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. eleven palestinians are killed and more than a hundred 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 burning to save the world:

the environmentally—friendly charcoal that could help reduce deforestation. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. 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. our africa correspondent andrew harding reports. farfrom ukraine, a formidable russian warship, the admiral gorshkov, docking in south africa today, bristling with long range missiles and branded unapologetically with the letter v, the symbol of russia's invasion of ukraine. so why is democratic

south africa going along with all this, a week of military exercises, and with china too? below decks on the russian frigate, vladimir putin stares from the wall. the captain insists these are just routine drills, nothing provocative. his south african hosts go further, suggesting that this kind of cooperation is actually what russia and ukraine need today. the republic of south africa, and other countries as well, subscribe to negotiated settlements. maybe we are that country which can assist to bring together different nations who are opposing each other. south africa claims to be neutral regarding the war in ukraine. but the timing of these drills is awkward, to put it mildly. and it's part of a broader trend

that's seen south africa's struggling government drawing closer to the kremlin. opposition politicians here are not impressed. it clearly leaves the perception that our government is not neutral. they seem to be giving every opportunity to the russians to showcase their fist, their capability, their military strength. but the truth is that russia is not the pariah here, that it is in the west. right now across africa, most governments are simply trying to keep their heads down when it comes to ukraine, anxious not to get dragged into the war there on either side. but there's no doubt that today, with these naval exercises, south africa has gifted the kremlin a small propaganda victory. and it's also clear that russian influence on the continent is growing. that influence can be troubling,

russian flags waved in places like mali and burkina faso, where the kremlin stands accused of backing coups and undermining democracy. today's russian exercises in south africa have provoked frustration in the west, but they're a reminder that this continent, with its painful colonial history, now wants to keep its options open. andrew harding, bbc news, south africa. the united nations general assembly has been meeting in new york to discuss the war in ukraine with more pressure 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. 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 a hundred wounded. in the city of nablus. our 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. "i was woken by an explosion "and saw special forces "with dogs, troops connecting wires,

"which i assumed were for explosives," says this man who lives nearby. 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. one 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. a series of earthquakes have shaken tajikistan on thursday morning, the strongest of which measured at magnitude 6.8, according to the us geological survey. the earthquakes were felt in the capital, dushanbe, but its epicentre was in the east of the country, closer to the border with china. the area is sparsely populated, but is home to the sarez lake, which could potentially flood vast areas in several countries. 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 i 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, be hidden from the world for the rest of his life. i

this is bbc 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. the us state department said the visit to russia by chinese diplomat wang yi on the eve of the anniversary of the invasion of ukraine was further evidence of beijing's alignment with moscow. dean cheng is an expert in chinese military and foreign policy. i asked him what he thought may come out of these meetings between russia and china. i think that above all, the two sides — china and russia — are 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 yet, china is also going to try and broker a peace deal. do you think that there is any plans to potentially de—escalate the war? president xi is expected to release this supposed peace proposal. i think that the chinese are going to basically make the following argument — 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, and my guess is that he is going to suggest, therefore, that the west should halt its supply of weapons to ukraine, forcing the two sides into negotiations from which "peace" will then result. and do you think china will supply russia with lethal support as claimed by the biden administration? i think that the chinese are thinking of a very gradual process. right now they seem to be happy providing

dual—use technologies. it would be certainly possible for them to supply spare parts, particularly because so many chinese weapons are derived from russian designs. the next step would then be to provide munitions. but i think it will take a while for the chinese to supply main battle tanks orjet fighters, more actual full—blown weapons systems. and why has china not condemned russia on its invasion to ukraine? well, first off, i don't 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 russia that loses in ukraine opens the door to a west that will then pressure china. so, in a very real sense, i think that beijing is thinking better to support moscow and keep the west at bay than to stop its support for moscow and find the west now basically coming after china next.

police in northern ireland have confirmed that an off—duty officer has been shot in the town of omagh, county tyrone. the police federation for northern ireland said two gunmen were involved. daniel mccrossan, an assembly member for the social democratic and labour party, gave his reaction to the shooting. i'm totally devastated and in shock and without words as to why or how this has happened in omagh or any part of our community on this island. there are no words for the details that i'm hearing, the impact it has already had and will have when other details emerge, but i'm first of all thinking obviously on 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 the cowardly and cruel, the evil, planned behaviour of a small group of individuals. there is no place in this society for that. our ireland correspondent emma vardy gave us this update from the police headquarters in belfast. well, we know this incident happened at around 8:00 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. 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 orlando 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 connected. the same suspect, mr moses, is responsible for all the shootings. he's been charged — formally charged in murder this morning,

and we expect charges soon on all of the other victims. according to the united nations, more than 60% of the world's charcoal comes from africa. in benin, one man has come up with an innovative way to produce charcoal that he hopes will help preserve the country's forests. the bbc�*s tim allman reports. roland adjovi burns with enthusiasm for saving the environment and maybe making a little money at the same time. he picks up leaves, grass and other organic waste. his aim — to create a more bio—sustainable, environmentally friendly charcoal. translation: i saw a lot of trucks - transporting charcoal made from wood, more than a dozen. i asked, "how come we are asked to "fight against deforestation, but yet we have so many bags "of wooden charcoal being transported to our cities?" benin�*s forests provide

energy, food and income, but they're disappearing at an alarming rate. according to the world bank, the country's forest cover fell by more than 20% between 2005 and 2015. in one year alone, 2017, 3.3 million tons of wood were turned into charcoal. the hope is roland's eco—charcoal can do something about that. translation: it has - the same shape as charcoal, but here, the process does not contribute to deforestation. we don't need to cut trees in he forest, we don't need —— in the forest, we don't need to destroy all the vegetation to reap the rewards. this doesn't really pollute the environment, it doesn't destroy. this is traditional charcoal. sacks of it are transported the country, mostly used as a fuel for cooking. but this is roland's eco—friendly version in action. it's only a start, there's a long way to go, but perhaps it will provide a better recipe for benin�*s environment. tim allman, bbc news.

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 oleato. translation: it's a strange idea. - but there is something different about it and, in my opinion, it could 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 oleato 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 has struggled to win over customers. its new drink is not for italians alone. starbucks plans to bring their 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 or be spared this instant classic. azadeh moshiri, bbc news.

that is all for now. thank you for watching. you can reach me on twitter. hello there. wednesday brought our first appreciable rain for some time. in fact, for 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. our 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 isjust 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 "consistently balanced position" — welcoming its readiness to play what it called a positive role in a settlement. 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