welcome to bbc news — i'm monika plaha. our top stories: four days on from the earthquake — 20,000 people are now known to have died in turkey and syria. still, relatives hope their loved ones might emerge alive. yesterday i tried to dig, myself, but you can't. you see the concrete like this, it pushes. we have no power to lift it. this was an entire neighbourhood and it is completely destroyed. hundreds of apartments, thousands of people — of apartments, thousands of people and the majority of them are still— people and the majority of them are still buried. there are stories too of miraculous survival. we'll hear from doctors looking after the syrian baby born in the rubble.

in other news, nicaragua frees more than 200 opposition political prisoners and deports them to the united states. # ijust don't know what # i just don't know what to # ijust don't know what to do with myself. we remember burt bacharach— one of pop�*s greatest songwriters, who has died aged 94. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. hundreds of thousands of people across turkey and syria are spending a fourth night in freezing conditions in makeshift camps, having been made homeless by earthquakes. officials say more than 20,000 are now known to have died and hopes are fading that many more will be found beneath the rubble.

the first united nations aid convoy has made it into syria — and the world bank has promised around $1.8 billion to help turkey. let's start with this report from our correspondent anna foster in kahraman—maras. an urgent call for quiet. these rescuers need complete silence. they've heard voices. even though this building isn't safe, they don't hesitate because despite the winter cold, there are still survivors, and to get to them, they need to be inside. in another collapsed building not far away, a british—german team are helping local people to search. they risk their lives for moments like this. allahu akbar! a mother and child pulled from the ruins, freezing, exhausted, but alive.

the team have been working on a work site for the last few hours. and i'm very glad to say they have just been able to pull someone out of the rubble pile and pass them over to paramedics locally. it is places like this that really show you why the death toll keeps rising. this was an entire neighbourhood, and it's completely destroyed. it was hundreds of apartments, thousands of people, and the majority of them are still buried under these vast mounds of smoking rubble. good news is becoming increasingly rare here in maras. each day, the number of bodies goes up. it's impossible to know how many more might be found. keenan travelled here from doncaster as soon as he heard the news of the quake. his brother is in there, somewhere. i tried yesterday to dig myself, but you can't. you see the concrete�*s like this? i have no power to lift this.

i'm sorry... the wait is agony. i can't stop crying. the last two days i am here, i keep seeing dead bodies, many dead bodies. and they are just putting each other on top. it's not nice, not nice. as darkness falls once again, the rescue work continues. but the chance of finding more survivors is now small. fourfreezing nights have taken a heavy toll. that's the picture in turkey — but the process of getting help and aid for those affected in syria is a far more complicated one — because of the effect of 12 years of civil war. much of the earthquake zone in northern syria is controlled by groups who are fighting the government. there's only one border crossing that's currently open for un aid convoys to use.

it's called baab—al—hawa and six lorries did go through it today. but specialist machinery for lifting rubble is still desperately needed in syria. 0ur correspondent quentin somerville sent this report from near the turkish—syrian border. at this corner of ataturk and jamal street, hope ends. from what was once an eight—storey building, the last four bodies have been retrieved. everyone else has been accounted for. all that's left is rubble. 0n the other side of the road, though, it's a different story. they shout. a desperate hope still remains. "the children are four and six years old. it's been four days," she says. her nieces are trapped inside. "my god, my god, please return them to us," she says. they dig deep inside the building, but no survivors emerge.

a few streets away, there's better news. a syrian boy, one—year—old rami, is pulled out alive after 80 hours buried under the rubble. his eight—year—old sister hilal was also saved, along with their older brother and their mother. turks and syrians have lived together here in anta kya for years. most of the 3 million syrian refugees in turkey are in the earthquake zone and working hand—in—hand in its aftermath. this earthquake is a catastrophe for two countries, for turkey and for syria. syrian and turkish lives and fates overlap here. this is the border region. syria's only 15 km from here. but when it comes to the national and international response to this disaster, well, syria and turkey have never been further apart. it's taken long enough for help to make it here to southern turkey, but over the horizon in syria, desperate

people still wait. quentin sommerville, bbc news. craig redmond is the ceo of the charity relief international which runs a number of healthcare facilities in syria and turkey. thank you so much forjoining us here on bbc news. we have been seeing the absolutely devastating pictures and your team have been working incredibly hard on the ground providing aid. talk us through what you have been providing and have you managed to reach syria? and have you managed to reach 5 ria? , . ~ and have you managed to reach 5 ria? , ., ~ i. and have you managed to reach 5 ria? , ., ~ ., syria? yes. thank you for havin: syria? yes. thank you for having me- _ syria? yes. thank you for having me. as _ syria? yes. thank you for having me. as you - syria? yes. thank you for having me. as you said, i syria? yes. thank you for - having me. as you said, relief international have a network of health claire clinics from small clinics all that allowed hospitals in that band of syria including the north—west of the country that has been most impacted by the earth quake. we

are currently working and our operation is in full speed there. our doctors and nurses and health professionals are providing emergency care for people who have been affected by the earthquake. we people who have been affected by the earthquake.— people who have been affected by the earthquake. we know that in s ria by the earthquake. we know that in syria that _ by the earthquake. we know that in syria that was _ by the earthquake. we know that in syria that was already - by the earthquake. we know that in syria that was already a - in syria that was already a humanitarian crisis before the earthquake even struck. so how difficult has it been to get that help there?— difficult has it been to get that help there? exactly. it is the very definition _ that help there? exactly. it is the very definition of - that help there? exactly. it is| the very definition of complex crisis. when you think about the natural disaster, the earthquake that happens, accompanied with all these questionable structural integrity of the building now and on top of that there is cold and on top of that it is an active conflict zone and it is hard to picture a worse set of circumstances for the people of circumstances for the people of syria. fin of circumstances for the people of s ria. �* �* , ., of syria. on bbc news we have heard from _ of syria. on bbc news we have heard from doctors _ of syria. on bbc news we have heard from doctors on - of syria. on bbc news we have heard from doctors on the - heard from doctors on the frontline who echoed the lack of staff and the lack of

medication and also the electricity supplies are not fully working. what do you hear about the state of hospitals and medical care across the affected regions? we and medical care across the affected regions?— and medical care across the affected regions? we were a little lucky — affected regions? we were a little lucky in _ affected regions? we were a little lucky in that _ affected regions? we were a little lucky in that regard - affected regions? we were a little lucky in that regard in i little lucky in that regard in that we prepositioned some medical equipment right before the earthquake, one week before so the clinics we are running ourfully operational so the clinics we are running our fully operational but because of the large number of people needing assistance we're worried about through the equipment quickly. as you mention, that boarding that might border crossing has to stay open in order for this crisis to be addressed. craig, what more — crisis to be addressed. craig, what more help _ crisis to be addressed. craig, what more help in _ crisis to be addressed. craig, what more help in aid - crisis to be addressed. craig, what more help in aid is - crisis to be addressed. craig, i what more help in aid is needed and what is the priority, what is needed most? the immediate need we are _ is needed most? the immediate need we are looking _ is needed most? the immediate need we are looking at, - is needed most? the immediate need we are looking at, in - need we are looking at, in syria itself worried about the basics. food, shelter, blankets

and, as i said, the medical attention there. relief international and others are giving that. we're worried about those immediate needs and given the freezing cold conditions people are living under we are worried about the coming days. under we are worried about the coming days-— under we are worried about the coming days. thank you so much for our coming days. thank you so much for your time _ coming days. thank you so much for your time here _ coming days. thank you so much for your time here on _ coming days. thank you so much for your time here on bbc - coming days. thank you so much for your time here on bbc news. j for your time here on bbc news. good luck to you and your team who are doing all they can to help. we appreciate your time. let's get some of the day's other news. us media sources say the former vice president mike pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating donald trump. it is not immediately clear what information the special counseljack smith is seeking. he was appointed in november to oversee the investigation into mr trump's alleged mishandled classified documents after he left the presidency. ukraine's president zelensky has appealed to eu leaders to give ukraine fighterjets and arms for the war against russia.

on his first visit to brussels since the start of the invasion he received several standing ovations as he told the european parliament that his country is fighting notjust to defend itself — but also for europe's way of life. south africa's president has declared a state of disaster to try to deal with an energy crisis. cyril ramaposa was making a state of the nation address to parliament which was repeatedly disrupted by the opposition. his announcement gives the government additional powers to tackle crippling electricity shortages. now to latin america. more than 200 political prisoners in nicaragua have been released and are being flown to the united states. in recent years president daniel 0rtega's administration had jailed many opposition figures and critics. 0ur reporter sofia bettiza joins me in the studio now. what more can you tell us? it

is a really big day for nicaraguans. 222 prisoners have been released. they were all critics of the president and five of them were hoping to run against him in the presidential election. they have been stripped of their nationality and they were called traitors and they were called traitors and have been deported to the united states because they are a threat to national security. today, the us state department said on the other hand that it welcomes the move.- said on the other hand that it welcomes the move. some of these individuals _ welcomes the move. some of these individuals had - welcomes the move. some of these individuals had spent i these individuals had spent years— these individuals had spent years in— these individuals had spent years in prison. the government of nicaraguans decided to release these individuals in the united states chose to receive _ the united states chose to receive them on humanitarian grounds _ receive them on humanitarian grounds. we welcome the opportunity to offer this humanitarian protection to these _ humanitarian protection to these clinical prisoners. the release _ these clinical prisoners. the release of these individuals by the government of nicaraguans are marks a constructive step towards — are marks a constructive step towards addressing human rights abuses— towards addressing human rights abuses in— towards addressing human rights abuses in that country. that

was the us _ abuses in that country. that was the us state _ abuses in that country. twat was the us state department spokesperson there speaking about human rights abuses in nicaragua. what is the situation now? in nicaragua. what is the situation now? . , ., , situation now? in recent years the president _ situation now? in recent years the president has _ situation now? in recent years the president has obliterated. the president has obliterated any opposition to his government he has detained religious figures, journalists, political opponents and more than 100,000 people had to flee the country so without any real opposition he won an election in 2021 and has become the longest serving president, the longest serving president, the longest serving president, the longest serving leader in the americas. america called the election a scam and imposed sanctions. election a scam and imposed sanctione— election a scam and imposed sanctions. �* . ., , , sanctions. and what will happen now to the _ sanctions. and what will happen now to the former _ sanctions. and what will happen now to the former prisoners? i now to the former prisoners? they will be taken to hotels and offered medical and legal support and allowed to stay in the us for up to two years. today we saw images of overjoyed crowds of people waiting for them at the airport, chanting, singing,

waving nationalflags airport, chanting, singing, waving national flags and hugging one another. 0verall waving national flags and hugging one another. overall a happy day for many families reunited. . ., happy day for many families reunited. ., ,, , ., , happy day for many families reunited. . ~' , ., , . reunited. thank you very much. sta with reunited. thank you very much. stay with us _ reunited. thank you very much. stay with us on _ reunited. thank you very much. stay with us on bbc— reunited. thank you very much. stay with us on bbc news. i reunited. thank you very much. stay with us on bbc news. still| stay with us on bbc news. still to come, the composer behind some of the guest musical hits of the 20th century, bert bacharach dies at the age of 94. -- bacharach dies at the age of 94. —— amaq three. —— burt. there's mr mandela, mr nelson mandela, a free man, taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader, ayatollah khomeini, has said he's passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book, which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti havej flocked to church to give thanks for the ousting i of their former president, ba by doc duvalier. because of his considerable

value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud farm's central block. shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. there stepped down from the plane a figure in mourning, elizabeth ii, queen of this realm, and of all her other realms and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. this is bbc news. the latest headlines — four days on from the earthquake, 20,000 people are now known to have died in turkey and syria. still relatives hope their loved ones might emerge alive. if there is one image that combines both tragedy and miracle in a disaster zone, it's probably this tiny little girl, born under the rubble in syria. when she was rescued,

baby aya was still connected to her mother's umbilical cord. she was the only one in her family who survived. 0ur correspondent nawal al maghafi has more on her story, and other survivors. the signs of a life. only a few days old, but already the wounds on aya's body tell the story of her harsh entry into this world. translation: she arrived - on monday in such a bad state. she had knocks and bruises. she was cold and barely breathing. now, in the safety of a hospital in afrin in syria's north west, but only with staff by her side. she was born under the rubble of syria's earthquake. found in her mother's arms, she's now having to survive life alone. her mother, herfather, and all four of her siblings have perished. their home, one of 50

in jindayris that was flattened by the quake, in a town with many tales of horror. her plight has moved people all over the world. 0n social media, thousands of people asking for details to adopt her. "i'd like to adopt her and give her a decent life," says one person. "i'm ready to take care of and adopt this child if legal procedures allow," from an arab tv anchor. but for now, dr khalid attiah, the hospital's manager, is taking care of her. his wife breast—feeding aya, alongside their own. translation: i won't allow anyone to adopt her. - she has some distant family, and until they come, i will treat her like one of my own. doctors say if she had stayed just one more hour under the rubble, she would have died. for nearly three days now, the search has been relentless, dangerous and exhausting, but every person saved renews hope that there are more people still alive to be found. yesterday, 36 hours into the search, another

story of survival. a family of six was miraculously pulled from theirfallen building in idlib. mustapha tells us how he had little hope they would be found, but his six—year—old daughter kept praying to keep them calm. translation: they took us out of the rubble, i just like that. glory to allah, it was an absolute miracle. and now that they've survived, she dares to dream. i want to be a doctor when i'm older, she says. rare stories of hope, at a very dark time. nawal al—maghafi, bbc news. tributes are being paid to a giant of the music industry, song writer and composer burt backarach, who's died at the age of 94. he won three 0scars, two golden globes, six grammys, and was behind hits by frank sinatra, areetha franklin and the beatles, and many more. our music correspondent

mark savage reports. # for ever and ever, you will stay in my heart and i love you.#. burt bacharach songs were classy. musically complex and stylish. # what's new, pussycat? # whoa! his muses were some of the world's greatest singers. with the lyricist hal david, he created hits like the look of love, raindrops keep fallin�* on my head and magic moments. we never finished a song in one day, because he would like to go home to long island and i would want to go back to my apartment and work on what we were working on, and maybe finish it the next day, or the day after that. so, you don't get awards for writing five songs a day.

# what's it all about, alfie? and as a producer and arranger, he was a perfectionist. it took cilla black 31 takes to get this one right. # what's it all about, when you sort it out alfie? did she speak to you afterwards? yes! and even if she didn't, it would have been 0k! all that mattered was that record came out the way i wanted it to come out. burt bacharach had his greatest successes in the 1960s, when his sophisticated pop was a counterpoint to the chaos of rock and roll. #just like me, they long to be close to you. during the 1970s, artists like the carpenters continued his run of hits. and even punk bands

like the stranglers acknowledged his greatness. # walk on by, walk on by. # what do you get when you fall in love? but the ultimate interpreter of burt bacharach's songs was dionne warwick. their chemistry was magical. in his later years, bacharach worked with elvis costello, adele and even the rapper dr dre. proof of the lasting power of his timeless, airborne melodies. jem aswad is the deputy music editor at variety and joins us now from new york. thank you forjoining us. we just heard some of his amazing hits there, and he was

evidently one of the most iconic and important songwriters of the century. i would you sum up the iconic role that he played in music? how would i sum it up? baby, it's you. ijust don't know what to do it myself. don't make me over. wishing and hoping. close to you. walk on by. always something there to remind me. what the world needs now is love. look of love. say a little prayer. neverfall in love again. raindrops keep falling on my head. promises, promises. that's what friends are for. ., ., are for. hit the nail on the head. there _ are for. hit the nail on the head. there you _ are for. hit the nail on the head. there you go, i are for. hit the nail on thej head. there you go, some classic hits there. just talk it through some of those amazing hits and what is it about those songs that make it so timeless?— so timeless? the remarkable thing about — so timeless? the remarkable thing about his _ so timeless? the remarkable thing about his songs, - so timeless? the remarkable thing about his songs, mostl so timeless? the remarkable l thing about his songs, most of the classics were written with lyricist howell david, who is an incredible lyricist, is —— hal david, there were so deceptively simple sounding that they were actually very complex full stop he was a very highly trained position, they

were jazz influences, classical influences, pop influences, bossa nova influences all over his songs, and he was actually fairly old when he started finding success. he was in his mid—30s. and there are just all these key changes and time signature changes, i mean, like, i was listening to one song today, and it went from 4-4 to 5-4- 7-8, song today, and it went from 4—4 to 5—4— 7—8, and back and forth. there is a really tricky things to do, and on top of that, his melodies weren't necessarily intuitive. they sounded natural, but if you listen to i say a little prayer, it is a hard song to sing. and may be the most difficult when there was actually a hit was promises promises, because i'm in that isjust... really, you know, a difficult melody to sing but it has also got the word promises twice, and the pea makes a hard

stop for the singer, but dionne warwick was a fabulous singer, so she was up to all of it. find so she was up to all of it. and he won oscars, _ so she was up to all of it. and he won oscars, as _ so she was up to all of it. and he won oscars, as i _ he won 0scars, as i mentioned, golden globes and grammy awards. how do you think his fans will remember him? for the sonus, fans will remember him? for the sonas, of fans will remember him? for the songs, of course, _ fans will remember him? for the songs, of course, and _ fans will remember him? for the songs, of course, and for- fans will remember him? for the songs, of course, and for his i songs, of course, and for his sophistication. i mean, he was quite old, he was 94, so i mean, you speak to a younger person, they may not know who he was but they will know the songs. he was but they will know the son . s. �* , he was but they will know the sonus. ~ , , . songs. and his music, it touched _ songs. and his music, it touched multiple - songs. and his music, it| touched multiple genres, songs. and his music, it i touched multiple genres, cool jazz, traditional pop as you mentioned, he wasjust jazz, traditional pop as you mentioned, he was just so diverse when it came to music. well, yeah, i mean, his songs had been covered thousands and thousands and thousands of times. the beatles covered one of his songs, they covered baby it's you on their first album. i mean, that shows the influence that he's had. isaac hayes did this incredible arrangement of walk on by,

maybe ten years after that, and as you pointed out before, the stranglers, a punk band, covered one of his songs though i think that one was rather ironic. �* , , ., , ironic. and tributes have been ”ourin ironic. and tributes have been pouring in _ ironic. and tributes have been pouring in on _ ironic. and tributes have been pouring in on social— ironic. and tributes have been pouring in on social media, i pouring in on social media, haven't they? dionne warwick said the songwriter�*s death was like losing a family member. just talk is through some of the tributes that you have seen online. i the tributes that you have seen online. . ., , online. i mean, there have been so many like _ online. i mean, there have been so many like that, _ online. i mean, there have been so many like that, and _ online. i mean, there have been so many like that, and honestly| so many like that, and honestly it has mostly been from fans. rather than contemporaries, not that there hasn't been a lot of those as well, but a lot of his collaborators have passed on, which happens when you are 94. but the breadth of it. i'm not seeing that much from young, young people, i'm not seeing a whole lot from gen z, because they would know who he is necessarily and the songs have kind of faded into the just giant cannon of pop music. they wouldn't know who you power brokers, but he wrote somewhere over the rainbow. people of a she knew who he

was, it is outpouring all positive. was, it is outpouring all positive-— was, it is outpouring all positive. was, it is outpouring all ositive. ., ,, positive. jem, thank you so much for — positive. jem, thank you so much for your _ positive. jem, thank you so much for your time - positive. jem, thank you so much for your time here i positive. jem, thank you so much for your time here on j positive. jem, thank you so i much for your time here on bbc news. the deputy music editor at variety. you are watching bbc news. thank you forjoining me. hello. it looks like the weekend is not looking bad at all. it's just around the corner, a lot of dry weather on the way. how about friday? it is going to be a bit cloudy, particularly across northern and western parts of the country. the best of the sunshine in the south—east of the uk, and, in fact, this is where the skies have been clearing. you can see all the cloud piling into north—western areas, milder conditions here, too, with these south—westerly winds, and bits and pieces of rain through the early hours. but where the clear skies have developed across southern parts of england, the temperatures will be lowest, first thing on friday.

in rural spots, could be as low as minus five degrees. more like plus five, i think, in the lowlands of scotland. you can see how this milder air is pushing into scotland, northern ireland, northern parts of england, and also into wales, but with that also comes a lot of cloud, and, at times, the cloud will be thick enough, here in the west, to produce a little bit of drizzle, but i think in western scotland it will be rain. 0n the other hand, in eastern scotland, with some sunny spells in aberdeen, it could be around 13 degrees. but after a colder start to the day in the south, it will be about nine or so, i think, in london, and after a bright start, the clouds will thicken, as well. let's have a look at the weekend, then. high pressure in charge of the weather, so you'd think all settled, sunny weather — well, not necessarily. first up, there's a lot of cloud stuck in this area of high pressure, and it will be slow to move across central parts of the uk, so i think saturday, at least at times, will be cloudy, a few glimmers of sunshine certainly on the cards. and temperatures quite uniform, typically between 11 and i3 celsius, and the high pressure still with us on sunday. when you are in the centre of the high, the winds are very, very light.

around the edges of the high pressure, the winds tend to be stronger, so for northern ireland and western scotland, i think, more of a brisk wind, whereas lighter winds, and feeling just that little bit milder than in the sunny spells across east anglia. and the high pressure, this is into next week, monday, tuesday, the high pressure still very much dominating the weather, notjust around the uk, but across much of europe. so, sunny, ithink, until about tuesday, wednesday. very little change on the weather front. beyond that, some rain possibly on the way, but dry until then. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: hundreds of thousands of people across turkey and syria are spending a fourth night in freezing conditions in makeshift camps, having been made homeless by earthquakes. officials say more than 20,000 are now known to have died and hopes are fading that many more will be found beneath the rubble. us media sources say the former vice president, mike pence, has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating donald trump. it is not immediately clear what information the special counsel is seeking. he was appointed in november to oversee the investigation — into mr trump's alleged mishandled classified documents