live from washington, this is bbc news. welcome to viewers on pbs in america. two democrat lawmakers in the state of tennessee expelled by the state legislature over protests for stricter gun control. and, the biden white house releases a report blaming the chaotic afghanistan withdrawal on the trump administration. and israel launches airstrikes on gaza following an intense rocket bombardment from across the lebanese border. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. we start tonight in the us state of tennessee where, in an extraordinary move, republican legislators who control the house

of representatives in the state have voted to expel two democratic members for disorderly conduct after they took part in a protest for stricter gun laws in the chamber last week. justin jones and justin pearson have been ousted, but a third democrat, seen in the middle of these pictures, gloria johnson, narrowly survived the vote, which requires a two—thirds majority. with me is the bbc�*s helena humphrey. we helena humphrey. have seen some extraordinary images we have seen some extraordinary images from tennessee, tell us what we have been witnessing? certainly an extraordinary day, as we speak right now protests are continuing their outside of the state capital in tennessee, all of this coming off the back of the news that two accredited representatives avenue you say have been ousted today. firstly justinjones, 27 years old representing parts of nashville and justin pearson, 29 years old representing parts of

memphis. two black representatives and then gloria johnson was also up for the vote today. she narrowly survived by one vote, she also took part in those protests. this whole motion came about from republicans in response to their protests in the house floor, and the nashville shooting in which six people died including three very young children and they were calling for tighter gun control laws in tennessee at a time when some there are calling for them to be loosened including for teachers and fact to be armed but they used a loudspeaker, they disrupted proceedings and they disrupted proceedings and they themselves admit that they broke the house rules however a caveat that by saying that they were protesting as they believe as part of their first amendment rights for freedom of speech and we can take a listen now to what mrjones and mr pearson had to say.— now to what mrjones and mr pearson had to say. every week to this rotunda _ pearson had to say. every week to this rotunda and _ pearson had to say. every week to this rotunda and remind - pearson had to say. every week| to this rotunda and remind them that they— to this rotunda and remind them that they ——we are not going to

let this — that they ——we are not going to let this go _ that they ——we are not going to let this go. they are trying to silence — let this go. they are trying to silence people, they cannot siiehce _ silence people, they cannot silence thousands of us here are — silence thousands of us here are no _ silence thousands of us here are. no action. no silence thousands of us here are. no action.— silence thousands of us here i are. no action._ what are. no action. no peace! what we do have _ are. no action. no peace! what we do have an _ are. no action. no peace! what we do have an end _ are. no action. no peace! what we do have an end to _ are. no action. no peace! what we do have an end to gun - we do have an end to gun violence. _ we do have an end to gun violence, when we do see justice _ violence, when we do see justice rolling down rivers like — justice rolling down rivers like righteousness, that is why istill— like righteousness, that is why i still have hope and faith in what — i still have hope and faith in what our— i still have hope and faith in what our democracy can do. and look at those _ what our democracy can do. fific look at those scenes there, what our democracy can do. fific look at those scenes there, how many people are surrounding them, really an extraordinary moment with thousands of people actually coming out today in support of those three representatives. they were holding signs one point referring to their support for the tennessee three, and you could hear their chance rising up could hear their chance rising up through the chamber. find could hear their chance rising up through the chamber. and an exulsion up through the chamber. and an expulsion means _ up through the chamber. and an expulsion means that _ up through the chamber. and an expulsion means that they - up through the chamber. and an expulsion means that they lose l expulsion means that they lose their seats, correct?— their seats, correct? exactly. what are _ their seats, correct? exactly. what are republicans - their seats, correct? exactly. what are republicans saying | what are republicans saying about this?— about this? the votes fell laruel

about this? the votes fell largely along _ about this? the votes fell largely along party - about this? the votes fell largely along party lines, | about this? the votes felll largely along party lines, it is a republican—controlled capital there and what house speaker cameron sexton who is a republican alleges is not only did they disrupt proceedings but he also compares their behaviour to insurrection. of course that immediately brings to mind the events here in washington, dc onjanuary six. democrats have been very quick to say that this is an entirely different incident but all of this has attracted the attention of the white house. we heard earlier today from the white house press secretary even before these expulsions saying that this would be undemocratic. we can also take a listen to what she had to say. a listen to what she had to sa . . . a listen to what she had to sa , ., , a listen to what she had to sa . .. ., , ., , say. the fact that this vote is happening — say. the fact that this vote is happening is _ say. the fact that this vote is happening is shocking, - happening is shocking, undemocratic and without precedent. across tennessee and across _ precedent. across tennessee and across america our kids are paying _ across america our kids are paying the price for the actions _ paying the price for the actions of republican lawmakers who continue to refuse to take action— who continue to refuse to take action on— who continue to refuse to take action on stronger gun laws. president _

action on stronger gun laws. president biden also echoed those sentiments in a tweet saying it is shocking, he said, that this should come out of a tragedy like the nashville school shooting. 50 tragedy like the nashville school shooting.- school shooting. so what happens _ school shooting. so what happens next? _ school shooting. so what happens next? it - school shooting. so what happens next? it is - school shooting. so what i happens next? it is difficult to say because _ happens next? it is difficult to say because this - happens next? it is difficult to say because this is - happens next? it is difficult. to say because this is largely unprecedented stop efi can give you a sense of other expulsions in tennessee, one was for allegations of sexual misconduct, another was for soliciting bribes, two very different cases but one thing that we can say is that suddenly we have so much more attention focused on these three representatives. democrats say that they will be fundraising to try to get them re—elected back to their seats in special elections but at the end of the day and if we zoom out and take a look at the bigger picture, this is about gun violence and gun control in the united states and as we know there has been very little progress on that issue.- progress on that issue. helena humphrey _ progress on that issue. helena humphrey following _ progress on that issue. helena humphrey following this - humphrey following this developing story for us, thank you very much. now to an accounting of the chaotic us withdrawal from afghanistan. the white house has released

a i2—page report blaming a messy handover from the trump administration for much of the upheaval. it says president biden was determined to bring american troops home, but that the choices for such a withdrawal were, quote, �*severely constrained by conditions created by his the report goes on to say that the prior administartion "provided no plans for how to conduct the final withdrawal�*. and that in the end, "there were no signs that more time, more funds or more americans would have yielded a fundamentally different trajectory". at the white house today, officials doubled down on the argument that it was a lack of transparency between presidential administrations that led to messy withdrawal. while it was always the president's intent to end that war it is also undeniable that decisions made and a lack of planning done by the previous administration significantly limited options available to him. transitions matter. that is the first lesson learned

here and the incoming administration wasn't afforded much of one. thus, president biden's choice was starc. either withdraw all our forces or resume fighting with taliban. chose the former. the report received widespread backlash from republicans. house foreign affairs committee chairman michael mccaul said in a statement thatjohn kirby's comments were disgraceful and insulting, and biden is responsible for the massive failures in planning and execution. former president donald trump blasted the report on social media, saying, "i watched this disaster unfold just like everyone else. i saw them take out the military first, give $85 billion of military equipment, allow killing of our soldiers, and leave americans behind. biden is responsible, no one else! biden is responsible, no one else." victoria coates served in the trump administration on the us national security council. she was asked about the report, here's what she told the bbc. as admiral kirby well knows,

there is one way you can bind there is one way you can bind the hands of your successes once you are out of the white house and that is to pass whatever your agreement is through the senate as a treaty or through both houses of congress as a law. we didn't do that because the agreement with the teller band was conditional. they had to meet certain conditions before any withdrawal was going to take place. 50 withdrawal was going to take . lace. ,, ., , �* withdrawal was going to take lace. , �* ,., ., place. so they weren't bound to this timetable. _ place. so they weren't bound to this timetable. no, _ place. so they weren't bound to this timetable. no, not - place. so they weren't bound to this timetable. no, not in - place. so they weren't bound to this timetable. no, not in any l this timetable. no, not in any wa . this timetable. no, not in any way- that _ this timetable. no, not in any way- that is _ this timetable. no, not in any way. that is why _ this timetable. no, not in any way. that is why president. way. that is why president trump was able to get out of the original iran deal, the paris climate accords, because they were not passed as treaties. so this isjust they were not passed as treaties. so this is just a ridiculous argument on the face of it and to blame us for what they did and then to claim credit for admiral kirby to say many afghans' lives are better is just an outrage. with me is our north america correspondent david willis. as we heard there has been a lot of pushback to this blaming of the trump administration for the smithy withdrawal. what line did the white house take

to justify that? 50 line did the white house take to justify that?— to justify that? so in its 12 .a i e to justify that? so in its 12 page summary _ to justify that? so in its 12 page summary of - to justify that? so in its 12 page summary of a - to justify that? so in its 12 i page summary of a classified report, it basically puts the blame for what happened in two directions. one on the prey administration, that of donald trump, and two, on the failures of the us intelligence community. it basically makes the point that the incoming biden administration was left, as the report said, in an impossible position, that the outgoing administration had really left nothing in place for the incoming administration. let me read one quote to you. it says the trump administration left the biden administration left the biden administration with a date for withdrawal but no plan to execute it and it goes on to say that this sort of systems that should have been in place to ensure a smooth withdrawal of this kind were, as it puts it, in disrepair. you may remember of course that the trump administration struck this deal with the taliban back in february of 2024 withdrawal

tjy in february of 2024 withdrawal by may of 2021, that was pushed back by the incoming biden administration but by that time there were just 2500 us troops on the ground in afghanistan, a lot of taliban prisoners had been released from prison and that put the taliban in the strongest position it had been in since the american invasion 20 years before. so all of this, interesting background but also blame as being laid at the door as a mention of the intelligence community which predicted in early 2021 that it would be one year, maybe two years, before kabulfell would be one year, maybe two years, before kabul fell to would be one year, maybe two years, before kabulfell to the taliban. as we all know, that happened within days. the white house said this is about lessons learned and applying those to ukraine, what do they mean by that? yes, they do indeed say in this report that there are lessons learned and they said that going forward they would err on

the side of aggressive communications about the risks that are involved in going into such an environment. that basically comes down to asking more questions and preparing in a much better way for the worst—case scenario. they didn't foresee the rapid advance of the taliban, they didn't foresee the rapid capitulation of afghan government troops. equally, the report suggests there was a lack of clear leadership on the ground in afghanistan, so clearly a lot of lessons to be learned from this.— learned from this. and 'ust takinr learned from this. and 'ust takin: a learned from this. and 'ust taking a look i learned from this. and 'ust taking a look at i learned from this. and 'ust taking a look at the i learned from this. and just taking a look at the bigger| taking a look at the bigger picture here, there was such a contentious briefing at the white house today, how damaging was this afghanistan withdrawal for the us?— was this afghanistan withdrawal for the us? , . ., ., for the us? hugely damaging for america's reputation _ for the us? hugely damaging for america's reputation around - for the us? hugely damaging for america's reputation around the| america's reputation around the world. we had those harrowing pictures of babies being passed over by afghan women to us soldiers, we saw people clinging to the side of aircraft that were taking off

and all of this setback america's image around the world. britain was involved in that operation and with classic british understatement, you might say, the uk defence secretary ben wallace said at the time that the whole thing had the uk in, i quote, a very difficult position.— difficult position. thank you so much — difficult position. thank you so much david. _ also here in the us, the white house says its still unable to get consular access to a us journalist detained in russia. evan gershkovich is currently being held in a moscow prison on charges of espionage. us officials say they're being refused access by russia, but russian officials say it's pointless to try pressure moscow. the bbc�*s will vernon has the latest. evan gershkovich still in pre—trial detention tonight at the notorious prison and russia

where they keep their dissidents and spies. we've heard this week that even's lawyers have finally been able to see him, via a statement from the wall streetjournal, his employer, we have heard that evan is in good health and he is grateful for the outpouring of support from around the world and obviously they continue to call for his release. us embassy still hasn't been able to consular access to evan and secretary of state antony blinken said that evan was wrongfully detained and that his department is working on an official classification, because wrongfully detained in the us state department is a formal term at that kicks off a broad government effort to secure his release. and you will remember that earlier the heads of major news organisations including the wall streetjournal and the the wall street journal and the bbc the wall streetjournal and the bbc signed an open letter reject those allegations from russia that evan is a spy and calling for his immediate release. this week russian

journalistjoined that call, an open letter from over journalistjoined that call, an open letterfrom over 200 independent russian open letter from over 200 independent russian journalist and activist calling for even's release. today we heard the date for even's next court hearing, that will be the 16th of april and that will be an appeal against his arrest but it may be several months before the court case itself gets going, and even then unfortunately we may not find out much, because even's entire case has been classified as top secret by the russian authorities. natan sharansky is a former soviet prisoner who was arrested in 1977 by the kgb and accused of espionage and treason. he spent nine years as a political prisoner, including time in lefortovo prison. he decribes what conditions are like inside. first of all, it's the most

isolated prison, it's a block system, in soviet russia. for example i spent more than one yearin example i spent more than one year in interrogations and i did not get one bit of news, i did not get one bit of news, i did not get one bit of news, i did not know what was happening in the free world, i could imagine but i did not know, and the world didn't know anything, there was no access for the lawyers, relatives, or anybody. so it's a good place to isolate someone from the world totally. second of all, there is a lot of psychological pressure, explaining that with such a serious accusation, i could be sentenced to death, if i did not co—operate and want to co—operate mean? it means you have to say publicly that you are right and you are sorry that you made some mistakes, and that's all they need. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

he may be 100 byjohn bell's memory is as bright as his medals. obviously getting the 100 is pretty good for, in my blood, people don't last that long. blood, people don't last that lonu. . , blood, people don't last that lon. ,, ., long. on was responsible for tarauetin long. on was responsible for targeting a _ long. on was responsible for targeting a bomb _ long. on was responsible for targeting a bomb on - long. on was responsible for targeting a bomb on a - long. on was responsible for| targeting a bomb on a bunker long. on was responsible for. targeting a bomb on a bunker in calais, which housed rockets and super guns which hitler planned to use for a huge attack on london. it planned to use for a huge attack on london.- planned to use for a huge attack on london. it was 'ust john's “mi attack on london. it was 'ust john's skill as i attack on london. it was 'ust john's skill as a i attack on london. it was 'ust john's skill as a bomber,j- attack on london. it wasjust john's skill as a bomber, you know, that is £22,000 bomb landed pretty much about five metres from the edge of the bunker. ~ . ., g ., bunker. william and john both live at the _ bunker. william and john both live at the royal _ bunker. william and john both live at the royal air _ bunker. william and john both live at the royal air force's i live at the royal air force's association retirement complex at storrington, where william organised a birthday fly past, a symbolic tribute to the man believed to be the last surviving wartime air crew member of the dam busters

squadron. you're live with bbc news. israel launched a series of airstrikes in gaza in retaliation for an intense rocket bombardment from levin on earlier that israel blames on earlier that israel blames on the palestinian militant group hamas. the israeli army says it hit several hamas training sites on the gaza strip. it followed comments from israel prime minister benajamin netanyahu who warned that hamas would quote "pay a price." the israeli army says they are in retaliation for the 30 rockets that hit towns in northern israel — the highest number since 2006. you can see glass scattered in the streets from when those rockets hit. residents spoke about the moment the rockets fire struck. i heard the boom, i was in my room, it was very very scary. we had booms in silence, a rocket _ we had booms in silence, a rocket hit _ we had booms in silence, a rocket hit the roof of a car as it was— rocket hit the roof of a car as it was passing by my house, but the rocket — it was passing by my house, but the rocket did not explode. when — the rocket did not explode. when i _ the rocket did not explode. when i went after the car i saw someone — when i went after the car i saw someone was injured. the attacks follow israeli raids on the al—aqsa mosque

injersalem where police clashed with palestinians inside. the holy month of ramadan overlaps with the jewish holiday of passover this week, making any incidents more sensitive. french president emmanual macron and president of the european commission urusla von der leyen met for talks in beijin with chinese president xi jinping today. the high profile meeting place amid souring relations between the eu and china in recent years. one of the sticking points — china's tacit support for the war in ukraine. von der leyen said president xi expressed a willingness to speak to ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. french president macron urged beijing to talk sense into russia over the war in ukriane and help negotiate for peace. translation: the russian aggression in ukraine has ended decades of peace in europe. i know i can count on you to bring russia to its senses, and

everyone to the negotiating table, but we need to find a lasting peace, that is to say, a peace that respects internationally recognised borders, and avoids any form of escalation. recent reports from the us and nato have said china considered sending arms to russia. today, von der leyen warned beijing against any such action. we also account on china not to provide any military equipment directly or indirectly to russia, because we all know arming the aggressor would be against international law, and it would significantly harm our relationship. the china talks were met with some skepticism in ukraine. our correspondent hugo bachega has more on the resonse from kyiv. ukraine was one of the main topics on the agenda as president macron visited president macron visited president xijinping in china, and tried to convince him to

put pressure on president putin to end the war here. questions remain as to whether china is serious about engaging in meaningful efforts to end the conflict in ukraine, or whether china has the power to put any pressure on president putin. here in kyiv, a senior adviser to president zielinski said any discussion about any possible role for china can only happen after conversations between president zelenskyy and xi jinping, we know both leaders have not had any conversation since the beginning of the war. invasion, a deal brokered by chinese officials have seen around and saudi arabia hold theirfirst official talk around and saudi arabia hold their first official talk since 2016. the foreign ministers of the two countries are together today, seen here, and were encouraged to shake hands by the chinese counterpart. more on the significance of the event. it has taken seven years for the leadership of both

countries to come face—to—face, and engage in this kind of dialogue, so it was a significant moment when the foreign ministers of both countries shook hands and then had this long meeting where they discussed various issues. they did not hold any press conference but there was a statement issued that said both sides are examining ways of reopening visas, restarting flights and arranging official delegations, and they want to do this within the stipulated two month period, because when the dealers brokered by china last month, both sides had expressed the desire to open relations within the next two month period, so we could expect some action on the target that have been set out over the next few weeks. this is a significant moment, if the deal goes through and both sides stick to it because here are two rivals that have been entangled in proxy wars across conflict zones in the region for the last decade, whether it is libya, syria and most

prominently, in yemen, where the hootie rebels, backed by iran saw arabia, and the other side has been involved in tough negotiations with them —— huthl negotiations with them —— huthi. there is a temporary truce but both sides are trying to work out whether they could be headway, but the hope would be, especially from reality, that given that this dialogue has been initiated by them, with around, they could arrive at a solution in yemen where saudi arabia has spent a lot of money in this military operation, and has also affected saudi arabia in terms of security because they have been attacks on saudi arabian soil over the last few years including on the oil facilities, and riyadh has directly blamed iran for those attacks, so it will be from riyadh's point of view that it would be able to gather for that's the kind of security. escaping from north korea has always been perilous. but the country's leader, kimjong—un, made it harder during the covid outbreak. he all but sealed

the country's borders. our correspondent in seoul, jean mackenzie, has been speaking to song—mi — one of last known people to make it out of north korea before the border was closed. there are days song—mi still doesn't believe she's living with her mother. what she has endured to be here made it seem like this day would never come. song—mi was four years old when her mother tried to escape north korea, with her strapped to her chest. her mother was caught and sent to prison. when she was released, she decided to escape again — this time, alone. song—mi was left with her grandparents, but shortly after, they died, leaving song—mi to fend for herself. translation: i made a living by foraging for herbs - in the mountains and selling them. i was just trying to survive for

the day without starving to death. it would take years before song—mi's mother was able to arrange her daughter's own treacherous escape across the river to china. translation: before you cross the river, i you're supposed to be scared. the river is deep and the current is strong. we could have died. but the thought of getting to my mother felt like i was throwing away a heavy burden and flying away. after 14 years apart, the pair have reunited in south korea. but song—mi has never asked her mother why she left, until now. translation: i was nine - when you came back from prison. why did you escape then? translation: i'd wanted to bring i you with me at first, but the broker said no children. if we got caught, both of us

would have suffered again, so i asked your grandparents to watch you for a year. but much more time has passed. translation: i see. translation: i knew the morning she left. | i rememberjust lying in bed, crying. what would you like to say to your daughter? what would you like her to know? translation: i want to say that i didn't abandon you. _ i made a choice to leave first, to give you a better life. this choice might seem unthinkable, but these are the lengths people must go to to escape north korea, and it's only getting tougher. jean mackenzie, bbc news, in seoul.

thanks for watching. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. the weather for the easter weekend is looking pretty decent for many of us. a lot of places will stay dry and there'll be plenty of sunshine around, too. the temperatures creeping up, particularly easter sunday looks to be a warm one across southern areas. however, it's all changed by the time we head into the bank holiday, easter monday. it turns more unsettled thanks to this area of low pressure. but high pressure dominates the scene, as you can see, for good friday. it starts off chilly, though, with some frost around, early mist and fog, which will clear quite quickly. as the temperatures rise into the afternoon, could see some fairweather cloud bubbling up — that could spark off the odd shower across southeast england. a bit of cloud just rolling in off the north sea for northeast england, eastern scotland, and along north sea coasts, it'll be quite chilly with an onshore breeze. otherwise, elsewhere after that chilly starts, it's the low to mid—teens for most of us. and then, through friday

night into the early part of saturday, temperatures again tumble across central, southern and western areas where skies are clearest. it's particularly cold there, i think, for west midlands, central wales, but eastern scotland, eastern england, more cloud here, so not quite as cold as will be further west. into saturday, then, very little change, high pressure dominates the scene. this weather front getting a little bit closer to northern ireland, but it stays away, i think, throughout the day. so, plenty of sunshine once again through the morning, into the afternoon, a bit of cloud bubbling up — that could just produce the odd shower here and there. but most places will stay dry and those temperatures ranging from around 11—15 degrees again. quite chilly, though, across north east scotland, with the onshore breeze. easter sunday looks to be a little bit warmer. plenty of sunshine through central and southern areas, a bit more clouds to the east, and then to the west, this weather front starts to bring more of a breeze. outbreaks of rain to northern ireland, the far west of scotland, later in the day. but for the rest of the country, that sunshine around southerly winds, it could be quite warm — up to around 17 degrees

in the mildest spots. then it's all change for bank holiday monday. this weather front spreads across the country with some fairly gusty winds, as it does clear through during the second part of the day, it brightens up sunshine and blustery showers, most of the showers in the north and the west, some of them will be fairly heavy. temperatures coming down a touch, particularly in the north and the west, highs of 10 to around 13 or 14 degrees for most. and then, the upcoming new week looks unsettled, low pressure always nearby. it'll stay quite showery. a bit of sunshine around, too, but it will be noticeably cooler.

the french president prepares to wrap up his three—day visit to wrap up his three—day visit to china with some economic wins under his belt. plus, what makes a family business like levi strauss, for instance, last? we speak to an expert to find out. hello and welcome to asia business report, i'm karishma vaswani. our top story for you this morning. the presidents of france and the european commission have wrapped up a series of high—level meetings with the top chinese leadership. emmanuel macron has called on chinese president xi jinping to bring russia back to the negotiating table over

ukraine and as part of his three—day visit deals have been struck including on green and nuclear energy.