welcome to bbc news — i'm anjana gadgil. our top stories: wanted for war crimes — the international criminal court issues an arrest warrant for russia's leader, vladimir putin, for his alleged role in deporting ukrainian children to russia. thejudges issued the judges issued arrest warrants. their execution depends on international cooperation. china's president, xijinping, is to visit russia next week for talks with president putin. tiktok reportedly under investigation in the united states — over allegations the video—sharing app spied on journalists. plus, the benefits for babies of eating peanut butter. how a spoonful could help prevent an allergic reaction.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the international criminal court has issued an arrest warrant for russia's leader, vladimir putin in connection with war crimes. the court says there are grounds to believe that president putin is personally responsible for the deportation of hundreds of children, from children's homes and orphanages in ukraine for adoption in russia since last year's invasion. it's the first time the court has ordered the arrest of a prominent serving political leader. ukraine's president zelensky has hailed the decision as historic, but moscow dismissed the announcement as �*outrageous�*, saying it doesn't recognise the jurisdiction of the court. our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, reports from kyiv. it is a war that he ordered.

a war that brought death and devastation. a war that sent millions fleeing for their lives. but it is one that has now left president putin accused of war crimes by an international court and even more isolated on the world stage. the judges have reviewed the information and evidence submitted by the prosecutor and determined that there are credible allegations against these persons for the alleged crimes. the international criminal court based in the hague, alleges the russian leader and another official are individually responsible for the war crime of unlawfully deporting children from ukraine to russia. in the chaos that followed the invasion, many

were displaced and reports of thousands of children being sent to so—called, re—education camps in russia. alleged crimes for which ukraine's president has repeatedly demanded justice. translation: this is a historic decision from which historical responsibility will begin. the head of the terrorist state and another russian official have become suspects in a war crime. a kremlin spokesman said the allegations were outrageous and unacceptable. the foreign ministry said the arrest warrant meant nothing legally. translation: russia is not a party to the ruling statute of the international criminal court and bears no obligations under it. these are only the first arrest warrants and more are expected for the killing of civilians in bucha and elsewhere across the country. russian forces have been accused of rape, torture and indiscriminate shelling.

the man investigating these allegations and those against mr putin denied the warrants were symbolic. there are reasonable grounds to believe that crimes within our courts jurisdiction have been committed and those that feel that you can commit a crime in the daytime sleep well at night should perhaps look at history. vladimir putin may never be arrested or appear in court, but it's not every day that a serving head of state is accused of war crimes and it is a signalfrom international community that they will seek justice for what's been happening here in ukraine. at home, vladimir putin may enjoy some popular support, however staged. but abroad, he now faces the possibility of arrest and trial. he probably will not be getting on a plane soon. with the reaction from russia and the impact this arrest warrant could have, here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg.

on a practical level, do not expect russian police to slap the handcuffs on vladimir putin and dispatch them to the hague. russia, just like america, does not recognise the jurisdiction of the international criminal court and russia does not extradite its citizens. and yet, this is an extraordinary moment. just think about it. the serving president of the world's largest country, a nuclear power, a permanent member of the un security council, the icc has issued a warrant for his arrest over alleged war crimes and that makes him even more of a pariah at a time when vladimir putin is still trying to be a global player. we have the chinese president coming in three days�* time for a state visit. no wonder the kremlin is furious, outrageous, unacceptable. and the former

russian president and putin ally referring to the arrest warrant in a social media post wrote this. he said no need to explain where this paper should be used. and he followed that within emoji of a toilet bowl. john herbst is a former us ambassador to ukraine and senior director of the atlantic council's eurasia center. he joins us from washington. john, thank you forjoining us what needs to happen in order for president putin to face the icc to answer these allegations of war crimes that have been levelled against him? i think you have a ready pointed out that the odds of this happening are very low, except if as a result of putin losing his war in ukraine which is likely as long as western support remains strong, the regime crumbles in russia and the russians themselves, think putin coming to justice makes sense, but barring that, i don't expect to see him in

handcuffs, as your reporter pointed out.— handcuffs, as your reporter pointed out. the icc denies these allegations _ pointed out. the icc denies these allegations are - pointed out. the icc denies - these allegations are symbolic. do you agree? i these allegations are symbolic. do you agree?— do you agree? i certainly agree because putin _ do you agree? i certainly agree because putin himself- do you agree? i certainly agree because putin himself and - do you agree? i certainly agree because putin himself and his i because putin himself and his co—conspirator were saying on russian tv this is what they were doing, they were acknowledging committing a war crime. ., , w crime. the icc has faced hurdles _ crime. the icc has faced hurdles before - crime. the icc has faced hurdles before when - crime. the icc has faced hurdles before when it l crime. the icc has faced l hurdles before when it has tried to pursue people for war crimes, notably in syria. what chance do you think they have actually managing to get putin to face these allegations? again it's hard to imagine it happening unless again, as a result i russian defeat in the war the putin regime crumbles within russia and the russians themselves decide to hand him over, but this has a stunning geopolitical consequences right away. you can be sure that xi jingping will be more embarrassed stating his hands in moscow next week and it means any collaboration with

them is a little bit weaker. what effect you think it will have in russia itself, will galvanise people, or will they see president putin in a different light as a result of this? i different light as a result of this? ., �* ~' different light as a result of this? ., �* ~ , , ., this? i don't think the russian --eole this? i don't think the russian peeple as _ this? i don't think the russian peeple as a — this? i don't think the russian people as a whole _ this? i don't think the russian people as a whole will - this? i don't think the russian people as a whole will see - people as a whole will see president putin in a different light because russian propaganda will work against it, but russian officials have already been talking about these sorts of problems for months, even on controlled tv people have been talking about it. this will work like rust on the metal of the putin regime, as the russian officials may worry this has implications for them. ., . ~' worry this has implications for them. ., ., ~ ., them. you talk there about xi jinn -|n~ , them. you talk there about xi jingping. going _ them. you talk there about xi jingping. going to _ them. you talk there about xi jingping, going to russia - them. you talk there about xi jingping, going to russia to l jingping, going to russia to speak with president putin. how will this affect the conversation now going to have? again, xijingping put forward again, xi jingping put forward this again, xijingping put forward this piece proposal which could provide momentum for a ceasefire and peace that leaves russia in control of

substantial swathes of ukrainian territory. how could he present that in good faith knowing that russian control territory it would be taking kids and deporting them to russia. this enables this russian war crime.- russia. this enables this russian war crime. the former ou russian war crime. the former you about _ russian war crime. the former you about "us _ russian war crime. the former you about --us ambassador . russian war crime. the former| you about --us ambassador to you about ——us ambassador to ukraine are. the news of president putin's arrest warrant came as china announced its president, xijinping, will visit russia next week to hold talks with mr putin. beijing and moscow say the two men will discuss strategic cooperation. beijing is currently promoting a plan it says can bring a negotiated end to the war in ukraine. however, china's neutrality has been questioned as beijing continues to maintain close ties with moscow. the announcement of the state visit was made by the foreign ministry in beijing. translation: during his state visit to russia, president xi jingping will have an in—depth exchange of you with president

putin on bilateral relations and a major international and regional issues of common concern. china will uphold its objective and fair position on the ukrainian crisis and play a constructive role in promoting peace talks. here's our china correspondent, stephen mcdonell, on what beijing might be looking for from this trip. meeting has created considerable expectation that this visit by xi jingping might lead to some sort of a breakthrough in terms of promoting peace in the war between russia and ukraine. the reasons for that are that beijing does have some sway with moscow, and some would say considerable sway. basing says it's a neutral player in the war and therefore that it could become a sort of honest broker. and also, the chinese government has just and also, the chinese government hasjust come and also, the chinese government has just come off the back of brokering this deal which saw saudi arabia and iran

resumed diplomatic relations, and so people are thinking if you can get those two together, could beijing also do the same thing in terms of the war between russia and ukraine? the problem is though that some analysts would say that really it is in china's interest to stop the war if we consider the most cynical potential possibility. in a way, russia is doing china's dirty work, it's challenging the west, making the west eat up all of these military resources it has, and furthering beijing's geopolitical goals. that said, of course it is also disrupted trade and china did have good relations with ukraine before the war started, so for those reasons, people might say it wants to have peace. are us partners cbs is reporting that the fbi and

department ofjustice is investigating tiktok over allegations the company spied on journalists. allegations the company spied onjournalists. many nations on journalists. many nations have onjournalists. many nations have banned tiktok on government issued mobile devices over data security concerns, and there are concerns, and there are concerns the app collect information that could be accessed by beijing. let's got to washington to speak to david willis, our north america correspondent. what did these allegations consist of? it what did these allegations consist of?— consist of? it appears that this investigation - consist of? it appears that this investigation was - consist of? it appears that - this investigation was launched sometime last year, and then ramped up a couple of months ago after bites dance, the chinese company that owns tiktok confirmed reports here in the american media that some chinese staff had been using the app to spy on american journalists, in particular to get information about their sources of stories that had appeared about tiktok in the

american media. —— bytedance. bytedance has said in response to the days of�*s report that it is a strongly condemning the actions of those staff who it says have subsequently been dismissed, but it's only a couple of months since tiktok the app was banned from government phones here and in an attempt to basically had offered further restrictions, bytedance has suggested that maybe the company should keep all user data, american user data, on servers located here in the united states. it appears that sort of compromise may well have been blown out of the water by these latest allegations of tiktok being used for spying. figs allegations of tiktok being used for spying.— allegations of tiktok being used for spying. as you said that the us, _ used for spying. as you said that the us, as _ used for spying. as you said that the us, as well- used for spying. as you said that the us, as well as - used for spying. as you said that the us, as well as the l used for spying. as you said i that the us, as well as the uk, new zealand and a list of other countries have all banned their employees from having tiktok on their work phones. is there any evidence that tiktok has been

harvesting data from government employees?— employees? certainly the united states, employees? certainly the united states. and _ employees? certainly the united states, and this _ employees? certainly the united states, and this goes _ employees? certainly the united states, and this goes back- employees? certainly the united states, and this goes back to - states, and this goes back to the trump administration which of course was not particularly well inclined towards china at the best of times, they were looking into tiktok and the biden administration has come under criticism from opposition republicans for not doing enough to ensure national security through apps such as this. last, earlierthis week, the biden administration announced it was going to demand that bytedance either sells off tiktok face a nationwide ban here in the united states. the us is its biggest audience by far, more than 100 million regular american tiktok uses, so that would be a considerable blow to bytedance and to tiktok which is due to parade its ceo before

a congressional panel next week to face questions from lawmakers, probably incredibly sharp questions i imagine, about possible links to the chinese government and to the communist party in china. fascinating stuff, thank you very much. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the benefits of early exposure to peanut butter. why a spoonful for babies may help prevent an allergic reaction. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision — all of this caused by an apparently organised attack.

the trophy itself - was on the pedestal in the middle - of the cabinet here. now, this was - an international trophy, and we understand now that the search for it. has become an - international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the international criminal court has issued an arrest warrant for russian president by demi putin for his alleged role in deporting ukrainian children to rosol. —— vladimir

putin. china's president, xijinping, is to make a state visit to russia next week for talks with president putin. turkey says it's decided to start the process of ratifying finland's application to join nato, after long delays, but it says more talks are needed about sweden's bid. president recep tayyip erdogan, says finland has kept the agreement the three countries made last year, while sweden still hadn't handed over people he referred to as terrorists. turkey has delayed ratifying the bids of the two countries, saying they haven't done enough to combat kurdish militant groups. here's mr erdogan making the annnouncement. translation: we have decided to start the protocol of finland's accession to nato in our parliament. i wish that this decision will be good for our countries and our alliance. the nato alliance chief, jens stoltenberg, released this statement shortly after the announcement. i welcome today's decision to move ahead with the ratification of finland membership in nato. this will strengthen finland

security and sweden's security and it will strengthen nato. i hope that the turkish grand national assembly was vote to ratify as soon as possible. the most important thing is that both finland and sweden become full members of nato quickly. not whether the joint at exactly the same time. several thousand people have been protesting for a second night in paris and a number of other french cities. this follows president macron�*s decision to force through pension reforms, without a vote in the lower house of parliament. demonstrators in paris lit fires and threw fireworks at police, who intervened to disperse the crowds. earlier, opposition parties tabled two seperate motions of no confidence in the government for its use of a constitutional mechanism to raise the national retirement age from 62 to 64. mr macron argues the changes are necessary to keep the pension

system viable, but they're bitterly opposed by unions, who've held weeks of strikes and protests. the actor lance reddick, best known for starring in the wire series, has died, aged 60. his publicist said he died suddenly on friday morning. he had recently been taking part in a press tour for the fourth john wick movie. he also appeared in angel has fallen and godzilla vs kong. his image was one of the defining moments of the war in iraq, which began 20 years ago this weekend. ali abbas was just 12 when he lost his parents and his brother in a missile strike that caused him life—changing injuries. photos of him lying in a baghdad hospital moved the world and ali was brought to britain for medical treatment, where he's stayed and become a british citizen. our correspondent, caroline hawley, has been to meet him. few iraqis carry deeper scars

from the invasion day ali abbas. his father had been desperate to see the end of saddam hussein's dictatorship. we were fathers and he said when he saw the americans coming he would make a party and a barbecue for them! he was hoping for a better life and getting rid of saddam we would have a better future, getting rid of saddam we would have a betterfuture, but getting rid of saddam we would have a better future, but this never happened. i never know any family that they have not lost a loved one. is any family that they have not lost a loved one.— any family that they have not lost a loved one. is family had fled the capital— lost a loved one. is family had fled the capital baghdad - lost a loved one. is family had fled the capital baghdad for i fled the capital baghdad for safety but returned thinking the worst was over. just hours before their home was hit by a rocket. i before their home was hit by a rocket. , ., , rocket. i remember the house collapsed _ rocket. i remember the house collapsed on _ rocket. i remember the house collapsed on us. _ rocket. i remember the house collapsed on us. fire - collapsed on us. fire everywhere. i hear my my mother screaming and my father also. it was terrible. i felt the fire burning my body and my

arms. this picture was the first picture when i arrived in hospital. i remember my neighbour was telling me that when he pulled me out of the rubble, because my arm was so badly burnt so when he pulled me out, one of my arms came off. �* �* , me out, one of my arms came off.�* ., me out, one of my arms came off. �* ~ ., ., off. ali abbas now has a precious _ off. ali abbas now has a precious new _ off. ali abbas now has a precious new family - off. ali abbas now has a - precious new family member. his five—year—old son who lives in baghdad _ five—year—old son who lives in baghdad. he five-year-old son who lives in iztaghdad-_ five-year-old son who lives in bathdad. . , ., , baghdad. he and his mother is se arated baghdad. he and his mother is separated perhaps _ baghdad. he and his mother is separated perhaps to - baghdad. he and his mother is separated perhaps to bring - baghdad. he and his mother is| separated perhaps to bring into the uk one day.— separated perhaps to bring into the uk one day. when i go back to iran the uk one day. when i go back to had he _ the uk one day. when i go back to iraq he always _ the uk one day. when i go back to iraq he always spells - the uk one day. when i go back to iraq he always spells me, - the uk one day. when i go back to iraq he always spells me, he | to iraq he always spells me, he does not let me do anything, is trying to be my carer and taking good care of me. if i'm trying to do something with my feet he will say i would do that for you, you don't have to do that. he likes my driving. i

tried to live independently. i do many things, i write with my feet and i can use the phone and i can also hug him with my feet. it is ok with that. i just want to make a good future for my son and i hope also i can create my own charity one day and help people who are in my situation, you know? i have been through a very difficult time, especiallyjust after been through a very difficult time, especially just after the injury, i had to do without without parents and without arms and it was very difficult in the beginning but i always thank god for what i have got, so, i think of the positive things. introducing babies to smooth peanut butter when they're between 4 and 6 months old, could dramatically cut peanut allergies — that's according to a new study. researchers say the current

guidance on when to introduce solids to a baby's diet needs to change. peanut allergies have been on the rise in the uk, with1 in 50 children now thought to be affected. here's our medical editor, fergus walsh. a spoonful of smooth peanut butter, twice a week, mixed with breast milk, if preferred. she really seems like the peanut butter! this is how doctors say babies can be safely introduced to peanuts, whole and chopped nuts should never be given as they are a choking hazard but when should parents start? 1—in—50—year children in the uk is allergic to peanuts that can be life—threatening. there has a threefold increase in recent decades, partly driven by faulty advice to avoid peanuts altogether until the age of three. that was dropped into thousand and nine. current official nhs advises that introducing peanuts should begin at around six months, as

part of winning, but a study by allergy expert says it should begin earlier, at between 4— six months. they estimate that peanut allergies could fall by 77% if that was done. that would mean around 10,000 fewer children with a peanut allergy each year in the uk. so we know that if baby is a peanuts, the gut sees that as harmless and the body does not develop an allergic reaction to them. contrast that with a baby who first sees peanuts on the skin, the body then tends to develop a peanut allergy. siena is 2.5 years old and allergic to peanuts. a mother followed official advice and was not fed them early on but now wishes she had been. i! i them early on but now wishes she had been.— them early on but now wishes she had been. ifi had another opportunity — she had been. ifi had another opportunity it _ she had been. ifi had another opportunity it would _ she had been. ifi had another opportunity it would have - she had been. ifi had another| opportunity it would have been

completely different. every day life would be a normal situation, same as her brother and we would not have to worry about her getting older and making sure she is safe as well. ~ ., ,., making sure she is safe as well. ,,, , well. we will do some bubbles on our well. we will do some bubbles on your arm — well. we will do some bubbles on your arm and _ well. we will do some bubbles on your arm and when - well. we will do some bubbles on your arm and when they - well. we will do some bubbles| on your arm and when they are there. — on your arm and when they are there. we_ on your arm and when they are there, we will go pop, pop, pop! — -ol- ,we wull go pop po , ., i p, -ol- ,we wull go pop po , ., , i p, -ol- ,we wull go pop po , ., , ., i p, -ol- ,we wull go pop po , ., , ., , i p, pop! siena is now being tested for other possible _ pop! siena is now being tested for other possible allergies. i for other possible allergies. the researchers are urging the nhs to change the guidance to recommend peanut products are introduced between five and six months. ., , introduced between five and six months. .,, , , , , introduced between five and six months-_ they i months. pop the bubbles. they sa it months. pop the bubbles. they say it would _ months. pop the bubbles. they say it would make _ months. pop the bubbles. they say it would make a _ months. pop the bubbles. they say it would make a huge - months. pop the bubbles. they. say it would make a huge impact on safeguarding the health of children in years to come. fergus walsh, bbc news. a former professional surfer has broken the record for the longest surf session. he clocked up more than a0 hours on the ocean and wrist infected years, dehydration, hypothermia

and drowning and set a new benchmark of a0 hours! thank you for watching. you can reach me on twitter. hello there. the weekend is getting off to a mild start. we will certainly stick with those mild conditions throughout saturday. there will be some spells of sunshine, but there will also be some pretty heavy, thundery showers around for sunday. perhaps a little cooler for some of us and a little drier for a time as well. now, on the earlier satellite picture, we can see various clumps of cloud. the cloud has been bringing some showery rain in places and all of that cloud and those showers rotating around an area of low pressure which will be dominating the scene for saturday. and this little frontal system wriggling its way up from the south, well, that will bring a pulse of more persistent rain up across southeast england and into east anglia. also, this band of rain

swinging across northern ireland and into the western side of scotland in between some spells of sunshine. but some showers will pop up, some of which will be heavy and possibly thundery. turning a little bit brighter through the afternoon across parts of southeast england and eventually east anglia. it's going to be mild again, 15, maybe 16 degrees, a little bit brighter in northern ireland through the afternoon as this band of rain progresses into scotland. in fact, some quite heavy rain across the far north of the mainland into orkney. although shetland should hold on to some sunshine, the rain will arrive across shetland as we head into saturday night. elsewhere, this band of cloud and some spots of rain pushing south east was a bit of mist and murk around here and there. but most places by sunday morning will be dry and clear and a little bit chillier. there could be very locally just a touch of frost to start sunday, because sunday will bring this ridge of high pressure, quite a transient feature. but it brings us a window of drier and brighter weather, a little bit of low cloud and mist around first thing, but then some good spells of sunshine. northern ireland, though, will

cloud over through the morning. some rain getting in here during the afternoon. that rain perhaps just getting into the far south west of scotland by the end of the day. still mild, maybe not quite as mild. eight to 13 degrees covers it for most of us. and then into the new week, while that ridge of high pressure clears off into the near continent and is replaced by frontal systems running in from the atlantic, and that will bring bouts of heavy rain, some quite strong winds at times. but throughout it is set to stay mild. it mayjust get a little cooler in the north for the end of the week.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the international criminal court has issued arrest warrants for vladimir putin and his children's commissioner, accusing them of war crimes over the unlawful deportation of children from ukraine to russia. it's the first time the court has ordered the arrest of a prominent serving political leader. china has annoucned that its president, xijinping, will visit russia next week to hold talks with president putin. beijing and moscow say the two men will discuss strategic cooperation. beijing is currently promoting a plan it says can bring a negotiated end to the war in ukraine. the head of nato has welcomed turkey's decision to start, the process of ratifying finland's application to join the bloc. butjens stoltenberg stressed

it was important that sweden too joined as soon as possible.