this is bbc news — i'm kasia madera with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a reset for transatlantic relations as president biden recommits to nato and pledges to "earn back" europe's trust: america is back. the trans— alliance is back. we are not looking back we are looking forward together. america's top diplomat speaks exclusively to the bbc about the biden team's approach to the world. astonishing new images sent back from mars by nasa's perseverance rover, showing the red planet's surface in detail. and — reports from the us that kim kardashian and kanye west marriage is to end in divorce.

hello and thanks forjoining us... the us presidentjoe biden, has delivered a major speech reaffirming america's commitment to nato and the principle which underlies it, that an attack on one is an attack on all. just over four weeks after taking overfrom donald trump, mr biden�*s message stands in marked contrast to donald trump's ambiguity over the country's role within nato. in a moment we'll hear from the us secretary of state in an exclusive international tv interview. but first, that pledge to unite the west, from president biden. i'm sending a clear message to the world. america is back. the transatlantic alliance is back. and we are not looking back. we are looking

forward together. it comes down to this, the transatlantic alliance is a strong foundation, the strong foundation. on which our collective security and our shared prosperity are built. the united states is fully committed to our nato alliance. and i welcome europe's growing investment in the military capabilities that enable our shared defense. you know, to me and to the united states, to us, will the united states, to us, we'll keep faith with article five. it's a guarantee. an attack on one is an attack on all. that is our unshakeable vow. us secretary of state antony blinken has also told the bbc that the us is fully engaged in helping resolve issues including the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and iran's nuclear ambitions. blinken was nominated two weeks ago to become america's top diplomat at this crucial time for the country. he spoke exclusively

to the bbc�*s yalda hakim. he's america's new top diplomat. sec. blinken started his career in the white house advising president clinton and then president obama in senior positions on the national security council. as national security adviser to then vice president biden he was in the situation room during the raid in which killed osama bin laden. he's been biden top foreign policy adviser for nearly two decades. now the president has tasked him with reframing america's relationship with the world. in his first major interview with an international broadcaster i'd been speaking to secretary blinken. what role can washington play in resolving conflicts and helping the international community navigate a path out of the coronavirus pandemic? we are determined once again to engage in the world, to show up again. because in the absence of american engagement

and american leadership then one or two things happen. either some other country tries to take our place and probably does so in a way that doesn't advance the common interest and values of the democratic world. used the virtual g7 meeting to draw a line under trump's american first policy. blinken told me he's eager to engage with america's allies and adversaries. well, i think you heard the president say it. america is back. blinken says the us is willing to meet iran for a face—to—face talk on returning to the nuclear deal abandoned by trump. we have a policy in recent years of so—called maximum pressure on iran that has not produced results. in fact it is gotten worse. no upfront concessions. blinken addressed america's complex relationship with china. now under pressure from claims of human rights abuses of the people.

and condemned a lack of transparency. it is a striking thing to see china have wildly leased open information spaces in the world and of course it takes advantage of the fact that many of our countries have fully free and open information spaces. and china uses that to spread misinformation. there's also the issue of troop withdrawal from afghanistan at which the biden administration has put on pause. we're in the midst of a very rigorous review of the policy toward afg ha nista n. what we do know already and the initial conclusion we've come to is that it is vitally important for us and others to press the parties to make good on the commitments that they've already made. anthony blinken has had a front row seat to history over the past 30 years. now he's leading the foreign interests of deeply polarised country during a global pandemic. it's a diplomatic entry

that is not the faint—hearted. and viewers on bbc world news can see yalda's full interview with secretary of state anthony blinken this weekend. staying with international diplomacy, wealthy g7 nations have ramped up funding to supply poorer countries with coronavirus vaccines. british prime minister boris johnson, this year's chair of the g7, said "we've got to make sure the whole world is vaccinated because this is a global pandemic. in totaljust over 9 billion dollars has been pledged by the g7 nations. let's get some of the day's other news. the united arab emirates has said that princess latifah, the daughter of the ruler of dubai, is being cared for at home, supported by herfamily and medical professionals. the statement by the uae embassy in london came after the united nations asked for proof that the princess was still alive. it follows a bbc report in which the princess said she was being held

against her will. the united states has officially re—joined the international effort to tackle climate change, known as the paris climate agreement. it's a major shift from the approach of former president donald trump, who withdrew the us from the landmark climate accord. a young woman has become the first protester to die in the anti—coup demonstrations in myanmar after she was shot in the head. 20—year old meeyah tway tway khine was critically injured last week when police tried to disperse protesters using water cannon, rubber bullets and live rounds. the uk supreme court has ruled that the taxi app uber must classify its drivers as workers rather than self—employed. uber had argued its drivers were independent contractors. the ruling could leave it facing a hefty compensation bill, as well has having wider consequences for the gig economy. nasa has released remarkable

new high—definition colour images from mars taken by its rover �*perseverence�* — which landed on the red planet thursday. it was acquired by the rocket cradle that placed it on the surface. perseverance has a large amount of data in its member banks which is off—loaded to earth. nasa's perseverance rover being lowered to the surface of mars, an image taken from above two metres away from touchdown. that image and the details there in really pull us humans here on earth into the result of all of that hard work. you are brought into the surface of mars, you are sitting there, on the upper left of the image and the lower right of the image you can see these little dust plumes in that

on the surface of mars kicked up by our engines. and here is one of the landing site, the shadow of perseverance is clearly visible. and this close up of its wheel is intriguing the team. we will be looking forward to the coming weeks and months as our instruments get checked out to look closer at these rocks, by the edge of the wheel is a rock and one of the first things we notice is it has a lot of holes or bugs in it so the science team is now thinking about what this might mean. it's the start of the rover�*s two year mission and its main objective is to search for signs of life. perseverance is in an area called thejezero crater. it was once a huge lake. you can see the river flowing into it and out of it. and this purple area is a beautifully preserved river delta where microorganisms could once have lived. this is one of the existential questions, are we alone

in the universe? and what i can say is that all the raw materials, the building blocks, are there for there to be life. so if there is going to be life, it should be in this type of environment. the rover survived a perilous descent, travelling at the speed of a bullet before a supersonic parachute helped it to the ground. and this is where it was made. it's a fabric factory in tiverton, devon. it was a nerve—racking moment for them. i could hardly watch, then it sort of really hit home. there were lots of things that could go wrong but it all went right and all of us, the whole team and everybody working at heathcoates, was elated that we had another successful mission. over the next few days. over the next few days the rover�*s instruments will be switched on and many more images will start to come back, including a video of its descent. then perseverance will be ready to start investigating its new home. rebecca morelle, bbc news.

reality tv star kim kardashian has filed papers to divorce her rapper husband kanye west. that's according to the celebrity news site tmz.com and hollywood outlet �*variety�*. kim kardashian and kanye west have been married for seven years. tmz claims the split is amicable and that kardashian asked forjoint custody of theirfour children. variety cited a court source as saying the divorce papers were filed on friday. neither have commented on the report. neither have commented on the report. kj matthews is an la—based entertainment reporter. i think ithinka i think a lot of people thought that they would file for divorce back in 2020. he had a breakdown, he ran for president and during the time that he ran for president he was crisscrossing town and had decided that he was going to campaign. and one of those campaign. and one of those campaign stops he had a breakdown. and he really got

personal. he talked about the fact that he had thought about in the abortion with kim kardashian during the first time she was pregnant for that was reallyjust time she was pregnant for that was really just too time she was pregnant for that was reallyjust too much for a lot of people. a lot of people thought that kim kardashian might file for divorce shortly at that. ~ ,., ., , might file for divorce shortly at that. ~ ., , ., sound quality. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: it's official — buckingham palace confirm that prince harry and megan will no longer serve as working members of the royalfamily. 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 for the morale of the people. i'm terrified of the repercussions in the streets. one wonders who is next?

as the airlift got under way, there was no let up in the erruption itself. lava streams from a vent low in the crater flow down to the sea on the east of the islands, 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've called it mir, . the russian for "peace". this is bbc news, the latest headlines... presidentjoe biden has used a virtual global security summit to recommit to the transatlantic alliance and pledge to "earn back" europe's trust. the us secretary of state antony blinken talks to the bbc about america's stance on coronavirus, climate change and iran.

13 million people in texas would _ 13 million people in texas would been _ 13 million people in texas would been told - 13 million people in texas would been told to - 13 million people in texas would been told to boil. 13 million people in texas - would been told to boil water. pipes — would been told to boil water. pipes burst_ would been told to boil water. pipes burst with _ would been told to boil water. pipes burst with the _ would been told to boil water. pipes burst with the reservoirl pipes burst with the reservoir is nearly empty and half the residents suffering from shortages. hospitals are also placed under severe pressure. the bbc�*s leboo diseko reports from dallas. texans texa ns a re texans are now struggling to get clean water for top 13 million get clean waterfor top 13 million people. get clean water for top 13 million people. that's her and have the state been told to boil what comes out of their taps. some are even resorting to heating snow to drink. but in any crisis there are helpers like alan. he's bought hundreds of bottles of water for his local community.- of bottles of water for his local community. it's super important _ local community. it's super important. it _ local community. it's super important. it really - local community. it's super important. it really is. - local community. it's super important. it really is. it i important. it really is. it takes the bird not me having to

get up and drive around. i appreciate this, i really, really do. appreciate this, i really, really tie-— appreciate this, i really, really de— appreciate this, i really, reall do. �*, , ., really do. it's been a grueling few da s really do. it's been a grueling few days for _ really do. it's been a grueling few days for alan. _ really do. it's been a grueling few days for alan. he's - really do. it's been a grueling few days for alan. he's dealt | few days for alan. he's dealt with power outages and now has no food at home. i with power outages and now has no food at home.— no food at home. i was very cold. no food at home. i was very cold- and — no food at home. i was very cold. and every _ no food at home. i was very cold. and every time - no food at home. i was very cold. and every time that i l cold. and every time that i would _ cold. and every time that i would get out of my car and go back— would get out of my car and go back and — would get out of my car and go back and just have somewhere to lay down — back and just have somewhere to lay down i— back and just have somewhere to lay down i had to decide do i want — lay down i had to decide do i want to— lay down i had to decide do i want to stay in an uncomfortable position in my car and — uncomfortable position in my car and the warmth or do i want to go— car and the warmth or do i want logo into — car and the warmth or do i want logo into a _ car and the warmth or do i want to go into a cold home and lay in a _ to go into a cold home and lay in a comfortable bed? today and -et in a comfortable bed? today and gel to— in a comfortable bed? today and gel to do— in a comfortable bed? today and get to do this water and then after— get to do this water and then after the _ get to do this water and then after the water i'm going to check— after the water i'm going to check and see what type of food people — check and see what type of food people lost. and see what i can do to— people lost. and see what i can do to replace their food. it�*s do to replace their food. it's clear alan — do to replace their food. it's clear alan is _ do to replace their food. it�*s clear alan is making a huge difference to his community bring in supplies like water and even electricity generators. but temperatures are expected to triple in the coming days. that could bring new problems. melted ice coming through already damaged pipes could cause flooding. that

could cause flooding. that could see precious supply dwindle even further. officials say some areas in the state can completely run out in the coming days. residents are being asked to ration the little utilities they already have. it's been a long, cold week in the us. several states in this country have been brought to their knees by the severe winter storms. it's too early to definitively link this weather to global warming but what is clear is that the us needs to be better prepared for a changing climate. in the last few hours the state's governor greg abbott offered strong criticism of electric reliability council of texas — the state's independant energy provider — saying the state government would be willing to step in to ensure future power supply... i have ordered the state legislature to investigate exactly why they fell short

here. and to make sure it never happens again. we know that you folks at home have faced struggles by going without power. we want to make sure that whatever happened and then falling short never happens again. even if it means that the state stepping up, providing funds to ensure that all of the machinery that froze up all of the machinery that froze up and was unable to generate the power you need, that may require funding. the state of texas should step up and provide that funding. greg abbott the _ provide that funding. greg abbott the state _ provide that funding. greg | abbott the state governor. brian greene is president and ceo of houston food bank thanks for talking to us. talk us through the level of demand for the houston food bank given the weather conditions and the power outages and the lack of water in the area. this power outages and the lack of water in the area.— water in the area. this is actually _ water in the area. this is actually on _ water in the area. this is actually on top _ water in the area. this is actually on top of - water in the area. this is actually on top of all - water in the area. this is actually on top of all the | actually on top of all the extra work that we were doing because of covid. food banks all around the world are dealing with the financial crisis that that's created. at

first letter everybody to shut down and unfortunately low income housing with freezers and refrigerators going out because of power they've got that economic loss. in the united states people who make lower wages tend to not get paid if there is a business interruption. so there is a weeks worth of economic loss there. on top of it when the pipes on froze, when they burst and there are huge amounts of water damage so there are financial loss for the low income to income families. this is very significant. we've seen a huge increase in how many people are requesting assistance. and houston areas with many cities because of the low water pressure, though water is not deemed safe to drink. we are also in trying to increase bottled water to make up increase bottled water to make up the difference. you increase bottled water to make up the difference.— up the difference. you already touched upon _ up the difference. you already touched upon the _ up the difference. you already touched upon the fact - up the difference. you already touched upon the fact that - up the difference. you already l touched upon the fact that your services were needed because of covid. explain to us just how much more demand there has been since this period of covid then before hand. more relatively

normal time, before hand. more relatively normaltime, if before hand. more relatively normal time, if that makes sense. ., ., ., normal time, if that makes sense. ., sense. one of the food banks have seen — sense. one of the food banks have seen the _ sense. one of the food banks have seen the same - sense. one of the food banks - have seen the same phenomenon. we were distributing at a rate of £150,000 supplies per day before covid. that ramped up to, £1 million a day. was down about two £800,000 and going down about 700,000 pounds and glad for it. now we just go right back up to deal with that. g right back up to deal with that. �* ., , right back up to deal with that. .,, .,, right back up to deal with that. .,, that. a double crisis. you've not a that. a double crisis. you've got a natural _ that. a double crisis. you've got a natural disaster- that. a double crisis. you've got a natural disaster in - that. a double crisis. you've got a natural disaster in a i got a natural disaster in a medical disaster at the same time. how does this expose the situation when it comes to people who are falling through the safety net? what are your anxieties and concerns about that? in anxieties and concerns about that? ,, ., i: , ., that? in the us about 4096 of the households _ that? in the us about 4096 of the households don't - that? in the us about 4096 of the households don't have i that? in the us about 4096 of| the households don't have for hundred dollars to call upon in an emergency. this is going to do it. for a very significant number of these households they are going to get hit by that amount or more. theyjust don't

have it. we are notjust thinking of this is a food crisis but we don't want people to get evicted, to not be able to get evicted, to not be able to pay utility bills, it's going to be a big problem that's going to go on for many weeks. �* , ., that's going to go on for many weeks. �* ,,, , ., weeks. and your supplies, how is that, what's _ weeks. and your supplies, how is that, what's the _ weeks. and your supplies, how is that, what's the supply i is that, what's the supply chain when it comes to what you can offer out, how does that work? �* , ., ., can offer out, how does that work? �* , can offer out, how does that work? a ., work? as with food banks all over the world, _ work? as with food banks all over the world, what - work? as with food banks all over the world, what we i work? as with food banks all over the world, what we rely j over the world, what we rely upon mostly is surplus food. there is her huge amounts of surplus food, billions in the united states alone. that's what we try to rely on. we worked with the food companies. our us department of alcatel to make big purchases of surplus foods and for the food banks to distribute. and donations from the community. that's how us and all the other food banks the community. that's how us and all the otherfood banks in the global food banking network, that's how we try to make it work.— network, that's how we try to make it work. brian it's a busy time for you — make it work. brian it's a busy time for you so _ make it work. brian it's a busy time for you so we _ make it work. brian it's a busy time for you so we appreciate | time for you so we appreciate the time you taken with ours. ceo and president of the houston food bank, thank

you. the duke of edinburgh is expected to remain in hospital into next week for observation and rest. prince philip's doctor is acting with an "abundance of caution", the bbc understands. the duke, who's 99, walked into hospital on tuesday. he's said to be in good spirits. meanwhile, buckingham palace has confirmed that the duke and duchess of sussex will not be returning to their roles as working members of the british royal family. prince harry and meghan stepped down from royal duties last year, and moved to the us, signing lucrative deals with netflix and spotify. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. the bond which was once so close has, in every formal royal sense, been shattered. the breach, in terms of the business of royalty, is complete, and bar a complete about—face by the sussexes, it is final. for harry, then, perhaps, a sense of long sought freedom. for william, one imagines, a deep sense of disappointment.

today's news is not unexpected. in the year since harry and meghan made their last appearance at a formal royal engagement at westminster abbey, the gulf between them and the rest of harry's family has grown ever wider. the couple have bought a house in california, negotiated deals with us media companies, and made it clear that they relish their new life. at midday today, buckingham palace confirmed that they would not be returning as working members of the royal family. a statement said that following conversations with harry, "the queen has written confirming that

this was the sussexes�* response. "as evidenced by their work over the past year, the duke and duchess "of sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the uk "and around the world and have offered their continued support "to the organisations they have represented, "regardless of official role. " they finished their statement by saying this. "we can all live a life of service. "service is universal. " for harry, the loss of his military roles, particularly as captain general of the royal marines, will be particularly hard. i know that he'll be personally gutted, just as i was, that he's not allowed to put a military uniform on any more. regardless, it doesn't change his commitment to the individuals that serve in it and those that require care beyond it. supporters of meghan understand why she wants a new life. the press drove her out of here. if she was going to stay here any longer, i think they would probably have

made her ill because it isn't a relationship that most americans are used to. so, one of the royal family's most popular members, a man for whom, over the years, there's been great sympathy and admiration, now faces a very different future. the way back to royal duty has been closed. he can never again wear a military uniform. harry's future lies in california with his wife and family. just before we go — an italian hikerfound that man's best friend lived up to his name, after he broke his ankle in the alps. the dog — called ash — stayed with the 33 year old, who spent a week in the foothills with no phone signal to call for help. he dragged himself to a stream, and said ash kept him warm through the freezing nights and helped raise his spirits.

and finally — if in doubt, stay 3 flamingos apart�*. that's the message from the los angeles zoo to people paying a visit. after months of closure because of the pandemic, the zoo has finally reopened —and the animals have company. staff say the creatures seem pleased to see the visitors, especially a gorilla named evelyn, who loves to interact with humans. it was like any other day at the zoo, except everyone was wearing masks — and no more than 400 people per hour could come and keep evelyn and her friends company. three flamingos apart. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @bbckasiamadera

thanks very much for watching. bye—bye. hello again. we've got mild and windy weather as we head on into the weekend but for some of us it's also going to work out to be pretty wet. we got a slow—moving weather across western areas, and along the front pulses of thicker cloud. pulses of heavier rain working in. now we are going to see those rainfall totals continue to mount. the heaviest rain over the high ground across western areas. we have a number of flood warnings in force across scotland. one or two for england, and we've got some in force as well into wales. and across the south of wales the met office amber warning. because through the course of saturday, over the hills, over the high ground, 100—200mm of rain is forecast. but of course all of that rain falling on the high ground will work down into those river

catchments and just increase the risk of seeing some flooding issues then into wales. the rain here is pretty heavy at the moment as well. further north and west, something a little bit drier for a time in scotland and across eastern england. but it is going to be a mild start for the day wherever you are on saturday. so for saturday, most of us will have at least some rain at times. it's going to be windy and mild, however across parts of eastern england and perhaps central england as well it looks like it's going to be brighter. hazy sunshine around and very, very mild again. so real mixed fortunes from place to place. not a bad start to the day in scotland, probably a nice sunrise to start off across parts of eastern england. further west the rain pouring down. the rain turning heavier for a time in northern ireland turning wet in scotland through the afternoon. now, temperatures for all of us will be on the mild side. 12 to 14 degrees pretty widely. however, across eastern england, 16 degrees or so possible. very, very mild for the time of year. our weather front still on the charts, then through saturday night into sunday. although the activity starts to wane somewhat, so the rain won't be as heavy.

and it will start to turn a good deal drier for scotland and northern ireland with much more in the way of sunshine here for the second half of the weekend. it's across parts of england that we will probably see some rain. perhaps starting to wiggle back towards wales. but it does not look like it will be quite as expensive or quite as heavy. another mild one coming up, another fairly windy day. again, it's across the east of england that we will see the highest temperatures on sunday. highs of around 15 degrees or so. into next week, we've got another of these slow moving weather fronts moving into western portions of the uk. so again, there's a risk of some further localised flooding into the new week.

this is bbc news, the headlines. president biden has told world leaders, the translatlantic alliance is back — following years of strained relations between the us and europe under donald trump. addressing the annual munich security conference, mr biden said he's seeking to re—establish the united states as, leader of the west against what he called a global assault on democracy. the us secretary of state, antony blinken has told the bbc that america is fully engaged in helping resolve global issues — including the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and iran's nuclear ambitions. in his first international interview, mr blinken stressed the importance of worldwide vaccination against covid—19. nasa has released new images sent back from mars — taken by its perseverance rover. they show the surface in detail and the robot heading down to land on the red planet. the pictures were taken by the rocket cradle that placed the vehicle on the ground.

the number of coronavirus cases is continuing to fall in all parts of the uk.