this is bbc news. i'm monika plaha. our top stories: hope and despair in turkey and syria as the painstaking search for survivors after the earthquakes continues. 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 visit a hospital overwhelmed by the quakes. this is one of the hospitals still standing, but all they know about some of the children that are brought in is which pile of rubble they were pulled from. we'll have all the very latest on the rescue effort.

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 author's 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 sommerville 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. . .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 is just 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? translation: 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 yildirim. 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 our arabic team — based in the country — has some of the first international journalists in aleppo. their access is controlled by the syrian government. 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. the issue of getting aid into syria to those who need it is complicated by the fact that the country is still at war since 2011. with more on that, here's our diplomatic correspondent paul adams. different armed groups are in

charge in different parts of the country, especially in the north. some areas it by the earthquake, one here in are controlled by the government, and its president. but the areas in dark green are controlled by turkey and its local allies. the kurds are in charge and is light green areas and jardee rebels hold sway in idlib province. the area worst affected by the disaster. they are sworn enemies of a syrian state. today, president assad was in aleppo visiting survivors, blaming the west for the lack of aid. aleppo is where his forces and their russian backers conducted a brutal siege forfour russian backers conducted a brutal siege for four years until the last rebels left in 2016. thousands of fighters and civilians went to idlib, the jardee area on the map. one of the level —— rebel strongholds. there is no effective government here. ——jihadi. it

has left two volunteer groups like the white cabinet helmets to search for survivors here rescuing two girls in a village. the syrian government is now claiming that it will allow aid but not if it goes to people it regards as terrorists. that is not only problem. terrorists. that is not only problem-— terrorists. that is not only -roblem. ., ., problem. the whole un aid effort into _ problem. the whole un aid effort into idlib _ problem. the whole un aid effort into idlib provinces . effort into idlib provinces reliant _ effort into idlib provinces reliant on one border crossing, it is_ reliant on one border crossing, it is right — reliant on one border crossing, it is right in _ reliant on one border crossing, it is right in the middle of the — it is right in the middle of the zone _ it is right in the middle of the zone that has been badly damaged by the earthquake, and that crossing itself is badly damaged, that route is not viable _ damaged, that route is not viable for large—scale aid efforts _ viable for large—scale aid efforts. and frankly, syria and russia — efforts. and frankly, syria and russia kind of like it that way _ russia kind of like it that way. the whole strategy toward the north—western part of the country— the north—western part of the country has been to grind it into— country has been to grind it into oblivion through warming, starvation— into oblivion through warming, starvation and aid blockages. that— starvation and aid blockages. that sense, the earthquake and the aid — that sense, the earthquake and the aid cut— that sense, the earthquake and the aid cut off kind of service their— the aid cut off kind of service their larger political purposes. their larger political purposes— their larger political purposes. their larger political --uroses. ., , ., purposes. so where does that leave tens — purposes. so where does that leave tens of _ purposes. so where does that leave tens of thousands - purposes. so where does that leave tens of thousands of. leave tens of thousands of civilians, most of them refugees living already desperate lives? many of those

people are intense and temporary buildings. but, for once, may have helped to save lives, but as long as idlib remains a rebel stronghold, getting help from the outside world will remain extremely difficult. and that was paul adams reporting there. 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. let's get some of the day's other news. russia launched over 50 missiles into ukraine on friday with at least 17 hitting the city of zaporizhzhia. local officials say it was the heaviest attack since the start of the invasion. several regions have issued alerts about incoming russian drones. the fbi has recovered one additional document with classified markings from the home of the former us vice—president mike pence in the state of indiana. the search was described

as consensual. sports ministers from 35 countries have been holding an online meeting to discuss whether athletes from russia and belarus should participate in next year's olympic games. the international olympic committee wants them to be allowed to compete in paris as neutrals. ukraine has threatened to lead a boycott. brazil's president, lula da silva, has suggested to president biden that a new global governance mechanism is needed to tackle climate change. mr lula said efforts to deal with climate change would fail if all countries were not forced to comply with decisions agreed on a global level. 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 air space. the white house said the object

had posed a threat to civilian flights, but it said its purpose and origin are unknown. the 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 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've 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, 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. that was peter bowes there. stay with us on bbc world 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. have 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 news. our main story this hour: hope and despair in turkey and syria as the painstaking search for survivors after the earthquakes continues. more than 23,000 people are known to have died so far. let's stay with that story. all those now left homeless are having to contend with atrocious conditions and little food and water, but there are causes forjoy — like 10—day—old yagiz here being pulled from the rubble. but what happens to

those children rescued with no parents or relatives? tom bateman has been given access to a hospital in the turkish city of adana, that's treating many of the youngest survivors. they are too young to know how much they have lost. the earth broke homes and fractured families. now it has taken away their names. "she wants to sleep", says the doctor. medicines ease the pain wrought by the wreckage and she is nurtured by strangers, comforted. but no one knows where her parents are — a baby with a future but no identity. "we know where she was found and how "she got here, but we are trying to find an address, "the search is continuing," says dr keskin. all they know about some of the children that are brought in is which pile

of rubble they were pulled from, and that is all the information, and they have to then work from there. the problem is that so many kids are coming in from all over the region. this is one of the hospitals still standing. others in this part of turkey have been flattened. this hospital has treated hundreds of children since the quake. these patients have been identified. do you know who this little girl is? but more arrive without names, like this little girl. we have agreed not to show their faces to protect their privacy. "she is 5 or 6," says the doctor, "with multiple broken bones. "we are trying to identify her." does she know her own name? "she can only make eye contact and gestures. "she is in shock," says dr banlicesur. the wounded keep coming,

shocked and exhausted. and here everyone is a survivor, patients and medics alike. dr keskin sheltered in this hospital and lost relatives to the quake. how are you coping in that situation? "i am good, i am trying to be good, "because they really need us," she says. "but i say thank god, i still have my children. "i can't think of a bigger pain for a mother "than losing a child." and children without parents keep waiting for them to turn up. some have been reunited. but the rest remain the earthquake's anonymous children. tom bateman, bbc news, adana in southern turkey. residents of the australian

pacific territory of norfolk island have been urged to take shelter as cyclone gabrielle threatens to bring destructive winds and heavy rain. forecasters say high tides and very heavy surf could cause local damage and coastal erosion. with an update on cyclone gabrielle i am joined by phil mercer, who is live in sydney. what is the latest on the situation at the moment? norfolk island is a small community about 1600 kilometres to the north—east of sydney, australia's biggest city. in the next few hours will be critical for islanders on norfolk island, they have been issued with a red alert, this means the authorities are urging people on the island to stay indoors and seek shelter in the strongest part of their house. winds of up to 155 kilometres an hour are forecast

along with very heavy rain and abnormally high tides. administrators on the island say they are well prepared, but australia's bureau of meteorology says in the last 30 or 40 years only three cyclones have come within 50 kilometres of norfolk island. so for many people in this tiny community, this is uncharted territory. and the cyclone is expected to hit or come very close to norfolk island in the next few hours. �* , . ., norfolk island in the next few hours. �* ,~ ., , hours. and cyclone gabrielle is also due to _ hours. and cyclone gabrielle is also due to hit _ hours. and cyclone gabrielle is also due to hit new— hours. and cyclone gabrielle is also due to hit new zealand, i also due to hit new zealand, many are still reeling from the recent floods that happened there. when is it expected to reach new zealand? ifiisriii reach new zealand? civil defence _ reach new zealand? civil defence officials - reach new zealand? civil defence officials in - reach new zealand? civil defence officials in new. defence officials in new zealand are extremely concerned, they are tracking very carefully cyclone gabrielle as it makes its way across the pacific ocean. it is expected to hit north land,

this is the northern part of new zealand, on sunday, before moving south quite possibly to the biggest city, auckland, on monday. remember auckland has already suffered widespread flooding in recent weeks after record—breaking flooding. what we have seen in auckland is people understandably nervous, lots of panic buying, bottles, batteries and toilet rolls. once again, the people of the north island in new zealand are preparing for some of nature's fury. preparing for some of nature's fu . ~ . ., ~ , ., fury. phil mercer, thank you very much- _ 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. the british director hugh hudson, best known

for the film chariots of fire, has died after a short illness. he was 86. chariots of fire theme plays 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 kickstarted a renaissance in the british film industry in the 1980s. first there were the books, then the films and now the video game — 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 backing jk 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 just jk 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. you're watching bbc news, thank you forjoining me this hour.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @monikaplaha. 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 makeshift shelters. us military fighterjets, 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 clashed with demonstrators