welcome to bbc news. i'm lisa—marie misztak. our top stories: ahead of the first anniversary of the russian invasion of ukraine, president putin once again defends his special military operation. translation: there are battles going on right now— on our historical frontiers, for our people. courageous warriors are fighting. china's top foreign affairs official is in moscow for talks, with beijing expected to unveil a possible peace plan. 11 palestinians are killed and more than 100 injured in an israeli—raid on the occupied west bank. british and irish political leaders condemn the shooting of an off—duty policeman in northern ireland. he's in a critical condition. and the latest discovery from the james webb space telescope that could shed new light

on the dawn of the universe. ahead of the anniversary of the russian invasion of ukraine, president putin has addressed crowds in moscow's main stadium during a patriotic gala concert. he insisted that his decision to launch military action was entirelyjustified to protect russia's security. mr putin went on to stress that "the cooperation between china and russia on the world stage "is very important to stabilise the international situation." our russia editor steve rosenberg is in moscow. to russia's largest football stadium, they came in their tens of thousands, not to cheer on their team, but to support their president. from colleges, factories and state enterprises,

they had been bussed in specially for a kremlin show, designed to show that russians back president putin and his war in ukraine. irina seems to. "we weren't the ones to start this," irina says. "i trust our president." inside the stadium, the main event. vladimir putin shared the stage with russian soldiers back from ukraine. it was putin who had ordered the full—scale invasion a year ago. from the sound of things, he has no intention of withdrawing his troops. translation: there are | battles going on right now on our historical frontiers, for our people. courageous warriors are fighting, just like the ones that are standing here with us now. they are battling bravely and heroically. we are proud of them. let's give them three cheers!

cheering this is the picture the kremlin wanted, russia united. it's -15, but as you can see, this place is packed. now, that doesn't mean that russians idolise vladimir putin and are willing to come out and freeze themselves just to support him. this is a highly stage—managed, kremlin—choreographed concert. that doesn't change the fact that much of what putin says and does does strike a chord with a lot of people here. when vladimir putin speaks about russia reasserting itself and challenging the west, when he claims that russians and ukrainians are one people, it goes down well at home. because they think as he thinks. they want what he wants. they view ukraine as he views and he reflects their — his popularity is not based on the air platform, his popularity is deep—rooted

in the russian public opinion and perceptions and this is his strength. away from the stadium, president putin met china's top diplomat. russia and china have close ties. beijing is promising to play a constructive role in resolving the ukraine conflict. for now, the war continues. russians are being told by their leaders that this is a just war, an alternative reality, but can the kremlin sustain it? history will look at it and will look at it badly and we will look bad. whether russians will be able to accept that horrible guilt, i don't know. i hope they can and they will because they will be better for it. and here's a sign, perhaps, that some here are less happy with the direction in which russia is moving.

they didn't stick around to hear vladimir putin's speech — they left the stadium before the president arrived. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. meanwhile, russia and china are to begin a full naval exercise with south africa off the coast of kwazulu—natal. among the vessels is a frigate equipped with hypersonic cruise missiles. russia is expected to fire artillery, but not the cruise missiles, during the exercises. the war games will coincide with the first anniversary of the invasion of ukraine this friday, but south africa has denied that this move was provocative, saying that the exercise was organised two years ago. south african opposition politicians say the exercises show their government is siding with moscow in the war in ukraine. we can now speak to dean cheng who's is a senior fellow with the potomac institute for policy studies and specializes in chinese military and foreign policy. thank you forjoining us. we

have seen these meetings with the top official from china and also with president putin. what exactly do you think will come out of these meetings? i exactly do you think will come out of these meetings? i think that above _ out of these meetings? i think that above all— out of these meetings? i think that above all the _ out of these meetings? i think that above all the two - out of these meetings? i think that above all the two sides, l that above all the two sides, china and russia, trying to project a bonded approach to the west. that is to say that moscow and beijing are on the same sheet of paper, that they both oppose the western narrative that china is squarely on the russian side, and yes, china is also going to try and broker a peace deal. [30 try and broker a peace deal. do ou try and broker a peace deal. do you think there is any plans to potentially de—escalate the war? president xijinping is expected to release this oppose a peace proposal. i expected to release this oppose a peace proposal.— a peace proposal. i think that the chinese _ a peace proposal. i think that the chinese are _ a peace proposal. i think that the chinese are going - a peace proposal. i think that the chinese are going to - the chinese are going to basically make the following arguments dashed china is not at this time supplying weapons to russia, unlike the west, which is supplying weapons to ukraine. therefore, the chinese proposal is somehow more

objective. my guess is that he is going to suggest therefore that the west revolt if supply weapons to ukraine, forcing the two sides into negotiations from which" peace" will then resolve. ., ~' , resolve. you think they will su -l resolve. you think they will suaply russia _ resolve. you think they will supply russia with - resolve. you think they will supply russia with little - supply russia with little support as claimed by the administration? i support as claimed by the administration?— support as claimed by the administration? i think that the chinese _ administration? i think that the chinese are _ administration? i think that the chinese are thinking - administration? i think that the chinese are thinking of| administration? i think that | the chinese are thinking of a very gradual process. right now they seem to be happy providing they seem to be happy providing the technologies. it would be certainly possible for them to supply spare parts, because somebody chinese are derived from russian design. the next step is to provide munitions. i think it will divide that i take a while for trailer to provide battle tanks orjet fighters, more actual full—blown weapons. fighters, more actual full-blown weapons. why is china not — full-blown weapons. why is china not condemned - full-blown weapons. why is china not condemned rushl full-blown weapons. why is i china not condemned rush on full-blown weapons. why is - china not condemned rush on its invasion of ukraine? first china not condemned rush on its invasion of ukraine?— invasion of ukraine? first off, i think the _ invasion of ukraine? first off, i think the chinese _ invasion of ukraine? first off, i think the chinese view - invasion of ukraine? first off, i think the chinese view the l i think the chinese view the russian invasion the same way

we do. i also think that they view russia as a strategic partner, and above all, that a russian that loses in the ukraine opens the door to a west that when pressure china. in a very real sense, i think beijing is thinking better to support moscow and keep the west at bay than to stop it support from us go and find the canada west now basically coming after china next. good to have you — coming after china next. good to have you in _ coming after china next. good to have you in the _ coming after china next. good | to have you in the programme. thank you. thank you for having me. the united nations general assembly has been meeting in new york where they're discussing the war in ukraine, with more pressures on member states to condemn russia's actions. a motion has been tabled, calling on russia to withdraw from all ukrainian territory, and for an immediate cessation of hostilities. our north america correspondent nada tawfik assesses how effective this vote will be. i think what diplomats will tell you is they are under no illusions that this

will change anything on the ground. in fact, if you listen to what the russian ambassador said in the hall, he urged member states not to support the resolution, saying it wouldn't be helpful to ease the tensions between russia and the west. he largely says his country blames the west for trying to destroy russia and he believes that this resolution if passed would, as he put it, just lead to more russia—phobic militaristic lies from the west. so there is certainly that rhetoric and those divisions which are extremely large of course given the war in ukraine. but what diplomats say is that it is important with the one—year anniversary coming up, for the nations of the world to really take a stand in protection of the un charter — that is what the west and ukraine's supporters want to see. in the past, nearly three—quarters of the general assembly has voted alongside ukraine, condemning russia's

action, its invasion, its attempt to annex ukraine's territory, and so what we have seen is that russia has been isolated on the international stage, and that is a symbolic victory that the countries of the west feel is important given what is happening with ukraine and its people at the moment. let's get some of the day's other news. the leaders of nato countries in eastern europe have asked the united states to boost its security presence in response to russia's war in ukraine. the countries — known collectively as the �*bucharest nine' — met president biden and the nato chief yens stoltenberg in the polish capital, warsaw. in a joint statement, they denounced russia as a significant and direct threat to nato security in the region. in the united states, ivanka trump and jared kushner — the daughter and son—in—law of donald trump — have been summoned to testify before a federal grand jury. they have been called to give evidence on the former president's role in the storming of the

us congress two years ago. both served as white house officials in the trump administration. 75 million people across the united states are under some kind of winter weather alert as a mix of record high and record low temperatures sweeps the country. forecasters predict an icy band will impact states from nebraska to new hampshire, with much of the west, including california, experiencing snow, and blizzard conditions. the united states says it's extremely concerned by violence in israel and the occupied west bank. a raid by israeli troops in nablus on wednesday left 11 palestinians dead and about 100 wounded. that's according to palestinian officials, who say that several of those killed were civilians, including two elderly men and a teenage boy. the israeli military said its troops — none of whom were injured — came under fire while targeting suspected militants in the city of nablus. 0ur middle east correspondent tom bateman reports. another day of death and bloodshed in nablus.

the worst this city has seen since the depths of this conflict two decades ago. it started with israeli undercover forces seen here entering the city in disguise. then, more raided. then it was mid—morning, into streets packed with people, sparking gunfights with palestinian militants. troops opened fire and blew up a building in the old city. translation: i was woken by an explosion _ and saw special forces with dogs, troops connecting wires, which i assumed were for explosives. the destructive force of an israeli rocket fired at a palestinian house. israel says its troops killed three militants of the lion's den group who refused to surrender. it wanted them over the killing of a soldier last year and for planning new attacks.

but as paramedics struggled to move, more people were killed outside, gunmen and civilians, including a 72—year—old man. while others, apparently unarmed, were seen running away as gunshots were heard. palestinian officials called it a massacre. in the hospitals, the wounded and their relatives pour in. 15—year—old islam says he threw stones towards the soldiers. he got a bullet in the leg. his grandfather tells me young and old were hit. "they came in with so much rage, "so much hatred against the palestinian people, "it is the first time i've known it like that "since 2004," he says. we are seeing more and more relatives arrive here, and on this ward alone, they are treating people in every room now

with bullet wounds. 0ne doctor i spoke to said this is one of the worst events of its kind he's seen recently. he called it a disaster. thousands turned out for another day of funerals. today's raid in nablus is now the deadliest in the occupied west bank in nearly two decades. israel says it's been trying to stem the rise in palestinian attacks on its streets. the northern west bank's become home to growing militancy with the official palestinian leadership losing control here. now, the militant group, islamichhad, is threatening retaliation. the scale of bloodshed shows recent international efforts to restore calm are failing. tom bateman, bbc news, nablus. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: do you want olive oil with that? the unusual new taste sensation for coffee lovers in italy.

prince charles has chosen his bride. the prince proposed to lady diana spencer three weeks ago. she accepted, she says, without hesitation. as revolutions go, this had its fair share of bullets. a climax in the night outside the gates of mr marcos's sanctuary, malacanang, the name itself symbolising one of the cruellest regimes of modern asia. the world's first clone has been produced of| an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have i produced a sheep called dolly using a cell- from another sheep. warren beatty and faye dunaway announced to the world that the winner of best film was la la land. the only trouble was, it wasn't. the mistake was only put right in the middle of gushing speeches by the team behind the modern musical. not for 20 years have locusts been seen in such numbers in this part of africa. some of the swarms have been ten miles long. this is the last time - the public will see this pope. very soon, ifor the sake of the credibility. and authority of the next pope, benedict xvi will, in his own words, j be hidden from the world

for the rest of his life. i this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: ahead of the first anniversary of the russian invasion of ukraine, president putin once again defends his special military operation. china's top foreign affairs official is in moscow for talks, with beijing expected to unveil a possible peace plan. police in northern ireland have confirmed that an off—duty officer has been shot at a sports centre in the town of 0magh, county tyrone. the police federation for northern ireland said two gunmen were involved and he was shot while he coached young people playing football. daniel mccrossan gave his reaction to the shooting. i’m reaction to the shooting. i'm totall reaction to the shooting. i“n totally devastated and in shock

as to why or how this has happened in any part of our community on this island. there are no words for the details of that i'm hearing, the impact it has already had and will have when other details emerge. but i'm, first of all, thinking of the family of the gentlemen involved and his colleagues and the community and the children. this is a youth centre. tonight he was doing something in his own time, supporting local kids, and this man, his life was put at risk as a result of a cruel, evil, planned behaviour of a small group of individuals. there is no place individuals. there is no place in the society for that. thomas

buchanan _ in the society for that. thomas buchanan from _ in the society for that. thomas buchanan from the _ in the society for that. thomas buchanan from the democratic| buchanan from the democratic unionist parties as the off—duty police officer was shot after a football coaching session when parents were collecting their children. $5 session when parents were collecting their children. first collecting their children. as i understand, _ collecting their children. as i understand, the _ collecting their children. rsi understand, the training collecting their children. isi understand, the training was over, the young people waiting for their parents when he was attacked. peoplejust came for their parents when he was attacked. people just came out of the darkness, as they do, premeditated murder, and attempted to murder and off duty police official. do not think there was a condemnation of strong to condemned exactly what happened here tonight —— to condemn. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy gave us this update from the police headquarters in belfast. well, we know this incident happened at around eight o'clock this evening. what police are saying is that a serving police officer was shot, he's been taken to hospital injured. we don't know any more about his condition. local political leaders have been very quick to condemn this incident, sinn fein saying it's a shameful attack, the dup calling it

reprehensible. but, of course, here in northern ireland, there is always a continuing security threat against police officers, that's something that dates back to the conflict here known as the troubles but today, it's much more rare for police officers to come to harm. the last time a police officer was shot was in 2017, a murder attempt by dissident republican paramilitaries, and in 2011, the police officer ronan kerr was murdered in a bomb under his car. so tonight, this incident will come as a real shock. we don't know any of the details yet behind the attack but all that police are saying is that a serving police officer has been shot and remains in hospital. a tv news journalist has been shot dead while working at the scene of a murder in the us state of florida. a nine—year—old girl was also killed inside a nearby house. police say the motive for the attacks near 0rlando is unclear. they've arrested

a 19—year—old suspect. the two shootings of the two news reporters and the shooting of the mother and the nine—year—old child are all canet did, the same suspects, mr moses, is responsible for all the shootings. he has been formally charged in murder this morning and we expect charges soon on all of the other vic adams. —— victims. six massive galaxies recently discovered by nasa are challenging what scientists previously understood about how galaxies are formed. using data released from nasa's james webb space telescope lastjuly, researchers found the objects date to a time when the universe was only 3% of its current age — some 500—700 million years after the big bang. the galaxies are far bigger and more mature than initially predicted — from what is thought to be the dawn of the universe. i'm joined now by dr sarah kendrew, instrument scientist for the james webb space telescope and european space agency.

doctor sarah, thank you so much forjoining us. just how significant of a find is this? hi, yes, it's certainly a very interesting finding. we are very early in the mission of this exciting new space telescope. so there are a lot of things still to learn about how, what exactly we can learn from the data. these observations of galaxies in the very early universe is exactly what the telescope was designed to do. so it is exciting that we're finding that a new and under affected. we're finding that a new and underaffected. but we're finding that a new and under affected. but for anything that will be so impactful and challenge our understanding of the universe, we need a lot of evidence and we need a lot of evidence and we need a lot of evidence and we need to be very sure. and it's important to know that these galaxies that have now been discovered, you know, they still based on certain limited data. so specifically also how distant they are in the universe, that still needs to

be confirmed by other measurement methods, particularly spectroscopy. right now we only have images, pictures, so in that sense we are still quite reliant on modelled and on certain assumptions, so it is quite early to really say that this is, you know, a real confirmed finding, ithink. this is, you know, a real confirmed finding, ithink.— finding, i think. as you mentioned, _ finding, i think. as you mentioned, it - finding, i think. as you mentioned, it is - finding, i think. as you mentioned, it is still i finding, i think. as you - mentioned, it is still limited data and mounis we found out, but how can the existence of these galaxies change what is already known about the universe? —— and more needs to be found out. universe? -- and more needs to be found out-— be found out. prior to the launch of— be found out. prior to the launch of webb _ be found out. prior to the launch of webb and - be found out. prior to the launch of webb and for. be found out. prior to the i launch of webb and for quite some time we have a pretty good idea of how the universe came into being, the physical conditions in the early universe, and the kind of timeline processes under which the first stars and galaxies formed. so we have an idea of you know, at a particular age

of the universe galaxies will look like this at the very early ages. so what is new results, what the scientists are finding with these latest observations is that these galaxies just look a lot older and more mature. they performed and more mature. they performed a lot more stars, they have accumulated a lot more material than we would expect at such an early age of the universe, like so quickly after the big bang. and if that's confirmed that it does kind of challenge some of our basic assumptions about the physics of the early universe, which potentially is an extremely impactful finding. but as i said, i think we need more confirmation on these measurements and i'm sure we are going to be getting that body soon. i'm sure there are already on that.— already on that. very briefly, i 'ust already on that. very briefly, i just want — already on that. very briefly, i just want to _ already on that. very briefly, i just want to find _ already on that. very briefly, i just want to find out, - already on that. very briefly, | i just want to find out, what's the difference between the james webb telescope and any other telescope, james webb telescope and any othertelescope, how james webb telescope and any other telescope, how is the james webb telescope able to look that far? the james webb telescope able to look that far?— look that far? the key to really being _ look that far? the key to really being able - look that far? the key to really being able to - look that far? the key to | really being able to probe these very, very early ages in

these very, very early ages in the universe is the fact that it is sensitive to infrared light. the hubble space telescope was the important kind of predecessor for webb covers ultraviolet and optical light, and that limits how far back you can look in the universe. the expansion of the universe. the expansion of the universe stretches into the infrared... universe stretches into the infrared. . ._ infrared... crosstalk. sor , infrared... crosstalk. sorry, advisedly - infrared... crosstalk. sorry, advisedly we - infrared... crosstalk. | sorry, advisedly we have infrared... crosstalk. - sorry, advisedly we have run out of time. it is so fascinating. you so much for your time —— unfortunately. the world's largest coffee chain starbucks is putting its own touch on italy's coffee scene. it's launching a line of olive oil—infused drinks. starbucks's chief executive howard schultz promises it will enhance coffee with an "unexpected, velvety, buttery flavour." azadeh moshiri reports. italy — one of the world's culinary capitals. the land of pasta, pecorino, and gelato. but now one of its famed delights is about to get a makeover courtesy of america's very own coffeehouse, starbucks.

and they are calling it the 0leato. translation: it's a strange idea. - but there is something different about it and, in my opinion, it can appeal a lot more to foreigners than italians. translation: there are things that shouldn't go together- but it's good, because i always like to taste something new so for me, it's good. the 0leato is made with 0leato coffee infused with a spoonful —— the 0leato is made with arabica coffee infused with a spoonful of partanna cold pressed extra—virgin olive oil. you can drink it as an ice—shaken espresso or even a latte, with olive oil steamed with oat milk. starbucks launched in italy in 2015 but it's struggled to win over customers. it's new drink is not for italians alone. starbucks plans to bring down a new recipe to southern california in the united states later in the spring. the united kingdom, middle east and japan are set to follow later this year.

so if you're outside of italy, you won't miss out on, or be spared, this instant classic. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. thank you for watching. that is all for now. hello there. wednesday brought our first appreciable rain for some time. in fact, or eastern england, more rain than we've seen all february so far. but the other element was, of course, a cooler day. temperatures dipped from the 13 in harden on tuesday to just 8 on wednesday, which is about average for the time of year. and the change was due to a change in wind direction behind this rather raggedy looking weather front on our satellite picture, the north—westerly wind developed and that north—westerly wind is blowing our cloud away further south, although we've had a smattering of snow across the moors and the south—west. so, it is cold air. we could see something a little bit wintry on the hills as that continues southwards through the rest of the night. behind it, temperatures are dropping to freezing and of course, where we're

seeing any wintriness. so with the surfaces damp, it could well be quite icy. so that's something we haven't seen for a while, either. so, a cold and frosty start for many of us in the morning. 0ur weather front and its cloud still in the south. the next one starting to approach the north. but the high pressure in between does promise more sunshine for many across scotland, northern ireland, northern england, wales. this cloudier zone, cool. some bits and pieces of rain drizzle takes a while to clear, and later on something more significant comes back into the north and west and the northern isles, along with a strengthening and quite gusty wind. so, that will make it feel chillier. but some sunshine elsewhere, and temperatures similar to those of wednesday, which as i say, is about average for this time of year. then through the evening, that weather front will weaken. the rain amounts almost peter out as it pushes its way southwards. and so behind it, the cloud breaks. and ahead of it we could see some frost as well. so colder to start friday morning. again, a cold start across central and southern areas, but the high pressure is just relinquishing its grip for a while.

now, these weather fronts will introduce more cloud and also that northerly wind. so i do think it'll feel quite chilly on friday even when the cloud starts to break with some sunshine for the north—east of scotland, eastern england, there's a bracing wind and we will still have some rain on this weather front. again, it doesn't look like anything significant, but it will introduce more cloud across the skies and give us some patchy nuisance rain. but as i say, a little bit chillier than the 9 or 10 would suggest. and then the high pressure's back for the weekend. a strong high pressure building, keeping those weather fronts at bay once again. so as we look towards the end of february and through the weekend, there could be quite a bit of cloud around, some drizzly showers, fog and frost, but not a lot of rain is in the forecast.

this is bbc news. the headlines: president putin has been addressing crowds filling moscow's main stadium for a patriotic gala concert to mark one year of russia's invasion. surrounded on stage by servicemen from all the armed forces, he spoke of russian warriors heroically fighting "this very moment" on the borders of historically—russian lands. top—level russian—chinese talks in moscow have ended with both sides sending positive signals ahead of friday's anticipated speech by president xi jinping on the ukraine war. moscow thanked beijing for a "co nsiste ntly

balanced position", welcoming its readiness to play what it called