one of life's most underappreciated talents is to know when it's time to move on to life's next chapter. so i stand before you today, mr president and my colleagues, to say this will be my last term as republican leader of the senate. for more on mitch mcconnell�*s stepping down and the spending deal, here's our north america correspondent gary o'donoghue. after repeated attempts to get a spending agreement, it does look like leadership in congress from both sides have at least reached a partial agreement on some other spending bills that they have been arguing about. it looks now in the next couple of days that resolutions were put through senate and the house of representatives to extend one of the deadlines until next friday, by which time they will pass spending bills on six separate departments. now, they haven't reached an agreement on the other six departments, but they are going to push the deadline for that back until march 22. so in some ways, this is progress being made and in some ways, it is still a long way to go, particularly because some of those spending bills are controversial ones involving homeland security defence. they will all be have to be organised by the leadership in both places and we've learned today that mitch mcconnell, republican leader in the senate, the minority leader there has decided to step down from leadership at the election in november. the longest serving party leader in the senate, his been in the post since 2007, since george w bush was president. he entered the senate in 1985 while ronald reagan was president, so almost a0 years. his been of force of nature, he's pursued conservative aimed in the senate relentlessly and his got a lot done. but he did fall out with donald trump particular overjanuary 6 where he accused the former president of being morally and practically responsible, he has had some health issues in the last year or so, which may have been a factor in his decision to stand down from leadership in november. he once described himself as the grim reaper. well, he's evaded that, but the political grim reaper has come calling. presidentjoe biden also weighed in on mitch mcconnell�*s announcement. reflecting on his time as the republican senate leader, he said: a judge in the us state of illinois has barred donald trump from appearing on the ballot there because of his role in the january 6 riots. but she delayed her ruling from taking effect, pending appeal. a statement from former president's campaign called the ruling unconscitutional, has said he will appeal the decision. mr trump's time in office is at the centre of two major developments at the us supreme court on wednesday. the first is whether donald trump can claim presidential immunity from being prosecuted on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election. it will mark the first time the nation's highest court will hear such a case. the supreme court says it will hear arguments in the case in the week of april 22. in the meantime, former president trump's washington, dc case will be on hold while justices consider the matter. the other case involves a trump—era gun ban on �*bump stocks�*. the supreme courtjustices appeared divided on whether the ban on the gun attachments — which allow a semi—automatic rifle to fire more rapidly — should be upheld. the trump administration banned bump stocks after 60 people were killed in a mass shooting at a las vegas musical festival in 2017. the gunman had dozens of ar—15—style rifles outfitted with the device. the incident is the deadliest mass shooting in us history. the justices wrestled with whether the administration acted lawfully. to discuss all this, i spoke earlier with scotusblog reporter amy howe. quite the busy day at the supreme court, and we will get onto bump stocks injust a moment, but if we start with this case that quite late on the date of the supreme court says it's going to hear, it is going to hear the case whether donald trump has immunity or not, how do we expect them to handle that? they will hear arguments some time in the end of april and what the real $64,000 question right now is how quickly will they rule? because the judge has already put the proceedings in washington, dc on hold. and she's indicated that even if the court were to rule that trump is not immune, that there would be some more time, as much as three months before the trial could actually go forward. what a lot of people are paying attention to is if the court were to rule latejune or earlyjuly, which is when one would normally expect a high—profile case like this, particular one that's argued in late april, that might mean that the trial would not be ready to go forward until september or even early october, which would put it right in the middle of the presidential election in early november. the special counseljack smith has made the case previously that is an emergency and should be treated as such. has been an indication from the supreme court within the justice has considered it an emergency case? the singles are mixed to that they don't regard it as quite as an emergency as he does. he asked them, first of all, to let the case, to say that they were not going to weigh in, that the decision by the federal appeals court in washington, dc stand for itself and allow the trial to go forward without the supreme court ruling, and today, they indicated that they were not going to do that. the other option he said was for the case to go forward in the supreme court, but he asked them to really fast track it, to hear oral argument in march and issue a decision quickly. and they didn't do that and one signal that they didn't regarded as an emergency as he did was it took them almost two weeks to indicate today what they were going to do, the case has been fully briefed and sitting before them for almost two weeks before they finally acted, which is certainly not something that you would regard as a true emergency. the timeline you outlined with possibly a decision in earlyjuly and what they were me for a trial may be not happening until the time of the election and if donald trump is re—elected, that trial would fall than entirely, wouldn't it? one can only assume, he would be in charge of the department ofjustice, and one would expect that he would direct the department ofjustice to drop the charges. the supreme court were also awaiting a decision related to colorado, deciding that donald trump should not be on the ballot there again, that was described as something for urgency of consideration, the colorado primaryjust around the corner. do we know when you make a decision there? we don't have any idea when that will happen, the supreme court, you don't know what decisions you are going to get unless it's the very last day of the supreme court's term, untilyou're sitting at the supreme court and they say, they have the opinion and trump versus anderson. so they don't have any days are scheduled, they indicate usually ahead of time when they will issue opinions, they didn't have any days scheduled this week, so we don't know when that will be. super tuesday, when they have all of these different primaries over the countries for much feared and so, one of the things that colorado was for them to act quickly, but we haven't seen in opinion yet. we hear illinois saying that donald trump will be excluded from the ballot there as well. the other big news from the supreme court was this hearing around bump stocks and whether the trump administration had been correct in banning them, these little attachments that turn a rifle into something akin to a machine—gun. what arguments are there today? there are different strands of argument, one part of the case was highly technical, the argument that the challengers are making is that the definition of machine—gun that congress enacted in 193a doing prohibition, doesn't apply to bump stocks and the variety of different arguments that relate to exactly how the bump stocks work and how that's different from the definition of machine—gun and the government has counterarguments about why it does fall within the definition of machine—guns. some of the court's conservative justices were worried because for a long time, until 2018, the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms had indicated that bump stocks weren't machine—guns. so some of the justices were concerned about the people who bought bump stocks before 2018 and could be now subject for criminal liability for something that was not a crime when they purchased it, the government's response was we've given them an opportunity to turn those in and it is a well—publicised issue. but several of the conservative justices were concerned about that. amy howe speaking to me there. meanwhile, ukraine has blamed congressional inaction in the us for its recent losses on the battlefield as its troops face a shortage of ammunition and key weapons. on wednesday, president zelensky even proposed that ukraine start partnering with other southeastern european countries to manufacture that critical ammunition. let's take a closer look now at the state of play on the front lines where russia has pushed back some key ukrainian defensive advances since late summer. in august, ukraine retook the city of robotyne, hoping it could cut off a key supply route to russian—controlled crimea. but this week, russian forces appear to have advanced to the western and southern outskirts of the village. russia also appears to be advancing around the village of krynky, ukraine's bridgehead across the dnipro river. and this month, ukraine withdrew its troops from avdiivka, a key eastern town russia had besieged for months. ukraine had hoped the town would be a gateway to reach the russian—controlled city of donetsk. now, as james waterhouse reports, ukraine has retreated yet further from the town it fought so hard to hold onto. ukraine's military today says it has pulled its troops out of two villages close to the town of avdiivka, which fell last week after months of bombardment and assault from russian forces and it's clear they are not stopping there. 0n the ukrainian side, we are getting told that they are trying to re—establish the front lines, they're trying to stabilise the situation, they say. but it is clear that russia is trying to push on, and while these villages, like so many places, have been mostly deserted, 100 people are thought to live in both of them, we are once again seeing a russian flag hoisted above a pile of rubble, the thought here in kyiv is that russia has assembled 80,000 troops in the closed city of bakhmut where they are looking to push and make it as difficult as possible for the ukrainian forces to re—establish themselves. it is clear that russia has the momentum and it is clear that waning western support, notably, a sizeable military package in the us, is directly hampering ukraine's ability to stem that tide. now, while these villages individually don't mount to much, it puts cities in really difficult positions because this is where people are going to evacuate to, the places that come under constant bombardment, and it may well be the case that the threat of russian occupation could be as great as it ever has been. earlier, we spoke with former cia director david petraeus. he broke down some of the factors determining the way forward in ukraine. first and foremost, again, getting the us assistance authorised and appropriate in the pipeline fuelled back up to be sure, but then, there is an issue that ukraine has a result of the selves that has to do with the generation of forces and units. as you probably know, the average age of a fighter, soldier on the front lines is over a0 in the ukrainian army in contrast to the 18 to 23 average age of those that i was privileged to lead in iraq and afghanistan. this has to do with the conscription systems, the policies and the laws, that clearly they are going to have to reduce the age of conscription from 27 to 25, take other steps so that they can be a unit rotation policy as well monitors individual replacement. these are very, very authority issues, president zelensky is working with the members of their parliament but they're very difficult, it's the one issue that he generally does not want to address in public commentary, but it's one that they have to come to grips to resolve this particular issue. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some top stories in the uk. the duke of sussex has lost a high court challenge over his security when he's visiting the uk. prince harry was contesting the government's decision to downgrade his security status when he stopped being a working royal. the prince argued he had been treated unfairly in the changes to his police protection when he still faced significant security threats. he plans to appeal the ruling. in northern ireland, a judge has ruled that the government should scrap plans to grant conditional amnesties for killings committed during the troubles. the high court in belfast found that the proposals were in breach of human rights law. the case was brought by relatives of victims who were angry at changes to the way investigations are being carried out. thousands of farmers descended on cardiff to protest against the welsh government's new farm subsidy plans. the proposals would require farmers to commit 10% of agricultural land to be used for trees and 10% for wildlife. farm unions have called it "unworkable". the welsh government said it's listening to the farmers�* concerns. you're live with bbc news. ghana's parliament has passed a tough new bill that imposes a prison sentence of up to three years for anyone convicted of identifying as lgbtq+. it also imposes a maximum five—year jail term for forming or funding gay or transgender groups. lawmakers blocked attempts to replace prison sentences with community service and counselling. it is the latest sign of growing opposition to lgbtq+ rights in the conservative west african nation. live now to neela ghoshal, who serves as senior director of law and policy at 0utright international. she formerly served as associate lgbt rights director at human rights watch. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. if this bill becomes law, what is this going to mean for members of the lgbtq+ community in ghana? thank you so much for the what it means in a practical way is that lgbtq+ people will no longer have the right to exist in ghana. this bill is appalling. it is one of the most severe bills we have seen. it prohibits simply holding out as a lesbian gay transsexual, transsexual person or an ally, which means that simply the act of identifying yourself as a queer personal identifying yourself as an ally to the community is punishable by law. that is absolutely extreme and unprecedented, even with the array of and i homosexuality bills we have seen around africa and other parts of the world. in addition, practically speaking, this bill will make it impossible for lgbtq+ people to go about their daily lives, to go about their daily lives, to be employed, to have a safe place to live, access healthcare. the bill includes a duty to report, which means that anyone who knows that there is a queer person in their surroundings will be required by law to report them all report allies to queer people to the police. so it is nothing less than an attempt to eradicate queer people and clearness from public existence, and visibility of all also anticipate that the bill will lead to an increase in violence. in fact, starting in violence. in fact, starting in 2021 when the bill was first introduced in parliament, activists on the ground in ghana but we were speaking with medially told us that people started to be attacked in their communities by mobs, by their neighbours, saying he said the government wants to outlaw you, we don't want you here. so we know that if this bill is enacted into law, the violence will increase further. this bill is a watered down version of an earlier draft — jail terms have been shortened and a controversial clause around conversion therapy has been removed — but why are ghanaians moving against members of the lgbtq+ community in this way now? well, let's keep in mind that it is an election year in ghana, so lgbtq+ people are an easy target politically. politicians are building their careers on the back of vulnerable and marginalised communities who can be portrayed as a threat to the nation. so it is kind of classic enemy construction creation of a threat within the country and it allows politicians the opportunity to say, we are here to save you and support you and protect you from this threat. and unfortunately a lot of people buy into this logic. part of the reason this is happening as well is because the lgbtq+ community in ghana and elsewhere in africa has become increasingly visible, increasingly visible, increasingly vibrant. there have been strong movements that have been strong movements that have been strong movements that have been growing. institutions like the african commission on human people rights have issued resolutions supporting lgbtq+ resolutions supporting lg btq+ people resolutions supporting lgbtq+ people at least their right to live free of violence and discrimination, and so the progress that has been taking place on the continent has been leading to a backlash, and some politicians are seizing on this and saying we are going to stop this progress and return to traditional values. inaudible. there is a _ traditional values. inaudible. there is a delay _ traditional values. inaudible. there is a delay on _ traditional values. inaudible. there is a delay on the - traditional values. inaudible. there is a delay on the line. i l there is a delay on the line. i was going to ask you... this bill only becomes law when the president signs it. he's said he will if a majority of ghanaians want him to. is their public support for these kind of measures? you are talking about the politicians there are, but what about the general public?— there are, but what about the general public? there is a high level of public _ general public? there is a high level of public support - general public? there is a high level of public support for - general public? there is a high level of public support for the l level of public support for the bill when it is discussed abstractly. what i think we have found from our interactions with ghanaian activists is when you speak to people on the ground and say if your next—door neighbour is gay, should they go to prison, if your next neighbour is gay, should they be evicted and not have the right to live anywhere, here is where people start to doubt. i started see the ways in which this kind of law can actually make people's very existence impossible, activists on the ground have found that it is possible to change hearts and minds, but what the president is likely to hear from the public is a general clamour of support because people don't understand the severe impact that this law will have on their neighbours, their loved ones, theirfamily their loved ones, their family members. their loved ones, theirfamily members. 0n the rights of minorities should never be subject to the will of the majority. that is a very clear principle of human rights. so it is disturbing to hear a president who described himself as a human rights advocate in the past saying he will go with the past saying he will go with the will of the majority even if the will of the majority based on real ignorance of the content of the bill would be to strip people of their fundamental rights. we will wait to see _ fundamental rights. we will wait to see what _ fundamental rights. we will wait to see what happens . fundamental rights. we willj wait to see what happens in ghana there. thank you for joining us on bbc news. thank ou. let's turn to some important news around the world: france is one step closer to being the first nation to enshrine the right to an abortion in its constitution. on wednesday, the country's senate voted overwhelmingly in favour of a bill to do so. a final vote by a joint session of parliament is planned for monday. the procedure has been legal in france since 197a. but president emmanuel macron pledged to make it a guaranteed freedom amid concerns over a clampdown on abortion rights in countries like the us. comedian and tv actor richard lewis has died aged 76. his publicist said lewis died peacefully in his home in los angeles on tuesday night after suffering a heart attack. lewis was known for his self—depreciating humour and for playing a semi—fictionalised version of himself on the long—running tv show curb your enthusiasm. a ground—breaking laboratory in the uk that's tried to recreate the process that powers stars is closing down. the jet fusion lab was first conceived back in the 1970s. it's played a leading role in the global effort to generate electricity by a creating mini—suns here on earth. here's our climate editor justin rowlatt. the european fusion research centre at culham in 0xfordshire was opened in a blaze of publicity back in 1984. i have great pleasure in formally opening the joint european torus. applause the ceremony may not have gone exactly as planned... archive: eventually, the cord was discovered... ..but the ambition of the project was stellar. its aim was to recreate the nuclear fusion reaction that powers the sun and all the stars. so, this is the reactor. when research was under way, the core was almost certainly the hottest place in the universe. scientists would heat hydrogen gas to temperatures of more than 200 million degrees celsius... ..to try and get the atoms to fuse together. that fusion would create helium and a huge burst of energy. the hope was to harness that energy to create potentially unlimited supplies of carbon—free electricity. thejet lab did not achieve that, but during its a0 years of operation, it transformed the world's understanding of the physics of nuclearfusion. jet's pioneering work will be taken forward at a new and even bigger fusion reactor being built in the south of france — though, since brexit, the uk is no longer part of this international collaboration. we're very proud of what's been achieved here atjet and it's as a result of our decision not to reassociate that we're able to invest £650 million in this new pipeline of work, making commercialfusion a reality within the next 20 years here in the uk. and the research here atjet will not stop. the scientists say decommissioning what was once the world's biggest fusion reactor will yield valuable lessons for future fusion projects. justin rowlatt, bbc news, 0xfordshire. from one kind ofjet energy to another... we want to show you this footage from dubai where eight pilots have taken part in what organisers say is the world's first jet suit race. each contestant wore a custom—suit fitted withjet engines. they whipped around a specially designed course along dubai's harbour for hours on wednesday. the manufacturers say the suits allow users to fly upwards of 80mph — or more than 120km/h. 0rganisers likened it to a marvel superhero film. that is it for the moment. thank you for watching. i'm caitriona perry. stay with us here on bbc news. take care. hello there. sunshine was a scarce commodity across the uk on wednesday, but we had most of it in eastern scotland withjust overfour hours of sunshine in edinburgh. however, the rest of us, rather cloudy, grey and at times wet, but it was mild with it. however, as the rain continues to push south and east, the wind direction is changing. we're going to see a return to some colder air across oui’ shores. so, thursday will start off mild, but wet across southeast england and east anglia. quite a lot of cloud generally across england and wales, with the best of any brighter skies into northern ireland, scotland. northwest scotland seeing a real rash of showers, accompanied by gale—force gusts of winds through the day. it will start to turn colder generally across scotland, 6—9 degrees, maybe double digits for a time before that front clears through in the southeast. but as we move out of thursday into friday, we see this next frontal system moving in, and as temperatures fall away through the night, bumping into that colder air which is sitting in place across the country, yes, we could see a return to some wintriness. it's going to be across higher ground. ggenerally temperatures will be sitting around freezing first thing on friday morning, perhaps below in eastern scotland. but there's going to be a risk of some snow above 200 metres in northern ireland, scottish borders, across the pennines, and into north wales. we could see a few centimetres accumulating, so that might cause some minor disruption, but it will be rain elsewhere. so you can see, circulating around that low pressure is that frontal system, and it will bring some sunny spells and scattered showers, a mixture of rain, sleet and snow at times across wales and southwest england, perhaps drier into the far north of scotland. but temperatures a little bit down — 6—9 degrees. don't forget, friday is the first day of march, so these values just below par for this time of year. then, as we move into the start of the weekend, we maintain the sunny spells and scattered showers and the wind direction still coming from the north, so it will feel quite cold, and we could still have a wintry flavour with any elevation. so again, 6—9 degrees the expected high. but as we move out of saturday into sunday, we see another frontal system bringing a spell of more organised rain and for a time, again, on the leading edge, there could be some wintry showers, but it will be rain eventually as that front moves through. so the weekend will stay pretty unsettled for most of us. take care. disney strikes a deal with asia's richest man. but will it help the entertainment giant beat its competitors in india's rapidly growing streaming market? and we'll speak to the top boss of air india — and find out about how its reboot is panning out. hello. welcome to asia business report with me, mariko 0i. we begin our programme in india, where a mega—merger has been reached between the walt disney company and reliance industries. they're combining their india tv and streaming businesses in a whopping $8.5 billion deal. he says this deal will be an industry disruptor. well, i think it will have a huge impact. they're talking about having a 40% market share — so obviously a 40% market share of india, and the indian diaspora is absolutely huge. these are two huge companies — reliance industries is one of the biggest companies in the world, owned by asia's