welcome to bbc news, i'm lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: us intelligence officials say saudi arabia's crown prince personally approved an operation that killed the journalist jamal khashoggi. police in nigeria are hunting for a group who abducted more than 300 girls from a school in the north—west of the country. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. we start with that us intelligence report on the killing ofjamal khashoggi. it accuses saudi arabia's crown prince mohammed bin salman

of personally approving the operation which led to the murder of the journalist in 2018. it's the first time the us has officially and openly accused the crown prince, who is a key american ally in the middle east. saudi arabia has dismissed the american claims as negative, false and unacceptable. here's nick bryant. it was at the saudi consulate in istanbul that jamal khashoggi met his brutal end. he had been lured there to discuss paperwork for his upcoming wedding but he was strangled as soon as he entered the building by a team of saudi assassins, who then dismembered his body. a saudi dissident who wrote a column for the washington post, often criticising his country's authoritarian leadership — the motive was to silence him. the damning conclusion of the declassified intelligence report is that saudi arabia's crown prince mohammed bin salman, the country's de facto leader, approved an operation in istanbul to capture or kill the saudi journalist.

the assessment was based on the crown prince's control of decision—making in the kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of his protective detail in the operation. these aren't new findings. the trump administration had suppressed this report. ahead of its release, presidentjoe biden spoke by phone to king salman of saudi arabia, the crown prince's father, all part of a deliberate move by the new administration to alter the relationship with the saudis, to be tougher on this oil—rich kingdom. we have significant ongoing interest. we remain committed to the defence of the kingdom. but we also want to make sure, and this is what the president assad from the outset, that the relationship that reflects our interest and our values. and so what we have done by the actions that we have taken is that not to rupture the relationship but to recalibrate

it. —— this is what the president has said from the outset. already, mr biden has ordered an end to arms sales and other us support to the saudis in their war in yemen. as a candidate, he referred to saudi arabia as a pariah state, but he's stopped short of imposing sanctions on mohammed bin salman, the future king, who is known as mbs. this new, tougher approach has drawn support from both democrats and leading republicans. look, this is a journalist working on american soil, working for an american publication, and he was murdered and dismembered. this is something we can't look beyond. there has to be a consequence of that. donald trump was very much in step with the saudis. significantly, it was the first foreign country he visited as president. and as well as turning a blind eye to the country's human rights record, he had a warm relationship with mohammed bin salman. when they met at a 620 summit injapan, he was asked about the murder of the saudi journalist, but clearly did not want it to sour their personal rapport. mr president, have you addressed the murder

of jamal khashoggi, sir? er... thank you very much, i appreciate it. under donald trump, the saudis almost had a blank cheque. those days are over. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. to nigeria now, and another abduction of hundreds of schoolchildren. president muhammadu buhari says the government will not succumb to blackmail by criminals who target innocent children following the abduction this time of 317 schoolgirls from a boarding school. the kidnapping occurred in the north—west state of za mfa ra. the governor has ordered all schools to close in response. mayenijones reports. the lucky few. these students were amongst those who are not kidnapped on friday morning. 0ver kidnapped on friday morning. over 100 gunmen stormed this all girls secondary school in the town, taking 370 students with them. security forces have been deployed to the area. we

are on the _ been deployed to the area. - are on the trail of the kidnappers and that is where you will find them in the forest here. as part of our location efforts, as part of our cordoning efforts. anxious arents our cordoning efforts. anxious parents gathered _ our cordoning efforts. anxious parents gathered outside - our cordoning efforts. anxious parents gathered outside the l parents gathered outside the school all day, waiting for news of their loved ones. abductions of this type are becoming increasingly common in northern nigeria. just last week, 42 people including 27 students were kidnapped in the central state of niger. yet to be released. in december more than 300 were kidnapped by gunmen and later released after negotiations. it is not clear who carried out the attack. but it was a 2014 kidnap of 276 girls in the town of chob by islamist militants abroad global attention to mounting security in the country —— chibok. it was carried out by boko haram. although they have not been acting in northern

nigeria, there is evidence that area of activity could be expanding. area of activity could be “pending-— area of activity could be expanding. area of activity could be ex-uandin. ~ ~ ., ., ., ., expanding. we know that one of the ma'or expanding. we know that one of the major institutions _ expanding. we know that one of the major institutions detected l the major institutions detected by boko haram that has been operating in nigeria for over ten years is another group and we know boko haram has been infiltrating the criminal guns infiltrating the criminal guns in the north—west and they have succeeded in the past 18 months orso succeeded in the past 18 months or so so i would not be surprised if these people are doing it for some ideological reasons or at least this indicates to us the pathological hatred they have for school, pathological hatred they have forschool, possibly pathological hatred they have for school, possibly because they did not have the opportunity of attending any. criminals have been encouraged by the publicity that followed the abduction of the divock girls. they know it is an effective way of measuring the government and have a clear strategy to stop them and northern nigeria remains one of the most unsafe places in the world for children —— chibok. mayenijones, bbc news, lagos. the us presidentjoe biden is spending the day in texas,

seeing how the state is recovering from a freezing winter storm which left millions without power or clean water for days. the president and first lady have visited a food bank in houston, where they helped put together supplies for distribution. they've also met staff at a coronavirus vaccination centre and had this message for texans. jillandi jill and i wanted to visit texas today for a couple of reasons. first and foremost, to let the people of texas no our prayers are with you and in the aftermath of this winter storm and secondly, to let you know what i told governor abbott and mary turner and the congressional delegation, that we will be true partners to help you recover and rebuild from the storms and this pandemic and the economic crisis we are in. let's get some of the day's other news. a review by the united nations of global plans to cut carbon emissions suggests they won't be enough to avoid dangerous levels of climate change. the un says countries need to be more ambitious

if they want to cut greenhouse gas emissions by half before 2030. more than 400 people escaped from a jail in haiti during a riot that left 25 people dead. the escape took place from the prison in the suburbs of capital port—au—prince on thursday after mass violence. authorities said the prison�*s director died during the riot, along with innocent bystanders. one of haiti's most powerful gang leaders, arneljoseph, was among those who escaped before he was shot dead on friday. more now on our main story — the us intelligence report on the killing ofjamal khashoggi. ambassador dennis ross is a veteran us diplomat in middle eastern affairs. he's a fellow at the washington institute for near east policy and before that, he served as special assistant to president 0bama and a national security council senior director.

thank you so much for coming on the programme. my pleasure, thank you. the programme. my pleasure, thank vom— the programme. my pleasure, thank yon-— thank you. what is your reaction _ thank you. what is your reaction to _ thank you. what is your reaction to this - thank you. what is your reaction to this report l thank you. what is your - reaction to this report being released? i reaction to this report being released?— released? i think one of the thins i released? i think one of the things i was _ released? i think one of the things i was struck - released? i think one of the things i was struck by - released? i think one of the things i was struck by is - released? i think one of the | things i was struck by is that there was nothing new there, most of what appeared in it has been released publicly, if not formally, while over the last couple of years. once again, what you see is a conclusion drawn by the intelligence community based upon the attack that mohammad bin salman controls all of the instrumentalities of power and those who carried this out were people who were close to him and so there is an inference that it would seem impossible that it would seem impossible that it would seem impossible that it could have taken place without him knowing about it or having approved it. but all thatis, having approved it. but all that is, as i said, has been out there since shortly after a lot of the news about jamal khashoggi's murder had emerged so i think what is interesting about this is it is a formal

release, a response of the congress asked for a couple of years ago, but there really is not anything new that is there and if one was looking for the so—called smoking gun, it really was not there. so-called smoking gun, it really was not there. what about what _ really was not there. what about what the _ really was not there. what about what the president i really was not there. what - about what the president should do now, joe biden obviously in a difficult position because he wants to maintain relations with saudi arabia but also there has to be a desire amongst the administration and worldwide public that someone is held accountable or more specifically mbs is held accountable. i specifically mbs is held accountable.— specifically mbs is held accountable. ~ , ., accountable. i think the point is interesting _ accountable. i think the point is interesting because - accountable. i think the point is interesting because there i accountable. i think the point| is interesting because there is a need to establish limits and a need to establish limits and a need to say these are lines that should not be crossed so there is a need, i think, focus on how you create accountability. 0ne on how you create accountability. one thing that the administration could do or has done his basically detonated and created a visa banned 476 saudis, —— a visa banned 476 saudis, —— a visa

ban for 76 saudis. the imposing a price on those living outside saudi arabia. there is also a designation of asseri who will not be able to have any property here so there is a attempt to have accountability from that standpoint but more directly with mohammad bin salman, i would say one thing that could be done is to get mohammad bin salman to outline the kind of structural changes that are being taken in the decision—making process within saudi arabia to ensure that nothing like this can happen again. i think it is not only important for saudi arabia at important for saudi arabia at important to make it clear that there will be a spotlight shone on all of these kinds of actions but not only by the saudis, we are seeing the iranians do this repeatedly, are that turkey has done this

so i think it is important not just for saudi arabia but for others that there really is a continuing spotlight on this and getting some kind of assurance that the saudis are taking specific steps to make sure nothing like this could happen again. but sure nothing like this could happen again-— happen again. but i think inaudible _ happen again. but i think inaudible the _ happen again. but i think. inaudible the day-to-day happen again. but i think - inaudible the day-to-day leader inaudible the day—to—day leader in saudi arabia and we're not to be able to, we can't dictate who is going to be leading saudi arabia and i think it is pretty clear and very unlikely that they will be travelling here at any time within the foreseeable future.- here at any time within the foreseeable future. there is not a decision _ foreseeable future. there is not a decision made - foreseeable future. there is not a decision made by - foreseeable future. there is not a decision made by the| not a decision made by the finer administration to, they are trying to strike some kind of balance, balance that reflects our commitment to the

senate a recognition that there is almost no interest in the united states in the middle east today where we would not need some kind of saudis support or acquiescence, where with —— whether we are dealing with —— whether we are dealing with iran and trying to promote normalisation of the arab states in israel or whether we are dealing with counter terror or nonproliferation or whether we are trying to resolve the conflicts in yemen or elsewhere, but trying to see the social and economic changes that they make, monetisation a source of legitimacy and identity. all of these things that are in america's interests and it is hard to achieve any of them if you basically create a bridge to that —— a bridge to the saudis. a bridge to that -- a bridge to the sandie— a bridge to that -- a bridge to the saudis. . ~' , ., , . the saudis. thank you very much for coming _ the saudis. thank you very much for coming on — the saudis. thank you very much for coming on the _ the saudis. thank you very much for coming on the programme. i here in the uk, the former first minister of scotland alex salmond has said there is "no doubt" that his successor nicola sturgeon broke the rules governing the behaviour of ministers. he made the claim during his long—awaited appearance at an inquiry into the scottish government's mishandling of sexual harassment claims against him. but mr salmond said it

wasn't for him to say what the consequences for nicola sturgeon should be. he has previously accused people close to her of plotting against him. nicola sturgeon has denied his claims. 0ur scotland editor sarah smith has the story. alex salmond arriving at the parliament he once dominated as the most powerful man in scotland armed today with allegations nicola sturgeon's lying and that he is the victim of a conspiracy. i swear by almighty god that i will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. scotland's institutions aren't failing, he says. he blames people, including nicola sturgeon, at the top of the system. the scottish civil service has not failed, its leadership has failed. —— the scottish civil servant has not failed, its leadership has failed. the crown 0ffice hasn't failed, its leadership has failed. scotland hasn't failed, its leadership has failed.

he says nicola sturgeon misled parliament over when she first heard that complaints of sexual harassment had been made against him. if the first minister has broken the ministerial code, should she resign? i have no doubt that nicola has broken the ministerial code, but it is not for me to suggest what the consequences should be. that is for the people judging that, including this committee. nicola sturgeon originally told parliament that the first she knew about complaints against alex salmond was on april 2, when he told her about it at a meeting in her home. she later had to admit she had forgotten about a meeting on march 29 with salmond's former chief of staff, in which he says the complaints were discussed. salmond that says that she is lying, and he knows why. some people say what difference does four days make? the difference, of course, is if the meeting of march 29 is admitted and the subject matter is admitted, it makes it very difficult to argue that the meeting of april 2 was on party business, as opposed to government business.

if it was a government meeting, it should have been officially recorded. not doing so could be a breach of the ministerial code. two years ago, alex salmond won a legal battle with a scottish government, who had badly mishandled the way it investigated complaints about his behaviour. he believes that as the government was facing defeat in court, a plot was hatched to have him arrested for sexual assault before the government had to admit that they had acted unlawfully. in my opinion, there has been behaviour which is about not just pressurising the police, like the one you have read out, but pressurising witnesses, collusion with witnesses. we are talking about the construction of evidence, because the police somehow are felt to be inadequate. infinding it in finding it themselves. during a criminal trial in which alex salmond was acquitted of all sexual assault charges, he did admit

to inappropriate behaviour towards women he worked with. of the behaviours you have admitted to, some of which are appalling, are you sorry? over the last three years, there have been two court cases, two judges and a jury, and i am resting on the proceedings of these cases. alex salmond's evidence does raise significant questions for nicola sturgeon to answer. tonight, her spokesperson said that he had failed to provide the first minister is looking forward to addressing all of the issues raised when she gives evidence next week. sarah smith, bbc news. this is bbc news, the headlines: a declassified us intelligence report says that the saudi crown prince approved and likely ordered the murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi. the crown prince denies the accusation. security forces in nigeria are searching for more than 300 girls who were abducted from a school — the second such kidnapping injust over a week.

more now on president biden's visit to texas. well, people in texas are continuing to pick up the pieces following the freeze. and for some the burden of repairs and higher power bills has left them financially stretched. reggie young is from the houston food bank, hejoins me now. thank you very much for coming on the program.— on the program. thank you, pleasure — on the program. thank you, pleasure to _ on the program. thank you, pleasure to be _ on the program. thank you, pleasure to be here. - on the program. thank you, pleasure to be here. so, - president biden was with you today, i believe, and during your facility. today, i believe, and during yourfacility. what today, i believe, and during your facility. what did you show him their?— your facility. what did you show him their? , , ., show him their? yes, we showed him everything- _ show him their? yes, we showed him everything. we _ show him their? yes, we showed him everything. we showed - show him their? yes, we showed him everything. we showed him| him everything. we showed him ourfleet, our trucks, we our fleet, our trucks, we showed ourfleet, our trucks, we showed him our warehouse but we also introduced him to some of the clients of the families that have been impacted by the freeze. so he got a chance to hear their stories first—hand as as well as meet the volunteers who have been helping us to respond. find volunteers who have been helping us to respond. and what was his thoughts, _ helping us to respond. and what was his thoughts, what - helping us to respond. and what was his thoughts, what did - helping us to respond. and what was his thoughts, what did he i was his thoughts, what did he say to you?— was his thoughts, what did he sa to ou? , , say to you? yes, so he was very concerned — say to you? yes, so he was very concerned about _ say to you? yes, so he was very concerned about what _ say to you? yes, so he was very concerned about what was - say to you? yes, so he was very| concerned about what was going on. we talked a lot about the

people who were impacted by this and their struggle and how we were responding to it. he really said that he supported our work and said that our operation was amazing, but he was really touched by the families that were there and the work that they were doing to give back based on all the things that happen to them. and things that happen to them. and what are some _ things that happen to them. and what are some of _ things that happen to them. and what are some of the stress points right now, what are some of the things that people need? yes, is absolutely the number one thing people absolutely need is water. even though water is back in writing to most of our region, the challenges that a lot of people have broken pipes and they can't run water, they can't put their food can't run water, they can't put theirfood —— cook theirfood with this water. they can't do a lot of things. someone of the main things we're trying to do is really source a lot more water into the region so we can get it to in need. but beyond that, there is the economic impact. forthat that, there is the economic impact. for that week that people were in their home, they are losing income. so there are

people now coming back to their homes with high electric bills, no running water because of the plumbing, and they have low incomes. so what they have to do is really try to make really tough decisions around how they are going to use their money. so the thing that we try to do is provide enough food so that can at least offset some of those costs they are going to have to make in trying to pay the rent, trying to make sure they can pay their medicine, as well as keep themselves warm. reggie, it is humbling that the richest country on the planet and people need water and those basic supplies. it is pretty sober reminder of the fragility of things. and on top of that of things. and on top of that of course, covid—19. of things. and on top of that of course, covid-19.- of course, covid-19. right. covid-19 — of course, covid-19. right. covid-19 has _ of course, covid-19. right. covid-19 has been - of course, covid-19. right. covid-19 has been a - of course, covid-19. right. i covid-19 has been a challenge covid—19 has been a challenge because the way i look at it is this has been a disaster on top of a disaster. we have already seen an increase in the number of people that are coming to our pantries that need food

based on covid—19 because of the loss of employment. and we are now not only seeing that but also for people based upon the fact that they have been struggling for at this time. and so the response has to be really strong and our partners, along with feeding america and the global food along with feeding america and the globalfood bank along with feeding america and the global food bank networks, helping us response about so we can assure these people have what they need to move on. reggie young, great to have your own, thank you.- reggie young, great to have your own, thank you. staying in the uk, people in their 40s will be the next in line for covid vaccinations after the committee advising the government rejected the idea of giving priority to certain occupations such as teachers, saying the current programme remains the fastest way of reducing deaths. the number of new infections and deaths continues to fall across the country but tonight, the government warned people to carry on sticking to lockdown rules, rather than wreck the progress that's been made. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports.

moving through the population and priority groups but where next for the vaccination programme once these are complete? there have been calls for key workers, including teachers and police officers, to be top of a new list for jabs. but the expert committee, thejcvi, says agent underlying health conditions are the biggest risk factors, so the next phase should move through younger groups, not occupations. we know the age—based programme is simple and works very well and therefore, it seems sensible to continue with that, keeping an eye on speed. couldn't you do both, with age and also some key worker groups? actually, subdividing priorities within any age band may only gain one week. we would want a 50— or 40—year—old policeman to come forward before a 20—year—old policeman. so in a way, doing it this way makes that prioritisation much simpler, as well. but police and some other key worker representatives

are not happy. they argue their members are vulnerable and deserve to be next in line for the jabs. we have to be in people's faces at times, we have to roll around with people at times, and my colleagues are genuinely scared not getting the vaccination. thejcvi say age is the biggest risk factor, not occupation. what's your response to that? yes, we totally understand what the jcvi are saying. but they're treating teaching as any occupation and, of course, distinctively, what happens with teachers is they're working with large groups of young people. if a teacher therefore is ill, a large group of young people has to have a stand—in teacher, the quality of education declines. the first vaccination priority groups were headed by older care home residents and staff, then down through age bands to take in all those aged 70 and older, the clinically extremely vulnerable and health and care staff. the focus now is on those aged 50 and over and younger people

with underlying conditions. the aim is to get through them by the middle of april. the next step will be first doses for younger adults, finishing by latejuly, with the expert committee saying the risk of severe illness and death clearly increases with age. at the downing street briefing, it was noted that in one in five local council areas, cases were rising, and there was a warning to the public. it's a bit like being 3—0 up in a game and thinking, "well, we can't possibly lose this now". but how many times have you seen the other side take it 4—3? do not wreck this now. it is too early to relax. and with some enjoying fine weather today, health officials urged people out this weekend — including those who've had the vaccine — to stick to the rules. hugh pym, bbc news. britain's prince harry says he felt forced to step back from his duties with the royal family because press coverage was damaging his mental health. he's been speaking with the chat show host james corden on a us television show, and our royal correspondent daneila relph was watching.

here we are. this is very nice. yeah. it's the first time i've been on an open top bus. is it really?! yeah. no! i'm not really allowed to. in the la sunshine, from the top deck of a tourist bus, prince harry opened up to his friend james corden about leaving the uk and, ultimately, royal duty. it was never walking away, it was... it was stepping back rather than stepping down. right. you know, it was a really difficult environment, as i think a lot of people saw. we all know what the british press can be like and it was destroying my mental health. really? i was like, this is toxic. yeah. so, i did what any husband and what any father would do, i was like, i need to get my family out of here. there were lighter moments too, including a call to his wife. haz, how's your tour of la going? - haz? i didn't know we were calling you "haz" now! no, you're not my wife, so...!

james corden offered a sympathetic ear and harry was clearly at ease. he revealed that he had watched the tv series the crown, his son archie's first word was �*crocodile' and there'd been a special gift the queen. interesting, my grandmother asked us what archie wanted for christmas and meg said a waffle maker. sorry, you're glossing over the fact that i cannot for the life of me imagine the queen ordering a waffle maker! for two brits living in california there were some memories of home. there you go, a little slice of home, huh?! next weekend, it will be meghan's turn, with the broadcast of her interview with oprah winfrey. daniela relph, bbc news. before we go, let's leave you with these images of the very nearly full moon, the snow moon rising over the eastbourne pier in the uk last night with a group of starlings there too. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones.

now though, it is time for the weather with nick. hello, i haven't got the best weather memory but i would hazard a guess that this is going to be one of the quieter weather weekends of the year so far. that's no bad thing. barely any rain out there, some occasional sunshine, fairly chilly at night. frost, fog a possibility, but it is all very quiet with high pressure right across us, just one weak weather front moving into that area of high pressure and that just lingers with a bit of cloud as we go through the weekend, barely any rain left with it by saturday morning but the cloud will have kept temperatures up overnight and into the morning through parts of scotland and northern ireland. it's eastern scotland, more especially in england and wales with the frost, maybe down to —4 or —5 in the coldest parts of southern england in the countryside, a few fog patches, parts of wales, west midlands and south—west england could be gradually clearing. and still maybe a bit of light rain to parts of northern ireland and southern scotland but that will tend to fizzle out

and bring just a bit more cloud further south into parts of northern england during the day. elsewhere, well, there will be some areas of cloud around but there will be sunny spells, too and temperatures to several degrees above the average for the end of february. still that strip of thicker cloud across parts of northern england and northern ireland, the odd spot of drizzle perhaps overnight and into sunday. away from that will be some areas of cloud, some clear spells, a few fog patches around, but not widely as clear as friday night and into saturday morning, so that means the frost isn't going to be as widespread. so just pockets of frost on sunday morning, some fog patches gradually clearing. still from that decaying weather front, a strip of thicker cloud from northern england into northern ireland, there could be a stray shower though the vast majority will have a drier day again with some cloud but also some sunny spells. and for the most part winds are light, quite breezy in north—west scotland and windier towards the south coast of england into south—west england and south wales on sunday where it's likely to feel a little bit cooler and generally temperatures are just a degree or two down on sunday. now, there is a greater chance of more widespread mist and fog

as monday begins and it will make for a colder day especially on monday where that fails to clear. but high pressure's still around for much if not all of next week. just a little weather disturbance running up across western parts on tuesday may bring a few showers, but that'll be the extent of it. and after briefly colder at the start of the week, temperatures head up again before it turns a bit colder again later in the week.

scotland hasn't failed, its leadership has failed. this is bbc news. the headlines: a us intelligence report says the saudi crown prince approved a plan to capture or kill the dissidentjournalist jamal khashoggi in 2018. the report said the conclusion was based on the crown prince's willingness to use violence to silence critics. saudi arabia has dismissed the american claims. the nigerian president says his government won't give in to blackmail after more than 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped. he described those behind the latest abductions in zamfara state as bandits and said they should not interpret the government's

restraint as a sign of weakness.