president biden has met with the widow and daughter of alexei navalny as his administration plans sanctions on hundreds of russian entities. delivering destruction and aid from the air: israel's bombing of gaza rolls on even as uk assistance is air—lifted to those most in need. at least four people have died and 19 others are missing following a massive building fire in spain. plus, a triumphant if somewhat tricky return to the moon. a us firm has safely landed on the lunar surface after a nerve—racking final descent. 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 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 cemetery, 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 done according to law. i demand to see my son's body immediately. us congressman mike turner serves as chairman on the house intelligence committee and had this to say about navalny�*s death. i think it continues to show the thuggery of vladimir putin. the announcement that alexei navalny was dead occurred at the munich security conference and his wife, now winner, took the stage is believed that he had passed and that she met with the us delegation and we expressed our sorrow to her but also she gave the warning to the west to understand that vladimir putin and his

aggression against ukraine is not isolated and his attempt to take on the west, take on democracy to impose authoritarianism, it is similar to alexei navalny�*s death and what is occurring with his mother and the constriction of his funeral. for more on the aftermath of navalny�*s death, my colleague caitriona perry spoke to richard haass, a retired us diplomat and the president emeritus of the us�*s council on foreign relations. he died in an arctic prison. he is going to announce the status quo. he is going to announce the status qua-— he is going to announce the status quo. he is going to announce the status uuo. ~ ., ,, , . status quo. what you expect him to do? i do _ status quo. what you expect him to do? i do not— status quo. what you expect him to do? i do not like _ status quo. what you expect him to do? i do not like the - status quo. what you expect him to do? i do not like the word - to do? i do not like the word die, he was murdered. let's call the what it was. what introduce the new economic thinkers, call me sceptical, we have been sanctioning them for years now and they have not had much effect and there is a certain symbolism to them but i cannot see sanctions that will

make a real dent in russian behaviour. vladimir putin will continue to be vladimir putin a matter what it is, what about what sanction. there is a big about whether we want to take frozen russian assets, $300 million worth and handed them over to ukraine. that is a possibility but i think the big issueis possibility but i think the big issue is what militarily is able to give ukraine and that is on us, that is on the republicans in the house of representatives in the american congress and so far, i am sad to say, they are effectively turning their backs on ukraine. how damaging is it for the us for its view, its position with its allies but it does fail to deliver on the promise to support ukraine? extraordinarily damaging because the and euchareena grades for european security, the president and the acquisition of the territory by force. if vladimir putin gets away with a lot in ukraine there is no reason to believe he will stop there. this is

coupled with statements by donald trump and others questioning the value of the nato alliance. it raises fundamental questions as to not american capability but american capability but american will in american reliability. that is corrosive to an alliance. those concerns about us funding for ukraine comes just days ahead of the two—year anniversary of russia's invasion, which is on saturday. 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 south—eastern 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. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg takes a look at how the country and its people have changed during the war. bell tolls. 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. fanfare. 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 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 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. the latest talks failed two weeks ago when israeli prime minister rejected a proposal by hamas as "delusional." israeli media say benjamin netanyahu presented his plan for the post—war management

of gaza to his war cabinet late on thursday night. in the short term, his goals remain the same — the complete destruction of the military and political infrastructure of hamas and islamichhad. he also says local officials acceptable to israel should manage gaza once the fighting is over. many of the proposals are not entirely new, but it's believed to be 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 bombardment 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 royaljordanian 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 a jordanian—run hospital. very precise! they've done this mission a dozen times but, for the first time, it's british aid that's being launched into the strip.

inside these pallets — fuel, medicalsupplies, 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. quentin sommerville, bbc news. a deadly fire swept through two blocks of flats in the spanish city of valencia. at least four people were killed and 19 others are missing. 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. a makeshift hospital was set up nearby to take on people who had been injured. several firefighters were among the first to be treated. 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. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at one 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 — 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 1 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. at least three major healthcare facilities in alabama have paused in—vitro fertilisation procedures after the state's top court ruled that frozen embryos could be legally considered children and that a person could be held liable for accidentally destroying them. the hospital says it's concerned it could be prosecuted. president biden called the court ruling "outrageous and unacceptable. " he wrote: 0ur north america correspondent nomia iqbal sent this report from alabama. for veronica, fertility treatment is the only way to have children. she has one son and wants to expand herfamily,

but her life has now been up—ended. i understand the idea of attaching emotion to the embryos. they signify potential. they signify, you know, the dream of a child. but you can't cuddle an embryo. you can't breast—feed an embryo. alabama's supreme court decision was issued in wrongful death cases brought by three couples. in 2020, they had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic. the court used an already established law here to decide that unborn children are children, even outside the womb — but the court's chiefjustice went further, invoking the bible in hisjudgement, saying human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy god who've used the destruction of his image as an affront to himself. the ruling did not ban ivf, but experts say the decision has created confusion over how to use and store embryos — one of the state's biggest fertility clinics has

paused procedures. it's awful. i have had to call patients — i called several patients yesterday — to have to tell them that we were not able to file their embryo and transfer it. and these are patients that are ready. their bodies are ready. they're ready to go. alabama is a deeply conservative state, with very strict anti—abortion laws. there are those who oppose abortion and describe themselves as pro—life. they welcome the ruling. but there are those who are conflicted. i think the pro—life community in general would support ivf. i've known and worked with many people who have done ivf and had children, and it worked very well for them. and at the same time, they would think abortion is wrong, but this issue is so difficult from abortion. but pro—choice groups fear this is similar, and that other states who have strict anti—abortion laws may follow alabama, marking a new chapter in america's bitter battle over

reproductive rights. let's turn to some important news around the world. the president of senegal has announced he'll be stepping down on april 2nd, when his mandate ends. however, macky sall did say that he doesn't think a new leader will be elected in time to take over. his announcement on national tv comes a week after a court ruling overturned his decree to delay presidential elections until december. the vote was originally scheduled for this sunday. a trial has begun in new mexico for the armourer in charge of weapons on the set of the film rust. hannah gutierrez—reed is accused of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the death of halyna hutchins in 2021. hutchins was killed after a a gun that actor alec baldwin had been rehearsing with went off on set. he has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter and will face a separate trial. gutierrez—reed denies the charges.

paris's most famous landmark was closed for a fourth day after workers at the eiffel tower extended their strike. france's cgt union says employees want a salary increase in proportion to the revenue raised from ticket sales. they've also criticised the operator for underestimating the cost of maintenance and repairs. the us has landed 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 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. we were watching live here in the newsroom. it took more than 10 minutes after the scheduled touchdown to get a signal back from the lander. 0ur science editor

rebecca morelle has more. we've reached the expected time of landing. now is the process of standing by for comms. we are in stand—by mode. a tense time as the team waits for their lunar lander to call home. we are checking on our antenna reception. still nothing, as the minutes pass. but then, finally, a faint signal... we can confirm, without a doubt, that 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 in this great and daring quest at intuitive machines, spacex, and right here at nasa. what a triumph! this feat is a giant leap 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 for the astronauts. so it really helps us in human exploration. now the spacecraft 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. rebecca morelle, bbc news. for more on the landing and its significance, i spoke earlier with matt shindell, space history curator at the smithsonian's national air and space museum. people were on the edge of their seas with this and waiting to see if it will be successful. as with all lending, whether on the moon or hamas, there is the element of this thing happening at a great

distance from you that you cannot observe happening. you are hoping that the technology operates as it is meant to, as advertised. and that your technology landed safely on the surface. as with sending anything to land on anybody out in the solar system, we have been landing things on mars successfully for decades now, there are challenges of orbital dynamics trying to get things on the right trajectory in the first place. first you need to launch them successfully and then sets them on the trajectory and then once you get to the moon, you have the problem that you really cannot do this with a joystick. it has to be done autonomously by the lander and everything has to go exactly right, time to properly and the propulsion system has to work just and the propulsion system has to workjust right to give you just the right of the thrust of

the right moment so you can later softly on the moon without either crashing into the service or bouncing off of these are press. it is really difficult. and before we go, one of the most esteemed museums in the uk needs help with one of the biggest pop starts on the planet. london victoria and albert museum is looking to recruit a taylor swift superfan to become its official adviser about the star. the v&a wants insights into the culture and craftsmanship displayed by the musician's fans. they're known to swap friendship bracelets with each other at her shows. the role is one of a number of "super fan advisers" that the institution wants to help with its collections and exhibitions. they also want experts on crocs footwear, emojis and drag, among other things. i don't think i can help out on the crocs. apparently applications are now being accepted. that's all from the team here in washington.

i'm carl nasman. thank you for watching. 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. 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.

v0|ce—0ver: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm sarah montague. it's two years since russia launched its full—scale invasion of ukraine. it failed then — but now, after months of stalemate, ukraine looks to be in retreat, not least because the united states has yet to approve more funding for ukraine's defence. so, what next? european leaders warn that president putin's ambitions won't stop with ukraine, and they talk of preparing for a world war. i'm at nato's headquarters in brussels to speak to its secretary general for the past ten years, jens stoltenberg.

it's an organisation founded on the principle that an attack