welcome to bbc news. i'm monika plaha. our top stories — hope and despair in turkey and syria as the pain staking search for survivors after the earth quakes continues. —— painstaking. on the second and the third day after the earthquake, they were finding a lot of people. they're hardly finding anyone now — almost no—one now. more than 23,000 people are dead and millions are in desperate need of aid. we'll have all the very latest on the rescue effort. also on the programme — us fighterjets shoot down an unidentified object over alaska. the pentagon says president biden gave the order to "seek and destroy".

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. and harry potter comes to the world of video games but will the hogwarts legacy be tarnished by protests against the authors views on transgender issues? welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. fears are growing for the hundreds of thousands of people in turkey and syria in need after monday's devastating earthquakes. some are living in makeshift shelters and cars in freezing conditions, and there are warnings that aid is not reaching areas fast enough. more than 23,000 people are now known to have died. 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 have 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 antakya's hour of need, this man... speaks turkish. ..erdal baris yildirim has emerged as a saviour. he'll climb where others won't dare, deep inside the ruins of this shattered city — anything to save a life. it's been hours since anyone was found here but still, they work late into the night. an amateur mountaineer and professional writer, erdal has taken command here. someone or something is moving inside the building but they can't reach them. they've tried looking in from the front. no success. they put a camera probe in.

now, they're going round the back of the building to see if they can find any sign of life. the floors are sandwiched tight. it's a treacherous space but erdal�*s crew try to find a way inside. others have rallied to his courage — his team is now 100—strong. they've already saved dozens of people. so much risk, so much risk. but so much people wait us. how do you feel about what's happened to your country? armageddon. repeats: armageddon. the bitter light of morning lays bare the earthquake's ruin. anta kya is destroyed. and down in amongst it, erdal and his men are still working. in the past five days, he's managed only a few hours�* sleep. erdalfound two of narula's children.

and even though it's been many days, narula can't believe his wife and other child aren't still alive. the building isjust across the street but his wife and child can't be reached, even by erdal�*s team. translation: erdaltore himself apart for my two children, - went to places no—one would go. he saved my two children. erdal thought that there was someone still alive up here — a relative said that they could hear something. there's no—one. but there is the overpowering smell of dead bodies. erdal, we left you five, six hours ago. did you find anyone else last night? no, no. translation: we couldn't find anyone, only a dog. i its owner was dead. so, what happens now? i don't know.

since families are sensitive, they insist people are still alive under the rubble, so we keep trying to work in places where we don't find any corpses. tonight, the search goes on and still shining a light into the darkness is erdal baris yilirim. quentin sommerville, bbc news, antakya. state media in syria say the government has agreed to allow international aid organisations to deliver emergency supplies to rebel—held parts of the country affected by the earthquake. getting access to the quake zone in syria is difficult but the bbc has language services right around the world and ourarabic team, based in the country, has some of the first internationaljournalists in aleppo. their access is controlled by the syrian government. our correspondent, assaf abboud, sent us this report in arabic. we've translated his words.

translation: we are now- in the al-shaar 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. as rescue efforts continue through the freezing cold, our chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports from the city of gazientep in southern turkey. it's utterly freezing and you can see behind me the rescue teams huddled around the fires for a moment to try to keep warm, and they're still hard at work at the mounds of rubble that all along this street. and every so often, this warning will be shouted, "everyone keep quiet!" and this stillness descends here as the rescuers try to listen and they use thermal cameras, searching for any sign of life

still under the rubble. and what you can see on your screens is on the other side of the road, are local residents, including people who used to live in these apartment blocks, now too dangerous to inhabit. not only do they hope their loved ones are still alive, they absolutely believe that they're waiting to be rescued under this rubble. and every so often, this agonising cry of anger and grief shatters the night air. these are heartbreaking moments. but as always, there are heart—warming ones as well. there are so many volunteers from all parts of turkey and they're milling through these crowds, serving warm cups of tea or bowls of soup, doing whatever they can do to help turkey in its hour of need — and the needs are so great here and across the border in northern syria. lyse doucet. and you can find lots more detail about the earthquakes in turkey and syria on our website — just head

to bbc.com/news or the bbc news app. in other news, the us military says it shot down an unidentified object drifting over alaska nearly a week after a chinese surveillance balloon was destroyed as it travelled through american airspace. the white house said the object had posed a threat to civilian flights, but said its purpose and origin are unknown. national security council spokesmanjohn kirby couldn't confirm whether this second object was also of chinese origin. 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. our north america correspondent peter bowes told us more about the incident.

this remains a mystery and what's very unusual is that the white house and the pentagon should hold news conferences reallyjust within a few hours after this object being shot down, but news conferences with actually very little to share. it's clearly an attempt to be transparent about what happened and explain the reasoning that this object, about the size of a small car, was flying — if you want to say it was flying, it was floating — it was moving relatively slowly it seems at about 40,000 feet — that's about 12,000 metres, which is about the same altitude as civilian aircraft — and that was the reason given — that it posed a danger to those aircraft, that's why it was brought down. but it leaves so many, as you suggest, wider questions about what was it? what was it doing there? who put it up into the sky? who owns it? is it isita is it a foreign government? is it corporate? is it privately

owned? we still don't know those answers. and what's happening now is an attempt, now that the debris has fallen into the frozen waters around alaska, and they will be, over the next few hours and days, trying to retrieve the debris to try to answer some of those questions. and last saturday, we know that the us shot down that chinese balloon. president biden came under a lot of political criticism, didn't he, that he didn't really act fast enough? so, what has been the reaction to his response this time around? well, the reaction is that, really, he acted as fast as he could, it seems, and that perhaps that was as a result of some of the political criticism that he faced last week. now, the reasoning given last week was that the balloon was hovering over land and potentially, there was a danger if it was shot down — as it eventually was over the sea — but if it was shot down over

land, it could have posed a danger to people back on earth. now, it seems in this case, it was brought down in an area clearly that was deemed to be safe and also, we understand that the fighter pilots involved made sure that this was an unmanned object. so then, people are reacting, i think, suggesting that the speedy response that we've had that comes with relatively little information may be a political move to show at least that the white house and president biden is taking this very seriously. peter bowes. three people have been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder in the north of england. merseyside police say there were clashes outside a hotel housing asylum seekers. police say a protest and counter—protest in knowsley were initially peaceful but missiles were later thrown and a police van was damaged. our reporter nick garnett was at the scene. right, so at around ten o'clock this evening, a protest that had been planned for about four days went rather out of control. the protest was because there've been complaints

about people in the hotel harassing local children and a group that has been named in various places as a right—wing political group came down to protest outside the hotel. there's about 100 rooms in this hotel and it's being used as a hotel for seeking asylum in great britain for a few months now. so, when they came down and were protesting outside, another group came up and there was a confrontation between the two. at that point, there were some police officers here, but not very many, and a petrol bomb or some ignition was thrown at this petrol — at this police van behind us — we'll go over and have a look at it. it's been completely burnt out. you can see the amount of damage now. the fire service has been down to make sure it's all safe

but you can see the level of damage that's been done to it. there's also on the ground, there's huge amounts of rocks and stones that've been thrown at police officers who were here in full riot gear. after a few hours and a lot more police officers coming in in police vans, they managed to regain control and they dispersed and now, we've got a scene where it's fairly calm but we understand about half a dozen people have been arrested. they reacted very quickly and police officers from across the merseyside region here in the north—west of england were moved in fairly quickly. they've now dispersed. at one point, the motorways — the main motorway sections, were all closed off. that's now been reopened and a lot of the police have gone home and tensions in the area have dropped completely and things are back on an even keel here but still, it's going to take some time to clear it up. nick garnett reporting. stay with us on bbc news. still to come:

why some fans of the new harry potter video game are calling for a boycott. 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 - 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 world news. our top story: hope and despair in turkey and syria as the painstaking search for survivors after the earthquakes continues. and with more on that story, naren briar is a human rights advocate and researcher, and she joins us from seattle. thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. we are seeing awful pictures and hearing tragic stories from the ground. i believe you are in touch with families in kurdistan, are they

0k? ., ~ _, families in kurdistan, are they 0k? ., ~ o, 0k? thank you for the introduction. - 0k? thank you for the introduction. after - 0k? thank you for the introduction. after a i 0k? thank you for the - introduction. after a week speaking with friends and monitoring the situation, there are countless testimony and documents showing the turkish state is insisting on withholding aid to areas not aligned with the regime. this is discrimination. not only that, aid is blocked in syria where the turkish state currently occupies. bid where the turkish state currently occupies. aid is extremely _ currently occupies. aid is extremely limited. - currently occupies. aid is extremely limited. do i currently occupies. aid is| extremely limited. do you currently occupies. aid is - extremely limited. do you know what kind of a fall has arrived and what more is needed? let me rovide and what more is needed? let me provide you _ and what more is needed? let me provide you with _ and what more is needed? let me provide you with an _ and what more is needed? let me provide you with an instance - and what more is needed? let me provide you with an instance of. provide you with an instance of discrimination. turkey has refused to allow the independent convoy that contains fuel, humanitarian aid and other supplies like food where many are trapped under buildings, is after a week. aid being sent over is because

kurdish and tel aviv diasporas are currently organising it. the kurdish red crescent, luckily organising themselves areas that have been untouched by ngo's government backed charities. 50 by ngo's government backed charities. . , ., ., charities. so much frustration that politics _ charities. so much frustration that politics is _ charities. so much frustration that politics is getting - charities. so much frustration that politics is getting in - charities. so much frustration that politics is getting in the i that politics is getting in the way of human need. how concerned are you that the issues you mentioned are not addressed and not addressed soon? i addressed and not addressed soon? ., . , , soon? i am incredibly concerned. _ soon? i am incredibly concerned. it - soon? i am incredibly concerned. it feels i soon? i am incredibly - concerned. it feels almost silly to politicise a natural catastrophe but this is what it has come to. anyone who does not aligned the regime is being targeted to fold. initially, western nations must place political pressure on the turkish regime so it is distributed fairly to residents

in turkey and syria. also i encourage people to give to charities which support might minorities. —— minorities. charities which support might minorities. -- minorities. what are our minorities. -- minorities. what are your friends _ minorities. -- minorities. what are your friends and _ minorities. -- minorities. what are your friends and family - are your friends and family saying on the ground at the moment and is there any prospect of getting more aid at all? i prospect of getting more aid at all? ., prospect of getting more aid at all? . , ., ., all? i have friends who have not had any _ all? i have friends who have not had any help _ all? i have friends who have not had any help and - all? i have friends who have not had any help and they i all? i have friends who have i not had any help and they say they are without homes, it is in the middle of winter. some have witnessed turkish authorities attacking citizens for no reason at all. not to get to graphic but they continued to describe that there are dead bodies everywhere.— there are dead bodies everywhere. there are dead bodies eve here. ., ~ ., there are dead bodies eve here. ., ., everywhere. thank you for your time and good _ everywhere. thank you for your time and good luck— everywhere. thank you for your time and good luck with - everywhere. thank you for your time and good luck with all - time and good luck with all your efforts. time and good luck with all your efforts-_ us presidentjoe biden is meeting brazil's

president lula da silva, in the white house. they're expected to discuss protecting democracy as well as ways of saving the amazon rainforest. the two leaders are likely to find common ground, but they disagree on russia's invasion of ukraine. our reporter sofia bettiza joins me in the studio now. what more can you tell us? this is the first _ what more can you tell us? this is the first time _ what more can you tell us? this is the first time that _ what more can you tell us? this is the first time that the - what more can you tell us? try 3 is the first time that the two leaders meet sent president lula was elected president a few months ago. the amazon was a big topic of discussion. it is the biggest tropical rainforest in the world but under president biden �*s predecessor, jay bolsonaro, it went down to 75%. president biden is promising change. joe biden is promising change. joe biden has made fighting climate change one of his biggest

priorities. from washington president lula spoke about the need to protect the amazon at all cost. �* ,, �* need to protect the amazon at| all cost._ talked all cost. translation: talked about the need _ all cost. translation: talked about the need for _ all cost. translation: talked about the need for rich - about the need for rich countries to take responsibility and finance countries like brazil which have forest. you have ecuador, colombia, peru, venezuela, a number of countries which have to look after the amazon. so they are likely to find common ground on climate change. is there anything they don't agree about? they do not agree on how to handle russia's invasion of ukraine. joe biden has provided aid, weapons, were as brazil has stayed on the sidelines, sending mixed political messages and pushing for peace talks instead. but ultimately, these are two presidents who have a lot in common. you are exactly right and when

joe biden defeated donald trump in 2020, a mob of donald trump supporters stormed congress and something similar happened when president lula won the elections. a mob stormed several government buildings. even what happened, the main message of the two leaders would want to convey today is that the two biggest countries in the americas have successfully seen afraid to that democracy and are ready to work together to fight climate change. work together to fight climate chan . e. ., ~ work together to fight climate chance. ., ,, ,, work together to fight climate chance. ., ~' , work together to fight climate chance. ., ~ , . 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. it kick started a renaissance in the british film industry

in the 1980s. hugh hudson who's died, at the age of 86. first there were the books, then the films and now the videogame — hogwarts legacy, set in the harry potter universe. but although it's one of the most anticipated titles of the year, it is being boycotted by some who want to take a stand against the authorjk rowling's public comments on policies relating to transgender people. our gaming correspondent steffan powell has more. it's surprising, given the level of interest in this world of wizards, witches and wands over the years, that a fully fledged, big—budget gaming adaptation has taken this long to be made. but after years of being on the wish list

of many a harry potter fan, it's finally here... take this. find them. ..giving players the opportunity to zoom around on a broomstick, learn to cast spells and explore the famous castle, fighting and dodging adversaries along the way. we leave our legacy in your hands. interest is high, records have been broken in the lead—up to release, with 1.3 million people at one point watching early previews being played online. but not everyone's happy, arguing that supporting the game is backingjk rowling's public statements about the trans community. they say those views are transphobic and have caused harm to trans people. playing the game, they say, legitimises them. this goes beyond justjk rowling making money. by buying the game, you're sending a clear message that you see this new game takes priority over the lives of trans people. jk rowling has previously said that she supports trans rights, but she doesn't believe transgender people should have access to single—sex spaces.

a lot to absorb on your first day... the development team behind the game say that the creator of the wizarding world was not involved in making it, and today, people are looking forward to playing. for me, it was really hard to not be excited. this is a world and a universe that i grew up just falling in love with. it was my escape. i do think that this whole controversy has kind of overshadowed what is an amazing experience. the title has received positive reviews for its gameplay and is expected to be one of the biggest sellers of 2023. steffan powell, bbc news. just a reminder of our top story: fears are growing for the hundreds of thousands of people in turkey and syria in need after monday's devastating earthquake. some are living in makeshift shelters and cars in

freezing conditions and there are warnings that aid is not reaching areas fast enough. more than 23,000 people are now known to have died. you're watching bbc news. hello. well, it certainly doesn't look like you'll need your umbrella this weekend, but then again, it's not going to be all that sunny. in fact, often cloudy, both on saturday and sunday. but i am confident a few sunny spells will develop during the course of the day. but take a look at that shield of cloud spreading off the atlantic right across the uk. this is also quite mild air, which is riding around an area of high pressure that has established itself across a large chunk of europe. but around this high we've got that wind blowing and it's pushing in the milder atmosphere towards us. so this air mass, mild air mass will be in place across the uk through the course of the weekend and into the week ahead. no frost first thing in the morning on saturday.

in fact, farfrom it. temperatures typically around about five, six, seven degrees celsius, perhaps even higher than that in one or two spots. but the cloud will be thick, in fact, really overcast in some areas first thing. but then the clouds will break. i suspect the best sunny spells will be to the east of scotland, the east of the pennines. but in one or two other areas, the sun will poke through the clouds as well. 13 degrees, so actually relatively mild even for the time of the year. the high pressure is still with us on sunday, although it is shifting a little bit towards more central parts of europe. but the weather isn't going to be changing an awful lot. however, the breaks in the cloud may appear in different places on sunday, and that's actually really difficult to forecast. it does look as though it's also going to be just a shade cooler, not that you'll notice — around about ten or 11 degrees celsius. now that high pressure will continue to drift a little bit further towards the east into monday. that does mean it opens the gates to low pressure

and also weather fronts, but they will be kept at bay even on monday. and the weather isn't expected to change — again around nine, 10 to 12 degrees celsius. as we head towards tuesday and wednesday, with that high pressure continuing to shift further east, these weather fronts will eventually win and arrive. and we think that around wednesday, wednesday night into thursday, that rain will arrive. so until around about tuesday, possibly wednesday for some of us, the weather's looking dry. but after that, the second half of the week is looking cloudy with rain at times. enjoy the bright weather. bye—bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: aid agencies say there is a mixture of hope and despair in turkey and syria as the painstaking search for survivors continues after monday's earthquakes. more than 23,000 people are known to have died while thousands of people are living in make—shift shelters. us military fighter jets acting on a command from president biden have shot down an unidentified object off the northern coast of alaska. a white house spokesman said the target was the size of a small car, and posed a threat to civilian aviation. three people have been arrested on suspicion

of violent disorder after police in merseyside, north—west england,