this is bbc world news, i'm david willis. our top stories: the number of state—sanctioned executions in the united states falls to its lowest level for more than three decades. a new report also shows over a third were botched. a deadly wave of russian missile strikes hits multiple targets right across ukraine. at least three people are dead. residential areas and power stations are badly hit. translation: whatever the missile worshippers l from moscow are hoping for, it won't change the balance of power in this war. a rough ride for ramaphosa. the south african president is heckled at the anc�*s party conference, but he is still hoping to be re—elected despite last week's impeachment proceedings.

elon musk suspends several journalists' accounts. we'll be talking to one of the reporters affected. hello and welcome to bbc news. the number of state—sanctioned executions in the united states has fallen to its lowest level for more than three decades. that's according to figures compiled by the death penalty information centre. let's take a closer look at their report. it suggests that seven out of 20 execution attempts were botched due to incompetence, failure to follow protocols or defects in the protocols themselves. executions had to be put on hold in the states of idaho, ohio, tennessee and south carolina due to failures.

in all, fewer than 30 people were executed, and across the us, fewer than 50 people were sentenced to death. the five—year average for executions, 18.6 per year, is said to be the lowest in more than 30 years. that's a 74% decline over the course of one decade. attempts were visibly problematic in 2022. a high number of states failed or bungled executions. less than 30 people were executed. fewer than 50 people were sentenced to death. 18.6 executions per year is the lowest in over 30 years. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes explains how problematic some of the executions have been. the statistics are quite damning. of all of the executions that took place in the united states this year, one in three went wrong in some way. they were visibly problematic, according to this report. there were executions scheduled in only six states, involving 18 people, but a significant number of those cases they had

to be abandoned partway through the process. something went wrong, the protocols weren't adhered to. there was one example in the state of alabama where it took three hours to connect the intravenous line, the iv that would deliver the lethal cocktail of drugs to that individual which would eventually kill them. and other examples, as well, around the country. and it seems one of the reasons given is that some of the personnel that carry out these executions are simply not medically qualified or experienced enough to deal with some of the potential problems that can occur during the process. in some cases the inmates have a history of medical problems, of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and that can make them more susceptible to some of the issues that occur during the process, and especially the attachment of the iv line. now, executions across this

country happen far less frequently now than they used to, and they are concentrated injust a small number of states. and it seems quite likely that reports like this one and others will increase the pressure on politicians around the united states to look again at the process, to look again at executions and especially the technicalities of the lethal injection. there was a poll earlier this year that suggested some 46% of americans still support lethal injections, but that's lower than some previous polls and there may well be growing pressure on politicians in washington not only to look again at the process but to question whether executions should be happening in america at all. russian forces have launched a huge wave of missile attacks on ukraine, damaging electricity and water supplies across the country. at least three people are reported to have been killed.

the capital, kyiv, was hit, as was president zelensky�*s home town of kryvyi rih. in his nightly address, he warned that russia was capable of further massive strikes. the mayor of kharkiv described the destruction there as colossal and said that thousands of people were without heating in freezing temperatures. 0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford sent this report. distant rumble. the rumble of a russian attack, as kyiv was woken by more missile strikes. the danger drove people underground. the metro is the safest place to huddle here when the city is under fire. but as russian missiles hit the power grid, the trains all stopped. i've sat here about three hours. i want to go home.

but in southern ukraine, it was homes that were hit. hours later, rescuers were still searching for people trapped in the ruins. a child is missing here. this strike was on president zelensky�*s home town. translation: whatever the missile worshippers l from moscow are hoping for, it won't change the balance of power in this war. they have enough missiles there for mass strikes, but we have enough determination and self—belief to return what belongs to us. in northern kharkiv, the day turned dark, as the power went down right across town. this country now copes with what was once unimaginable, handing out hot food, keeping people warm, and even in kyiv, queuing for water in the street, defying russia's efforts

to wear them down. but these attacks affect even the most vulnerable. we found this old people's home without heat, light or water. it's running on sheer resilience. nella's children just brought her here from the south, thinking she'd be safer. translation: we're all waiting for peace, really waiting. - putin says, "let's be friends," but who is the unfriendly one here? he attacked us! 0ur situation here is really miserable. the staff are doing their best to keep things normal, but it's anything but that. they even have to store water now to flush the loo. "it is pretty hard," 0lga tells me, "but we will get through."

tonight, there are no traffic lights in much of kyiv, no lights at all in large parts of ukraine's capital, as russia tries to force this country into surrender. but somehow, life goes on. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv. earlier mitchel wallerstein, a senior foreign policy fellow at the chicago council on global affairs, gave us his analysis of the situation. well, i think this is part of a concerted strategy to terrorise and intimidate the ukrainian people. since the russian forces have not succeeded in their main aim, which of course originally was to take kyiv, and now are falling back in some parts of the donbas, the strategy appears now to be just keep firing missiles into the cities and hope that the people eventually put pressure on the government to capitulate.

there are countries that do have capabilities, air defence capabilities that could be very useful to ukraine, including israel that has the iron dome and the arrow anti—missile system. of course, a lot of this is coming in the form of drones. drones are very hard to shoot down because they fly very low, but there are various systems that can take out drones. the ukrainian military is reporting a high percentage success in shooting down these incoming missiles and drones. whether those reports are accurate remains to be seen. south africa's president, cyril ramaphosa, could find out on saturday if his anc party wants to re—elect him as leader or replace him. his position has been called into question after he avoided impeachment proceedings earlier this week. that followed an investigation into the theft of a large sum of money from his farm. mr ramaphosa maintains

he has done nothing wrong, but when he addressed delegates injohannesburg on friday, his speech was heckled. take a listen. i want to appeal to everyone who wants to raise their dissatisfaction to do so in an orderly manner, in the way that we do things here in the african national congress. yelling. we've been in existence for 110 years, and this is not the time to come and display this type of disorderly behaviour. the chanting began when the president's predecessor, jacob zuma, entered the venue to loud cheers. but despite the opposition, mr ramaphosa is still expected to retain power. mr fakude is a senior

researcher at africa—asia dialogue, based in south africa, and he gave us this assessment. it is a big threat, particularly because the anc is accused of not providing the services demanded by the people. but apparently the anc has been accused of corruption, which is what president cyril ramaphosa has been trying to fight since he began his tenure. and the reason why you heard that heckling in the meeting or the conference of the anc is precisely because there cyril ramaphosa continue with his fighting of corruption and reforming of the anc. many of those that are accused of corruption or that are mentioned in a report that was commissioned in south africa involve members of the anc, many of whom are still active

members of the anc, and those are the people that are trying to push back cyril ramaphosa's efforts in trying to clean up the regime. they somehow came up with an accusation which is still, by the way, to be proved in a court of law of cyril ramaphosa having foreign currency in his farm which was stolen by some people and later on reported to the police by one of the political competitors of cyril ramaphosa. let's get some of the day's other news: two ministers have resigned from the new government of peru as supporters of the ousted president, pedro castillo, continue to protest against his removal. several people have died in demonstrations, and strikes and protests have closed down much of the country's transport system. the former prime minister of ireland leo varadkar will take up the position again on saturday as part of a power—sharing agreement. he will swap roles with micheal martin, the first time that has happened in ireland's political history.

a row is brewing in west africa over the increasing involvement of a russian mercenary group in the region. ghana has accused its neighbour burkina faso of hiring troops from the wagner group, a private russian military organisation which is also believed to be involved in fighting alongside russian forces in ukraine. ghana says the mercenaries are operating close to its northern border. burkina faso has responded by summoning ghana's ambassador. 0ur correspondent in the region sent us this update. the russian security group already has a presence in the sahel region of west africa, in countries like mali, where it is said to be aiding in the fight against the jihadist militants, and also in the central african republic. so far, there is no official information about an agreement between the wagner group and burkina faso, even though the prime minister recently visited russia.

burkina faso has had two coups in one year. the current transitional government is trying to regain control of security in areas caught in escalating violence from militants who are allied to both al-qaeda and isis. the insecurity that began in 2015 has killed thousands of people and left millions displaced. the headlines: the number of state—sanctioned executions in the us has fallen to its lowest level for more than three decades. a new report has also shown over a third were botched. a deadly wave of russian missile strikes has hit multiple targets in ukraine, killing at least three people. residential areas and power stations were badly hit. the united nations has added its voice to the many critics of twitter�*s suspension ofjournalists' accounts. a spokesperson said the action

set "a dangerous precedent". earlier, the european union warned twitter�*s owner elon musk that the platform could be hit with sanctions, after he personally ordered the suspension of several journalists. in the last few minutes, a poll set up by mr musk on reinstating the accounts has closed, voting in favour of ending the suspension. it remains to be seen if that will be acted upon. tom brada reports. twitter finds itself at the centre of yet another row. 0n centre of yet another row. on thursday, reporters from the new york times, cnn and the washington post were among a number of journalists washington post were among a number ofjournalists locked number of journalists locked out of number ofjournalists locked out of their accounts. a twitter spokesperson said they'd violated the rules, but many are concerned about what seems to be an increasingly blurred line between content moderation and censorship. we are ve moderation and censorship. - are very disturbed by the arbitrary suspension of accounts ofjournalists arbitrary suspension of accounts of journalists that we saw on twitter. media voices

should not be silenced on a platform that professes to be a space for freedom of speech. that statement came hours after this warning from the eu commissioner, that... at the heart of the story is elon musk�*s dispute with a now suspended account, @elonjet. using publicly available information it had been sharing location data of elon musk�*s private jet, location data of elon musk�*s privatejet, something he says put his and his family at risk. many of the suspended journalist had been covering that story. journalist had been covering that story-— journalist had been covering that sto . ., ., that story. the one thing that all of us had _ that story. the one thing that all of us had in _ that story. the one thing that all of us had in common - that story. the one thing that all of us had in common wasl all of us had in common was that we had linked to the facebook page tracking his private jet. facebook page tracking his privatejet. i guess the real lesson is if they want to find a reason to ban people, you can find that and then kind of come up find that and then kind of come up with an explanation later on. ~ w' up with an explanation later on, �* , " ., , up with an explanation later on. ~ ., , ., up with an explanation later on. ~ ., on. mr musk has not commented directly on _ on. mr musk has not commented directly on the — on. mr musk has not commented directly on the suspensions, - directly on the suspensions, although he wrote in a tweet that...

doxxing is when you share someone because my private information online, hoping to do them harm, and few would argue with twitter privatising users of safety. at some is questioning when it matches up with mr musk is my commitment to free speech. tom rhoda, bbc news. to europe now. a giant aquarium — installed in the lobby of a luxury german hotel — has exploded, sending one and a half thousand exotic fish cascading across the floor. from there, jenny hill has the story. this aquarium was built to impress — a million litres of water, more than 1,000 tropicalfish — there was even a lift in the middle. all towering over the lobby of a berlin hotel. my god! but early this morning, it seems the tank simply shattered. glass and metal ripped

through the building. water and fish gushed out onto the street. sirens wail extraordinarily, just two people were hurt, neither of them seriously. the hotel actually shook inside. i could describe it as a... imitates explosion. and ijolted out of bed and turned around. i didn't see any movement so i didn't know what the heck was going on. i looked outside the window, i saw a lady running. investigators are trying to establish what went wrong. look at this footage, taken when the aquarium was first built. "you could fire a gun at the tank," says this architect, "and it would only cause "a small hole, not burst the whole cylinder. "such a hollywood scenario is impossible." the authorities suspect material fatigue may be to blame, but they're not yet sure. there is a sense, i think, of relief amongst many here that this happened when it did.

an hour or so later, and that lobby, the street outside the hotel, would've been packed with visitors, many of them children. there's shock at the destruction, regret at the loss of so many fish, but an acknowledgement, too, that this could have been so much worse. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. fittingly, perhaps, we are going to take you to outer space now. you to outer space now. the american space agency, nasa, has launched a mission to undertake the first survey of all of the earth's surface waters from space. emer mccarthy reports. engine ignition, and left off! for a landmark mission, which aims to transform what we know about water on earth. spot will chart the precise height of leaver�*s — mccrow rivers, reservoirs and lakes, and will also track features of the ocean surface in unparalleled detail. the results could be vitally important, helping to improve flood and drought

forecasts, and giving researchers a better understanding of climate change. understanding of climate chan . e. , «a change. every three weeks, it is auoin change. every three weeks, it is going to — change. every three weeks, it is going to complete - change. every three weeks, it is going to complete a - change. every three weeks, it is going to complete a map i change. every three weeks, it is going to complete a map of our planet, 90% of our planet anyway, so on a monthly basis we can see how ocean levels of changing, how the seasons affect things as well. so, yeah, it's a wonderful satellite, a wonderful mission. 0nce satellite, a wonderful mission. once in position, spot's and and i will begin sending pulses out towards the earth's surface and counting the time that reflections take to come back. it's these echoes that allow spot to make very precise determinations of height. it should be able to assess all rivers, which are at least 100 metres wide, and all lakes larger than six hectares. the data could provide crucial insight into waterways we are otherwise struggling to understand. ., ., understand. monitoring networks even on some — understand. monitoring networks even on some of— understand. monitoring networks even on some of the _ understand. monitoring networks even on some of the whelp - understand. monitoring networks even on some of the whelp is - understand. monitoring networks even on some of the whelp is myj even on some of the whelp is my greatest — even on some of the whelp is my greatest rivers like the amazon, the congo, are nowhere near— amazon, the congo, are nowhere near as_ amazon, the congo, are nowhere near as thorough and, hence it is they— near as thorough and, hence it is they need to be, and in many cases_ is they need to be, and in many cases are —

is they need to be, and in many cases are actually in decline, so we — cases are actually in decline, so we are _ cases are actually in decline, so we are getting less information now than we did quite — information now than we did quite some time ago. it information now than we did quite some time ago.- information now than we did quite some time ago. it will be a few months _ quite some time ago. it will be a few months before _ quite some time ago. it will be a few months before spot - quite some time ago. it will be a few months before spot is i a few months before spot is fully operational. 0nce up and running, scientists hope we can open a new chapter in our understanding of climate change and the water cycle on earth. emo mccarthy, bbc news. the savage murder of emmett till in 1955 — and his mother's subsequent fight forjustice — has been made into a movie, which is due to be released next month. it's produced by barbara broccoli — who's behind the bond films — and it stars danielle dead—wyler, as emmett�*s mother, may—mie. they've been speaking to our culture editor, katie razzall. 14—year—old emmett till. they have a different set of rules down there. his brutal murder in mississippi in 1955 galvanised the civil rights movement. the body of emmett louis till has been found dead... driven by his mother, mamie. be small down there.

you have to be extra careful with white people, you can't risk looking at them the wrong way. i know! i wondered how much you felt the weight of responsibility, the weight of the civil rights movement on you, as you made this movie? oh, i felt every inch of it, and i knew that i had to honour it, i had to give it that kind of reverence. we have to tell these stories. if we don't recognise our history, we're doomed to repeat it. emmett was lynched for whistling at a white female shopkeeper in this segregated part of america. but the film deliberately doesn't show the violence he suffered at the hands of the woman's husband and another relative. i think we're overjust the grotesque nature of witnessing violence on black bodies. it shouldn't take that kind of visual to ignite folks to resist the kind of atrocities that are happening — that had happened in 1955, that continue to happen to black people, or any oppressed group of people. back in 1955, mamie till—mobley had her son's violated body photographed, and insisted on an open casket at his funeral.

many thousands filed past it. that smell is my son's body reeking of racial hatred. come with me, please. she was one of the first people to recognise how vitally important the image would be to the world. and i think, when you see what happened with george floyd, that young woman who kept filming that horrendous murder, we all saw it — we wouldn't have believed it if we hadn't seen it. the two men accused of killing emmett till were put on trial. and i do think that the trial will be carried on fairly, and that we're alljust praying for the best to happen. a white male jury found the men not guilty. they later admitted the murder, but couldn't be tried a second time. though they're dead, emmett�*s female accuser isn't. do you think thatjustice

will ever be served? good question. we hope. i think that films have the opportunity to reawaken people's understanding of critical moments in history. that troubled history now being told on screen, nearly 70 years on. katie razzall, bbc news. if you fancy taking a break this december — and you prefer freezing conditions to warm sunshine, then this could be your ideal holiday location. this picture perfect location, 200 kilometres above the arctic circle, is home to a very special hotel, where there is always a warm welcome, but the rooms are very cold. —5 to

minus eight celsius. the ice hotel is the world's first and largest hotel built out of snow and ice. new parts are hand sculpted out of massive ice blocks, and the team don't have to go far to find the source for the building materials. what we're looking at is the tawny river, one of the biggest rivers in sweden, that is where we harvest and get the ice to build the ice hotel every year, and we also pump the water that goes through the snow cannons that makes the snow for the hotel. so everything comes from the river. ~ ., ,. the river. like a scene straight _ the river. like a scene straight out _ the river. like a scene straight out of - the river. like a scenej straight out of narnia, the river. like a scene - straight out of narnia, the hotel has 12 art suites, uniquely designed by artists from all over the world. the intricate carvings adorn the walls, and the ice also has a practical use. no need to ask for a drink on the rocks here. when the spring comes, parts of the hotel are left to melt back into the beautiful landscape

until next time. claudia redmond, bbc news. compared to the climate here in central london, it looks positively tropical. you are watching bbc news. hello. some very big changes in our weather over the next 48 hours. saturday, still a very cold day with a very frosty start. but then the thaw begins on sunday in the morning — and i say "begins", because for some of us it will be a slow process, particularly in the north of the country. so, here's the weekend. this is the air mass showing where the warm air is, just to the south—west of us. and then ahead of it, this weather front will sweep in across the uk. ahead of it, still cold air, but the cold air will be deflected towards the east of the continent, so hence that milder air will eventually arrive. we'll talk about the rest of that in just a second. here's a look at the here and now. so, still some snow showers around, across the highlands,

the pennines, into northern wales. the inner—city temperatures well below freezing, first thing on saturday morning. outside of town, it's going to be even colder than that. so, the weather for saturday itself, and some western parts will be cloudy at times, wintry showers are certainly on the cards, most of the rain around the coasts, snow or sleet inland, and already starting to feel a little less cold. five in london, four in glasgow and eight degrees in plymouth. so, quite a change. now, that big change arriving, saturday night into sunday. so, the weather fronts sweep in, a lot of isobars, gale force winds around the coasts. but for a time in the morning, with a lot of cold air about, early on sunday, there could be freezing rain, icy conditions and hill snow. for example, in wales, hill snow is possible around the pennines, and certainly in scotland. so, for a time in the morning on sunday, it could be icy for some of us. but those winds are strong, the air is mild, it will sweep in, and by the early afternoon, these are the sort of temperatures

we will be getting. so, 10 in plymouth, still cold in the north. but those temperatures will continue to rise through the course of sunday night into monday. look at that — by monday morning, we are talking about the mid—teens in cardiff and plymouth, and this is the outlook, as far as the week ahead is concerned. it's going to be changeable, turbulent, windy at times, back to the sort of normal weather we would expect around our shores. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: a report on capital punishment in the us states that more than a third of the 20 scheduled executions due to take place this year were botched. the death penalty information centre also noted that the number of state—sanctioned killings fell to its lowest level for more than three decades. ukrainian officials say that one of the biggest barrages of russian missile strikes has badly damaged electricity and water supplies across the country. at least three people are reported to have been killed. south africa's president, cyril ramaphosa, was heckled when he addressed his own anc party conference. mr ramaphosa avoided impeachment proceedings earlier this week but is still hoping to re—stand as party leader.