US inmate faces first nitrogen execution

An Alabama death row inmate is expected to become the first person in the US to be executed with nitrogen gas, after losing last-minute appeals. The US Supreme Court and a lower appeals court declined to block what Kenneth Eugene Smith's lawyers called a "cruel and unusual" punishment. We learn more about the method and speak to our correspondent about the legal challenges against the execution.

Reports from Russia say investigators at the site of a downed military transport plane near the Ukrainian border have found missile fragments. Russia has accused Ukraine of shooting down the aircraft which, it said, was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war. The government in Kyiv has called for an international inquiry. Our colleague from BBC Verify explains.

Treasures looted by British soldiers more than a century ago are being returned to Ghana for the first time. We speak to our correspondent in Ghana and to the BBC's culture and media editor.

We talk about a lawsuit by a photographer, who accuses a tattoo artist of infringing on his copyright by using his photo of Miles Davis for a tattoo.

Presenter: James Reynolds.

(Photo: Kenneth Eugene Smith, convicted for a murder-for-hire committed in 1988, and who is scheduled to be executed in the U.S. state of Alabama by asphyxiation using pure nitrogen, poses for an undated booking photo at Holman Prison in Atmore, Alabama, U.S. Alabama Department of Corrections/Handout via REUTERS)