live from london, this is bbc news. free at last — three americans and a kremlin critic imprisoned in russia arrive on us soil, part of the biggest prisoner swap deal since the cold war. myjob is to make sure, number one that they don't get them, and if they do, we get them back. i don't buy this idea that you let these people rot injail. the deal frees 2a prisoners and two minors held in seven countries, including convicted russian fsb hitman vadim krasikov. the body of the hamas political leader ismail haniyeh is now in qatar, where a special prayer service has been held before his burial north of doha. in the uk, seven men are charged

with violent disorder after a riot breaks out in hartlepool linked to monday's mass stabbing in southport. and it's day seven of the olympics, with 25 medals up for grabs. netherlands takes gold in the women's rowing pair final and croatia wins for the men. hello. i'm annita mcveigh. welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. presidentjoe biden and vice president kamala harris have greeted american detainees at an airbase outside washington, following their release from russia as part of a prisoner swap — the largest since the cold war. the plane carrying the two us journalists, evan gershkovich and alsu kurmasheva, ex—marine paul whelan

and leading kremlin critic vladimir kara—murza landed late at night. family members of those who'd been detained — some for several years — were there, as emotional scenes played out on the tarmac. president biden said he was grateful for the diplomatic co—operation from many other countries involved in the negotiations. in total, ten russians, including two children, have been exchanged for 16 westerners and russians imprisoned in russia. our north america correspondent will grant sent this report from the andrews air force base. cheering. greeted by a presidential embrace. after more days behind bars than they'd care to remember, finally a night they'll neverforget. the arrival of the three americans at andrews air base marks the end of their ordeal in russia, and the defining image of the biggest prisoner swap since the cold war.

this is a historic moment, however you look at it — politically, diplomatically or, for the families involved, just emotionally. some of the most high—profile us prisoners of modern times back on us soil. on the tarmac to meet them, president biden and vice president harris. one soon to leave office, the other hoping to take over. myjob is to make sure, number one, they don't get them. and if they do, we get them back. i don't buy this idea that you're going to let these people rot injail. reached against the backdrop of a full—scale war in ukraine, this prisoner swap was uniquely complex. it involved 26 people in seven different nations. as well as wall streetjournal reporter evan gershkovich and ex—marine paul whelan, moscow freed a russian—american journalist, alsu kurmasheva.

among several prominent kremlin critics released was vladimir kara—murza, while in return moscow got back this man, convicted assassin and fsb colonel vadim krasikov. the family of evan gershkovich echoed the position of all the relatives, expressing heartfelt thanks that their son was free, saying, "we have waited 491 days for evan's release and it's hard to describe what today feels like. "we can't wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close." so even amid the glare of the world's media, this is also a uniquely private moment for the former prisoners and their families. a homecoming which at times they must have feared might never come. will grant, bbc news, washington. let's speak to our correspondent sarah rainsford who is in berlin. it is fascinating is more details emerge about the people involved in this exchange. you have been hearing

about one man who is a kremlin critic and is now in germany. yes. critic and is now in germany. yes, there has — critic and is now in germany. yes, there has been _ critic and is now in germany. yes, there has been a _ critic and is now in germany. yes, there has been a lot _ critic and is now in germany. yes, there has been a lot of _ critic and is now in germany. yes, there has been a lot of focus - there has been a lot of focus initially on the american prisoners who are released that were election to thereby will in his report, but as part of this unprecedented deal, we have seen some prominent russian political prisoners being released, and oleg orlov is one of them. he was one of the co—founders of the extremely and respected group which was a human rights group in russia set up back in the dying days of the soviet union, an organisation which won the nobel prize but which is banned in its own country, and so oleg orlov is one of those who has been freed. he was serving two and a half years for supposedly discrediting the russian military by

condemning the war in ukraine. he is undergoing medical checks, but his wife has said via memorial that his voice is lively and his health is ok. he apparently quite hadn't understood yet how far he is from russia because he was not told anything about this exchange before it happened, nobody asked if he was wanted to be a part of it, he was simply taken from his prison cell. the first thing he guessed about what was happening is when he was on board the bus and heading for the airport. he has also underlined in his first comments made to his family that he never asked president putin for a pardon, family that he never asked president putinfora pardon, he family that he never asked president putin for a pardon, he never signed any papers, and that is clearly meant to underline the fact that oleg orlov has been released, but he never has admitted his guilt, he always has maintained that he was innocent of what he was accused of, but he is also underlined that it is important not to forget those left behind. he is from memorial, and it

currently has 215 political prisoners in russia on its main list, and so his message was don't forget those who are still in prison in russia because of their politics. interesting to hear from the german chancellor who was once praised by joe biden from the white house yesterday, and olaf scholz has been saying, we are talking about how hard it has been for germany to agree to this swap.— hard it has been for germany to agree to this swap. that's right. germany's _ agree to this swap. that's right. germany's roll— agree to this swap. that's right. germany's roll has _ agree to this swap. that's right. germany's roll has been - agree to this swap. that's right. germany's roll has been pivotal| agree to this swap. that's right. i germany's roll has been pivotal in this entire deal. if germany hadn't agreed that vadim krasikov could go back to russia, this deal wouldn't have happened. in the kremlin has confirmed in the last hour or so that he is an fsb agent, so formal confirmation of that. but germany did agree under a lot of pressure which is being debated heavily in the press here at the moment whether

that was the right thing to do. it was obviously a legal and moral conundrum for germany, but olaf scholz has defended it. he has said that it ultimately was about reconnecting germans, because five germans or dual national citizens have been returned as part of this prisoner swap with russia. he also said it was about showing solidarity with the united states, and a very important ally for germany, and he said it was also about standing up for russians who were standing up for russians who were standing up for democracy in their country, and who had been discussing that, so a big decision for germany but a critical one to this exchange. sarah rainsford, thank _ critical one to this exchange. sarah rainsford, thank you _ critical one to this exchange. sarah rainsford, thank you very - critical one to this exchange. sarah rainsford, thank you very much. i let's speak to deborah ball, asia editor at the wall streetjournal. she used to manage evan gershkovich directly in her previous role as deputy world editor. deborah, really good to have you with us, and so many interviews have been done prior to this talking

about evan, his captivity, and you and all your colleagues must be jubilant about the fact that he is now free once again. we jubilant about the fact that he is now free once again.— jubilant about the fact that he is now free once again. we can't even aet our now free once again. we can't even get our heads _ now free once again. we can't even get our heads around _ now free once again. we can't even get our heads around the _ now free once again. we can't even get our heads around the fact - now free once again. we can't even get our heads around the fact that l get our heads around the fact that this has finally happened. the release that we feel in this newsroom is indescribable. i think we were afraid of how long it would take to see this day. we knew he would get out sooner or later, but when he finally was handed over to the americans yesterday, it was just at the end of a long ordealfor him, his family and for all of us. find his family and for all of us. and those scenes _ his family and for all of us. and those scenes on _ his family and for all of us. and those scenes on the _ his family and for all of us. and those scenes on the tarmac, being greeted by the president, the vice president, obviously being reunited with his family, and then going over to talk to gathered media and being greeted by them, welcomed back by them as well, it was a very heart—warming to see, obviously. that is evan, and we saw him grabbing his mother and lifting her off the ground. the floodgates open for all of us again. evan is an

extraordinary young man, and the grace, the good humour, the resilience he showed in prison, you can see how well he held up. regardless of such seeing him get off that plane and seeing that he is well, that he is ok, wasjust an immense relief to all of us. film well, that he is ok, wasjust an immense relief to all of us. oh no ou immense relief to all of us. oh no you haven't _ immense relief to all of us. oh no you haven't had _ immense relief to all of us. oh no you haven't had a _ immense relief to all of us. oh no you haven't had a chance - immense relief to all of us. oh no you haven't had a chance to - immense relief to all of us. 0h noj you haven't had a chance to speak immense relief to all of us. oh no i you haven't had a chance to speak to him directly, since he has stepped off that plane. lots of people will want to talk to and of course. how do you think he will cope after that activity. how do you think he will cope, and presumably he wants to get back to work in due course, but to reintegrate after that period in prison? he reintegrate after that period in rison? ., ., , prison? he will go through this eriod prison? he will go through this period now _ prison? he will go through this period now where _ prison? he will go through this period now where he _ prison? he will go through this period now where he will - prison? he will go through this - period now where he will decompress from everything that has happened. i trust he will want to spend a good amount of time with family and close friends in the states. we wrote in

an article yesterday, he has already indicated that he wants to get back, and one of his wishes is to interview vladimir putin, and that tells him everything we need to know about his intentions. he will have some time to think about what he wants to do next. he has a treasured place in this newsroom, and we can't wait to get him back and have his byline in the paper as opposed to writing about him in a prison. deborah, good to talk to you. deborah, good to talk to you. deborah ball, asia editor of the wall streetjournal. around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news.

hamas has called for "a day of furious rage" to mark the funeral in doha of its political leader, ismael haniyeh, who was assassinated in iran on wednesday. his body has been taken to a cemetery outside doha where he is being buried in a simple

muslim ceremony. hundreds of mourners attended the funeral prayers at the state mosque. and officals from a number of arab and muslim countries have been attending, as well as prominent figures from fatah, the main rival palestinian faction to hamas. hamas and iran have both vowed revenge on israel, which hasn't confirmed that it carried out the attack. early in the week, israel did claim responsibility for a rocket strike in the lebanese capital, beirut, which killed a top commander in the iranian—backed group hezbollah. and on thursday, israel also confirmed that an air strike in gaza last month had succeeded in killing mohammad daif. hopes to secure the

release of hostages seem to be at a standstill as fears of a wider regional war remain. let's speak to our middle east correspondent yolande knell, who's injerusalem. so many people effectively holding their breath, waiting to see what that retaliation will be, where it will come. what is the mood in israel? i will come. what is the mood in israel? ~ , ., israel? i think you can say the whole region _ israel? i think you can say the whole region is _ israel? i think you can say the whole region is still— israel? i think you can say the whole region is still very - israel? i think you can say the| whole region is still very much israel? i think you can say the - whole region is still very much on edge. it has been an extremely tense week that has a really raised the fear of a wider escalation at this idea that the war in gaza could be turning into a wider regional war, particularly a full—fledged war between israel and hezbollah in lebanon next door, bringing in other powers in the region and other proxies of iran around the region. and we see that as much as you can look around you and see here that normal life does go on, there have not been special new practices

recommended to the israeli public, certainly people do feel there is something different happening, a lot of flights coming into israel, flights also going to lebanon have been delayed or cancelled, lots of concerns about what could be going on in airspace. we know there is a lot of international diplomacy going on in the background to try to calm things down. people are listening very closely to the speech by the hezbollah leader in which he said that there would be retaliation, but it would be very well studied for the killing of that senior hezbollah commander in beirut. and he is somebody who is a very close adviser, it has hit that organisation hard, and also hamas, the dynamics of the organisation have been changed by the losses it has suffered and that the israeli military has said it has dealt the organisation, also in the shape of

mohammad in recent weeks. thank you ve much, mohammad in recent weeks. thank you very much, yolande _ mohammad in recent weeks. thank you very much, yolande knell. _ let's speak to dr abdullah abdullah, deputy commissioner of the central committee of the palestinian political faction fatah, which rules the occupied west bank. thank you for taking the time to talk to us. a high level delegation from fatah has attended the funeral. fatah and hamas have been bitter rivals for a long time, so why has it been important for fatah to attend? , ,., attend? there might be some differences — attend? there might be some differences in _ attend? there might be some differences in tactics, - attend? there might be some differences in tactics, in - attend? there might be some| differences in tactics, in action tactics, between hamas and fatah, but finally both of us are seeking the ending of the israeli occupation of our land and the restoration of our country of palestine as a member of the international community. so

this is for all palestinians, irrespective of the ideology or the policies, and we feel israel is bringing the whole region into disarray and instability, and the unfortunate thing is that the united states of america is publicly declaring its backing of israel, its protection of israel, and it supports the actions of israel. ads, supports the actions of israel. a lot to talk about today. let's begin with the humanitarian crisis in gaza, and also on the israeli side, the pause by the families of the hostages for them asking for them to be returned, the calls. kennedy will be returned, the calls. kennedy will be brokered to cope with the humanitarian crisis in the return of the hostages. i

humanitarian crisis in the return of the hostages-_ the hostages. i think it is complicated. _ the hostages. i think it is complicated. according l the hostages. i think it is| complicated. according to the hostages. i think it is- complicated. according to strategy of benjamin netanyahu, all sectors of benjamin netanyahu, all sectors of the israeli society, and of course netanyahu before and after he went to the american congress where he said a lot of lies, he came back to prolong the war. he wants to expand the area of the walk on the fronts of the war. now everybody is coming to his aid, or his assistants. his aggressive nature endangers not only the peoples of the region, but his own people, the

israelis in his country. find the region, but his own people, the israelis in his country.— the region, but his own people, the israelis in his country. and when we talk about this _ israelis in his country. and when we talk about this region, _ israelis in his country. and when we talk about this region, about - israelis in his country. and when we talk about this region, about the . talk about this region, about the middle east, different parties to what is going on there will say, well, this individual has carried out this particular act. another party will say, but this is our response. it was provoked by this. at the end of the day, do you think that what we are looking at here is a wider regional conflict potentially, and what is it going to take to actually deal with those key issues that we've talked about for a long time now, the humanitarian crisis in gaza, the release of the hostages to be returned to their families? do you think that there is any possibility of reviving the diplomatic efforts to try to achieve that? i diplomatic efforts to try to achieve that? 4' diplomatic efforts to try to achieve that? ~ , , diplomatic efforts to try to achieve that? 4' , , ' . that? i think it is very difficult. their only _ that? i think it is very difficult.

they only talk _ that? i think it is very difficult. they only talk about _ that? i think it is very difficult. they only talk about 115 - that? i think it is very difficult. they only talk about 115 israeli | they only talk about 115 israeli hostages in gaza, but they never said a word about the 1000 palestinians detained in the west bank. the number not known, and in the gaza strip, they torture, they murder. you remember it provoked some reaction from the israelis themselves when they were tortured ijy themselves when they were tortured by israeli soldiers in a detention camp in israel, and some of these detainees were killed, admittedly by the israeli guards, and now the heads of the hospitals, no one talks about this. no one talks about the

famine because the israelis are preventing aids supplies, medical supplies the coming into the country. and if we talk about civilian or humanitarian situation, i think the one most focused on gaza, now they talk about stopping their control, and the 15 members of their control, and the 15 members of the security council sincejune, the last resolution, 37 called for an immediate ceasefire, and if the security council cannot talk about human rights, talk about this, i think it means nothing.-

think it means nothing. doctor abdullah abdullah, _ think it means nothing. doctor abdullah abdullah, thank - think it means nothing. doctor abdullah abdullah, thank you | think it means nothing. doctor- abdullah abdullah, thank you very much for your time. unfortunately, we are out of time for this interview, but that was doctor abdullah abdullah, deputy commissioner of the central committee of fatah. here in the uk, seven men have been charged with violent disorder after a riot broke out in hartlepool. it follows multiple pockets of unrest across england in the aftermath of a stabbing attack in the town of southport. one of the men has also been charged with assaulting an emergency worker. sir keir starmer has condemned the far—right demonstrators and announced that police forces across the country are to co—operate more on tackling violent disorder. police have also released the images of eight other people they want to identify after objects were hurled outside a hotel housing migrants during a protest in aldershot. with more on this here's our political correspondent damian grammaticas. tuesday in southport, and the violence that followed the fatal stabbings.

the riots were fuelled by misinformation on social media and outsiders intent on causing trouble. yesterday, it was quiet. for a second day, police were given temporary powers to stop and search anyone suspected of carrying a weapon or planning any criminal act. after southport, the disorder had spread. this was hartlepool on wednesday. the prime minister said it was the work of the far right showing who they are. 11 arrests were made here, and there was unrest, too, in london, manchester and aldershot. so, summoned to downing street yesterday, police chiefs, here for an emergency meeting with the new government. sir keir starmer promised a new national capability to tackle the violence. these thugs are mobile, they move from community to community, and we must have a policing response that can do the same. shared intelligence, wider deployment of facial recognition technology and preventative action — criminal behaviour orders to restrict their movements.

in london, more than 100 arrests were made. the police say they are now ready if more violence happens. what i committed to the prime minister to do today was to write to all those commanders to be very explicit about new guidance and rapid learning from these events, about how we separate what might be legitimate protest from what is, frankly, downright violent crime. and so that we can intervene more quickly, we can arrest offenders, we can act to deter, and we can work with the criminal justice system to bring those people to very swiftjustice if people break the law. sir keir starmer also had a message for social media networks. he said whipping up disorder online was a crime and it was happening on their watch. damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster.

the world health organization says that more than 175,000 people die annually from extreme heat in europe. it says heat —related deaths in the region have increased by 30% over the past two decades. the who warned that more people would die from heat —related symptoms in the coming years as a result of global warming. it noted that temperatures in europe were rising at around twice the global average rate. do stay with us here on bbc news. we will be talking a little more about the situation in the middle east on the situation in the middle east on the day that the political leader of hamas has been buried in qatar. we will also be talking more about that prisoner exchange which unfolded again yesterday. the biggest since the end of the cold war, with some 26 people exchanged in that deal involving seven countries. you are watching bbc news.

hello again. this morning's mist and fog across parts of southern and south—eastern england continue to lift. if you have an allergy to pollen, the levels today are higher, more than we have seen in recent days. generally speaking they are low to moderate and we are talking wheat and nettle pollen in particular. the chance of a few showers in eastern england, but for most it will be dry, sunny and warm. we have a cold front bringing in some rain, cloud and strengthening winds to the west. ahead of it the cloud will build with one or two showers. temperatures 16 to 27, but we could see 28 or 29 and here it will still be muggy in the south—east. in the evening and overnight the weather front continues to sink southwards and eastwards. it starts to break up and turn more showery. ahead of it, clear skies and feeling muggy, behind it clear skies but with scattered showers.

but it will feel fresher behind that cold front. temperatures in scotland and northern ireland nine to 12 degrees, 15 to 17 as we push further south, it is still muggy in the south. on saturday this is the weather front pushing towards the south—east. it could rejuvenate in the south—western end. although we start with cloud and showers, we could see heavier showers in the channel islands and hampshire and dorset. to the north of that, drier with sunshine and again scattered showers, especially across scotland and northern ireland. fresher for more of us tomorrow, but still quite muggy across the south—east even though the temperatures will be that little bit lower. as we head through saturday night and into sunday, we say goodbye to the weather front with a ridge of high pressure building across us, but then we have the next area of low pressure coming in during the day. on sunday a lot of cloud around,

some sunnier breaks in eastern areas and we could catch one or two showers from the thickest cloud, but through the day the wind will strengthen and the cloud will build and the rain will arrive in the west. temperatures 1a to 2a, but feeling fresher across the board. beyond that into the new week it still remains fairly unsettled. there will be showers with rain at times and there will still be sunshine and temperatures round about where we would expect them to be at this stage.

this is bbc news. the headlines: free at last — three americans and a kremlin critic imprisoned in russia arrive on us soil as part of the biggest prisoner swap deal since the cold war. myjob is to make sure, number one, they don't get them, and if they do, we get them back. i don't buy this idea that you are going to let these people rot injail. the deal frees 2a prisoners and two minors held in seven countries, including convicted russian fsb hitman vadim krasikov. the body of the hamas political leader ismail haniyeh is now in qatar, where a special prayer service has been held before his burial north of doha. in the uk, seven men are charged with violent disorder after a riot breaks out in hartlepool, linked to monday's mass

stabbing in southport.