hello, you're with bbc news. a historic day as finland is to become the sist member of nato later, a decision prompted by russia's invasion of ukraine. this will make finland safer and make _ this will make finland safer and make us— this will make finland safer and make us stronger. this this will make finland safer and make us stronger.— this will make finland safer and make us stronger. this is the scene live at nato — make us stronger. this is the scene live at nato headquarters, - make us stronger. this is the scene live at nato headquarters, where i make us stronger. this is the scene | live at nato headquarters, where the finnish flag will be raised shortly at a ceremony to mark the day. russia's defence minister sergei shoigu says finland's accession to nato will force russia to take measures to ensure its security. former president donald trump arrives in new york ahead of his appearance in court facing criminal charges. a passenger train crash in the netherlands kills one person and at least 30 people are seriously injured. london city becomes the second uk airport to scrap rules on liquid

limits in hand luggage. a ceremony is due to be held in brussels within the next few hours to officially welcome nato�*s newest member. this nato�*s newest member. is the scene live in brusse where this is the scene live in brussels, where officials are arriving to witness the raising of the finished flag here. finland has abandoned its long—standing commitment to neutrality in response to russia's invasion of ukraine. the head of the military alliance, jens stoltenberg, told reporters it was a historic day; he said it would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. in response, moscow says it will strengthen its military presence in the region. let's listen to what mr stoltenberg had to say. in a few hours we will welcome finland as the slst

member of our alliance. this will make finland safer and nato stronger. on this very day in 1949 the washington treaty, nato's founding treaty, was signed in washington and it's hard to imagine a better way of celebrating our anniversary than to have a finland becoming a full member of the alliance. nato's foreign ministers meet at a pivotal time for our security. we see that president putin's war of aggression against ukraine grinds on. we will meet in the nato ukraine commission with the foreign minister where we will address how to sustain and ramp up support from nato allies to ukraine. both the urgent needs,

but also i expect that allies will start to develop a more long—term programme to assist and support ukraine, to help them develop with nato allies and move from the soviet—era standards doctrines to nato standards and move closer to the euro atlantic family. so, why is this such a significant moment for both finland and nato? let's take a look back. the north atlantic treaty organization was formed in 1949 by 12 countries, including the us, the uk, canada and france. the organisation's original goal was to challenge russian expansion in europe after world war two. it currently has 30 members, who agree to help one another if they come under attack. many of these countries are in europe, the original nato

members were in western europe, though since 1997, 1a eastern european nations — those appearing in pink — have taken the decision tojoin the alliance. russia is demanding no more eastward expansion and it has opposed ukraine's request to join the alliance. finland applied to join the military bloc last year, along with its neighbour sweden. finland's membership is one of the most important moments in nato's recent history given the current war in ukraine and the fact finland is a country with a long land border with russia. let's go live now to brussels and joining me is our defence correspondent jonathan beale. in the past few moments we have had more reaction from the kremlin, he said it would be forced to take counter measures to ensure russia �*s security. a kremlin spokesperson said helsinki was not removed to join the bloc was an encroachment on russia �*s security and said the structure of nato was hostile towards russia. jonathan is in

brussels. of course, russia has already reacted strongly to fill for land joining nato. what do you make of these comments in the past few moments from the kremlin? i think the are moments from the kremlin? i think they are predictable. _ moments from the kremlin? i think they are predictable. they - moments from the kremlin? i think they are predictable. they see - moments from the kremlin? i think they are predictable. they see this | they are predictable. they see this as an escalation. they say they will take countermeasures because of finland �*s membership of the nato alliance. one of the questions here thatis alliance. one of the questions here that is being asked is, will this mean, for example, that nato troops from other countries could be stationed on rotation inside finland itself? we have already seen finland taking part in nato exercise, alongside sweden, which is still not alongside sweden, which is still not a member. but it would be different, i think, a member. but it would be different, ithink, if a member. but it would be different, i think, if there were nato troops from other countries stationed for long periods, as we have seen in the baltic states, what are called

enhanced battle groups, to defend nato territories, like in estonia and latvia and lithuania as well. so, that is one of the questions thatis so, that is one of the questions that is being asked here, and we probably won't find out immediately. the fact is that finland is already a country that is capable of defending itself. it has a relatively small armed forces, about 30,000, but it can call up nearly 250,000 reserves. it also has modern equipment. it hasjust 250,000 reserves. it also has modern equipment. it has just ordered 250,000 reserves. it also has modern equipment. it hasjust ordered more than 60 f 35 stealth jets, so it is a country that brings notjust a massive border of russia to nato, but also modern armed forces, who are capable and will help to defend its own territory.— are capable and will help to defend its own territory. yes, we heard yen sultan berg — its own territory. yes, we heard yen sultan berg a _ its own territory. yes, we heard yen sultan berg a few— its own territory. yes, we heard yen sultan berg a few moments - its own territory. yes, we heard yen sultan berg a few moments ago - its own territory. yes, we heard yen i sultan berg a few moments ago saying the existence of nato and finland joining it is not to provoke conflict but to prevent it, but of course russia used nato expansion as

justification for its attack in ukraine. before the commons today from the kremlin they said they would boost their military presence in the west, in the north—west of the country. obviously we don't know what is in their playbook and what they could do next, but what is your assessment of how this could play out with russia?— out with russia? well, i think if out with russia? well, i think if ou no out with russia? well, i think if you go into _ out with russia? well, i think if you go into the _ out with russia? well, i think if you go into the northern - out with russia? well, i think if you go into the northern bit - out with russia? well, i think if you go into the northern bit of. you go into the northern bit of europe and you go to countries like norway, finland and sweden, they already experience increased russian military presence in that region, in the high north, essentially, and there are concerns that as the ice melts, that they will be more movement of goods, more drilling for oil, that there will be a rush for the resources of that region. so i think it is already of concern, and remember, russia has a strategic, as in a nuclear capable navy up in the high north, based there. when i was in norway a few weeks ago, they

intercepted a russian aircraft and those sorts of things happen all the time. so i think it is predictable that russia will say it will enhance its military presence in that region because of finland �*s membership. that said, we all know at the moment that russia �*s real focus is on the war in ukraine, and that it is finding it hard going there. i don't think there are immediate concerns here in nato headquarters, whatever moscow says it is going to do, i think they believe that they have got the security of those member states, and remember, security means an attack on one country is an attack on all. jonathan, he also said that putin wanted from this war in ukraine to shrink nato, but instead he is seeing an expansion. we have got finland today, sweden almost guaranteed to join finland today, sweden almost guaranteed tojoin in finland today, sweden almost guaranteed to join in the finland today, sweden almost guaranteed tojoin in the imminent future. guaranteed to 'oin in the imminent future. , ., ,

guaranteed to 'oin in the imminent future. , , , guaranteed to 'oin in the imminent future. , ., , , future. yes, that still depends on turkey and _ future. yes, that still depends on turkey and hungary, _ future. yes, that still depends on turkey and hungary, and - future. yes, that still depends on turkey and hungary, and both . future. yes, that still depends on i turkey and hungary, and both those countries have got to ratify sweden �*s membership. but he was warning before the war in ukraine, that if russia invaded ukraine it would mean more, not less, nato. that has been proven out the importance of the nam �*s members above later is that it has that long border with russia. it is not what president putin wanted, but it is exactly what he is getting. but it is exactly what he is cuettin. , , , ,, getting. just seeing the us secretary _ getting. just seeing the us secretary of _ getting. just seeing the us secretary of state - getting. just seeing the us secretary of state arriving | getting. just seeing the us i secretary of state arriving at getting. just seeing the us - secretary of state arriving at nato headquarters in brussels for this accession by finland to nato. it's 3ist accession by finland to nato. it's 3ist member state to join. and we know that antony blinken has been a fierce supporter of nato, stood side by side several times over the past year or so withjens stoltenberg, in

support of ukraine, in support of nato. reiterating how they are very much working together to protect their country, and other nato member countries. so this very crucial to the us well. donald trump is spending the night in new york at trump tower, before appearing in court later. he's set to make history once again, this time as the first president of the united states to be charged with a criminal offence. the charges relate to money paid to a porn star to keep quiet about an affair before the 2016 election. the judge has ruled that pooled media will be allowed to take still pictures in the courtroom, just before the hearing gets underway, but tv cameras will only be allowed in outside corridors. security measures will be in place with the authorities expecting demonstrations by the president's supporters and opponents. let's get the latest from nada tawfik in manhattan. we are expecting the next chapter in american history to be rewritten.

this is the former president of the us who is going to be booked and fingerprinted, all of this before a historic hearing — we keep using those words but really we have never seen a former or a current present in america ever face criminal charges. after that he is expected to return to his resort in palm beach, florida where he will speak to the public but before that there is this hearing where we will learn the charges against him. all of this stemming from an investigation that has been very long running into his business dealings. michelle, some parts of the media had wanted to have this televised, the court proceedings, but they did not get their way so what will we get a sense of what happens in court? you know, thejudge had been asked whether or not he would let people in given what was at stake here and the significance of this day and it was interesting,

the judge acknowledged the importance of what would be taking place but he said he had other things and other considerations he had to take into account. so the compromise, if you like, is that there will be some still photographers allowed in before proceedings begin but then once things get under way, they will be asked to leave the courtroom and there will be no tv cameras allowed inside. so we willjust have to wait, there is this press conference we expect later on in the day from the district attorney alvin bragg and again, this speech we are expecting from donald trump when he returns to florida. live now to dr laura smith, who is a presidential historian at the university of oxford. good to have you on the programme. much has been made of the fact this is a first in the united states. history being made. put this into historical context for us. absolutely. thank you so much for

having me on. so, the closest we could come to a president actually being arrested was in 1872, rest for the crime of speeding his horse—drawn carriage in washington, but it was not pursued. so a lot of people making the comparison to richard nixon, who had to resign in order to avoid impeachment and removalfrom office. he was order to avoid impeachment and removal from office. he was assured he would be convicted by the senate on his own party, the republicans, turned against them. so that's the closest parallel we have. it really is an unprecedented historic day. commentators are making the point that this is usually significant because it shows that the former president, nobody is above the law. how significant is that, and how will it be read, the possible political motivations behind this? i think absolutely, it is obviously a highly political moment, and certainly being politicised by the

republicans. i think it has come to answer to really important questions that have been dogging the american political scene since donald trump. 0ne, political scene since donald trump. one, of italy donald trump was unprecedented in being impeached twice. the only president to be impeached twice, but not convicted are not removed from office, so being able to run again for 202a. that gave rise to the question, especially with the increased number of impeachment over the last 50 years, as i said, richard nixon had to resign, bill clinton being impeached by the house, this idea that has impeachment simply become a meaningless tool? the other thing that this moment has spoken to is the fact that afterjanuary the 6th, i think a lot of people wondered, both in america and overseas, in terms of whether donald trump had done almost irreparable damage to america �*s standing on the world stage, and the fact that, to use your words, justice is blind and it doesn't matter how much power or money or wealth and connections you

have, it is early demonstrating and bringing back to the fore this idea of how american democracy and the justice system should work. so i don't think it really matters as much in terms of how this actually plays out, just the fact that this is such an historic moment, and that he has been indicted, that is symbolic enough.— he has been indicted, that is symbolic enough. what are the otential symbolic enough. what are the potential implications - symbolic enough. what are the potential implications for - symbolic enough. what are the potential implications for the i symbolic enough. what are the - potential implications for the 2024 presidential election, both for him and for the republican party, do you think? ., , , think? certainly, the timing will be an issue because _ think? certainly, the timing will be an issue because it _ think? certainly, the timing will be an issue because it is _ think? certainly, the timing will be an issue because it is a _ think? certainly, the timing will be an issue because it is a lengthy - an issue because it is a lengthy process. if we look at a year on, you are looking at super tuesday in february, when a lot of states are deciding their primaries. it has definitely an immediate electoral effect in terms of donald trump as micro plans to campaign. but you have seen this really interesting rally around donald trump, especially from candidates, people who may be getting into the race, for example the florida governor, who has not yet stepped in but certainly there are some rumblings.

and yet he has gone all ahead, as a lot of republicans have, in defending donald trump and that is indicative of this idea that yes, the republican party still seems like the donald trump party. 0n the other hand, the other day there was a former governor, a more moderate republican, try to make a base for himself with people who are finished with donald trump, people who do not want to see him elected again. so he is trying to make a pact with himself. so we do see a small division within the republican party, but the majority are very much behind donald trump, and that could be the kiss of death for them, we don't know when it comes to 2024. it is all to play for, so it will be a fascinating historic and unprecedented time. a fascinating historic and unrecedented time. ., ., ., unprecedented time. doctor laura smith, this _ unprecedented time. doctor laura smith, this we _ unprecedented time. doctor laura smith, this we will _ unprecedented time. doctor laura smith, this we will study - unprecedented time. doctor laura smith, this we will study for - unprecedented time. doctor laura smith, this we will study for many years to come. smith, this we will study for many years to come-— years to come. thank you for your anal sis. years to come. thank you for your analysis. thank _ years to come. thank you for your analysis. thank you. _ there's been more heavy fighting in the ukrainian city of bakhmut. the russian mercenary group wagner claims it has taken it, but the group's claims have been dismissed by ukraine as fake. the russian mercenary group wagner

claims it has taken it, but the group's claims have been dismissed by ukraine as fake. elsewhere, ukrainian defence forces destroyed 13 russian drones launched overnight in the 0desa region to netherlands now, where one person has been confirmed dead and about 30 are injured in a train crash. rescue teams are at the scene of the accident near the village of voorschoten between the hague and amsterdam. authorities say the train — carrying about 50 passengers — was derailed after it hit a crane. the two front carriages are lying on their sides and the rear carriage caught fire. most of the injured have been taken to hospital in utrecht — others are being cared for in homes near the crash site. this is the scene live, where you can see those investigative teams very much there, and a heavy media presence as well. this has gained huge, notjust national but also international attention. very rare, train crashes in holland. they have a very high safety record. the train

travelled there, so one person killed and 30 injured, at least. so the work begins to try and discover how this terrible accident happened. earlier, anna holligan brought us the latest updates from voorschoten at the scene of the crash. as you can see, the scene here gives you an idea of the terror that would have been on board. this was 3:25 local time. you can see one of the carriages on its side. just above you might be able to detect one of the overhead lines has come down. of the 30 people on board, 19 of them were taken to hospital, including the train driver who is understood to have broken bones but is conscious. the other people were cared for by people living nearby and i will spin the camera around to give you a picture of the wider scene here. as you can imagine, lots of local camera crews gathering behind here and more emergency services. there is a police cordon set up.

it is now turning into an investigation, of course. the police have gone on board the train and are taking photographs to establish what happened. construction was taking place nearby and a small crane fell onto one of the tracks. two of them were already closed. a freight train was also involved, but the driver didn't need hospital treatment. you might be able to see itjust over in the distance. still many questions and the king and queen have been sharing their condolences on twitter, as has the dutch prime minister, who said a terrible train accident and one person died, many injured, my thoughts are with the relatives and victims. the king and queen said, "our thoughts are with the victims, many are now in fear and in uncertainty, we deeply sympathise with all of them." we should say the crane operators

have refused to comment on this and they have asked journalists to refer to the rail operators who are in the process of investigating what happened. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. some of the most interesting stories i've told the audience is. i can look back to the beginning of my career, junior reporter during 9/11. that was a huge story and it was so difficult to tell, particular because i had to interview people who had lost colleagues and loved ones in those towers in new york. moving on, the economic crisis of 2008. that was a huge story both in the uk and globally. i talk to so many people, whose lives had been turned down upside by the then banking crisis and the subsequent economic fallout. i was a chief presenter during the pandemic, and i was coming into work, trying to

convey the story to viewers who were stuck at home during lockdown, not only in the uk, but across the world. more recently, i was sent to windsor to cover the funeral of prince philip, the duke of edinburgh. i was there getting a real sense of the loss and sadness. it was a great honour for me to be sent there by the bbc to cover a story like that. this is bbc news. london city has become only the second uk airport to scrap the current rules on liquids in hand luggage increasing the limit from 100 mililitres to two litres. that's thanks to new x—ray machines, which are now in place across all its security lanes. other major airports are due to bring in the technology next year. let's get more from katy, who's is at city airport this morning. i'm in the check—in hall at london city airport, and passengers behind me will then go up to the next floor and go through security. people have

grown used to the routine of checking that their hand luggage only has liquids in containers of 100 millilitres or less. passengers here don't have to do that any more because they can leave liquids in their bags up to two litres, and laptops can stay in as well, to go through security. that is thanks to new technology, which is now in place in all four security lanes here, essentially a big ct scanner which provides an enhanced 3d image of the bags. teesside airport is the other uk airports which has already introduced this. it is much smaller, so now london city airport, a slightly bigger airport, has got it in place, and then all major uk airports are meant to have this technology in place by next summer. for now, the journey is a lot quicker, a lot smoother if you are coming to those few airports that do have the new system in place, but passengers really still need to check before they travel to see

whether the airport they are departing from, and coming back too, has the new rules in place. it will be a gradual roll—out, but experts say it does mark the beginning of the end to having to use those tiny toiletries in your hand luggage. spain has been experiencing the worst drought on record, with some areas not seeing significant rainfall for 2.5 years. strict measures have been introduced in some sectors to conserve water supply, such as in agriculture, which could affect prices in uk supermarkets. guy hedgecoe reports from catalonia. for half a century, the sau reservoir has supplied water to the people of barcelona and the surrounding area, but in recent months it has been depleted to less than a tenth of its capacity due to lack of rain. this church totally submerged in times of abundant rainfall has become a bleak symbol of the drought. now, the sau reservoir has been

emptied all together to prevent the remaining water from being contaminated by mud. its fish are being caught so they don't rot in the water. we are trying to transfer the water as soon as we can because the quality right now in winter was good, with the spring it will become really, really bad and try to extract all the — all the fishes that we can find there. this area has not seen sustained rain for 2.5 years. that's the longest drought here since records began in 1905. local authorities have restricted the use of water for agriculture by 40%. this farmer, who produces artichokes and tomatoes among other crops warns that the lack of water is likely to be push up the prices of these products in supermarkets across europe. translation: i am worried because farming is my job i and if i don't have water,

i end up planting fewer crops. if we can't plant as many crops, then this will mean there is less product for consumers. barcelona, like many towns and cities across catalonia, is seeing tight controls on water use for everything from car washing and gardening, to street cleaning. even ornamental fountains like this one have been switched off in recent weeks. other parts of europe have also been suffering a winter drought. experts warn that countries in the south are at particular risk as climate change takes effect. as well as stretching water supplies, the dry conditions have other unwanted effects. siren sounds. a wave of wildfires in northern and eastern spain has burned thousands of hectares of land. the summer is still a long way off, but spain and some of its european neighbours are already feeling the heat. guy hedgecoe, bbc news,

north eastern spain. you are watching bbc news. hello. it was a cold and frosty start to the day today, and for some of us is also a cloudy and damp one, more notably in the north and west. if you have an allergy to tree pollen it's worth mentioning that today across wales and the southern half of england, the pollen levels are high. high pressure is in charge of our weather currently. this weather front has been of our weather currently. this weatherfront has been producing patchy rain and a second weather front will bring in or persistent rain across northern ireland and western scotland later on, and in between them we are looking at some brightness developing, a little bit of sunshine, but it won't last terribly long. whereas for eastern scotland and the rest of england and wales, a fair bit of sunshine today with highs of 14 celsius. this

evening and overnight, the weather front sinks further south and east, the cloud building ahead of it, but it should stay dry with some clear skies across the far south—east. here, locally temperatures could fall away 2—2, so a touch of frost first thing in the morning. not so anywhere else. tomorrow, our weather fronts continue theirjourney, pushing south and east was, taking the rain with them. it should brighten up later in the day for northern ireland and also western scotland. forthe northern ireland and also western scotland. for the south—east, northern ireland and also western scotland. forthe south—east, having started dry with some scotland. for the south—east, having started dry with some sunshine, scotland. forthe south—east, having started dry with some sunshine, as the weather front approach, the cloud will build on the sunshine will turn that bit hazy. temperatures tomorrow, again, roughly between 11—13 c. as we move from wednesday into thursday, this weather front will still be with us. it will slowly move into the north sea, but it will linger across the northern isles and it will be quite windy during the course of thursday.

behind it, high pressure establishes itself, and once again we will see some showers, but a lot of dry weather in the west. some showers in the south—east will be heavy and thundery. 0n the south—east will be heavy and thundery. on thursday and into good friday and easter weekend, high pressure becomes inks constant across the we do have weather front trying to bumping against it on saturday which might bring in patchy rain during the course of saturday to the far north—west, but most of us will stay dry on saturday, easter sunday, and it looks like more of us will see some rain on easter monday.

shareholders of credit suisse vent their fury — as the chairman says he's truly sorry for taking the bank to the brink of bankruptcy. and the space dream comes back down to earth — richard branson�*s virgin 0rbit files for bankruptcy. welcome to world business report. shareholders have been venting their anger at credit suisse's final agm in zurich this morning. the chairman of the bank has said he is truly sorry

for taking the company to the brink of bankruptcy.