us presidentjoe biden meets the family of alexei navalny in san francisco, while in russia, his mother says she's now been able to see navalny�*s body. israel's bombing of gaza continues as its negotiators prepare for truce talks in paris, while the uk airdrops aid. at least four people have died as a fire blazes through an apartment building in the spanish city of valencia. and — the us is back on the moon for the first time in more than half a century — as a privately owned lander touches down on the lunar surface. hello. i'm carl nasman. us presidentjoe biden has expressed his condolences to the wife and daughter of late russian opposition leader alexei navalny.

meeting them in california, he emphasized that navalny�*s legacy lives on through those mourning his loss and fighting for freedom and democracy. the united states government is expected to announce a new package of sanctions against russia on friday. navalny�*s mother says she's finally seen his body, nearly a week after officials said he died in an arctic prison. lyudmila navalnaya said authorities took her to a morgue on wednesday night, where she was presented with a death certificate, which she signed. navalny�*s team said the document states he died of natural causes. translation: according to the law, they should l have given me his body immediately. but they didn't. instead, they blackmail me. they put conditions where, when and how alexei should be buried. this is illegal. they receive orders either from the kremlin or from the central office of the investigative committee. they want it done secretly, without a memorial service. they want to take me to the edge of a semry, to a fresh grave, and say, "here lies your

son." i don't agree with that. i'm recording this video because they started threatening me. looking me in the eye, the investigator said that if i don't agree to a secret funeral, they will do something with my son's body. the investigator openly told me that "time is not working for you, corpses decompose." i don't want special conditions. ijust want things don't want special conditions. i just want things done according to law. i demand to see my son's body immediately. this saturday marks two years since russia began its full—scale invasion of ukraine. this was the map back in february 2022, when russia held crimea — which it annexed in 2014, and russian—backed separatists controlled a small section in southeastern ukraine. now, most of the south and east of the country are occupied by russian forces. over the course of the war, ukraine and russia have each suffered huge losses of life on the battlefield. and while ukraine has suffered the most damage,increasingly, russian towns have been shelled, and hundreds of thousands

of men have been drafted into the army. our russia editor, steve rosenberg takes a look at how the country, and its people, has changed during the war. they are two years that have changed russia and set the country on a darker path. two years of war and heavy casualties, mobilisation and mutiny, and repression — alexei navalny, dead in prison. but the president is looking confident. vladimir putin senses the tide may be turning in his favour. but what is his goal? he wants the world to live on his own terms. i don't think that he wants some kind of a takeover of poland or the baltic states or western europe. he needs ukraine, but this is not enough for him. what is enough for him? this world must accept his

rules, must accept his vision of the world. how things have changed. there was a time when russia and the west were talking about cooperation, partnership. the putin i met with, did good business with, established the nato—russia council with, is very, very different from this almost megalomaniac at the present moment. so the man who stood beside me in may of 2002, right beside me, and said, "ukraine is a sovereign, independent nation—state, "which will make its own decisions about security," is now the man who says that it is not a nation—state, and it's got to be wiped off the face of the earth. vladimir putin once said to me at a press conference that russia was squeaky clean. nothing's changed. the kremlin continues to claim that none of what's happening today is russia's fault — that it was the west that started this war.

but two years ago, it wasn't the west that invaded ukraine. that was russia. and how does the russian public see things? this is the town of sonic nagorski, sunny hills near moscow. the last two years of russia's history. it's all here in the park. the invasion of ukraine. these russian soldiers were killed there. they're portrayed as heroes. graffiti for the varna paramilitary group. and flowers — just a few — in memory of alexei navalny. for the residents of sunny hills, in two years, life has changed. "0ur factories are making things now that we used to buy "abroad, and that's good," lydia says. "but i'm sad for the young men, "for everyone who've been killed." marina praises russian soldiers in ukraine, and admits she lives in fear

her own son may be called up to fight. "we need peace," she says, "so that we don't have to fear what tomorrow will bring." and these two years have changed the war memorial on the town square. there's a whole new section — dozens of names of local men killed in what the kremlin still calls a special operation, not a war. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. the two—year invasion has also taken a devastating toll on civilians. the un has documented over 10,000 civilians killed, including more than 560 children. but the real number is believed to be much higher. last october, the small village of groza in the eastern kharkiv region lost over a fifth of its population in a single russian missile raid. months on, many children, orphaned by the attack, are struggling to cope as frontline fighting draws near. zhanna bez—piat—chukfrom bbc

ukrainian visited rozz—aa, zhanna bez—piat—chukfrom bbc ukrainian visited hraza, known as the village of 0rphans. a cemetery for the victims of the single russian air strike. 59 were killed here — all civilians. valentina lost most of her family that day — her husband, anatoly, her daughter, her son, and the youngest victim, her eight—year—old grandson, ivan. her other grandson, ivan. her other grandson, vlad, survived, becoming an orphan at the age of 14. he's now in the west of ukraine for safety. a video call replaces a hug. this is what the war has done to them. translation: the what the war has done to them. translation:— translation: the more time asses, translation: the more time passes. the — translation: the more time passes, the worse _ translation: the more time passes, the worse i _

translation: the more time passes, the worse i feel. - translation: the more time passes, the worse i feel. i - passes, the worse i feel. i feel very scared when i realise my family were killed. almost no—one survived. it's devastatingly hard. she landed here last october. people commemorated a man killed in the war. moments later, they became a target themselves. russia denies targeting civilians. four months on, every family in hrza is still grieving. vlady lost four family is still grieving. vlady lost fourfamily members in the strike, including his daughter and mother of four. my daughter was conscious _ and mother of four. my daughter was conscious when _ and mother of four. my daughter was conscious when she - and mother of four. my daughter was conscious when she died. i was conscious when she died. her last words were, "how i want to live." fix, her last words were, "how i want to live. "— want to live." a pensioner before the _ want to live." a pensioner before the war, _ want to live." a pensioner before the war, he - want to live." a pensioner before the war, he is - want to live." a pensioner before the war, he is now| before the war, he is now working two jobs to provide for his daughter's orphans. translation: $5 his daughter's orphans. tuna/mom- his daughter's orphans. translation: a ., ., translation: as long as you are alive, ou translation: as long as you are alive, you should _ translation: as long as you are alive, you should have _ translation: as long as you are alive, you should have hope. - translation: as long as you are alive, you should have hope. my. alive, you should have hope. my job is to guide my

grandchildren in the right direction. hope is in short supply when not farfrom the hope is in short supply when not far from the village, it looks like this... the nearby city of kharkiv, ukraine's second—largest, is hit daily with civilians killed and injured. the war continues, making it hard for valentina to recover from making it hard for valentina to recoverfrom her loss. making it hard for valentina to recover from her loss. living alone, she — like so many ukrainians — continues to carry her pain. the israeli government will send a delegation to paris this weekend for talks on a possible ceasefire and the release of hostages still being held in gaza. that's according to israeli media. the latest talks failed two weeks ago, when israeli prime minister rejected a proposal by hamas as "delusional". meanwhile, israel is carrying out some of its heaviest bombardme— nt of gaza so far — mostly targeted at its southernmost city, rafah. gaza's hamas—run health ministry says 97 people were killed overnight.

in the territory's north. this is the aftermath there. as the bombing raids continued, he says local officials acceptable to israel should be managed by gaza. it's the first time the prime minister has presented them to the war cabinet, which would still have to approve the plans. meanwhile, israel is carrying out some of its heaviest bombardme— nt of gaza so far — mostly targeted at its southernmost city, rafah. gaza's hamas—run health ministry says 97 people were killed overnight. israel also targeted gaza city, in the territory's north. this is the aftermath there. as the bombing raids continued, the uk dropped its first air—delivery of aid:

four tonnes of food, fuel and medicine. aid organisations say they are prevented from transporting enough supplies by road, so air—drops are essential. the packages were floated down to a hospital by the royaljordanian air force. 0ur middle east correspondent quentin sommerville was on board the plane and he sent this report. it's a flight not for the faint—hearted — i7,000ft directly above gaza. the royal jordanian air force get their oxygen ready before the cargo doors open. their payload is vital aid desperately needed in the drop zone below — northern gaza. some last—minute adjustments to the parachutes and gps trackers, which will deliver it to a tiny clear patch of land below them — supplies for ajordanian—run supplies for a jordanian—run hospital. very precise! they've done this mission a

dozen times but, for the first time, it's dozen times but, for the first time, its british aid that's being launched into the strip. inside these pallets — fuel, medical supplies, and ration packs, all paid for by the uk. the last two tonnes of british aid on its way, airdropped into northern gaza. the area below me has been turned into a wasteland. there are still 300,000 palestinians remaining there. the un says the situation is desperate. it's a small drop in the chasm of gaza's need, but this aid sent into the night sky at least managed to get through. it landed right on target. the fighting in gaza and the war in ukraine were top of the agenda as foreign ministers gathered in brazil for the second day of

the annual g20 group of nations meeting. 0n gaza, there was some agreement that a two—state solution is the only path towards peace in the israeli—palestinian conflict. us secretary of state antony blinken said he found "commonality" with g20 members on the conflict. it comes two days after the us faced criticism for vetoing a united nations security council resolution urging a ceasefire. meanwhile, on the topic of ukraine — some foreign ministers from the g20 criticized russia for its invasion of ukraine. 0ur south america correspondent ione wells is in rio with more. speaking to reporters at the end of the g20, us secretary of state antony blinken said, when it came to russia, the us — along with other nations — had used the g20 to explicitly call out russia, both for its aggression against ukraine, but also for the death of alexei navalny. that was with russia's foreign minister, sergei lavrov, in the room. sergei lavrov, in the room. sergei lavrov has accused the g20 of becoming politicised for

discussing issues like the war in ukraine. when it came to gaza, the us secretary of state, antony blinken, defended the us's position. the us is now one of the only countries not calling for an immediate ceasefire, and views the un security council motion earlier this week to veto the resolution that was put forward that would have called for an immediate ceasefire — antony blinken defended that decision, saying that the us's priority at the moment was trying to negotiate getting hostages out, as the us argues that that is the only way to try and sustainably achieve a ceasefire in the long—term. but that is a position that they are increasingly coming under pressure for now that most of the other nations who are present here in the g20 were calling for fighting to stop immediately. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's take a look at a story we are following closely in the uk: britain's prime minister has criticised the commons speaker, sir lindsay hoyle, over the way he handled a vote

on a ceasefire in gaza. rishi sunak stopped short of saying he should resign, but more than 60 mps have now called for sir lindsay to go — after he changed parliamentary convention in a way that ended up helping labour. 0ur chief political correspondent henry zeffman has more. 67- 67 — that's the crucial number being watched closely here in parliament, because it's the number of mps — almost all of them conservative and snp — who have signed a motion of no—confidence in sir lindsay hoyle, a speaker of the house of commons lives or dies by their reputation as a fair referee. 67 — that means more than i referee. 67 — that means more thani in 10 of the mps he's there to serve — think he isn't a fair referee. that's a very bad position for a commons speaker to find himself in. the speaker on thursday apologised again, saying he had made a mistake. but both snp and tory mps are calling for a confidence vote. you're live with bbc news.

a deadly fire completely engulfed two blocks of flats in the spanish city of valencia on thursday. at least four people were killed. 14 others, including 6 firefighters, were treated for burns and smoke inhalation. the blaze spread through the ill—storey block rapidly, fanned by high winds and stoked by highly—flammable cladding. from madrid, guy hedgecoe reports. sirens firefighters in valencia were first alerted at around 5:30 in the afternoon after a blaze broke out on one of the building's lower floors. it quickly spread, with eyewitnesses saying it engulfed the entire ill—storey building in a matter of minutes. firefighters made some dramatic rescues — in this case, two people were brought down from a balcony. applause. 0thers waited on balconies for firefighters to arrive.

translation: i told my daughter and mother-in-law to leave. - other people stayed inside. the residential block, which is situated in the campanar neighbourhood of valencia, contains around 140 flats. strong winds fanned the flames and the fire also spread to an adjoining building. more than 20 crews have been fighting the blaze, with some military personnel mobilised. there are fears for those who may have been trapped inside the building. a makeshift hospital was set up nearby to take on people who had been injured. with confusion surrounding the scene, local authorities set up a helpline for those worried about loved ones. the people of valencia are wondering how such a devastating blaze could have started, and spread so fast. guy hedgecoe, bbc news, spain.

a top us university is bringing back standardised testing requirements for entry. yale university, along with many schools, made the tests optionalfor undergraduate admissions during the pandemic. it was supposed to help level the playing field. but officials there now say — the policy could have inadvertently excluded students from lower—income families — who may not have access to the same resources for extracurricular activie. yale now says standardised testing will help improve access for applicants. live now tojohn friedman, a professor of economics at brown university — and co—author of a study on college admissions and standarised test scores. thank you so much for being here, professor. yale reversing course now, bringing back standardised tests like the sat. is that the right move, in your opinion? i sat. is that the right move, in your opinion?— sat. is that the right move, in your opinion?— your opinion? i do think so. and thanks _ your opinion? i do think so. and thanks so _ your opinion? i do think so. and thanks so much - your opinion? i do think so. and thanks so much for - your opinion? i do think so. i and thanks so much for having

me. standardised test scores turn out to be a really important predictor of a student's level of academic preparation. and what's more — when you introduce the choice to send test scores or not, that adds an element of strategy to the college admissions process that, unfortunately, students from less—well—resourced backgrounds may be in a less good position to handle. and what you find is that students may not submit their test score even when that test score would actually be quite helpful to make the case for them in admissions. quite helpful to make the case forthem in admissions. it quite helpful to make the case for them in admissions.- for them in admissions. it was onl a for them in admissions. it was only a few _ for them in admissions. it was only a few years _ for them in admissions. it was only a few years ago _ for them in admissions. it was only a few years ago that - for them in admissions. it was only a few years ago that we l only a few years ago that we saw this wave of schools — covid being the main driver of this — dropping these requirements for standardised tests. what's happened in the meantime? why are we starting to see this change? did this actually drive more inequality among student bodies? i actually drive more inequality among student bodies? i think we're seeing — among student bodies? i think we're seeing two _

among student bodies? i think we're seeing two main - among student bodies? i think| we're seeing two main changes since everyone went test—optional. the first, as you mentioned, is that the pandemic is over. for many students, literally finding an opportunity to take these tests in 2020 - opportunity to take these tests in 2020 — right when the pandemic was hitting — was very challenging. and schools, i think rightly, felt that it was not fair to hold it against a student if they were unable to take the test. those conditions have now passed and, for the most part, students who want to take the test can take it. and so i think that factor is removed. the other thing is we'vejust removed. the other thing is we've just learnt a lot more about how different students are advantaged or disadvantaged from test—optional policies, and both from the strategy around whether to submit a score or not, and the increased reliance on some of these other factors like access to advanced courses — each of those factors turns out to lean in favour of students from more advantaged families. so, yes, ithink that returning to the previous policy of requiring testing is

an important step towards ensuring fair access to these universities. £31 ensuring fair access to these universities-_ universities. of course, professor. _ universities. of course, professor, on - universities. of course, professor, on the - universities. of course, professor, on the other universities. of course, - professor, on the other hand, standardised tests have long been criticised — some say richer families, been criticised — some say richerfamilies, students been criticised — some say richer families, students with more resources, can pay to have a tutor, they can sign up for classes to prepare them for these tests. what do you make of that argument — that the tests themselves could also be disadvantaging people from poorer backgrounds? that's a really important _ poorer backgrounds? that's a really important thing - poorer backgrounds? that's a really important thing to - really important thing to address, and it's true that there are huge disparities on average test scores by class, by race. what the data showed, though, is that those disparities don't so much reflect an ability to game the test by having a coach — they reflect really deep, problematic differences in the quality of schooling and other environmental forces that lead to really serious differences in the level of academic preparation by the time students are applying for college. the way you see this in the data is that, if you

take two students with the same test score — one from a very affluent background, say, and one from a less—affluent background — what you see is that those two students, on average, actually have the same type of outcomes in terms of their academic success in college. and so, even though there are these huge gaps in average test scores, the data doesn't suggest that's because of bias — that's because of the real, live inequality that's out there in the world. interesting stuff. in fact, more than 80% of four—year colleges still don't require the sat or act — yale university now one of them reversing course there. economics professor at brown university, thank you so much. thank you for having me. "houston, 0dysseus has found its new home." with those words, a us firm announced the successful landing of a spacecraft on the moon for the first time since the apollo missions more than five decades ago. intuitive machines is also the first private—company to reach the lunar surface.

they had been contracted by nasa to carry six scientific instruments on board that will help study the moon's surface and measure radio waves. the spacecraft itself is nicknamed �*0dysseus�*. it touched down near the south pole of the moon, where scientists hope there could be a source of water. the final descent to the moon was not without some drama. 0ur science editor rebecca morelle has more. we've reached the expected time of landing. now is the process of landing. now is the process of standing by for comms. we are in stand—by mode. fix, of standing by for comms. we are in stand-by mode. a tense time as the — are in stand-by mode. a tense time as the team _ are in stand-by mode. a tense time as the team waits - are in stand-by mode. a tense time as the team waits for - time as the team waits for their lunar lander to call home. ~ ., . their lunar lander to call home. . . ., ., home. we are checking on our antenna reception. _ home. we are checking on our antenna reception. still- antenna reception. still nothing. _ antenna reception. still nothing, as _ antenna reception. still nothing, as the - antenna reception. still| nothing, as the minutes antenna reception. still nothing, as the minutes pass. but then, finally, a faint signal... but then, finally, a faint signal- - -_ but then, finally, a faint sirnal...~ signal... we can confirm, without — signal... we can confirm, without a _ signal... we can confirm, without a doubt, - signal... we can confirm, without a doubt, as - signal... we can confirm, without a doubt, as our i without a doubt, as our equipment is on the surface of the moon, and we are transmitting. so, congratulations, im team. we'll see how much more we can get from that. applause congratulations to everyone

involved _ congratulations to everyone involved in this great and daring _ involved in this great and daring quest at intuitive machines, spacex, and right here — machines, spacex, and right here at— machines, spacex, and right here at nasa. what a triumph! this— here at nasa. what a triumph! this feat— here at nasa. what a triumph! this feat is a giant leap forward _ this feat is a giant leap forward for all of humanity. the — forward for all of humanity. the intuitive machines team now needs to check the condition of the spacecraft, and the status of what's onboard. nasa has paid the company to carry six of its scientific instruments. it's the first—ever commercial lander to reach the lunar surface, and marks a return there for america. it's been more than 50 years since the united states landed on the moon. the last time was in 1972, and this is where apollo 17 set down. before that, there were five other apollo missions that made it down to the lunar surface — and they were all around the moon's equator. but now, the united states is heading down to the south pole — and this is the landing site of the new intuitive machines mission. it's the furthest

south a spacecraft has ever been — and it's paving the way for nasa's artemis astronauts, who'll be exploring the same polar region in a few years before time. so, why go here? the area is covered in deep craters, some permanently in shadow — and scientists think frozen water could be inside. if we can actually take advantage of that ice on the surface of the moon, that's less materials we have to bring with us. we could use that ice to convert it to water, drinkable drinking water. we could extract oxygen and hydrogen for fuel and for breathing hydrogen forfuel and for breathing for the hydrogen for fuel and for breathing for the astronauts. so it really helps us in human exploration.— so it really helps us in human exloration. ., , . ., exploration. now the spacecraft is down, exploration. now the spacecraft is down. the — exploration. now the spacecraft is down, the team _ exploration. now the spacecraft is down, the team will- is down, the team will carefully analyse any data, and wait for the first images to arrive. they'll be hoping that the lunar exploration can then begin. more on that lunar mission at the top of the hour. stay with

us on bbc news. hello there. it's been a pretty wet—but—mild february. however, thursday saw a change with this weather front bringing some heavy rain for a time, then as it pushed its way steadily east, northwesterly wind direction kicked in and that had quite a dramatic impact to the feel of the weather wednesday afternoon. temperatures above the average mid—teens quite widely. by thursday, they were half that value and just below where they should be for this time of year. that's also translated into a pretty chilly start to friday morning. low single figures for many, and we haven't seen temperature values like that for quite some time. so certainly a shock to the system. but it will also be accompanied by hopefully some sunshine through central and eastern england and eastern scotland. there will be some showers out to the west with that brisk northwesterly wind and some of these will feed further inland as the day continues. wintry to higher ground. but a cool story again, seven to nine degrees. this is where the temperatures should be really for this time of year. now, as we go through friday evening, some of those showers

will tend to fade away and under clearing skies, those temperatures will fall even further. so saturday morning is going to be a cold start with a frost likely in rural parts as temperatures fall below freezing. so, yes, a cold start, but again, this quiet theme is set to continue. a good deal of fine weather, a few coastal showers in scotland, the risk of some showers moving through south wales and southern england for a time. but on the whole, most of us seeing some dry, sunny weather. and again, those temperatures just about scraping into double figures, if we're lucky. but for most of us, generally, between seven and nine degrees. slight problem on sunday with this area of low pressure in the fronts. now, there is the potential for that to just be a little bit further north, and if that happens, the rain could be further north. so we'll need to keep firming up on those details. but at the moment, it looks likely just to affect southwest england and the channels and maybe just fringing with the channel coast for a time. more cloud across southern england, but elsewhere, largely fine and quiet. and again, temperatures between seven and nine degrees. so we'll need to keep firming up on those details. but at the moment, it looks likely just to affect southwest

england and the channels and maybe just fringing with the channel coast for a time. more cloud across southern england, but elsewhere, largely fine and quiet. and again, temperatures between seven and nine degrees. now, that quieter theme is going to continue monday into tuesday. but as we move through the middle part of the week, the risk is it's turning increasingly wetter. but also the milder weather is set to return as well.

wall street sees a record day as nvidia rallies on. stock valuejumping $250 billion in one day. and if you are planning a summer holiday in europe be ready to fork out cash as fuel prices are ready to remain elevated, making travel even more expensive. hello and welcome. i'm steve lai. to the us where we begin with markets have been rallying around nvidia's earning reports. the company has been driving gains as one of the leading tech stocks and valuable companies on wall street and on thursday it added $250 billion in stock market value. erin delmore filed this report. nvidia fever is sweeping wall street. shares rose more

than 16% on thursday on the strength of the company's earnings report.