live from washington, this is bbc news. hungary has blocked billions in eu aid for ukraine, hours after european officials green light talks over ukraine's membership in the eu. the us urges israel to scale down its operation in gaza, even as the country's defense minister says its war with hamas could last "several" more months. and an unexpected guest causes delays for new york city commuters. i'm sumi somaskanda. thank you for joining us. hungary has blocked $55 billion in eu aid for ukraine, hours after an agreement was reached on starting membership talks. hungarian prime minister viktor orban posted on social media,

after talks in brussels... at the same summit, leaders agreed to open membership talks with ukraine and moldova and to grant candidate status to the country of georgia. all three nations have been pushing to join the alliance. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, called the decision "a victory for ukraine". the president of the european council charles michel said age talks would continue next year. he said important progress had been achieved at the summit. tonight we sent a very — achieved at the summit. tonight we sent a very powerful - achieved at the summit. tonight we sent a very powerful signal i we sent a very powerful signal to the european citizens, a very powerful signal to the ukrainian citizens because we have decided to grant status to georgia to open negotiations with ukraine, and with moldova to make a very important step with bosnia and herzegovina, because we will open the decisions and a report will be issued by the commission in the

coming weeks to make a decision. these are historic moments. the bbc�*sjessica parker sent this update from kyiv. the decision to open membership talks here in ukraine will be hugely welcome of course. they apply to join the eu right after russia's full scale invasion, although for many, moving towards europe is a far longer held ideal, rooted in values they feel they are fighting for right now. for president zelenskyy, this is a decision that he really wanted and he really needed. he has been trying to re—energise western support. don't forget, he left the us earlier this week having failed to secure some crucial defence funds, and the decision in brussels was hanging in the balance because eu leaders pushed it through in a pretty bizarre fashion. the only one to oppose the plans, hungary's viktor orban, left the room when the decision was being made. nowi the room when the decision was being made. now i think here that will be regarded as a bit

of a detailfor that will be regarded as a bit of a detail for now. that will be regarded as a bit of a detailfor now. it that will be regarded as a bit of a detail for now. it is that will be regarded as a bit of a detailfor now. it is an obstacle overcome, and while ukrainians know that the road to eu membership is a one, with no guarantee of success, this is a morale boost, right when they needed one. ukraine is critically dependant on eu and us funding, as it continues to fight occupying russian forces. and it's a crucial time, as winter weather picks up and heavy fighting continues in bakhmut and avdeevka. our correspondent abduljalil abdulrasulov reports from the front line in bakhmut in the east of ukraine, where troops are under pressure because of a dwindling supply of military hardware. in the bitter cold of winter, this deadly war grinds on, and big guns, provided by western partners, still play a crucial role. ukraine's 93rd brigade is stationed near bakhmut. they say the russians attack at least twice a day. theirjob, to stop

them advancing. as the conflict turns to stalemate, ukrainian soldiers say they need the support of their international partners more than ever. it is demoralising for them to hear that, instead, america's funding for ukraine has ground to a halt. translation: if there is no support from the western i countries, then it's going to get really bad. russia will seize ukraine, then it will be the turn of the baltic states and poland. i don't think the russians will stop here. our conversation is interrupted by orders to destroy a new target. the crew has to be quick. after a long silence, they're told to stand down and hide the howitzer. but these soldiers worry their guns will remain silent for much longer without new us

funding and supplies. these are 155mm calibre artillery shells, and most western weapons and artillery systems that ukraine has received use these types of shells, and therefore the shortage of these rounds will mean that those big guns will have to fire less, and that, in its turn, will have a huge impact here on the front line. there's already a serious lack of ammunition for western weapons, and the shortage is worse for old soviet guns. the commander of this ageing soviet howitzer unit admits that they have to use shells carefully. after loading, the crew waits for hours for the command to open fire on a high—value target. they simply cannot afford to waste ammunition on anything else. the difficult days ahead are uncertain, but these soldiers say their determination is not. abdujalil abdurasulov, bbc news, donetsk region, in eastern ukraine.

amid continued fighting in gaza, the us national security advisor, jake sullivan, will visit the occupied west bank city of ramallah later on friday for talks with palestinian authority leaders. he's already met with israeli prime minister netanyahu to talk about protecting civilians and a possible timetable for ending the war. the us says it wants the conflict over "as soon "as possible" but is not "dictating terms "to "as possible" but is not "dictating terms to the "israelis". prime minister netanyahu has vowed "absolute victory", and the israeli defence minister has warned the war could last "several" more months. this is the aftermath of a strike in rafah in the south of the gaza strip. the hamas—run health ministry says, at least 2a people were killed in air strikes on two houses. here's our middle east correspondent hugo bachega with the latest. we had two messages, following those talks with jake sullivan in israel,

first from the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who again said the war was going to continue until what he described as absolute victory. he said the goal was the destruction of hamas and also to guarantee the release of the hostages who remain in captivity in gaza, more than 100 people. the second message came from the israeli defence minister, yoav gallant, who said, again, that destroying hamas was a key military objective. he said this wasn't going to be easy and that the israeli military needed more time. now, jake sullivan talked about a new phase in the war, with more targeted and precise attacks, but there were no details of a possible timeline. now, the israelis are under pressure amid mounting civilian casualties in gaza and also a worsening humanitarian crisis. so far, they have rejected

calls for a ceasefire, saying that this would only benefit hamas, a position that has been shared by the united states, but as this fighting continues in gaza, calls for a ceasefire are likely to get louder. hugo bachega reporting there. and earlier, i spoke to retired colonel miri eisen, former idf intelligence officer and current director of the international institute for counter—terrorism at reichman university in tel aviv. the military capability is the portion that is much more clear. you go into the gaza strip, as we have done in the ground operation, and the word "dismantling" sounds like something you're doing to a closet, no, you're going in and finding all of the enormous amount of weapons that hamas have amassed over the last 15 years that they have ruled over the gaza strip, that hamas have planted, booby—trapped, put into apartment buildings — all right, that's one aspect — into the refugee camps, everybody knows that. but now we all understand that these weapons and the different capabilities are in mosques, in kindergartens, in

hospitals, in schools. you have to go and find those all, to go after the terrorists themselves, and we are talking about tens of thousands of terrorists. we have arrested — there are a lot of prisoners. and then there's the whole subterranean arena. so we are doing this systematically. it's slow and systematic. if you do it fast, you are going to be killing more civilians, because hamas built their defences to be protected, both by the civilians and, of course, by the hostages — who for them, and i'm being cynical, are the get out ofjailfree card. i'm sorry about being cynical of that, but that's the way hamas see them, as a bargaining chip to be used for their own safety and not for anybody else's benefit. and just one more question. you've talked about in interviews to think about the day after this war ends, what is the security and political strategy for gaza that day after? so it's very clear what it

isn't, and then i'll try and say what it is. it is not ruled by hamas. the hamas, as we know it now, does not have the massive terror, military capabilities, it will be something that is both local, palestinian, israel is going to need, for our own sense of security, we can't live here otherwise, we're going to need for our own sense of security certainly an initial portion to be the ones responsible for the demilitarising, that continuing of disarming of those hamas's military capabilities. what it will look like further along the way, i look forward and hope that for the gazans, for 2 million people, that in the future they have a different education system that does not educate to hate, that we can come together in that sense, to build a different kind of future, but that is still far away. the dismantling of the hamas terror capabilities is not going to be over soon. in this case, more like

the israeli defense minister, i think it will take months to go, and that's what i'm looking at, not because i'm happy about it, but because i want to continue to live in israel next to the gaza strip and to be able to do that, first, it's taking apart those military capabilities. the situation in gaza continues to deteriorate. the head of the un agency for palestinian refugees has just returned from a fact—finding mission there. philippe lazzarini says gazans are desperate, hungry and terrified. this comes the same day as internet and phone networks across gaza went down again, according to the region's main telecomms company. we have some pictures from gaza where fighting has continued. smoke rising on the horizon. israel saying it will continue its operation until absolute victory, despite the humanitarian situation in gaza. the hamas—run health ministry says more than 18,000 people have been killed in gaza since the war began. and more than 1.8 million palestinians have been

displaced by the fighting. i talked about that — and the path forward — with nabil fahmy, egypt's former foreign minister. there have been reports that egypt is highly concerned about the more than 1.8 million displaced palestinians from the war that they may be crossing over into egypt. tell us more about what those concerns are? the first concern is we do not accept the forced displacement of palestinians from the gaza strip in order to reduce the density of the population and consequently make it more of a israeli area. we don't support the method. moving them in a force fashion is a demented humanitarian burden on them and on everybody around them. we have provided and will continue to provide humanitarian support and we have accepted anyone who needs substantial healthcare into our hospitals within our own borders.

but we want to ensure peace and security for all palestinians and israelis as part of a two—state solution. your foreign minister was in washington last week and said that it would be a contradiction of international law if palestinians from gaza were displaced to egypt's. your country and israel worked closely together on it military intelligence. would all that be at risk if there is a large displacement of refugees who then enter egypt? the intentional forced displacement of palestinians

in a direct fashion would definitely be in violation of our borders. consequently, it does raise concerns regarding the full and faithful application of the peace agreement between egypt and israel. that would be as it has been described in some articles a rupture between israel and egypt? well, again, it is premeditated, and therefore it is a policy decision. and that is a clear violation, and a serious one, of the treaty, and it will have consequences. i also want to ask you about israel's strategy here because they said clearly it must defeat hamas. what does that look like from egypt's perspective because you have raised great concern about their strategy and the loss of palestinian lives? the first country in the region to pursue peace between arabs and israelis in a peace agreement. there is no question about our motivation.

for us, peace has to involve nationhood for the palestinians and recognition and full security for the israeli and cannot be one at the expense of the other. that israel ambassador to the uk said today that a two state solution is not on the cards, what you think of that? that is frankly in complete contradiction to everything the israelis have been saying in diplomatic channels that they want peace and security. if that's the position taken by them today then they do not want peace and security. this is a violation of international law, the resolution to 11—2 of the security council talks about the viability of territorial acquisition by force and it talks about ending occupation in exchange for security for all. if you want to violate that then you want to violate also the concept of full security.

my concern frankly is not a temporary ceasefire. it is a complete ceasefire and a process that links the ceasefire to the ultimate solution of the problem otherwise we will have a recurring cycle of violence. let's talk about the ultimate solution. what you see as egypt's role in the rebuilding of gaza and beyond that after the war ends? first of all, the war has to end with one, a termination of hostilities, and two, a clear direction towards resolution in the whole conflict. a ceasefire and steps that will lead to humanitarian issues being resolved, hostages being exchanged and those incarcerated, the resettling of palestinians who have been moved out of their houses back

to their land. but also, also, and this is very important. the creation of a two—state solution so that palestinians and israelis along the 67 borders with minor exchange of territory and that should include by the way those borders on the palestinian sid, eastjerusalem. if you don't have that, the conflict continues and it is not, and i will say this again, it will not be whether it is more violence, it will be when. and when i use the word violence i don't mean palestinian violence, it goes on on both sides and you can see it on the west bank where settlers are being aggressive with palestinians there. really great to get your view on this today, thank you so much forjoining us. thank you. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at a story making headlines in the uk. an english boy who was missing for six years has been found. alex batty of 0ldham was 11

when he disappeared on vacation with his mother and grandfather in spain. but authorities say, on wednesday morning, the now 17—year—old was found in france, east of toulouse. in 2018, his grandmother, who was his legal gaurdian, told the bbc she believed alex's mother and grandfather had taken him to a live with a spiritual community in morocco. it's been an absolute nightmare. no—one knows how it feels when you might not see the grandson that you love so much. might not see him again. the whereabouts of the boy's mother and grandfather aren't known and police say they're wanted in connection with his disappearance. a police source says the boy, who'd been living in france for two years, had been taken to a police station by a concerned motorist. a local journalist says he was spotted walking along the road by a driver who picked him up. he appeared in good health and didn't say he'd been mistreated. you're live with bbc news. president putin has

given his first major news conference since the start of the invasion in ukraine. the russian president insisted that the war was going well and suggested that western support for ukraine was drying up. mr putin spent more than four hours answering questions at the choreographed event. 0ur russia editor, steve rosenberg, was at that press conference. there haven't been many — actually, any — opportunities for western media to get anywhere near vladimir putin since his full—scale invasion of ukraine. but today, the kremlin invited us and otherforeign media to the president's end—of—year tv extravaganza — half press conference, half phone—in. 0n the war in ukraine, he sounded confident. translation: there will be peace when we achieve our goals. they haven't changed. practically along the entire line of contact, our armed forces are, to put it modestly,

improving their position. they are in an active stage of operation. there was a definite military theme to the show, which was broadcast by every main tv channel in russia and went on for hours. the public had plenty of questions about what the kremlin�*s still calling its special military operation, like would there be a new wave of mobilisation in russia? mr putin said no. this didn't happen last year. the kremlin had cancelled the annual putin phone—in and his end—of—year press conference following the full—scale invasion of ukraine. the fact that the four—hour tv marathon is back reflects his growing confidence nearly two years into the war. he was asked about two americans being held in russian jails — wall streetjournal reporter evan gershkovich and former marine paul whelan. is a prisoner swap possible?

translation: we want to do a deal, but these agreementsj should be mutually beneficial. we're in contact with our american partners on this matter. a dialogue is under way. it's not easy. i won't go into detail, but in general i think we understand each other and i hope that we will find a solution. irina was lucky — she got a question about egg prices. "you're my favourite president," she says. but all i got, afterfour hours, was a sore arm. pity, that. i have so many questions for vladimir putin. another day, perhaps. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. for more on this, i spoke with angela stent. she's a senior fellow at the brookings institution and author of putin's world: russia against the west and with the rest.

very good to see you again. first off, i want to get your thoughts on that press conference, the first since russia's invasion of ukraine. putin certainly wanted to project an air of confidence, telling the russian people russia was winning this special military operation, again castigating the west for its policies and, you know, listening to questions from some "ordinary russians" obviously all preplanned and promising them that the price of eggs would go down and he would fix roads and things like that, and i think this is part of his pre—election campaign. i think it was very important for him to hold this press conference again. he did not hold it last year. the first one the invasion in 2022. he is building up to the election where he wants to come out of it showing a vast of russians support him and that they believe russia

is on the right path. putin saying there will be peace "when we achieve our goals." do you read that as a continuation of what we've seen in ukraine? certainly, because he articulated those goals and he said that de—nazification, demilitarisation of ukraine and ukraine has to remain a neutral country. now, no—one completely knows what he means by that but clearly he has in his sights regime change, in kyiv a government that is pro—russian, and taking more territory. there is nothing he said today that would lead one to believe he is willing to sit down at the negotiating table and negotiate with president zelensky. we were trying to read between the lines. we heard putin sayjust before that "unless they want "to come to terms peacefully."

and a pro—putin russian mp said to the bbc that russia is "ready to negotiate," adding, "we need security guarantees and we will get it "on the battlefield or by negotiations. "we are ready to do both." do you think that is simply words? 0r there might be a bit of a shift in position? that is mainly words. what does he mean by security guarantees? presumably that ukraine will agree to remain neutral and that it will accept the annexation of the four territories, none of which russia fully controls. yes, you hear somewhat different signals from different people but i do not think that putin would be ready to negotiate with ukraine other than on his own terms. let's turn to some important news around the world. the presidents of venezuela and guyana have agreed to not use force to resolve their border dispute. the agreement was reached after a two—hour meeting between presidents nicolas

maduro and ifraan ali. it comes after a referendum. that's in which most venezuelans supported mr maduro's plans to take over essequibo. that's an oil—rich region controlled by neighbouring guyana. mexican president andres manuel lopez 0brador is unveiling a new multi—billion dollar rail network called the tren maya. it is projected to bring two million more tourists a year to the impoverished yucatan peninsula, but it has run massively overbudget and critics say it's an environmental catastrophe. and 68 runners have braved sub—zero temperatures to take part in the annual antarctic ice marathon. the event is held a few hundred kilometres from the south pole. the fastest time was four hours one minute and 45 seconds. and before we go, new york commuters were delayed on thursday morning, not by weather or an accident, but by a bull. somehow the animal got loose and was spotted on the newjersey train tracks. no word on how the bull got loose or where it came from. officials evenutally captured the bull and transported it in a trailer to safety. newark�*s public safety director says the bull will be sent

to a local animal sanctuary. so a happy ending, of sorts. thank you so much for watching bbc news and do stay with us. hello. milder weather is set to develop across many parts of the uk over the next couple of days. that mild air spreading from the west — with it, a lot of cloud. yes, there'll be some sunshine, but i think it will often be cloudy. and the further north and west you are, particularly the north—west of scotland, we can expect strong winds and some heavy rain. but for friday, high pressure dominating to the south of us, keeping things mostly dry in southern parts. this warm front here introducing more cloud, cloud through the morning across northern ireland. that cloud then working its way up into a good part of scotland, clouding over across parts of north—west england, wales and the southwest. maybe the odd spot of rain or drizzle for coasts and hills, but for central and eastern parts of england, we should hold on to some spells of sunshine. not especially windy down towards the southeast, whereas the winds will be

picking up all the while across the north—west of scotland. temperature—wise, eight or nine degrees in some eastern parts, 12, maybe 13 out towards the west. and that mild air in the west continues to push further east as we head through friday night. with it, extensive cloud cover, some mist and murk, some spots of rain and drizzle, particularly across hills in western scotland. very windy in the north of scotland as well, but a milder night in prospect. temperatures generally between four and 11 degrees as we start saturday morning. that feed of mild air coming from the southwest and that mild air will be wafting across all parts of the uk as we head through the weekend. saturday will bring a lot of cloud. as you can see, that cloud producing some spots of rain and drizzle. it may be that things brighten up a little bit down towards the south with some sunshine. equally, though, this frontal system here will bring heavy and persistent rain into the north—west of scotland. and those temperatures, 12, 13, maybe 1a degrees, very windy up towards the north. now, that rain in the north—west of scotland just keeps on coming through saturday night and into sunday.

it may be that over some high ground in western scotland, we see up to 175 millimetres of rain. that could well bring some localised flooding and some travel disruption. a bit of rain into northern ireland and northern england. the further south you are, drier, brighter, a bit more in the way of sunshine, highs of 13 or 1a degrees. but after that milder weekend and a mild start to next week, it actually looks like temperatures will then drop away. we may start to see some wintry showers developing over high ground.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. pope francis has been head of the catholic church for ten years. the hope was this first pontiff from the global south would shake the church up, provide a new sense of unity and purpose. instead, there are signs of deepening division, a widening gulf between so—called liberals and conservatives. significantly, catholic numbers in the west are in decline. the area of fastest growth is africa. my guest is cardinal peter turkson, ghanaian by birth, widely seen as a possible first african pope.