hello, i'm lucy hockings. welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. we start in the us where president biden has been criticised by leading republicans for pardoning his son, hunter, who was due to face sentencing this month on federal gun and tax convictions. the president gave him a full and unconditional, covering a decade, despite previously saying he would not interfere with the justice department's decisions. this was the president speaking injune this year. i'm extremely proud of my son hunter. he has overcome an addiction. he is one of the brightest, most decent men i know, and i am satisfied that i'm not going to do anything, i said i'd abide by thejury decision, i will do that and i will not pardon him. in issuing the "full and unconditional pardon" joe biden addressed why he had made the decision in a statement. he said that... he went on to say that... he also said... let's go live to washington, where we can speak to andrew feinberg, white house corresponde

hello, i'm lucy hockings, co—host of the bbc�*s ukraine cast podcast with vitaly shevchenko.s been a fortnight since president biden authorised the use of us missiles and weapons into russia. john sullivan was ambassador to russia under presidents biden and trump. this week we asked him what the new trump administration means for the war. ukrainecast from bbc news. ambassador sullivan, i'm fascinated by your office. 00:01:00,612 --> 2147483051:37:15,021 there's a coat hanger 2147483051:37:15,021 --> 4294966103:13:29,429 in the corner with a bunch under pressure from oil—producing nations. capital, tbilisi. he would suspend moves tojoin the eu. he's now denying those comments. out against allegations of inappropiate behaviour of middle—class women of a certain age". his lawyers have previously said the allegations are false. nearly two thirds of the seats in parliament have now been filled. but it could be weeks until a government is formed. we will have the full forecast at nine, and now ukraine. hello, i'm lucy hockings, co—host of the bbc�*s ukraine cast podcast with vitaly

hello, i'm lucy hockings. good to have you with us on bbc news.on developments in syria, and the search for the tens of thousands of citizens who disappeared after being detained by the assad regime during the civil war. we mentioned earlier how rescue workers have ended their search for detainees in secret cells at saydnaya military prison, without finding anyone. specialised teams — assisted by dog units — had been combing the prison as crowds gathered in the hope of finding their missing relatives. most of those who disappeared into assad's prisons remain missing. they are lawyers, human rights defenders, key witnesses and others who dared to challenge assad's rule. the syrian network for human rights estimates that the regime has detained approximately one hundred and thirty six thousand people. of those, an estimated 96,000 are believed to have been forcibly disappeared. that leaves around 40,000 individuals who were officially detained. most of them have since been released. but the fate of the 96,000 forcibly disappeared remains largely unk

hello, i'm lucy hockings.s and reaction. we start in the us where president biden has been criticised by leading republicans for pardoning his son, hunter, who was due to face sentencing this month on federal gun and tax convictions. the president gave him a full and unconditional, covering a decade, despite previously saying he would not interfere with the justice department's decisions. this was the president speaking injune this year. i'm extremely proud of my son hunter. he has overcome an addiction. he is one of the brightest, most decent men i know, and i am satisfied that i'm not going to do anything, i said i'd abide by thejury decision, i will do that

hello, i'm lucy hockings.ing news in the last half hour — southport stabbing suspect axel rudakubana, 18, has denied murdering three young girls — elsie dot stancombe, alice da silva aguiar and bebe king — in the attack, and also denied attempting to murder 10 other people. the knife attack happened at a taylor swift—themed dance class in southport. let's speak to our correspondent, nick garnett, who is outside liverppool crown court for us now. this was a fairly short hearing, and axel rudakubana is now 18 and he comes from west lancashire, and he appeared, setting, he was on a video link in my sitting in a room on his own, in belmarsh prison, which is in south london. he was wearing a grey sweatshirt and grey sweat pants. he was able to hear the proceedings but he did not speak during the hearing. he rocked his body from side to side during the proceedings. he faces 16 charges in total, three of murder and eight of attempted murder, possession of a knife, and two other charges relating to the offence on the

hello, i'm lucy hockings, welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction the ceremony. let's go back

hello, i'm lucy hockings.elcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. let's take you live to the bundestag in berlin as germany's political and economic crisis deepens. chancellor olaf scholz faces a vote of no confidence — it's a vote he wants to lose so as to trigger the process towards an early election in february, in the hope that he can weather a political crisis and win a second term. germany's coalition government collapsed last month after a row about spending, which led to the chancellor sacking his finance minister christian lindner. chancellor scholz is speaking now ahead of that vote. we'll bring the result live to you here on bbc news. and ahead of that, we'll get more analysis on the significance of this — notjust for germany, europe's largest economy, but on the impact for the continent. we will be talking about that throughout the day. let's now bring you right up to date about what is happening in mayotte. it's taken more than a day — but the scale of the

hello, i'm lucy hockings.action.

hello, i'm lucy hockings.to the plane crash in kazakhstan has found there was "external physical and technical interference". but the report has stopped short of accusing any group or country of being responsible, nor what the cause of that interference was. azerbaijan airlines had already suspended flights to several russian cities. it says it has to take flight safety risks into account. neither russia nor

hello, i'm lucy hockings.zerbaijan airlines says that the preliminary results of the investigation into the plane crash in kazakhstan has found there was "external physical and technical interference". but the report has stopped short of accusing any group or country of being responsible, nor what the cause of that interference was. azerbaijan airlines had already suspended flights to several russian cities. it says it has to take flight safety risks into account. neither russia nor kazakhstan has confirmed the cause of the crash, but the head of russia's aviation authority says the plane had been unable to land at its planned destination in grozny because of a ukrainian drone attack which was taking place at the time. he added that thick fog had prevented two earlier attempts to land in grozny. ukraine has said russia must be held responsible. and pro—government media in azerbaijan has quoted unnamed officials saying they believed a russian air defence missile caused the plane to crash. one of the survivors,

hello, i'm lucy hockings.ic incident" in russian airspace involving the azerbaijan airlines plane that crashed in kazakhstan on christmas day, killing 38 people. there's no direct admission the plane was struck by a russian missile. a statement on the kremlin website says russian air defence was repelling a drone attack while the plane was attempting to land. our russia editor steve rosenberg is in moscow

hello, i'm lucy hockings.down the azerbaijan airlines plane which crashed killing 38 people in kaza khsta n yesterday. no proof has been offered, but military bloggers and a variety of aviation experts have suggested the plane was mistaken for a ukrainian drone and attacked by russian air defences. the plane left baku for grozny but was diverted to aktau because of fog.

hello, i'm lucy hockings.n's president for what he called a tragic incident in russian airspace involving the azerbaijan airlines plane that crashed in kazakhstan on christmas day, killing 38 people. there's no direct admission the plane was struck by a russian missile. a statement on the kremlin website says russian air defence was repelling a drone attack while the plane was attempting to land.

hello, i'm lucy hockings. a nasa space probe has made history by flying closer to the sun than any other spacecraft. the parker solar probe was out of communication with nasa for three days after coming within six million kilometres of the sun's surface and facing temperatures of up to 1,000 celsius. the spacecraft will provide data about the properties of the sun and will help forecast space—weather events that can affect life on earth, as pallab ghosh reports. it seems like science fiction — sending an un—crewed spacecraft to the sun. nasa's parker solar probe was designed to withstand its scorching heat. but could it? nasa has now confirmed that it has. the spacecraft sent back a beacon signal indicating that it survived the closest ever approach to the sun. we have never had a human—made object so close to the sun. also, we had to not melt, that's why the parker has this heat shield that holds the instruments at room temperature and keeps the heat of the sun away. and these are just amazing feats, and so i

hello, i'm lucy hockings.resident putin has apologised to azerbaijan's president for what he called a "tragic incident" in russian airspace involving the azerbaijan airlines plane that crashed in kazakhstan on christmas day, killing 38 people. there's no direct admission the plane was struck by a russian missile. a statement on the kremlin website says russian air defence was repelling a drone attack while the plane was attempting to land. our russia editor steve rosenberg is in moscow in the latest development, president putin has called for an objective and transparent investigation into the crash. our russia editor steve rosenberg is in moscow and told us more about the kremlin�*s statement. the wording is very important here in these situations. you have to look at the wording on the kremlin website in the readout of the conversation. so, yes, vladimir putin did apologise, but not for downing the plane, he apologised for what the kremlin calls a tragic incident which took place in russian airspace. he expr

hello, i'm lucy hockings.tory by flying closer to the sun than any other spacecraft. the parker solar probe was out of communication with nasa for three days after coming within six million kilometres of the sun's surface and facing temperatures of up to 1,000 celsius. the spacecraft will provide data about the properties of the sun and will help forecast space—weather events that can affect life on earth, as pallab ghosh reports. it seems like science fiction — sending an un—crewed

hello, i'm lucy hockings.sia has been accused of shooting down the azerbaijan airlines plane which crashed killing 38 people in kaza khsta n yesterday. no proof has been offered, but military bloggers and a variety of aviation experts have suggested the plane was mistaken for a ukrainian drone and attacked by russian air defences. the plane left baku for grozny but was diverted to aktau because of fog. the russian government has cautioned against promoting "hypotheses" about the cause of the crash and urged people to wait for the outcome of an official investigation. our reporterjonathan josephs has been following the story. these are some of the survivors of a terrifying plane crash. pictures released by the russian government show nine of their citizens being evacuated to moscow for further medical treatment. they were among 62 passengers and five crew on board this azerbaijan airlines flight from baku to grozny in southern russia. amateur footage shows the pilot struggling to control the plane as it tries t

hello, i'm lucy hockings.jan's president for what he called a "tragic incident" in russian airspace involving the azerbaijan airlines plane that crashed in kazakhstan on christmas day, killing 38 people. there's no direct admission the plane was struck by a russian missile. a statement on the kremlin website says russian air defence was repelling a drone attack while the plane was attempting to land. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, joined me earlierfrom moscow, to unpack the kremlin�*s

hello i'm lucy hockings. we start with some breaking news.l has been carrying out air strikes across yemen, including the international airport in the capital sanaa. the israeli military says it has been targeting the houthis, who are a rebel group backed by iran. houthi fighters in yemen have targeted israel and ships in the red sea and the gulf of aden in solidaity with palestinians in gaza. let's speak to our news correspondent shaimaa khalil injerusalem. update us on what we're hearing of yemen. 3 update us on what we're hearing of yemen-— of yemen. a very fast moving story are _ of yemen. a very fast moving story are getting _ of yemen. a very fast moving story are getting some - of yemen. a very fast moving i story are getting some glimpse of what it's like in the capital now as we are coming on air i have seen a short video from sanaa airport... with some people running with the trolleys and their luggage, in a frenzy, not really knowing what to do. we know from eyewitnesses that the capital sanaa, airport was hit and the red sea port

hello, i'm lucy hockings, co—host of the bbc�*s ukraine cast podcast with vitaly shevchenko.s been a fortnight since president biden authorised the use of us missiles and weapons into russia. john sullivan was ambassador to russia under presidents biden and trump. this week we asked him what the new trump administration means for the war. ambassador sullivan, i'm fascinated by your office. there's a coat hanger in the corner with a bunch of russian hats. military, i think. then there's a a cska moscow ice hockeyjersey. is that right? yeah. yeah, it's the seven. i believe it's the 75th anniversary of the red army ice hockey team. i'm a big hockey fan, and that was a gift to me by actually the marine security guard detachment at embassy moscow. and they all signed it. so all of their signatures are on the front of that hockey sweater. ice hockey is what got you interested in russia. it did more than 50 years ago. 52 years ago, to be exact, the summit series between the soviet union and canada. and i was a huge ice hockey fan youngster in the boston area and followed that series

hello i'm lucy hockings. we start with some breaking news.international airport in the capital sanaa. the israeli military says it has been targeting the houthis, who are a rebel group backed by iran. houthi fighters in yemen have targeted israel and ships in the red sea and the gulf of aden in solidaity with palestinians in gaza.

hello, i'm lucy hockings.come to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. pop up we'll start alive from the old bailey where amap... —— we'll start live from the old bailey. the father and stepmother of 10—year—old sara sharif have been sentenced to life in prison for her murder in what the judge at the old bailey described as a case of "almost inconceivable cruelty". herfather — urfan sharif — will serve a minimum term of a0 years. her stepmother beinash batool was sentenced to a minimum of 33 years. tip top minus the time spent on remand. hip —— minus the time spent on remand. sara's uncle — faisal malik — who was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child — has been sentenced to 16 years. it follows a 10—week trial that revealed shocking details — of a campaign of extreme violence lasting more than two years. sara's dozens of injuries included burns and fractures from beatings resulting in what the court heard was "horrific suffering". hip he said this was nothing l

hello, i�*m lucy hockings.ssian air defences. no proof has been offered. the plane left baku for grozny but was diverted to aktau because of fog. the kremlin has warned against promoting "hypotheses"

hello, i'm lucy hockings.ngers who are now in hospital spoke of a loud bang when the plane tried to land at its original destination in chechnya on wednesday. azerbaijan airlines said its plane had suffered external physical and technical interference. it gave no details. the kremlin has again refused to comment on speculation that the plane was mistakenly brought down by a russian air defence system. russia's civil aviation agency said ukrainian drones

hello, i'm lucy hockings, co—host of the bbc�*s ukraine cast podcast with vitaly shevchenko.bassador to russia under presidents biden and trump. this week we asked him what the new trump administration means for the war. ukrainecast from bbc news. ambassador sullivan, i'm fascinated by your office. there's a coat hanger in the corner with a bunch

hello, i'm lucy hockings, welcome to bbc news now. authorities in moscow investigating the killing of russian general igor kirillov say they've arrested a 29—year—old suspect. kirillov and his assistant were blown up as they left an apartment block just a few kilometres from the kremlin in the early hours of monday. a warning, some viewers may find the pictures we're about to show you upsetting. the explosives were attached to a scooter parked on the street. moscow says the arrested man is an uzbek, who confessed to having been promised $100,000 to kill the general, and then travel to a european union country. ukrainian security sources have said they planned the attack, saying the general was a legitimate target because he was responsible for russia's use of chemical weapons on the battlefield. the bbc�*s vitaliy shevchenko has been monitoring the response from the russian authorities. what we know is basically these two statements, one issued by the russian federal security service, the fsb, and also the official investigations comm

hello, i'm lucy hockings.urvivors of a plane crash in kazakhstan in which 38 people died have given dramatic accounts of at least one blast outside the aircraft before it came down. two passengers who are now in hospital spoke of a loud bang when the plane tried to land at its original destination in chechnya on wednesday. azerbaijan airlines said its plane had suffered external physical and technical interference. it gave no details. the kremlin has again refused to comment on speculation that the plane was mistakenly brought down by a russian air defence system. russia's civil aviation agency said ukrainian drones were active in the area at the time. one of the survivors, subkhonkul rakhimov, has been speaking to russian—language state media. translation: they say there were two bangs, l but i only heard one. it was quite substantial. i honestly didn't hear the second one. at first, only some of the oxygen masks fell out, and then they all did. maybe that happened after the second bang. i didn't hear the sec

hello, i'm lucy hockings, welcome to bbc news now.es from the kremlin in the early hours of monday. a warning, some viewers may find the pictures we're about to show you upsetting. the explosives were attached to a scooter parked on the street. moscow says the arrested man is an uzbek, who confessed to having been promised $100,000 to kill the general, and then travel to a european union country. ukrainian security sources have said they planned the attack, saying the general was a legitimate target because he was responsible for russia's use of chemical weapons on the battlefield. the bbc�*s vitaliy shevchenko has been monitoring the response

hello, i'm lucy hockings, welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reactionin a warning to the lebanese governemnt, been hearing that queen camilla will miss the ceremony. let's go back outside buckingham palace. that state visit will normally get under way in just a few moments. we just saw a second ago his majesty the king leave buckingham alice to formally greet the royal house and this is —— the royal highnesses the emir and first lady of qatar. the king just leaving his vehicle, and this is where the real state and ceremony gets under way. we expect presentations to be made in the garden and a royal salute in the qatar national anthem played as his majesty needs a prime minister and the foreign secretary. they meet the emir of qatar and his wife. they met up with the princess and prince of wales. we have special coverage here on bbc news of the state visit of the qatar emir and we arejoined by robert hardman, columnist and author who has written a biography on king charles iii and are watching what the uk does really, really well, the p°mp does really, r

hello, i'm lucy hockings, welcome to bbc news now. we have some breaking news when you are in the row about masterchef presenter gregg wallace, and we had a reaction where he said his comments were described as inappropriate and misogynistic. he said accusations of his behaviour on the show had come from a handful of middle—class women of a certain age. a bbc investigation had revealed that 13 people came forward last week with allegations of inappropriate comments. we also heard from number ten that the culture secretary, lisa nandy, had held talks with the bbc in the wake of the row about his behaviour. the development we have to bring you in the last few minutes or so is that we have had another video posted on instagram by wister wallace, who said he wants to apologise for any offence caused by his post yesterday. we have a few more details about this video, and i want to bring in our entertainment correspondent who is with me now and has been looking into this. we havejust seen, i have not, you have, this video posted on instagra