this is bbc news with the headlines... alex murdaugh, the disgraced south carolina lawyer, is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his son and wife. i sentence you to prison for murdering him for the rest of your natural life. those sentences will run consecutive. a british parliamentary probe into partygate — finds evidence that breaches of covid rules would have been obvious to borisjohnson. i believed implicitly that these events were within the rules. that's why i said what i said in the chamber.

the us announce another new military aid package for ukraine worth $400 million. it comes as president biden meets the german chancellor olaf scholz for talks in washington. meanwhile, on the ground in ukraine the head of russia's wagner group says its forces now surround most of bakhmut — the east ukrainian city which has been the focus of extensive fighting in recent weeks. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk, on pbs in the us or around the world. it's the murder case that's gripped the us and drawn attention across the world. alex murdaugh, a prominent south carolina lawyer, has been given two life terms in prison for killing his wife and son on their hunting estate. in court today, prior to the sentence being announced, the sa—year again denied murdering his son paul and his wife maggie.

i'm innocent. i would never hurt my wife, maggie. and i would never hurt my son, paul—paul. thank you, your honour. thank you. after a lengthy address that last nearly half an hour, judge clifton newman sentenced murdaugh to consecutive life terms for the murders, that were committed injune 2021. i that were committed injune 202i. sentence you to department i sentence you to the state department of corrections on each of the murder indictments in the murder of your wife maggie murdaugh. i sentence you to the term for your natural life for the murder of paul murdaugh. whom you probably loved so much. i sentence you to prison for

murdering him for the rest of your natural life. those sentences will run consecutive. under the statute involving possession of weapon during a violent crime there is no sentence, a life sentence is imposed on other indictments. that is the sentence of the court and you are remanded to the state department of corrections. 0fficers may carry forth on the imposition.

yes, sir. yes, sir. yes, sir. 0ur washington correspondent gary 0'donoghue explained how the court case has captured the attention of a nation. there's a number of different television series broadcasted about it, people digging into the background, and the case itself has obviously been viewed unfolding over the last six weeks on live television. so there's been a great deal of interest in it, and it's sort of culminated here in these two life sentences for alex murdaugh — although he does plan to appeal and will face other charges connected to the alleged financial crimes that could give him hefty sentences. but as things stand, he's injailfor life. so we heard from the judge there as he sentenced alex murdaugh to the two consecutive life terms — what else did he say? he spoke for half an hour.

yeah, i mean, he expressed a lot of anger about murdaugh�*s conduct in court. i think this is in part because murdaugh was a lawyer and he felt that murdaugh tried to use the system he knew to be dubious about the way he presented things. he also, really interesting talked about the fact that while south carolina has the death penalty, the prosecutors have taken the death penalty off the table, trial, something they can do — but the judge said during his sentencing, "look, yourfamily and your ancestors have prosecuted many people in this state and sent many people to their deaths for much lesser crimes then you've committed," really indicating that if he had the choice, he would've given alex murdaugh a capital sentence for this crime. so that was pretty dramatic, and also during that sentencing, that's also when alex murdaugh stood up and said he maintained his

innocence twice, "i love my wife, i love my wife and my son, i would do nothing to harm them. " you said alex murdaugh is likely to appeal, what did he say in court today? like i said, hejust professed his innocence twice, but the judge said during his sentencing, "look, yourfamily and your ancestors have prosecuted many people in this state and sent many people to their deaths for much lesser crimes then you've committed," really indicating that if he had the choice, he would've given alex murdaugh a capital sentence for this crime. so that was pretty dramatic, and also during that sentencing, that's also when alex murdaugh stood up and said he maintained his this recorded about ten minutes before maggie and paul shot dead. you can hear murdaugh�*s choice on that. he had to change his story that. he had to change his story that went out very badly the jury. the former uk prime minister boris johnson may have repeatedly misled parliament over social gatherings held at downing street

during covid restrictions. that's according to mps investigating his conduct, who said that evidence strongly suggests that breaches of coronavirus rules inside no.10 whilst he was prime minister would have been "obvious" to him. mrjohnson was among those fined by police for breaking lockdown rules. but he said there was no evidence he had "knowingly" misled parliament over the issue. 0ur political correspondent helen catt reports. did borisjohnson know more about lockdown parties in downing street than he told mps? for months now, mps on the privileges committee have been building a picture. they have studied photos with lots of booze but little social distancing, taking evidence and even gone on a tour of number 10. the report says the evidence suggests breaches of guidance would have been obvious to mrjohnson at the time he was at the gatherings. i believed that what we were doing was implicitly within the rules, and that's why i said what i said

in the house of commons and that is why, i thank the committee for their labours, and i'm sorry it has all been going on for so long, but there has been no contempt here. # happy birthday to you... # mrjohnson was fined for attending a party on his birthday in 2020. not here, but this party has late in the day in the cabinet room. the report includes whatsapp messages which suggested to some of those who advised him concerned when the story came out. his director of communications message to number 10 official saying... a director of communications replied... but it is what mrjohnson told parliament that is the subject of investigation. the committee says there is evidence that he may have misled it

when he told mps about claims which have since been proven to be true of a party held in number 10 in december 2020. i have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there no covid rules were broken. and that is what i have been repeatedly assured. the committee says the commons may also have been misled when mrjohnson failed to tell the house about his own knowledge of the gatherings where the rules or guidance had been broken. it said... sir keir starmer who was in northern ireland earlier, was scathing. i think the evidence of wrongdoing by borisjohnson is already pretty damning. i think it's important to bear

in mind that rishi sunak, at the time, was obviously very close to all of this and sat on his hands. and i think first and foremost of the families, not just those that lost loved ones, but also all the other families who were obeying the rules and changing their lives, whilst those in government were not even following their own rules. the labour leader has himself caused a row and enraged some conservative mps after he offered a top job as his chief of staff to the civil servant who investigated partygate sue gray. she resigned from the civil service but will wait for advice from the appointments watchdog before taking up the role. as for boris johnson, he will have the chance to put his case to the privileges committee in person later this month before they reach their final conclusions. the us has announced another new military aid package for ukraine. the latest round of security aid is worth $400 million and provides more ammunition, equipment and munitions.

the new aid was announced just as presidentjoe biden met the german chancellor 0laf scholz to discuss the two countries' ongoing support for ukraine. we're making the alliance stronger and more capable. you've heard me say before that when i talk to put in a couple of months before that i told him that we're more likely —— put in. the finalisation of europe, more like the nato position of europe. —— two 28 putin. it's had that effect. a lot has happened since last year for that we've got a lot to talk about in further conversation.— lot to talk about in further conversation. ., ~ , ., ., ., conversation. thank you for having me aaain conversation. thank you for having me again and _ conversation. thank you for having me again and i _ conversation. thank you for having me again and i really _ conversation. thank you for having me again and i really appreciate i conversation. thank you for having l me again and i really appreciate the white _ me again and i really appreciate the white house. let me just take this, this is_ white house. let me just take this, this is very— white house. let me just take this, this is very important year because of the _

this is very important year because of the very— this is very important year because of the very dangerous threat that comes— of the very dangerous threat that comes from russia. it's really important _ comes from russia. it's really important that we act together, we're _ important that we act together, we're organised in lockstep and we make _ we're organised in lockstep and we make it _ we're organised in lockstep and we make it as— we're organised in lockstep and we make it as feasible as we can giving the necessary support to ukraine during _ the necessary support to ukraine during all— the necessary support to ukraine during all this time. at this time isaac— during all this time. at this time isaac it — during all this time. at this time isaac it is — during all this time. at this time isaac it is very important that we -ive isaac it is very important that we give the — isaac it is very important that we give the message that we will continue _ give the message that we will continue to do so as long as it takes — continue to do so as long as it takes and _ continue to do so as long as it takes and as long as it is necessary. and we're ready also for staying _ necessary. and we're ready also for staying with — necessary. and we're ready also for staying with that ukrainians as long as it is _ staying with that ukrainians as long as it is necessary. i really appreciate the very good cooperation lead two _ appreciate the very good cooperation lead two of us, our government the united _ lead two of us, our government the united states and europe and the transatlantic partnership is in very good _ transatlantic partnership is in very good shape today. meanwhile, the head of russia's wagner group has said its forces now surround most of bakhmut — the east ukrainian city that has been the focus of extensive fighting in recent weeks. yevgeny prigozhin said there was now only one route out of the city,

and he called on ukraine's president to withdraw his troops. ukraine has acknowledged that its troops in bakhmut are under severe pressure. casualties on both sides have been severe. as you can see, bakhmut is a fairly small town, set in farmland. before the invasion, it had a population of around 73—thousand people. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a reality contestant isjailed in the uk — a reality contestant isjailed in the uk for sharing a private graphic video— the uk for sharing a private graphic video of— the uk for sharing a private graphic video of him and his former partner. later— video of him and his former partner. later in _ video of him and his former partner. later in the — video of him and his former partner. later in the programme will talk to a lawyer about how the case kit encourage other victims to come forward. first, the plates slid gently off the restaurant tables.

then suddenly, the tables, the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards. it was just a matter of seconds as the ferry lurched onto her side. the hydrogen bomb. on a remote pacific atoll, the americans had successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i had heard the news earlier, and so my heart went bang, bang, bang! the constitutional rights of these i marches are their rights as citizens of the united states, - and they should be protected, even in the right to test them out | so that they don't get their heads broken and are sent to hospital. this religious controversy — i know you don't want to say too much about it — but does it worry you that it's going to boil up? oh, it worries me, yes, but i hope everything'll be all right at the end of the day.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines... alex murdaugh the disgrace lawyer sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his son and wife. nobel peace prize winner, ales bialiatski, got sentenced to ten years in prison in belarus. bialiatski is the founder of a human rights group, which helped protesters during a wave of unrest in belarus in 2020. he was charged with smuggling money into belarus and financing protests. bialiatski denies that. two more activists got nine and seven years in jail. belarus's exiled opposition leader, svetlana tikhanovskaya, described the trial as a shameful injustice. bbc spoke earlier to anais marin is the united nations special rapporteur on the human rights situation in belarus. here is her reaction on the verdict and the un's plans on the next steps.

this further comes as little surprise. the prosecutors had in fact required 12 years. nonetheless, he alongside three other members of the human rights defenders organisation it received very long prison sentence. 0ne organisation it received very long prison sentence. one of them eight years and he was tried in absentia, he's been running away from the country. he's been running away from the country. this all reveals and illustrates one more time that the justice system in belarus is made to implement what i see as vengeance against civil society, against ngos, which have been relentlessly fighting for the respect of fundamental human rights in belarus. in my capacity as special rapporteur, and alongside other special procedures, mandate—holders of the un human rights council, we've been already issuing several

communications on this case alerting the government of belarus, who's the main addressee of our recommendations, about the numerous violations international human rights standards and conventions that belarus is even a party of. with this and other significant human rights violations, that have been multiplying and keep on to this day ever since the last contested elections on the 9th of august, 2020. unfortunately, the un isjust what states make of it, and human rights is not necessarily a priority for many states — and therefore, there exists some human rights mechanisms, but they are not binding, and unfortunately for now, even the recourses, the ways for belarusian victims of human rights violations have been further limited by the fact that the government has denounced the optional protocol of the international pact on civil

and political rights, which allowed individuals to request the un to issue a decision on their specific case — the human rights committee was issuing the decision. this is not a possible avenue any more, neither is the one at the council of europe, because belarus is not a member. here in the uk, a man and a woman have been remanded in custody, charged with manslaughter of a baby. the body of a newborn was found in an allotment shed near brighton, in southern england, on monday. duncan kennedy reports. mark gordon arrived at the court and was escorted by police and prison officers. and prison officers. he was led into the building ahead of his appearance before magistrates. constance marten was brought in through another entrance. mr gordon walked into the courtroom alongside ms marten both dressed in gray track suits. they are both sat next to security staff.

the court official asked both of them to give their names and dates of birth, each of them also said they were of no fixed abode. the three charges against each of them more than read out. they are manslaughter, concealing the birth of a child, and perverting the course ofjustice. they were not asked to enter pleas to any of the charges. the court was told that the remains of the baby were found in a locked shed. they were inside a plastic bag under some nappies. court documents have given the baby's name as victoria. constance marten and mark gordon were arrested on monday after they had been missing for eight weeks. the case has led to a large police operation in the brighton area. after today's hearing, mr gordon was taken back to a prison van and driven away. ms marten was taken away through a different exit. both were remanded in custody

and will next appear at the old bailey, in london at the end of march. duncan kennedy, bbc news, at crawley magistrates�* court. the british reality tv contestant stephen bear has been sentenced to 21 months in prison after sharing a private video of himself having sex with his ex—girlfriend georgia harrison. she waived her right to anonymity for the trial. bear was found guilty of voyeurism and disclosing private sexual photographs and films — with intent to cause distress. annabel rackham reports stephen bear's arrival in court this morning was extraordinary. he stopped to take a selfie before singing to a group of reporters. the 33—year—old is best known for winning celebrity big brother in 2016. how many times have i asked if you have a girlfriend at home? georgia harrison let him on the itv show the challenge and she told the court how she had had to move out of her home in essex because it was opposite his. the judge gave near enough the maximum sentence today and said

georgia had suffered extreme humiliation and embarrassment in terms of her emotional health and reputation, and also in her employment status. he praised her dignity and courage and said that he hopes that this result would give vindication to others that had suffered from similar crimes. georgia harrison appeared visibly relieved after the sentence was given. i want to let all other victims of this crime know that i stand in solidarity with them, and i have absolutely no regrets on waiving my anonymity. i hope that this puts anyone off committing this sort of crime, and i hope for anyone else who has been a victim of it it gives them some sort ofjustice. women's charities have told us stephen bear's prison sentence sends the right message. it sets a statement to the general public and it says if you are thinking or considering of committing this crime, because it is a crime, you could go to jail for that and that's an incredibly important message to send because at the end of the day it is sexual abuse.

this is the most high profile revenge porn conviction since the law was introduced in 2015. the fact that georgia waived her anonymity and came forward is a huge milestone and shows that when people are brave, and we will take this behaviour seriously and do all we can. after nearly three years of waiting georgia harrison says that she can finally move on. annabel rackham, bbc news, chelmsford. let's speak to elinor. what is the significance of this ruling and what does it mean for cases like this in the future? i does it mean for cases like this in the future?— the future? i think others have said, it shows _ the future? i think others have said, it shows that _ the future? i think others have said, it shows that the - the future? i think others have said, it shows that the courts l the future? i think others have i said, it shows that the courts are taking this extremely seriously and that of the perpetrator should be worn. it sadly affects many people, notjust celebrities like george. by getting this issue out to the public domain

and the debate around and hopefully society will start to think of other ways and how satisfactory ways victims can seekjustice. that victims can seek 'ustice. that campaigners— victims can seek 'ustice. that campaigners are _ victims can seekjustice. that campaigners are calling - victims can seekjustice. that campaigners are calling for a change of the 0nline safety bill to remove the stipulation that has to be proven that the perpetrator intended to cause distress or embarrassing when sending explicit photos or videos. what does that mean and what our campaigning is hoping to change? this is really key. as i'm sure you'll all appreciate, someone intends to cause somebody distress that gets them off too easy. we need to remove that stipulation for people to successfully prosecute in the criminal courts. so many people have not been able to do that to date because it's been too easy for the defendant to say they didn't intend to cause that distress. i think that today's judgment is really helpful because it's a first major time we can see it

successfully making its way through the courts. ~ ., ,., successfully making its way through the courts. ~ ., ., ., the courts. what sort of impact in a rulin: like the courts. what sort of impact in a ruling like this _ the courts. what sort of impact in a ruling like this have _ the courts. what sort of impact in a ruling like this have on _ the courts. what sort of impact in a ruling like this have on sites - the courts. what sort of impact in a ruling like this have on sites like i ruling like this have on sites like only fans and others to ensure people don't share images? that only fans and others to ensure people don't share images? at the moment there _ people don't share images? at the moment there is _ people don't share images? at the moment there is an _ people don't share images? at the moment there is an issue - people don't share images? at the moment there is an issue around | moment there is an issue around consent, that is the big issue. so many things are uploaded online by people like stephen baer. these sites are not checking up that these people have actually consented to being in them. if these sites are made to account and proper checks and processes —— stephen bear. that would in the first place. this obviously — would in the first place. this obviously was _ would in the first place. this obviously was a _ would in the first place. this obviously was a case - would in the first place. this obviously was a case of - would in the first place. this obviously was a case of georgette harrison waving her right to anonymity but most people would be prepared to do that. that anonymity but most people would be prepared to do that.— prepared to do that. that is true but the courts _ prepared to do that. that is true but the courts will _ prepared to do that. that is true but the courts will certainly - but the courts will certainly support anonymity for victims whether they go down the criminal route as georgia did or down a civil route as georgia did or down a civil route which is available for

victims, that is so far unexplored and that is for breaches of data regulation for sites that are currently making because they are just not making sure have consented. thank you so much forjoining us. eleanor leedham, a solicitor specialising in data protection and technology law breaking news for you joe bidens doctor has confirmed a biopsy that he had in february confirms he has basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer. the doctor also added that all cancerous tissues have now been successfully removed. just more breaking from the reuters news agency which says thatjoe biden as doctor says thatjoe biden will continue dermatologic surveillance. i'm sure we will get more on this in coming hours. just to confirm, it's been confirmed thatjoe biden did

have skin cancer, he's had a biopsy, all cancer tissues have successfully been removed. you are watching bbc news. good evening. it was a cloudy and dull day weather—wise for most of us today, but there were some brighter spells, some sunshine, notably across scotland and also towards the south coast of england — here's gosport, in hampshire. it's quite a mixed picture tomorrow. the further east you are, the more likely you are to see a lot of cloud around, but further west, there will also be some brighter spells at times. and we've still got that feed of cloud coming in from the north sea overnight tonight, a few spots of drizzle always possible, 1—2 coastal showers, as well. further west, this is where we'll see the clearest of the skies — you can see where the blue's tinging in the map, that's where we'll get a widespread frost. temperatures dropping below freezing — so a chilly, locally frosty start to the day. where we keep the cloud, temperatures will remain in low single figures.

now over the weekend, our high pressure is pulling away. it'll still be mostly dry, i think, for most areas, but a couple of cold fronts slipping southwards on a northerly wind, and eventually some arctic air. not too cold yet, though, on saturday. a frost out towards the west — this is where we'll also see the best of the sunshine, western scotland, western england, also western wales. further east, a lot of cloud, a few spots of drizzle from the thickness of the cloud, and some showers moving into mainland scotland, too. temperatures round about the seasonal average, but with a bit of added wind—chill from that northerly. the winds are still fairly light on sunday. there'll be some brighter spells around at times, also a few showers — possibly some of those showers wintry across the hills of scotland and towards north sea—facing coasts, as well. but temperatures will take a bit of a dip on sunday, it will start to feel colder for most areas. but that really cold air filters down from the arctic on sunday night, into the start of next week — and it's just pushing further southwards as the start of the week wears on.

now, there's still a lot of uncertainty in the forecast — but what we are sure about is that it will turn colder and there will be some snowfall. but we're unsure still as to the extent of the snowfall — will it reach the south, and how long the colder air will last? but we've already got localised weather warnings in force for snow and ice across scotland on monday, and for northeast england. most of the showers on monday will fall as rain towards the south, but we could see some of these showers turn wintry, perhaps on tuesday. there will be a lot of added wind—chill, too, with a bitterly cold northerly wind.

this is bbc news, the headlines... alex murdaugh has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murder of his wife, maggie, and his son, paul. mps invesitgating whether boris johnson misled parliament over downing street parties say the evidence suggests breaches of coronovirus rules, would have been "obvious" to the former prime minister. constance marten and mark gordon have been remanded in custody following a court appearance after a baby's remains were found. the national ambulance strikes in england and wales due next monday

and wednesday have been suspended after three