christopher plummer, who shot to fame as captain von trapp in the sound of music, dies, age 91. hello and welcome to our viewers on pbs america and around the globe. presidentjoe biden doesn't believe his predecessor donald trump should have access to intelligence briefings because of his — quote — "erratic behavior." former us presidents traditionally receive some intelligence briefings even after they have left office. on cbs evening news tonight, president biden was asked about former president donald trump's impeachment trial. he was asked if he would have voted to convict donald trump if he was a senator. i ran like hell to defeat in because i thought he was unfit to be president. i watched and everybody else watched what happened when that crew invaded the united states congress. but i'm not in the senate, now. i will let the senate make that decision. let me ask you something that you do have oversight of as president. should former president trump still receive intelligence briefings? i think not. why not? because of his erratic behaviour unrelated to the insurrection. i mean, you've called him an existential threat. you have called him dangerous. you have called him reckless. i have and i believe it. what is your worst fear if he continues to get these briefings? what value is there in giving him an intelligence briefing? what impact does he have at all except the fact that he might slip and say something? the first broadcast interview of american presidents are usually picked over. we can spoke to our north america correspondent, peter bowes. i think his comments about donald trump and these intelligence briefings was interesting. perhaps not a huge surprise when you consider the campaign that we went through, the events since the election and the animosity between certainly donald trump and joe biden. it might�*ve been surprising if he had continued to receive those intelligence briefings, which are normally afforded a former president, as a matter of courtesy. but you can clearly hear from what the president is saying, there, he doesn't believe there is a need for mr trump to receive these briefings. you might remember during donald trump's presidency that he was criticised for revealing some top—secret information to a couple of russian officials during a meeting in the oval office. and the very clear suggestion from president biden, there, is that donald trump cannot be trusted with this information or with any future information, as he put it, in case he slips and reveals that classified information. that interview, always a balancing act forjoe biden, and his press team, between talking about donald trump and what happened in the past, and trying to get his agenda on the front foot. yeah, i think inevitably there will be asked — at least for the foreseeable future — about donald trump when there are relevant issues. but you can almost hear his reluctance to get into that issue too deeply. he also in this interview talked about the stimulus bill, about how he has made perhaps some concessions overa minimum wage, which may not be in this bill. it's certainly something he wants to achieve in the months and years to come. but i think he's in a rush to get his policy enacted and that is what he wants to focus on. but clearly because again coming back to what we have all gone through for the past few months, the actions of donald trump are still likely to make news, and the present will be asked about it. thank you to peter bowes there. but earlierjoe biden appealed to republicans to urgently bring in his coronavirus stimulus package into effect. with us is former us labour secretary in the clinton administration, robert reich, who's also just published his latest book the system: who rigged it, how we fix it. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for coming on the programme-— thank you for coming on the programme. the programme. thank you lewis. the stimulus bill— programme. thank you lewis. the stimulus bill is _ programme. thank you lewis. the stimulus bill is out _ programme. thank you lewis. the stimulus bill is out there. - stimulus bill is out there. $1.9 trillion, this appeal from the president for republicans to work with him on this. how realistic do you think that appeal is? i realistic do you think that appeal is?— realistic do you think that auealis? ., �* ~ , appeal is? i don't think it is realistic. _ appeal is? i don't think it is realistic. i— appeal is? i don't think it is realistic. i think _ realistic. i think thatjoe biden wants to reach out to republicans, wants to be seen as reaching out to republicans stop after all, bipartisanship and unity is one of the themes that propel them into the presidency. i think a lot of americans want bipartisanship and unity. but when it comes down to it, bipartisanship is not as important as survival. in terms of survival, americans desperately need a package of spending that is about the size thatjoe biden is seeking. in the end, he is probably going to circumvent the republicans if he doesn't get republican support. by a point vote, with kamala harris voting, he will get it through. in kamala harris voting, he will get it through.— kamala harris voting, he will get it through. in this strange eriod get it through. in this strange period for _ get it through. in this strange period for the _ get it through. in this strange period for the president, - get it through. in this strange period for the president, he l period for the president, he has built his political career reaching out across the aisle, worked with republicans on major issues throughout his career. the republican party seems, now, to be going through something of an identity crisis. many senior leaders within the republican party are turning around and questioning what party they are, now, exactly, in a world after donald trump. large parts of the party are not whatjoe biden is used to dealing with. exactly. the republican party is to be primarily a business party. its major thrust and its financing all came from big business and wall street. today's republican party has been morphed into almost a cult, a donald trump cult, and donald trump did it, over a period of four years, with the help of major media and twitter and facebook and also the acquiescence, the silence, the republicans in the senate and in the house. the republicans right now who are elected republicans, have a dilemma on their hands. do they follow the republican party at its base in terms of voter preferences? they want donald trump to president again. they don't want him impeached, in terms of convicted of impeachment. they are actually quite extreme in their views as a cult, as a kind of irrational religion, in effect. or do republican leaders try to move the party back to the republican party it used to be? i think it will be difficult to go backwards. i think that the republican party is probably going to split into two parties, one a donald trump party, the second is the old establishment business republican party.- establishment business republican party. that is a hue republican party. that is a huge and _ republican party. that is a huge and significant - huge and significant prediction. we will of course keep our eye on the internal machinations of the republican party. i want to go back to the stimulus bill itself. $1.9 trillion. what actual difference will it make for ordinary americans? it will make a huge _ ordinary americans? it will make a huge difference. i ordinary americans? it will. make a huge difference. right now we have 9 million fewer jobs than we had before the pandemic. and many people, even those who have jobs, pandemic. and many people, even those who havejobs, they pandemic. and many people, even those who have jobs, they have part—timejobs part—time jobs and want to be working full—time, there is a great deal of hunger, poverty, homelessness, at the bottom half of the labour force. we have almost record levels of childhood poverty right now. these people, americans are desperately in need of help. in midmarch, just six weeks from now, that aid is available. even the skimpy aid, relatively skimpy, relative to europe, for example, that aid stops. so it is vitally important that a $1.9 trillion bill get through quite quickly. $1.9 trillion bill get through quite quickly-— $1.9 trillion bill get through quite quickly. $1.9 trillion bill get through uuite cuickl . ., ~ quite quickly. 0k. thank you so much for coming _ quite quickly. 0k. thank you so much for coming on _ quite quickly. 0k. thank you so much for coming on the - much for coming on the programme, robert reich. thank you. programme, robert reich. thank ou. . ~' programme, robert reich. thank ou. . ~ , ., let's move away from the us and a row between the european union and russia over the treatment of the prominent opposition leader, elected valley, has escalated. roger has expelled diplomats who they say protested in support of alexei navalny. he's beenjailed for two and a half years for fraud, and was back in court today on a separate charge. from moscow, steve rosenberg reports. it's becoming a familiar sight — president putin's nemesis on trial. alexei navalny had already been sentenced to two and a half years in prison this week, for a parole violation. slander was the charge now. he insists it's political persecution. i appeal for his release. across town, the eu's foreign policy chief was calling for mr navalny�*s release. it didn't go down well. first, russia's foreign minister called the eu an unreliable partner and accused courts in the west of political verdicts. then his ministry expelled three eu diplomats, claiming they'd attended rallies in support of mr navalny. the eu condemned the move. moscow expected international outrage over the jailing of alexei navalny. there's talk in the west of possible measures that would target vladimir putin's inner circle. the kremlin though has long taken the view that sticks and stones may break its bones, but sanctions will never hurt it. meanwhile mr navalny�*s supporters have decided to pause their protests until the spring. in the last two weeks across russia thousands of protesters have been detained. with police cells full in moscow, hundreds have been locked up in this deportation centre. like dmitri and sergei, who we managed to contact. sergei, on the left, is a journalist. he wasn't at the protests but he retweeted a post about them and was jailed for 25 days. "the authorities see journalists as part of the protest movement now," sergei says. "we're coming under pressure." outside the makeshiftjail people have been queueing for hours in the cold to deliver food parcels to their loved ones. "i used to vote for putin," says yulia, whose husband was arrested. "i never will again." the russian authorities can crack down on dissent. what they can't do is force people to stay loyal to the kremlin. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. almost half the uk population, 32 million people, should receive their first dose of coronavirus vaccine by may. the government says it expects all adults over the age of 50 — as well as the clinically vulnerable and those working in health and social care — to be offered their first injection by then. almost 11 million people have now had their firstjab. the uk's medicines regulator says the latest research shows side effects from all the approved vaccines are minor and don't last long. here's our medical editor fergus walsh. —— spanish authorities have limited the use of the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine to those under the age of 35. this despite the european medicines agency approving its use late last week for all adults. stay with us on bbc news. still a timeless talent. happiness was been playing for a long time. after his long years in exile, the first steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil.— iranian soil. south africa's white government - iranian soil. south africa's white government has - iranian soil. south africa's - white government has offered concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. and nelson mandela is to be set free unconditionally. a countdown to a critical moment. there _ countdown to a critical moment. there will's _ countdown to a critical moment. there will's most powerful rocket _ there will's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 of its rockers _ rocket ignited all 27 of its rockers at once. and apart from its power. — rockers at once. and apart from its power. it _ rockers at once. and apart from its power, it is the recycling of the — its power, it is the recycling of the rocket, slashing the power _ of the rocket, slashing the power of the launch, which makes _ power of the launch, which makes this important in the business of space travel. two russians _ business of space travel. two russians have _ business of space travel. two russians have become - business of space travel. two russians have become the first humans — russians have become the first humans to _ russians have become the first humans to walk _ russians have become the first humans to walk in _ russians have become the first humans to walk in space - russians have become the first. humans to walk in space without a lifeline — humans to walk in space without a lifeline. one _ humans to walk in space without a lifeline. one called _ humans to walk in space without a lifeline. one called it- humans to walk in space without a lifeline. one called it a - a lifeline. one called it a piece _ a lifeline. one called it a piece of— a lifeline. one called it a piece of cake. _ a lifeline. one called it a piece of cake.— piece of cake. and a spectacular - piece of cake. and a - spectacular homecoming in piece of cake. and a _ spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth after the world record for selling around the world non—stop was smashed. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: president biden calls for donald trump to lose access to intelligence briefings traditionally given to former presidents. russia expels diplomats from eu countries, accusing them of taking part in protests against the jailing of alexei navalny. tributes have been paid to the actor christopher plummer, who has died aged 91. born in canada, he was best known for his role as captain von trapp in the oscar—winning film the sound of music. our arts editor will gompertz looks back at his career, which spanned six decades. # these are a few of my favourite things # when the dog bites...# christopher plummer in 1965, as the fine, upstanding captain von trapp, playing oppositejulie andrews' maria in the sound of music. hello. fraulein, did i not tell you that bedtime is to be strictly observed in this house? the versatile, charismatic actor said he only did the movie so he could sing, and therefore wasn't pleased when he found out his voice would be overdubbed. # edelweiss, edelweiss # every morning, you greet me...# it is the role for which he will always be remembered, but for such a long time, wished people would forget, making his disdain for the film clear by renaming it the sound of mucus. yes, i did say that, but so did we all. we alljoked about the sound of music. you have to, when you do something very delicate and sentimental and coy, in order to avoid being sentimental and coy, you have to joke about it and see the funny side of it. christopher plummer was born into a wealthy canadian family, his great—grandfather was the country's third prime minister. he considered becoming a concert pianist, but chose acting instead, making his name first on stage playing lead roles such as shakespeare's henry v, for which he gained comparisons to laurence olivier. and upon this charge, cry, "god for harry! england! and st george!" he brought weight and humanity to the role of rudyard kipling in the man who would be king. a character actor of rare skill, he reached new heights when he entered his 80s. where did you get these? and he became the oldest oscar acting nominee when he replaced kevin spacey asjohn paul getty in ridley scott's film all the money in the world. the great struggle in life is coming to grips with what that price is. christopher comes with this inordinate charm, a smile and his twinkle, the twinkle and smile somehow make him that much more effective. it makes him quite lethal, but in a charming way. julie andrews said of christopher plummer tonight: "the world has lost a consummate actor today, and i have lost a cherished friend." will gompertz, bbc news. the actor christopher plummer, who's died at the age of 91. earlier, i spoke to a close friend of christopher plummer. he was a fabulous actor. he was, from the very beginning. we were both born in montreal. and i, shortly after him. and there was a stepping stone in those years for canadian theatre and film and eventually, we ended up in toronto, the new york of canada, and stratford, ontario, the festival. and then ultimately, to a science fiction movie. and then the last thing i did, and i saw chris, was, i was working on a documentary, and i went to stratford here in canada to interview. and we spent a delightful afternoon remembering stratford and the people we knew together. and we laughed and joked and i had had a wonderful, pleasurable time with an old friend. and our lives had intertwined since we were very young. and... and mr shatner, sorry to interrupt, can ijump in? i want to ask one particular moment where you did intertwine, where you are doing a play and you were the understudy and he suddenly had to head to hospital, and you had to step in. do you remember that incident? oh, vividly! henry v. and early on in the run i was his understudy. we were doing repertory, and that meant putting in a play every week and we — i had no rehearsal. so, i went on in one of the longer speaking roles in the english language without any rehearsal whatsoever. and he said, at the time, certainly he recalled afterwards, that he didn't know, i think, what hurt more, the pain he was in or knowing that you were stepping in to be his understudy study. he said you did everything exactly opposite to the way that he did it and he knew you were going to be a star. what i didn't tell him was, i had no rehearsals! i didn't know what to do at any particular moment. ijust did what i thought i had to do. god bless him, it was quite a moment. he clearly had an eye for talent, because he clearly spotted your talent. but what was so special about him when he was on stage or on screen? well, he brought an elegance, he brought a truth, he brought — he was distinguished. and he himself was elegant and sophisticated and he brought that kind of thing to the roles he played. hm. he was a wonderful man, a great character actor as well. just while you were playing his stuff about him, i was listening. i had forgotten he was this wonderful pianist — and a great tennis player — all wrapped up in this handsome man who looked so elegant and spoke with an english accent, although he was born here in canada. i, ah, iadmired him tremendously all my life. i, i kind of looked — i was his understudy, and i never quite got over being the understudy. that — that's so gorgeous to hear. and you rattle off some of his accomplishments, and of course six decades in the industry. but he will always be associated with the sound of music, and we heard him refer to it there, what was your sense of his relationship with that film? i think he was a little bit embarrassed by its success, but why, you know, he had to deal with it, because it generated his celebrity. and so he did live with it. he joked about it. and i didn't know he was overdubbed! ijust heard that listening to you, that that singing was not him. i thought �*wow, that's pretty good! among his tennis and piano playing, he could sing as well? what a multitalented man he was. our thanks to the brilliant william schaffner there. the argentine air force has deployed water bombing helicopters to put out wildfires. the region has been struggling with drought and strong winds and complicating the firefighting efforts to be a mysterious metallic monolith has appeared in turkey's south—east province. the three metre toll object was found near the black lay, to pay. near a thousand year old temple which recently became a unesco heritage site. it resembles an object that was discovered last yearin object that was discovered last year in utah, in the united states, and then vanished. the french pianist colette maze is preparing to release her sixth studio album. nothing very remarkable about that, you may say. but she is no ordinary musician. she is something of a veteran — who's been playing the piano for more than a century. the bbc�*s tim allman has the story. talent is timeless. (clair de lune) she has been doing this for a long, long time.— she has been doing this for a long, long time. there are lots of wa s long, long time. there are lots of ways to _ long, long time. there are lots of ways to play _ long, long time. there are lots of ways to play piano. - long, long time. there are lots of ways to play piano. and - long, long time. there are lots of ways to play piano. and as l long, long time. there are lots of ways to play piano. and as a baby with one finger a reproduced as merit is. my parents were surprised because playing with dolls didn't amuse me but playing on the piano did. �* ., me but playing on the piano did. 1, , ., did. born the same year the first world _ did. born the same year the first world war _ did. born the same year the first world war began, - did. born the same year the i first world war began, colette started playing piano when she was four. she worked at several music schools across paris before releasing herfirst album when she was in her 80s. an endless source of pride for herfamily. translation: i her family. translation: 4' her family. translation: ~ , , ., translation: i think she is an inspiration _ translation: i think she is an inspiration for _ translation: i think she is an inspiration for others. - translation: i think she is an inspiration for others. she - inspiration for others. she proves that at 106 years old we can be in good shape as long as we take care of ourselves. and her love of life brings people smiles in worrying times, like the one we are living through now. ., , ., , ., the one we are living through now. ., , , the one we are living through now. ., ,., , now. colette shows no signs of slowin: now. colette shows no signs of slowing down. _ now. colette shows no signs of slowing down, next _ now. colette shows no signs of slowing down, next up, - now. colette shows no signs of slowing down, next up, a - now. colette shows no signs of| slowing down, next up, a three disc album devoted to the french composer to bussey. translation: iwould french composer to bussey. translation: i would ask you, why do you drink a coffee in the morning, or why do you have steakfrom time the morning, or why do you have steak from time to time? steak doesn't matter to me, but that's not the case with music. that's my food. may food for the spirit and for the heart. she says if she can no longer play, she will have to replace music with her imagination, but herfingers need to music with her imagination, but her fingers need to feel the tim allman, bbc news. —— vicki's. —— the keys. the world's most expensive sheepdog has been sold at an online auction for over $30,000 at beating previous records at $88,000. that is it from me, i am lewis vaughanjones. you can reach me on twitter. bye—bye. hello there. for some parts of england, and probably felt more like spring on friday. but don't be fooled, because winter is returning to all of us this weekend. with a bitterly cold easterly wind picking up and the air getting colder, there's going to be some more snow more widely. now at the moment as we head into saturday morning, most of the snow is falling in scotland, especially in the hills where we have this amber warning from the met office. but snow is dropping to lower levels across northern parts of scotland already. and we'll have some wet weather elsewhere across the uk, with clear skies by the morning for wales and the south—west, may be some icy patches here, too. a slippery sort of day though, i think, for much of scotland with that rain, sleet and snow continuing — and turning to snow, lower levels in scotland throughout the day. we've got wetter weather across northern and eastern parts of england, some heavy bursts of rain — that'll turn to snow over the pennines and the north york moors later on. out to the west, it'll always be drier and brighter. those temperatures will be lower than they were on friday, and it will feel colder in scotland and northern england as that wind starts to pick up. now, it'll get colder as the weekend goes on. the originating all the way from the arctic coming down across the baltic sea, over the north sea into the uk, and engaging with storm darcy — it's been named by the dutch met institute. now, the biggest impacts of that will be felt in the south—east of england and parts of east anglia. this is where attention turns overnight and into sunday, with some heavy falls of snow mainly to the east of london. there'll be some snow widely, though, across the south—east of england and east anglia. there will be drifting and blizzards, as well, because it's going to be very windy here with gusts of over 50m/h. it'll be a windy day everywhere, though, on sunday — or feel cold, as well. there may well be some sunshine away from south—eastern areas, and there will be further snow showers blown in off the north sea as well. and those temperatures continuing to drop, only getting a few degrees above freezing on sunday, feeling colder still. now, we've got high—pressure to the north of the uk, and lower pressure to the south, hence that run of easterly winds continues through sunday and into the beginning of next week. that means more snow showers getting fed in off the north sea, mainly affecting some central and eastern parts of scotland down the eastern side of england — more snow and ice warnings continue into the early part of next week with temperatures barely getting above freezing. given the strength of the wind, it will feel much, much colder. this is bbc news, the headlines: presidentjoe biden says that donald trump should not receive intelligence briefings now that he has left office. it is a courtesy normally afforded to former presidents. mr biden cited what he referred to as his predecessors erratic heavier and was concerned he may slip and say something. eu leaders have reacted and really to a russian decision to accept bell three diplomats. moscow accuses them ofjoining unauthorised protest in support of alexi navalny. the opposition leader is back in court to face more charges on friday, despite having been sentenced to 2.5 years in jail. and the actor christopher plummer, best known for his role in the sound of music has died at the age of 91. his co—stars says he was a consummate actor. now it's time for a look back at the week in parliament.