welcome to bbc news. i'm lisa—marie misztak. our top stories: two of the four americans kidnapped in northern mexico on monday have been found dead, refocusing attention on gang violence in the country. i will grant iwillgrant in i will grant in mexico city, where the murder and kidnapping of us citizens has heaped further strain on the already frayed relationship with the biden administration. the white house says it supports a bipartisan bill in congress that will give president biden new powers to ban the chinese—owned app, tiktok, in the us. healing the wounds of war. we have a special report from a treatment centre helping shattered ukrainian soldiers rebuild their lives. britain's prime minister says

he's "up for the fight" to bring in new legislation to prevent migrants crossing the channel. the un refugee agency says it will punish asylum seekers. people must know that if they come here illegally, it will result in their detention and swift removal. ahead of sunday's oscars ceremony, we speak to the star and director of best picture nominee elvis. hello and welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. two of four americans kidnapped in mexico on monday have been found dead. the two survivors have returned to the us. the group was fired on by gunmen while driving

through matamoros in the north—east, after crossing into mexico from texas. a mexican woman also died in the violence. a suspect is in custody. here's our mexico correspondent, will grant. caught up at the epicentre of mexico's violent drug war. this unconfirmed video reportedly shows the moment that the four us citizens, in mexico for a cosmetic health procedure for one of them, were kidnapped. only one appeared to be conscious, ramping up the fears for their relatives in north carolina. those fears were later confirmed in the most public of ways by the governor of tamaulipas state, speaking live to the mexican president in his morning press briefing. translation: about an hour ago, we were notified that there - were indications of a sighting of the four american citizens. and 35 minutes ago, it was fully confirmed by the prosecutor's office. two of the four are dead. one is injured and the other is alive. the ambulances and the rest of the security personnel are on their way to give

the necessary assistance for the transfer and any medical support that may be required. this was supposed to be a short trip to mexico by a close group of friends, but it descended into another tragic and violent episode on the border. health tourism to mexico is common and popular among people living in southern us states. but matamoros is one of the most dangerous cities in this country. tamaulipas, one of its most dangerous states. the four americans had travelled together for one of them, 33—year—old latavia "tay" mcgee, to undergo a minor procedure. she was accompanied by shaeed woodard, zindell brown and eric williams. but the group never made the appointment. the incident further strains the already difficult us—mexico relationship. the cartels are responsible for the deaths of americans, and we are fighting as hard as possible. the dea and the fbi are doing everything possible to dismantle and disrupt and ultimately prosecute the leaders of the cartels and the entire networks that they depend on.

under president lopez obrador, the mexican drug war has continued to worsen. critics say his security policy, often described by his, quote, "hugs, not bullets," simply isn't working, with the cartels in control of swathes of the country. now, as these four us visitors return home in the worst possible circumstances, they become the latest victims of mexico's endless war with organised crime. will grant, bbc news, mexico city. i'm joined now by our mexico correspondent, will grant. what more can you tell us about the drug cartel was in matamoros were to have therefore americans died? that me start by _ therefore americans died? that me start by giving _ therefore americans died? twat me start by giving you the state department's travel advice for the state of tamaulipas. they've advised us citizens are not to go there,

saying it estate were organised crime activity, including gun battles, murder, armed robbery, car—jacking, kidnapping, forced disappearance, extortion and sexual assault is common along the border. that gives a picture of how dangerous the entire state of tamaulipas is and specifically the city of matamoros, one of the absolute flashpoints in tamaulipas. it is worth bearing in mind that currently two factions of the same cartel, the gulf cartel, are all over control of the roots north for drugs but not just the drug war. we talk about the drug war in mexico but really this goes long beyond that. it is about control of the roots for trafficking migrants north, moving guns south from the us and money north, it is about the whole spread of criminal activity, much of which is contained along the border, specifically in states like tamaulipas. in terms of the mexican government's strategy

towards a, 35,000 people were murdered last year. during the worst years of the drug war, considered around 2015, it was 20,000. the president's critics believe he had on the wrong path when it comes to security strategy in this country. you've mentioned the state advisory and how dangerous particular areas are but how unusual is it for americans to be kidnapped in the country? it be kidnapped in the country? ut is not common but kidnapping as a device is common. that's when it comes to, for example, mexican businessman or wealthy locals, or even a particularly wealthy people when it comes to migrants trying to make their way north. they could be kidnapped and held to ransom and theirfamilies kidnapped and held to ransom and their families already in the us need to send funds south to release them. it is a device of the drug cartels. was this mistaken identity? it may well have been, but it's interesting that this was health tourism, it appears the group were

travelling south for some kind of cosmetic surgery, cosmetic procedure for one of them, and they got caught in the absolute worst possible nightmare along mexico's northern border. 1refill mexico's northern border. will . rant, mexico's northern border. will grant. thank — mexico's northern border. will grant, thank you _ mexico's northern border. will grant, thank you very much for that update. protests in the georgian capital tblisi against a controversial foreign agent law have continued late into the night. hundreds of people gathered outside the parliament building where police used water cannon and tear gas to try to disperse them. the demonstrators gathered after parliament gave its first approval to a bill requiring organisations that receive funding from abroad to register as foreign agents. the bill has been criticised by the eu and the united states who say it will have an impact on freedom. to the us now where senators from both republican and democratic parties have presented a bill that would give more power to the administration to ban chinese apps if they pose security threats, including the popular video—sharing platform tiktok. this bill comes after the us government officials were barred from installing tiktok on their devices in january.

zack cooper is a senior fellow with the american enterprise institute and a former pentagon and white house official. he's in washington. thank you forjoining us on the programme. what does the us hope to achieve with this bill and why are they so worried about tiktok? i know it as a surprise to many young people who use tiktok and don't see it as a security threat, but the risk is tiktok is still owned by by dance market, a chinese company. there are a multitude of chinese laws that require prior them to divest much of the that it has all users of tiktok and that's been the big concern from an american government side and there are big negotiations with bytedance,

tiktok, i'm for quite some time, measures that would better protect that data, but those have not yet concluded in a deal that the us government is happy with, and that's why you are seeing the pressure now the congress to step in and provide the administration with additional average. china and the parent company, bytedance, has repeatedly reassured users' data would remain secure. why doesn't the us, the european commision and canada believe them? when the chinese government says don't worry about this, we'd never steal data from abroad, it is hard for the united states or others in europe or canada to take that seriously. there are chinese laws that would require bytedance to provide some of the information, so one step would be to make sure that the

data does not flow out of the united states, it stays in service in the united states, but that leaves a lot of leakage, for example, what happens with the bytedance algorithm, still at the moment controlled back in china by engineers there? how much of the data were they be able to see? these are tough engineering questions and i don't think they've been solved at the level of confidence the us government would need to that tiktok come here to operate in this way. what's our operate in this way. what's your assessment _ operate in this way. what's your assessment on - operate in this way. what's your assessment on where l operate in this way. what's i your assessment on where us operate in this way. what's - your assessment on where us and china relations are currently? they are bad and getting worse quickly. in the last few days xijinping and the new foreign chinese minister oin gang made damaging statements to the us and china in that relationship, always accusing washington of making damaging statements about the relationship that these were remarkably negative. we're going from bad to worse. the relationship is already a

difficult place and neither side thinks they will be a breakthrough anytime soon so both sides are perfectly willing to arm themselves to protect themselves against what they see as the more and more competitive and conflictual relationship. zack cooper, thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. tuesday marked the sixth day since mid—january of strikes and protests against government plans to raise the retirement age. the interior ministry estimated that 1.3 million people had taken to the streets, but one union put the figure at 3.5 million. the protests were largely peaceful. cyclone freddy is expected to make landfall again in mozambique later this week, after it struck madagascar for a second time on monday, bringing strong winds and torrential rain. madagascar�*s government says eight people were killed and more than 1,000 homes were destroyed. residents in coastal villages in the philippines have reported feeling sick after a ship carrying 800

thousand litres of industrial fuel oil sank last week. that oil has since reached the shores of several nearby fishing villages, coating beaches in black sludge. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: will elvis actually leave the building with an oscar? our sophie long speaks to the film's star austin butler, and director baz luhrman. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 hours then, the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. we heard these gunshots in the gym _ then he came outj through a fire exit

and started firing at our huts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged a1, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much, do you think? i don't know, really — _ i've never been married before. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: two of the four americans kidnapped in northern mexico on monday have been found dead, refocusing attention on gang violence in the country. the white house says it supports a bipartisan bill in congress that will give president biden new powers to ban the chinese—owned

app, tiktok, in the us. well, we often report the statistics about casualties from the war in ukraine, but rarely do we hear about what happens to those who've been injured in the conflict. the bbc has been given access to one hospitial in lviv, where the wounded are given specialist rehabilitation treatment. a warning, you may find some parts of this report from our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse upsetting. this is when illya pylypenko's war ended. his tank had just gone over a mine in the southern kherson region last september. he holds on as his comrades take him to safety. illya suffered burns across a third of his body and seriously injured his leg. the journey for wounded

soldiers is a long one. in lviv, western ukraine, thousands end up at this rehabilitation centre. in this war of old, injuries from explosions or shells are the most common. while illya is one of many, it's been an isolating six months. translation: i had many surgeries, - a skin graft and three operations on my leg. there was a search for doctors, hope for a specialist who may be able to save my leg. then there was disappointment and then some hope, because losing a limb is not the end. illya is learning to look ahead. but his next chapter is unlikely to be from the front line. thousands of injured soldiers find themselves in hospitals like this across ukraine

and that is putting a real strain on the country's health system. the fighting, or the brutality of it that they've come from, is unimaginable. but a return to a fuller life is possible. on a cold kyiv morning is a perfect case in point. we last saw hlib stryzhko in may, when he was being treated for a broken pelvis and jaw after he returned from captivity. he's also lost vision in one eye and has been told his military days are over. instead, he helps other veterans. translation: my country, | my troops, the marines need the best of the best. deep inside, i still feel guilty i'm not in the forces. but i can be effective even when i'm not in military uniform. every ukrainian bears some of this invasion�*s weight. where there is hurt,

there is some healing — despite everything. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. the uk government has unveiled its plan to tackle illegal migration — aimed at stopping people crossing the english channel in small boats. the prime minster, rishi sunak, said the bill was "tough but necessary and fair." the un refugee agency says the bill would deny protection to many asylum—seekers needing protection, calling it a breach of the un refugee convention, and undermining britain's humanitarian tradition. this report from our political editor, chris mason. it's half—five in the morning. so, dungeness. we're heading for one of the beaches on the south coast where migrants have arrived.

radio: this morning we will discuss the prime minister'sj plans to get tough on small boat crossings. rishi sunak and the home secretary say this is part of what they call a larger global migration crisis, as people from poorer countries try to get to richer ones. people must know that if they come here illegally, it will result in their detention and swift removal. once this happens and they know it will happen, they will not come and the boats will stop. it's a massive challenge that's just got bigger and bigger. you imagine those migrants yesterday who attempted this crossing setting off from beyond where the eye can see to be picked up somewhere in the channel. and the scale of the problem that confronts the government and the prime minister set himself a huge challenge of trying to sort this out. the government is, for now at least, committed to remaining in the european convention on human rights. but strikingly, the home secretary has written to mps saying there is a more than 50% chance the plans are incompatible with

international law. today marks the start of this planned new policy. there is plenty more argument to come. chris mason, bbc news. for more we can speak to professor michelle foster. she's the director of the peter mcmullin centre on statelessness at the university of melbourne. thank you for taking the time tojoin us on thank you for taking the time to join us on the thank you for taking the time tojoin us on the programme. given we are lacking the full detail of this legislation, what is your assessment on the announcement? my what is your assessment on the announcement? my assessment is as an international _ announcement? my assessment is as an international lawyer - announcement? my assessment is as an international lawyer that - as an international lawyer that we should have grave concerns about the terms of this immigration bill. if we think about the uk's obligations you mention the european convention on humid rights and also the fundamental treaty, the refugee convention. it is noticeable that the secretary of state has admitted that this bill cannot be said to be compliant with the european convention on

humid rights and in my view it also fundamentally undermines refugee protection. the most important principle in refugee protection is the principle of non— proforma. and that means that every state including the uk that has ratified the convention has undertaken to never send a person where they may face persecution. however, this bill would in fact not just provide the power but require the secretary of state to remove anyone who has arrived merely on the basis that they arrived without prior authorisation. that is regardless of whether they have claimed refugee protection, whether they have a claim under humid rights law, whether in fact they are a victim of slavery or humid trafficking and also, importantly, it also allows the secretary of state to remove a person even if they are an unaccompanied child. reflect on that for a moment, it allows the uk to send potentially to a place of

persecution and unaccompanied child. that should give every person pause. ts child. that should give every person pause-— person pause. is this similar to australia's _ person pause. is this similar to australia's border- person pause. is this similar to australia's border policy | to australia's border policy and the operation sovereign borders? does that work and is it something that the uk should consider implementing? j it something that the uk should consider implementing?- consider implementing? i think there are two _ consider implementing? i think there are two parts _ consider implementing? i think there are two parts to - consider implementing? i think there are two parts to the - there are two parts to the question. doesn't seem to be modelled on australia's policy and i think the answer must be yes. the rhetoric of stop the boats seems to be something thatis boats seems to be something that is replicated the australian context. when you ask does it work i think we need to ask ourselves how do we measure success in this context. as i said, refugee protection, the whole refugee regime depends on every state who has ratified the convention upholding their obligations. it relies on international cooperation. if every state in the world refused to allow asylum seekers to make a claim merely on the basis that they had not sought prior authorisation, in other words just turn people away, we would have no refugee protection. we

also have to ask, at what cost to the individual involved? there is a lot of evidence now... . there is a lot of evidence nova -- -_ there is a lot of evidence now... . sorry, professor, sorry to _ now... . sorry, professor, sorry to interrupt - now... . sorry, professor, sorry to interrupt you - now... . sorry, professor, sorry to interrupt you but | now... . sorry, professor, i sorry to interrupt you but we have run out of time. thank you so much for your insights. thank you. baz lurhman's elvis goes into sunday's oscar's race with eight nominations. the film's star austin butler could win best actor for his portrayal of the king. sophie long has been talking to the cast and crew about the emotional rollercoaster that was the making of elvis. we had fire, we had flowed and then a pandemic, we lost the movie and then the movie came back and then the movie is made and then the movie flourishes and then the movie flourishes and then the movie flourishes and then austin winds the golden globes for best back to and then we have the sadness of

the shock of losing lisa marie. it is such an incredible emotional rollercoaster up and down. at emotional rollercoaster up and down. �* ' . ., ., down. a difficult time and to mulch was — down. a difficult time and to mulch was time _ down. a difficult time and to mulch was time boats - down. a difficult time and to mulch was time boats i - down. a difficult time and to | mulch was time boats i think back— mulch was time boats i think back to — mulch was time boats i think back to when she first saw the film _ back to when she first saw the film and — back to when she first saw the film and priscilla saw the film and how _ film and priscilla saw the film and how their reaction to it and — and how their reaction to it and especially because they felt the _ and especially because they felt the way they did about it, no review— felt the way they did about it, no review will ever mean more to me — no review will ever mean more to me than _ no review will ever mean more to me than what they said after. _ to me than what they said after, you know? tomorrow, all america will _ after, you know? tomorrow, all america will be _ after, you know? tomorrow, all america will be talking - after, you know? tomorrow, all america will be talking about i america will be talking about elvis — america will be talking about elvis presley. _ america will be talking about elvis presley. fill— america will be talking about elvis presley.— elvis presley. all your films have such _ elvis presley. all your films have such energy. - elvis presley. all your films have such energy. i - elvis presley. all your films i have such energy. i remember the first time i saw more long rouge it slaps you in the face. how do you do that? mr; rouge it slaps you in the face. how do you do that? my energy miaht be how do you do that? my energy might be slightly _ how do you do that? my energy might be slightly dwindling i might be slightly dwindling away as the years go by but

they are engagement films. they are meant to challenge, they are meant to challenge, they are not keyhole psychological dramas. �* , ., dramas. and the energy of the movies comes _ dramas. and the energy of the movies comes from _ dramas. and the energy of the movies comes from baz's i dramas. and the energy of the i movies comes from baz's energy and this— movies comes from baz's energy and this infectious storytelling and the fact that as a — storytelling and the fact that as a collaborator you feel so privileged to be a part of the journey— privileged to be a part of the journey and he takes such care to include _ journey and he takes such care to include me, but everybody from — to include me, but everybody from mandy to the group, the dolly— from mandy to the group, the dolly group, everyone, we all feel part _ dolly group, everyone, we all feel part of an energised and bigger— feel part of an energised and bigger company. it feel part of an energised and bigger company-— feel part of an energised and bigger company. # my darling... . earl bigger company. # my darling... - early on — bigger company. # my darling... - early on as _ bigger company. # my darling... . early on as told _ bigger company. # my darling... . early on as told me _ bigger company. # my darling... . early on as told me that - bigger company. # my darling... . early on as told me that the i . early on as told me that the camera has — . early on as told me that the camera has to _ . early on as told me that the camera has to dance - . early on as told me that the camera has to dance with i . early on as told me that the l camera has to dance with elvis and fly when he flies and then when the drama is heavy and

emotional, we would be elegant and observational. l emotional, we would be elegant and observational.— and observational. i need to net back and observational. i need to get back to _ and observational. i need to get back to who _ and observational. i need to get back to who i _ and observational. i need to get back to who i really i and observational. i need to get back to who i really am. j get back to who i really am. how— get back to who i really am. how does _ get back to who i really am. how does it feel? it feels like a dream. i am trying to take snapshots in my mind and really remember these moments. this will never happen again so i want to remember it. there is so much buzz and i am used to just being the sky who can hide behind a character. and finally an alligator believed to have been stolen from a texas zoo 20 years ago has been returned after being discovered at a nearby home. this eight—foot—long creature is thought to have been taken as either an egg

or a hatchling. the female gator — named tewa — was found near the city of austin last week, before being taken back home to the animal world and snake farm zoo, where she's said to be settling in well. hello there. up to now, most of the snow that's been falling has been across more northern parts of the uk, especially northern scotland. and we've got some snow and ice here at the moment, but that cold arctic air has swept down across all areas now. and coming into that cold air, this weather front is sliding in from the atlantic. that's bringing some wetter weather, a mixture of rain, sleet and some snow, snow perhaps up towards the m4 corridor. and there could be a couple of centimetres in places in time for the early morning rush hour. icy conditions here further north with clearer skies. it's going to be very cold and frosty. temperatures could be —13 in the glens of scotland. that wetter weather across southern parts of england and wales moves away fairly quickly. but then we'll see some more wet weather coming in from the southwest and that will start to turn

to snow as well. more cloud across wales, southern england and the midlands. further north, some sunshine, fewer snow showers around. but wherever you are, it's going to be a cold day. again, temperatures three to five degrees. let's focus on that wetter weather coming into the south. west is moving in more quickly now and it's moving a bit further north as well. so we'll see that rain turning to sleet and snow more widely during the evening rush hour and more significant snow in places as well, perhaps five to ten centimetres. that snowier weather then moves away later on in the night. and then we see a next area of low pressure coming in from the atlantic. this one is slowing down a bit and the snowier weather is moving northwards more slowly. so we do see some wet weather coming back in from the southwest on thursday. for southern parts of england, it may well be rain turned to rain in south wales, the south midlands turning to snow across north wales, northern england during the afternoon. snow beginning to arrive here, still dry through much of the day across scotland and northern ireland. this is the area that the met

office have issued. the heavy snow warning, yellow warning. snow may not get as far north in scotland, but there's still the potential for some heavy falls of snow. i think over the pennines in particular, with the snow developing a little more widely in these areas after dark. that area of low pressure not moving as far north, then slides away. we're still left with some snow falling actually for a while on friday, especially across central and eastern parts of england. that will be replaced by brighter skies from the north with some sunshine. but again, a few more snow showers. we're still in cold air for much of the country. may make seven or eight degrees in the far south, but otherwise four or five is more typical.

this is bbc news. the headlines: two of the four americans kidnapped in northern mexico on monday are dead. another was wounded in the incident, which also left a mexican woman dead. the americans were in mexico for medical treatment, with the sister of one of the four saying she was to have had cosmetic surgery. the white house says it supports a bipartisan bill in congress that will give president biden new powers to ban the chinese—owned app, tiktok, and otherforeign technologies that could pose security threats. the legislation is backed by dozens of democratic and republican lawmakers in the senate. the un refugee agency says the british prime minister's plans to prevent migrants crossing the channel will punish asylum seekers. the agency said safe and legal routes were not available

to most people fleeing war and persecution,