# edelweiss, edelweiss. christopher plummer, who shot to fame as captain von trapp, in the sound of music, dies at the age of 91. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. us presidentjoe biden doesn't believe his predecessor donald trump should have access to intelligence briefings because of his "erratic behavior." former us presidents traditionally receive some briefings after they leave office. but talking to cbs evening news in his first broadcast interview since becoming president, mr biden said he was worried about mr trump's access. he also spoke about the upcoming impeachment trial — he was asked if he would've voted to convict president trump if he was a senator. i ran like hell to defeat him 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? 0ur north america correspondent, peter bowes, told us what he thought stood out in the president's interview. 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 0ffice. 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. earlier, president biden appealed to republicans to act urgently to turn his coronavirus relief measures — a $1.9 trillion stimulus package — into law. former labour secretary in the clinton administration, robert reich, assessed how realistic it is for both parties to work together on this bill. i think thatjoe biden wants to reach out to republicans, wants to be seen as reaching out to republicans. afterall, bipartisanship and unity is one of the themes that propelled him 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, he doesn't need it. by a 51—point vote, with kamala harris voting, he will get it through. in this strange 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 post—trump world. large parts of the party are not whatjoe biden is used to dealing with. exactly. the republican party used 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 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, of 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. that is a 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 difference. right now we have 9 million fewer jobs than we had before the pandemic. and many people, even those who have jobs, they have 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 mid—march, 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. a row between the eu and russia has escalated. russia has expeued has escalated. russia has expelled three diplomats who they say took part in unauthorised protest in support of mr navalny. he has been jailed for 2.5 years for fraud and was back in court on friday on a separate —— separate charge. 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. they expect 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 first million people have now had theirfirstjab. the medicines their first jab. the medicines regulator says theirfirstjab. the medicines regulator says the latest research shows that side—effects from all approved vaccines are minor and do not last long. meanwhile, spanish health authorities have limited the use of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine to those under the age of 55, that echoes an earlier decision by a growing number of countries which have restrict the distributing of the vaccine despite the european medicines agency approving its use for all adults late last week. stay with us here on bbc news. still to come... a timeless talent. a french piano is too has been playing for a long, long time. this is the moment that millions in iran had been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. and the anc leader, nelson mandela, is to be set free unconditionally. three, two, one. a countdown - to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 - of its engines at once. and apart from its power, it's this recycling of the rocket, l slashing the cost of a launch, l that makes this a breakthrough in the business| of space travel. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it "a piece of cake". thousands of people have given the yachtswoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world non—stop. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: joe 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. in germany, prosecutors have charged a secretary who worked for the director of a nazi camp from 1943-1945. —— prosecutors in germany have charged a woman who worked as secretary to the commander of a nazi concentration camp with complicity in the murder of 10,000 people. the unnamed suspect, who's reported to be 95, worked at the stutthof camp near present—day gdansk in poland from 1943—1945. investigators say she assisted those responsible for the systematic killing ofjewish prisoners, polish partisans and soviet prisoners of war. 65,000 prisoners died at stutthof camp in gas chambers or from lethal injections. it's the first prosecution in years of a woman linked to the nazi death camps. she has always claimed that she never knew people were being murdered in the camp. ben cohenjoined me from new york. his great—grandmother died at the stutthof concentration camp. but his grandmother judy meisel survived, and he attended a trial last year of a nazi prison guard on her behalf. i asked what he felt when he learnt the age of the woman charged in this process. it is shocking to hear that a 95—year—old would be brought to trial, potentially for a crime that feels so far in the past. but in my experience, these things were not that long ago. my great—grandmother, as you mention, was murdered, my grandmother survived, and she spoke about it in the sleet until she passed awayjust a couple of months ago. she taught us these lessons and, you know, she had to live with that pain for her entire life and the other survivors have had to live without suffering as well. any discomfort that these former nazis might feel going to trial today really pales in comparison to what people had to go through in those camps, either from those survived that alone those who suffered and perished. as you were talking we saw pictures of you and her together. you have experience from a personal point of view, four relatives were victims. people acting as secretaries who possibly may not have a full understanding of what was going on? how do you feel they have direct responsibility? i can totally understand that question. i asked that question myself, on the previous two trials, there were guards, it was easier to understand these guards. we understand just looking at a map that they stood on a tower over my great—grandmother as she walked to the gas chambers. a secretary is a totally different story. i, for one, am really interested to hear her perspective. how could she end a secretary in a camp, what did she know, how could someone be convinced to participate at any level in these crimes? these are things that we have two ask. —— to. we have heard stories from survivors but i do not think we have heard enough from perpetrators to understand how does someone believe such a big lie, that thejews were not human and all the prisoners were somehow eliminated from the earth? these are things we need to confront today, there were human beings on both sides, perpetrators and victims alike, and so i would really hope if she is capable to stand trial, she tells us her perspective so we can learn from it. 0ur our thanks to ben cohen, there are. let's go to the day's other news now. the us, france, germany, italy and britain have welcomed a vote at a un—led forum on libya for an interim government of unity, intended to help prepare the war—torn country for elections later this year. it's the latest step forward under united nations—sponsored moves to try to bring stability to a country devastated by years of chaos and violence. the argentine air force has deployed water bombing helicopters to the rio he go rainforests to fight flames. the region has been struggling with drought and strong winds are complicating the firefighting effort. and a mysterious monolith appeared in turkey. the three metre tall object was found neara metre tall object was found near a lake and a temple that recently became a world heritage site. it resembles another object that appeared last year in the utah desert in the united states and in spanish. —— and then vanished. christopher plummer was a respected she experienced a director who appeared in dozens of other films and won an oscar in 2011 for his role in beginners. well, earlier i spoke to another acting legend william shatner who was a close friend of christopher plummer from a very early age. he gave us some of his recollections. he was a fabulous actor. he was, from the very beginning. we were both born in montreal. 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 the stratford, and then ultimately, to a science fiction movie. and then the last thing i did, that i saw chris, was, i was directing 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? 0h, vividly! henry v. and early on in the run i was his understudy. we were doing repertory, and that meant putting a play in 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. 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. 0ur huge thanks to william shatner, there. next, a french pianist is preparing to release her six studio album. nothing remarkable about that, you may say. but she is no ordinary musician. she is something of a veteran who has the piano for more than a century. tim allman has the story. talent is timeless. (plays debussy's clair de lune) colette maze has been doing this for a long, long time. translation: there are lots of ways to play piano. - and as a baby with one finger i reproduced the melodies. my parents were surprised because playing with dolls didn't amuse me but playing on the piano did. born the same year the first world war began, colette started playing piano when she was four. she worked at several music schools across paris before releasing her first album when she was in her 80s — an endless source of pride for herfamily. translation: i think she is an inspiration for others. - she proves that at 106 years old we can be in good shape as long as we take care of ourselves. with and her love of life brings people smiles in worrying times, like the one we are living through now. colette shows no signs of slowing down. next up, a three—disc album devoted to the french composer debussy. translation: i'd ask you, why do you drink a coffee l in 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. my 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 feel the keys. tim allman, bbc news. just before i go, a border collie from wales has smashed the record for the world's most expensive sheepdog after being sold for over $37,000. the dog was sold in an online auction, beating the previous record which was sold for $28,000. that is it from me, i am lewis vaughanjones. you can reach me on twitter. bye— bye. hello there. for some parts of england, it 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. maybe 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 at 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 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 as a courtesy normally awed offered former presidents but mr biden cited his predecessor's erratic behaviour, saying he was concerned he may slip and say something. eu leaders have reacted angrily to a russian decision to expel three diplomats, one each from germany, sweden and poland. 0sco accuses them ofjoining unauthorised protest in support of alexei navalny. the opposition leader was back in court to face more charges on friday despite having been sentenced to 2.5 years in jail. and the canadian actor christopher plummer, best known for his role as captain von trapp in the sound of music has died aged 91. a mother and daughter were killed on thursday night