is sentenced to prison. the white house approves money to help the us state of maryland respond to this week's deadly baltimore bridge collapse. wall streetjournal reporter evan gershkovich marks a year in russian detention. hello. i'm caitriona perry. you've very welcome. we begin in new york with what's being called one of the biggest financial crimes in us history. the founder of the bankrupt crypto currency exchange ftx, sam bankman—fried, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. a federaljudge at manhattan court house ruled that the 32—year—old knew he acted criminally but had shown no remorse. mr bankman—fried, who's expected to appeal the sentence, apologised for his actions but did not admit to criminal wrongdoing.

he was found guilty of fraud and money laundering last year. before his firm's collapse in 2022, the former billionaire became a celebrity atop a crypto empire. prosecutors said he raided customer accounts for bribes, illegal political donations and risky investments. our business correspondent michelle fleury has more. thejudge had to decide the judge had to decide a couple of things and took into account age, losses involved an impact on the victims and also the message of the tarrant and he settled on 25 years for sam bankman—fried, sending him to prison for that time. it was less than lawyers who had been prosecuting the case had asked for you wanted 40—15 years and by contrast lawyers for mr bankman—fried said he should get less than seven years. judge lewis kaplan decided that splitting the difference somewhere in the middle was the

way to go. the judge clearly thought that although mr bankman—fried has autism, as he said in court, sometimes he can be a bit socially awkward, the judge clearly thought this was a serious crime in order to send the message of deterrent and was also not convinced that mr bankman—fried had shown enough remorse and he was not convinced that he might not try to essentially cheat people potentially again. that is why he settled on this lengthy sentence, one that white—collar lawyers, professors have been telling me seemed to be the sort of right amount, but it felt right at them and one that would be hard to challenge. let's talk more about this. live now to steven ehrlich. he's the director of research at forbes crypto and he also interviewed sam bankman—fried last year in jail. thanks forjoining us. a prison sentence was all the guaranteed and the question was how long.

we surprised by the 25 years? i was not terribly surprised. statutory guidelines adjusted a century or more which seemed ludicrous at the time. the prosecutors were looking for 40-15 prosecutors were looking for 40—15 years which is not quite a life sentence but pretty close in this case. 25 years seems to be what the prevailing expectation was before all of this happened and again takes into account, not to forgive the nominee of the crimes, but he is still relatively young, he is still relatively young, he has no prior convictions or history of bad behaviour, and at this point he will have to serve 85% of the sentence, he is going to get out in his 50s and maybe then he will be able to be a productive member of society. 25—30 years seems to be what most of the community expected. be what most of the community exected. ., �* ~ expected. you've interviewed mr bankman-fried. _ expected. you've interviewed mr bankman-fried. judge _ expected. you've interviewed mr bankman-fried. judge kaplan i bankman—fried. judge kaplan saturday there is a risk that this panel better position to do do something very bad in the future and it's not a trivial

risk. do you agree with that? it is hard to say. i have interviewed him multiple times, i actually interviewed him hours before his arrest in the bahamas. i was his last interviewer as a free man. in all of his conversations and writings in spanish, even today judge kaplan reference date, he did not really show much remorse. he felt the assets were always, that creditors are going to be made all even at november 2022 prices and he has this calculus where he is willing to take big risks if the reward is worth it, even by a sliver. it is hard to know what is in a person's hard, obviously he thought a lot of people in the media and investment community and broaderfinance so it investment community and broader finance so it is investment community and broaderfinance so it is hard to know what is for sure. but i can certainly understand the degree of fear thatjudge kaplan had that when sam bankman—fried gets out, he could do this again. he bankman-fried gets out, he could do this again.- could do this again. he was

also ordered _ could do this again. he was also ordered to _ could do this again. he was also ordered to forfeit - could do this again. he was also ordered to forfeit $11 l also ordered to forfeit $11 billion in thejudge also ordered to forfeit $11 billion in the judge said that could be used to pay back some of his victims. are those people going to see their money again? i people going to see their money auain? , ., , again? i believe that they well but a . ain again? i believe that they well but again it — again? i believe that they well but again it is _ again? i believe that they well but again it is hard _ again? i believe that they well but again it is hard to - again? i believe that they well but again it is hard to know i but again it is hard to know for sure. the $11 billion is made to cover the total extent of the losses that ftx incurred that covers the retail investors, lenders, investors, because remote that he was convicted of fraud and conspiracy against many different groups. but again, in his submissions to the court before sentencing he talked about how creditors are going to be made whole, that we paid back 100% but it's very important to remember that 100% in us dollars for the price of scripture in november 2022 which was the nature of this entire bear market, bitcoin is now about something 60— 70% since then and other assets are even higher. customers only had to wait at least two years for those gains, for funds to be

returned, and they have not got it yet, i'm not going to see those gains. it is definitely maybe a bit of a sliver of money but a bitter pill to swallow for a lot of customers. briefly, you've touched on that, is there a brand damage to cyrptocurrency from this whole affair? i to cyrptocurrency from this whole affair?— whole affair? i would definitely _ whole affair? i would definitely say - whole affair? i would definitely say so. - whole affair? i would definitely say so. i i whole affair? i would i definitely say so. i know whole affair? i would - definitely say so. i know that crypto is starting to ride hi again, bitcoin set an all—time high of $70,000, but it's very muchjust the bitcoin high of $70,000, but it's very much just the bitcoin story at this point in time led by the etf switch have been covered ad nauseam across the media. and lead by black rod infidelity and so forth but the rest of crypto has not really come back. it's very much a bitcoin story and crypto is still searching for those cases. we will leave _ searching for those cases. we will leave it _ searching for those cases. we will leave it there. steven ehrlich, director of research at forbes crypto, thank you for joining us on bbc news.-

joining us on bbc news. thank ou. the biden administration has approved maryland's request for $60 million in aid for recovery efforts after a bridge in baltimore collapsed when it was hit by a cargo ship. divers have so far found the bodies of two people in a red pick—up truck underwater. eight workers were on the bridge when it was hit by the cargo ship dali, plunging them into the waters below. two were rescued on the day, but the search continues for four other men who were working on the bridge repairing potholes. all are now presumed dead. investigators say the container ship that crashed, and still remains in the patapsco river, was carrying more than 700 tons of hazardous materials. the jobs of at least 8,000 workers at the port of baltimore are affected by the collapse of the bridge. maryland state governor wes moore outlined what's next. fast, we need to continue to focus on recovery. because it is our obligation to bring a sense of closure to these

families. second, we need to clear the channel and open vessel traffic to the port because the health of the maryland economy and the national economy depends on it. third, we need to take care of all the people who have been affected by this process and that means the families, that means the workers, that means the businesses, that means the first responders. that means everybody. and in the military, one of the things we were taught as you always take care of your people. we're going to make sure in this moment we take care of our people. and fourth, we need to rebuild the francis scott key bridge. based on interviews with 60 former pows, the un has found credible evidence that russian soldiers have been torturing ukrainian prisoners to extract

military information. the most common methods of torture included beatings, electric shocks, threats of execution, mock executions, and positional torture. guards often beat the pows, used stun guns to give them electric shocks, forced them to stand for prolonged periods in stress and painful positions, or sometimes exposed them to cold by forcing them to walk naked and barefoot outside in the winter period. the un says this is not in compliance with international law, and made several recommendations to address the treatment and conditions of prisoners of war. as us journalist evan gershkovich marks a year in russian detention, the kremlin says it won't talk publicly about the possibility of any prisoner exchange. mr gershkovich was arrested in russia last year on suspicion of espionage. moscow accuses the wall street journal reporter of trying to obtain military secrets while reporting on russia's war in ukraine.

mr gershkovich, the wall street journal, and the us government all deny accusations of any wrongdoing. a russian court on tuesday extended his pre—trial detention at a high—security prison in moscow by another three months. we've been speaking with his sister, danielle, and wall streetjournal assistant editor paul beckett about their efforts to bring evan home. in early december the state department said that they made an offerfor 11 and paul whelan who has been there for five years and the russians rejected it. since we've seen him twice, one at his annual press conference at the end of his interview with tucker carlson. we know there are conversations pulling on. it is appropriate that those happen quietly and secretly and we are not privy to them but we are confident that they are happening and we hope that they benefit soon. the white house has made statements that they are serious _ statements that they are serious about getting evan home which _ serious about getting evan home which is — serious about getting evan home which is wonderful to hear, but

we know— which is wonderful to hear, but we know that is a conversation thai's— we know that is a conversation that's between governments, but we are _ that's between governments, but we are very grateful to have contact _ we are very grateful to have contact from the team, and we are able — contact from the team, and we are able to _ contact from the team, and we are able to meet and speak with president — are able to meet and speak with president biden, and he personally promised our family that he — personally promised our family that he is— personally promised our family that he is going to get evan home, _ that he is going to get evan home, so— that he is going to get evan home, so we just have to keep our faith— home, so we just have to keep our faith in— home, so we just have to keep our faith in that promise. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news in the uk. three prisoners and three staff from lewes prison in east sussex have been taken to hospital for suspected food poisoning. emergency teams were sent to the jail at about midday. it's understood a number of people became ill soon after after eating a curry served after a maundy thursday service. a man has been arrested in connection with the death of the gogglebox star george gilbey. the ao—year—old who was a self—employed electrician died at work after

falling from a height. essex police said a man in his 40s had been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. the former england cricket captain freddie flintoff is returning to television after his top gear accident. he was injured at the programme's test track at dunsfold park aerodrome in surrey in december 2022. he'll be back on television for the second series of the bbc one cricket documentary, freddie flintoff�*s field of dreams. you're live with bbc news. the international court ofjustice ordered israel to take all necessary action to ensure that basic food supplies reach palestinians facing hunger in gaza. thejudges said the israeli military must not violate the international convention on genocide. it's the world court's strongest language yet on the war. it's also ordering israel to open more land crossings to allow aid into the strip. but the icj does not

have any power to enforce its ruling. meanwhile, gaza's aid agencies are concerned for patients at gaza hospitals that now face daily israeli bombardment. for more on the situation, i spoke to the medical director of medglobal nahreen ahmed. she returned from her second mission to gaza last week. thank you for taking the time to speak to us on bbc news. you are back from gaza and you in various locations. talk us through all of that, but let's start with northern gaza. what did you see there. the hearing desperate reports of people starving to death.— starving to death. yes, i should just _ starving to death. yes, i should just highlight i starving to death. yes, i | should just highlight how challenging it is to reach the north. we have to co—operate with un agencies to join convoys to go to the north side access is really limited. what i witnessed going from south to north was the landscape is entirely decimated, the roads

are very challenging and need very specific high utility vehicles to access the north and we saw people just absolutely starving. we saw children, every child i saw has evidence of non— attrition. the death count for mum attrition has risen to 27 and that's probably just what we know. has risen to 27 and that's probablyjust what we know. to collect that data has been extremely challenging. people are not able to access consistently food for their children, for themselves. we are seeing mum attrition and pregnant and are seeing mum attrition and pregnantand mike are seeing mum attrition and pregnant and mike penning women. when i walked through the halls of one hospital, the desperation on the faces of mothers and children is heartbreaking. mothers telling us because they themselves are malnourished they can't feed their children. the most viable population are pregnant, lactating women and children under two. the health effects of mum attrition are

devastating and the most mum attrition. the children it is a quick process once the starvation kicks in and there —— it is painful. we witness the challenge of districting food and aid in the north giving access issues. fin food and aid in the north giving access issues. on that oint, if giving access issues. on that point. if they _ giving access issues. on that point, if they were _ giving access issues. on that point, if they were to - giving access issues. on that point, if they were to be i giving access issues. on that point, if they were to be a i point, if they were to be a ceasefire, could those impacts be reversed?— be reversed? the tricky thing about malnutrition _ be reversed? the tricky thing about malnutrition is - be reversed? the tricky thing about malnutrition is it i be reversed? the tricky thing about malnutrition is it is i be reversed? the tricky thing about malnutrition is it is notj about malnutrition is it is not just about providing food and being the end of it. when somebody has severe or moderate malnutrition they need monitoring so there needs to be the access not only to food but direct monitoring for those being referred because there is consequences of refitting too quickly when someone is severely malnourished so it's notjust severely malnourished so it's not just about bringing severely malnourished so it's notjust about bringing food but health aid and i worry that we are beyond the point of that, if aid was to rush up

there, that this could be reversed quickly. i think that the effects of starvation and malnutrition are so far past the point where we can reverse it quickly, but we absently need to do what we can to get aid and food distributed equitably in gaza. in aid and food distributed equitably in gaza. in terms of the hospitals _ equitably in gaza. in terms of the hospitals that _ equitably in gaza. in terms of the hospitals that you - equitably in gaza. in terms of the hospitals that you are i equitably in gaza. in terms of the hospitals that you are in i the hospitals that you are in the hospitals that you are in the north and in the south as well, just how functional are they? be hearing about the shortage of medical supplies. currently most hospitals are referred to as partially functional which means that there are some services available but not all. there are six partially functional hospitals in the north and six in the south. that number has reduced from when i was there in january reduced from when i was there injanuary which reduced from when i was there in january which means reduced from when i was there injanuary which means that hospitals that were previously functional, there are less of them now, as hospitals come under siege. and after working in nasser hospital myself in january and again working with

our staff and some of our volunteers in al—aqsa hospital, several hospitals in the middle, south and north korea we noticed that absolutely crucial supplies are missing. for example, at one hospital in the north we have heard that there are severe fractures and trauma injuries coming in that require certain tools to fix for orthopaedic surgeons and those are nails and external fixator is. because of the lack of availability of them, doctors are working with engineers that are available in the area to come up with a way to do that and make them themselves. we're also hearing about terrible infections where the proper antibiotics are not available which means people are dying from preventable courses, treatable courses. this is devastating and lack of supplies for especially maternal child health is devastating. 0ne volunteer who worked in maternity centre had a chance to sit with her and

some other obstetricians and to hear about the absolute devastating lack of supplies and the lack of space, is not a supplier but lack of space for patients, hospitals are overflowing, patients that are giving birth by having to leave the hospital after two hours if you can imagine that, just because there is not enough space to accommodate the number of deliveries happening at several hospitals in gaza. you travel around _ several hospitals in gaza. you travel around war _ several hospitals in gaza. you travel around war zones training medical professionals how to operate in conflict. how does what you've said gaza compared to those other war zones, conflict areas you've beenin? zones, conflict areas you've been in? it zones, conflict areas you've been in?— zones, conflict areas you've been in? it is incomparable. this is by — been in? it is incomparable. this is by far _ been in? it is incomparable. this is by far the _ been in? it is incomparable. this is by far the worst i this is by far the worst disaster i've ever seen and the hardest part of that is this is man—made. what we're seeing the devastation, injuries, the extremely high volume of children, women and children being affected, the fact that you have so many people that cannot leave, and other crisis and conflict zones we venture,

we been able see people evacuate to get to safety. but you hear people saying in gaza that there is no safe in gaza which is extremely true, the fact that you have nearly 1.7, 1.8 million people in rafah is extremely small and area. it is disastrous and evolving into a public health crisis given the increase in things like acute water, bloody diarrhoea, respiratory infections, hepatitis a, this is a consequence of having so many people crammed into a small space without the ability to safely leave. that's incredibly unprecedented.— safely leave. that's incredibly unprecedented. thank you for describing _ unprecedented. thank you for describing to _ unprecedented. thank you for describing to us _ unprecedented. thank you for describing to us the _ unprecedented. thank you for describing to us the situation | describing to us the situation in gaza. medical director of medglobal nahreen ahmed. a new un report has described the situation in haiti as cataclysmic, with more than 1,500 people murdered in the country so far this year.

the un estimates that the gangs now control more than 80% of the capital port—au—prince. the report published on thursday found a significant increase in sexual violence and the abuse of children. dozens of people have died in a bus crash in south africa, after careering off a bridge into a ravine and bursting into flames. the bbc�*s shingai nyoka has more. perfect details are emerging about this accident in which dozens of people lost their lives to commemorate easter. the government says the driver lost control of the vehicle, the bus rammed into a railing as they were crossing a bridge, went over that railing, plunged about 50 metres into a ravine and then burst into flames. 45 people who were on board were killed and there is only one known survivor at this stage, an 8—year—old girl who was airlifted to a hospital. but

she is in a serious condition. we've been hearing harrowing stories from the emergency services who say that many of the people were burnt beyond recognition and some of the remains were trapped within the wreckage. the government has said that it will launch a commission of enquiry to find out exactly what happened. it is a tragic start to the easter weekend. it is ordinarily a very busy time of the year especially in the province of limpopo with thousands of people on the road from across southern africa, making their way to a religious shrine, to commemorate easter. to the spanish island of ibiza now. the tourist hot spot has spotlighted country's struggle with the rising housing costs, exacerbated by an influx of foreign visitors. guy hedgecoe reports. ibiza is preparing for the summer tourist season. its beaches and resorts have long been a magnet

for holiday—makers. but its success has helped create a housing crisis. across the balearic islands, rental costs have increased by nearly 20% over the last yearalone, and in ibiza the increases have been even sharper. there are several reasons for the steep rise in rental costs. higher interest rates and a higher cost of living have discouraged people from buying property. that, in turn, has led to an increase in demand for rented accommodation, pushing up rental rates. tourism is also a major factor. last year, 3.7 million people visited ibiza and the neighbouring island of formentera. many stay in flats, pushing up rental prices and keeping locals out of the housing market.

this man is a chef, and although he has work, he has been sleeping in his car for the last three years. something many workers on the island now resort to. translation: in ibiza, - accommodation is very expensive and is getting more and more expensive. the cost of renting is completely out of kilter with what you earn. when you have been living this long in a car, there comes a moment when you say, "i cannot do this any more. "i need a home." local activists are demanding that this phenomenon be stopped. translation: the problem we have is that the island'sl housing is not being used for the purpose for which it was built. it is being used as a speculative business and for tourism. this situation is affecting local businesses. the old beach disco and restaurant is preparing for the high season.

but finding staff in ibiza or from elsewhere is not easy. i already have friends - on the island whose rent has doubled in the last year, i so when you look at workers coming to the island, it is a massive factorl and well—known, so i think it will ultimately affect people i coming to the island and getting workers| to come to ibiza. the local authorities say the housing crisis is caused by homeowners who break the law by offering their properties to rent for short periods. the problem is that you are much more money renting for days or for weeks than if you rent according to the law, which is at least six months. and you have a lot of people are now renting illegally — offering their properties illegally. as the high season approaches, the question is whether ibiza's success as a tourism destination can be sustained when housing is such a problem. guy hedgecoe, bbc news, ibiza. let's turn to some important news around the world.

a tropical storm battering madagascar has killed at least 11 people and destroyed hundreds of homes, according to officials there. cyclone gamane made landfall along the island's north—eastern region of sava on wednesday. presidentjoe biden is headlining a high—profile fundraiser in new york, alongside barack 0bama and bill clinton. the star—studded event is expected to raise a record—breaking $25 million for the democrats in their election campaign. and before we go, some moments ofjoy in nigeria's northwestern state of kaduna. it's where more than 100 kidnapped students were welcomed back home to celebrations from crowds. they were rescued by the country's army after they were abducted by gunmen from a school on march 7. that's it for the moment. i'm caitriona perry. thanks for watching. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. well, with british summertime

just around the corner, thursday was a stark reminder ofjust how fickle british weather can be. yes, we had some snow, some of it settling for a time in northern ireland on thursday. it was a wild day, wet and windy for many as well. and in fact in wiltshire we had over 40 millimetres of rain in a 24—hour period. now it's all due to low pressure that's anchored itself to the southwest and that low is still going to be with us during the day on friday. the showers, hopefully few and further between in comparison to thursday's weather. and we'll start off on a relatively quiet note for good friday with a few scattered showers around, but they'll become more widespread as we go through the day, drifting their way steadily north into the afternoon. so some of the showers could still be quite potent from time to time. the winds quite blustery, but with a little more sunshine, a little more warmth, nine to 14 degrees celsius our overall high. move out of good friday into the start of the weekend and it looks likely that

saturday and sunday will continue to be a little bit quieter. the low just shifts further away, the isobars open up, the winds will fall light. we'll need to keep an eye on this frontal system, which could bring some rain towards kent and perhaps suffolk, first thing on saturday morning and maybe a little more cloud. but generally, it will be a quieter day with more sunshine coming through, showers more isolated. there will be some moving through scotland and maybe a longer spell of rain across the channel isles and down through south west england by the end of the afternoon. but temperatures in the sunshine, 15 degrees celsuis — a pleasant day for many on saturday. easter sunday continues with that quieter story, perhaps more frequent showers out to the west on sunday. but on the whole, there will be some drier weather from time to time with some sunshine and again, some warmth with temperatures around 13—15 degrees quite widely. so as we move into monday, though, easter monday, we could see a change to something a little bit more unsettled once again, with low pressure never too far away.

and we will see some spells of wetter weather, particularly across central and southern england. so looking further ahead from monday onwards, that unsettled theme is set to continue. longer spells of rain never too far away. take care.

decades behind bars — sam bankman—fried, one of crypto's biggest personalities, has been sentenced. we'll have the details. and you may be paying more for chocolate this easter. find out why later in the programme. hello and a warm welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. we begin in the us where the co—founder of the failed crypto exchange ftx, sam bankman—fried, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors of his now—bankru pt firm. the ruling cements the downfall of the former billionaire, who emerged as a high profile champion of crypto before his firm's dramatic collapse in 2022. the bbc�*s erin delmore has the latest from new york. a stunning fall for sam bankman—fried, a crypto exchange founder

and mogul in the industry