turn our attention to other news. president biden has led international condemnation of new laws in uganda which mean that anyone having gay sex can be jailed for life. in some circumstances, people could face the death penalty. mr biden called the laws shameful, and said the us was considering sanctions. the united states has led the growing chorus of condemnation over these new laws. president biden, in a five paragraph statement, called uganda s new laws shameful and a tragic violation of universal human rights . he s called for those laws to be immediately repealed and is threatening sanctions if that doesn t happen, saying that the united states will, in his words, evaluate the implications of the law on all aspects of us engagement with uganda . now, one aspect of engagement with uganda is a programme known as pepfar that stands for the president s emergency plan for aids relief, which was established back in 2003 under the administration of george w bush to limit a
i have been struck by the warmth of the friendship between our nations. some of the biggest names in technology call for a pause in the development of advanced artificial intelligence warning it could be a threat to humanity. and one of the biggest animals ever to walk the earth, the skeleton of a patagotitan dinosaur, is the latest addition to london s natural history museum. we begin with a developing story from rome, where pope francis has been admitted to hospital with what s being described as a respiratory infection. the vatican says the 86 year old is not suffering from covid, but has been experiencing breathing difficulties in recent days and that he ll spend a few nights under medical supervision. it comes at the busiest time of the year for the pontiff, with easterjust next week. our reporter sofia bettiza joins me now. sofia, what s the latest on the pope s health? so, as suso, pope was taken to hospital on wednesday afternoon because of reading problems that he
on board a united plane, forcing it to turn around. multiple people injured. what officials say caused it. new images from the navy s recovery of the chinese spy balloon off the south carolina coast. the fbi examining the wreckage. what we re learning. the intensive assault on the ukrainian eastern city of bakhmut as russia prepares gnaw offensive. our richard engel on the ground. new evidence in the alex murdaugh trial. what his former law partner told the jury about murdaugh s alleged financial crimes. and the team of teachers that s inspiring america. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening, and thank you for being with us. sadly, the number killed in that catastrophic earthquake hitting turkey and syria has more than doubled since we were with you last night. now topping a staggering 7,500 people. these are desperate hours where time is quickly running out for those still trapped in the rubble. silence in some cases the most effect
explosion. the full force of israel s new military operation in gaza. this building hitjust minutes after a warning strike. palestinians racing away. a year of relative calm now shattered. this is where one of the first israeli air strikes killed an islamichhad commander, leaving his neighbour in shock. we were safe in our home. we were thrown out of it by the bomb , says maryam. why didn t they warn us? tonight islamichhad fired heavy barrages of rockets in revenge, it said, for its leader s death. most were intercepted by israeli air defences. but earlier a missile hit this israeli home. the family went to their shelter when the air raid sirens went off, local official yaron sasson said. this is probably what saved them. no one was hurt. israeli forces are targeting what they say are militant bases in gaza. they maintain they re reacting to a direct threat from iran backed islamichhad. with further deaths in gaza, much now depends on the decisions of the powerful mil