this week... we're with the next generation of hot builders — and they're not who you think they are. plus, this may be music to your ears — if you're a tabla player. the computerised version is now upon us. and the scammers targeting chinese people with threats of extradition, as deepfake police officers demand bail money. there's no chance i can know that's not real. it's so convincing.

i just love robotics. building this from nothing is quite rewarding. we ended up winning quite a few awards last year, - which i was very proud of. this is caitlyn, gizem, emily... ..and this is axle. and together with another dozen students from bournemouth school for girls, they are team ultraviolet. have you got room for a little one? they've been working during lunchtimes and school holidays to build a robot to compete in a national competition called the first tech challenge uk. each year, participating schools, and other groups of young people, are sent an enormous kit of parts, and asked to design a robot that can race against other bots to collect plastic hexagons, called pixels, in an arena — and then do

a whole load of other mind—bending tasks, too. now, in the grand final at the national championships, the task is this — the robots have to spend the first 30 seconds driving around autonomously and dropping one of these pixels onto a predetermined point that's onlyjust been chosen before the clock starts running. the next 90 seconds are spent being manually driven around and depositing as many of these pixels as possible into the target boards over there. then, the things have to do pull—ups on these bars, and also launch a paper aeroplane at a line just outside the arena. got it? good. it's a complicated brief, and it means that there are many different robot designs that might do the job. what's the brush for? to get the pixels in. cos with a claw, you have to be

precise of where the claw goes down to cling it up. whereas the brush, cos it constantly moves and moves, it'll always just be pushing it in. there's going to be a box here. the pixel, it's going to lift it, and then onto the board that's behind. so, it's a kind of catapult? yeah, basically. but we're hoping that it's not going to chuck away. 0k. i stood in the wrong place today, didn't i? the aim of this competition is to get more students interested in science, technology, engineering and maths — stem — and specifically to attract a more diverse range of entrants into a field that is overwhelmingly white and male. there's only about 24%, 25% of the current stem workforce that are women. you often see folks who are neurodiverse. you have, for example, young people who have autism. they have brilliant qualities that they can bring into the stem landscape. but there's a massive underrepresentation there. i would have thought those people would be drawn to it and very good at stem, and so i'm surprised that they are underrepresented.

it's a huge shame. one thing that we've seen through our programme itself is that, actually, they get to learn in a different way. it's student—led. so, if they have a special interest, something that really drives them, they're allowed to flourish in that space. it's difficult to do in a classroom setting cos you've got a curriculum to follow. you move on from one area of focus to another. so, how do you get non—typical pupils involved in this? for us, it's the connection between stem meeting sport. so, making it as fun and exciting as you would, you know, a football match, for example, or a music festival. the interesting thing, though, about this competition is that to attract a wider range of students with a wider range of interests, it is — as its slogan suggests — about more than robots. they don't have to just change themselves in terms of building a robot — mechanics, the design.

they also have to develop a business plan, a strategy with the game itself, plan their own outreach with younger primary schoolchildren, fundraise. how hard have they been working? very hard. many hours every week, and making me work hard, as well. and we've checked out your merch, as well. the hats, we made those in the coach on the way l to the first competition. have you noticed any difference between girls teams, boys teams and mixed teams? 0h, absolutely. i don't want to be biased. i think all of our teams are amazing. but there's something i see in the quality of all—girls teams, is they are so holistic in their approach, in terms of they work really cohesively as a team. of course you have fall—outs and you have, you know, you have to resolve problems and challenges along the way. but they very much look at all the moving parts and assess, actually, how do we do that really well together? ok, it's time to test today's

upgrade with axle�*s driver, emily. and i notice, as with so many robots these days, that's a standard games controller that you're using. yeah. so, that's what, i guess, you've grown up being used to. surprisingly, i wasn't used to this. initially, we recruited drivers based on their sort of video game experience, because they would be familiar with a controller like this, but... ..i'm not. but somehow you're better! yeah. am i right in saying the planning for this year's competition started on the bus on the way home from last year's competition? yes. there was a notes app on someone's phone that was filled with all the things we could have done better. and i tell you what, that is proper project management. so, hats off to all of you. now, there is one task that will get a load of points, if axle can pull it off. or should that be... pull itself up? but can it lift its iikg weight off the ground? no.

there's a problem. will all these things be fixed in the weeks before the final? we'll find out, when we go to the finals later in this programme. so, you know those annoying messages you get on your phone? me and my british—chinese friends have been getting ones like this for years. recorded chinese message some of these messages, like this one just now, tell me that i have to call them back because there's a problem with my visa, or that there's a problem with a parcel that i've just sent. but me and my friends, we know that this is fake, and this is a pretty basic scam, so we just ignore them. but now things have escalated. some criminals have taken these scams to a terrifying new level. a huge criminal industry

is targeting chinese people around the world, exploiting their respect and fear for authority. the scam starts with one of those calls, and very quickly the victim finds themselves talking to somebody who says they are a chinese police officer. helen was born in china, and has lived in london for 30 years. last summer she got a phone call saying chinese customs had stopped an illegal parcel sent in her name. helen hadn't sent anything, so she's already suspicious when she's transferred to a policeman who introduces himself as officer fung. so, aftertalking, isay, "how do i know you're real police?" so, they switch on whatsapp. on a video call, helen sees a uniformed man, who flashes a police id. he then uses his phone to give her a tour of his location. seems like two or three policemen working there, with uniform, and one receptionist stand up there, with a desk with a police logo. so, what he was showing you looked like a real police station? yes, it looks very real to me. whilst they're talking, officer fung gets a message over the station tannoy.

he has to take a call about helen. when he comes back, he's not interested in the illegal parcel any more. he says he's been told that helen's on their most wanted list — she's suspected of running a massive financial fraud in china. i panic. i said, "that's not true." he said, "everyone say not true. "no—one say they're guilty." officer fung says, if she's innocent, she must help them catch the real crooks. helen's made to sign a confidentiality agreement, and she's ordered to download an app so they can listen in on what she's doing. if you tell anyone you're already being interviewed by chinese police, your life is in danger. these are the fake official documents that the scammers sent to you? yes. this one said i am involved with international money laundering and prime suspect. helen is told her accomplices

have made statements, naming her as their boss. things get even worse when the scammers say they have a taped confession. so, they sent this video to you? yes. what are they saying? "how did you arrange the money? who gave you your order?" so, these guys pointed at me, it's me, miss young. oh, hejust said your name. yes. so, he said, "miss young order me to do this criminal case." how does that make you feel? like, hejust said your name. but that moment, i was trembling, because he looks real to me. so, it's convinced me i'm in deeper, deeper, deeper trouble. we've taken a closer look at the video. the suspect�*s covid mask makes it impossible to tell if his lips match what you're hearing, so it would be easy to add a fake soundtrack naming helen or any other victim. this one is the extradite... but for helen, it seems all too real, and she believes officer fung when he tells her

she's going to be extradited to china, even though she's a british citizen. "so, you got 2a hours. "you pack your bag, everything, please." "coming to take you to airport." this is the moment the scammers have been working up to. helen is told she can halt her extradition if she pays bail money, so she sends them her life savings of £29,000. but a few days later, the fake police are back, demanding even more money. the say, "we want you borrow a quarter million as a bail "fund." i say, "how on earth i will raise quarter million? "i don't have money." but when helen tries to borrow money from a friend, he alerts her daughter, who tells helen she's been scammed. i felt a bit stupid right now. but to think about, there's no chance i can know that's not real. it's so convincing. helen's story is extraordinary — but it's not unique.

there have been so many of these scams around the world that chinese embassies, like this one here in london, have been issuing warnings to the public. they are telling chinese speakers not to respond to any messages claiming to be the chinese authorities. and they say the chinese police would never ask people to send them money. many of these scams are thought to be run by chinese criminals operating from compounds in countries like myanmar, cambodia and laos. chinese state media has been reporting that tens of thousands of suspects have been returned to china over the last year. but there are worrying signs the scamming industry is learning new tricks. we're seeing this evolution really accelerate over the past few months, with new technology being adopted, especially artificial intelligence. we found deepfake technology for sale in a telegram group, promoted here as a way of appearing like a chinese police officer. we're seeing scams being done using deepfake videos, people being called by family members, or police officers. basically, not able to determine whether that's the real person or not.

back in london, helen's putting her life back together. her bank refunded the money she lost. but helen is still haunted by her ordeal. it's a nightmare. i still have nightmares about that. if something coming you suspect, put the phone down. i really hope no—one will go through what i've been through. it's terrible. and if you've been affected by issues raised in this film, details of support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline. time for a look at this week's tech news. google has revealed that its greenhouse gas emissions have soared in the

last five years. this is because of the electricity needed to powered data centres powering artificial intelligence. aa powered services require considerably more electricity and computer power than standard online activity. the tech giant has pledged to become carbon neutral by the end of the decade. pope francis says he wants the vatican city to run solely on solar power. it will involve installing technology 11 miles outside of rome. there are less than 1000 people living within the city walls of the hope is the project can supply all the energy they need. it is the latest initiative from the vatican, whether previous pledged to ensure their whole fleet of vehicles are electric by 2030. an rupert murdoch's fox corporation are entering the ad supported video streaming market. it is doing this by expanding its iib platform. it will compete with the likes of

netflix and disney, but claims they already have 80 million monthly users in the us. they they will be born than 20,000 films and series available, including british, indian, and nigerian content. —— they say there will be more than 20,000 films and series available, including british, indian, and nigerian content. the tabla — a fabulously expressive instrument — has defied synthesis for years. however, world—class tabla player and music producer kuljit bhamra and his team gave these gorgeous hand drums an electronic makeover. it took them five years to work out exactly how. hi. hello! how are you doing? really good, thank you. i feel bad interrupting. no, no, no, please don't feel bad at all. can we talk technical for a second? yeah, sure. i'm very happy to talk about the music side forever — but it's a technology programme. yeah! now, there's a sensing technology, obviously,

underneath these... each drum head has an array of sensors. i can't talk about it too much, because it's all patent... well, it is patented. it's got an array of sensors. and the sensors are working at a very high level of sensitivity. so, just to give you an example. if i strike this drum here... ..i get that sound, obviously. now, if ijust rest my other finger there, and then strike it, i get a different sound. i'm not pressing that hard at all. it's just resting. we've got a menu here, where you can adjust the sensitivity. you can also adjust the black circle zones, according to the lengths of your fingers. we've put other... other features in that you can adjust according to your own individual playing style. with traditional instruments, you have to hammer by hand for quite some time to change

the pitch of these drums — but with these you simply turn a dial. and so, to see you just effortlessly change key there, it's very gratifying. indian music, as you know, especially indian classical music, is all in one key. so, if you watch a ravi shankar or anoushka shankar type performance, it's all in one key. and so, what this also allows, which wasn't the original plan, is that it allows a modulation and key change. mm. you know, you could then use that in your music. so, it's almost like this instrument is evolving indian music, because of the new capabilities that electronics have added to it. 100%. 100%, yeah. though the pro model with the screen is aimed at a premium audience — with a price to match — the team is working on more affordable models, like this one with no screen, that's similar in cost to a traditional set. it's going to raise a few eyebrows, isn't it? 100%, yeah. what's been the response that

you've seen when this has been used in maybe more traditional environments? yeah, i think some traditionalists will have an issue with it. no—one has said anything sort of outrightly rude to me, but i'm sure people are upset. you know, because we always think of tradition as having been fixed over, like, thousands of years. but tradition does change, you know what i mean? i mean, when these tablas were first made, they didn't... these black spots were made of dough, like, flour and water. wow. and then, you know, obviously, the wood is now lathed, rather than hand—cut. so, people still call that a traditional drum. mm—hm. personally, i think it's absurd to think that our whole, the whole of indian culture depends on a drum. imean...! my aim is not for this to replace this in any way whatsoever, because this is so beautiful. it won't be the first time technology affects creativity.

the electric guitar in the 1930s changed music forever — and the team hope the electric tabla touch will do the same. they laugh earlier in the programme, we met a group of teenagers from bournemouth preparing to take part in a national robotics competition. after weeks of designing, building and troubleshooting, it's time for team ultraviolet to put their robot, axle, to the test. teams from across the uk are making theirfinal preparations before their bots go head—to—head, battling it out in round after round of intense competition. how's everyone feeling? good. yeah? 0k. anyone get any sleep last night, at all? no. two hours. i've just noticed

the sunglasses! before the bots start battling, it's time for axle and the team to face thejudges. my name is emily... first, they have to present their design process and portfolio. and then, they have to show that the robot is safe and within the rules. batteries all fixed in? it seems to be moving a bit. we can tape that all down. they've just had to hold their own againstjudges, who are asking detailed questions about how the robot works. is it safe? and if they've been asked to make changes, they've said, "yep, no problem, we'll get that sorted." really, really impressive stuff. good morning, everyone. can i get another round of applause for everyone in this room, please? right, let the battle commence. in three, two, one. drive! now, the 42 teams work in pairs, called alliances, and the highest—scoring

alliances will make it through to the knockout stages, and eventually to the grand final. and here goes ultraviolet. so, as a reminder, the first part of each match involves picking up pixels and dropping them into target areas. the second part involves going freestyle, launching paper planes, and doing pull—ups on the bars. and after a bit of a shaky start for team ultraviolet... ..things start to come together. it's a long, hot, gruelling day. and, amazingly, ultraviolet�*s blue alliance have made it all the way through to the final. it's a best of three, and it's gone right down to the wire. one match—all against the reds.

so, it's time for the decider. in three, two, one. go! it's very tense. oh, nearly! yes! i can't take this tension. this is better than the euros and wimbledon! as the judges debate the results, we wait. ultimately, the trophy goes to ultraviolet�*s opponents. but there are many awards still up for grabs. this is where teams get recognition for achievements, including overcoming adversity, being humble — and in the case of this team from scotland — being an absolute force of nature when it comes to enthusiasm and positivity.

we can still win inspire. that's, like, the award that everyone wants to win. yeah, the inspire award goes to the team which has shown the strongest performance and professionalism in all areas. the winner of the 2024 inspire award... - ..goes to ultraviolet. congratulations! how'd you feel? really, really excited. how'd you feel? relieved. yeah? so happy. ultraviolet, everybody. give it up. what a day. now, i know that winning prizes is awesome and all that, but what i've seen happen today is so much bigger than that. these students have been collaborating and negotiating, thinking on their feet, strategising.

it's easy to see why competitions like this really do help students to develop the skills they're going to need for the rest of their life. honestly, i wish i had something like this when i was at school. that's it from us for now, though. thanks so much for watching, and we will see you soon. hello there. friday was another pretty unsubtle day, but at least many areas saw at least some sunshine for a time, and through the afternoon didn't look too bad here in flamborough in east yorkshire. some hazy sunshine, a bit of high cloud, and the seas looking quite calm. won't look like that, mind you, for saturday because further southwards we ended friday with a band of rain moving in,

and this area of rain is actually going to develop into a whole new area of low pressure. so that's notjust going to be bringing some wet weather our way, but also it'll be quite windy at times as we go through saturday, particularly for england and wales, where we've got the tightly packed isobars with us. so next few hours are quite a heavy rain across england and wales, there'll be some heavy showers for northern ireland, and another zone of quite persistent rain setting up across northern areas of scotland. our temperatures to start off saturday morning, generally around about double figures about 10—13 for most. but as we start off saturday, there will be these areas of heavy rain associated with this developing low pressure system. gusty winds running into the 30s of miles an hour, knocking the edge off the temperatures. and even as the rain clears through, showers will follow. sunshine and showers

for northern ireland, some persistent rain for northeast scotland — that could cause one or two issues here. and look at that, just 12 degrees in aberdeen, certainly a lot colder than it was on friday. now, the second half of the weekend on the whole looks like being the better of the two days of the weekend, but it's all relative, really. we start the day on a dry and sunny note, but showers become pretty widespread through the afternoon, some of those turning heavy and thundery as well. temperatures for many areas, still generally mid to high teens. could be a few areas that sneak a 20, but i suppose where thejuly sunshine comes out it won't feel too bad. next week, if you're hoping for signs of change, you can forget that, we've got low pressures coming our way from the south—west. now, monday is another showery kind of day, so most areas will start the day dry with sunshine, the cloud then develops late morning into the early afternoon, and then we start to see some showers and thunderstorms break out in places. could be a few areas that miss those — maybe east anglia, south—east england seeing largely dry weather. and a little bit warmer here as well, temperatures could get into the low 20s for a time, but overall next week it is looking pretty unsettled, with rain or showers

around and temperatures still a little below average for the time of year. bye for now.

live from washington, this is bbc news. iam running i am running and i going to win

again! b. i am running and i going to win aaain! �* ., g ., i am running and i going to win aaain! �* . �* i am running and i going to win aaain!�* ., �* again! a defiant joe biden says he has completely _ again! a defiant joe biden says he has completely ruled - again! a defiant joe biden says he has completely ruled out i he has completely ruled out dropping out of the us presidential election. the uk's new prime minister sir keir starmer promises to rebuild the country "brick by brick" after a landslide election win for labour. changing a country's not like flicking a switch but have no doubt that the work of change begins immediately. and israel—gaza ceasefire talks ramp up as the humanitarian crisis on the ground deepens. joe biden says he's "completely ruling out" leaving the us presidential election, despite mounting pressure from some within his own party. president biden�*s faltering performance against donald trump in last week's debate has seen a number of senior figures in the democratic party calling for him to make way for a younger candidate. in an exclusive interview with abc news anchor george stephanopoulos, mr biden said he was thrown off

by mr trump, but denied there was a wider issue.