible things to people, why they didn'tjust tell be truth and sorted out then, i do not know. for mps

who campaigned _ then, i do not know. for mps who campaigned for- then, i do not know. for mps who campaigned for some i who campaigned for some sub—postmasters it again proved what they long suspected. this was a government _ what they long suspected. ti 3 was a government organisation being overseen by government representative. and it is the government that has to take responsibility for everything that went wrong. it is a distinctly corrupt, murky story that goes right the way into government and it is deeply worrying. government and it is deeply wor ini. ~ government and it is deeply worrying-— government and it is deeply wor ini. ~ . worrying. we contacted alice perkins and _ worrying. we contacted alice perkins and paula _ worrying. we contacted alice perkins and paula vennells l worrying. we contacted alice l perkins and paula vennells but did not received a response. declined to comment while the enquiry was ongoing. the post office also declined to comment. andrew verity, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news now. protests are being held across australia, calling for the country's national holiday to be changed. australia day, the 26th of january, marks the arrival of european

colonialists in 1788. demonstrators want the date to be changed, as a sign of respect for indigenous australians. thousands of people gathered in sydney and melbourne, many holding aboriginal flags. parts of spain have been hit by unusually high temperatures forjanuary. valencia has seen temperatures of 30 degrees which is usual injune but not during the winter months. the heatwave is also affecting parts of southeast france. the highest constitutional authority in france has rejected significant parts of a controversial new immigration law. the constitutional council ruled that almost a third of articles in the bill had to be removed. among them are the restriction of access to social benefits and the right to family reunification as well as the setting of immigration quotas by parliament. thousands of people in georgia have found out that they were stolen from their parents at birth and sold for adoption.

it's believed the black market in baby trafficking operated for decades from the late 19705 up to the mid—20005. some of the victims are now taking their cases to the georgian courts, hoping to get access to their birth records so they can trace their biological families. fay nurse has been investigating. this is the first time twins are meeting their birth mother. the twins only learned of each other�*s existence two years ago, separated and illegally adopted at birth. the mother was told they had died shortly after they were born. from today, my life is great meaning. it is a great happiness that i have found my children. how the twins found each other is nothing short of

miraculous. it was after amy posted a tiktok and anno saw it. translation: when i saw her i thought i was looking at myself. the same person, the same basis, the same boy. they are not the only example of children separated from parents in georgia. the twins found their mother to a facebook group of more than 230,000 members all hunting for the truth. it was set up by a georgian journalist, truth. it was set up by a georgianjournalist, also looking for herfamily. georgianjournalist, also looking for her family. jill mccabe helping parents define their who were stolen and sold by the georgian doctors. but she has exposed a dark chapter in georgian history. a black market it, scandal, tens of thousands of babies trafficked and spanning decades. element i get messages every day from people over georgia. but after the country slipped into

economic despair, following independence from the soviet union, corruption drive. she started working with... to try to bring justice to family. translation: adoption was not properly regulated by the state. so people try to solve issues on their own. leah believes a sophisticated network of criminals, working alongside corrupt doctors, profited from a culture of secrecy and shame surrounding adoption. secrecy and shame surrounding adotion. . ,, . adoption. translation: one thin i adoption. translation: one thing i can — adoption. translation: one thing i can say _ adoption. translation: one thing i can say with _ adoption. translation: one thing i can say with certainty l thing i can say with certainty is that this illegal adoption was systemic. and it operated and existed all over the country and that is why this is so tragic. but the girls the work means the cases can end up in court. she has still not found her own family. element i have reunited hundreds of families and i cannot find my

biological parents. but i will, i'm sure i will. i will find them. , ., ., them. georgia's government says it is investigation _ them. georgia's government says it is investigation but _ them. georgia's government says it is investigation but so - them. georgia's government says it is investigation but so far - it is investigation but so far no arrests have been made. fate nurse, bbc news georgia. if you're in the uk you can watch the full documentary, betrayal at birth: georgia's stolen children on the iplayer. and if you're outside of the uk it's on the bbc world service youtube channel. nasa has confirmed that a tiny helicopter it sent to mars has stopped working after it suffered damage. the space agency said ingenuity had exceeded all expectations since arriving on the red planet nearly three years ago. nasa said ingenuity had paved the way for future flight in space. that ingenuity, the little helicopter that could and it kept saying, i think i can, i

think i can, well, it has now taken its last flight on mars. as it was coming down for landing, at least one of its carbon fibre rotor blades was damaged. we are investigating the possibility that the blade struck the ground. let's take you to delhi where celebrations marking republic day are taking place. the chief guest at the celebrations is the french president emmanuel macron and french armed forces have been taking part in the military parade. you are watching bbc news. hello. thursday was a pretty cloudy but very mild day. temperatures reached 14.4 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—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 further 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.

live from london, this is bbc news. recession? what recession? the us economy is growing much more strongly than expected — a fact seized on by president biden as he battles for re—election.

thanks to the american people america now is the strongest growth, lowe's inflation rate of any economy in the world. cheering. —— lowest inflation rate. also coming up — giving rivals a bite. apple is forced to allow other app stores on its devices in europe. but uk users won't benefit — for now at least. plus, feeling confident? uk consumers are at their most optimistic in two years according to a new survey. so is there an end in sight to the cost of living crisis? hello and we start the programme in the united states, where the world's biggest economy has shrugged off predictions of a recession. it's continuing to grow at a healthy pace despite the relentless rise in interest rates. official figures out on thursday showed us gdp growing at an annual rate

of 3.3% in the last three