i'm david willis, in washington, and this is bbc world news america. china's president extends a hand — and a peace plan — to his "dearfriend" vladimir putin. it's the first time the two have met since russia's invasion of ukarine. a "survival guide for humanity" — the united nations releases a major new report on climate change. legal speculation, security concerns, and politcial mud—slinging — how the drama surrounding donald trump's potential indictment is gathering steam. and as millions around the world celebrate the persian new year, the bbc speaks to the us secretary of state about washington's relationship with iran.

welcome to world news america in the uk, on pbs, and around the globe. we start in moscow — where president vladimir putin has been playing host to one of his most important remaining allies, china's president, xijinping. it's the chinese leader's first visit to russia since russia invaded ukraine last year. beijing still maintains that its position in the war is "neutral�* "and it's come up with a plan for peace talks between the two sides. mr putin — who just days ago was accused of war crimes by international prosecutors — said he was looking forward to discussing that plan. our russia editor steve rosenberg, has sent this report from moscow. just three days ago,

vladimir putin was named as a war crimes suspect by the international criminal court. but that didn't stop china's president flying in and shaking his hand. putin and xi have met many times before, but never before has russia's president been under such pressure. his war in ukraine not going at all according to plan. xijinping called vladimir putin his "dear friend", his "strategic partner". the kremlin leader said they would discuss china's peace initiative. but there is no detailed chinese plan to end the war in ukraine. what moscow would like from beijing is lethal aid to help it when. —— to help it win. beijing's been reluctant to provide that to prevent secondary sanctions against chinese companies, but it has been supplying dual—use technology, like semiconductor chips that the russian military can use.

the kremlin also wants to expand trade with china. with russia under heavy international sanctions, economic ties with beijing are proving a lifeline. if you burn bridges with the west, as vladimir putin has, what do you do then? you look east. and that's exactly what the kremlin leader has done. recent events have accelerated russia's dependency on china. putin and xi may speak about mutually beneficial cooperation, but beijing looks increasingly like the senior partner. but moscow hasn'tjust partnered with beijing. last week, russia held joint naval exercises with china and iran. there are signs the kremlin is looking to forge an anti—western alliance. translation: putin is building his own bloc. l he doesn't trust the west any more. he's looking for allies and trying

to make russia part of a common fortress with china, as well as with india, latin america and africa. putin is building his own anti—western world. now, with xijinping here, russia can claim that it's not isolated, that moscow has powerful allies who view the world through a similar lens, that it doesn't need the west if it has friends in the east. but experience shows china always puts china first. steven rosenberg reporting there. well, for more on president xi's visit to moscow, i've been speaking with bonnie glaser, a china expert at the german marshall fund here in washington, dc. the white house spokesmanjohn kirby said today that the united states would be watching these talks in moscow very, very closely, as he put

it. but what is it watching for in particular? is it watching for a push for peace talks, as far as ukraine is concerned? or is it watching for the possible arming of russia by china? i watching for the possible arming of russia by china?— russia by china? i think the united states is watching _ russia by china? i think the united states is watching for _ russia by china? i think the united states is watching for both - russia by china? i think the united states is watching for both things. | states is watching for both things. it is looking at the intention of the two leaders, shooting jinping and vladimir putin, in developing their bilateral relationship, where they headed next, how will they cooperate to counter us influence around the world? it is also very interested in whether xi jinping around the world? it is also very interested in whether xijinping is eager to play some kind of a mediating role in the conflict in ukraine, and if so, is xijinping ready to hold a phone call with ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky? us officials have said china is actually creeping up to the

red line that would really constitute systemic legal assistance to russia. so we haven't seen the evidence, but it certainly appears that the chinese are providing dual use equipment. 50 iii that the chinese are providing dual use equipment-— use equipment. so if they are creein: use equipment. so if they are creeping up — use equipment. so if they are creeping up to _ use equipment. so if they are creeping up to that _ use equipment. so if they are creeping up to that redline, i use equipment. so if they are | creeping up to that redline, as use equipment. so if they are - creeping up to that redline, as you put it, what's holding them back? i think beijing doesn't want to rupture its relationship with europe, it doesn't want to push europe, it doesn't want to push europe further into the arms of the united states. and i think another factor is that china doesn't want its companies sanctioned by the united states, because that would harm china economically. idols? harm china economically. now president _ harm china economically. now president xi's _ harm china economically. now president xi's visit _ harm china economically. now president xi's visit comes - harm china economically. now president xi's visit comes only days after china helped mediate a reproach meant between saudi arabia and iran — is this a sign of china's desire to acquire greater global influence, perhaps marked the

expansion of some anti—western alliance? i expansion of some anti-western alliance? ., ., ., , ., alliance? i have no doubt china wants to play _ alliance? i have no doubt china wants to play a _ alliance? i have no doubt china wants to play a bigger- alliance? i have no doubt china wants to play a bigger role - alliance? i have no doubt china wants to play a bigger role in i alliance? i have no doubt china i wants to play a bigger role in the world, in the sense that it wants to be seen as a peacemaker and wants to portray the united states as on the side of war and destabilising various regions in the world. but i would caution against concluding that, because china was successful in mediating the agreement between saudi arabia and iran, that it is keen to play a similar role between russia and ukraine. unless there is an agreement to be had, of course, i think china's playing with saudi arabia and iran was purely opportunistic. it signals an political will to repair their relationships and china facilitated it. i don't think the same exists between russia and ukraine, i don't think either side is yet looking for off ramp.

think either side is yet looking for off ram -. ., ~ think either side is yet looking for off ram. ., ,, ,, think either side is yet looking for offram. . , think either side is yet looking for offram. ., , . ., off ramp. thank you very much for “oininr off ramp. thank you very much for joining us. thank _ off ramp. thank you very much for joining us. thank you _ off ramp. thank you very much for joining us. thank you for - off ramp. thank you very much for joining us. thank you for having i off ramp. thank you very much for. joining us. thank you for having me. a "survival guide for humanity" — that's how the united nations chief, antonio guterres, hailed a major new report on climate change. the report by the intergovernmental panel on climate change sets out the deadly risk posed by a warming planet, from heatwaves, flooding, and rising sea levels. it warns that by the next decade the world is likely to breach a key target to keep global warming to i.5c above pre—industrial levels. but it says this could be addressed if rapid cuts to carbon emissions are made, and it calls for a big increase in clean energy and new technology that can remove carbon from the atmosphere. the report is seen as the most comprehensive assessment of climate change so far, and will form the basis for future climate discussions. our climate editor justin rowlatt reports.

storms. floods. heatwaves. all these weather extremes are likely to intensify as the world continues to warm, un scientists warned today. their report was published at a un conference in the swiss town of interla ken. the document released here today draws together eight years of work, and it will be crucial — the basis for future global negotiations on climate for probably the next decade. and the key message, says the un chief, is that all is not quite yet lost. this report is a clarion call to massively fasttrack climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every timeframe. in short, our world needs climate action on all fronts — everything, everywhere, all at once. the glaciers in the mountains above where the scientists are meeting lost 6% of their volume

last year alone — evidence of the impact climate change is already having. at this weather station in the alps, they have been collecting climate records for decades. today we got the strongest warning yet that, in the next few years, we are likely to bust through the i.5—degree boundary that avoids the worst impacts of global warming. the future really is in our hands. we will, in all probability, reach around 1.5 degrees early next decade but after that it really is our choices. this is why the rest of this decade is key. the report says the decisions we make now will determine our climate future for thousands of years to come. just look how animal species are affected as temperatures rise. the darker the colour, the more species face dangerous

heat, and the more likely we are to lose them. there is some good news, though. the cost of key low—carbon technologies — electric vehicles and solar and wind power — has already fallen very rapidly. that will help because only a massive effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions can slow the global temperature rise, the scientists say. it is those with political power and with decision power in the big companies of this world, who need to stop subsidising fossil fuels, stop everything to burn fossil fuels as fast as possible. the high alps show how climate change is already reshaping our world. there is still a window to keep it within manageable limits, today's report says, but it warns that, without dramatic global action, that window will soon slam shut. justin rowlatt,

bbc news, interlaken. let's turn to let's turn now to the global financial markets — which have reacted nervously to sunday night's emergency takeover of the swiss bank credit suisse. the bank was bought by its rival ubs after regulators worked around the clock to secure the takeover. along with the collapse of two smaller us banks — silicon valley and first republic, the problems confronting credit suisse had sparked fears over the global financial system, leading six central banks — including the us federal reserve and the bank of england — to announce new measures to keep cash flowing. well, joining me now is our new york business reporter michelle fleury. given switzerland's reputation as a safe haven as far as banking is concerned, how much of a shock was it, the news that ubs is coming to

the rescue of credit suisse? i think ou the rescue of credit suisse? i think you need to _ the rescue of credit suisse? i think you need to go _ the rescue of credit suisse? i think you need to go back— the rescue of credit suisse? i think you need to go back to _ the rescue of credit suisse? i think you need to go back to when - the rescue of credit suisse? i think you need to go back to when the i you need to go back to when the micro where this started, when silicon valley bank in america began to fail. that was considered a regional american bank, but it wasn't to fail — a term that really came to prominence in the 2008 financial crisis. that power changed with credit suisse, when it came under pressure, the calculations across the board, from regulators and central banks to investors, there was a sense that, no, this is a bank that is too important systemically, too important and vital — is considered one of the 30 most important institutions in the world, it could not be allowed to fail. so you saw a shotgun merit hastily thrown together by authorities to maintain stability in the global financial system. ii the global financial system. if nothing else, this serves to underline that the possibility of

some sort of contagion hasn't gone away, and that we aren't out of the woods yet?— woods yet? the stock market here in america, if— woods yet? the stock market here in america. if you _ woods yet? the stock market here in america, if you look _ woods yet? the stock market here in america, if you look at _ woods yet? the stock market here in america, if you look at it, _ woods yet? the stock market here in america, if you look at it, there - america, if you look at it, there was a bit of relief rallied — i wouldn't call it that, it was garnered optimism, and use all of the three major indexes all close higher. but the exception to that was first republic bank, which its shares tumbled more than a0%, on top of staggering losses last week. this bank remained deeply under pressure, reports that the ceo is leading efforts to stabilise the bank. so we aren't out of the woods yet, and i think that will be the concern certainly at the federal reserve, it has its interest rate setting policy meeting that begins tomorrow and concludes on wednesday. many people are wondering how the term while we are seeing in the banking sector will affect its fight against inflation and its interest—rate policy. inflation and its interest-rate oli . m inflation and its interest-rate oli _ m ., ., ,

lower manhattan finds itself the centre of the political and legal universe this week. security has been beefed up there, following speculation over the weekend that donald trump could soon be indicted. the former president himself has fuelled a lot of that discussion, saying that he expects to be charged on tuesday — although there's so far been no evidence that the new york district attorney is planning to follow such a timetable. joining me now from outside the courthouse in manhattan is the bbc�*s nada tawfik. what are you hearing about the likelihood of charges being brought against the former president? daeid. against the former president? david, des - ite against the former president? david, despite what — against the former president? david, despite what donald _ against the former president? david, despite what donald trump - against the former president? david, despite what donald trump is - against the former president? david, despite what donald trump is set - against the former president? david, despite what donald trump is set on | despite what donald trump is set on social media, really any decision rests on whether the grand jury decides to move forward, and then if the district attorney himself, alvin rag, decides that he will charge the former president. now what i can say is that all the signals we've gotten

is that all the signals we've gotten is that all the signals we've gotten is that this is wrapping up, this in —— wrapping of this investigation. so the manhattan district attorney's time to make a decision is coming up soon, and how he will decide is anyone's gas. nevertheless there have been reports in the us media stating it could be as early in the next few days, this week. nevertheless when we look at how this would all play out, you can see around me, the world media has already descended on lower manhattan because this will of course be an unprecedented moment for the country, in legal terms and political terms. you would have the first time a former president has been convicted of a federal crime, and would be brought herejust like anyone else and formally booked, fingerprinted, having his mug shot taken. i don't think anyone expects of course that he would be slammed with handcuffs or forced to do a perp walk, and throughout the whole process he would've had his own

secret service detail. but still you see in here in new york, preparing for the possible protests and that possible big moment here in new york. thank you very much indeed. joining me now for more is sarah krissoff, a former assistant us attorney for the southern district of new york. many thanks for joining many thanks forjoining us here. unorthodox presidential behaviour though it is, some would say that paying money to a —— hush money to a pornography star is not illegal in new york, so what is potentially illegal here?— illegal here? yes, the payments themselves _ illegal here? yes, the payments themselves are _ illegal here? yes, the payments themselves are not _ illegal here? yes, the payments themselves are not the - illegal here? yes, the paymentsj themselves are not the illegality here. so the manhattan district attorney's office has been investigating this case for many years. the word is that they intend to put together a case related to the falsification of records, related to that payment which is in

fact a misdemeanor under new york state law, and are looking to see if they can elevate the conduct to a felony under new york law. again, that's an ambitious case, frankly, it's conduct the public is known about for many years, but the district attorney has redirected this investigation and seems very aggressively and ardently pursuing it at this point. idols? aggressively and ardently pursuing it at this point.— it at this point. now donald trump is the subject _ it at this point. now donald trump is the subject of _ it at this point. now donald trump is the subject of criminal _ it at this point. now donald trump is the subject of criminal inquiries | is the subject of criminal inquiries and other parts of the united states relating to other things, such as election interference, allegations and possible mishandling of classified documents. this seems a strange case to bring first, does it not? , ,., strange case to bring first, does it not? , , ., ., , strange case to bring first, does it not? , ., , ., , not? yes, so that they are different authorities handling _ not? yes, so that they are different authorities handling these - not? yes, so that they are different authorities handling these different| authorities handling these different investigations. so the central investigation, as many think of it,

is being run by the department of justice, and that investigation has many tentacles including the january 6th event, as well as the investigation related to the mishandling of classified material. this case is really a more localised case, and it appears that the manhattan district attorney does indicate that he'll be going here. i don't think that will necessarily derail the other cases in any way or those investigations that are being conducted by independent bodies, and i think the witnesses are largely independent, as well, but it certainly could have affects politically for the prosecution to go first, if in fact it does go forward. ., go first, if in fact it does go forward-— go first, if in fact it does go forward. ., ~ ., ., go first, if in fact it does go forward. ., 4' ., ., ,, , forward. you know the legal system in new york — forward. you know the legal system in new york very — forward. you know the legal system in new york very well, _ forward. you know the legal system in new york very well, how - forward. you know the legal system in new york very well, how much i forward. you know the legal system in new york very well, how much ofj forward. you know the legal system i in new york very well, how much of a strain would be placed upon it by putting a former president on trial?

i don't think you'd actually be much different than any other case that is before the courts here. so the courts in new york are actually used to handling matters involving celebrities and politicians, both the federal courts and state courts routinely deal with those things, and frankly we even have celebrities often ending up injury pools at and frankly we even have celebrities often ending up in jury pools at the very least. so the authorities here are ready to deal with that and put in place security measures, and other things to address those issues. ~ , ., , ., . other things to address those issues. . , ., , ., . , issues. we shall be watching events very closely. — issues. we shall be watching events very closely, thank _ issues. we shall be watching events very closely, thank you _ issues. we shall be watching events very closely, thank you for - issues. we shall be watching events very closely, thank you forjoining . very closely, thank you forjoining us. very closely, thank you for “oining us. . ~' very closely, thank you for “oining us. . ~ , ., very closely, thank you for “oining us. ., ~' i., ., very closely, thank you for “oining us. ., ~ ., .,

the northern ireland democratic unionist party says it will vote against the uk government's new brexit framework when it comes before mps for the first time this week. the party leader, sirjeffrey donaldson, says there are "ongoing concerns" about the legislation. a spokesman for the british prime minister rishi sunak says he is ready to provide "reassurance" to the dup. millions of people around the world are celebrating nowruz — a festival that marks the persian new year and the official beginning of spring. at the white house, president biden and first lady jill biden hosted a reception, praising young iranian women for their courage. and bbc persian's bahman kalbasi sat with the us secretary of state, antony blinken, to talk about how the recent unrest in iran has affected its relationship with the the us. five years after donald trump abandoned the joint comprehensive plan of action.

tragically, unfortunately what should be a time of hope and renewal for all iranians, they are faced with a regime that continues to take terrible repressive actions against its own people, including in the wake of mahsa amini's death. we've taken a number of actions to show our solidarity with the people of iran, to include yes, sanctioning many individuals and, at the same time, we've taken steps to do the best we can to ensure that the technology that iranians need to make sure they can continue to communicate with one another, as well as be communicated to connected to the outside world is there. at the same time we've also rallied countries around the world to stand against the repression of the iranian people. so having said all that, i think there are also limits as to what we or anyone else can do. can we talk about the nuclear fire for a minute? there is a clear sign that you've moved on from jc poa to something else, what is that

something else, what is that something else?— something else, what is that somethin: else? ~ ., �*, ., ,, something else, what is that somethin: else? ~ . h ., ,, , something else? what's happened is we made a very _ something else? what's happened is we made a very good _ something else? what's happened is we made a very good faith _ something else? what's happened is we made a very good faith effort - something else? what's happened is we made a very good faith effort to l we made a very good faith effort to see if we could return to mutual compliance, months working on that. an offer was on the table by the european union with the support of the united states, our european partners, china and russia as well — iran reject it last summer. since then we've seen what's happened in then we've seen what's happened in the streets of iran since the death of mahsa amini, we've seen what iran has been doing in terms of supporting russia with drones in its war of aggression against ukraine. so thejc poa has not been at the front burner of our concerns stop back so front burner of our concerns stop bacv ,., ., , ., front burner of our concerns stop bac ., , ., ., front burner of our concerns stop baci ,., ., , ., ., y., back so where does that leave you? it leaves everybody _ back so where does that leave you? it leaves everybody in _ back so where does that leave you? it leaves everybody in a _ back so where does that leave you? it leaves everybody in a challenging| it leaves everybody in a challenging place because with the withdrawal of the united states by the previous administration from the jc the united states by the previous administration from thejc poa, that created an opening for iran to gallop forward with its nuclear programme, and that's what's been happening. ——jcpoa. we are

programme, and that's what's been happening. —— jcpoa. we are very clear that one way or another, we will not allow iran to get a nuclear weapon. we continue to believe that diplomacy is the most effective way to prevent that. but in order to have diplomacy, you have to have another part of —— party that's willing to engage in a pragmatic way. to date at least, that's not been the case for iran.— been the case for iran. antony bfinken been the case for iran. antony blinken there. _ and before we go, the white house hosted the cast of ted lasso today. while it's easier said than done, we also have to know that we shouldn't be afraid to ask for help ourselves. president biden invited jason sudeikas and his castmates from the hit apple+ series to discuss mental health. it's a subject the show has addressed directly. in the most recent season, the lead character seeks out therapy to address anxiety and the collapse of his marriage. before the meeting, president biden tweeted a picture of a "believe" sign, taped to the entrance of the oval office —

an homage to ted's office door in the tv series. i'm david willis. thank you for watching world news america. hello. there is no shortage of rain in our forecast for the week ahead, and that is thanks to something of an atmospheric conveyor belt. the jet stream racing across the atlantic. the strong winds high up in the atmosphere delivering bouts of cloud, outbreaks of persistent rain, some heavy, thundery showers, and also delivering us some pretty mild air. now, the rain is really going to pile up across western areas, over some hills in northwest england, wales, the southwest of england. you can see the bright colours here. this is where we could see around 100mm of rain falling over the next five days, but a pretty soggy week for many of us. tuesday certainly will bring some rain. the most persistent rain likely

to move across the northern isles, particularly shetland. behind that we see some sunny spells, yes, but some big showers will pop up, some heavy, thundery ones, and then later in the day, the next weather system on the conveyor belt starts to push into northern ireland, some outbreaks of persistent rain here through the late afternoon. but very mild, ii—is. so this weather system swings its way eastwards during tuesday night. behind it, we end up with quite a strong southwesterly wind and that will feed plenty of showers in our direction. so this band of rain here swirls away northeastwards. it will linger across the northern isles for a time. then we are back into sunny spells and heavy, thundery, blustery showers, wind gusts around some western coasts on wednesday, could well get to around 50mph or a touch more. but despite that brisk wind, it will again feel mild. seven for lerwick, ia for hull and norwich. the weather front this week controlled by this big, lumbering area of low pressure to the northwest of us. little weather system there running into the south.

that could introduce some more persistent rain later in the day across the channel islands. that may get into southern counties of england. elsewhere, sunny spells and hefty downpours, another breezy day, another mild day with highs of 14—15. now, as we move into thursday night, that little weather system likely to run across some southern parts with some persistent rain. that area of low pressure still with us driving further showers and thunderstorms, albeit with some spells of sunshine in between. friday will be mild for most of us but we start to develop a northerly wind in the north of scotland, and as that northerly wind kicks in it will start to bring something a little chillier. and that is the scene as we start the weekend. this area of low pressure moving eastwards. that does allow northerly winds to develop across many parts of the uk. i think the coldest weather will be in the north of scotland. further south, a bit of a milder influence around our next area of low pressure. that will start to bring some rain in from the far

southwest later in the day. before that arrives, some sunny spells, some showers. wintry showers perhaps in the northern half of the uk with that colder air beginning to work its way in. as we head through sunday, we'll see this little ridge in the jet stream here. that is a window of drier, quieter weather, albeit with a slightly chillier feel. but it doesn't last long. the weather conveyor belt is set to start up again as we head into next week, delivering further weather systems, further bouts of heavy rain and brisk winds. but after that brief colder interlude, we will see a return to something milder, with temperatures likely to be in double digits for the vast majority. that's all from me, bye—bye.

hello, i'm lewis vaughan jones. you're watching the context on bbc news. exactly 20 years ago today, us forces and its allies invaded iraq. within weeks, the regime of dictator saddam hussein had collapsed. it was called a "war on terror" but after the invasion — years of violence and instability. we'll look at what happened. in the uk, the democratic unionist party says it will vote against the government's new brexit plans — the so—called windsor framework. a breakthrough at last after nine months of rail strikes across the uk — as network rail workers accept a pay offer.