this is bbc news. i'm victoria fritz with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. mission control: touchdown confirmed. perserverence has touched down on the surface of mars. perseverance pays off as nasa's most ambitious mission to mars lands successfully on the red planet. it worked through all the adversity and all the challenges that go with landing a rover on mars, plus the challenges of covid and just an amazing accomplishment. within minutes, the first image was beamed back to earth. it tweets: "i'm safe on mars. perseverance will get you anywhere." a virtual g7 meeting —

the us will pledge four billion dollars to an international coronavirus vaccination programme. how do you revive the iran nuclear deal? the us is set to hold talks with tehran and key european powers. and, we meet the virtual therapy dog, being given a merit award after providing comfort and support for thousands of people. hello and welcome to the programme. nasa's perseverance rover has landed safely on mars, where it will begin to seek out signs of ancient life on the red planet. the robot spacecraft left earth seven months ago and successfully navigated a risky landing phase,

known as the seven minutes of terror. it will now drill and collect samples of rock and soil. our science correspondent, rebecca morelle has the latest. perserverence is perserverence is going about one kilometre per second. fix, one kilometre per second. a nerve wracking weight at mission control, then celebrations, as a signal is received from mars. it is touchdown for nasa's perseverance rover and these are the first images, the view of the landing site, and the rover has even started tweeting: there is really no good way to describe that moment when it is over and you hear those words" touchdown confirmed". it hear those words" touchdown confirmed" ._ hear those words" touchdown confirmed". it is a remarkable feelin: confirmed". it is a remarkable feeling of _ confirmed". it is a remarkable feeling of pride _ confirmed". it is a remarkable feeling of pride in _ confirmed". it is a remarkable feeling of pride in their- confirmed". it is a remarkable feeling of pride in their team, | feeling of pride in their team, relief, and reallyjoy, thinking forward to this

remarkable service mission that we have coming up. it remarkable service mission that we have coming up.— we have coming up. it survived a fiendishly _ we have coming up. it survived a fiendishly difficult _ a fiendishly difficult planting, burning through the atmosphere at the speed of a bullet before a complex landing system brought it to the ground. the rover will now be seeking answers to a crucial question. this mission is all about finding signs of life and the best place to do that is here, the jezero the best place to do that is here, thejezero crater, today it is dry and dusty but billions of years ago it was a huge lake and you can clearly see a river running through it. this gives you an idea of what it looked like and if we zoom in a bit more, these green areas are the edge of the crater that were once beaches on the shore of the lake and the hope is that any microscopic creatures that once lived there are still preserved. perserverence is the most advanced rover that nasa has ever built and it is jampacked with instruments, its robotic arm is armed with a

drill to collect rock samples and what forms of life can they contain? ., . ~' and what forms of life can they contain? ., ., ~ ., contain? not talking about little green _ contain? not talking about little green men _ contain? not talking about little green men or- contain? not talking about little green men or fish, i contain? not talking about | little green men or fish, but microbes_ little green men or fish, but microbes who have made a little matte _ microbes who have made a little matte off—line that you may find — matte off—line that you may find on _ matte off—line that you may find on the bottom of a pond. those — find on the bottom of a pond. those are _ find on the bottom of a pond. those are the types of things that— those are the types of things that are _ those are the types of things that are likely, well, they did exist— that are likely, well, they did exist on_ that are likely, well, they did exist on earth 3.5 billion years— exist on earth 3.5 billion years ago but the question is, did they— years ago but the question is, did they exist on mars at the bottom — did they exist on mars at the bottom of the lake? in a first, its minimart — bottom of the lake? in a first, its minimart helicopter- bottom of the lake? in a first, its minimart helicopter will. its minimart helicopter will take off, a new way to view the planet and its test flight will been a few weeks but getting to the red planet isjust been a few weeks but getting to the red planet is just the start. now, the hard work begins on a mission that could transform our understanding of mars. well, earlier we spoke nasa's adam steltzner, who is the chief engineer on the perseverance mars rover mission. we asked about the pressure he and his perservance team were under to make sure rover landed safely and intact.

it was a do—or—die moment but thankfully many engineers from around the world worked on a mission to get it right so although the moment was singular, the effort was not. and it was a collection of, really a community of humans. we have to remember that perserverence is the first leg in a three leg mars sample return effort. this is a robotic odyssey, the likes of which humans are never engaged in, to take samples from the surface of another planet and bring them back to earth. so, it is very ambitious, it is a partnership with the european space agency and nasa and perserverence is the first leg of that and insofar as that, she is an opening and opening a new chapter and a new book in the exploration of the solar system. 3—3.5 billion years ago when i was getting started on earth, the conditions to

support life were ripe on the surface of mars, so, it's an intriguing question, did life happen on both planets simultaneously? did it happen on one or the other? is life something that occurs whenever the circumstances are beneficial to it or is it something very, very rare? it fundamentally gets that the question which we have been asking is human since the dawn of our self—awareness, are we alone? are we alone in the universe? are we alone in the solar system? could one of our nearest neighbours harbour life? we will have more on that story and we will have someone joining us live from california ahead. let's get some of

the day's other news. the united states is officially rejoined the paris climate deal agreement today, a major change in direction from the former president donald trump. president biden asked the us to be readmitted as soon as he took office and the required 30 days notice has now passed. dutch politicians have given initial approval to a law that was hastily drafted to preserve a nationwide coronavirus curfew. the legislation was drawn up after a court said the curfew in the netherlands must be lifted. the senate will vote on the bill on friday. some of the key players in the gamestop saga have testified to the us congress. lawmakers are struggling to understand what happened last month when shares in gamestop, a computer game store chain, rose by more than 2,000% over two weeks. the duke of edinburgh is spending a third night in hospital in london, after being admitted as a precaution after feeling unwell for a few days. prince philip, who will be 100 injune, is said to be

in "good spirits". the uk is to launch a high—risk science agency to look for ground—breaking discoveries. the agency, aria, will be run along the lines of us equivalents that were instrumental in the creation of the internet and gps. the white house says president biden will promise four billion dollars for an international coronavirus vaccination programme for poorer countries. he will make the announcement at a virtual meeting with leaders of the world's biggest economies on friday. reporter mark lowen is here to talk us through the details. looking at is, it does not seem to be production orfinancing thatis to be production orfinancing that is the major issue, it is distribution, tell us more. that is correct, it is often told that the vaccination is

not the issue, it's getting it to people who need it. many low and middle income countries are not seeing it and one of the reasons is stockpiling by other countries. some data compiled by the antipoverty pressure group tells us more about this. this table focus on the middle column and these are the doses purchased by five countries, australia, canada, japan, uk and the us and the eu's 27 and those purchases total $3 billion. then they subtract the number needed to vaccinate the entire population, including second doses and look at the turquoise column, that is the excess doses available to share. that is 1.2 billion doses that they say those countries could share, double what low and middle income countries have at the moment. wow! 1.2 billion more doses than they need! if they have 100% coverage of the population via two doses. what is the

solution?— via two doses. what is the solution? ., , ., solution? the group say that and this is — solution? the group say that and this is a _ solution? the group say that and this is a message - solution? the group say that and this is a message to - solution? the group say that and this is a message to the | solution? the group say that i and this is a message to the g7 leaders meeting today, start sharing it as soon as you hit 20% coverage. manual micron is saying thatjust give 5% of what you have now, and america uk and france to give 5% now straightaway —— emmanuel macron. he has some work to convince the us and its advocate may become a political football he says that by waiting supply those countries, it is paving the way for war of influence and indicating that china and russia will fill the 93p- china and russia will fill the gap. suggesting that something will be given in return for helping out. will be given in return for helping out-— will be given in return for helinu out. , , helping out. very interesting. there is a _ helping out. very interesting. there is a stockpile _ helping out. very interesting. there is a stockpile issue - helping out. very interesting. there is a stockpile issue but| there is a stockpile issue but the other parallel political pickle, this is the official co—ordinated action through covax. remind viewers what this is and is it working? ilentil]! is and is it working? will talkin: is and is it working? will talking about _ is and is it working? will talking about you - is and is it working? ll talking about you could give doses that you have in the

country but you could also donate to this other parallel structure and if you look at how much has been donated to the structure, this is to supply those much—needed countries with the vaccine, $6 billion has been raised, $2 billion has been raised, $2 billion more is needed by the end of the year to get 2 billion doses to the middle income countries to vaccinate one fifth of the population. you can see what the us has pledged and what the uk has pledged. a lot of mining but a leading distributor of vaccines i spoke to have a problem with that. it was asking that with so much money pledged, why our delivery so late? on the sharing and gifting scheme, he says that if there is needless death in the country because of the gifting, then a sitting government will get crucified that he is suggesting that any of that gifting will happen until the end of the year at least until countries are confident that there are enough boosted jabs and they know the effects of mutations within their own countries and then they will feel comfortable

to donate. then they will feel comfortable to donate-— to donate. thank you for “oininu to donate. thank you for joining us- _ it was widely seen as a crowning achievement of the barack obama administration, and iran nuclear deal worth the negotiations and injuries that brought along the way but forward a few years and a new president pulled out and imposed stringent sanctions and then three years later, another one wants back in. it is a dizzying state of affairs, affecting one of the most volatile security concerns in the world and leading iran to act out. in response to the

sanctions, it incrementally breach the terms of the deal and in its latest move, tehran says it will dramatically scale back cooperation with the un nuclear watchdog in days, unless the sanctions, which are crippling the economy in iran, are removed. translation: ~ ., , ., , , translation: words and promises are of no use- _ translation: words and promises are of no use. this _ translation: words and promises are of no use. this time, _ translation: words and promises are of no use. this time, only - are of no use. this time, only action, action! it was the action, action! it was the action from the opposite side, we will act as well. the islamic republic will not be satisfied this time with words and promises that we will do this or that. it will not be like before.— this or that. it will not be like before. on thursday, foreian like before. on thursday, foreign ministers - like before. on thursday, foreign ministers from i like before. on thursday, | foreign ministers from the united states, united kingdom, france and germany held a meeting and out of became an invitation. secretary of state anthony blink and told his european allies at the us is willing to hold direct talks with iran about a return to the deal but there is a caveat.

iran must return to full compliance first.- iran must return to full compliance first. we are obviously _ compliance first. we are obviously concerned - compliance first. we are l obviously concerned about compliance first. we are - obviously concerned about the risk of — obviously concerned about the risk of further non—compliance by iran— risk of further non—compliance by iran with the nuclear deal and — by iran with the nuclear deal and all— by iran with the nuclear deal and all the more reason to reinvigorate the transatlantic diplomacy, which is why i am here — diplomacy, which is why i am here with _ diplomacy, which is why i am here with my french and german colleagues but also speaking to tony— colleagues but also speaking to tony lincoln in the us and making _ tony lincoln in the us and making sure we chart a way forward _ making sure we chart a way forward and look to find a way to reengage order to restrain iran but also bring — order to restrain iran but also bring it— order to restrain iran but also bring it back into compliance with — bring it back into compliance with its — bring it back into compliance with its nuclear obligations is a delicate dance so he will make _ a delicate dance so he will make the first move? a un nuclear inspection - make the first move? a un nuclear inspection is - make the first move? a un nuclear inspection is due i make the first move? a un nuclear inspection is due in j nuclear inspection is due in tehran this weekend but what happens in the coming days will determine whether iran will continue to comply or step up its nuclear activities. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: as texas froze in an artic storm, ted cruz

flew to mexico on holiday, has the state's republican senator left his reputation out in the cold? nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan, the last soviet troops were finally coming home. the withdrawal completed in good order, but the army defeated in the task it had been sent to perform. malcolm has been murdered. that has a terrible effect on the morale of the people. i'm terrified of the repercussions on the streets. one wonders who is next. gunfire. as the airlift got under way, there was no let—up in the eruption itself. lava streams from a vent low in the crater flowed down to the sea on the east of the island,

away from the town for the time being. it could start flowing again at any time. the russians heralded their new—generation space station with a spectacular night launch. they called it mir — the russian for �*peace'. this is bbc news, our main story this hour: nasa's most ambitious mission to mars has landed succesfully on the red planet to look for signs of life. let's stay with that story. emily calandrelli is a science communicator and host of the netflix show emily's wonder lab. thanks emily's wonder lab. so much forjoining us! this thanks so much forjoining us! this is so exciting, isn't it? you've had so many friends working on this, you yourself, a former mit engineer, what does this mean to you? hello

yes! because i've studied aerospace engineering and i have a lot of friends who actually were working on the rover for many years so watching it landed successfully is like watching my own friend succeed so it is all very exciting, and for me when i see something like this, it isjust the pinnacle of human achievement, because they are accomplishing something that seems very much impossible and to what it land safely on mars, it literally made me cry today. what are the big questions this mission is hoping to answer? so, the main goal of this mission is to search for ancient life on mars, and so when we talk about ancient life we're not talking about life like you or i, they are not trying to dig up dinosaur or anything like that they are —— but they are looking for microbial life, type and like you would see under a microscope. the oldest proxy on earth you can see fossilised

microbial pond scum, this is the same type of life that they are going to be searching for on mars. ~ are going to be searching for on mars— on mars. with the greatest respect. — on mars. with the greatest respect. why _ on mars. with the greatest respect, why should - on mars. with the greatest respect, why should the i on mars. with the greatest i respect, why should the wider world be excited about fossilised pond scum? wright, i understand _ fossilised pond scum? wright, i understand why _ fossilised pond scum? wright, i understand why that _ fossilised pond scum? wright, i understand why that may i fossilised pond scum? wright, i understand why that may not i understand why that may not seem very exciting but this rover is essentially working to answer two of the biggest questions that humans have ever asked. where did we come from, wedded life come from, and are wedded life come from, and are we alone in the universe, and i think working toward understanding our place in the universe is a worthwhile goal. how does all of this work? let's get to the nitty—gritty of the. who decides what to collect, wear, and how will be rover go about doing this? 50. rover go about doing this? so, the biggest _ rover go about doing this? 557, the biggest question was, rover go about doing this? 5513, the biggest question was, where do we send this rover, and there is a very long multi year process on figuring out the landing spot because they wanted to find a landing lot where there would potentially

be signs of ancient life and so the first big decision that nasa made was to land atjezero crater, and that is because that could be teeming with life, the thought process was we would go tojezero crater and find these microbial mats, so that's the idea, anyway, and thatis so that's the idea, anyway, and that is what perseverance is going to be looking for at jezero crater. fin going to be looking for at jezero crater.— going to be looking for at jezero crater. ., ~ ., jezero crater. on the work that ou do is jezero crater. on the work that you do is to — jezero crater. on the work that you do is to present _ jezero crater. on the work that you do is to present science i jezero crater. on the work that you do is to present science as| you do is to present science as relatable and accessible. how will this help you in your own mission? i will this help you in your own mission?— mission? i mean, it makes it eas . mission? i mean, it makes it easy- as _ mission? i mean, it makes it easy- as a — mission? i mean, it makes it easy. as a science _ mission? i mean, it makes it i easy. as a science communicator myjob is to make science as exciting for as many people as possible and when you have a really exciting mission likely perseverance rover, it makes my job easy white and just very

briefly, the hope of course is that the things the rover will find, there will —— they will come back to earth. find, there will -- they will come back to earth.- find, there will -- they will come back to earth. how do you see the new _ come back to earth. how do you see the new chapter _ come back to earth. how do you see the new chapter of - come back to earth. how do you see the new chapter of space i see the new chapter of space exploration evolving?- see the new chapter of space exploration evolving? there is onl so exploration evolving? there is only so much _ exploration evolving? there is only so much we _ exploration evolving? there is only so much we can - exploration evolving? there is only so much we can do i exploration evolving? there is only so much we can do on i exploration evolving? there is only so much we can do on a l only so much we can do on a rover on another planet, there are only so many science instruments that you can bring. we have a suite of the world's finest science instruments back here on earth so what perseverance is going to do as it is going to collect core samples for hopefully a future nasa mission to collect the samples and bring them back to earth so people from around the world can do our best science experiments on those core samples. 50 experiments on those core samples-— experiments on those core samles. , ., ~ samples. so interesting, thank ou so samples. so interesting, thank you so much — samples. so interesting, thank you so much for— samples. so interesting, thank you so much forjoining - samples. so interesting, thank you so much forjoining us. i millions of people in the us state of texas have been told to boil water amid severe winter weather that's brought chaos and disruption. texans face more power failures, burst pipes and empty supermarket shelves. lebo diseko reports

from houston. ted cruz has run into stormy weather of his own by flying to a mexican holiday resort. this is one of the richest states in one of the richest countries in the world. around half of texans are experiencing disruptions to water supply. experiencing disruptions to water supply-— experiencing disruptions to water supply. last night, we not water supply. last night, we got power. _ water supply. last night, we got power, after _ water supply. last night, we got power, after two - water supply. last night, we got power, after two days i water supply. last night, we | got power, after two days and water, but finally we got water. now we have water everywhere. water. now we have water everywhere-— water. now we have water eve here. ~ . , everywhere. water companies have battled _ everywhere. water companies have battled with _ everywhere. water companies have battled with frozen i everywhere. water companies. have battled with frozen wealth stopping treatment plants have been had by power outages. it has meant 13 million people have been told to boil their water before drinking at. the supply of electricity is slowly

being restored but there are still at least half a million people without it. taste still at least half a million people without it. we know, because of— people without it. we know, because of the _ people without it. we know, because of the storm - people without it. we know, because of the storm that i people without it. we know, i because of the storm that will continue to sweep across parts of texas tonight, that we are not yet out of this, but we are closer to this challenge being behind us. we will not stop until normalcy is restored to your lives. untilthat until normalcy is restored to your lives. until that moment comes, though, iask your lives. until that moment comes, though, i ask all texans to continue your efforts to take the proper precautions that are needed to stay safe and to stay warm. if that are needed to stay safe and to stay warm.— and to stay warm. if they manage _ and to stay warm. if they manage to _ and to stay warm. if they manage to do _ and to stay warm. if they manage to do that i manage to do that and find water, getting food may still be hard. supermarket shelves are running dangerously low on supplies. while ordinary texans were freezing, there senator ted cruz headed for the beaches of mexico. back now after a public outcry over his absence while his state was in crisis.

lebo diseko, bbc news, texas. we know that dogs have helped millions of us to get through the last year or so, but you don't necessarily have to own one to feel the calming benefits of man's best friend. max the springer spaniel has been sharing his walks with the world via social media. now he's become the first pet dog to receive a very special award for his efforts. tim muffett has the story. max lives with his owner in the lake district but has fans across the world. the 13—year—old springer spaniel belongs to kerri irvin—ross who has been live streaming their walks during lockdown. brute walks during lockdown. we started walks during lockdown. - started doing live feeds on our daily walks, because we got the lake district here, this is our

home, this is where we can walk and exercise but some people are trapped in cities, tower blocks. v are trapped in cities, tower blocks. �*, ., ., blocks. max's walks with fellow s - rin . er blocks. max's walks with fellow springer spaniel's _ blocks. max's walks with fellow springer spaniel's have - blocks. max's walks with fellowj springer spaniel's have brought comfort to hundreds of thousands of people and makes's companionship to kerry has been life changing. following a road traffic accident 15 years ago he was suffering from severe depression. he was suffering from severe depression-— depression. the anxiety, it caused me _ depression. the anxiety, it caused me to walk out i depression. the anxiety, it caused me to walk out of. depression. the anxiety, it l caused me to walk out of the door on my own and not have somebody with me, was, for me, a terrifying experience. every step i took, max was with me and every time i stopped and faulted, he stopped with me, too. a faulted, he stopped with me, too. ,~ ., ~ too. the psa order of merit awards animals _ too. the psa order of merit awards animals that - too. the psa order of merit awards animals that show i too. the psa order of merit l awards animals that show and outstanding contribution to society, _ outstanding contribution to society, so you can see how max has not — society, so you can see how max has not ohiy— society, so you can see how max has not only had a massive impact _ has not only had a massive impact on _ has not only had a massive impact on kerry's life but his activities, _ impact on kerry's life but his activities, all the things that kerry— activities, all the things that kerry has been filming with him have _ kerry has been filming with him have reached the lives of hundreds of thousands of people

i’ili'it hundreds of thousands of people right across the world. four—year—old evelyn is one of them. at? four-year-old evelyn is one of them. ., , , four-year-old evelyn is one of them. . , _ , ., four-year-old evelyn is one of them. , ., them. # happy birthday to max! max's them. # happy birthday to max! max's videos _ max's videos have been an absolute godsend to us during lockdown. when it's stressful at the end of the day, makes every day during lockdown a fresh start.— fresh start. evelyn suffers from febrile _ fresh start. evelyn suffers from febrile convulsions, | from febrile convulsions, seizures that can happen at any time. her mom hannah believes max has had a profoundly positive impact.— max has had a profoundly positive impact. how does max make you _ positive impact. how does max make you feel? _ positive impact. how does max make you feel? happy! - positive impact. how does max make you feel? happy! the i make you feel? happy! the affected dogs _ make you feel? happy! the affected dogs have - make you feel? happy! the affected dogs have both i make you feel? happy! the affected dogs have both on| affected dogs have both on mental well—being and general well—being, it's fantastic. the well-being, it's fantastic. the animal equivalent _ well—being, it's fantastic. the animal equivalent of an obe. richly deserved. gorgeous landscape as well, how amazing is the lake district? one for the list when we are

finally allowed to travel. you can reach me on twitter, i'm @vfritznews. hello there. the weather is going to be turning increasingly wet across western areas of the uk, thanks to an area of low pressure. this area of low pressure, in fact. this cloud you can see here is a particularly slow—moving front, ringing rain for some for the next couple of days. it's going to be bringing rain for some for the next couple of days. rainfall totals building up, then, but the wettest weather will always be over high ground — so the moors of south—west england, the brecon beacons, snowdonia, the cumbrian fells, northern ireland generally, and across southern and western scotland, particularly the highlands and the southern uplands. so we could see some localised flooding building in. the rain is beginning to arrive right now and, along with the wet weather some strong winds, mild air.

temperatures about 8—9 celsius as we start the day on friday. further east it is dry, but it's chillier. temperatures around three celsius, most places should be frost—free. now for friday, it's a wet and windy starts the day across these western areas with gusts of wind potentially running into the low—60s of miles per hour or so in places. outbreaks of rain with many of you for much of the day. there won't be much rain, though, across the north—east of scotland, and not a great deal of rain either across the midlands, east anglia, south—east england. there will be quite large tracts of the day that stay dry and bright, even. whereas further west, the rain pretty relentless. temperatures on the mild side, looking at highs of around 10—12 celsius fairly widely. and then into the weekend — more wet and windy weather to come across western areas. the eastern side of the country brighter and drier and, for some, it could turn very mild indeed for a time. the reason the weather gets a bit milder is the winds are going to start to come from a southerly direction, dragging the air up from north africa, spain, france, and on into central and eastern parts of england in particular, though east scotland not doing badly in places. further west on saturday, well, it's a wet and windy day coming up with the rain again very

heavy and persistent at times. temperatures, well, around about 12—14 celsius across western areas — which is still mild, but across the east of england we could see temperatures go as high as 17 celsius in 1—2 spots. very mild indeed. our weather front is still with us on sunday, but it is tending to fizzle, just a lump of cloud with a few patches of rain left on it by this stage. so more in the way of bright weather for scotland and northern ireland, a bit more sunshine here, temperatures around 10—11 celsius. eastern england still having the highest temperatures, perhaps up to 15—16.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. under pressure — us lawmakers grill the chief executive of trading platform robinhood. uber gets its day in court — the uk's supreme court will decide if its drivers are workers or self—employed. from lord nelson's hair to a document signed by king henry viii or buzz aldrin's autographed spacesuit — we visit the weird and wonderful world of collectables.

if robinhood was hoping for an easy ride