and...is melbourne "ready for it"? taylor swift kicks off the seven—show australian leg of her eras tour on friday. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin in the us, where donald trump will become the first former president to go on criminal trial after a new yorkjudge 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 in court today. defense lawyers want to have her disqualified because of that relationship. i think in one of your motions, you tried to implicate i slept with him at that conference, which i find to be 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 ever former president to face a criminal trial. sara smith, bbc news, new york. john zogby is a pollster and us political strategist. i asked him how prospective voters for the former president will view these developments. prospective trump voters are just fine, they are with their man 100%, and that is exactly who he is talking to, and especially during this primary season where we see he is racking up victories and he has solid support among republicans when he goes head—to—head againstjoe biden. that piece of it is working just fine for mr trump. john, the trial is expected to last about six weeks, donald trump says he will campaign each evening after attending court during the day, how feasible is that and how do you see that campaign working?

he is a 77—year—old man and that is a sort of thing that can be exhausting to anyone of us. i can't imagine doing it myself and i am almost there. that part aside, we know that he is very vigorous and he is energised when he is on the road campaigning, so it could very well be that it helps them. and he is seen then as being active in his defence. but we do also know that if he is found guilty of anything, and let's face it, this new york case and the porn star, are among the weakest charges against him but if he is convicted, then we see that he could lose as much as 25% of his base, and an even larger

percentage of independents, that is if he is convicted. donald trump's lawyer raised the issue ofjury selection and how complicated it would be to find unbiased jurors, what do you think the challenges will be there? what you want is an unbiased jury, who is unbiased in the united states of america, besides me? and i am out of that district. seriously, everyone knows donald trump and knows something about this case. opinions have been formed about donald trump. there's little among voters who would say, sure where i stand about him". i think it's a daunting task, picking an unbiased jury. do you see any difference in how potential trump voters might see this hush money case as opposed to other criminal

cases he is facing? this is sort of business as usual. people kind of know donald trump as this roguish character, he is on tape, the famous hollywood tape, with his bragging, his crusty language, his attitude towards women, but that doesn't seem to bother them. the protagonist in this case, stormy daniels, is not a beloved figure herself. she has a chequered past and present, so that's why i say that the hush money seems to be clear that payments were made, and there been testimony and depositions to that effect, but how strong and how much do americans care? will they be shocked by anything in this trial? probably not.

israel says it's detained dozens of suspects during a raid on the largest hospital in southern gaza. israel's military says the nasser hospital in khan younis was being used to hold hostages taken by hamas during the 7th of october attacks. hamas is designated a terrorist organisation by many western governments including the uk. the hospital's director has told the bbc that conditions inside are "catastrophic". our middle east correspondent lucy williamson has the story , and a warning , you may find parts of her report distressing. 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, it's 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 head of nato, jens stoltenberg, has warned that the delay in approving new us military aid to ukraine is already having an impact on the battlefield. he said he expected congress to eventually approve the aid package because a russian victory was not in us interests. let's hear some of what he had to say. 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. in the past couple of hours, the german government has

announced that chancellor olaf scholz and ukraine's president are to sign a bilateral security pact on friday. volodymyr zelensky will be in berlin for the signing. but on the ground in ukraine, russian forces appear close to surrounding what's left of the front line town of avdiivka in the donetsk region after months of heavy fighting there. ukraine's army is struggling with a shortage of ammunition and other military supplies. the bbc�*s andrew harding reports 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. 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 better for 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 immoralwaragainst 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. around the world and across the uk.

this is bbc news. now it's time for a by election update with nicky shiller. votes are being counted in the two crucial by elections in willingboro and kingswood with results expected in the early hours. the willingboro vote was called off after. ina in a statement he said these by elections would always be hard and the government of the day rarely when i elections. the vote in kingswood inc. south cloaks the resignation of chris skidmore, laborare cloaks the resignation of chris skidmore, labor are hoping to ta ke take seats but they too lay down their chances seemed they were always aware of the challenges with the large conservative majorities in both seeds. we have heard that turn out in kingswood, it was 37%.

there is a special live page up and running on the bbc news website and app and i would be back at half past with an update with the latest from both of the cones. you're live with bbc news. the uk tipped into recession in the second half of last year with the economy shrinking for two consecutive quarters. gross domestic product — a key measure of economic activity — fell by 0.3% in the last three months of 2023. that followed a contraction of 0.1% the previous quarter. it's the uk's third recession in the past 25 years. and the difficulty for the british prime minister is that one of his five key pledges was to grow the economy. our economics editor faisal islam reports. 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 — but it's not a very normal one. we went to the foodbank 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 20005, the hit to the economy can be seen here, both how deep and how 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, you know, 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 _ calmness 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. faisal islam, bbc news. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines around the world.

greece has become the first christian orthodox—majority country to legalise same—sex marriage. hundreds of people gathered late into the night outside parliament waiting for the vote. greek prime minister kyriakos mitsotakis said the new law would "boldly abolish a serious inequality". the constitutional court in senegal has ruled that postponing elections from later this month until december violated the constitution. last week, president macky sall announced a delay to the elections due to disputes over the eligibility of some opposition candidates. the decision has led to street protests in one of africa's most stable democracies. microsoft says it's making four of its xbox— exclusive games available on other consoles for the first time. the highly anticipated announcement follows a recent increase in multi—platform games. microsoft hasn't however confirmed the names of the titles that will soon be available on the ps five and nintendo switch.

now to australia, where taylor swift kicks off the latest seven—show leg of her eras tour in melbourne on friday. analysts say this 2024 tour will likely surpass the $one—billion mark in march, having already grossed more than a billion dollars in 2023, making it the most lucrative in music history. georgia carroll is a sociologist at the university of sydney. part of her phd was studying taylor swift and the following she has. she was also one of the keynote speakers at the weekend's swiftposium. i asked her, what kind of ideas were discussed the swiftposium discussed everything about taylor swift from my own analysis of the economics of her fandom, through people from law and medicine and science and archaeology, it was super varied but a really great place to explore what makes her that cultural phenomena

phenomenon she has become. what is that when you talk about the factors that make her who she is? what are some aspects that come to mind? a lot of it comes down to the fact that she has been performing for 18 years now, which is a really long time, and the album coming out in april will be her 11th studio album, plus the re—records, so that's a lot of time and content for her fans to connect to. some of those fans became fans when they were teenagers and are now in their 30s, and she has kind of been a constant in their life, singing relatable songs with universal themes that are also just really good musically, they are high—quality, she writes all her music. they feel this deep connection to her, and she is good with her marketing and making them feel that she is connected back, and that she cares about them. a word on her social media campaigns, when social media took off, some predicted

we would never see a truly global superstar again as fans would stay in a niche, is taylor swift a contrast are examples of that? from the earliest days of our career, taylor swift has leveraged social media, from myspace, tumblr, twitter, tiktok, she knows where her friends are and has where her fans are and has managed to centralise them in a week lots of communities don't. rather than pockets of fandom, she has a globalfine community where everyone kind of speaks with one voice in one place and follows the lead of her marketing account taylor nation, and the instructions they offer, whether using specific hashtags or tweeting at specific times or sharing specific messages. she has managed to create this kind of universal wave of fans that we don't often see, and that is one of the reasons

why we have such a proliferation of taylor at the moment, because it is that everywhere you look, and when you look online, there are millions of people talking about her in the same place. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. coming up we'll focus on al, the benefits and risks and international efforts to adopt an ethical framework to manage it. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. we're certainly seeing quite a lot of rain so far this february, but it's also been incredibly mild with it at times. and this warmer and wet story is perfect growing ingredients for those early spring bulbs out there. now, temperatures at this time of year should be sitting around 8—9 degrees as an average, butjust take a look at what happened during thursday. we saw temperatures widely into the mid—teens, and for some as high as 18 celsius. so, yes, it was incredibly mild. the mild theme is set to continue, perhaps not quite as mild, but nevertheless pleasant enough.

and on friday, we should start the day with some sunshine coming through. a westerly wind just feeding in a few isolated showers across wales and northern england, but on the whole, pleasant enough. bit more of a breeze down towards the south, and the cooler northerly breeze across the far north of scotland. so here, a little bit cooler, but generally temperatures between 12—14 celsius. now, into the start of the weekend, we've still got that little ridge of high pressure with us to begin with, but this weather front starting to push in from the atlantic. so, first thing on saturday, some early brightness in eastern areas, clouding over quite quickly and it will be quite drizzly with it as well. the further west you go, we'll start to see some rain, some of it heavy by the end of the afternoon. but still the wind direction coming from a southerly, so still those temperatures above where they should be for the time of year, 9—11; celsius the high. that rain will sweep its way steadily south and east overnight saturday into sunday morning, so a bit of a contrast

first thing on sunday morning. we could see some rain lingering for a time through the east midlands and down into south—east england, but it will slowly improve, brightening up across the far north in scotland, northern ireland, northern england, eventually western areas by the end of the afternoon. and in the sunshine, well, it'll still feel pleasant enough, but it could stay rather grey in the south—east through much of sunday. into the early half of next week, it's a similar weather story. we'll have one frontal system easing away, a ridge of high pressure building, but not lasting, another front pushing in. and the isobars squeezing together, the winds could be a feature. so it's not a wash—out by any means. there will be some sunnier moments. it stays relatively mild, but also some rain at times.

hello, i'm nicky schiller with coverage of the two key by—elections in wellingborough and kingswood. the team have the coffee on the go as it could be a while before we get results. this is the scene live at the count centres — thornbury leisure centre is where the kingswood declaration will be made — in the last half an hour we have had the turnout in the constituency — it was 37%, that means there have beenjust shy of 25,000 votes cast

in kingswood by—elections tend to see lower numbers vote, but that's still way down on the 50,000 who voted in here in the 2019 general election, a turnout of over 70%. whilst this is kettering leisure village is where we will hear the wellingborough result. it is always hard to predict these things but it's certainly going to be a few hours before we get any results. this is a big test for the parties in what, of course, is expected to be a general election year. the conservatives hold the seats. labour are the main challenger. voters in kingswood in south gloucestershire — which is on the edge of the city of bristol — have been to the polls

following the resignation of ex—conservative mp chris skidmore.