welcome to bbc news. i'm james reynolds. our top stories: a reset for transatlantic relations as president biden recommits to nate and pledges to "earn back" europe's trust. america to "earn back" europe's trust. is back. the transatlantic america is back. the transatlantic alliance is back. and not looking back, we are looking forward together. —— and we not looking back, we are looking forward america's top diplomat speaks exclusively to the bbc about the biden team's approach to the world. whether it is climate change, whether it is this pandemic, whether it is the spread of a dangerous weapon, not a single nation acting alone can deal with it effectively and we have to find ways to deal with it together. the reality tv star kim kardashian files

for divorce from her husband the rapper kanye west after seven years of marriage. and astonishing new images sent back from mars by nasa's perseverance rover, showing the red planet's surface in detail. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. 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 the world was at a pivotal moment, pitting those who thought autocracy was the way forward against those who understood that democracy was essential. in a moment, we'll hear from the us secretary of state in an exclusive international tv interview. but first, that pledge 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 backward. 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 defence. you know, to me and to the united states, and us, we'll keep article — we will keep faith with article 5. it's a guarantee. an attack on one is an attack on all — that is our unshakeable vow. let's stick with us foreign policy. in his first international interview, the us secretary of state antony blinken has told the bbc that the country is also fully engaged in helping resolve global issues such as the coronavirus pandemic, climate change

and iran's nuclear ambitions. mr blinken has been speaking exclusively to yalda hakim. he is america's new top diplomat. secretary 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 which killed osama bin laden. he has been biden�*s 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 have 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 the absence of american leadership, then one or two things happens — either some other country tries to take our place, and probably does so in a way that does not advance the common interests and values of the democratic world. president biden and secretary blinken have used the virtual g7 meeting to draw a line under trump's america first policy. blinken told me he is 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 face—to—face talks 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, the problem has gotten worse. no upfront concessions. blinken addressed america's complex relationship with china, now under pressure from claims of human rights

abuses of the uighur people, and condemned a lack of transparency. it is a striking thing to see china have one of the least open information spaces in the world and yet, 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 is also the issue of troop withdrawal from afghanistan, which the biden administration has put on pause. we're in the midst of a very rigorous review of the policy toward afghanistan but what we do know already, in the initial conclusion we have come to, is that it is vitally important for us and others to press the parties to make good on the commitments that they have already made. antony blinken has had a front row seat to history over the past 30 years. now, he is leading the foreign interest of a deeply polarised country during

a global pandemic. it is a diplomatic in tray that is not for the faint—hearted. yalda hakim, bbc news. and viewers on bbc world news can see yalda's full interview with secretary of state antony blinken this weekend. ian bremmer is president and founder of the political risk consulting firm eurasia group. he's in new york. thank you so much forjoining us. looking at mr biden�*s foreign policy, he is an anti— populist. how will he deal with a europe that has a number of populist governments and movements?— populist governments and movements? ~ ., , ., ., movements? well, that is one of the least problems _ movements? well, that is one of the least problems on _ movements? well, that is one of the least problems on his - the least problems on his agenda right now, you know, you have in italy, you've got super mario who is the exact opposite of a populist now taking over one of the most important economies, you have significant redistribution of wealth making the european union stronger in response to coronavirus and you have a pretty easy transition

from angela merkel to a succession because she is has —— she has been sent to do a pretty good job in response but i do not think it is populism in europe that is the problem but populism in the united states that biden has a much bigger challenge with, it is true both within his own democratic party and of course the challenges of trying to reach across the aisle. let's look at china _ reach across the aisle. let's look at china then. - reach across the aisle. let's look at china then. what. reach across the aisle. let's look at china then. what is| reach across the aisle. let's i look at china then. what is the challenge there? in look at china then. what is the challenge there?— challenge there? in china, one challenge _ challenge there? in china, one challenge is — challenge there? in china, one challenge is that _ challenge there? in china, one challenge is that china - challenge there? in china, one challenge is that china is - challenge is that china is getting a lot more powerful and they actually have a long—term strategy. it is not aligned with out of the united states, both in terms of trying to be a dominant artificial intelligence and technology superpower in the next couple of decades, a zero—sum relationship with the us on things like hong kong and taiwan, the south china sea, east china sea, and of course the use of sovereignty in terms of treatment of the weaker people for example that flies in the face of a stronger focus on human rights in the case of the united states and there is no question that the united states really wants to work more closely with allies and a

multilateral approach in dealing with china would be more effect of —— the weaker people. despite the fact that most allies were much happier to see by the actual interest in working with the chinese are a lot greater with those of the americans and that a european challenge, right? there is no question that the united states sees china across the board is the most important national security threat to america. the europeans largely don't feel that way. they are largely more aligned economically with the chinese, and they are going to hedge a lot. chinese, and they are going to hedge a lot-— hedge a lot. diplomacy sometimes _ hedge a lot. diplomacy sometimes is - hedge a lot. diplomacy sometimes is a - hedge a lot. diplomacy sometimes is a game | hedge a lot. diplomacy| sometimes is a game of hedge a lot. diplomacy - sometimes is a game of inches, of slow progress over many years, but is that one problem out there that the biden administration will think we can fix this in the next two or three problems in one go? climate. and i would say that because by far the most important appointment that biden has made has been a new cabinet appointee, john kerry, former secretary of state, thought he should have been president himself. this is going to give climate policy by

far the most significant change from biden, from the trump administration, and it is a prioritisation of dealing with climate, notjust in the us but of course in europe, we saw it from borisjohnson pm today at the munich security conference and even increasingly from xi jinping in china, if there is a place you could see major progress in the first year of the beynon administration, but is where you will see it. ian bremmer. _ is where you will see it. ian bremmer, thank— is where you will see it. ian bremmer, thank you so much. —— thatis bremmer, thank you so much. —— that is where. let's get some of the day's other news. 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 mya thwate thwate khaing was critically injured last week when police tried to disperse protesters using water cannon, rubber bullets and live rounds. the united arab emirates says that princess latifa, 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 reality tv star kim kardashian has filed for divorce from the rapper ka nye west after seven years of marriage. there has been speculation surrounding a breakdown of their marriage for months. papers have now been filed, formalising their separation. celebrity blogger perez hilton joins me now from los angeles. good to see you, progress. they were so big they had a merged name, kimye. how high up the a—list weather couple, if have rankings? a-list weather couple, if have rankings?— a-list weather couple, if have rankin . s? , , rankings? they were definitely on the m _ rankings? they were definitely on the a+ list, _ rankings? they were definitely on the a+ list, not _ rankings? they were definitely on the a+ list, notjust - rankings? they were definitely on the a+ list, notjust in - rankings? they were definitely on the a+ list, notjust in the l on the a+ list, notjust in the united states but worldwide. and i credit kanye west with really saving the kardashian brand and elevating kim and her entire family because when you look back and remember the period of time at the beginning of their relationship, when they started dating, kim had

just recently ended her ill—fated and much maligned very short marriage to chris humphreys. at the time, public opinion was not in herfavour. she would not get invited to fashion shows, the labels would not send her clothes. now, she is on the cover of vogue magazine and cohosting the met gala during pre—pandemic times, with anna wintour. but in many ways, in 2021, the tables have turned and i would say arguably, that kim kardashian is a much bigger star and perhaps even making more money than kanye perhaps even making more money than ka nye west. perhaps even making more money than kanye west.— than kanye west. what was it about their — than kanye west. what was it about their partnership - than kanye west. what was it about their partnership that i about their partnership that fascinated americans and fascinated americans and fascinated you?— fascinated americans and fascinated you? what i would attribute the _ fascinated you? what i would attribute the public _ fascinated you? what i would attribute the public interest l attribute the public interest in kim and kanye is first, the kardashians are a reality tv family. they play the game and they want us talking about them. and also, they were kind

of like a much more accessible jay-z of like a much more accessible jay—z and beyonce, whereas jay-z jay—z and beyonce, whereas jay—z and beyonce, whereas jay—z and beyonce, whereas jay—z and beyonce are extremely private, it felt like we saw many major moments of kim and carne's relationship played out before our eyes, and his very public proposal to her in a stadium to their marriage, to the children being born, to their troubles and, more recently, carne's very public incidents, as i would politely call what he suffered from last ear. , , ., ~' call what he suffered from last ear. , ., ~ ., ., year. just talking about that, even what — year. just talking about that, even what we _ year. just talking about that, even what we know - year. just talking about that, even what we know about . year. just talking about that, i even what we know about some year. just talking about that, - even what we know about some of their personal struggles — and it is a matter of public record — and the struggles that america has come to reflect on with other stars including britney spears, would you expect they would be more sympathy around this time around when we talk about divorce or people's struggles? i would hope that we could lead with empathy and compassion, especially because there is a four young children here who

are of age, in school and understand what is going on with their parents. you know, it has been reported that kim had been over the marriage for a long time but she felt that last year was not the right time to file for divorce because carne, time to file for divorce because came, in her mind and that a lot of the public, was struggling. so i'm optimistic, actually, as a result of this divorce filing that came is hopefully in a better place and purporting into reports, they are amicable —— kayne. she not here asking for sole custody may have a prenup in place and as of now seems to be very cordial —— kanye. and co—ordinated. cordial -- kanye. and co-ordinated.- cordial -- kanye. and co-ordinated. ., ., co-ordinated. do we get another album from _ co-ordinated. do we get another album from kanye _ co-ordinated. do we get another album from kanye west, - co-ordinated. do we get another album from kanye west, more l album from kanye west, more episodes of care —— reality show from kim kardashian? how

may this work professionally? absolutely, both is a yes and yes. kim and herfamily are going to begin the final season of their reality show, keeping up with the kardashians and later this year... it up with the kardashians and later this year. . ._ later this year... it is going to end? — later this year... it is going to end? it _ later this year... it is going to end? it is _ later this year... it is going to end? it is going - later this year... it is going to end? it is going to - later this year... it is going to end? it is going to end? | later this year... it is going - to end? it is going to end? did ou to end? it is going to end? did you miss _ to end? it is going to end? did you miss that _ to end? it is going to end? d c you miss that memo? to end? it is going to end? did you miss that memo? no, - to end? it is going to end? did you miss that memo? no, i. you miss that memo? no, i thou~ht you miss that memo? no, i thought it _ you miss that memo? no, i thought it was _ you miss that memo? no, i thought it was going - you miss that memo? no, i thought it was going on - you miss that memo? no, i thought it was going on for| thought it was going on for ever! ., , ., , ., ever! no, but while that show is ending. _ ever! no, but while that show is ending, they _ ever! no, but while that show is ending, they already - ever! no, but while that show is ending, they already have l is ending, they already have another show announced... fish! a another show announced... ah! a partnership with disney in america and it will air with hulu and internationally i believe it will air on this network called starz so i fully expect the new season of the new kardashian reality show to be about kim, the single woman now, and as for kanye, he has been spending a lot of time over the last year plus in wyoming, where he owns a very large ranch and where he has a studio and has inaudible music

and he settled will make it back and his whole team is in wyoming which he loves, for some reason. i wyoming which he loves, for some reason.— some reason. i need to get better marrows. _ some reason. i need to get better marrows. -- - some reason. i need to get| better marrows. -- memos. some reason. i need to get - better marrows. -- memos. perez better marrows. —— memos. perez hilton, thank you so much. stay with us on bbc news. remarkable new pictures from mars of nasa's robot perseverance touching down on the red planet. 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. 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. 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 new us secretary of state, antony blinken, has been speaking to the bbc about america's stance on coronavirus, climate change and iran.

nasa has released remarkable, new, high—definition, colour images from mars taken by its rover perseverence, which landed on the red planet on thursday. it shows the robot heading down to the ground to make its landing. perseverance has a large amount of data in its memory banks which it is gradually uploading back to earth. 0ur science correspondent rebecca morelle has the latest. 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 therein, 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. 0n 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's one of the landing site. the shadow of perseverance is clearly visible. and this close—up of its wheel

is intriguing the team. we'll be looking forward in 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 noticed was that it has a lot of holes or �*bugs' in it, and 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. whirring 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 once have lived. this is one of these existential questions. "are we alone in the universe?" and, what i can say is all the raw materials, the building blocks, are there for there to be life, so it would be — if there's 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. and then it sort of really hit home, you know, there's lots of things that could go wrong. but it all went right and all of us — the whole team and everybody working at heathcoat — was elated that we had another successful mission. over the next few days, the rover�*s instruments will be switched on and many more images will start to come back, including the video of its descent. then, perseverance will be ready to start investigating its new home. rebecca morelle, bbc news. we can noe speak to thomas zurbuchen, who's the head of science at nasa. he joins us from washington.

doctor, we have all had that experience of sitting, waiting, looking at the inbox, waiting for that message to arrive. were you waiting for those messages to be downloaded? you should have _ messages to be downloaded? gm, should have seen the teams. i was hanging out with them hours ago and both online and also in person, everybody is showing they have pieces of data we have, much of the data is still on the way down, and, yes, the excitement is tremendous. that one shot we saw you just described was just one of a whole movie that we will document for the first time the full ascent and landing process, in the history of space exploration, and we have never seen that.— never seen that. when i look at a icture never seen that. when i look at a picture like — never seen that. when i look at a picture like that, _ never seen that. when i look at a picture like that, i— never seen that. when i look at a picture like that, i go, - a picture like that, i go, while. when you see it with expert eyes, what do you see? i also go wow, because i know all the things i could go wrong. i spent hundreds of hours looking

at the risks, talking to individuals, i know these plumes that were talked about, you know, with this jet pack interacting with the surface of mars, we were really worried about it kicking up rocks. all of these challenges, the parachute, the pressures on the parachute, the pressures on the parachute, moving midflight, we will see that in the movies. anne twomey, just the fact that it all worked perfectly just makes me so proud of the team. i means, teams are perfect but individuals have flaws. we have gone on this amazing power for nearly seven months, we are now on the surface of mars, and now every single metre on the surface of mars, we want to collect the most precious samples and bring them back to earth and for us, that is what it is about now. i

earth and for us, that is what it is about now.— it is about now. i understand the eventual— it is about now. i understand the eventual idea _ it is about now. i understand the eventual idea of - it is about now. i understand the eventual idea of the - the eventual idea of the mission is to answer the question, are we alone? to find evidence of life on mars billions of years ago. took us through how you would go about answering the question using this rover?— this rover? this is a really important _ this rover? this is a really important result - this rover? this is a really important result that - this rover? this is a really important result that we i this rover? this is a really - important result that we found in the last 20 years or so of mars exploration, and that is these river deltas, the ones that we are close to two commoners away from, that was in fact all of water, 3 billion years ago. if you are on the earth and you looked at mars, the earth and mars look very similar. there is water standing, there is a magnetic field, there is an atmosphere. and that is precisely the time on earth where these are single celled organisms started evolving, so the question is, did that happen on mars? we will use sophisticated instruments to investigate the environment and take samples that we will carry with us into

we are ready to deposit them so we are ready to deposit them so we can pick them up and bring them back to earth. really, all the instruments, our robotic geologists and astra biologists will be involved with the return mission.- will be involved with the return mission. what will ha - en return mission. what will happen if— return mission. what will happen if the _ return mission. what will happen if the rover - return mission. what will| happen if the rover breaks down? it happen if the rover breaks down? ., ., happen if the rover breaks down? . ., ., happen if the rover breaks down? . . ., ~ happen if the rover breaks down? . ., ., . ., down? it that are not! we have curiosity out — down? it that are not! we have curiosity out there _ down? it that are not! we have curiosity out there -- - down? it that are not! we have curiosity out there -- it - curiosity out there —— it better not. it is its sibling that has been out there for nearly a decade. perseverance is several pounds heavier and has different instruments that we have a lot of experience with the machinery and we have unit redundancies. we built these missions to last. really not expected to break down, but if it does, of course, we will make sure it breaks down when we have already deposited on the surface some of these samples so a european fetch rover and pick it up and then bring it into orbit around mars and then back to earth. that is and then back to earth. that is a planned- _ and then back to earth. that is a planned. doctor— and then back to earth. that is a planned. doctor thomas -

and then back to earth. that is a planned. doctor thomas is i and then back to earth. that is a planned. doctor thomas is a | a planned. doctor thomas is a broken —— zurbuchen, thank you so much. severe winter weather is continuing to bring chaos and disruption to millions of people in the us state of texas. power failures and burst pipes are affecting water—treatment facilities, with reservoirs nearly empty and half the state's residents suffering shortages. in the last few hours, the state was my governor feasted strong criticism —— faced. the state government said it would be willing to step in to ensure future power i have ordered the state legislature to investigate exactly why they fell short here and to make sure this never happens again. listen, we know that you folks at home have faced struggles going without power are. we want to make sure that whatever happened in the provider falling short never happens again, even if it means the state stepping up, providing funds to ensure that all of the machinery that froze up and was

unable to generate the power you need, that may require funding. the state of texas to step up and provide that funding. step up and provide that funding-— step up and provide that fundinr. , ~ funding. greg abbott, the governor _ funding. greg abbott, the governor of _ funding. greg abbott, the governor of the _ funding. greg abbott, the governor of the state - funding. greg abbott, the governor of the state of i funding. greg abbott, the - governor of the state of texas. 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 to raise his spirits. finally, if in doubt, stay three flamingos apart. that is the message that the adelaide zoo to people paying a visit after months of closure due to the pandemic. staff see the creatures seem pleased to see the visitors, especially the gorilla who loves to interact with humans. everyone was wearing masks. more on our

website, that is bbc news, and i am on twitter. you stay with us. —— do stay with us. 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've got a slow—moving weather front 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 up. always the heaviest rain over the high ground across western areas, we have a number of flood warnings in force in scotland, one or two for england, we've some enforced as well into wales and across the south of wales, the met office amber weather warning because through the course of saturday, over the hills, over the high ground, 100—200mm of rain is forecast, but of course all 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. and 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 to the day, 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 indeed. 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 north ireland, turning wet in scotland through the afternoon. now, temperatures for all of us will be on the mild side, 12—14 degrees pretty widely. however, across eastern england, 16 degrees or so is possible — very, very mild for the time of year. 0ur weather front�*s still on the charts, then, through saturday night and 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'll probably see some rain, perhaps starting to wiggle back towards wales, but it doesn't look like it will be quite as extensive or quite as heavy. another mild one coming up, another fairly windy day. again, it's across eastern england that we'll see the highest temperatures on sunday, highs of around 15 degrees or so. into next week, well, 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

this is bbc news.

the headlines: president biden has told world leaders the transatlantic alliance is back after years of strained relations between the us and europe under donald trump. addressing the annual munich security conference, mr biden said he wants to see the united states lead 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. the reality tv star kim kardashian is to file for divorce from her husband, the rapper kanye west. the pair are one the world's best known celebrity couples and are both hugely successful in their own right. they have been married for almost seven years and have four children together. now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with stephen sackur.