in which the mirror acted for so many years and then sought to conceal the truth." us presidentjoe biden hits out at suggestions he has a poor memory and is unfit for office. we speak to a former adviser to bill and hillary clinton. former pakistani prime minister nawaz sharif claims election victory for his country, despite independent candidates linked to imran khan winning more seats. president putin tells us host tucker carlson russia has no interest in invading poland, latvia or other nato countries. and first there was var, now football's authorities consider introducing a blue card — alongside yellow and red — with a ten—minute sin bin. we have reaction.

hello, i'm matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live. prince harry has agreed further damages in his case against mirror group newspapers. he settled his remaining claims of phone hacking and invasion of privacy. in a statement, the duke of sussex said the mirror had acted in a shockingly dishonest way for many years and then had sought to conceal the truth. prince harry's victory follows a judge's ruling in december that mirror group journalists had made extensive use of hacking. the mirror said it was pleased to have reached a deal over events for which it had apologised. outside court, harry's lawyer, david sherbourne, delivered this statement on his behalf. "after our victory in december, mirror group have finally conceded the rest of my claim, which would have consisted of another two trials, additional evidence, and 115 more articles." "everything we said was happening at mirror group was in fact happening."

"and indeed far worse, as the court ruled in its extremely damaging judgment." "as the judge has said only this morning, we have uncovered and proved the shockingly dishonest way in which the mirror acted for so many years and then sought to conceal the truth." "in light of this, we call again for the authorities to uphold the rule of law and to prove that no—one is above it." "that includes mr morgan, who, as editor, knew perfectly well what was going on, as thejudge held." "even his own employer realised it simply could not call him as a witness of truth at the trial." "his contempt for the court's ruling and his continued attacks ever since demonstrate why it was so important to obtain a clear and detailed judgment." "as i said back in december, our mission continues."

"i believe in the positive change it will bring for all of us." our correspondent charlie rose gave us the details on how this settlement was reached. this follows events last year when prince harry won 15 sample claims, saying journalists obtained information about him unlawfully, hacking into his phone and his voice mail to get information to write articles about him. but prince harry argued that was reallyjust articles about him. but prince harry argued that was really just the articles about him. but prince harry argued that was reallyjust the tip of the iceberg and there were 115 more examples of articles written using information about him obtained unlawfully. now, today prince harry has settled his claim against mirror group newspapers, who have agreed to

pay £400,000, not including additional costs. now, prince harry has his sights set on the publishers of the daily mail and the publishers of the daily mail and the publishers of the daily mail and the publishers of the sun newspaper. he says it is not about the money, it is all part of his mission to bring about positive change to the way the press here in the uk operates. senior democrats have defended president biden after his memory was called into question by the official investigating the president's handling of classified documents. the special counsel, a republican former attorney, said the president had struggled during interviews to recall major events in his life, like when he served as vice president, and the year his son died. last night, joe biden furiously rejected the claims, saying his memory was fine. republicans have seized on the report as evidence that mr biden shouldn't be seeking re—election. from washington, here's will vernon. tonight, no criminal charges for president biden... no criminal charges... tonight, no charges... the initial headlines seemed to be good news for the president. the special counsel recommended no charges be brought

into his handling of official documents. a legal win for mr biden. but, politically, it was a devastating blow. the report made several claims over mr biden�*s mental competency. it described him as "a well—meaning elderly man with a poor memory." in any future trial, it said, it would be "difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him of a crime that requires a mental state of willfulness." last night, president biden hit back at those allegations. my memory is fine. my memory... take a look at what i've done since i've become president. none of you thought i could pass any of the things i got passed. how'd that happen? you know, i guess ijust forgot what was going on. butjoe biden has made a series of embarrassing slip—ups that have raised questions about his fitness for office. at a recent event, he said the current president of france was mitterrand, who died in 1996. and i sat down and i said,

"america's back," and mitterrand from germany... i mean from france... donald trump, who is just three years younger than his rival, has mocked president biden on the campaign trail. i'll tell you what — i feel sharper now than i did 20 years ago. i really do. and i think anybody running for president should take an aptitude or a cognitive test. mr biden will now be hoping allegations of wrongdoing over official documents will come to an end. but questions about his age and fitness for office are more difficult to avoid. will vernon, bbc news, washington. let's speak to richard goodstein, who was the former adviser to bill and hillary clinton. auto policy and strategy in a moment altar, but are you worried about age, memory, those things we have

just heard about inner peace? you know, joe just heard about inner peace? 7m. know, joe biden famously says do not compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative. donald trump is not exactly someone who should be throwing stones. this is trump, a man who said that he beat 0bama in 2016, who feared getting into world war ii in the future, who mistook nikki haley and nancy pelosi. so this is not exactly somebody who is fit as a fiddle himself. look, there is a reason that democrats wantjoe biden to get re—elected, and that is because of how much he has accomplished, shockingly, with narrow margins in congress, and frankly the promise to do things in the future that trump would never do and what frankly reverse. it is interesting. — and what frankly reverse. it is interesting, i— and what frankly reverse. it is interesting, i ask— and what frankly reverse. it is interesting, i ask you - and what frankly reverse. it is interesting, i ask you a - and what frankly reverse. it is interesting, i ask you a question about biden, you talk about trump. joe biden could not remember when he was vice president, he could not

remember the year his son died, he could not in the hamas, the french president, the egyptian president — do you not recognise there is perhaps a problem here? what do you not recognise there is perhaps a problem here? what i recounise perhaps a problem here? what i recognise is _ perhaps a problem here? what i recognise is that _ perhaps a problem here? what i recognise is that everybody - perhaps a problem here? what i l recognise is that everybody except for this trump picked a special prosecutor, somebody who is clearly auditioning to be trump's attorney general, everything you said about biden was gratuitous and not relevant to his decision to not proceed with any criminal charges... you could be right in that context, but it is not an observation entirely independent, is it? you had that nbc poll very recently, 76% of voters now are concerned about biden's age, it is the top concern in america, beyond one or two people and politicians making hay, this is absolutely front and centre in terms of what is invoked as�* minds. h0

of what is invoked as' minds. in? question that this is a legitimate concern of voters, and there is no getting around it. but imagine somebody else in the white house, would they handle what happened with ukraine the same way? would they have got the us out of covid in the way that trump got us into it? would they be dealing with climate change? would they be dealing with gun violence? no. notwithstanding everything you mentioned, there is a reason that democrats and the public generally are supportive. i understand what you're saying, but in a sense you are also suggesting that strategy stays the same, and this problem appears to be growing. does it make sense that the strategy does not change, that somehow the democrats, the president, the white house addresses this more directly? so i am just curious, do you have segments when trump mistook nikki haley for nancy pelosi, when he said we might get into world war ii in the future? irate

we might get into world war ii in the future?— we might get into world war ii in the future?- good. - we might get into world war ii in the future?- good. i - we might get into world war ii in | the future?- good. i think the future? we did. good. i think there are so _ the future? we did. good. i think there are so many _ the future? we did. good. i think there are so many bad _ the future? we did. good. i think there are so many bad things - the future? we did. good. i think there are so many bad things to i the future? we did. good. i think. there are so many bad things to say about donald trump that... there are so many bad things to say about donald trump that. . .- about donald trump that... again, ou are about donald trump that... again, you are not — about donald trump that... again, you are not answering _ about donald trump that... again, you are not answering my - about donald trump that... again, j you are not answering my question about strategy. should the white house change its strategy on this issue, given how it is developing? well, the strategy forjoad biden is to remind people of all that he has accomplished, record—breaking jobs growth et cetera. and lay out what he plans to do in the future, in contrast to donald trump, politics is binary, it is one choice or the other, so it is not in the abstract. it is not binary when it comes to deciding what the strategy is. one final quick question, i know you do not want to go there, but let me ask you the question, is there a process this late in the cycle, if we go to a point where the democrats did want to change the candidate for 2024?

does that process still exist? look, arain, ou does that process still exist? look, again. you are _ does that process still exist? look, again, you are asking _ does that process still exist? look, again, you are asking a _ does that process still exist? look, again, you are asking a legitimate i again, you are asking a legitimate question. my answer is today is what it would have been six months ago and three months in the future. democrats wantjoe biden to get re—elected because they think that he can accomplish in the next and what he did before. should something happen to him physically that would disable him, same question with donald trump, legally, the republicans seem quite content to nominate a convicted felon, but is there a process? of course, this is not etched in stone, but again this is dreaming at this point, not dealing in reality.— dealing in reality. richard goodstein, _ dealing in reality. richard goodstein, good - dealing in reality. richard goodstein, good to - dealing in reality. richard goodstein, good to talk. dealing in reality. richard| goodstein, good to talk to dealing in reality. richard - goodstein, good to talk to you, thank you forjoining us on the programme. with more than half of the seats called from yesterday's general election in pakistan, independent candidates backed by the jailed former prime minister imran khan have taken a clear lead. but in anotherformer prime minister, nawaz sharif, widely seen as enjoying the support

of the country's powerful military, this claimed victory. ealrier, our reporter farhat javed gave me the latest from islamabad. nawaz sharif, the former prime minister, has just made his first public speech after more than 24 hours since the poll ended yesterday. a large crowd gathered outside the secretariat in lahore, and nawaz sharif congratulated them all, and he said that his party has won maximum seats, although we do not have the final result from the election commission of pakistan, and what we do have so far is more than 50% of the seats have been declared, and we also know that most of these seats are won by imran khan's independent candidates. but despite all this, nawaz sharif has made this claim that his party has won most

of the seats, and he has also announced that his party will talk to other opposition parties, the parties which were allied with him during the previous government, he said that his party would speak to them, including the pakistan peoples party, and some religious parties as well. and he also hinted on reaching out to the independent candidates which are actually backed by imran khan's pti, he said his party would reach out to them and try to form a coalition government for the next five years. he also said that he aims to take this country out of the trouble is it is facing now, and he said that he invites all other political leaders from all other parties to sit together and to get this country out of the problems it is facing for many years now.

let's look at some other stories making news. south africa's double olympic champion caster semenya is appealing for funds to help fight her legal battle against regulations requiring female athletes with high testosterone to take medication. the world athletics body barred semenya from competing in the 800m events after she refused to take drugs to reduce her testosterone levels. her hearing at the european court of human rights begins in may. rescuers in the philippines have found a girl alive, 60 hours after she was buried in a mudslide. more than 100 people are still missing after the disaster. the landslide hit a gold mining village in the south of the country on tuesday. a new oscar for best casting will be introduced from 2026. it will be the first new competitive category at the ceremony since 2002. casting directors have campaigned in recent years to be recognised in the way other film crafts,

such as sound and costume, are. you're live with bbc news. president putin has insisted russia has no interest in invading poland, latvia or other nato countries, calling such a scenario "absolutely out of the question". the comments were made during a television interview in the kremlin with the former fox news host tucker carlson. the interview was broadcast on the tucker carlson network. vladimir putin warned the west must accept moscow's territorial gains in ukraine. 0n evan gershkovich, the wall street journal reporter detained in russia, mr putin said an agreement could be reached for his release. here's the moment putin was asked by carlson whether he would invade a nato country like poland. can you imagine a scenario where you sent russian troops to poland? translation: only in one case, if poland attacks russia. - why? because we have no interest

in poland, latvia or anywhere else. why would we do that? we simply don't have any interest. just part of a very long interview with vladimir putin. let's speak to sir laurie bristow, who was the british ambassador to russia from 2016 to 2020. thank you so much forjoining us in the programme, i know you listened to the interview at length, and it certainly was lengthy, it was rambling. just give us your take on what you saw and heard.— rambling. just give us your take on what you saw and heard. sure, well, as ou what you saw and heard. sure, well, as you say. — what you saw and heard. sure, well, as you say. it — what you saw and heard. sure, well, as you say. it is _ what you saw and heard. sure, well, as you say, it is long _ what you saw and heard. sure, well, as you say, it is long and _ what you saw and heard. sure, well, as you say, it is long and rambling, l as you say, it is long and rambling, and what we are getting here, at one level, is two hours of putin the amateur historian, and the things he says i do not think will be new to anyone who has been studying his view of russia and the world in recent years. but that's not really the point here. so it is a history lesson, but one with purpose, and that purpose is to use a highly

selective and distorted view of historical events to justify putin's current political objectives and goals in the world, and his view of russia in the world. so to pull out a few of the things he says, some of the more contentious assertions, he said a great deal about the reasons and process of nato enlargement. he claims that the us aims to overthrow the regime in moscow and dismember russia. crucially, in this context, he launches into a great description of what happened and why in ukraine during the 2013 revolution of dignity in the military action that he launched against ukraine back in 2013. but the whole point about all of this is that tucker carlson does not call him out on any of it. yes. not call him out on any of it. yes, there is very _ not call him out on any of it. yes, there is very little _ not call him out on any of it. yes, there is very little pushback, - not call him out on any of it. yes, there is very little pushback, but when he talks about history, at length, and when he also insists that countries like poland and latvia, the balkan states, he has no

intention of invading — is that believable, given only a couple of days before he went inside ukraine, he was denying he had any intention of it? ., , ., ., ,, , of it? clearly, we need to take very seriously the _ of it? clearly, we need to take very seriously the risk _ of it? clearly, we need to take very seriously the risk of _ of it? clearly, we need to take very seriously the risk of confrontation l seriously the risk of confrontation between russia and nato, but it has been clearly up to now, and i think in the future, hugely in the interests of both mr putin's russia and other nato countries not to get into a direct confrontation, and i don't see that calculation changing. what is important in this context, though, is that mr putin did invade ukraine, and ukraine was not at the time of that attack presenting any threat to russia, and was not even about to join nato. threat to russia, and was not even about tojoin nato. he threat to russia, and was not even about to join nato._ threat to russia, and was not even about to join nato. about to 'oin nato. he talked about ukraine, about to join nato. he talked about ukraine. he — about to join nato. he talked about ukraine, he said _ about to join nato. he talked about ukraine, he said it _ about to join nato. he talked about ukraine, he said it was _ about to join nato. he talked about ukraine, he said it was impossible l ukraine, he said it was impossible for the west to win the war in ukraine — in that sense, could he be right, and did he exploit, as much as perhaps people anticipated, the

sort of fractures and fraying that exists within the west? because he didn't seem to go as far as possibly could have. so didn't seem to go as far as possibly could have-— could have. so we are in a very interesting _ could have. so we are in a very interesting situation _ could have. so we are in a very interesting situation going - could have. so we are in a very interesting situation going into j interesting situation going into 2024, and we are in a situation where neither side, neither russia nor ukraine, is able to present to deliver a knockout military blow to the other side. nor is there a real, serious negotiation on the table. so mr putin said his goal was to stop the war, and what he meant by that, he said it in the interview, is for that to happen, the us needs to stop supplying weapons to ukraine. essentially, what he is signalling is that he will negotiate, but only on his terms, and what the negotiation would amount to us ukraine's surrender. sir negotiation would amount to us ukraine's surrender.— ukraine's surrender. sir laurie bristow, thank _ ukraine's surrender. sir laurie bristow, thank you _ ukraine's surrender. sir laurie bristow, thank you so - ukraine's surrender. sir laurie bristow, thank you so much i ukraine's surrender. sir laurie | bristow, thank you so much for joining us live on the programme, good to talk to you. israeli forces have carried out fresh air strikes on rafah in southern gaza, hours after the us stressed the importance of protecting civilian lives there. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has

ordered his military to plan ways to evacuate civilians from the city, as it prepares to take on hamas fighters near gaza's southern border. the white house has warned israel that staging a military offensive in rafah without planning would be a "disaster". president biden says israel's conduct in gaza has been "over the top" and said he was working to secure a sustained pause in fighting. about half of gaza's 2.3 million people have fled to rafah since the conflict began in october. let's speak to the director of the koret project on arab—israel relations, david makovsky, who joins me from washington. thank you forjoining us on the programme. 0ur —— how concerned is the biden administration at the way that israel is conducting the war, given that virtually every week the comments of criticism from the white house seem to get harder and harder? well, it is good to be with you, as

always. look, ithink, you know, you are raising an important point. i mean, i saw netanyahu more as posturing when it came to rafah, he knows it is very hard, some people say there are up to 1.7 million palestinians near the border area, where the tent cities are, the humanitarian tracks, and that requires coordination with egypt. i still think his main play is khan younis, because that is where he thinks they are in the tunnels, and they are in pursuit of him in the tunnels. but i think he wants to convey, do not think that rafah is out of bounds, that it is like a safe city in that way, that you can run to rafah there. so he wants to signal that israel is intent on pursuing the hamas leadership, but i still think the next play for the next ten days, from what i am hearing, is still the khan younis

area. i hearing, is still the khan younis area. . ., hearing, is still the khan younis area. _, . ~ hearing, is still the khan younis area. . ~ ., area. i will come back to the hunt for the hamas _ area. i will come back to the hunt for the hamas leaders _ area. i will come back to the hunt for the hamas leaders in - area. i will come back to the hunt for the hamas leaders in a - area. i will come back to the hunt l for the hamas leaders in a moment area. i will come back to the hunt - for the hamas leaders in a moment or two, but what does it tell you, do you think, that antony blinken, again in the last 48 hours, had to say publicly to israel that he was worried about the amount of civilian casualties, again and again he returns to that, what does it say about the way that israel is actually listening to what the white house is saying and the leveraged that the white house actually has? well, look, more worrisome is what biden said last night. i think that, you know, up to now, biden has been the ace card, and they have had that relationship privately. when biden goes public and notjust private, thatis goes public and notjust private, that is crossing a threshold that he has not really crossed since october the 7th. that is new, and that is something that this prime minister needs to be sure he is in sync with,

because the president is expending a lot of domestic political capital, because he believed in the mission to topple hamas from power to give the gazan people more humane government. so when the president goes from private to public, i think the prime minister needs to either fly to washington and sort it out behind closed doors here, or at least get on a secure video conference and have a very long talk, and be open to the present�*s ideas. because this is qualitatively different. �* ., . ., ., different. although critics would make the point _ different. although critics would make the point that _ different. although critics would make the point that until- different. although critics would make the point that until it - make the point that until it involves money and a weapon supply from the us to israel, it will not have real impact. a final question, though, because you told our producer that you think the next two weeks will be pivotal. why do you say that? and pivotal in what way? because this has always been about the leadership, they are never going to eliminate hamas from the hearts

and minds of people who want to back it, but the leaders are the people who did 0ctober it, but the leaders are the people who did october the 7th, they are the ones firing rockets at your cities, you know, they are the ones who have set up the whole military infrastructure, so you know, you say you are in hot pursuit of him, you have seen evidence of him being in these underground tunnels, you are hoping to complete this campaign about the tunnels within the next ten days. i think we will know more, and if they do not catch him, it will have an impact on the hostage negotiations as well. but right now, you would think you are in hot pursuit, so i think the proof is in the pudding. if you do, the war will go one way. if you don't, it will look very different. for all the complications we talked about, about rafah, which is the final city right at the border. great to great to talk to you, thank you so much for joining us on the programme.

delighted to be with you. collide stay with us, because we have that fascinating stay with us, because we have that fascinatin: , ., , stay with us, because we have that fascinatina , ., , fascinating story, the football sto to fascinating story, the football story to bring _ fascinating story, the football story to bring new, _ fascinating story, the football story to bring new, and - fascinating story, the football story to bring new, and there| fascinating story, the football i story to bring new, and there it fascinating story, the football - story to bring new, and there it is, and if you do not know the story, we are well used to the yellow card and the red card, but apparently that is the red card, but apparently that is the latest suggestion from footballing authorities, a blue card for things like descent to referees, and it would involve ten minutes sitting in the sin bin. well, there has been an avalanche of comments since that suggestion, and actually the football authorities have already delayed it, given that avalanche of comment. we have been talking to pat nevin, the former chelsea player, and we will play you that interview in the next little while. we are back with the headlines injust a moment. doorway. —— don't go away. hello there, the snow that is falling is now restricted to the hills of scotland. elsewhere, some

rain around has led to flooding, this is the picture early on in cambridgeshire. together with heavy rain, there has been snowmelt, and thatis rain, there has been snowmelt, and that is why there are so many warnings, mostly across the midlands and southern england. the numbers may drop this weekend, it looks like it should be turning drier. at the moment, though, this weatherfront is pushing northwards, particularly into scotland. this is where we have got the last of the colder air, else where is rising, milder air moving its weight northwards. this was the picture earlier on in staffordshire. above about 300 metres they could be 20 centimetres of snow, so quite high elevations. we have got rain

elsewhere, and a strong easterly wind will gradually ease overnight, we will see further rain moving across northern england into southern scotland and over northern ireland. england and wales turning drier and clearer, could be a little bit more chilly in the south than it was last night, it all depends on the amount of cloud, mist and fog as well, and we could see some of that through the midlands, heading towards lincolnshire for a while. 0therwise, sunshine coming through for northern england at this time, and northern ireland, and eventually cross on scotland as it turns dry. what is left of the rain, sleet and snow is really in the far north of the country. showers further south, mostly into south—west england and south wales, temperatures continue to rise, up to 7 degrees widely in scotland on saturday. the last of the colder, away from northern scotland, is getting moved away by that weather front, things will be much brighter in the north—west of scotland. still got low pressure close by. day, rain running north up the north sea coast, what some sunshine breaking through the cloud,

leading to a scattering of showers in the west and in the south, nothing particularly heavy, still quite gusty winds through the english channel, otherwise the winds will be lighter, temperatures continue to rise in scotland, but further south it may turn a little cooler.

this is bbc news, the headlines: israel's prime minister

orders his military to devise a rafah evacuation plan — hours after new strikes on the southern gaza city. they chant: pay restoration, doctor retention! _ junior doctors in england announce more strikes. we have the latest. 80 years in antarctica — a milestone for the uk's first base on the most remote continent on earth. we have a special report. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has ordered his military to devise an evacuation plan for civilians from rafah, as it prepares to take on hamas fighters near gaza's southern border. the white house has warned israel that staging a military offensive in rafah without planning would be a "disaster". in some of his sharpest comments to date, president biden says israel's conduct in gaza had been "over the top."

earlier this week, the top us diplomat, antony blinken, left