as israel says it has captured dozens of hamas gunman. we speak to christian homer, the boss of formula one racing team red bull, as he appears in public for the first time since allegations of inappropriate behaviour. president putin on who he wants to be the next us president — the answer may surprise you. and more than 50 years after it went missing, how sir paul mccartney has been reunited with his treasured bass guitar. and stay with us here on bbc news for continuing coverage and analysis from our team of correspondents in the uk and around the world. good evening. the uk went into recession in the second half of last year.

it's the third recession in the uk since the financial crash in 2008. the latest recession is smaller than the previous ones. the difficulty for the prime minister is that he made growing the economy one of his five pledges. in a moment we will get the latest on the economy from our economics editor, faisal islam. but let's go straight to our political editor, chris mason. yes, hello, good evening from a sports centre in kettering. you know, never mind the house of commons all those ivory towers in whitehall, in many senses places like this are the crucible of dish democracy, where political careers are made and also where they fail and this is the backdrop today, alongside another by—election in gloucestershire, in which we are talking as i mentioned a few minutes ago, the r word, recession, one of the most powerful words in political

vocabulary. as things stand as far as this recession is concerned, it is shallow, it's not comparable with recent ones, but the word has potency even if the numbers don't. why? you might be watching tonight saying, never mind all of these numbers being thrown around on the television and the radio and the internet today, i know the economy is struggling because you can feel it, and that is the political reality that sets the backdrop for the general election campaign to come and indeed these by—elections. and what a week in which these by—elections are happening, where the two big issues of politics of the two big issues of politics of the next six or seven months have been playing out in technicolor. it's meant to have been parliamentary half term. the commons hasn't been sitting. that would normally mean politics is a bit quieter. blimey! nota bit normally mean politics is a bit quieter. blimey! not a bit of it this week. firstly the news of recession today, and in the days before big questions for labour on the whole swirling issue of anti—semitism. getting to the big

themes of the coming months, the extent to which people blame the government for the economic picture and the extent to which people judge that labour has changed, or not, under keir starmer. as for these by—elections let me mark your card for the hours ahead. there is this contest being counted here in kettering for the seat of wellingborough in northamptonshire. that after the former conservative mp was booted out by the electors here in a scandal in what was known as a recall position. and —— a recall petition. and another by—election in kingswood in south gloucestershire. there the sitting conservative mp packed it in, he fell out with the conservatives as far as net zero policies are concerned. the conservatives are pretty gloomy, labour are pretty optimistic, that has been the trend of by—elections for the last year or so. we will find out the results in the small hours of the morning or at

a more conventional time if you are not as nerdy as me about these things. chris mason, our political editor, thank you. well, today's figures from the office for national statistics estimate that the uk economy went into recession in the last two quarters of 2023 — shrinking by 0.1% over the summer and then by 0.3% between october and december. our economics editor faisal islam looks at its impact. signs of the times in harlow town centre. on the one hand, some evidence of the struggle, for hairdressers, retailers, restaurateurs and others on the high street. on the other, the need to fill recruitment gaps, too. it may look like a recession — indeed it is now officially a recession — and it comes as little surprise here. we went to the food bank because some of the products are so expensive. for example, meat. never got any money, can't go out, everything's expensive now. things have changed. hopefully they're going to get better, or they'll get worse, won't they?

we'll have to ride it through, like we've all done. - here's one way of comparing recessions. in the �*80s, �*90s and 2000s, the hit to the economy can be seen here, both how deep and long the recession lasts, with the worst during the great financial crisis of 2008 onwards. but here in red is what we've seen so far in the recession now confirmed to have started last year. and how things might pan out over the next year if forecasters are right. it is still a recession, but a more moderate dip. the bigger picture here, though, is an economy that's failed to grow over nearly two years. chancellor, do you accept that this is a recession? well, the numbers speak for themselves. but the underlying picture here is that our plan has been to tackle inflation, first and foremost. that does mean higher interest rates. and so that's why it's a very important period now, despite this challenging data, that we stick to a plan that is seeing inflation really start to fall. but you've again called

this a turning point. how can it be a turning point when growth is going in the wrong direction? the turning point will come when inflation falls to its target level of 2% and the bank of england feels it can bring down interest rates. the shadow chancellor blamed the recession on the prime minister. our economy is now smaller than when rishi sunak entered 10 downing street in 2022. having spent years in the slow lane, rishi sunak has now put our economy into reverse. this is rishi's recession. and it is the british people who will pay the price. on the outskirts of cambridge, some house building is getting going. but as this morning's figures confirmed, it's been a tough period for construction. in 2023, the word - probably was turbulent. the first nine months- were extremely challenging. we were still feeling the ripple

effects of inflation running - through the industry. and then that was, . in a way, compounded with rising interest rates. as we came into the back end of the year, probably- the final three months, - there was a level of optimism that there was a bit of confidence coming to the market, _ albeit a little bit. if he and the forecasts are right, this recession won't last long. but that can't mask an economy that's failing to grow normally, or at all right now. and our economics editor faisal islam is here now. it looks like a shallow recession but how bad can it be? ordinarily when we call _ but how bad can it be? ordinarily when we call the _ but how bad can it be? ordinarily when we call the entry _ but how bad can it be? ordinarily when we call the entry to - but how bad can it be? ordinarily when we call the entry to a - when we call the entry to a recession it signal something about the next year or two, that's how long these things tend to last. this is something different. it's more reflective of what has come before, of what frankly viewers will see at their workplaces, perhaps in the housing market too, that things have been bumping along the bottom in terms of zero growth, and when that

happens itjust takes something in a particular sector, like in retail on the run—up to christmas, or in construction, and then you dip into recession, it's not a slump into recession. but what this shines a line on —— shines a light on is that growth has been close to zero now for over a year and that is a key policy challenge for whoever, as chris points to, wins the election, and the argument we got from the chancellor today, and the argument we got from the chancellortoday, he and the argument we got from the chancellor today, he thought of conceded we hadn't actually turned a cornerjust conceded we hadn't actually turned a corner just yet but the turning point would come when the bank of england feels confident enough about inflation to start to cut interest rates. no sign that is shifting right now. that could be in the second half of the year. is right now. that could be in the second half of the year. is that, thank yom _ second half of the year. is that, thank yon -- — second half of the year. is that, thank you. -- faisal— second half of the year. is that, thank you. -- faisal islam, - second half of the year. is that, i thank you. -- faisal islam, thank thank you. —— faisal islam, thank you. donald trump will become the first former us president to go on criminal trial after a new york

judge set a court date for the end of next month. he is accused of falsifying business records in connection with payments made to an adult film star, stormy daniels. from new york, our north america editor sarah smith reports. this is now a familiar scene. donald trump's motorcade arriving at a courthouse. today, as he tried and failed to get this case dismissed or delayed, he argued these prosecutions interfere with his campaign to get back into the white house. how can you run for election to be sitting in a courthouse in manhattan all day long? i'm supposed to be in south carolina right now where other people are and where, again, this is where i should be. mr trump's also facing trial later this year in atlanta, georgia, on charges of election interference. the district attorney who brought the case against him, fani willis, has admitted having an affair with the man she appointed as the chief prosecutor. she was questioned about that today. defence lawyers want to have her disqualified because of the

relationship. it’s disqualified because of the relationship. it's extremely offensive- _ mr trump's already using this scandal to try to undermine the case against him. donald trump insists all the prosecutions against him are deliberately designed to try to stop him from being reelected president, even though so far they have, in fact, boosted his political support. next month, he will become the first everformer president to face a criminal trial. sarah smith, bbc news, new york. the israeli army says it has detained dozens of hamas gunmen during a raid on the main hospital in southern gaza. israel says the nasser hospital in khan younis was being used by hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the uk government, to hold israeli hostages taken during the 7th of october attacks. the hospital's director has told the bbc that conditions inside are catastrophic and "very dangerous". our middle east correspondent lucy williamson reports. there's a time to heal and a time to run.

beds made to be moved, stacked fast. buildings made to shield, caved in. a battlefield evacuation of patients in a city hospital, as israel's special forces came in. hospitals offer no protection from israel's army. a message for hamas, heard by all. the israeli army now is almost about to enter the hospital. their protection against israel's powerful army, a table. one doctor spoke anonymously to the bbc from inside the hospital. we have a patient who needs care. but after the israeli army bombed the hospital directly, most of our health care worker here afraid about themselves and they have to leave the hospital.

about a0 health care workers stayed at the hospital right now. israel had ordered people to leave the hospital. "when people went out, they shot at them and some were killed," mohammed said. "they said there was safe passage, but they approached us with a bulldozer and a tank. "every half an hour, they let a few people go." with israeli forces surrounding the hospital, the army said it believed hamas fighters were inside. today, it said it had arrested several suspects there. because hamas terrorists are likely hiding behind injured civilians inside nasser hospital right now, and appear to have used the hospital to hide our hostages there, too, the idf is conducting a precise and limited operation inside nasser hospital. israel's army has been fighting

its way through khan younis. homes turned to battlefields. street by street. the only relics from a previous life, its people. now fleeing to the border town of rafah, the last stop for civilians in this war. the red cross has warned of unimaginable carnage if the army follows them there. but israel's prime minister has been clear he will fight hamas wherever it hides, and that rafah will be next. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours for a bed on a ward this winter — after being seen in a&e in england — was 19 times higher than before the pandemic, according to the kings fund think tank. nearly 100,000 people waited 12 hours or more in december and january. nhs england said hospitals were fuller than this time last year

with nearly 95% of beds occupied. the boss of the formula i red bull racing team, christian horner, has made his first public appearance since allegations of inappropriate and controlling behaviour were made against him by a female colleague. he admitted that the allegations, which he denies, were a distraction, but he said it was business as normal as the team focus on preparing for the season ahead. he was speaking to our sports news correspondent, laura scott. it was planned as a celebration of 20 years of red bull racing, and the unveiling of the car they hope will help them defend their two world titles. but with the world's media gathered, there was no escaping the fact that the man at the helm, christian horner, is under investigation following recent allegations against him which he completely denies. for me, it's business as normal, focused on the season ahead, and, of course, it is a distraction for the team, but, you know, the team are very together, they're very focused on the season ahead,

and they've been tremendously supportive. given that you've said it's a distraction, would it be better if you stepped aside while the investigation ran its course? well, no, because, you know, i deny anything, any of the allegations that have been made, so for me, it's absolutely business as normal, focusing on preparing for the season ahead. horner was bullish today that the working environment he's presided over here at the team's base in milton keynes is a healthy one. but this case has prompted scrutiny over the culture within the team. over the course of several hours last week, horner was interviewed by an external specialist barrister brought in by red bull to carry out the investigation. the bbc understands the claims relate to allegedly inappropriate and controlling behaviour towards a female colleague. you said on stage today that you're a man of your word. can you guarantee you have never behaved inappropriately towards a colleague?

look, i deny any accusations that have been been made against me. so you're innocent? yeah, as i say. having steered red bull racing to record—breaking success, horner insists he's the right person to lead the team forward. but that's not up to him, and with the season fast approaching, the investigation is ongoing, and so is the speculation over his future. laura scott, bbc news, milton keynes. the head of nato, jens stoltenberg, has warned that a delay in approving new us military aid to ukraine is already having an impact on the battlefield. he said european allies and canada were doing more to help but american support was vital. the united states being by far the biggest ally, of course it's vital that that continue to provide support, and therefore i continue to expect that they will be able to make a decision, hopefully as soon as possible.

tonight, the white house has warned that the key front—line city of avdiivka in the donetsk region is at risk of finally falling into russian control. it follows months of heavy fighting. our correspondent andrew harding reports from the battlefield there, where ukraine's army is stuggling with shortage of ammunition. ukrainian tanks heading into battle. we are close to the russian lines here, and to a town the kremlin has been desperate to capture for months. inside avdiivka, it's not going well for ukraine. these troops are increasingly pinned down and struggling. in the ditch here, a wounded soldier needing urgent help. so what's going wrong for ukraine after two years of war? a simple answer can be found

a few kilometres away. a ukrainian artillery team. last year, these men were firing 80 shells a day at russian positions around avdiivka. not any more. so these are the last two shells that you have? "yes," says the officer in charge, "and these two don't even work." it is an alarming situation. russia is now outgunning ukraine by perhaps five to one. "we're upset," says oleksii. "it means our infantry in avdiivka "are fighting on their own without our support. "i'm worried it will mean a lot more casualties." speaking of which, more wounded arrive at a nearby field hospital. 24—year—old andrii has shrapnel in his ankle. ukraine, with a far smaller army

than russia's, can't afford to lose many soldiers. in the next—door room, 48—year—old vadym was hit by shrapnel this morning as he stormed a russian position. "we just don't have enough weapons," he says. what would you say to american politicians who are saying they're not going to give more weapons to ukraine? "i would tell them to come here just once," he says. "then they'll understand the blood and sweat required to build a peaceful world." and the surgeon has this warning. "i urge the west to be more decisive in assisting ukraine," says vitalii. "otherwise, their soldiers will end up "having to fight this russian evil, too." in the woods nearby, a live—fire training exercise. ukraine is racing to rebuild its war—weary army.

but there aren't enough volunteers any more, so more conscripts are being drafted in to fill the ranks. ukraine is not losing this war, at least not yet. but if it's to stand any chance of actually winning, then it's going to have to train an awful lot more men like this and find a lot more weapons for what, right now, looks like it's going to be a very long conflict. andrew harding, bbc news, in eastern ukraine. in the last few minutes, police have announced that two 15—year—old boys have been arrested tonight on suspicion of murder after a 16—year—old boy was stabbed to death last night in bristol. dan johnson reports. this ordinary van is a makeshift ambulance, and these are the last moments of a teenage life taken on bristol's streets at six o'clock last night. in the passenger seat of the van is a 16—year—old boy who's just been stabbed.

we're not going to show what happens as the door opens and he falls to the pavement. i just came out of the shop, and i saw the van was parked there, and the guy was laying down on the floor... annie was trying to help. i can only imagine the pain he was going through. he was covered in blood, completely. really? yeah. on his back? on his back. 12 minutes later, paramedics and an ambulance arrived. i don't know if he was still alive, but he was unconscious, he wasn't breathing then. they done the surgery on the spot, but it was too late already. it's really sad. half a mile away, this is the children's play area where he was attacked — detectives say by two people wearing masks who rode off on bikes. we're told the boy ran from the park, looking for help. he made it to the main road here, and a van driver stopped to assist him.

they drove to the local police station, but they found that had closed nearly a year ago. this is the third fatal teenage stabbing in bristol in a month. others have been seriously injured, too. police say there's no evidence they're linked, but they'd already announced extra patrols. now it's greater stop—and—search powers. what do you think is the root of the problem, and what's the key to solving it? you look at the age of those involved, the high levels of violence being used, the weapons that are being carried currently, it's like something i've not seen before. we need to work with communities, we need to work with families, we need to work with schools to try and turn these behaviours around. 90 minutes after he was stabbed, all hope has gone. we don't yet know the name of this young man, but his life ended violently atjust 16 years old, leaving a murder investigation and so many questions of why this keeps happening.

danjohnson, bbc news, bristol. two parents united both by grief and a determination to see tech companies take more responsibility for what young people see online and remove harmful content from social media. esther ghey�*s daughter brianna was just 16 when she was murdered by two other teenagers. ian russell's daughter molly was 14 when she took her own life after viewing thousands of images online promoting suicide and self—harm. today, as part of a bbc programme, the two of them met. what could possibly connect the murder of brianna ghey and the death of molly russell, overwhelmed by depression and negative social media? the answer? their parents, esther and ian — united by their loss and the fear of what the online world is doing to young lives. as soon as we started to discover what molly had been exposed to in terms of online harms

towards the end of her life, it was a horrifying revelation to us in many ways, and we thought that other people should know. i didn't have a clue what brianna was looking at online. it was only after she was taken from us that i found out that she was accessing self—harm sites and eating—disorder sites. looking into it now, it's an absolutely horrific place. i'm over six years down the road from molly's death, and i still have bad days. for me, it also helps to remember the good times and to remember brianna for who she was, and also just to be grateful for the 16 years that i had with her, rather than to feel too sad that she isn't here any more. i feel lucky because molly left us some handwritten notes. she wrote, "sometimes my mind is like a little boat out "in the middle of the sea in a big storm. "i'm alone and all the waves are

closing down on me, drowning me." like, i don't know what to say. it's... for her to have written that down and to... what she wrote was so powerful and itjust shows exactly how she was feeling. this has been something obviously i've never asked to do, but i've been campaigning for five years and i can't see it ever stopping because i think tech harms will evolve. for me, i'd like to create a more peaceful, empathetic society, and i think that there's so much wrong with society right now that it's probably going to be maybe not a lifetimejob, maybe like a five—lifetime job. so i can't see it ending any time soon. brianna and molly, two

young voices silenced. their parents now determined to speakfor them. angus crawford, bbc news. well, you can hear more on their campaign on the five minutes on podcast — a safer internet, our lifetime commitment. it's on bbc sounds. the russian president vladimir putin has said he would preferjoe biden, rather than donald trump, to win the us presidential election this november. in an interview on russian state television, mr putin said he'd rather work with mr biden, who was more experienced and predictable. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports from moscow. this was unusual. vladimir putin doesn't normally back a candidate publicly in a foreign election. but when russian tv asked, "who's betterfor russia, biden or trump?" his response... biden.

translation: biden. he's more experienced, he's predictable. he's an old—school politician. although we'll work with any us leader the american people put their trust in. the kremlin backing biden? now, that's odd when you consider what america's president calls vladimir putin. a murderous dictator, a pure thug who is waging an immoral war against the people of ukraine. while donald trump, the likely republican party nominee, has praised putin. yesterday, reporters asked me if i thought president putin was smart. i said, "of course he's smart," to which i was greeted with, "oh, that's such a terrible thing to say." trump's called putin a genius, too. if you were the kremlin, who would you be rooting for? which is why i urge caution, with a capital c, about these kremlin comments. i mean, just for starters,

keep in mind that relations between russia and the west are so bad right now that any public endorsement by putin of a us politician will not do that politician any favours at all. vladimir putin's comments on the us election may have done donald trump a favour, though. he can now tell his political opponents, "see, i told you, i'm not moscow's man." one things for sure — as the us election approaches, the kremlin is watching closely, because those in power here know that an american election can have consequences for russia too. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. this stingray, named charlotte, is baffling experts in the united states with a "a once—in—a—lifetime science mystery". she appears to have become pregnant with no male involved. charlotte has lived with five small sharks

in a fish tank in a shop for the last eight years. it's thought her pregnancy is likely due to a phenomenon called parthenogenesis — a form of asexual reproduction where a female egg is fertilised without the sperm from a male. it went missing in 1972, stolen from the back of a van. paul mccartney's most treasured bass guitar that he had played throughout the early days of the beatles vanished without trace. now 51 years later, it has been found, thanks to a campaign that was launched last year to reunite them called the lost bass project. so where has it been all this time? our arts correspondent david sillito can tell us. # love, love me do... # the beatles, love me do, and a story about paul mccartney's famous hofner bass guitar. he bought it for £30 in 1961 and in 1972 it was stolen.

52 years later, scott and naomi jones wondered if they could find it — and amazingly it's reappeared. it's just unbelievable. it's just absolutely thrilling, it's just wonderful, yeah. when we started looking for this bass, which was lastjuly, that was day one in the office, we thought we'd probably never find it. and here it is being authenticated by hofner, but where's it been? the key clue was from a roadie who helped the couple track it down to a deal in a pub and then it ended up in an attic — and it's now back with sir paul. so to be sitting here now knowing that the bass is back with paul mccartney, the bass is found, the search has been successful, the mission is accomplished, is unbelievable, it's brilliant. so after more than 50 years, the hofner bass is back where it belongs. david sillito, bbc news. time for a look at the weather, here's louise lear.