live from washington, this is bbc news. live from washington, this is bbc new-— live from washington, this is bbc newe— live from washington, this is bbc news. ~ a, , live from washington, this is bbc news. ~ ., , ., bbc news. were not giving up on that! us president _ bbc news. were not giving up on that! us president joe _ bbc news. were not giving up on that! us president joe biden - that! us president joe biden sa s he that! us president joe biden says he will _ that! us president joe biden says he will press _ that! us president joe biden says he will press moscow i that! us president joe biden| says he will press moscow to release and american jailed in russia after a historic prisoner swap. venezuela claims the us is behind a coup attempt after the biden administration says the opposition won a disputed presidential election. plus — the middle east bracing for a possible iranian response to the hamas chief. hello, i'm carl nazanin, welcome to the programme. after the largest prisoner exchange between the west and russia since the cold war, presentjoe biden said the white house will continue to pressure russia to release another american left

out of that deal. it comes in the face of criticism from the family of mark vogel, an english schoolteacher from pennsylvania. you can see him here on the right being detained at a russian airport in 2021, where he was found to be carrying a small amount of medical marijuana. he's now serving a year sentence. in a statement, mr vogel�*s family said... three of the released americans have landed in the united states, meeting the families along with president joe biden and vice president kamala harris. evan gershkovich, paulwhalen kamala harris. evan gershkovich, paul whalen were then flown to san antonio, texas for medical and psych logical evaluations. jeremy boehner ports on the moments leading up to that homecoming. president biden invited the families of the released americans to the oval office, and they rang the play. pare americans to the oval office, and they rang the play. are not as aood and they rang the play. are not as good as _ and they rang the play. are not as good as your— and they rang the play. are not as good as your families - as good as your families are feeling, but i'll stand around

—— they're all standing around the oval office. -- they're all standing around the oval office.— -- they're all standing around the oval office. counting down the oval office. counting down the minutes — the oval office. counting down the minutes to _ the oval office. counting down the minutes to their— the oval office. counting down the minutes to their return. . the oval office. counting down the minutes to their return. i l the minutes to their return. i miss you so much! when - the minutes to their return. i | miss you so much! when they landed outside _ miss you so much! when they landed outside washington, l miss you so much! when they i landed outside washington, evan gershkovich appeared and vice president harris was distracted. "he's right behind you." this was a good day for president biden — she hasn't had many lately. and an even better one for the families. the wall streetjournal reporter hadn't forgotten the prisoners he'd left behind in russia. i prisoners he'd left behind in russia. , , , prisoners he'd left behind in russia. , ,, ., ., russia. i 'ust spent a month in rison russia. ijust spent a month in prison where _ russia. ijust spent a month in prison where it's _ russia. ijust spent a month in prison where it's basically - prison where it's basically a whole. everyone i sat with was a political prisoner.— a political prisoner. paul wheeling _ a political prisoner. paul wheeling was _ a political prisoner. paul wheeling was held - a political prisoner. paul wheeling was held for l a political prisoner. paul wheeling was held for spying — which he denies — during a two week trip to russia in 2019. it's a longtime coming, glad to he — it's a longtime coming, glad to be back. a it's a long time coming, glad to be back. �* ,, . ~ to be back. a russian-american “ournalist to be back. a russian-american journalist was _ to be back. a russian-american journalist was arrested - to be back. a russian-american journalist was arrested in - to be back. a russian-american journalist was arrested in july i journalist was arrested in july next year. her husband said she was sentenced to 6.5 years because she'd written a book

about russian opposed to the war in ukraine.— war in ukraine. trump is callin: war in ukraine. trump is calling this _ war in ukraine. trump is calling this one - war in ukraine. trump is calling this one for- war in ukraine. trump isj calling this one for other countries. i asked them to do some things that were against their immediate self—interest, and difficult for them to do. slovenia released a russian couple... president putin greeted the couple in spanish. germany freed an assassin now confirmed as a russian agent by the kremlin. he killed an exiled chechen commander in berlin. vladimir putin has set a precedent, arresting foreign citizens for barter works as a way to exert pressure on an enemy. jeremy bowen, bbc news, washington. earlier i spoke to congresswoman haley stevens, a democrat from michigan, where paul whelen is one of her

constituents. what's been your reaction to the freeing fired only after so many years of paul whelen, only after so many years of paulwhelen, have only after so many years of paul whelen, have you been able to speak with him? we paulwhelen, have you been able to speak with him?— to speak with him? i've not soken to speak with him? i've not spoken to _ to speak with him? i've not spoken to paul, _ to speak with him? i've not spoken to paul, but - to speak with him? i've not spoken to paul, but i - to speak with him? i've not spoken to paul, but i am i spoken to paul, but i am elated, overjoyed, the community is rejoicing, it's certainly in touch with the family of paul whelan, respecting that paul is probably invaded democrat inundated. you heard him say yesterday, "i just want a steak dinner." i'm hoping paulwhelan got his steak dinner after 2048 daysin got his steak dinner after 2048 days in detention in russia. just remarkable perseverance, we never lost faith — almost three years ago to the date, i held a press conference with some colleagues in front of the capital, calling on russia to release paul. and yesterday, he was finally home, and it was

amazing to see him hug his amazing to see him hug his amazing sister, elizabeth, who work so hard, and i can't wait to see him with his family. we will continue to be there for him as he rebuilds his life. we saw him there on the tarmac, and he said, "it's along saw him there on the tarmac, and he said, "it's a longtime coming." i know you've been working with this family over these many years — how difficult of a process was this for paul and his family to keep up for paul and his family to keep up hope during this entire time? i up hope during this entire time? . ,., . up hope during this entire time? . . ,, . time? i have so much respect and admiration _ time? i have so much respect and admiration for— time? i have so much respect and admiration for paul - time? i have so much respect i and admiration for paul whelan. he's such a dedicated individual, he had a remarkable career in michigan manufacturing the automotive space, he was in a global cyber security role. there were people i know who remember working with him in various jobs. he had the foresight through some of the hardest days of all this to see the big

picture, to communicate appropriately and where he could — there's reports coming out now that he was a little bit of a troublemaker in the right ways in that prison, in terms of sticking to his guns — but also navigating that circumstance. and we can't forget the psychological pressure put on him by the russians, giving him a razor, depriving him of reading material, only speaking to him in russian when he wasn't fluent. and on our end, it was knowing what levers to pull and when. you must remember, this detainment has gone through two presidential administrations, a global pandemic, russia's illegal war in ukraine. i believe paul whelan was the canary in the coal mine to vladimir putin's lawlessness — i told the ukrainian community in my constituency that i've been battling vladimir putin since my first day in office, which began shortly after paul

was unjustly detained. and he's changed the world and the face of this country. we've passed laws to designate wrongful detention day and recognise the detainees and hostages — we heard... national hostage day, resources for families like his who have spent so much time and money navigating throughout the federal government. and we've got more to do.— federal government. and we've got more to do. mexico says the us has gone _ got more to do. mexico says the us has gone too _ got more to do. mexico says the us has gone too far _ got more to do. mexico says the us has gone too far by - us has gone too far by recognising the opposition candidate as the winner of venezuela's candidate. he said no country had the right to intervene in an internal matter. he said the biden menstruation risks creating instability in the region. venezuela declared mr maduro the winner of the election, but the winner of the election, but the opposition said it independent of the collected

results from polling stations which showed its candidate far ahead with a 67%. on thursday, antony blinken posted this on x, saying... that call was also backed by the governments of argentina and panama, and go away. more than 1000 antigovernment protesters have been arrested since preliminary results were announced on monday. from caracas, our south american correspondent ione wells has more. these people desperately want answered democrat answers. where are their families? was happening to them? are they in here? this woman spots a relative inside.

all of them have relatives who were arrested in antigovernment protests. the son of isabella — who didn't want us to use her real name — was one of them. translation: real name - was one of them. translation:— real name - was one of them. translation: the national guard . rabbed translation: the national guard crabbed m translation: the national guard grabbed my son — translation: the national guard grabbed my son unjustly - translation: the national guard grabbed my son unjustly because | grabbed my son unjustly because he was not harming anyone. my son did not have stones or weapons — he only protested. they beat him, they accused him of being a terrorist for defending their country for wanting a change. through tears, wanting a change. through tears. she _ wanting a change. through tears, she told _ wanting a change. through tears, she told me - wanting a change. through tears, she told me she - wanting a change. through| tears, she told me she just wanted a better future for their children in the country. translation: i their children in the country. translation:— their children in the country. translation: i haven't been able to see — translation: i haven't been able to see him _ translation: i haven't been able to see him or— translation: i haven't been able to see him or pass - translation: i haven't been able to see him or pass him l able to see him or pass him food. i can't even hand him his clothes. i don't know if he's been beaten, i don't know if he has eaten. there's so much misery, people eating in the

streets, many people dying in hospital. my daughter and son left university because there are no teachers. i have a granddaughter who died on the 6th of december last year because there was no oxygen in the hospitals, no medical supplies in the hospitals. lawyers say people inside aren't allowed private lawyers. in a country where the judiciary and public lawyers are controlled by the government.- are controlled by the rovernment. , , , . government. these public defenders _ government. these public defenders archly - government. these public defenders archly part - government. these public defenders archly part of. government. these public. defenders archly part of the government. these public- defenders archly part of the so it's a _ defenders archly part of the so it's a whole stay of tribunals, the prosecutor, the public defenders — of the one who accuses _ defenders — of the one who accuses you is the one who defends— accuses you is the one who defends you.— accuses you is the one who defends ou. ., , defends you. thousands turned out for peaceful _ defends you. thousands turned out for peaceful protests. - out for peaceful protests. 0thers turned more tense — tear gas and rubber bullets fired at protesters by armed police and military. cars, tires, rubber set on fire. president maduro accused the opposition of

starting a coup. translation: , , ., translation: this is all directed by _ translation: this is all directed by a _ translation: this is all directed by a perverse i translation: this is all. directed by a perverse and macabre _ directed by a perverse and macabre duo— directed by a perverse and macabre duo that - directed by a perverse and macabre duo that has - directed by a perverse and macabre duo that has to i directed by a perverse and i macabre duo that has to take responsibility. _ macabre duo that has to take responsibility. it's _ macabre duo that has to take responsibility. it's not - macabre duo that has to take responsibility. it's notjust. responsibility. it's notjust criminal— responsibility. it's notjust criminal because - responsibility. it's notjust criminal because of - responsibility. it's notjust criminal because of the i criminal because of the violence. _ criminal because of the violence, but _ criminal because of the violence, but because i criminal because of the - violence, but because they looked _ violence, but because they looked for _ violence, but because they looked for criminals - violence, but because they looked for criminals to - violence, but because they i looked for criminals to attack their— looked for criminals to attack their own _ looked for criminals to attack their own people. _ looked for criminals to attack their own people.— looked for criminals to attack their own people. mass arrests and detentions _ their own people. mass arrests and detentions are _ their own people. mass arrests and detentions are nothing - their own people. mass arrests| and detentions are nothing new in this country — there were hundreds of political prisoners in venezuela even before the election. but now that the president has asked courts to take action against those protesting, it looks inevitable that that will increase. determination protests, the fear of punishment expanding. ione wells, bbc news. the latin american regional mayor director gave me his thoughts on the venezuelan election. antony blinken saying there is overwhelming evidence that the opposition won this election —

what does your organisation see there on the ground, do you agree with that assessment? thank you for the opportunity to be here. definitely, this has been — i can say this has been the biggest fraud or rigged election in latin america's history. we saw this coming up, we saw how it was leading as an uneven, unfair playing field for the opposition in venezuela. you saw candidates that kok was qualified —— that got disqualified, and uneven access to political financing, disqualified, and uneven access to politicalfinancing, and no international observation that could guarantee this election would be free. we saw this leading up — and then finally the result that we all knew would happen. if you go back to the 2018 elections, those were highly questioned, which was the first election of president maduro. if you go even further

backin maduro. if you go even further back in history, in 2004, president chavez the referendum and were strong implications that invigorated the numbers in favour of the president. so this was a big possibility not only the obstacles that were put in place, but also the possibility that they would not respect the outcome and read the result. respect the outcome and read the result-— the result. the us has also recognised _ the result. the us has also recognised the _ the result. the us has also recognised the opposition l recognised the opposition candidate, edmundo gonzales, as the winner of the election. but mexico coming out and criticising that move, saying this risks regional stability — what you make of that, should countries be recognising gonzales as the winner? this is very important. _ gonzales as the winner? this is very important, and _ gonzales as the winner? this is very important, and it - gonzales as the winner? this is very important, and it has - gonzales as the winner? this is very important, and it has us i very important, and it has us in latin america completely split. we saw the immediate countries that congratulated maduro's victory, nicaragua, honduras, but there was no surprise there. but we saw mexico recognising maduro, brazil — it's surprising

because mexico and its president always says he respects the self—determination of the people, and they are clearly not respecting the decision the majority of venezuelans took on sunday. brazil was encouraging because we saw president lula, leading up we saw president lula, leading up to the elections, telling president maduro he should respect, no matter the outcome, the results. but now we are seeing less critical positioning and siding with him. columbia is very surprising because if there's one country that suffers immediately the impact of the humanitarian crisis and migration crisis in venezuela, it's columbia. so i think you should not see this through the ideological lens, but through the human rights lens, that this is unbelievable how these countries are not trying to see the reality. as you mentioned in the beginning, there are others, argentina, uruguay, panama and the us that are taking this next step in recognising the opposition leaders as the winners of this election. �* , , .,

election. it's interesting to see. election. it's interesting to see- you _ election. it's interesting to see. you touched - election. it's interesting to see. you touched on - election. it's interesting to see. you touched on this l see. you touched on this earlier but i want to read you something you said earlier — you said the alleged fraud in venezuela did not happen overnight, it's a systematic and prolonged process. walk us through what you meant by that. correct, in this case, fraud was clearly done because there was clearly done because there was a clear alteration of the election results. but usually what you do is you take every provision to make it impossible for anybody else to win the election — and one clear example is to capture the institutions of a country. as you know, the institutions, the courts, the supreme court and secondary courts in venezuela are completely co—opted by the regime. and in this case, the national elections council in venezuela has been co—opted by

the regime since along venezuela has been co—opted by the regime since a longtime ago. there was a small moment of hope with the previous word of hope with the previous word of the c and e, was finally selected by the national assembly after more than 50 years of being selected by a court, where to opposition members came into the c and e. but they dismantled that board and elected a new one completely full of political cronies close to the regime, unfortunately. so what we are seeing is a complete lack of democratic principles and electoral integrity during this whole process, and of course on elections day —— c and e. around the world and across the uk, you're watching bbc news. let's look at some other stories making headlines. police wearing riot gear are trying to control several protesters in sunderland. after

three children were fatally stabbed in southport on monday. a soldier who became the face of the british army recruitment campaign has won damages from the army after she experienced racism and sexism. gary and knight said she's suffered racism ever sincejoining knight said she's suffered racism ever since joining the army in 2011. she accepted the settlement last month although the ministry of defence has not admitted liability. a new report is warning the government will struggle to meet its target of 6500 more teachers in england... women over 30 are leaving the profession. your live with bbc news. the us says it will deploy more defensive military support to the middle east. the department

of defence says it aims to strengthen protection for us troops in the region and israel in response to growing threats from iran and iranian backed fighters. the announcement came after the funeral ceremony in qatarfor after the funeral ceremony in qatar for the hamas after the funeral ceremony in qatarfor the hamas political qatar for the hamas political leader who qatarfor the hamas political leader who was assassinated in iran on wednesday. officials from a number of arab and muslim countries attended — its most prominent figures... his coffin was taken to a ceremony where he was buried in a simple ceremony. hamas and iran have vowed revenge for the strike that targeted him, although iran and its allies have blamed israel, the country has not claimed responsibility for his death. from doha, orally gear and reports.

doha's largest mosque, the setting for funeral prayers for ismail haniyeh. qatar has been his base for years. and in punishing heat, thousands came to mourn the slain leader of hamas. among the crowd, many had the same demand. we will look for revenge. yes, yes, i'm very honest with you, we will look for revenge. may i ask, do you fear now that there could be all out war in the region, that there could now be a bigger war taking place? yes we are... now it could be very danger, and it could be the world war iii. but maybe that's what israel look for? and israel is widely accused of tracking him down in tehran and killing him. here he was on tuesday in the heart of the iranian regime. he didn't live to see the next morning. in hamas terms, he was viewed as a moderate. in uk and us terms, he led a terrorist organisation. to many here, including these visitors from britain,

he defended an oppressed people. i'm actually quite deeply saddened. he was a good man, and he stood up for good as well. so it's a hard time for everybody. the palestinian cause is one that moves many, so it's a sad day for everyone. mourners are still arriving here, streaming in to say prayers for ismail haniyeh. his assassination has reverberated around the region. the question is, what comes next? there will be retaliation by iran, but how severe, and will things escalate into all out regional war? for now, the main battlefield is gaza. israeli troops advancing whatever the cost. palestinian sources say haniyeh was pushing for a ceasefire deal before he was blown to pieces.

today he was mourned, soon he'll be replaced. it's not the end of hamas. but it is one more escalation in a region nearing boiling point. orla guerin, bbc news, doha. meanwhile as a threat of retaliation for those recent strikes looms, it's causing unease and tension in israel — asjonny hill reports. it’s as jonny hill reports. it's ruite as jonny hill reports. it's quite clear— as jonny hill reports. it's quite clear on _ as jonny hill reports. it's quite clear on the - asjonny hill reports. it�*s quite clear on the streets of tel aviv, it's the sabbath, so people are at home. but they are uneasy, they know that potentially there standing on the brink of a much wider regional conflict. it's worth pointing out there have been a number of similar moments since israel launched its war on gaza following the attacks on october 7th when it looked like that work and explode into a

much wider conflict. but this is without doubt a very dangerous and significant moment. we understand that urgent diplomacy is going on behind—the—scenes to try and do diffuse tension. people here will be keeping an eye on developments. many flights into israel have either been cancelled or delayed. it's reported israeli ministers have been sent home with satellite phones for the weekend for use in the event of any kind of attack which takes out communication networks. it feels as though the world is watching the middle east right now — and perhaps it's worth thinking about two groups of people whose voices have become somewhat lost in the vast geopolitics of all this. and they are of course people in gaza, for whom the prospect of any kind of cease—fire now seems perhaps as remote as it ever has, and then the families of the israeli hostages, still being held captive by hamas in

gaza who know also the chances of being reunited with their loved ones anytime soon right now seem greatly diminished. millions of residents in northern nigeria have been placed under a 24 hour curfew amid clashes with security forces and protesters. deadly violent scenes have been plaguing of the country. they been protesting economic reforms which they say have led to runaway inflation and hunger. the rights group amnesty international... followed by 34 who were severely injured in an explosion on thursday night. more now from our correspondent. aha, more now from our correspondent. more now from our corresondent. �* , correspondent. a couple hundred eo - le correspondent. a couple hundred people have _ correspondent. a couple hundred people have turned _ correspondent. a couple hundred people have turned out _ correspondent. a couple hundred people have turned out here - correspondent. a couple hundred people have turned out here in i people have turned out here in legos on the second day of nationwide protest. this is despite the news from amnesty international that 13 people died and many others were injured on the first day of the protests. authorities in several states across the northern region of nigeria have

imposed a curfew. we've heard protesters in one state did try and break that curfew earlier in the day, but they were quickly dispersed by soldiers. there's a heavy police presence in those states and there are quite a few police officers here — and we've observed military personnel on standby — but it has been fairly non—confrontational. the government had urged protesters to be patient. protesters here have just been sharing speeches, and the message has remained the same — they are calling for the end of what they are saying is a bad governance in this country and the economic hardship they say many nigerians are facing. here's a look now at stories making headlines around the world. turkey blocked access to instagram on friday, citing the social media platform's failure to comply with rules. it came after a senior official accused instagram of blocking condolence protests after the hamas leader. they did not

specify what those conditions were. the us department of justice filed a lawsuit friday against tiktok and its parent company, bytedance, forfailing company, bytedance, for failing to company, bytedance, forfailing to protect children cosmic privacy on the app. the doj says tiktok knowingly allowed children to create tiktok accounts and obtained personal information from them without consent from their parents. tiktok rejects the allegations. and before we go, people in amsterdam witnessed an unusual parade on friday. take a look — owners of amphibious cars from across europe cruised to the city prospect networks of canals for the last time. they'll no longer be allowed into the dutch capital due to new environment of regulations. around 150 amphibious vehicles took part. plenty more coming at the top of the hour right here on bbc news.

hello there. much of central, southern, and eastern england yet again saw another warm and very humid day. but as we move through the weekend, certainly after saturday, it'll be fresherfor all, with pleasant conditions in the south. but there will be rain at times, particularly across northern and western areas, thanks to atlantic low pressure systems. so, we start saturday off with this weather front that's been crossing the country, taking the cloud and any showers with it and the warm air. so, into saturday afternoon, it'll be much fresher across the south and east. a bright day for many with sunshine and blustery showers — these mainly across scotland and northern ireland, where it will be quite windy. mid—to—high—teens here, but much fresher across the south — 21—24 celsius with lower humidity. that takes us then into saturday night, which will be a cooler, fresher one for many. cloud building out west as the next weather front starts to approach scotland and northern ireland. it'll be a fresher night to come — 8—12 celsius across the south. now, this ridge of high pressure will build in for sunday — that will bring

fine weather for england and wales. next low pressure system will start to push into scotland and northern ireland through the day, the winds picking up here, the cloud building, outbreaks of rain pushing into northern ireland and western scotland. but for eastern scotland, much of england and wales will see variable clouds, some good sunny spells — best of the sunshine towards the south—east corner, and it will feel very pleasant, with 23—24 celsius here with lower humidity, high teens further north with a wind in the rain. we tap into some warmth and humidity again into monday — this moving off france into much of the midlands, southern and eastern england. so here, a warm and humid, rather sunny day further — north and west, very different, windy, cloudy outbreaks are pretty heavy and persistent rain for northern ireland, southern and western scotland. could give rise to some localised flooding in places, but a warmer day to come even further north — we could be up to the mid—to—high—20s again across the southeast. that weather front eventually starts to push across the country on tuesday, eventually reaching the east and southeast with a few showers as it weakens and moves

off into the north sea. and then, it introduces fresher air to much of the country once again. a bright day to come for northern and western areas with some sunshine — vast improvement to how monday is looking. 19—24 celsius from northwest to southeast. as we move through the new week, it looks like much of the north and west of the country will see the wind and rain at times — whereas, further south and east you are, tending to stay warmer, drier, and sunnier.

which is straight after this programme. this is just incredible. this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. this is just incredible. the caribbean — a collection of 7,000 islands set in shimmering seas with some of the best beaches and marine life in the world. it's home to over 45 million people and a mix of cultures, music and natural wonders. but this oceanic environment is as fragile as it is beautiful and the caribbean's relationship with its seas and ecosystems are changing rapidly. i'm reece parkinson. as someone who has caribbean ancestry, this place has

almost mythical status, even though i've never been here before.