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. two years on from the start of the war in ukraine, we have a special report from our correspondent who's returned to the east of the country. 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, the backlash against an alabama court ruling on frozen embryos intensifies, with donald trump and local officials weighing in. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. saturday marks two years since russia began its invasion of ukraine, even as the fallout from alexei navalny�*s death intensifies. in response to both those events, the us and eu are imposing over 500 new sanctions on russia.

in particular, the us sanctioned three government officials involved in navalny�*s imprisonment. nearly 100 firms and individuals will face restrictions on exports. russia's main payment system, mir, is targeted in the fresh measures. additionally, companies involved in powering russia's war effort, its energy production, and its cooperation 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. against the backdrop of those sanctions, 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 thatarrangement, oragreeing to a secret burial without mourners. the kremlin denies allegations it was involved in mr navalny�*s death. 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. allegedly, 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. two years ago, ukraine was on the brink of something few thought would happen — a full—scale russian invasion. our correspondent andrew harding has returned to east ——the 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

oleg kravchenko back in 2022 in a besieged town called lysychansk. oleg 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 oleg was full of confidence. it's my country. but the russians are pushing now. yes! bombing 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 lysychansk. nice to meet you. it would be a year before we met oleg again. his medical team was now working in another frontline town, bakhmut. lots of casualties from

ukraine's struggling cou nteroffe nsive. the dangers growing. i am still live. you're still alive, yes. alive, yes. but it's been a difficult year. very difficult. as if to prove the point... ..incoming fire. explosion you're not worried about your safety? my fate. my fate is... hmm — i don't know. and now, two years into the war, we've come to meet oleg'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 oleg? 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 oleg survived, his leg badly mangled. my friend died. sighs. 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. laughs.

very tired. now, how do you feel about the war? can ukraine win? um, yes — of course, i hope. but i think its war. will be long. a long war, then. medal of honour. it's from zelensky. and for oleg, 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 gazan 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. our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion. for more on the background of us policy towards 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, that 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 or not? it is always kind of fudged that answer, it's never really said whether it was 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. meanwhile the head of the un body responsible for palestinian refugees, unrwa, warned this week that gaza "has reached a breaking point". unicef says 90% of children under the age of two, and 95% of pregnant and breasfeeding women face severe food poverty. two—thirds of the population eat only once a day. world central kitchen is becoming a key resource for those in desperate need of a meal. since the conflict began, its teams have served more than 30 million meals in gaza, by establishing a flagship relief kitchen in rafah and more than 60 community kitchens. nearly 400 palestinians work in these kitchens, making over 170,000 hot meals every day. currently, world central kitchen accounts for 62% of all non—governmental aid that's come into gaza.

my colleague caitriona perry spoke to its founder and chief feeding 0fficer, chefjose andres. jose, thanks for being with us again on bbc news. we saw earlier this week the world food programme saying it was having to pull out of northern gaza because of the security situation there. how are your operations in that region? obviously, the world food programme, the different un organisations, what they are saying about security inside gaza is true. it is very difficult for the humanitarian organisations, not only the un ones but organisations like world central kitchen. we used to be delivering the food in a safe way to the different warehouses, the different kitchens, to the different schools, hospitals, the temporary refugee camps, because the need is so huge. for example, when we are trying to go to the north, you will have roadblocks in the middle of the streets, where hundreds if not thousands of people will try to get

the food that we are trying to deliver to places that there is even more need. the situation is as bad as everybody is describing, especially anything that is north of khan younis. gaza city, all these areas are in desperate need of food and water and medical aid right now. have you managed to get any of your supplies into northern gaza recently? i saw you've been doing air drops, for example? well, yes. world central kitchen, at the moment, we have 61 kitchens, we have five warehouses, we have been able to put inside over 1,100 trucks, but still this is only a drop of water in an ocean of need. sometimes, once in a while, we are able to reach some locations in the north, different hospitals, like for example thejordanian hospital and others, but sometimes we are not able to be doing this

with consistency — again, because of the situation. we are in the middle of a war zone. that is why everybody�*s asking for a ceasefire. sometimes bombings show up right and left, sometimes because the roadblocks, etc, but again the entire community needs to be supported, especially aid to the north. like the air drop you're mentioning, this was only a little mission, in partnership with thejordanian air force and the dutch air force, to deliver food to thejordanian hospital, food and medicines. obviously, i think it's a great idea that we go and do a massive air drop in the northern part of gaza, so hundreds of thousands of people can receive food, not in a week, not in a month but today.

we need to be creative, including why not arriving to the beaches of the northern part of gaza to try to bring in food until we are able to use more than one entry point into gaza ? that right now is not enough. if we can have three, four points of entry into gaza, all of a sudden, everything becomes easier, especially if we achieve a ceasefire, where the hostages are released, where the peace goes back to the place it should be, where people have time for negotiations, and more important, where civilians stop dying, where hospitals start getting the aid they need and where civilians can have pure access to food and water every single day. and jose, i want to ask you about rafah, because you have some kitchens set up there. there are still air strikes, and we hear from the idf that israel is resolute in its plan for a ground operation in rafah in the coming weeks. what is your operation

like there, and can you continue to operate there? we continue to operate there. 0bviously when i was there, in december, sometimes you will see bombings here and there, and obviously we are worried for everybody in rafah. let's hope...today, we saw president biden doing a tweet and very much saying that one thing is to be fighting hamas and another thing is to be fighting the more than 2.1 million palestinians in gaza. so i do believe that everybody will agree with this — civilians cannot be suffering the consequences of a terrorist group. so, far more needs to be done to protect every single life of every single civilian. even some people will argue israel had the right to defend themselves, but one thing is clear — food and water is a universal right. no children, no woman, no elderly should be looking forfood one more day.

right now, the situation, especially in the northern part of gaza, even in the south, is desperate. people are going hungry, and the international community, we need to do more to make sure every single palestinian is fed today. 0k, jose, we wish you all the best with your efforts to feed so many people in need. jose andres, chef and founder of world central kitchen, thank you so much for joining us on bbc news. thank you. 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. 0ur correspondent nomia iqbal is in alabama, and has more. there is still ongoing shock, anger and confusion here in alabama. people are trying to grapple with what the supreme court ruling means. alabama is a deeply conservative state, it has restrictive reproductive rights and i spoke to two lawyers. politically they have different views but both of

them had children via ivf. and they are worried about the direction alabama is heading in. i direction alabama is heading in. , . direction alabama is heading in. , direction alabama is heading in. i understand people looking from the outside _ in. i understand people looking from the outside are _ in. i understand people looking from the outside are probably i from the outside are probably curious that we become a state where if you want to terminate a pregnancy you have to leave the state and if you want to initiate a pregnancy with ivf you have to leave the state. we find ourselves in this weird position where we are forcing someone to have children they don't have and preventing other women from having children they don't want. and without going too far into that and what is right and wrong, it is a very interesting situation and we have to figure it out while at the same time ask ourselves how in the world that we end up in this place?— this place? the biggest concerns _ this place? the biggest concerns are _ this place? the biggest concerns are that - this place? the biggest. concerns are that people this place? the biggest - concerns are that people forget about _ concerns are that people forget about us, — concerns are that people forget about us, they don't think about_ about us, they don't think about us— about us, they don't think about us because we are just alabama _ about us because we are just alabama and we are just a conservative state that you know. _ conservative state that you know. it _ conservative state that you know, it is over, we are all country— know, it is over, we are all country bumpkins, don't worry about— country bumpkins, don't worry about them, it will never happen— about them, it will never happen here and then the next thing _ happen here and then the next thing you — happen here and then the next thing you know it is happening

in other— thing you know it is happening in other states. but thing you know it is happening in other states.— thing you know it is happening in other states. at the moment there is a _ in other states. at the moment there is a bill— in other states. at the moment there is a bill that _ in other states. at the moment there is a bill that has - in other states. at the moment there is a bill that has been - there is a bill that has been opposed by —— proposed by democratic lawmakers in alabama that aims to protect ivf. there are republicans who want to get on board with it is a tricky situation for them to navigate because there are groups in a state which are very conservative, they describe themselves as pro—life and they lack the supreme court ruling, but then there are groups who are also conservative and describe themselves as pro—life who saved this ruling has gone too far and described as extreme. so it is a case of trying to balance both of those opinions. but i think there is a sense certainly for republicans here that there could be a political backlash which is especially significant in an election year. nomia iqbal in alabama. donald trump and nikki haley are in south carolina, making their final push to voters ahead of saturday's republican primary there. according to a recent poll,

trump is leading haley in the state by a margin of 63% to 35%. haley served as governor in south carolina from 2011 to 2017, but trump is expected to win in the palmetto state by one of the biggest margins ever seen in a republican primary. it is as you say, i think it is very unlikely that this is going to be a heroes return for nikki haley, to her home state right now, and going into this race, she has been trying to temper expectations. she has been saying that this is about catching up with donald trump and it's also about coming out to earn peoples votes here and to provide them essentially with an alternative to donald trump so that this race instead is not a foregone conclusion, but it will be very hard to see exactly how she will do that, coming off the back of three consecutive losses to donald trump in these states. today i've been speaking to voters at this rally in south caroline for donald trump throughout the course of the day. a rock star reception, essentially, for him, taking to the stage. one woman i was speaking to said she gets goose bumps to even be the same

room as him. when he took to the stage, a lot those well—worn refrains we have heard before. he also did touch on the issue of ivf in alabama, calling on there to be a way forward for women who want a treatment. has women who want a treatment. as the women who want a treatment. .th the nikki women who want a treatment. is the nikki haley, she has been saying she believes all embryos should be regarded as children and her path forward in this race does appear to be difficult. she has been doing well with donors but donors are not the same as votes and delegates to ultimately secure the nomination. and right now she is piling up 30% donald trump's 65%. it will be very much an uphill battle for her. —— polling at. 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 longtime 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 recovered nine bodies from two burnt—out apartment blocks in valencia, and say they're still looking for one more missing person who 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. at least 15 people have been killed in a fire at a residential building in eastern china. more than a0 others were injured in the blaze — which happened in the city of nanjing. a preliminary investigation suggests it broke out on the building's ground floor where electric bikes had been placed. the prime minister of hungary has given the green light to sweden's nato membership. viktor 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. 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. 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 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 is one of the most read stories on our website. and before we go, the first successful us moon landing in five decades has hit a snag.

the company behind the mission, intuitive machines, says the 0dysseus moon lander "tipped over on touchdown". have a listen. we think we came down with about six miles an hour this way, and about two miles an hour this way. and we caught a footin hour this way. and we caught a foot in the surface and the lander has tipped like this. and we believe this is the orientation of the lander on the moon. officials say the lander is otherwise in good condition, with plenty of power, and it's in communication with earth. the us spacecraft made history on thursday by becoming the first ever privately—built and operated robot to complete a soft lunar touchdown. i'm sumi somaskanda. that's all from the team here in washington. more at the top of the hour with our team in london. 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 had three times the average rainfall, and there's 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 southwest 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, a good part 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. and then, deeper into the new working week, it stays unsettled, temperatures often near double figures, but there will be rain at times.

hey, i'm dylan with the catch—up. tonight: a world war ii bomb in plymouth. mansplaining goes viral. and a panda party. but first, shamima begum, the 24—year—old who travelled to syria to join the islamic state group when she was 15, has been told by a top court that she can't come back to the uk. she had appealed the government's decision from back in 2019 that strips her of her british citizenship on the grounds of national security. her lawyers say they won't stop fighting until she's home. and if you want to hear more on this story, then check out the shamima begum story podcast on the bbc sounds app. some other stories now. an unexploded world war ii bomb that was found in plymouth has been put in the sea to be detonated. thousands of people were evacuated as the bomb was taken through the city. the 500kg device was transported by the military after it was found buried in a garden on tuesday.

germany has become the latest country in europe to legalise