this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. us fighterjets shoot down an unidentified object over alaska. the pentagon says president biden, gave the order, after it was detected yesterday. the object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight. us northern command is beginning recovery operations now. hope and despare in turkey and syria, as the painstaking search for survivors continues, after the quakes. in the second and the third day after the earthquake they are finding a lot of people. hardly finding anyone now, almost no one. syria's government gives permission

for international aid to be sent to rebel—held areas, it follows days of appeals by aid agencies. sports ministers from thirty—five countries meet online to discuss whether athletes from russia and belarus should participate in next year's olympic games. hello and welcome. the united states says it has shot down a "high altitude object" flying over the state of alaska. the white house said it was much smaller than the recently downed chinese balloon, but was still the size of a small car and could have posed a threat to commercial planes. 0ur north america correspondent nomia iqbal gave us this update. it nomia iqbal gave us this update. was revealed by1 spokesman it was revealed by the white house spokesmanjohn kirby it was revealed by the white house spokesman john kirby that around about 130 eastern time here in the

us there is high altitude object was shot down. it was travelling at 40,000 feet, which was lower than the chinese by balloon, that was floating across america last week, it was smaller in size but we're being told... that matt did not say it wasn't us by balloon but they're not saying either way at the moment. we're calling this an object because that's the best description we have right now. we do not know who owns it. whether it's state owned or corporate owned or privately owned, we just don't know. we don't know. state owned, we don't know if it's state owned. and we don't understand the full purpose. we don't have any information that would confirm a stated purpose of this object. fitter stated purpose of this ob'ect. after we were given * stated purpose of this ob'ect. after we were given details _ stated purpose of this object. after we were given details byjohn kirby there was another presser that was held by the pentagon. and patrick

ryder gave a few more details about the incident. fin ryder gave a few more details about the incident-— the incident. on february nine, north american _ the incident. on february nine, north american aerospace - the incident. on february nine, - north american aerospace command detected _ north american aerospace command detected in object on ground radar further_ detected in object on ground radar further investigated in identify the object _ further investigated in identify the object using fighter aircraft. the object _ object using fighter aircraft. the object was flying at an altitude of 40.000 — object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat _ 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to— 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight — threat to the safety of civilian flight. us northern command is the given— flight. us northern command is the given recovery operations now. us northem— given recovery operations now. us northern command alaska command coordinated the operation with assistance from the alaska international guard, federal aviation _ international guard, federal aviation administration and the federal— aviation administration and the federal bureau of investigation. we have no_ federal bureau of investigation. we have no further details about the object _ have no further details about the object at — have no further details about the object at this time, including any description of its capability, purpose _ description of its capability, purpose or origin. the origin was about— purpose or origin. the origin was about the — purpose or origin. the origin was about the size of a small car, not similar— about the size of a small car, not similar irr— about the size of a small car, not similar in size or shape to the high altitude _ similar in size or shape to the high altitude surveillance balloon that was taken down off the coast of south _ was taken down off the coast of south carolina on february four. mr kirby south carolina on february four. ie’i kirby emphasise south carolina on february four. m kirby emphasise it was mr biden who ordered it for doing that to happen.

he said was out of an abundance of caution. we know there's been a huge political pressure on president biden, certainly by republicans who accuse them for being weak on china and not acting sooner because a spy balloon shot down to travel across much of america for more than a week. but i want to add thatjohn kirby did say in that briefing, he said he doesn't regret, sorry, the president does not regret the way he handled the first balloon. for more on this let's talk to matt kroenig — senior director at the scowcroft center for strategy and security at the atlantic council. thank you for being with us. given that we just heard they are that it was a says this posed a reasonable threat to civilian flight, what is your assessment given the little we know what this object may have been? as you are reporting shows we don't know what this was exactly yet. i think in terms of the biden

administrations decision there is the old saying, fool me once shame on you you come up only twice shame on me. i think the biden administration after what was a political embarrassment in the united states for not taking sooner action against the chinese by balloon last week decided to take early and decisive action to take down whatever this unidentified object was coming into us air space. is it pretty rare to have the shooting down of two objects in the skies over the united states in the space of a week?— space of a week? extremely rare. i've been working _ space of a week? extremely rare. i've been working in _ space of a week? extremely rare. i've been working in security - i've been working in security policies and can't remember an episode like this in the past 20 years. i think it does show that the united states and china are in a more contested error. unfortunately, i think these kinds of crises may be becoming the new normal. {sheen i think these kinds of crises may be becoming the new normal. given that this all happened _ becoming the new normal. given that this all happened when _ becoming the new normal. given that this all happened when the _ becoming the new normal. given that this all happened when the us - this all happened when the us secretary of state was supposed to

be going to china for a visit, what do you think that says? we don't know anything about the zoo object being shot down by given the speculation around it and given the fact that the first one was shot down earlier in the week, what does that say about us— china relations right now, do you think? i that say about us- china relations right now, do you think?— right now, do you think? i think it shows that _ right now, do you think? i think it shows that china _ right now, do you think? i think it shows that china is _ right now, do you think? i think it shows that china is pretty - right now, do you think? i think itj shows that china is pretty brazen, it believes they can get away with quite a bit when it comes to challenging the united states and its allies and they will be serious consequences. and we don't quite know what the motivation was for the first balloon last week. i would be surprised if it was intended to be a pokein surprised if it was intended to be a poke in the eye in the united states before a diplomatic visit. we've seen that before when i was working for defence secretary gates in 2011, he made a high—profile visit to beijing and is soon as he touched down in china tested a new stealth fighter. welcome to beijing, here's a new powerful plane to contest

america. it may have been intentional. i think the bottom line is this is going to be a contentious relationship for the foreseeable future. ~ . relationship for the foreseeable future. . ., ., ~ ., ., relationship for the foreseeable future. ., ., ~ ., ., , future. what do we know for sure about that _ future. what do we know for sure about that balloon _ future. what do we know for sure about that balloon that _ future. what do we know for sure about that balloon that was - future. what do we know for sure about that balloon that was shot | about that balloon that was shot down last week was back we know for sure that it was a chinese spy balloon. , ., , ., balloon. the chinese said it was a weather balloon _ balloon. the chinese said it was a weather balloon flown _ balloon. the chinese said it was a weather balloon flown off - balloon. the chinese said it was a weather balloon flown off course l balloon. the chinese said it was a i weather balloon flown off course but the defence department and the state department have said it was a spy balloon, they have images of the equipment and they are trying to recover the equipment, including an turnerfirst signal recover the equipment, including an turner first signal intelligence collecting and other things like that. some people said well, why would china do this? fairy have satellites, balloon seems so primitive. actually, balloons offer several advantages over satellite, they are cheaper, they can be retrieved, they can offer over target sites longer and get more detailed information. ithink target sites longer and get more detailed information. i think china is choosing a belt and suspenders

approach to comes to collecting intelligence over us sites. thank ou ve intelligence over us sites. thank you very much — intelligence over us sites. thank you very much for _ intelligence over us sites. thank you very much forjoining - intelligence over us sites. thank you very much forjoining us. - fears are growing for the hundreds of thousands of people in turkey and syria in need after monday's devastating earthquakes. living in makeshift shelters and cars in freezing conditions, there are warnings that aid is not reaching areas fast enough. more than 23,000 people are now known to have died. syrian state media says the government has approved international aid delivery to rebel—held areas in cooperation with the help of the un. syrian red crescent and international red cross. 0ur correspondent quentin somerville has been to antakya, a city which has seen some of the worst devastation in all of the country. he's been with rescue teams who've been working round the clock, but who now fear that time is running out, to find people alive under the rubble. in the darkest hours, a single light shines brightest. in this region's hour of need, this man.

has emerged as a savior. he will climb where others want to commit deep inside the ruins of the shattered city. anything to save a life. it's been hours since anyone was found here, but still they work late into the night. someone or something is moving inside the building but they can't reach them. they've tried looking in from the front, no success. now they come back in the building to see if they could find any sign of life. the floors are sandwiched type. it's a treacherous space, but they try to find a way inside. others have rallied. his team is now 100 strong. they've already saved dozens of people. so much risk, so much risk,

but so many people who wait for us. how do you feel about what's happened to your country? armageddon. the bitter light of morning lays bare the earthquake's ruin. this region is destroyed. and down in among it, he and his men are still working. the past five days he's managed only a few hours sleep. someone is still alive up here. the building isjust across the building is just across the street but his wife and child cannot be reached even by the team. he tore himself apart from my two children. went to places no one will go. he saved my two children. he thought

there was someone still live there for the relatives say they could hear something. there was no one. there is but they're apparently the smell of dead bodies. we left to five, six hours ago. did you find anyone else site?— five, six hours ago. did you find anyone else site? no. translation: we couldn't find _ anyone else site? no. translation: we couldn't find anyone, _ anyone else site? no. translation: we couldn't find anyone, only - anyone else site? no. translation: we couldn't find anyone, only a - we couldn't find anyone, only a doll. �* , ., ., , ., we couldn't find anyone, only a doll. �*, ., .,, ., doll. it's owner was dead. so what ha--ens doll. it's owner was dead. so what happens now? _ doll. it's owner was dead. so what happens now? translation: - doll. it's owner was dead. so what happens now? translation: i i doll. it's owner was dead. so what i happens now? translation: i don't know. families _ happens now? translation: i don't know. families are _ happens now? translation: i don't know. families are sensitive - happens now? translation: i don't know. families are sensitive but - know. families are sensitive but they insist that leas are still live in the rubble. so we keep trying to work in places but we find corpses. tonight the search goes on. and still shining a light into the

darkness. tonight, the search goes on, and still shining a light into the darkness is this man. getting access to the quake zone in syria is tough, but the bbc has language services right around the world, and our arabic team based in the country, now has some of the first international journalists in aleppo, with their access controlled by the government. the historic city was hit hard by the earthquakes, and our correspondent, assaf abboud, has sent us this report in arabic, and we've translated his words. translation: we are now. in the shahar neighbourhood, one of the areas damaged by the earthquake. aleppo is the closest city to the epicentre of the earthquake. until now, around 400 people have died in the city of aleppo. hundreds of injured remain in the rubble. in this area, rescue efforts are being supported by government forces in the search for the injured. they are also working on demolishing

damaged buildings out of fear they might collapse at a later stage. around 60 buildings have collapsed, but there are around 400 others that are so damaged and at risk of collapse at any moment. reports say some 55,000 people have lost their homes, and they are now spread across different shelters in the city. the death toll has surpassed 4,000 people in both government and rebel held areas, and over 7,000 people are injured or unaccounted for. stay with us on bbc news, still to come. we've a special report from the town of pazarchik, in south eastern turkey, where families have been mourning their dead.

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 has passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president baby 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... us fighterjets shoot down an unidentified object over alaska — white house spokesmanjohn kirby says it posed "a threat to the safety of civilian aircraft" hope and despair in turkey and syria, as the painstaking search for survivors continues, after the quakes— more than 23 thousand people are known to have died. sports ministers from thirty—five countries meet online to discuss whether athletes from russia and belarus should participate in next year's olympic games. to ukraine now — where russia launched over 50 missiles on friday, hitting several enerrgy facilities and leaving millions without power. at least 17 missiles hit the southeastern city of zaporizhzhia. local officials say it was the heaviest attack since the start of the invasion. moldova has accused russia of firing missiles through its air space and has summoned

moscow's ambassador. meanwhile, ukraine's president volodymir zelensky has told a summit of sports ministers that terrorists have no place at the olympic — and urges russia and belarus to be banned from the paris games next year. the ioc has says banning athletes based on nationality could be discriminatrory, and has floated the idea of allowing athletes to compete as neutrals. here's president zelensky. ladies and gentlemen, sports community, each of us know what the olympic principles are. terror and olympics are two opposites. they cannot be combined. representatives of a terrorist team appear at international sports competition or the olympic games. will it matter if they are without their national symbols? the mere presence of representatives

of the terrorist state and their manifestation of violence and lawlessness. for more on this let's speak to rob keeler, director general of global athlete, a group that aims to help athletes gain a more represented voice in world sport. good to have you on the program. what is your view of this idea that belarusian and russian athletes may be allowed to compete as neutrals? i think the ioc has totally lost the moral compass. time and time again they favour russia over anyone else. we saw a doping scandal before rio with a loud borussia to compete for that they continue to hold up to the beijing games. russia has been using sport as a due a political force for centuries. the fact that the ioc thinks they can come and compete in the neutral flag thinks they can come and compete in the neutralflag is out thinks they can come and compete in the neutral flag is out of touch and simply not in line with the values

of human rights.— simply not in line with the values of human rights. their argument is that this would _ of human rights. their argument is that this would unite _ of human rights. their argument is that this would unite the _ of human rights. their argument is that this would unite the entire - that this would unite the entire world in peaceful competition. does fort have a part to play here in trying to forge some peaceful path? not at this point in time. we just reserved a personal letter of support from the president of ukraine for the ukrainian athletes. sport as a political force and you cannot separate the two. the fact that vladimir putin uses sport as a geopolitical mechanism to support his standing in his country, they cannot be separated. to think the ioc is going down that route is totally wrong. and the fact that we see time and time again the ioc favour russia over any other country, there is simply something there that no one is seeing. the ioc needs to be on the right side of history and right now they are not. they have said they would stipulate that any person from russia or belarus who support the war should continue to be banned from

international competition. there you no aaain. international competition. there you go again- the _ international competition. there you go again- the loc— international competition. there you go again. the ioc putting _ international competition. there you go again. the ioc putting out - international competition. there you go again. the ioc putting out its - go again. the ioc putting out its position in very difficult positions. if you are russian athlete and you don't support the war there is a lot of countries that will put you in jail. war there is a lot of countries that will put you injail. this is war there is a lot of countries that will put you in jail. this is where protecting athletes, removing from the game and making sure that every other country can compete peacefully for that and it's time for russia to pay the price and set out these games. the ioc is not about criminal law, the knot above the law. as a result they need to really take a closer look in the mirror and say, it's time for russia to have a timeout, it's time for russia to be removed from the games and let other countries compete peacefully. russia is having a terrible devastation on ukraine for that and by allowing them to compete means the ioc is supporting the war in ukraine. you sa the supporting the war in ukraine. you say the loc— supporting the war in ukraine. you say the m has — supporting the war in ukraine. you say the ioc has lost its moral compass in your view. if they do allow russian and belarusian athletes to compete on a neutral basis, what would you like to see

happen for the next 0lympics? i happen for the next olympics? i think will have to wait until that point comes. right now i know athletes are mobilising. they are coming together with global athletes and we're really going to push the ioc, similar to what we did leading into the beijing olympics where we had the international paralympic committee banned both russia and belarus 24 hours before the start of those games. we will continue to do the same thing. athletes should not be forced to make decisions of whether they boycott are not. the ioc needs to take deliberate two leadership to protect every other athlete. it's time for russia to sit out. it's time for the world to unite at the olympic games but that cannot include russia or belarus. the devastation they have —— around the world they need to be sidelined. thank you. let's get some of the day's other news president biden has been hosting brazilian president lula for the first time since brazil's tightly contested

election in october. the talks today are focussing on safeguarding democracy, rejecting extremism and violence in politics, climate change, and lula's effort to re—engage with the global community. the british director, hugh hudson, best known for the film, chariots of fire, has died after a short illness. he was 86. he began his career making tv adverts in the 1960s, but his big screen directing debut, chariots of fire, won four oscars, including best picture. lancashire police maintain, they believe the missing woman, nicola bulley, who disappeared two weeks ago, somehow fell into a nearby river, while walking her dog. police divers have been searching the river wyre, since jan 27th. her partner, paul ansell, says he's convinced that she isn't in the water. speaking to channel 5, he said people "don'tjust vanish into thin air". here's danny savage.

the friends of nicola bulley are lining the roads at st michael's on wyre in lancashire, hoping to draw people's memories with placards. it is a mystery baffling this community. who, ifanyone, knows what happened to nicola? two weeks ago today she vanished. i feel like somehow what are we missing? how are we 14 days in with not a piece of evidence. the only thing we can base anything on is evidence. nicola bulley�*s telephone was found on this bench, her pet spaniel was nearby. she had been seen a few minutes earlier. lancashire police insist they are keeping an open mind. this is the only footpath away from the riverside which is not covered by cctv, so they are trying to trace 700 drivers who passed by that morning. but so far any details they have gathered from them have not contradicted their main theory, which is that nicola bulley accidentally fell into the river

in this small lancashire village, a theory her partner has had to nightly questions. personally i am 100% convinced it is not the river, so something has happened. something has happened, find out what it is. find out what it is. repeated searches of the waterway have found no trace of her. the police are now looking further afield in the belief she was carried out to sea. danny savage, bbc news, lancashire. back now to the devestating earthquakes in syria and turkey. our europe correspondent, nick beake, has been to visit the the town of pazarchik, in south eastern turkey, where families have been mourning their dead. here's his report. wailing this was a day of funerals in pazarchik, one after another. a week ago, this was empty wasteland, now full of grief and sorrow.

an imam says a brief prayer before moving to the next grieving family. this woman has just buried two relatives. her 33—year—old nephew, ayaan and her aunt, both crushed as they slept. when the children go to bed now, she tells us, they say, "mum, please wake me if an earthquake hits." we're all in a bad way, but the children are totally wrecked. in this place alone, they've dug more than 100 new graves. we've counted 28 that have been filled. the rest will soon be, too. but some of the mourners have been telling us that they've been getting phone calls from friends and relatives who live in some of the most remote parts of the mountainside where other people have died, but their bodies can't be brought here to be buried because they're trapped by the snow.

for survivors in the town at the heart of this disaster. life is as precarious as it gets. you can understand why few want to venture back inside their homes. and who could have survived this? well, this woman did with her son, escaping from the seventh floor. translation: the earthquake was never ending. _ my son was screaming. but somehow we managed to get down the stairs. when president erdogan visited her town yesterday, he said to have remarked the disaster was part of fate's plan. translation: fate? fate? there is no fate. ourfate is in our own hands. we write our own destiny. earthquakes don't kill people, but buildings do. tonight, we watched as mother

and son were reunited with father who'd driven for three days to get here. a rare flicker ofjoy in a town where so many cannot smile. nick beake, bbc news, pazarchik. you're watching bbc news. thank you for being with us. hello. the weekend's here. let's see if the weather's going to be kind to us over the next couple of days. overall, actually not looking too bad. having said that, it's not necessarily going to be all that sunny. in fact, a lot of cloud has spread across the uk and you can see that layer of cloud across the country through the early hours. it's not cold, though. morning temperatures will be around six degrees in cardiff, will match that in newcastle and in some spots

it'll be even higher than that first thing on saturday. but the clouds will remain thick through most of the day. however, at times they will give way to a few sunny spells, particularly towards eastern areas of the uk. and the temperature's a little higher than of late. so we're talking double figures pretty much across the board, up to about 13 degrees celsius. sunday is going to be similar across the uk, may start off quite grey, perhaps misty, murky first thing, but overall, not a bad day. protesters have reportedly thrown missiles and damaged a police vehicle at a rally against refugees in merseyside on friday. merseyside police said officers in prescot, knowsley, were dealing with two groups of protesters after a demonstration descended into chaos outside the suites hotel. knowsley mp sir george howarth said the demonstration was triggered by "an alleged incident on social media" and criticised misinformation claiming refugees

were "feather—bedded" inside. the force said a protest and counter protest in ribblers lane was initially peaceful, but during the evening there have been reports of missiles being thrown. did you stay with us now it is time for sport. good evening. i'm chetan pathak with your sports news. ukraine's president says it would be a "manifestation of violence" if russian and belarusian athletes are allowed to compete at next summer's olympic games. volodymyr zelensky, who's already threatened a boycott if those athletes are allowed to compete, has been speaking to a virtual summit of sports ministers chaired from london. lithuania's sport minister says more than 30 countries including britain support a ban, whilst poland's sports minister believes russian and belarusian athletes should compete under a refugee flag. the international olympic committee is exploring a way for athletes from russia and belarus to take part under a neutralflag — but volodymr zelensky says

they have "no place" in paris following the invasion of ukraine. russia is a country that stains everything with blood, even their white flag. it must be recognised in particular, at the level of the international olympic committee. the international olympic committee needs honesty, honesty. it has unfortunately lost honesty, honesty that will help stop the russian terror and bring peace closer. next to manchester city. pep guardiola says he's convinced the club will be found innocent after being charged with more than 100 breaches of the premier league's financial rules. an independent panel's now investigating. at his press conference today the city boss said it feels like they've already been condemned and sentenced — and he believes the other 19 clubs are conspiring against them:

they opened a precedent right now. what they had done to us, be careful. be careful in the future because many clubs can make suggestions, and there are a lot of clubs that can be accused, like we have been accused, without maybe being innocent. i don't know whta's going to happen in the future. do you suspect that this is been driven by the clubs? this is been driven by the other clubs? of course. it's the premier league. why do you think? i don't know. you have to go to the ceos and all these kind of people and ask them. go to the press conference and ask them. one game in the championships tonight, a few days after manager carlos corberan signed a new long—term deal after an impressive start as west brom manager — his side have been beaten 2—0 in the west midlands derby at st andrews. a first senior goal for hannibal.