investigation into his handling of classified documents. i was pleased he reached a firm conclusion that a firm conclusion that no charges should be brought against me in this case. the us supreme court hears a case on whether colorado can block donald trump from the ballot in the 2024 presidential election in the state. vote counting gets under way in a turbulent general election in pakistan. i'm helena humphrey, good to have you with us. we begin in washington. us presidentjoe biden has defended not only his handling of classified documents at the centre of the justice department investigation but also his fitness for the job leading the country. earlier the day, the person leading the investigation into his handling of documents said, he wilfully

retained documents on matters including national security. it stems back to 2017 and his role as vice president. the special council has decided not to pursue criminal charges against mr biden, saying he opted against criminal charges because mr biden co—operated and guilt could not be established beyond reasonable doubt. the special counsel. he admitted a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place and said he had immediately turned them over to thejustice department. he defended keeping hold of them saying they were locked in the garage at his delaware home. he defended himself in a televised address from the white house. 1 himself in a televised address from the white house.- from the white house. i have seen the _ from the white house. i have seen the headlines _ from the white house. i have seen the headlines about - from the white house. i have seen the headlines about my| seen the headlines about my wilful retention of documents. that's not only misleading, it's just plain wrong. the it'sjust plain wrong. the s - ecial it'sjust plain wrong. the special counsel - it'sjust plain wrong. the special counsel also - it'sjust plain wrong. the special counsel also called into question mr biden�*s mental fitness, describing him as an

elderly man with a poor memory. mr biden hit back. i'm well—meaning, i'm an elderly man, i know what the hell i'm doing, i put this country back on its feet. i don't need his recommendation. my memory is fine, look what i've done since i became president. how did i pass the things i passed? i guess ijust pass the things i passed? i guess i just forgot what was going on. guess i just forgot what was going on-— guess i just forgot what was going on— guess i just forgot what was auoin on. , , , going on. his biggest political opponent. — going on. his biggest political opponent, former _ going on. his biggest political opponent, former president l opponent, former president donald trump, seized on the report to call for charges to be dropped in his own classified documents probe. that is being led by special counseljack smith. i spoke with... we have heard twice from president biden, bring us up—to—date the latest. president biden pushing back quite hard on those pretty damaging claims about his age, about his memory. he denied wilfully retaining these documents and said his memory

is absolutely fine. interestingly, he got quite angry during the press conference when he was asked about a particular line in the report, that, when questioned, he failed to remember when his son beau died, who passed away in 2015 from a brain tumour. he said, how the hell dare he raise that? when i was asked the question, i thought to myself, it wasn't any of their damn business. powerful remarks there. tell us more about the detail in this report with regards to the retention of documents but also the decision not to prosecute mr biden. interesting, wasn't it? the special counsel's report, released today, found that joe biden did wilfully retain these classified materials. those documents basically consisted of secret government documents about afghanistan, and personal notebooks that

contained kind of classified foreign policy information. now, the reason no charges were warranted were kind of a number. firstly, the fact there was no obstruction. president biden, according to the special counsel, didn't try to conceal these documents or how he got them. that was juxtaposed with the criminal charges against former president donald trump, because that is precisely what he tried to do. the other reason was that basically he co—operated with investigators, but also no proof was found that anyone else accessed these documents. there was a bit of discussion in the report about a ghost writer, someone helping mr biden write a book. the special counsel found that although mr biden did read out some of the information in these classified documents, there was no proof that precisely that information that he read out was top secret. but, as you mention, the really explosive line

in this report was about mr biden's memory. it seemed to suggest, and this is another reason no charges were warranted, it might be difficult for a jury to convict joe biden. i will read you a section from the report which i thought was particularly striking. "at trial, mr biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview, as a sympathetic, well—meaning elderly man with a poor memory. it would be difficult to convince the jury to convict him of a felony that requires a mental state of wilfulness." politically, that's a very damaging line. around 70% of americans think joe biden is too old to be president. and here it is in black and white, in an official report. absolutely, it is a very sensitive issue for president biden.

has there been a reaction to that line? you anticipate that being a thorny issue for president biden in this campaign. yeah, well, president trump of course has already seized on this. his spokesman said, ifjoe biden is to stand trial, he is too senile to be president. former president trump himself, on truth social, has called on all charges to be dropped against him. that call going to jack smith. he says, in light of this report, which showed that joe biden wilfully retained important documents. will, thanks so much. but i also spoke with a former white house lawyer to george w bush, richard painter. i want to begin by getting your assessment and reaction to the report from the special counsel. first, it is commendable that president biden co—operated fully with the investigation. he did not obstructjustice. this is not to be

compared in any way to the behaviour of former president donald trump. for the return of documents being held at mar—a—lago, he not only refused but moved the boxes around, according to the indictment in florida, obstructed justice repeatedly. president biden did not do that. but this is a matter of great concern for americans, when a special counsel has said that the president has a memory that is really fading. such that a jury would not convict him of a felony that requires mental intent. i do think we need to think seriously, and president biden should think seriously, about whether he is ready for another four years of this. he's done a good job. i don't see that he has had verbal slip—ups and so forth, he has not shown a lack ofjudgment in the job over the past few years as president

of the united states. the question is whether that could continue for another four years in a second term. that's a serious concern. it's a presumption, i think, that we have something to be worried about because of what is in this report, and other things we have seen as well. president biden has said comments shouldn't be made on his mental acuity, that he doesn't suffer from memory issues. but what we have seen are sketched out in the report and what biden has said himself is he should have overseen the moving of those documents. does he bear responsibility here, even if he is not being prosecuted? this was certainly very careless, absolutely. the former vice president at the time, he should overseen the moving of documents out of his office. they were not classified documents. the classified documents should have stayed behind. the documents were taken to his home, the boxes should have been inspected.

the boxes at the university of pennsylvania center in washington, dc for six years, thatjoe biden almost never used. multiple people should have looked in that closet to see what was there. this isn'tjustjoe biden's failing, it's many people involved who simply didn't want to do theirjob to figure out what was in these boxes of documents. but once again, our concern here, if what the special counsel says is right about the president's memory, we do have questions about what a second term will look like. we've been through this with president reagan in his second term, his memory was fading. we had some scandals. the iran—contra scandal and so forth, which he said he didn't know about. it continues to be debated to this day. it's not good to have someone in the white house who is not focusing on all of the facts in front of them and can remember things and i do not... sorry to interrupt,

but you know, we don't necessarily know whether that is the case. i just want to ask from your legal standpoint, is it standard practice anyway for a special counsel in this kind of report to be pronouncing on the mental acuity, the capacity of a president in a very personal way? referencing the death of his son beau. is that standard practice to point out such things? i think that was inappropriate. i don't think that line was necessary at all. it didn't need to be brought up. there were other incidents throughout the questioning where the president didn't appear to remember some essential facts. having dinner with the documents, when he was serving and where. we didn't need to get into the death of his son, which was extremely tragic for him. president biden has had many tragedies in his life. to bring those up in this report, i don't think

that was appropriate. but there is still the underlying concern about the president's memory, it's one that ought to be addressed. perhaps the special counsel is wrong on this. but it has raised enough of a red flag that president biden should confront it, and notjust in a press interview. seeking expert advice from his doctors about whether he is ready for the second term. i think it's a legitimate conversation for americans to have. but it's very unfortunate that this happened with the documents. but let me remind everyone that vice president pence also took away classified documents and nobody is questioning his memory. of course, donald trump's pile of classified documents. his memory is very selective, in what donald trump wants to remember. but in this case, i will emphasise,

it should never be compared with what donald trump did. refusing to return classified documents to the united states government when asked to return them. and as we know, donald trump has also pleaded not guilty in the mar—a—lago case. richard painter, great to have you with us this evening. thank you for having me. returning to mr trump legal challenges, the supreme court heard arguments in a landmark case that could determine the outcome of the 2024 election. the justices are deciding whether to overturn a colorado court decision to block him from appearing on the presidential ballot. the 14th amendment to the constitution bars candidate to engage in insurrection or rebellion against the us, something colorado says mr trump did by encouraging the riot at the us capitol onjune the 6th 2021.

it's unclear when they will rule, but recent polling shows only 51% of americans are concerned about mr trump's legal troubles and on thursday he runs unchallenged in the republic nevada caucus. his last remaining rivalfor republic nevada caucus. his last remaining rival for the presidential nomination, former south carolina governor nikki haley, suffered a stinging defeat in the state's primary this week. they have chosen not to recognise the primary this year, the gop, and will award all 26 of its delegates from thursday's caucuses. we can speak to anthony zurcher in las vegas, where donald trump is holding his watch party. talk to us more about what is up for grabs in tonight's caucuses. well, as you mention, 26 delegates to the republican national convention. that is the prize in nevada. each state will have delegates that they

assigned to the winners. some are winner take all. but i think it's more than that, it's momentum, donald trump with another opportunity to win a state and show the support for him notjust in iowa, notjust in new hampshire, notjust in the virgin islands which he won earlier today, the virgin islands which he won earliertoday, but the virgin islands which he won earlier today, but here in nevada. creating an irresistible drive to the nomination. and to south carolina, which holds a primary in a few weeks. and super tuesday, with multiple states holding primaries. by that time, although donald trump doesn't seem unstoppable now, essentially he will have sewn up essentially he will have sewn up the nomination with wins in those states. i up the nomination with wins in those states.— up the nomination with wins in those states. i wanted to touch on president _ those states. i wanted to touch on president biden's _ those states. i wanted to touch | on president biden's campaign. it feels like a significant 24 hours for president biden. what impact do you think that will have on his campaign? is your previous guest

discussed, this plays into a very obvious weakness thatjoe biden has, concerns about his age and capacity to serve another four years in the white house. he is already the oldest person ever to hold the presidency. adding four more years, he will be in his mid—80s when he leaves office in 2028. those concerns are being amplified by this report, and the biden campaign is going to have to find a way to address them and put public concerns at ease in order to get the public to focus on other things, like the economy, abortion, issues that the democrats think they can win on. �* h, democrats think they can win on, �* , ., " ., democrats think they can win on. ~ ~ ., ., ., on. also we know today, initial heafinas on. also we know today, initial hearings at _ on. also we know today, initial hearings at the _ on. also we know today, initial hearings at the supreme - on. also we know today, initial hearings at the supreme court| hearings at the supreme court over whether donald trump can appear on the ballot in colorado. any indications from what you have been hearing as to which direction thejustices makes announced in? —— may

pronounce in. makes announced in? -- may pronounce in-_ pronounce in. it's a challenge to read into _ pronounce in. it's a challenge to read into the _ pronounce in. it's a challenge to read into the arguments i to read into the arguments because justices will ask questions and then not pursue them when they issue the final ruling, but there were indications that most of the justices, even the more liberal ones, were sceptical of what colorado was asserting. which is that donald trump should be removed from the primary ballot. there were multiple grounds. the constitutional provision, the 14th amendment, there were concerns it doesn't apply to presidents. and there were concerns as to whether colorado has the right to make this determination on its own. if you have a situation where every state decides who is on the ballot and who isn't based on 14th amendment qualifications, you could have a hodgepodge of primary elections where sometimes that candidate is there and sometimes not. so i think the supreme court seems to be

looking for an exit ramp, a way to extricate themselves from this politically charged case, rather than to take head—on the question of whether donald trump did insight and insurrection against the united states, one that would disqualify him under the 14th amendment. they seem to be looking more at technicalities in this case. looking more at technicalities in this case-— in this case. anthony zurcher in this case. anthony zurcher in las vegas. _ in this case. anthony zurcher in las vegas, great - in this case. anthony zurcher in las vegas, great to - in this case. anthony zurcher in las vegas, great to talk i in this case. anthony zurcherj in las vegas, great to talk to as ever. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. 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. the conservatives have described it as a major u—turn on a flagship policy. 0ur political editor chris mason spoke to the labour leader. the £28 billion was announced when interest rates were very low. now they are very high because of the damage done to the economy. maybe it was a silly

comment in the first place? even the interest on the debt is measured in tens of billions of pounds. what i'm interested in is not the money, the exact sum, but the outcomes. you were interested in the exact sum until this morning. i have always been... my mission is clean power by 2030. enviromental groups have slammed the policy change, calling the labour party short—sighted on climate change. more reaction on our website. turning now to the israel—gaza war. the us says it will not support any plans for an israeli military operation in gaza's southernmost city,

rafah, without proper planning. a ground offensive has not yet started, on wednesday the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, said he'd instructed israeli forces to prepare for an offensive in the city. israeli planes have continued to bomb parts of rafah, which has also been coming under tankfire. both the white house and the state department say that they have made it clear that such an operation risks disastrous consequences for the more than one million palestinians who've fled there. more than half of the strip's population is sheltering in rafah. aid agencies are warning of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe. at least 100 israeli hostages are still in gaza. you lost your cousin, your granddaughter and two other grandchildren were returned after being held hostage by hamas. “ , ., ., ., ., hamas. a12-year-old and a 16-year-old. _ hamas. a12-year-old and a 16-year-old. i— hamas. a12-year-old and a 16-year-old. i want - hamas. a12-year-old and a 16-year-old. i want to - hamas. a12-year-old and a 16-year-old. i want to start hamas. a12-year-old and a i 16-year-old. i want to start by askin: 16-year-old. i want to start by asking you _ 16-year-old. i want to start by asking you how _ 16-year-old. i want to start by asking you how they _ 16-year-old. i want to start by asking you how they are - 16-year-old. i want to start by asking you how they are doing| asking you how they are doing and how they have in recovering since their release?— since their release? they are doinu as since their release? they are doing as well _ since their release? they are doing as well as _ since their release? they are doing as well as they - since their release? they are doing as well as they can. i doing as well as they can. physically israel put a place

date—macro plan in place that was _ date—macro plan in place that was unprecedented for the children return from captivity, so they— children return from captivity, so they were immediately in hospital. _ so they were immediately in hospital, they check their health _ hospital, they check their health. —— put in place a plan. that_ health. —— put in place a plan. that was— health. —— put in place a plan. that was the first priority. in the 50 — that was the first priority. in the 50 days they have been home, _ the 50 days they have been home, they have been trying to reconnect— home, they have been trying to reconnect with family, return to a — reconnect with family, return to a sense _ reconnect with family, return to a sense of normalcy, but it's almost impossible knowing that their father is there. i that their father is there. can't that their father is there. i can't imagine how difficult that is. what is written on your shirt, 125, that is. what is written on yourshirt,125, is that is. what is written on your shirt, 125, is the day is the hostages have been held in captivity, including your relative, theirfather. i want to ask you first of all if you know anything about how he is doing, where he is being held? has any information been provided?— has any information been rovided? ~ ~ ., ., has any information been rovided? ~ ., ., ., provided? we know from some of the earlier— provided? we know from some of the earlier releases _ provided? we know from some of the earlier releases that - provided? we know from some of the earlier releases that he - the earlier releases that he was — the earlier releases that he was there, people saw him. that he had _ was there, people saw him. that he had an— was there, people saw him. that he had an injury. beyond that,

we haven't— he had an injury. beyond that, we haven't heard anything. as most — we haven't heard anything. as most families haven't heard anything since the last releases. we don't know if he is being — releases. we don't know if he is being treated. we know from the stories coming out, there is a _ the stories coming out, there is a significant violence, they are not— is a significant violence, they are not getting access to food, water, — are not getting access to food, water, bathrooms. each day that passes— water, bathrooms. each day that passes puts them in more and more — passes puts them in more and more danger, and that's why we continue — more danger, and that's why we continue to— more danger, and that's why we continue to site and share their— continue to site and share their story. preliminary results from pakistan's general election show independent candidates linked to jailed former prime minister imran khan appear to be heading to victory. but with delays in counting the votes it could be some time before we have a clear picture of the results. front—runner nawaz sharif could be on course to be elected pakistan's prime minister for a fourth time. mr sharif has told the bbc today's vote had been "absolutely fair" despite the recentjailing of his rival imran khan on corruption charges. many analysts say this is among pakistan's

least credible elections. russian president vladmir putin has suggested for the first time that he's open to a swap that would free wall streetjournal reporter evan gershkovich. as you may remember, mr gershkovich has been imprisoned in russia for 317 days after being arrested on espionage charges, which he denies. us officials have repeatedlly called for mr gershkovich's immedate release. and in a wide ranging interview with tucker carlson released just a few hours ago, mr putin says he also doesn't rule out gershkovich's return to the us. translation: i do not rule out that the person you referred - to, mr gershkovich, may return to his motherland. at the end of the day, it doesn't make any sense to keep him in prison in russia. we want the us special services to think about how they can contribute to achieving the goals our special services are pursuing. we are ready to talk. moreover, the talks are under way.

and there have been many successful examples of these talks crowned with success. probably this is going to be crowned with success as well. but we have to come to an agreement. ukrainian president zelensky has sacked the commander—in—chief of his country's armed forces, valerii zaluzhny. recent reports suggest that a rift had grown between the president and his leading general. mr zelensky thanked general zaluzhny for defending ukraine, but said "the time for such an update is now." for an update is now." mr zelensky appointed colonel—general 0leksandr searski as the new military leader. it's the biggest change to ukraine's military leadership since the russian invasion in february 2022. the bbc�*s sarah rainsford sent this report. volodymyr zelensky is talking about a reset. he's talking about renewal. he's presenting this as a positive decision for ukraine, and posting pictures of him and general zaluzhny standing side by side.

there is a general sense, though, that this comes at a very precarious time here in ukraine when the front line is pretty static, when western military aid is in question. ukraine really struggling to get the aid it needs. and also when enthusiasm for fighting this war is really waning here amongst soldiers, it's getting hard to recruit people to go to the front lines. the spirit has changed. a while back, general zaluzhny talked about the situation on the front line as a stalemate, and that did not go down well at all with his political bosses. so i think the impression i get is that what volodymyr zelensky is looking for is a far more positive approach. he wants talk and he wants progress on the battlefield. he doesn't want a commander in chief who is talking about bedding in and digging in, in the trenches, holding the lines and rearming on those lines. he wants somebody who's talking about pushing forward. president zelensky wants to make gains on the battlefield. that's important to him politically as well, of course, as militarily. now, there is a big question,

though, whether or not there is politics in all of this. there's a lot of rumours about a big rift between general zaluzhny and volodymyr zelensky. his office would deny that. i think he would say he puts winning this war above any kind of political rivalry. but whether or not the new man in thejob can actually make any difference militarily on the ground, given that he has been involved in the military effort right from the very beginning of the full—scale invasion, i think that is a very open question. but certainly volodymyr zelensky hopes that the answer is yes. you are watching bbc news. our colleagues in london take over from here, but in washington, thanks for your company and have a good night. see you soon. 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.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. there are plenty of reasons to fear that 2024 could be defined by escalating conflict. it is tempting to give up on the institutions and individuals focused on conflict resolution, on reconciliation between enemies. but would that be premature? well, my guest isjose ramos—horta, president of timor—leste, leader of a successful liberation struggle and advocate for international peace and justice. are there lessons for the world to learn from his extraordinary life?