that's all from us this week. but how could we go without remembering that our host channel of 44 years, bbc two, turns 60 this weekend? it got off to a dodgy start back in 1964, when a powerfailure blacked out television centre and forced the channel to postpone its grand opening until the following night. but it was upwards from there — transmitting in higher definition than bb“ and, within a few years, becoming the first channel in europe to broadcast in colour. over the decades it's created many classic shows, a number of which have been cheekily ported across to 880. we'll leave you with a mash—up of memories. happy birthday bbc2 — love newsnight. # just the two of us, we can make it if we try # just the two of us...#

and now a look at the weather. good evening. welcome again to the programme. late night lineup, as you can see, looks rather different tonight. but now it's time for the money programme. what is civilization? i can't define it in abstract terms, but i think i can recognise it when i see it. he shouts. i'm desperate, father. call me dan.

i'm desperate, dan. i think you ought to know l i'm feeling very depressed. now on bbc two, newsnight. did you threaten to overule him? i did not overrule derek lewis. did you threaten to overule him? i took advice on what i could and could not do. did you threaten to overule him, mr howard? i'm completely bloody sick of this!

why would i be upset at christianity when it's indian? someone please marry my daughter. "my life as a prostitute", by your mum. ready to knock. you did that in style, girl. 0h, been watching bbc two, have we? this is the open university. all that's left for me to do, on behalf of all of us here on bbc two, is to wish you... ..a very good night.

bbc two is now closing down. breaking news from around the world 2a hours a day. this is bbc news. so there is a change in a way that they are thinking. therefore, i have to take into account that, in the future, they will be doing the same things. and this is the big question, because israel is not going to stop attacking any arms that are coming across the iraqi—syrian border. iran today avoided blaming israel directly, even as crowds called for its destruction after friday prayers. but israel is already fighting iran—backed groups across the region. even if this crisis is subsiding, the spark that triggered it will not. lucy williamson,

bbc news, jerusalem. i spoke earlier to behnam ben taleblu, a senior fellow at the foundation for defence of democracies. boat tomorrow in the us house of representatives determined the future of global the us house of representatives determined the future of global conflict? always good to technically significant, politically significant. perhaps even geo— strategically significant if it is established between israel and iran without having to do something about the deterrence literature that is both psychological and performative. in this instance, obviously, they had advance of their missile drone barrage on april 13 14, had advance of their missile drone barrage on april 13 1a, that is israeli territory was struck, for matter for those watchers out there it's just a matter of when not if this response would come. in the

same parallel fashion, but actually the mother comes out about the strike, particularly abc news reporting, jerusalem country of the reporting, jerusalem country of the reporting, shows an exceptionally capable air force being able to either penetrate iranian air defences, meaning they don't work, orfiring them out defences, meaning they don't work, or firing them out side. defences, meaning they don't work, orfiring them out side. what or firing them out side. what messa . e or firing them out side. what message do _ or firing them out side. what message do you _ or firing them out side. what message do you think- or firing them out side. what message do you think is - or firing them out side. what. message do you think is really sending with that?— sending with that? technical ca abili sending with that? technical capability committee - sending with that? technical capability committee ability| sending with that? technical. capability committee ability to actually target things that matter to the regime, they like to play the game of quantity has a quality of its own cruise missiles, drones, the israelis are reported to thus far have fired only three missiles. may have fired only three missiles. may have been feeding into the larger picture that covers one of around's nuclear facilities. picture that covers one of around's nuclearfacilities. a particularly salient message that the israelis can penetrate something the iranians

hold dear and on a historic day. he turned 85. fix, hold dear and on a historic day. he turned 85. �* , , ,., turned 85. a very interesting point. the iranians _ turned 85. a very interesting point. the iranians here _ turned 85. a very interesting point. the iranians here have _ turned 85. a very interesting point. the iranians here have indicated i the iranians here have indicated they do not want to retaliate, but do you think both sides are able at this point to draw a line under this tit—for—tat escalation? essen this point to draw a line under this tit-for-tat escalation?— this point to draw a line under this tit-for-tat escalation? even if they do withdraw _ tit-for-tat escalation? even if they do withdraw the _ tit-for-tat escalation? even if they do withdraw the it _ tit-for-tat escalation? even if they do withdraw the it certainly - tit-for-tat escalation? even if they| do withdraw the it certainly doesn't do withdraw the it certainly doesn't do away with the shadow war that they have been fighting, nor does it dampen the stated objective of the islamic republic when it says that to israel. in fact, it might actually be worth noting that when all three parties are on the same page, silence, israel, something may be afoot here. we page, silence, israel, something may be afoot here-— page, silence, israel, something may be afoot here. we know the secretary of state kept — be afoot here. we know the secretary of state kept repeating _ be afoot here. we know the secretary of state kept repeating today - of state kept repeating today de—escalation from a de—escalation, how much influence do you think it has when, of course, both sides are eager keen to show that will not accept retaliation. it’s eager keen to show that will not

accept retaliation.— accept retaliation. it's been the philosophy _ accept retaliation. it's been the philosophy of — accept retaliation. it's been the philosophy of the _ accept retaliation. it's been the philosophy of the biden - philosophy of the biden administration while iran and israel believed by deterrence by punishment larger displays of force that convey a particular salient political message. in the short term, the quest for de—escalation can actually underwrite the next batch of escalation. we have seen that by the biden administration �*s failed attempt to get iran to come back to the table for a nuclear deal. when you pull punches, sometimes it emboldens the adversary. in the case of israel, it remains to be seen if there was some behind the scenes constraining of israel, or a quid pro quo, illuminating the strike and iran, but potentially widening the israeli campaign, which is the priority after six months from the netanyahu government as well as coordinating more broadly on containing the nuclear threat. here in washington. _ containing the nuclear threat. here in washington, democrats in the us house of representatives backed a measure to vote on an aid package for ukraine on saturday. the measure moves conference one step closer to a military aid package, the house

will also vote on humanitarian assistance for israel and taiwan. the speaker of the house had long blocked the aid and while it still faces resistance from members of his own party. congress will be voting in the wake of more deadly attacks on ukrainian civilians. on friday, russian missiles struck a rail station and a maternity hospital in the central dnipropetrovsk region. local officials say at least seven people were killed, including an eight—year—old child. president volodymyr zelensky told nato members on friday that ukraine needs more air defence systems to counter russian strikes. putin must be brought down to earth, and our skies must become safe again. it is real. it depends fully on your choice. choice whether life is indeed equally valuable everywhere, choice whether you have equal attitude to all partners,

choice whether we indeed are allies. democratic congressmanjim himes is the ranking member on the us house intel committee. he has supported sending aid to ukraine since russia invaded in 2022. i spoke to him ahead of saturday's vote about how quickly the aid will reach the front lines. the senate passed their equivalent bill two months ago and the two—month delay in the house has very literally been gleeful for far too many ukrainians. it's open up the ukrainians to the attacks on their power plants. it's created an immense amount of misery in ukraine. for what? immense amount of misery in ukraine. forwhat? fora immense amount of misery in ukraine. for what? for a partisan driven debates that we will hopefully resolve tomorrow. the good news is and i spent a fair amount of time with our defence department and other agencies and the government. i think once this bill passes into signed by the president, getting ammunition, getting aid into ukraine in a matter of days, not or months. with the ukraine aid bill looming in congress, ukrainian leaders say they're cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the vote.just before the show, i spoke to oleksandra matviichuk, co—winner of the nobel peace prize in 2022 and head of the centre

for civil liberties in kyiv. you have been crossing the country, speaking to people about what is happening in ukraine. you've been briefing members of congress as well. what message have you been telling people?— telling people? probably two messages- — telling people? probably two messages. first, _ telling people? probably two messages. first, this - telling people? probably two messages. first, this is - telling people? probably two messages. first, this is not. telling people? probably two| messages. first, this is not a telling people? probably two - messages. first, this is not a war between two states. this is a war between two states. this is a war between two states. this is a war between two systems. authoritarianism and democracy. and either will not be able to stop putin in ukraine, he will go further, he will attack the next country. and the united states will have to send their people to europe to defend the world against authoritarianism. the second messages that we are in a crucial time. and we are ready to fight for ourfreedom and our human dignity, but we can't fight with empty hands.

we need weapons, and military support in the united states of congress has to be unblocked. i have read that you — congress has to be unblocked. i have read that you have _ congress has to be unblocked. i have read that you have been _ read that you have been receiving while you're here some text messages from your friends who are on the front lines. what do they describe to you? front lines. what do they describe to ou? ., , front lines. what do they describe to ou? . , ., ., ., to you? that they are waiting for the russian _ to you? that they are waiting for the russian attack _ to you? that they are waiting for the russian attack with - to you? that they are waiting for the russian attack with heavy . the russian attack with heavy artillery and they have no heavy artillery and they have no heavy artillery and they have no heavy artillery and it is his way to say how do me a gentle goodbye. that must be so — how do me a gentle goodbye. that must be so difficult for you to read. it must be so difficult for you to read. , ., ., must be so difficult for you to read. , . ., . ., , must be so difficult for you to read. ., _, , _ read. it is a war. war is possibly the worst _ read. it is a war. war is possibly the worst thing _ read. it is a war. war is possibly the worst thing which _ read. it is a war. war is possibly the worst thing which can just i the worst thing which can just happen in human life. and this is something which i can't get used to as a human. i can't get used to the numerous deaths on the battlefield. the numerous deaths, to the numerous deaths in occupied territories. we have to stop russia. russia will

stop only when it will be stopped. do you think that message that you have been sharing with people, those two messages, that they are resonating with people here in the us? i resonating with people here in the us? ., resonating with people here in the us? . , ., , ., us? i am sure that they resonate because we _ us? i am sure that they resonate because we don't _ us? i am sure that they resonate because we don'tjust _ us? i am sure that they resonate because we don'tjust have - us? i am sure that they resonate i because we don'tjust have 2-party because we don'tjust have 2—party majority support, people for eight months blow this package, we have support of people in the united states of america. i visited seven american universities in different parts of the country. i always face valuable... because ourfight parts of the country. i always face valuable... because our fight for freedom is something which is very understandable in the united states. and we are fighting for freedom in all senses. freedom to be an independent country, not a russian colony, for freedom to preserve our ukrainian identity and not to be forced to re—educate our children as fascists. and for our freedom to

have our democratic choice. you wrote in the _ have our democratic choice. you wrote in the financial times that sometimes you are asked about the fact that ukraine can't expect to defeat russia on the battlefield, that it should take some sort of agreement, a deal, so that this terrible war can stop and come to an end. what do you respond to that? i understand that people who don't know the logic of the regime can have such wishful thinking, but you disarm ukraine, this will not come. occupation will come. and i know what russian occupation is about to because i have been around it for ten years. it's a real horror. i spoke with hundreds of people who survived, they told me how they were beaten, raped, smashed into wooden boxes, theirfingers beaten, raped, smashed into wooden boxes, their fingers were cuts, their nails were turned away. one woman told me how her i was took out with a spoon. we cannot leave our people alone under russian

occupation. we have no moral right to do this. , ., occupation. we have no moral right to do this. , . ., . , ., to do this. these are war crimes and abuses that — to do this. these are war crimes and abuses that you _ to do this. these are war crimes and abuses that you have _ to do this. these are war crimes and abuses that you have been - abuses that you have been documenting as part of your work. how do you think that has changed over the last three years as this war has been going on? it’s over the last three years as this war has been going on? it's become more and more _ war has been going on? it's become more and more intense. _ war has been going on? it's become l more and more intense. before, large scale war started, they pretended that they were a civilised country. you remember how russia tried to hide their crimes with russian weapons. russia didn't hide, and just recently, russia destroyed the energy power plant in ukraine, which means that we will have winter without electricity, heating, water, light, and internet immobile connections. so we are expecting a very difficult future, but regardless of this, 73% of ukrainians according to sociological polls tell that we will endure this

war as long as it takes. we will not give up ourfreedom. so war as long as it takes. we will not give up our freedom.— war as long as it takes. we will not give up our freedom. so much a set recisel give up our freedom. so much a set precisely about _ give up our freedom. so much a set precisely about that _ give up our freedom. so much a set precisely about that incredible - precisely about that incredible resilience of ukrainian people. how are people coping now as this war has stretched into a third—year? brute has stretched into a third-year? we t to has stretched into a third—year? - try to help each other. it's very difficult to live during a large—scale war. we live in an atmosphere of total uncertainty. you can'tjust plan your day, you can't plan your next several hours. you have never have an idea when the next russian air attacks start. you live in an atmosphere of constant fear about your loved ones. and you can cope with all of this only with helping each other. and now we see for this two years of �*s war, a huge solidarity across the country, like ordinary people doing extraordinary things. and i don't know what will be in the future. i am just sure

that freedom will prevail sooner or later. but i am confident that we will be in the history of the world, like people who went through these dramatic times with their dignity. thank you so much for the conversation today.- thank you so much for the conversation today. thank you so much for the conversation toda . ., ,, , ., , conversation today. thank you very much. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at another story making the headlines... the prime minister has called for an end to the uk's "sick note culture" in a speech on welfare reform. rishi sunak said he is considering moving responsibility for assessing fitness to work away from gps, to "specialist work and health professionals" in england. a record high of 2.8 million people were out of work in february, according to the office for national statistics. here's the prime minister speaking earlier. if you have a low level mobility issue, your employer could make reasonable adjustments, perhaps including adaptations to enable you to work from home, and if you are

feeling anxious or depressed, then, of course, you should get the support and treatment you need to manage your condition. but that doesn't mean we should assume you cannot engage in work. the prime minister claims benefits have become a "lifestyle choice" for some, causing a spiralling welfare bill. but disability charities reacted with anger to his speech, branding the plans a "full—on assault on disabled people". you're live with bbc news. in new york, former president donald trump's latest appeal to halt his "hush money" trial was denied friday. the ruling — along with the completion ofjury selection that same day — sets the stage for opening arguments to take place as soon as monday. seven men and five women will consider evidence to determine whether the former president covered up a payment to adult film actress stormy daniels to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she says they had. mr trump denies any affair. outside the courthouse just shortly after the jury was selected, a man set himself on fire.

police say the man threw "conspiracy based" pamphlets into the air before dousing himself in liquid, and setting himself alight. authorities say the man is alive in hospital — but is in critical condition. officials do not believe that he was targeting any person or group. the us government is spending hundreds of billions of dollars transforming its industry, to try to compete with china on green manufacturing. it's led to a boom in factories and a stronger economy — but there are fears it's also fuelling inflation and record debt. and the state of the economy will be a crucial issue in the presidential election in the autumn. our economics editor faisal islam reports from the state of georgia: here in georgia, the landscape is changing — the southern bible belt of america reborn as the battery belt, as the usa throws money at outcompeting china in manufacturing a variety of electric cars. and where some of these vehicles

are going, they won't need roads. so we're building an all—electric vertical take—off aircraft, which is basically a flying car. this flying car will hold four passengers, plus a pilot. mass produced here? mass produced here, in the hundreds to thousands flying cars per year. we're going to be getting up to thousands ofjobs. the speed and the scale of america's green industrial rebirth is staggering. it shows itself in america's jobs numbers and growth numbers and raises the question, in this election year, about whether that old mantra — that it's the economy, stupid, that matters — whether that still applies. this is green tech done the american way. 100,000 electric trucks weighing three tonnes are a niche. another factory for these rivian trucks is planned here in covington. but in the central square's ice cream parlour, many voters aren't feeling a boom. do people feel like it's gone well over the past few years?

not at all, not at all. and hopefully it'll get better this coming, you know, election year. but we'll see. how does it feel right now in terms of the us economy? it's not terrible. i mean, we adjust to it, the costs of everything, and you just kind of move on, we're not going to stop living life cos things are... just work harder — that's our motto. so most places are saying they can't find people to work, and so i'm like, well, if you can't find people to work, then why are our numbers so high? so, like, especially after covid. back into america's big cities such as atlanta, the flip side of a strong economy — stubborn inflation. and that presents a big dilemma here at the atlanta branch of the federal reserve, which helps decide us interest rates. so rate cuts are on hold, and there are new concerns about surging us government debt. i expect the us economy to be

strong, to continue to be strong — but not quite this strong. what do you make of some concerns in the markets about the fiscal position in the us, of debt now heading above 100% of the size of your economy? that you're noting that more and more people are asking whether our budgetary approach is a good thing, to me that says, ok, now maybe we should be having that conversation about, are we undermining the confidence and the full faith and credit of the us government? because we really can't afford to do that. across the us, these government—backed green investments are leading to new inflation and debt risks, but they're also helping the economy defy expectations. it will matter for the election and the world economy too. faisal islam, bbc news, in georgia. the biggest election in the world is under way in india — with millions waiting in line to vote despite very high temperatures. in total, almost a billion people are eligible to cast their ballots — that's roughly one in eight of the world's population. our south asia correspondent

yogita limaye reports. we are in the rural part, what is behind me as a school, which for the day has been converted into a polling booth. inside the classrooms, their electronic voting machines, so this isn't a paper ballot. people go income of the press a button, and that is how their vote is registered. some of these people have actually cast their vote, and i'm just going to show you what happens after that. be if you look at that, she has just cast her vote, and if you look at that the ink with which your finger is marked to ensure, that is a sign that you have voted. this is of 102 constituencies voting today. this is one of them. there are 160 million people voting today overall in this election, there are nearly 970 million people who are eligible to cast their vote. the prime minister

and his party are seeking a third term in power. dozens of opposition parties have banded together to take him on. we've been asking people what the key issues are, what is on their mind as they go in there to cast their vote. they have been talking about price rise, they been talking about price rise, they been talking about price rise, they been talking about unemployment. a lot of people especially women have been talking about security. people have also been talking about democracy. now, if you have a taylor swift fan in your household you will know that there is double the excitement today about her new album. the tortured poets department was released this morning — and then just hours later she announced a second instalment, with another 15 tracks. speaking about her "secret double album" on instagram — swift said she'd "written so much tortured poetry in the past two years and wanted to share it all." swifties around the globe will surely be listening closely for the hidden meanings of her songs. thank you so much for watching bbc

news. don't forget that you can head to our website or download our app to our website or download our app to stay across all our top stories. analysis from our correspondence around the world on those stories. you can also get the latest headlines by following us on social media. thank you so much for watching and stay with us. hello there. many parts of the uk had some lengthy spells of sunshine on friday, but there were a few showers around. the remain of some of this shower cloud in wolverhampton gave this fine end to the day, a fine sunset, and the majority of the shower cloud through friday afternoon was associated with a stripe of cloud you can see right here. this was actually an old cold front. the significance of that is colder air is behind it. and as we go through the next few hours, that will be pushing in across much of the uk. milder air recirculating around our area of high pressure into northern ireland and western

scotland. so it's here through the weekend that we will see the nation's highest temperatures. now on to the next few hours, we're looking at that colder air arriving, a lot of dry weather, a lot of clear skies. and that means it's a recipe for things turning pretty cold. and heading into the first part of saturday morning, we start off with a frost, even some patches of frost, i think, across rural areas of southern england. the lowest temperatures probably down to about —3 celsius or so into rural areas of northern england and scotland. for saturday, where we get this colder air moving in, for most, it's a glorious start to the day with clear, blue, sunny skies. a bit of cloud coming in to eastern areas of norfolk and suffolk and maybe a bit of cloud developing through the day elsewhere. some splashes of rain possible for the far north of scotland, but otherwise it's dry. the highest temperatures likely in northern ireland. we could see a 17 celsius here in the very warmest spots. for sunday, generally, there's going to be a bit more cloud across parts of scotland, thick enough for some splashes of light rain, fleeting rain, really, a few showers coming in across east anglia

and southeast england, where we'll continue to have quite a chilly wind. could be even warmer for northern ireland if we were to get 19 celsius, well, that would be northern ireland's highest temperature of the year. so we'll be monitoring that carefully through the weekend. on into next week, high pressure stays to the west of the uk, and we continue to see this feed of cloud coming down the north sea. if anything, the cloud getting a bit more extensive, a bit thicker, and that means there's more likelihood of seeing some patches of drizzle across northern and eastern scotland and some eastern areas of england as well. the best of the sunshine, probably parts of north west england, wales, south west england, northern ireland might still do ok, and western parts of scotland, where the sunshine comes out, it shouldn't feel too bad. but if you're in the east where it's going to be quite cloudy with that wind coming in off the north sea, it will probably feel quite chilly. temperatures picking up a little later next week.

the challenge of fake videos in the middle east's propaganda war. welcome to newswatch with me, samira ahmed. coming up, how did the bbc go about verifying the footage posted online last weekend after iran's attack on israel? so your book, ten years to save the west...? and was bbc news right to grant a long interview to liz truss

in the week she published a book? iran's attack on israel last weekend heightened tensions at what was already a very volatile moment in the middle east, made even more volatile since by israel's response on friday. no surprise that the conflict dominated bbc news coverage on sunday. last night, for a few hours, israel lived in its skies. fighterjets battling waves of iranian drones and missiles fired at israeli targets. in iran, the launches were celebrated, one after the other, on national television. in the hours and days that followed, the attacks prompted plenty of commentary, analysis and interviews across bbc outlets. the latter included this question put on monday's today programme by presenter nick robinson to foreign secretary lord cameron. isn't the real risk of where

we are now that western governments