rematch between donald closer to a rematch between donald trump and joe biden. joe biden got a larger share of the democratic vote than donald trump did of the republican vote so both are winning comfortably in their primary is. donald trump still hasn't consolidated the vote, nikki haley his main opponent is still getting a decent share of the republican primary vote and that vote will be “p primary vote and that vote will be up for grabs primary vote and that vote will be upfor grabs in primary vote and that vote will be up for grabs in the general election so he will have to try and convince nikki haley voters to vote for him and joe biden will have an opportunity to win them over to his side. so we shall see how that plays out over the next several months. regarding mitch mcconnell, what do you think that tells us about where power lies in the republican party? it is a changing of the guard, right, and it is a generational shift. we are seeing trump and his maga followers increasing their influence in the party and it's most

likely that a trump support is going to become the head of the republicans in the us senate. that has real implications to not only the united states but the world. mitch mcconnell has been an advocate for supporting ukraine and trump and his allies are not as favourable in that regard. supportive of aid to ukraine. it could mean a significant impact both in domestic politics in the united states as well as global politics. the united states as well as global olitics. . ~' , ., , the united states as well as global olitics. ., ~ , ., , . the united states as well as global olitics. . ~ ,, , . ., politics. thank you very much for talkin: to politics. thank you very much for talking to our _ politics. thank you very much for talking to our british _ politics. thank you very much for talking to our british audience, i politics. thank you very much for. talking to our british audience, mr tulchin, we appreciate it.- tulchin, we appreciate it. thank ou. so let's take a look at some of the front pages. the front of the daily telegraph is where we are starting. hunt looks at ditching the non—dom tax perk. one of those suggestions in the days in the run—up to the budget. will it happen? will it not? the front page of the guardian, largest review of ultra—processed food warns of 32 damaging effects. and a large

photograph of emma caldwell, a man todayjailed photograph of emma caldwell, a man today jailed for the photograph of emma caldwell, a man todayjailed for the murder of her backin todayjailed for the murder of her back in 2005 and police failed so many, so the family of anna caldwell. the front page of the daily mail. the story we have been reporting of the night, the prime minister tells police chiefs, time to end the mob rule. and richard kay asking what is going on with the royals? the front page of the times, save britain from mob rule, sunak tells the police. they, too, have the leak about the budget, whether it is true or not we will find out a week today, won't we? that is it for tonight. before we go, we just want to say congratulations to our kirsty, who was awarded a very fantastic lifetime achievement rts award by the royal television society tonight — a fitting tribute to 30 fabulous years presenting newsnight. she is amazing. katie razzall�*s here tomorrow.

untilthen, goodnight. hello there. it has been a and hong kong authorities put a one million hong kong dollar bounty on your head, along with seven other pro—democracy activists living overseas. do you worry about the extra—territorial reach of this legislation, how do you see it affecting you, or the wider diaspora in australia for example? definitely because in 2020 national

security— definitely because in 2020 national security law i am already targeted. and new _ security law i am already targeted. and new legislation and heavier penalties and more persecutions from different_ penalties and more persecutions from different aspects of my life and draconian law marking a new hong kong _ draconian law marking a new hong kong of— draconian law marking a new hong kong of completely no freedoms and also deterring people speaking out from overseas and international applications like me. it is targeting me and my colleagues who continue _ targeting me and my colleagues who continue to speak for hong kong, freedom — continue to speak for hong kong, freedom and democracies. police scotland have apologised forfailings in a long running investigation, that left a killer on the loose for almost 20 years. the hunt for the murderer of emma caldwell, who was 27 when she was strangled in 2005, was one of the longest in scottish history. today, iain packer, who's 51, was found guilty of her murder and jailed for life with a minimum of 36 years.

lorna gordon has more emma caldwell, a vulnerable young woman who was murdered in terrifying circumstances. her killer was this man, iain packer, who for a quarter of a century carried out a campaign of sexual violence. you would look for vulnerability and exploit it. you also abused women who were not necessarily vulnerable but were in a vulnerable position. your conduct has caused extreme and enduring suffering for so many women and their families. emma had a happy upbringing but when her sister died from cancer, in her grief, she turned to drugs and then prostitution. she'll always be in our thoughts. she'll always be there. she'll always be my emma.

the trial heard of her mother's anguish, of how she and her late husband scoured the streets of glasgow searching for emma in the weeks after their daughter went missing. packer was a jekyll and hyde character, a violent, obsessive user of sex workers. i don't think i'll ever stop being angry at the police. i'm disgusted with how women were treated back then by the police. they made us fear them rather than see them as safe people that we could go to and make reports. emma's mother was in court to hear packer sentenced for her daughter's murder. afterwards, her solicitor said margaret caldwell had never given up fighting for her daughter and packer's other victims, too. police failed so many women and girls who came forward to speak against packer. instead of receiving justice and compassion, they were humiliated,

dismissed and, in some instances, arrested, while the police gifted freedom to an evil predator to rape and to rape again. police scotland today apologised and said those who spoke up at the time did not get the support they deserved. it is clear that further investigations should have been carried out into emma's murder following the initial inquiry in 2005. the lack of investigation until 2015 caused unnecessary distress to her family and all of those women who came forward to report sexual violence. as emma's killer was sentenced, thejudge praised her family for their courage. they now have justice, but say they will never have closure. lorna gordon, bbc news, at the high court in glasgow. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news.

the body of a migrant has been recovered from the english channel by french rescue workers. two other people are reported missing after a boat got into difficulty off cap—gree—nay near calais. authorities in france say a number of rescue operations took place on wednesday to help around 180 people who were attempting to get to the uk on boats. a power company that has received six billion pounds in uk green subsidies has kept burning wood from some of the world's most precious forests. a bbc panorama investigation has found that drax took timber from rare forests in canada it had claimed were "no go areas". drax says its wood pellets are "sustainable. the rapperja rule says he has been denied entry into the united kingdom just days before his tour was due to start. the us musician was about to kick off the british leg of his latest tour in the welsh capital on friday. he says his criminal record

was the reason for the refusal. you're live with bbc news. the boss of red bull's formula one team, christian horner, has been cleared of �*inappropriate and controlling behaviour�* towards a female colleague. it follows an internal investigation which red bull said had been "fair, rigorous and impartial". laura scott reports. christian horner has been at the helm of red bull racing for nearly two decades, holding the team into a dominant force and becoming one of the most recognisable faces in the paddock, often alongside his former spice girl wife. but his future in the sport was put in jeopardy when allegations of inappropriate behaviour were made against him by a female colleague. at the recent season launch, he emphatically maintained his innocence. can you guarantee you have never behaved inappropriately towards a colleague? i deny any accusations made against me. with the season looming, key figures in the sport had called

for swift resolution. it's very concerning, the allegations are serious and it certainly seems like things should be coming to an end here quickly because we really need to be talking about formula i as we go into the start of the year. just 72 hours before the first race in bahrain came the news he had been cleared of misconduct following an independent investigation. rentable will continue striving to make the highest workplace standards for everybody here in milton keynes has been tried

operate as close to business as usual as possible but christian horner acknowledged this matter has been a distraction as the start of the season looms. only time will tell if results on the track reflects that. this was horner in bahrain last week for testing. he has now returned know he will stay on as team principal and chief executive. he and the sport organises will be relieved the investigation was complete before the lights go out for the first grand prix of the year but, given the chance of an appeal, this might not be the end of the road. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. ghana's parliament has unanimously passed a bill that further restricts the rights of gay and transgender people. it also imposes a maximum five—year jail term forforming or funding lgbtq+ groups. gay sex is already against the law in ghana, carrying a three—year prison sentence. it is the latest sign of growing opposition to lgbtq+ rights in the conservative west african nation. the attorney general�*s office in ecuador says five suspects accused of involvement in the assassination of an anti—corruption presidential

candidate will go on trial. fernando villavicencio was shot dead in quito last august. one gunman was killed at the scene and seven other suspects were murdered injail. two of those to be tried are seniorfigures in the los lobos criminal gang. stand—up comedian and curb your enthusiasm co—star richard lewis has died aged 76. lewis announced last april that he had been diagnosed with parkinson's disease and would retire from stand—up comedy. known for his self—deprecating humour, lewis first rose to prominence in the 1980s. his publicist said he died peacefully in his home in los angeles on tuesday after a suffering a heart attack. wildfires continue to burn out of control in the us state of texas. thousands of residents have been

forced to leave their homes. grace harbage reports from the newsroom. is fast—moving wildfire burning through the texas panhandle has now become the second—largest plays in the states history forcing evacuation in triggering power outages as firefighters struggled to contain the flames. the sprawling places part of a cluster of fires that burned out of control and threaten rural towns and local authorities have been urging residents to their homes. texas fire services the uncontained smoke creek fire has burned 500,000 acres that's more than the size of the city of london. the texas panhandle is this region consisting of the northernmost 26 counties of the state including these two cities of the largest parts of the fire have

jumped over into the bordering city of oklahoma. the fires also led to the evacuation and shutdown of the nuclear weapons facility at this area which was out of an abundance of caution. the facility has since reopened by the plants as they are prepared for the worst. we reopened by the plants as they are prepared for the worst.— reopened by the plants as they are prepared for the worst. we do have a well-equipped _ prepared for the worst. we do have a well-equipped fire _ prepared for the worst. we do have a well-equipped fire department - prepared for the worst. we do have a well-equipped fire department is - well—equipped fire department is trained for the scenarios and on—site and watching and ready should any kind of emergency arise on the flat side. urging texans to avoid activities that could cause sparks and take precautions to keep loved ones safe. authorities haven't said what is because the fires by a combination of high winds and unseasonably warm temperatures and drink grass are fuelling the fires. the national

weather service with weak wings are expected which authorities hope will help them fight the fires. and austria there also wildfires forcing some 30,000 people to evacuate and before we go, a reminder of our top stories and breaking news from the united states, supreme court has agreed to decide if donald trump has immunity from prosecution on election interference charges and so, a lot more on our website and a lot more to come on newsday. do you stay with bbc news. hello there. sunshine was a scarce commodity across the uk on wednesday — but we had most of it in eastern scotland, with just over four hours of sunshine in edinburgh. however, the rest of us, rather cloudy, gray and at times wet — but it was mild with it. however, as the rain continues to push south and east,

the wind direction is changing. we'll see a return to some colder air across our shores. so thursday will start off mild but wet across southeast england and east anglia. quite a lot of cloud generally across england and wales, with the best of any brighter skies into northern ireland, scotland — northwest scotland seeing a real rash of showers, accompanied by gale—force gusts of winds through the day. it will start to turn colder generally across scotland, 6—9 celsius, maybe double digits for a time before that front clears through in the southeast. but, as we move out of thursday into friday, we see this next frontal system moving in — and, as temperatures fall away through the night, bumping into that colder air which is sitting in place across the country, yes, we could see a return to some wintriness. it'll going to be across higher ground — generally temperatures will be sitting around freezing first thing on friday morning, perhaps below in eastern scotland. but there'll be a risk of some snow above 200 metres in northern ireland, scottish borders, across the pennines, and into north wales. we could see a few centimetres accumulating, so that might cause some minor disruption,

but it will be rain elsewhere. so you can see, circulating around that low pressure, is that frontal system — and it will bring some sunny spells and scattered showers, a mixture of rain, sleet and snow at times across wales and southwest england, perhaps drier into the far north of scotland. but temperatures a little bit down — 6—9 celsius. don't forget, friday is the first day of march, so these values just below par for this time of year. then, as we move into the start of the weekend, we maintain the sunny spells and scattered showers — and the wind direction still coming from the north, so it will feel quite cold, and we could still have a wintry flavour with any elevation. so again, 6—7 celsius the expected high. but as we move out of saturday into sunday, we see another frontal system bringing a spell of more organised rain for a time — again, on the leading edge, there could be some wintry showers — but it will be rain eventually as that front moves through. so the weekend will stay pretty unsettled for most of us. take care.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines at the top of the hour as newsday continues, straight after hardtalk.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. how do we make sense of the world we live in? many of us rely on a diet of news and information. evidence, facts, truths — we think of these as the building blocks of reality. but in a world in which it is increasingly hard to distinguish the real from the fake, sometimes the most telling observations come from the writers of contemporary fiction — like my guest today, novelist and computer games creator naomi alderman. her latest story is an apocalyptic techno thriller. is the apocalypse that she imagines all too possible?