also tonight, prince harry settles his phone—hacking claim against mirror group newspapers. he says then editor piers morgan knew what was going on. he had this to say. invading the privacy of the royal family is utterly reprehensible, and on that i share prince harry's opinion. ijust wish he'd stop doing it. questions for president biden tonight as he hits back at a report which dubs him "an elderly man with a poor memory" a slow tractor demo outside dover as farmers protest over foreign food imports. this creature, believe it or not, has been called fluffy. it's an alligator snapping turtle found in a cumbrian lake. i think i was in disbelief to start with, because it was not what i expected whatsoever.

on newsnight at 10:30pm... political chaos threatens in pakistan as the result doesn't go the military�*s way and jailed imran khan's candidate surge into the lead. we will be joined by one of his key advisers. good evening. the man wanted in connection with the clapham chemical attack is, police say, probably dead after going into the thames. the last—known cctv footage of abdul ezedi shows him leaning over chelsea bridge, which is on the river. his body has not yet been found. officers have been searching for him since a woman and her two young daughters were attacked with a corrosive substance nine days ago. the mother is still in hospital and may lose her sight in one eye. here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. chelsea bridge at 11:30 last wednesday night. wearing the dark green,

this is the last cctv image police have been able to find of abdul shokoor ezedi. they've scoured other cameras and footage from buses around chelsea bridge but have found nothing more, so they now believe he went into the water and is probably dead. as he gets onto chelsea bridge, he does cross the bridge, more than once. and then when he gets back to the centre, he appears to be moving from the railings back to the pavement and looking over the edge of the railings. so a distinct change in how he's been moving about. ezedi is the only suspect in a horrific attack on a 31—year—old woman and her two daughters. police believe he threw a concentrated corrosive liquid on them and then hurled the three—year—old to the ground. the attack happened at 7:25 last wednesday night in clapham in south london. from there, ezedi headed north to king's cross, buying some water at tesco. but then he headed south again to tower hill and the river thames. and every time he was filmed on cctv

after that, he was walking west along the river, ending up at chelsea bridge. officers have looked through pictures from thousands of cameras, but after 9:33, all of them show ezedi close to the river, apparently steeling himself tojump in. detectives have consulted a behavioural psychologist, who's watched the footage of ezedi on the bridge and considered the attack early in the evening and has advised them that it is possible that ezedi took his own life. officers have been told by experts that if he has died in the river, then with the rapid current, it may take a month to find the body, and in truth it might never be found. friends of the woman he's suspected of attacking have released this image of her and her daughters on a fundraising page, with their faces obscured by hearts. detectives say she is very poorly and unable to talk to them. she is unaware that the suspect is thought to have gone into the riverfrom chelsea bridge.

this is not the end of the investigation, the marine police unit will be searching the river at low tide, detectives cannot really draw a line under this until a body has been found. but abdul shokoor ezedi's family have been told that he is almost certainlyjumped into the river and he has probably died. reeta. a thank you, daniel. the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu, says he has told the military to develop a plan to get civilians out of rafah in southern gaza to defeat hamas, designated a terrorist organisation by the uk government. the humanitarian situation in gaza continues to worsen, and president biden has said israel's actions are "over the top". two million people live in gaza, and more than 80% are now displaced, with most heading to the city of rafah, near the egyptian border. the palestinian authorities say that two years ago rafah�*s population was about 260,000. but since the war, it's shot up to 1.4 million.

this report by our international editor, jeremy bowen, has some distressing images from the start. israel bombed rafah again. a family ran to get medical aid for a child who was already dead. around 1.2 million palestinian civilians have crammed into rafah. this man said thousands more would be killed if the israelis moved their troops in. "the kids can't sleep," he said. "they're terrified, and so are adults." hunger and illness are spreading in makeshift camps flooded with pools of sewage. the lines of plastic tents go on for miles. the aid operation is led by unrwa, the beleaguered un agency for palestinian refugees. it says an israeli offensive into rafah would have terrible consequences. such a military operation

would add an additional apocalyptic layer in the gaza strip. apocalyptic? that is a very strong word. it is a strong word, but if you talk about already 5% of the population having been either killed or injured, and then you conduct a military operation in this place, you can only add an additional disastrous layer of tragedy, and this needs absolutely to be avoided. unrwa has sacked a dozen employees israel says took part in the 7th october attacks. after four months of war, the stresses are very evident. there are the very serious allegations hanging over this agency, unrwa, who are the main provider of humanitarian aid to the people of gaza, and there is israel's seeming determination to extend the military offensive into the town of rafah,

despite the opposition of its most important ally, the us, who say that innocent civilians have suffered enough. those comments will only deepen the suspicions of unrwa among government supporters, like this retired general, the former deputy head of the armed forces. unrwa, it's a terror organisation. we will find a way with our civil administration to give the people medicine, food, et cetera. that's an occupation. the other possibility is to give it back to the hamas and unrwa, and to face again another 7th of october. we will never agree to it. he went off to join protestors, mostly religious nationalists, whose views on gaza are shared by many, if not most israelis. urging the government to ignore its critics, including the world court,

which is investigating plausible accusations, it says, of genocide in gaza, as well asjoe biden. one of the placards said, "it's simple — them or us". jeremy bowen, bbc news, jerusalem. it's emerged that some israeli soldiers have been posting content online showing palestinian detainees, which legal experts say could be in breach of international law. bbc verify�*s merlyn thomas has more. since israel's military response to the october 7th attacks, our investigation has found several videos on social—media sites like tiktok and youtube all leading to the accounts of israeli soldiers. this isn't a beach party — it's the front line of israel's war with gaza. solders have been documenting their time in an active war zone, posting content on social media. some of those videos show palestinian detainees. we've identified several of the soldiers uploading these videos

and the locations they were posted from in gaza. this is one of the videos we've analysed. it was uploaded onto youtube by an idf soldier, yossi gamzoo letova. detainees stripped to their underwear in a sports stadium in northern gaza, some kneeling and blindfolded. one of the soldiers in the video is a lieutenant colonel, which we identified by the insignia on his uniform, suggesting he's aware that filming is taking place. mr letova also uploaded another video where a soldier is seen interrogating a man stripped to his underwear and bleeding. he's then walked through the streets of gaza barefoot. the idf said the soldier who posted the video has been fired and that the detainee has been released. we've shown this footage to human—rights experts, who say the filming of detainees and the publication of such videos may breach international law. warfare in the information age gives us unique access to the front line. but for some, this conflict is simply a backdrop for their media content.

we asked the israel defense forces for its comment about each of these incidents, but they haven't come back to us yet. merlyn thomas reporting there. after prince harry's legal victory against mirror group newspapers in a trial last year, he has settled his remaining claims against the group for phone hacking and invasion of privacy. in a statement, he said his case had uncovered what he called the "shockingly dishonest way" the daily mirror acted for many years, and he said the paper's editor at the time, piers morgan, knew "perfectly well" what was going on. the mirror group said it was pleased to have reached an agreement and to move forward from events "that took place many years ago". here's our media correspondent david sillito. prince harry is in the midst of a legal war against a number of britain's newspapers, and today settlement with mirror group was an end to one of the battles.

the issue was more than 100 stories he said had been acquired by intercepting his voicemails. many of them were about his relationship with his former girlfriend chelsy davy. but winning a damages settlement running into hundreds of thousands of pounds is not the end. his barrister today stepped out of court and issued a statement on behalf of the prince, saying it was time for the authorities to prove that no—one was above the law. and then pointed the finger at a former mirror editor, piers morgan. "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."

piers morgan edited the mirror 20 years ago and has always denied ever being involved in hacking. as he returned home today, he had this to say. invading the privacy of the royal family is utterly reprehensible, and on that— i share prince harry's opinion. ijust wish he'd stop doing it. a barbed reference to prince harry's own royal revelations, but piers morgan had no more to say than that. his scorn for the duke and duchess of sussex runs deep. it was the reason he parted company with itv. ok, i'm done with this. sorry. but for prince harry, this isjust the beginning. further legal action is under way against other papers. prince harry's guns are going to train on the sun, and there's a case against them later in the year, and then after that, on the mail newspaper group.

he wants the vindication, the understanding that there was wrongdoing and that impacted on him. he is not in it, as he's said many times, for the money. but the prince was not in court today — he's returned to the us and an nfl awards show, and a night off from his battle against the press. i'm in shock. that's prince harry! david sillito, bbc news. in pakistan, both main rivals have claimed they have the edge in the country's general election. independent candidates linked to former prime minister imran khan currently hold the highest number of seats. mr khan has been barred from standing and is injail. his party have made accusations of vote—rigging and are challenging some cases in court. but his opponent, nawaz sharif, says his party has emerged as the largest. the election has been marred by violent unrest and the suspension of mobile—phone services. from lahore, pakistan correspondent

caroline davies reports. celebrations on the streets of lahore. imran khan's candidates have won more seats than anyone else this election so far. but his supporters think they should have won more. accusing the other side of vote—rigging, which they deny. there are complications. because the election commission doesn't recognise khan's party, all of his candidates ran as an independent, and other parties are already talking about trying to absorb them. if in a few weeks' time, we suddenly hear that you have left the independence group and you're part of a party, what should we think? it would be the last day of my life. i mean, i cannot even think of, conceive of such a thing. i have said that all these votes, they have not been casted for me, they have casted for imran khan. celebrations on the other side, too.

nawaz sharif�*s party were thought favoured by pakistan's powerful military establishment. normally, that would mean they won. this gathering has political speeches, there's been music, there's even been fireworks. it feels like a victory parade, but the election results aren't finalised. sharif�*s party have fewer seats than khan. they need alliances. translation: as we don't have a majority to form - a government on our own, we are going to invite allies to come and join us and form a coalition government. not to be outdone, an ai version ofjailed imran khan was released by his team, claiming victory. wranglings and deals are still to be done. pakistan has voted — who will rule is still far from clear.

caroline davies, bbc news, lahore. "my memory is fine." so says president biden after a report, which cleared him of mishandling classified documents, but accused him of forgetting key dates, including the year his eldest son died. with the us presidential election just nine months away, our north america correspondent john sudworth has been finding out what voters in washington think. a warm welcome for the german chancellor at the white house today, but the questions were all about his host's health. thank you all very much. reporters shout the president smiled them away. overnight, the president defended his handling of classified information and his memory. but for the us news networks, the mental capacity of the commander—in—chief is now the story... but took devastating aim i at his mental competence, labelling him an "elderly man with memory problems". -

..putting front and centre stage the concerns that have long lingered. and i don't want to, i don't want to... i'll maybe choose my words. ..over moments like this. even in america's most democrat leaning city, in places where the president's record on jobs and the economy ought to be resonating, the question is on voters' minds. we all have concernss about, you know, our leader having all of the facilities and so on to do his or herjob, but actually, what i found over the years is it's also about who the president surrounds themselves with. does it worry you? yes, it does. i've been listening to the people on the news and they are concerned he is getting up in age, and should he or will he or can he continue to make the right choices for the world? you know what i mean? underlining just how big a problem this now is, president biden was forced to react.

my memory is fine. my memory... take a look at what i've done since i became president. but in an impromptu press conference meant to prove his fitness to govern, there was another misstep. as you know, initially the president of mexico, sisi... al—sisi is president of egypt, not mexico. this report providing legal exoneration for president biden over his handling of classified documents ought to have been a win, but the concerns raised about his memory are a political nightmare, seeming to confirm suspicions that voters already had, and if it is on people's minds in heartland constituencies, well, the real worry must be what it will mean in the margins, where this election will be won or lost. his opponent senses opportunity, while democrats complain the report was written by a republican—leaning lawyer. but fair or not, mr biden — all but certain to be the candidate

— may find himself fighting on his powers of recall as much as his record. vice president kamala harris, next in line for the presidency, certain to be his running mate, called the comments gratuitous and inaccurate and you cannot help but wonder in all this, if the democrats do not feel a sense of injustice, that donald trump has been able to turn even the criminal charges he faces to his advantage whilstjoe biden in report supposedly exonerating him of legal wrongdoing, finds himself with a political nightmare on his hands. haps the best they can hope for is that voters have already factored this in, they know whojoe biden is and when push comes to shove, they will choose him over an opponent who it is worth pointing out is not far off at himself. —— 80 himself.

it is worth pointing out is not far off at himself. -- 80 himself. john, thanks forjoining _ off at himself. -- 80 himself. john, thanks forjoining us. _ and you can hear more about this story in the latest episode of americast, on bbc sounds. us talk show host and conservative commentator tucker carlson was granted the first one—to—one interview with president putin for a western journalist in over two years — but the president faced few tough questions. he wasn't challenged about alleged war crimes, or the suppression of dissent in russia. instead mr carlson got a very lengthy history lesson. here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg. hard hitting it wasn't. translation: are we having a talk show or a serious conversation? - laughter but it was the first time vladimir putin had sat down with a western media personality since his full—scale invasion of ukraine. and he used the tucker carlson interview to send a message to the west. "stop arming ukraine, you won't defeat russia." translation: wouldn't it be better

to negotiate with russia, _ make an agreement, already understanding the situation that is developing today, realising that russia will fight for its interest to the end? i'll give you these documents. one bizarre moment. a present from putin — some 17th century documents and a lecture on 1,000 years of russian history. judging by how often his face is on russian tv, it's little surprise the kremlin chose tucker carlson for this interview. the conservative commentator from the us is a controversialfigure. much of what he says matches the kremlin�*s anti—liberal world view. most americans have no idea why putin invaded ukraine. ahead of the interview, tucker carlson claimed that since the russian invasion not a single western journalist had bothered trying to speak to putin. wrong there.

in december, i spent four hours trying, and failing, to ask president putin a question. and the kremlin has turned down several bbc bids for an interview. for president putin, this was a platform for transmitting to the west his narrative on the war in ukraine. according to that narrative, russia is completely innocent here, the war is the fault of the west, and for more than two hours he was able to do that pretty much unchallenged. mr putin said it was out of the question that russia would invade other countries like poland or latvia. mind you, two years ago russian officials were saying they had no plans to invade ukraine. this guy is obviously not a spy — he's a kid. but tucker carlson did ask about evan gershkovich, the respected us reporterjailed in russia on espionage charges. president putin hinted that moscow would be interested in a prisoner exchange,

swapping mr gershkovich for a russian assassin convicted in germany. but no questions on war crimes, or domestic repression in russia. instead, two hours of the world according to vladimir putin. steve rosenberg, bbc news. junior doctors in england are to go on strike for five days later this month. they'll walk out from february 24th to 28th. it's their tenth strike in their continuing dispute about pay. the british medical association, which represents them, wants a 35% pay increase, which was previously rejected by the government. many routine hospital services are likely to be disrupted or cancelled. farmers have been staging a protest at dover against cheap food imports, which they say are driving down prices for british produce. tractors have been disrupting traffic around the port — our reporter simonjones is there. what is going on? this protest has

taken the authorities _ what is going on? this protest has taken the authorities by _ what is going on? this protest has taken the authorities by surprise . taken the authorities by surprise and one of the farmers said they only decided to hold the demonstration at midday and by five o'clock there were around 30 tractors and they have been driving slowly around the roads of dover disrupting the traffic, trying to get into the port, and i have not been able to blockade the port itself, but they say the protest is about imports which are undercutting their business and about the raw deal they are getting from supermarkets. in recent days we have seen large protest in parts of the eu from farmers, in parts of italy and brussels and spain, and the protest is not quite that size, but those who have organised it's a the protests in future here will be equally as being involving hundreds of tractors if the authorities do not listen to their demands. thanks

for “oininu not listen to their demands. thanks forjoining us- _ now this friendly looking creature is an alligator snapping turtle — and extraordinarily it has been pulled from a small lake in cumbria. this one is a merejuvenile but an adult can weigh around 12 stone. and they eat meat. danny savage has the story. it's not a pretty sight and certainly shouldn't be living in the wild here. but this alligator snapping turtle is now residing at a vets in cumbria. when they get larger, they can be fairly dangerous. they do have a nasty bite to them. the armoured turtle was taken out of urswick tarn near ulverston by a local who donned three pairs of builder's gloves for protection and put it in a shopping basket. she then passed it on to the vets. it wasn't in too great of a shape. it was cold and lethargic. they weren't able to move very well and the mouth was open,

which is always what they do when they're in a sort of threat display or if they feel a little bit cornered or defensive. the alligator snapping turtle is native to freshwater in the united states, has immensely powerful jaws, and is so—called because of its shell, which looks like the rough ridged skin of an alligator. and they can weigh up to 12 stone. so what have its carers called it? fluffy, of course. it's not illegal to own, but the suspicion is it was dumped at the tarn where it would have eaten the wildlife if left. the hope is to send it to a zoo. the plan is to make it snappy. danny savage, bbc news, cumbria. the biggest american football game of the year — the super bowl — is always the most watched programme on us television. but this year — the usual excitement about the game and the half—time performance — is being overshadowed by a celebrity superstar — taylor swift, who may not even attend. here's our north america

correspondent nomia iqbal to tell us why. cheering it's one of the most watched sporting events in the world. more than 100 million people tune in to the super bowl every year. but the person dominating the headlines isn't in the football line—up or even performing at half time. the romance of pop icon taylor swift and football superstar travis kelce means it might as well be renamed the taylor swift bowl. yeah, taylor dominating the grammies. if you thought she was on your tv a lot last night, well, wait till next sunday. when i sat bet on the game, i of course mean bet on taylor swift. cheering for this family in kansas city, it's the perfect collision of two things they love — taylor and football. two, three... # "i'm fine" but it wasn't true # i don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you # and i snuck in through the garden gate...# four—year—old, ella, is a dedicated swifty. tell me what you want to be when you grow up?

i want to be taylor. you want to be taylor? yeah. i just think she's wholesome and she really does seem i like a genuine person. she's always been this huge star, but then i think, you know, - by her being in kansas city- and going to the chiefs' games, it made her a more relatable human. the taylor swift effect is in full force, notjust in kansas city, but across the country. i love it. her current music tour is already boosting the us economy by billions, and some believe she's getting new fans interested in the nfl. we were able to double our sales from last year and it was bigger than any time the chiefs won the super bowl. but the swift effect doesn't stop at music and football. one of the words most prestigious universities is analysing her impact. we've come to harvard, to find out why students think she is worth studying, alongside some of english literature's greatest writers. |we should offer courses organisedj around songwriting as an art form,

and so part of the goal of this course is to appreciate taylor| as a major songwriter, and say, "hey, this isi connected to wordsworth." it's such a great opportunity to not only study her songwriting but her media influence, and how she has had such a social impact on our generation, and the generation she grew up with. but with all that power, there are questions of if the pop star can politically influence the country. she hasn't endorsed anyone for the us election, yet... # you need to calm down...# ..but at the moment, for most people, it's really just about the music. oh, and the football. nomia iqbal, bbc news, kansas city. time for a look at the weather. here's elizabeth rizzini.