are threatening to bury him at the arctic prison where he died. it comes as the biden administration targets russia with hundreds of new sanctions. the us secretary of state says new israeli settlements in the west bank are illegal, as ceasefire talks on gaza get under way in paris. plus, on the eve of the south carolina primary, donald trump is looking for a knock—out win against his only remaining challenger for the republican nomination, nikki haley. hello, i'm caitriona perry. you are very welcome. saturday marks two years since russia began its invasion of ukraine, even as the fallout from alexei navalny�*s death only intensifies. in response to both those events, the us and eu are imposing over 500 new sanctions on russia.

russia's main card payment system, its financial and military institutions, and officials involved in navalny�*s imprisonment all have been issued new sanctions. as the united states targets those who it says were responsible for alexei navalny�*s death, a spokeswoman for the late russian opposition leader says officials are threatening to bury mr navalny at the arctic prison where he died last week. his mother, lyudmila navalnaya, has reportedly been given the choice between accepting that arrangement or agreeing to a "secret" burial without mourners. the kremlin denies allegations it was involved in mr navalny�*s death. those denials from the kremlin are getting little attention here in washington — hence today's sanctions. the bbc�*s russia editor steve rosenberg has more. he died in prison a week ago, but when and where will alexei navalny be laid to rest? for six days now, in this remote part of russia, his mother lyudmila has been trying to recover his body without success.

in this video yesterday, she said investigators were threatening a secret burial. today, claims that they have given her an ultimatum — either agree to a funeral away from public view, or the opposition leader will be buried in the penal colony where he died. initially, his mother was given three hours to decide. she refused to negotiate and demanded his body. a wreath from president putin, but not for alexei navalny — the kremlin leader marking defender of the fatherland day. he's made no comment on the death of his most vociferous critic. but reaction from america to the war in ukraine and alexei navalny�*s death. i'm announcing more than 500 new sanctions in response... applause

..in response to putin's brutal war of conquest, in response to alexei navalny�*s death, because make no mistake, putin is responsible for alexei's death. tonight, back in moscow, just opposite the old kgb building — now the fsb — the floral tributes keep coming. it's just a trickle now, but muscovites have still been coming out to play tribute to alexei navalny, although most of the flowers that have been laid here over the last week have been removed. it's if the authorities want to play down the scale of public mourning for the late opposition leader. people here see that as a sign of weakness from the authorities and believe those in power are still frightened of alexei navalny. "they're scared," natalya says. "they feared him when he was alive, and they fear him now he's dead.

"they fear his memory." but flowers for alexei navalny are a sign that some russians will keep his memory alive. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. let's dig a little deeper now at those sanctions the us is imposing following mr navalny�*s death. nearly 100 firms and individuals will face restrictions on exports. and like wejust mentioned — russia's main payment system, mir, is targeted in the measures. additionally, companies involved in powering russia's war effort, its energy production, and its co—operation with iran on drone technology will also be hit. the penalties go beyond russia's borders, as people in china, the united arab emirates, vietnam and liechtenstein have also been sanctioned. they're accused of being connected to businesses that send materials to russia's military. i have been speaking to daniel fried, a retired us diplomat who served as the coordinator

for sanctions policy under president barack obama and ambassador to poland. getting his take on the newly unveiled sanctioned. you draughted that for set of sanctions following the original incursion of rush into ukraine in 2014 —— russia into ukraine. what do you make? it is an extensive list, and you covered some highlights. i wish it had been sharper in some places. i really wish that we had made progress on going after the russian sovereign assets that we in the g7 locked down two years ago. that's $300 billion of perfectly good money that we should be using to help ukraine. not much progress. that's not the americans�* fault, i think the holdup is in europe, but i would like to see progress there. i would also like to see progress going after

the invaders networks. we know a lot of goods now get into russia through third countries. there was some of that in today's package. i wish there had been more. so, it's a good package, but to answer your larger question, does it work? the good news is, yeah, it is having an effect. it's hitting the russian economy. the bad news is, it's not going to hit it fast enough to save ukraine unless we provide, the americans provide them the ammunition and vote them the money. we are two years into this russian invasion into ukraine. we have seen many sanctions from the us, from the u, from the uk, but yet we are at a point where we see russia making advances in ukraine, we have heard president zelensky talking about how treacherous things are on the front lines at the moment, the death in prison of alexei navalny. have they really had an impact on president putin and what he is planning? president putin and what he is ”lannin? . ., , president putin and what he is ”lannin? . ., ., president putin and what he is nlanninu? . ., ., ., planning? sanctions alone are not auoin planning? sanctions alone are not going to — planning? sanctions alone are not going to win _ planning? sanctions alone are not going to win this - planning? sanctions alone are not going to win this war- planning? sanctions alone are not going to win this war for. not going to win this war for ukraine. and that was clear to

us back in 2014. sanctions are only part of the picture. we need, right now, to get ukraine the weapons it needs, the artillery it needs to defend itself, the longer—range weapons it needs to take the fight to the russians also that's what we need. now, can sanctions work? yeah. they can help accelerate the decline of the russian economy. now, putin is putting everything into the military, the civilian economy will decline. we have seen this movie before, it is called the decline and full of the soviet union, and it is so old i was around then! i know what happened. and the economic pressure then in the economic pressure then in the economic pressure today can have similar results. we have to mean it. that's not good help ukraine, because it may not happen fast enough, so we have to do what we can for ukraine to keep the pressure on russia. mb? we can for ukraine to keep the pressure on russia.— we can for ukraine to keep the pressure on russia. why do you think it is _ pressure on russia. why do you think it is that _ pressure on russia. why do you think it is that president - think it is that president biden did not go as far enough as you would have liked to see him go? fin

as you would have liked to see him no? ,, ., him go? on the russian sovereign _ him go? on the russian sovereign assets, - him go? on the russian sovereign assets, the i him go? on the russian - sovereign assets, the united states should not move alone, and i think that some of the europeans are so reluctant. we need to move together on this, and i think the biden people are trying, but we are not there yet. we need to get there. the centre, the better. do you expect there may be a follow—up that will include that and will include more sanctions on companies operating those kind of so—called third countries... i hope so. we need to dry of the invaders networks. like i said, there were some of that in today's package, so i'm not complaining, but we need to make it it expensive to avoid sanctions and we need to take seriously the russian sovereign assets that we have immobilized. i don't want to hearfrom the immobilized. i don't want to hear from the international layers that it is a violation of this or that, we are dealing with a war. legally, we can do this and we need to go on and

take that step. find this and we need to go on and take that step.— this and we need to go on and take that step. and what's your view of the _ take that step. and what's your view of the coordination - view of the coordination between the us, the uk and the u when it comes to the sanctions? i u when it comes to the sanctions?— sanctions? i think it is excellent. _ sanctions? ithink it is excellent. early - sanctions? ithink it is excellent. early on, i sanctions? i think it is. excellent. early on, the sanctions? i think it is - excellent. early on, the us made the decision we were in critical unilateral, we are going to work with the eu, especially, in those days before brexit, i have to say, the uk really helped us a lot —— not going to go unilaterally. the british did with their good at, which is guiding the americans through the maze of european politics and now i think the coordination continues to be good. it is solid, but solid coordination is not good enough, we need to be pushing add. ~ ., ., , ., ,, add. we wait to see what the us con . ress add. we wait to see what the us congress does — add. we wait to see what the us congress does on _ add. we wait to see what the us congress does on that _ add. we wait to see what the us congress does on that funding . congress does on that funding bill. it congress does on that funding bill. , ., , ., bill. it is on them, it is on them. bill. it is on them, it is on them- it _ bill. it is on them, it is on them. it is _ bill. it is on them, it is on them. it is a _ bill. it is on them, it is on them. it is a shameful - bill. it is on them, it is on - them. it is a shameful period. we need to take this seriously also but cannot abandon ukraine and abandon our own leadership

role —— we cannot abandon. it is as bad now as it was in the late 1930s, when the america first crowd of those days was indifferent to british and french security. how did that and it for you, for the french, for us? for poland? no, been there, done that. don't want to do it again. there, done that. don't want to do it again-— do it again. ok. daniel fried, former us — do it again. ok. daniel fried, former us ambassador- do it again. ok. daniel fried, former us ambassador to - do it again. ok. daniel fried, - former us ambassador to poland and very many other things, thank you forjoining us on bbc news. thank you for “oining us on bbc news. . ~ , ., thank you for “oining us on bbc news. . ~ i., ., ., two years ago, ukraine was on the brink of something few thought would happen — a full—scale russian invasion. now facing a third year at war, ukraine's western allies are urging the world to continue their support at a meeting of the united nations security council in new york. 0ur correspondent andrew harding has returned to east of the country. he's been following the story of one ukrainian soldier, a medic working on the front line, who he first met at the start of the conflict. two years of war, seen through the struggles of one ukrainian doctor. this was the first time we met

0leg kravchenko back in 2022 in a besieged town called lysychansk. 0leg had justjoined ukraine's army as a volunteer medic. look here. he drove us to his unit near the front lines. it's the same from russian. bomb. in those early days, a smiling 0leg was full of confidence. it's my country. but the russians are pushing now. a lot. i hope maybe one and a half months, and we will shoot every... every russian. you'll push them out? yes. so you think you're winning this? yes, yes. but within weeks, the russians had destroyed and captured lysycha nsk. nice to meet you. it would be a year before we met 0leg again. his medical team was now working in another frontline town, bakhmut.

lots of casualties from ukraine's struggling counter—offensive. the dangers growing. i am still live. you're still alive, yes. yes. but it's been a difficult year. very difficult. as if to prove the point, incoming fire. you're not worried about your safety? my faith. my faith is... hmm. i don't know. and now, two years into the war, we've come to meet 0leg's team once again. as usual, they're in the thick of it. this time in kupiansk, another furious battle under way. russia now inching forwards.

gunfire so the gunfire you can hear is ukrainian troops trying to shoot down a suspected russian drone. they heard it overhead. we've taken cover under some trees. not sure if they've hit it yet. the ukrainians have found a new russian target. but what of 0leg? we'd lost touch with him for several months, but now hear news of an attack last october. a russian rocket hit the field hospital he was working in. three medics were killed. but 0leg survived, his leg badly mangled. my friend died. it's difficult. difficult for me, and my mind is changed after that. when we first met in lysychansk, you were hopeful that ukraine could win.

when we met in bakhmut, you were tired and worried. very tired. now, how do you feel about the war? can ukraine win? erm, yes. of course, i hope. but i think its war. we will be long. a long war, then. medal of honour. it's from zelensky. and for 0leg, medals and an early retirement after two years that have transformed every life in this country. andrew harding, bbc news, eastern ukraine. talks are under way in paris in the latest effort to reach a deal on a ceasefire in gaza. israel's top intelligence official is reportedly meeting with the us, egypt and qatar — key negotiators in the war. this week, the political leader of hamas also met with egyptian mediators in cairo. israel says it will invade the densely—crowded

southern gaza city of rafah unless a deal is reached for a truce. israel has already decimated parts of the city with air raids, but it is threatening a ground invasion despite international opposition. israel's allies, including the us, have spoken out against an invasion of rafah, where an estimated 1.4 million palestinians — many displaced from elsewhere in gaza — are sheltering. on friday, the us also criticised israel's reported plan to expand settlements in the west bank. in a return to us policy that was scrapped under the trump administration, us secretary of state antony blinken said israel's settlements in the west bank violate international law. we have seen the reports, and i have to say, we're disappointed in the announcement. it's been long—standing us policy, under republican and democratic administrations alike, that new settlements are counter—productive to reaching an enduring peace. they're also inconsistent with international law. 0ur administration contains a firm opposition to settlement expansion.

for more on the significance of how the us views israeli settlements in the west bank, here's our state department correspondent tom bateman. it's not new, because since 1978, since a legal opinion by the state department, the us has regarded jewish settlements in the occupied west bank as inconsistent with international law. what changed was under the trump administration. so, in 2019, the then secretary of state mike pompeo declared that policy effectively was no longer in force, the us did not regard the building of settlements, israeli settlements, in the west bank as a breach of international law. ever since president biden came to power, the administration has been asked repeatedly about this issue, does it regard settlements as inconsistent with international law? it's always kind of fudged that answer, it's never really said whether it is overturning the trump position.

what we got today was a very clear line from antony blinken when he was asked the question by a reporter. he said the us regards settlements in the occupied west bank as inconsistent with international law, so returning to the original us position and therefore reversing the president trump—era pronouncement. tom bateman there. a serving police officer has been charged with murdering missing australian tv personalityjesse baird and his boyfriend luke davies. it's a case that's gripped australia for the past week. the couple went missing on monday, sparking a huge police search. on wednesday, bloodstained clothes were discovered in a bin and police also found large pools of blood at the home ofjesse baird. simon jones has more. this is the moment a serving police officer hands himself in to colleagues in sydney and is taken away for questioning on suspicion of double murder. his face has been blurred in footage released by new south wales police. that officer is beau lamarre,

the former boyfriend of tv presenterjesse baird — on the right — who's missing, feared dead, along withjesse's partner luke davies. they are both much—loved men with a wide circle of loved ones, family and friends who adore them. luke, of course, has an enormously supportive workforce... 0n the network where jesse used to work, the news is far too close to home. looking beautiful! jesse was a presenter, entertainmentjournalist and red carpet host, luke davies a flight attendant for qantas. these were their final posts on instagram last weekend at a pink concert. social media has been flooded with condolences and concern. police said there was now enough evidence to charge one of their own officers with murder. the 28—year—old man facing these charges was in a relationship withjesse some time ago, which finished a couple

of months ago, and so that would be a obvious line of inquiry in relation to a domestic—style incident. police fear the couple were killed insidejesse baird's house in this suburb of sydney on monday. it's thought a van was then used to move the bodies to an unknown location. beau lamarre was a celebrity blogger before he joined the police. officers say he has not been assisting with their investigation. simon jones, bbc news. here in the us, local and national leaders in the republican party are scrambling to contain the backlash from a controversial alabama supreme court ruling that embryos should be considered children and that individuals can be held liable for their destruction. on friday, alabama's attorney general declared he will not prosecute in vitro fertilisation providers orfamilies. his guarantee comes after at least three providers in the state have halted the fertility procedure out of concern that mishandling the fertilised eggs could lead to civil or even criminal lawsuits. and the current frontrunner for the gop presidential nomination — donald trump — emphasised his support for the treatments.

i strongly support the availability of ivf for couples who are trying to have a precious little, beautiful baby. i support it. cheering and today i am calling on the alabama legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution, to preserve the availability of ivf in alabama, and i'm sure they're going to do that. the former president made those comments as he was campaigning in south carolina, before saturday's gop primary in the state. his final opponent for the party's nomination — nikki haley — is also seeking support in the state and has promised to remain in the race despite donald trump's significant lead. according to a recent poll, trump has 63% of public support and haley is at 35%. south carolina is the former governor's home state,

but trump is expected to win in the palmetto state by one of the biggest margins ever seen in a republican primary. joining us now from south carolina is helena humphrey. helena, this contest would appear to be over in many ways, yet nikki haley has pledged to remain in the race. what's her game plan? fits remain in the race. what's her game plan?— remain in the race. what's her name lan? a ., ., game plan? as you have alluded to, it's game plan? as you have alluded to. it's very _ game plan? as you have alluded to, it's very unlikely _ game plan? as you have alluded to, it's very unlikely to _ game plan? as you have alluded to, it's very unlikely to be - game plan? as you have alluded to, it's very unlikely to be a - to, it's very unlikely to be a hero's return for nikki haley here, even in her home state also the question is, what is she looking to achieve, and she has been pretty open about this now, saying that ultimate the she wants to close the gap with donald trump at this particular stage of the race. in her own words, she says it is not having what she has called a soviet style race boyer decanted is a foregone conclusion, but here in south carolina today, speaking to trump supporters, at a rally, believe it or not thousands of people were waiting in these barricades today to catch a

glimpse of him, waiting for hours —— where the candidate is a foregone conclusion for when he took to the stage it was really a rock star reception, his greatest hits. he spoke about making america great again, reinvigorate the economy, and speaking to those voters, economy, border security very much top of mind right now, one woman telling me she now considers yourself to be food insecure. she has gone from middle—class to poor, she says, in the face of 40—year highs in inflation and so on. donald trump also speaking about the election, saying were he not to prevail in 2024, the election would be rigged, a claim that is unfounded. he also touched on ivf, saying alabama needed to ensure people had access to fertility treatments. we know this is a lightning rod, contentious issue for nikki haley, because you have been talking about her

game plan. it is about courting that broad—spectrum of support, and in that way, that has been difficult for her to talk about, but she said she is in this race for the long run. certainly she has been doing well when it comes to bringing in those donations. it is different, isn't it, when he comes to getting votes and getting those all—important getting those all—importa nt delegates getting those all—important delegates as well was neck she says whatever happens on saturday, on sunday, she still going to be in this race going forward to super tuesday, on the 5th of march, but that battle and that path forward looks uncertain, and very much likely to be an uphill battle. helena humphrey, in south carolina, thanks very much for that. let's turn to some other important news from around the world. a jury in the us state of new york has found the national rifle association liable for financial mismanagement. the jury found that the nra's long—time leader, wayne lapierre — seen here — took millions of dollars from the organisation and spent it on lavish gifts and private flights. lapierre resigned as ceo last month before the trial.

police in spain have recovered nine bodies from two burnt—out apartment blocks in valencia and say they're still looking for one more missing person that may be among the rubble. four victims are from the same family. police are investigating what caused the blaze, though experts believe flammable cladding may have helped the fire spread rapidly. the prime minister of hungary has given the green light to sweden's nato membership. victor 0rban addressed this issue during a meeting with his swedish counterpart in budapest. mr 0rban's support ends a months—long standoff over the expansion of the military alliance. it also follows a decision by sweden to provide hungary with four swedish—made fighterjets. and before we go, a female golf pro who posted a video on social media capturing the moment a male golfer critiqued her technique has been viewed more than ten million times. georgia ball said the reaction to the clip she uploaded to tiktok has been crazy.

excuse me. what you're doing there, you shouldn't be doing. you should be... i was there just focusing purely on my goals of filming and working on my swing, so, you know, although it was an awkward conversation at the time, it's good that i canjust kind of look back at it and laugh at it. i've been playing golf for 20 years. what you need to do is follow through a lot quicker than what you're doing there right now. i wouldn't be put off by this, because golf is such a beautiful game, everyone's able to help each other, so certainly don't be put off. that's it for the moment. i'm caitriona perry. thanks so much for watching. caitriona perry. thanks so much forwatching. do caitriona perry. thanks so much for watching. do stay with us here on bbc news. take care. hello there.

friday was a day of sunshine and showers, some of the showers heavy with some hail mixed in. and with colder air moving in across the country, we saw a bit of snow return to the top of the cumbrian fells. this is the top of helvellyn, snow—covered there in cumbria. now, so far this february, it has been a bit of a wash—out across england and wales. cardiff and coventry have had well over double the average rainfall so far this month. parts of east anglia, houghton hall in norfolk, have had three times the average rainfall, and there is more to come as well. now, on the satellite picture, all of this white speckled cloud you can see to the north and west of the uk is shower cloud, and there are loads of those. so we are looking at more showers working in. and over the next few hours, by and large the showers are most likely to be across northern and western scotland, a few for the north and west of northern ireland, one or two for wales and the south—west of england. but otherwise, particularly across inland areas, we'll have clear spells to take us into saturday morning

and a cold start to the day, with some frost or maybe one or two icy stretches. should be a fine if somewhat chilly start to the day, then, on saturday, but it is another day where we'll see showers pop up. some of those across northern scotland, some of the heaviest ones probably across southern areas of england and southern and western wales, with a real threat of seeing some hail and a bit of thunder mixed in. still, where the sunshine comes out, temperatures of around 8—10 degrees to be expected. that's about average at this time of the year. for sunday, there'll be further showers across northern scotland, but an area of low pressure looks set to run in across northern france. now, this could bring a spell of rain and windier weather to southern counties of england and southern wales, or it could be that the rain just holds a bit further south out in the english channel. so that's the big zone of uncertainty, really, as we head through sunday, but still the bulk of the uk having a fairamount of sunshine and temperatures still about 8—10. now, if we do see that rain in the south, could still be affecting east anglia and south—east england into monday, with quite breezy weather conditions. but further north, for northern ireland and scotland, good parts of northern england and wales will be underneath

the influence of this ridge of high pressure, and so the weather should be drier with more in the way of sunshine. after a cold and locally frosty start to the day, our temperatures not really changing that much day—to—day, highs of again around 8—10 degrees or so. then deeper into the new working week, it stays unsettled, temperatures often near double figures, but there will be rain at times.

badlands for you at the top of the hour straight after this programme. will have the headlines for you. this week... this is one of the most incredible things i've ever done. ..paul�*s in california investigating artificial arms, which encourage the mind to power the prosthetic. alistair�*s tackling the tricky issue of head injuries in rugby. the secret may be in the mouth guard. shiona's been speaking to the boss of the biggest genealogy platform, finding out what it technically takes to trace your ancestors.

and it's 0scars season. we talk to the creator of the creator about