but to ditch labour's £28 billion a year commitment to green investment. he is doing extremely well under the circumstances. the queen on herfirst official engagement since the king's cancer diagnosis. why parkrun has suddenly deleted all gender, age and course records in the wake of a row over trans athletes holding female records. we report on the scientists trying to find out why people stammer and the impact stammering has on so many people's lives. i've even had moments where i've not called myself peter. i've said, hi, i've introduced myself as michael — and that's the most unbelievable feeling. and on newsnight at 10:30pm... we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to key players on today's big stories. plus a first look at tomorrow's front pages.

good evening. president biden�*s memory has been called into question after an investigation by a us prosecutor in to how he handled classified documents, after serving as vice president in 2017. the report found that mr biden had "wilfully" retained and disclosed material — but said he will not face criminal charges. the report says that's partly because mr biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during his interview, as a sympathetic, well—meaning elderly man with a poor memory. our north america correspondent john sudworth is in washington. not easy reading forjoe biden. it isn't, sophie. we'll come to the

political ramifications of all this in a moment, they are significant, of course, but in legal terms at least this is a vindication for president biden. the report by a former trumpjustice department former trump justice department official find former trumpjustice department official find there is former trumpjustice department officialfind there is insufficient grounds to charge him for his mishandling of classified documents after leaving the vice presidency under president obama and it says unlike president donald trump �*s alleged behaviour in a similar classified documents case, president biden has cooperated in full, and in his reaction today, the president seemed to suggest that as far as he was concerned this is case closed. the special counsel released their findings today about looking into my handling of classified documents. i was pleased to see they reached the conclusion i believed and knew all along they would — that no charges should be brought in this case. applause but that's where the good news ends,

because there is a serious political sting in the tail. the report goes on to say that even were they to bring charges against president biden in this document case, a jury would be unlikely to convict because of serious lapses in his memory and the most damning passages that suggests he couldn't remember when his vice presidency began, when it ended, or even the year that his son died. now, ina ended, or even the year that his son died. now, in a document appended to this report mr biden and's lawyers say that the kind of memory lapses described are the sort that anybody could suffer under long interrogation but, you know, they say here in washington if you are explaining you are losing and you can almost hear the word of typewriters as the political attack ads are being written. john sudworth with the latest _ ads are being written. john sudworth with the latest from _ ads are being written. john sudworth with the latest from washington, - with the latest from washington, thank you. sir keir starmer has confirmed that labour is ditching a pledge to spend £28 billion a year on environmental projects if it wins

the general election. environmental groups have called the move short—sighted, and the conservatives have described it as a major u—turn on a flagship policy. but speaking to the bbc, sir keir said the target had to be scaled back because the conservatives had crashed the economy. our political editor chris mason is in westminster. good evening to you, sophie. two and a half years ago labour promised to spend £28 billion a year on the green industries of the future. last summer they diluted the plans. for the last couple of weeks and months they've been in the desert about whether to keep them or to drop them. today, they fed them into the shredder. let me walk you through those numbers. £28 billion has gone. the new number is about £5 billion a year. the gap not quite as big as it first appears because of what the government is that it will do and labour say it will match but nonetheless it is a significant reduction. they say they will pay for what they are committed to buy

extending a windfall tax on energy companies and the rest, the other half, will come from borrowing. i've been talking to keir starmer. how are you doing? good to see you, thanks for your time. this is what the man who wants to be prime minister sounds like as hejunks a headline promise. keir starmer, let's be clear, what are you binning today and what are you keeping? every single commitment that we've made that is on the table is staying. the warm homes commitment is scaled down. that will take a bit longer. but everything else is exactly as announced. we've made a number of very important commitments, like green steel so that we can continue to make steel in this country, gigafactories so we can do the next generation of cars, and gb energy, which will be a publicly—owned company. what we are announcing today is that we won't be making further investments and therefore we won't reach the 28 billion, which is effectively stood down. was it a mistake in the first place to talk about 28 billion, an arbitrary number that you've long acknowledged might be a struggle to get to anyway? well, the 28 billion was announced

when interest rates were very low. now they are very high because of the damage that's been done to the economy. but things change, don't they, so maybe it was a silly promise in the first place. that means even the interest on the debt is measured in tens of billions of pounds. look, what i'm interested in is not the money, the exact sum, but the outcomes, and with... but you were interested in the exact sum until this morning. well, i've always been...my mission is clean power by 2030. let me put to you what some people are saying in response to what you say, starting first with the business organisation, the cbi. the business leaders i speak to want to see stability and certainty. they really want to see a clear commitment from all parties to decarbonising our economy. is this really stability and certainty? nothing that i've put on the table, that i've talked to business about what we are going to do, is coming off the table. everything apart from the warm homes plan is exactly the same sum of money as we originally said, so that certainty is there. i understand why business want that

certainty and that's why i want those commitments to stay. so, this year is a tussle between you and rishi sunak as to who should be prime minister. here's what he's had to say today, in response to what you're doing. this was the flagship plank- of labour's economic policy and it now looks like he's trying to wriggle out of it. - i think it demonstrates exactly what i've been saying, - that he u—turns on major things, he can't say what he would do i differently because he doesn't have a plan. l he has a point, doesn't he? there is plenty of evidence of policies where you've changed your mind. look, they've crashed the economy, they've sent mortgages through the roof. they've doubled the debt. i think the sooner rishi sunak comes to appreciate that he's in no position to lecture anyone else about fiscal responsibility, the better. take on that criticism — because it does exist and you know it exists — that too many times you've said something and then changed your mind and people looking in might think, what does he actually believe? so i came into politics

relatively late in life. i've led other organisations. everywhere in the real world people have to adjust their decisions according to the circumstances, when the circumstances change. so u—turns are a good thing? that's common sense — everybody understands that. do they? that's your call. chris mason, bbc news. the queen has carried out her first public engagement tonight since the king's cancer diagnosis was made public. she attended a charity concert at salisbury cathedral in wiltshire — and she had this to say about the king's health. he's doing extremely well under the circumstances and he's very touched by all the letters and messages, you know, the public have been sending from everywhere. that's very cheering. the time people in england waited for cancer treatment to begin last year was the worst on record, according to bbc news analysis. only 64% of patients started

treatment within 62 days of cancer being suspected, meaning nearly 100,000 people waited longer. the macmillan cancer charity described the figures as shocking. nhs england said the numbers being treated for cancer had risen rapidly over the last decade. other parts of the uk have also been struggling on cancer treatment times. ukraine's top military commander has been removed from his post. general zaluzhnyi, the commander in chief of the armed forces, has overseen kyiv�*s military response throughout russia's invasion. president zelensky in his nightly address thanked him for his contribution but said it was "time for a renewal." 0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford is in kyiv. cheap can tell us more. sarah. —— she can tell us more. cheap can tell us more. sarah. -- she can tell us more.— she can tell us more. president zelensky is _ she can tell us more. president zelensky is talking _ she can tell us more. president zelensky is talking about - she can tell us more. president zelensky is talking about a - she can tell us more. president| zelensky is talking about a reset and a need for renewal but it comes at a precarious time in ukraine when

the front line is pretty static, there is not the same enthusiasm that there was amongst soldiers being recruited and general valerii zaluzhnyi described the situation a while back as a stalemate and that did not go down well with his political bosses. i think there is a sense here, the way i get it, is that president zelensky want something much more positive for 2024. he something much more positive for 202a. he wants a realistic plan and a general who can promise in progress. he doesn't want general valerii zaluzhnyi who was talking about digging in, holding the lines, building up defences, so he is looking for more, but there is a lot of talk about political rivalry between the former commander—in—chief and the president. i think president zelensky�*s office would shrug that off and says he wants to win the war, it's not about politics, but there are big changes about whether having this new commander—in—chief will actually achieve change on the battlefield and there are plenty here inside ukraine who believe actually it could cause more harm than good. actually it could cause more harm than good-—

european scientists say for the first time, global average temperatures have been more than 1.5 degrees above pre—industrial levels for a full 12—month period. this is spain last month, which hasjust had its hottest january on record. and italy is also experiencing one of its warmest winters ever — bad news for many of its ski resorts which now have a severe lack of snow. scientists say urgent action is needed right now to reduce carbon emissions. so what can be done? 0ur climate editor, justin rowlatt, joins me now from cardiff. you are absolutely right, sophie, this is a significant moment. it's yet more evidence of the relentless rise of global temperatures. take a look at this graph. it shows global temperatures since 19110 and look at the steady increase to this new high of 1.52 degrees celsius over the last 12 months. why is the fact it has exceeded 1.5 degrees so significant? that's because scientists say every

increment of a degree above 1.5 will bring increasingly dramatic climate impacts. even more of the heatwaves, droughts and floods we've seen so much of in the last 12 months around the world. so why are we seeing this increase? no surprises there. it is climate change caused by the vast quantities of greenhouse gases produced by human activities. temperatures got an extra oomph this year thanks to el nino, the recurring weather fluctuation in the pacific ocean that delivers an extra blast of heat to the atmosphere. so here's the big question — what can be done about it? well, that's pretty simple. we need to cut those greenhouse gas emissions and i've been to visit a project in the scottish highlands which could help the entire uk cut its carbon footprint. take a look at this. this is where the electricity company sse plans a £2 billion water battery. the hydroelectric plant, the biggest engineering project in the highlands since the �*40s,

will store excess renewable power. so, here is the plan. they are going to build a dam 92 metres high and 600 metres long, across the end of the glen, to create a huge reservoir. but here is the really clever bit. the whole project is designed to exploit the key weakness of renewable energy sources, like wind and solar. they are great when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. then they often generate so much electricity that the price goes to zero. in fact, there are wind farms here in scotland that are sometimes paid not to supply electricity to the grid. at times like that, turbines will pump water up to the new reservoir. when it's dark or the wind isn't blowing and electricity is scarce, the water can be released, spinning the turbines to generate enough electricity to power three million uk homes for 2h hours.

the benefits are that the consumer, the uk consumers, are going to save money. we are going to use less oil and gas to match supply with demand, which is good for everyone and helps us achieve our climate goals. sse has already spent £100 million digging this tunnel. but heavy engineering like this does not come cheap. and the breakthrough has been finding a way to give investors confidence in the finances of a project that could still be running in 100 years' time. now, the government doesn't want to put in any public cash, so the plan is to create a floor, a guarantee of minimum revenues. but, in return, it will also impose a cap on prices to make sure the project doesn't make too much profit. and more projects like this will be needed as the switch to renewable power continues.

sse says once the funding mechanism is finalised, it will press ahead with britain's biggest battery. justin rowlatt, bbc news, the scottish highlands. an army veteran is to be charged with murder in connection with the killing of a man during the conflict in northern ireland more than 50 years ago. three other former soldiers are also facing prosecution for attempted murder. the decisions were announced after a police investigation into the activities of an undercover army unit known as the military reaction force. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page reports. it was this bbc panorama programme in 2013 which led to a police inquiry into the military reaction force. members of the small, secretive army units patrolled belfast in unmarked cars at the height of the conflict known as the troubles. it's not revenge that we're after, but it's the truth. pat mcveigh was the eldest

of six children who lost their father, patrick. he was shot dead near their home. if my father had have been a gunman, i wouldn't be sitting here today. i would have just said, "well, you live by the sword, you die by the sword." and that would have been the end of it. but he wasn't a gunman, and he doesn't deserve to have his character assassinated. he deserves someone to be accountable. in the coming weeks, a former soldier is expected to appear in court charged with murder over the killing of patrick mcveigh at this junction in west belfast 52 years ago. three more army veterans are to be charged with attempted murder in relation to another shooting. from may, a new commission is taking over all investigations linked to the troubles. there'll be a conditional amnesty for suspects who provide accurate information. most victims�* groups oppose the plan, but the government says convictions are becoming less likely with the passage of time.

this particular situation is now becoming a rarity. and there are also thousands of people out there who do want to get more information about what happened to their loved ones in the course of the troubles. in northern ireland, the past is personally painful and politically divisive. the prosecutions announced today may be the last connected to the conflict. chris page, bbc news, belfast. this was the scene in baghdad last night. iraq says it is being pushed to end the presence of american troops in the country, by repeated us strikes against iranian backed armed groups on its soil. the warning came as the funerals took place in baghdad of a senior commander of an iranian—backed group and his two bodyguards. they were killed last night by a us drone strike on a busy street in the city. us officials accuse the group of being behind an attack on the us base injordan that killed three american soldiers last month. from baghdad, our senior international correspondent 0rla geurin reports.

they shout in baghdad today, many came to mourn and to promise retaliation. this was the chaotic farewell to abu baqir al—saadi, a commander of an iranian—backed militia, blamed by the us for killing three of its troops. america tracked him down last night, apparently with a hellfire missile. the strike fuelling anger and protests and demands for us troops to leave iraqi soil. baghdad says this was a clear—cut assassination in a residential neighbourhood without regard for civilian lives or international laws. instability is familiar here, it's baked into the blast walls.

but now iraq is increasingly hemmed in. it's the backdrop for someone else's fight, as pro—iranian militia attack us forces and they fire back. tehran's influence looms large in politics and in the militias. it's an uncomfortable situation for some in iraq's government. do you accept that there are militias here that are officially part of your security forces but are in fact armed and trained by iran that are carrying out these attacks? those militias, they themselves are announcing their attacks, and they are also well known that they have a connection with the iranian side. this is well known. i cannot deny it. that's true.

it's also true that pressure is building, especially after the latest american air strike. what will be the next move by the militias and by tehran? the united nations envoy in iraq says this country, like the wider region, is on a knife edge. 0rla guerin, bbc news, baghdad. these live shots of the volcano in south west iceland that erupted again today, for the third time since december. 0ur science editor rebecca morelle has been looking at why these eruptions keep happening. a fiery start to iceland's day, but these spectacular fountains of lava are causing more disruption on the reykjanes peninsula. a pipeline supplying heat and hot water to 30,000 people has been engulfed by molten rock, and a road to the blue lagoon tourist attraction is now cut off.

it's the third eruption since december, but scientists knew it was coming. now that these eruptions are repeating themselves, the scientists now have a much better idea of where there is a breaking point for the magma to come through the ground, so they've been tracking how the ground is inflating as magma is coming up from deep, and now they can tell with a lot more certainty when to expect the magma to start breaking through to the ground. iceland sits on the boundary of two tectonic plates which are pulling apart from each other at a rate of about 2cm a year. this stretches the earth's crust — its outer layer — making it thinner, which affects the type of eruption. this isn't a cone—shaped volcano, like italy's mount etna, where the lava comes out of more or less the same place. instead, on the reykjanes peninsula, the magma is more loosely held over a much larger area, and it forces its way up through the cracks — orfissures — that run in lines and can be miles long.

this map shows the fissures created since december, and the latest one is over here — it opened up in the same area. a road into the town of grindavik has been swallowed up, but this time the town itself has been spared. but a major concern is a nearby geothermal power station. sensors have detected the land around it lifting as magma flows underground. barriers have been built to try and protect this vital infrastructure. the last series of eruptions in this area happened 800 years ago, and they lasted for decades. so do scientists think the same thing is happening now? there's evidence for about three of these types of episodes in the last 4,000 years in this area. so this is proceeding as expected at the moment. what we're expecting is a series of these relatively small, relatively short—lived eruptions pushing out lava flows through fissures and building up the peninsula further. researchers are closely

monitoring the area. they're learning more with every eruption. the question is, how long will this new era of volcanic activity last? scientists think it could be many years — or even centuries. rebecca morelle, bbc news. nawaz sharif could be on course to be elected pakistan's prime minister for a fourth time. he told the bbc today�*s vote had been �*absolutely fair�* despite the recentjailing of his rival imran khan on corruption charges. mobile phone services were also suspended across pakistan as voting took place. the run up to election day has been marred by violence with at least nine people killed. from lahore, carrie davies sent this report. this vote was already overshadowed by questions of whether it�*s credible. then, as the polls opened, the internet shut down. pretty much on the dot of eight o�*clock, all of our phones stopped working. we don�*t have internet,

we can�*t call anybody. the authorities said this was for security, others called it deliberate disruption. some voters told us they struggled to find out where they were meant to vote and candidates had issues, too. we had created whatsapp groups, for them to be able to inform us centrally of what they see there. those groups are obviously not working. akram raja is one of imran khan�*s lawyers and is backed by his party. mr khan is in prison on three long jail sentences. he couldn�*t run in this election. his party say they�*ve been targeted. gatherings like this last month broken up with tear gas. supporters arrested and intimidated. the authorities justified their reaction, saying the gatherings didn�*t have permission and called the wider claims absurd. the reality of covering an election day when there is no internet is that it�*s difficult for us to communicate with people, too. so we have just spotted a convoy of cars that looks like it�*s

a senior person from the pmln and we are following to see where they�*re going. the pmln is the party thought to be favoured in this election by pakistan�*s powerful military. pmln�*s leader nawaz sharif has been prime minister three times. last election, he was seen as out of the military�*s favour, in prison when khan won. their fortunes have changed. mr sharif, are these elections free and fair? the elections are free and fair. and the elections have been always free and fair. except many years ago, but now, today, i think it�*s absolutely fair. mr sharif, have you made a deal with the military? there�*s no need for a deal. actually, i have never any problems with the military. the polls have closed. pakistan awaits. has the election brought some faith in democracy or broken it? caroline davies, bbc news, lahore.

parkrun has suddenly deleted all gender, age and course records from its website — in the wake of a row over trans athletes holding female records. parkrun insists the move is simply about making the free 5k runs less off—putting to new entrants. thousands of people take part in parkruns in hundreds of parks across the uk every saturday morning. but the move follows criticism for allowing transgender women to compete in the female category. natalie pirks reports. it started 20 years ago as friends running together on a saturday. now, more than 9 million people take part globally, many of whom love breaking parkrun�*s records, like 0llie. go on, 0llie. but now he, like thousands of others, has suddenly seen those records disappeared from parkrun�*s website. i very proudly had the most first finishes as a man in the world. being part of that list was quite

a proud moment for a lot of people who were never going to be 0lympians, we�*re never going to be world champions, we�*re never going to be that pinnacle of sport. and now kind of being off that list, it�*s all a bit of fun but it�*s a shame, right? ready, go. so why has parkrun risked upsetting so many? it says the data could be off—putting and they wanted to reinforce the message that it�*s forfun, nota race. but others believe it�*s a kneejerk reaction to criticism of its self—id policy. parkrun allows people to run in the gender category they identify with and it�*s meant some of its female records are held by trans women. two—time 0lympian mara yamauchi wants organisers to follow both uk and world athletics in banning competition in the female category from those whose gender identity is different from their sex at birth. so i agree in principle that it must be welcoming and inclusive of everybody, but currently their policy

is excluding and exclusive of females, because we don't get fairness and we are robbed of things of value. we have been robbed of things of value like records and so on. parkrun claims removing the records had nothing to do with trans participants and says it�*s been looking at the issue of performance data for years. it thinks it�*s the right step to ensure parkrun stays non—competitive, inclusive and welcoming to all. natalie pirks, bbc news. hundreds of thousands of people in britain have a stammer, but scientists still don�*t know what causes it. now researchers are carrying out tests to try and find out — in the hope of finding new treatments. three years ago, felicity baker — who herself has a stammer — made a documentary for the bbc about the impact it has on people�*s lives. now she�*s been to talk to the scientists who are carrying out this new research. just so you know, i have a stammer.

for people who stammer, every word matters. i've always found it hard to say the word meaning the next day and i try and say t—t—t...tomorrow. i have a s...stammer. aidan has stammered all of his life. now he wants answers. there�*s still quite a few un...known questions about the causes and. . . p—potential treatment, so when i heard about the fact that there was this r...research happening in oxford, i was q—quite happy to take part. scientists are measuring brain activity in people who stammer. they�*re trying to understand what happens in the moments before they speak. the team is also using virtual reality to understand why people seem to stammer less when they�*re alone. we�*ve got a spaceman,

a mosquito and a horned character. when aidan played this game, he hardly stammered at all. growing up as a person who stammered, i always wanted to know what caused it. could the answer lie in my... dna? ironically, that�*s a word i find very hard to say. at university college london, scientists are also investigating whether stammering is in our genes. this hot machine will run all the processes of dna isolation. the samples will be compared with people all around the world. we're interested in what are the little pieces of the puzzle in the brain that are not quite synchronised when people speak. that would explain why people who stammer are less fluent and by understanding the biology, we understand better perhaps how to support treatment in the future. stammering has a huge impact on people�*s lives. many learn how to hide it. i didn�*t really start to tell my family till my 40s. 0thers often avoid words

they know they can�*t say,