in this building, the scourge - of war is back in europe. the unprovoked invasion of ukraine has inflicted the most unimaginable suffering on so many innocent people. brazil s ex president jair bolsonaro has returned to the country after three months of self imposed exile in the united states. the vatican says pope francis health is improving as he continues to be treated in hospitalfor a respiratory infection. a blood test is being trialled that could spare thousands of bowel cancer patients unnecessary chemotherapy. and the uk s police watchdog has referred the case of an unarmed black man shot dead by an officer to the crown prosecution service. hello and welcome to bbc news. hearing it has taken place in the last hour after evan gershkovich was arrested. a russian foreign ministry spokesperson said they believe evan gershkovich was conducting activites not related to journalism on assignment from the americans . in a statement, the wall streetjournal said. the
hello and welcome to bbc news. us defence chiefs have identified what they say is a second chinese surveillance balloon, this time over latin america. the first balloon is floating across the us mid west. antony blinken, the us secretary of state, has cancelled a trip to beijing, and accused the chinese authorities of being irresponsible. china insists the balloon is a weather monitoring device which has blown off course. our north america correspondent, peter bowes, reports. a surreal but increasingly serious international row. this spec on this guy could be spying on the us. the chinese balloon that has been hovering over the country for several days. china insists it is a platform to conduct weather related research that has deviated from its root. beijing has apologised but the us state department says it stands by its assessment that the balloon is being used for surveillance. and defence officials now say there is a second balloon. we have seen reports of a balloon tran
welcome to bbc news. we begin in northern ireland which is marking 25 years since the signing of the good friday agreement. the historic peace deal largely ended decades of violence in northern ireland. but prime minister rishi sunak says efforts must be intensified to restore the power sharing government that was central to the deal. it collapsed in the fallout from brexit and now the political dysfunction and security concerns are threatening to to overshadow the historic milestone. from belfast, laura cullen reports. it took 22 months to last the end three decades of conflict. through it all, these leaders kept their sense of purpose. and in the end, they delivered an agreement that is fair and balanced and offers hope for the people of northern ireland. the agreement was based on the edge of cooperation between communities and set up a new government representing both nationalists and unionists. a copy of it went to every household in northern ireland, and almost a mill
welcome to hardtalk. i m stephen sackur. vladimir putin s ruthless bid to impose his will on ukraine hasn t worked, at least not yet. on the contrary, it has taken an enormous toll of russian blood and treasure, and left the country militarily and economically weakened. so, how come there hasn t been more open dissent within the russian elite? is it fear, brainwashing or a deeper, shared ethno nationalism? well, my guest, boris bondarev, is unique. he s a russian diplomat who quit and condemned putin s ukraine war. why is his a lone voice of insider dissent? boris bondarev, in switzerland, welcome to hardtalk. i want to begin, if i may, by getting a sense of what life is like for you today. last may, you quit your post. you delivered a scathing condemnation of putin and his war. so how is life for you today? well, it s become relatively easier than it was because i don t have to go to my office any more. and i. well, officially and practically, iam now unemployed, so i have a