the to the national archive and the department ofjustice, consented to the search of multiple locations including his home. he sat for voluntary interview and in other ways co—operated with the investigation. now, i have seen the headlines about my wilful retention of documents. this is not only misleading, butjust plain wrong. on page 215, i know it's a stick document, but on page 215, the special counsel found the exact opposite. he wrote, there is in fact a shortage of evidence that i will fully retain classified material related to afghanistan. on page 12, the special counsel also wrote, on other documents, the decision to decline criminal charges were straightforward. mr biden did not wilfully retain these documents. it said i did not wilfully retain these documents. in addition, some

language in the report about my recollection of the events, it is even referenced that i don't remember when my son died. how in the hell dare he raise that? frankly when i was asked the question, it wasn't any of their damn business. let me tell you something. since the day he died, every single day... every memorial day, we hold a service remembering him, attended by friends and family and the people who loved him. i don't need anyone, i don't need anyone to remind me when he passed away. the simple truth is, i sat for five hours, passed away. the simple truth is, i sat forfive hours, two days of events, going back years. at the same time i was handling an international crisis. their task was to make a decision about whether the charges in this case... that is

their decision to make. that is hisjob. they decided not their decision to make. that is his job. they decided not to move forward. for any extraneous commentary, they don't know what they are talking about. it has no place in this report. the bottom line is the matter is now closed and i can continue with what i've always focused on, myjob of being president of the united states. i thank you and i will take some questions. something the special _ take some questions. something the special counsel— take some questions. something the special counsel said - take some questions. something the special counsel said in - take some questions. something the special counsel said in his - the special counsel said in his report— the special counsel said in his report is_ the special counsel said in his report is one of the reasons you — report is one of the reasons you were _ report is one of the reasons you were not charged is because, in his description, you — because, in his description, you are _ because, in his description, you are a _ because, in his description, you are a well—meaning elderly marr— you are a well—meaning elderly man with — you are a well—meaning elderly man with a poor memory. i am well-meaning _ man with a poor memory. i am well-meaning and _ man with a poor memory. i am well-meaning and i'm - man with a poor memory. i am well-meaning and i'm an - man with a poor memory. i —h well—meaning and i'm an elderly man and i know what the hell i'm doing, i'm the president and i put this country back on its feet. ., ,. and i put this country back on its feet. ., , i. its feet. how bad is your memory. _ its feet. how bad is your memory, and _ its feet. how bad is your memory, and can - its feet. how bad is your memory, and can you i its feet. how bad is your - memory, and can you continue as president? — memory, and can you continue as president? my memory, and can you continue as president?— memory, and can you continue as president? my memory is so bad, i let ou president? my memory is so bad, i let you speak- — president? my memory is so bad, i let you speak. has _ president? my memory is so bad, i let you speak. has your - i let you speak. has your memory _ i let you speak. has your memory got _ i let you speak. has your

memory got worse? - i let you speak. has your memory got worse? my| i let you speak. has your - memory got worse? my memory is fine. take memory got worse? my memory is fine- take a — memory got worse? my memory is fine. take a look _ memory got worse? my memory is fine. take a look at _ memory got worse? my memory is fine. take a look at what _ memory got worse? my memory is fine. take a look at what i've - fine. take a look at what i've done since i became president. none of you thought i could pass any of the things i passed. how did that happen? i guess ijust forgot passed. how did that happen? i guess i just forgot what was going on. guess i just forgot what was going om— guess i just forgot what was auoin on. ., ., ., ,, ., going on. how do you assuage the concerns _ going on. how do you assuage the concerns about _ going on. how do you assuage the concerns about your- going on. how do you assuage the concerns about your age? | the concerns about your age? inaudible question. inaudible. do you take responsibility for being — do you take responsibility for being piayiist— do you take responsibility for being playlist with _ do you take responsibility for being playlist with classifiedl being playlist with classified material? _ being playlist with classified material? i— being playlist with classified material? ., ~ being playlist with classified material? w , , , material? i take responsibility for not having _ material? i take responsibility for not having seen _ material? i take responsibility for not having seen exactly . for not having seen exactly what my staff was doing. things that appeared in my garage, things that appeared that were moved not by me, by my staff. inaudible question. for months when you ask about

your— for months when you ask about your age. — for months when you ask about your age. you _ for months when you ask about your age, you would _ for months when you ask about your age, you would respond i your age, you would respond with— your age, you would respond with the _ your age, you would respond with the word, _ your age, you would respond with the word, what - your age, you would respond with the word, what may. . with the word, what may. american _ with the word, what may. american people - with the word, what may. american people have - with the word, what may. l american people have been watching _ american people have been watching and _ american people have been watching and they - american people have been watching and they have - watching and they have expressed _ watching and they have expressed concern - watching and they have i expressed concern about watching and they have - expressed concern about your age — expressed concern about your a a e. ., expressed concern about your aie, ., , , ., age. that is your 'udgment, that is near h age. that is your 'udgment, that is near not _ age. that is yourjudgment, that is near not the - that is near not the judgment... —— with the words, watch me. judgment. .. -- with the words, watch me— watch me. you said there are other democrats _ watch me. you said there are other democrats who - watch me. you said there are other democrats who could i other democrats who could defeat _ other democrats who could defeat donald _ other democrats who could defeat donald trump, - other democrats who could defeat donald trump, so . other democrats who could . defeat donald trump, so why does — defeat donald trump, so why does it— defeat donald trump, so why does it have _ defeat donald trump, so why does it have to— defeat donald trump, so why does it have to be _ defeat donald trump, so why does it have to be you - defeat donald trump, so why does it have to be you now? i does it have to be you now? because _ does it have to be you now? because in _ does it have to be you now? because i'm the _ does it have to be you now? because i'm the best- does it have to be you now? | because i'm the best person does it have to be you now? i because i'm the best person to be the president and finish the job i started. inaudible question. idid not i did not share classified information. i did not. i guarantee you, i did not. the council did not say that. —— the counsel. let me ask you a question... i had written a

long memorandum to president obama, why we should not be in afghanistan. multiple pages. and so what i was referring to, i said classified, i should have said it should be private because it was contact between the president and vice president as to what was going on. that's what is being referred to. it was not classified information in that document. inaudible question. when you look back at this incident, _ when you look back at this incident, is there anything you would — incident, is there anything you would do — incident, is there anything you would do differently now? do you think a special prosecutor should — you think a special prosecutor should have been appointed in the first— should have been appointed in the first in both of these cases? _ the first in both of these cases? , ., ., ., cases? first of all, what i would have _ cases? first of all, what i would have done - cases? first of all, what i would have done is - cases? first of all, what i l would have done is oversee cases? first of all, what i - would have done is oversee the transfer of material that was in my offices. i should have done that. i didn't have the

responsibility, that was my staff were supposed to do that and they referenced that in the report. and my staff did not do it in a way... for example, i didn't know how half the boxes got in my garage. until i found out that staff gathered them up and took them to my home. and all the stuff that was in my home was in filing cabinets that were either locked or able to be locked. it was in my house. it wasn't like in mar—a—lago, in a public place. and none of it was a high classified, it didn't have any of that red stuff around the corners, none of that. i wish i had paid more attention to how the documents were being moved and where. i thought they were being moved to the archives. that's what i thought. should the special — that's what i thought. should the special counsel— that's what i thought. should the special counsel have - that's what i thought. should | the special counsel have been appointed in this case and in the case _ appointed in this case and in the case of your libel? | appointed in this case and in the case of your libel? i think a special _ the case of your libel? i think a special counsel— the case of your libel? i think a special counsel should - the case of your libel? i thinki a special counsel should have been appointed. because i did

not want to be in a position that they looked at trump and were not going to look at me. just like they looked at the vice president. the fact is they made a firm conclusion, i did not break the law, period. thank you all very much. you are watching bbc news. we have just been hearing from us presidentjoe biden. he is coming back to the podium, so let's continue to listen to this press conference. the conduct of the response... in the gaza strip has been over the top. i think that... as you know,

initially, the president of mexico did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian aid to get in. i talked to him, i convinced him to open the gate. i talked to bibi to open the gate on the israeli side. i have been working really hard to get humanitarian assistance into gaza, a lot of innocent people starving and in trouble and dying. and it's got to stop. number one. numbertwo, i was also in the position that i'm the guy that made the case and we have to do much more to increase the amount of material going in. including fuel, including other items. i've been on the phone with the qataris,the egyptians, the saudis, to get as much aid as we possibly can into gaza. but innocent women and children also badly need help. that is

what we are pushing. pushing very hard now to deal with this hostage ceasefire. i've been working tirelessly on this deal... how can i say this... to lead to a sustained pause in the fighting, the action is taken place in the gaza strip. because i think if we can get the delay, the initial delay, i think we would be able to extend that, so that we can increase the prospect that this fighting in gaza changes. there is also in negotiations. you may recall, at the very beginning, right before hamas attacked, i was in contact with the saudis and others to work out a deal where they would recognise israel's right to exist, make them part of the

middle east and recognise them fully, in return for certain things united states would commit to do. the commitment we were proposing related to two items, i'm not going to go in detail, but one of them was to deal with protection against the archenemy to the north east. the second one, by providing ammunition and materialfor providing ammunition and material for them providing ammunition and materialfor them to providing ammunition and material for them to defend themselves. coincidentally, that's the time frame when this broke out. i have no proof of what i'm about to say, but it's not unreasonable to suspect that hamas understood what was about to take place and wanted to break it up before it happened. inaudible question. you have been watching a last minute announced a press conference by us presidentjoe biden. he has now left the room. he was about to leave when he came back to the podium

to speak about the gaza situation and how he has been handling the situation, how he has been negotiating a ceasefire, but earlier he has been talking about the report that was released earlier. he basically announced this last minute press conference to talk about his side of the story, after many reports suggested that his memory has been called into question. an investigation by us prosecutors questioned how he handled classified documents after serving as vice president under president barack obama in 2017. the report suggested that mr biden had wilfully retained and disclosed material, but he has denied that. the report also said that one of the reasons he is not facing criminal charges is not facing criminal charges is because he comes across as an elderly man with a poor memory. he madejokes about it, he said he is an elderly man

but he doesn't have any memory issues. he said at the beginning of the press conference that the investigation, he spoke to the investigator over five hours in person over two days. he emphasised that that was as the war in gaza was starting, so he was handling the international crisis while discussing this case with an investigator. he said he was particularly pleased to see the difference between how the investigator saw mr trump's case and his case, because mr trump, saw mr trump's case and his case, because mrtrump, in president biden's words, didn't return those documents, whereas presidentjoe biden himself has been co—operating with the investigation. he said, in terms of the wilful retention of documents, he denied that. he said, that's plainly wrong. the report suggested a shortage of evidence as one of the reasons not to charge the president. also in terms of the

correction of the events, he became rather emotional when he talked about the death of his son, the report suggested he couldn't actually remember the day that he died. he said, that is none of their business. he never forgot the death of his son. but because the interrogation took over five hours, over two days, that at some point there were some memory issues, but he has emphasised that he was also managing the situation in gaza. so a lot talked about there, but basically rejecting some of the accusations made by media reports after the report was released about how he handled classified documents. the us supreme court hears arguments in a case that could determine whether donald trump can -- is —— is eligible to run for president. colorado's top court said mr trump couldn't run in

that state's primary because it considered his actions during the assault on the capital in 2021 insurrection. mr trump argued that striking him from the ballot would result in chaos across america. you cannot allow _ chaos across america. you cannot allow a _ chaos across america. you cannot allow a president . chaos across america. you | cannot allow a president to chaos across america. gm. cannot allow a president to be “p cannot allow a president to be up there without immunity. you don't have immunity, you don't have a presidency. you lose all form of free thought and good thoughts. and you probably weaken the presidency to a point that it was never supposed to be weakened. that would be a very bad thing for our country. would be a very bad thing for our country-— would be a very bad thing for our country. russian president vladimir putin _ our country. russian president vladimir putin has _ our country. russian president vladimir putin has given - our country. russian president vladimir putin has given his i vladimir putin has given his first one—on—one interview with western media since his country's full—scale invasion of ukraine in 2022. it was abducted by former fox news anchor tucker carlson, on his new network. in the lengthy

interview he said it's out of the question to invade poland, latvia or anywhere else. president putin also said russian defeat in ukraine was impossible, but that he didn't have any interest in expanding the war. footage of the interview, which took place on february the 6th, was released on x, formerly known as twitter, just about an hour ago. let's go live to washington and our reporter wil vernon. many things were discussed in the interview but one of the top lines is on a us reporter held in russia, can you talk us through what mr putin said?— you talk us through what mr putin said? the first thing to sa , i putin said? the first thing to say. ithink. _ putin said? the first thing to say, i think, you _ putin said? the first thing to say, i think, you mentionedl say, ithink, you mentioned vladimir putin saying russia wouldn't invade poland, latvia or other countries. if we cast our minds back to february 2022, vladimir putin and plenty of other russian officials said

they absolutely were not going to invade ukraine. so i don't think their promises of where they are going to launch their next military operation or not carry much weight. but back to your question. i think vladimir putin will be pretty happy with the way this interview went. tucker carlson didn't really make much attempt to press him on any kind of weighty topics at all. mr putin reeled off a very well worn list of historical grievances, and falsehoods, about ukraine not being a real country. and about how the full—scale invasion of ukraine happened and why it happened. but i think more interesting was what was not discussed. there was no attempt whatsoever from tucker carlson to press the russian leader on war crimes committed by russian soldiers in ukraine, the forced removal of ukrainian children to russia. the assassination of political rivals. alexei

navalny, the opposition leader, injail. the list navalny, the opposition leader, in jail. the list goes on and on. but as you mentioned, the jailed wall streetjournal reporter was mentioned. when asked about him, vladimir putin said the special services, he means the us and russian special services, are in contact with one another. they are talking, i believe an agreement can be reached. so maybe some sign of something on the horizon. but then he dropped a hint. he talked about a person, due to patriotic sentiments, who eliminated a bandit in one of the european capitals. he is almost certainly referring to the fsb assassin currently in jail in germany for shooting dead a georgian man in a berlin park in 2019. last year there were unconfirmed reports that russia wanted to include this assassin in a prisoner exchange that would also include evan gershkovich. so today vladimir putin most likely sending a

message that that is what moscow want, they want some sort of exchange in some shape orform that includes sort of exchange in some shape or form that includes the fox letter s b assassin injail in germany. letter s b assassin in 'ail in germanyfi letter s b assassin in 'ail in german . ,, ., germany. quite an interview, thank you _ germany. quite an interview, thank you for _ germany. quite an interview, thank you forjoining - germany. quite an interview, thank you forjoining us. i germany. quite an interview, thank you forjoining us. -- i thank you forjoining us. —— the fsb assassin. bringing you different stories from across the uk. shoplifting offences went _ from across the uk. shoplifting offences went up _ from across the uk. shoplifting offences went up by _ from across the uk. shoplifting offences went up by more i from across the uk. shoplifting offences went up by more than | from across the uk. shoplifting. offences went up by more than a third in wales last year. in newport, gwent police say shoplifting now accounts for 10% of all crime. this man had been wanted on a recall to prison for shoplifting offences and had continued to offend since he got out. businesses say this is typical of what they see. repeat offenders stealing on a daily basis. major retailers, and in particular meat and alcohol

products, are key targets, but seemingly nowhere is safe. it’s seemingly nowhere is safe. it's a constant _ seemingly nowhere is safe. it's a constant problem for us. every— a constant problem for us. every day, the staff will find empty— every day, the staff will find empty hangers where something has been — empty hangers where something has been taken. there is a mix of people — has been taken. there is a mix of people stealing out of necessity because they don't have — necessity because they don't have any— necessity because they don't have any clothes for their child. _ have any clothes for their child, they need a winter coat, but equally it's about organised crime gangs. for but equally it's about orianised crime iians. ., ., organised crime gangs. for more stories organised crime gangs. for more stories from _ organised crime gangs. for more stories from across _ organised crime gangs. for more stories from across the _ organised crime gangs. for more stories from across the uk, i organised crime gangs. for more stories from across the uk, go i stories from across the uk, go to the bbc news website. the election commission in pakistan has issued a late—night warning to polling officers to publicise the election results, after a delay in the announcement of the tallies. local media are reporting that independent candidates linked to jailed former prime minister imran khan were leading the early count. they say the events are a sign of rigging. thursday's vote has been marred by intimidation

and militant attacks. the authorities suspended all mobile services as the vote began, citing security concerns but prompting outrage from opposition parties and civic groups. 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 tier gas. 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. indonesian polls will choose a successor to presidentjoko widodo, who is still hugely popular but has reached the limit of two terms in office. all three rival candidates to replace him are promising to continue his policies. long after the end of dictatorship here, some things still aren't settled. families of those who died or disappeared in the last months of the suharto regime

have been protesting outside the presidential palace every thursday for 17 years, demanding answers. this man is one of the disappeared, presumed kidnapped by special forces. "every week we campaign to stop human rights abusers being elected," he said. and he showed me the words printed on his t—shirt. "bring back those who disappeared. don't let him rule the country." by "him" he means prabowo subianto, the former special forces commander and son in law of suharto. this is him 26 years ago, just before he was dismissed from the army, accused of ordering the kidnapping of activists... ...and of masterminding this — the chaos and rioting which preceded suharto's resignation. today, he's the front runner in the election.

the transformation of prabowo's image from feared military hard man to cuddly, avuncular candidate is the most remarkable aspect of this campaign. younger indonesians with no memory of his past have been flocking to him, thanks to some slick social media messaging. but the real key to prabowo's success has been the unexpected alliance with his one—time adversary and today, the most popular political figure in indonesia outgoing presidentjoko widodo. through a controversial court ruling, he's made the president's son his running mate, bringing a decidedly dynastic flavour to this election. presidentjokowi's poll ratings remain astonishingly high for a leader who's been in power ten years. but he's now being accused of misusing that popularity and the power and resources of the presidency to extend his influence beyond his constitutional term limit.

in these last days of the campaign, there's been a flurry of online debates highlighting the dangers of a jokowi prabowo axis. do you see jokowi as a threat to democracy? the word may be big, strong, but, yes. even though he's so popular, he's got such a great reputation. democracy has nothing to do with the popularity. rival parties have been struggling to match the momentum of the prabowo campaign that indonesia has such a lively and well—regarded democracy after only 25 years is an impressive achievement. but no one is quite sure which way it will go after this election.

a reminder of the breaking news, president biden defending his competence after his memory was question by the special counsel after an investigation. thank you for watching. hello there. a wide range of temperatures on thursday with mild air towards the south, much colder feeling airfurther north. there was some snow, particularly over the peak district and over the pennines too — here's hebden bridge in west yorkshire. most of the snow came over the high ground. but misty, mild conditions further south. plenty of heavy rain, too. you can see that on the radar picturejust piling into the south of england and south wales earlier on through the night. lots of flood alerts in place here. there's the snowfall further north, most of it over the higher ground, but some of the snow towards the south just turning back to sleet and then to rain with that milder feeling air. but still the risk of some travel disruption as we head into friday, with an ice risk from northern england northwards and still some falling snow over the very highest peaks as well.

the snow riskjust transferring into central southern areas of scotland, too, and some brisk easterly winds. so perhaps some more problems over the high routes in particular with drifting snow. this is how we're starting off the day on friday. a range of temperatures — below freezing in scotland, but very mild in the south. now as we head through friday, that warm front continues to push its way further northwards, just dragging in the milderfeeling air. still very brisk easterly winds blowing across eastern scotland, northeast england. this should be falling as rain. but across the grampians and the highlands, we're likely to see some accumulations of snow, even to low levels from the central belt northwards, but it will turn back to rain. some early wintriness too, perhaps across northern ireland. once more, quite a wide range of temperatures — between 4 and 13 degrees celsius as we go through the afternoon, and still maybe a bit of wintriness, particularly across caithness and sutherland and across shetland as we head through saturday. now, there will be a lot of dry weather on saturday, but low pressure is close by and there will be some showers, maybe some heavier

rainfall across the far south—east of england a little later on in the day. but coming back up into that milderfeeling air, so most of our temperatures will be between 6 and 11. still double figures in the south. watch out for some heavy rain again across northeastern areas of scotland as we head through sunday. but it will be falling as rain. the air now a lot milder, some scattered showers elsewhere, along with some spells of brightness. and by the time we get to the end of the weekend, those winds, brisk in the north, will have eased down somewhat, maybe turning more settled into the start of next week with high pressure building in.

the s&p 500 crosses the 5,000 mark for the first time. we look into the importance of this wall street milestone. plus, lunar new year travel picks up — booking.com tells us where chinese travellers are headed during the festive season. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm mariko oi. we begin on wall street where a rally has continued overnight, with the s&p 500 briefly crossing the psychologically important 5,000 mark, before ending the session just below.

investors brushed off comments from the chair