this is bbc news. the headlines: a 21—year—old russian soldier has pleaded guilty to shooting dead an unarmed ukrainian civilian in the first war crimes trial of the conflict. the incident took place in the first days of the war. ukraine's chief prosecutor says they have identified 11,000 cases so far. the battle for mariupol appears to be over after a three—month siege. nearly 1,000 ukrainian fighters, who'd been holed up in the azovstal steelworks, have handed themselves over to russian forces. they have been taken to russian—controlled territory. moscow says that many of the fighters will be �*investigated'. the bbc has filmed patrols by afghanistan's ministry

for preventing vice and promoting virtue as they enforce the taliban's strict new laws, most of them targeting women. along with a raft of hard—line laws, they announced the face veil will be compulsory for women in public. and that's the latest from bbc news. now on bbc news, click. spencer gets to grips with asteroid mining. iii spencer gets to grips with asteroid mining.— asteroid mining. if you're makin: asteroid mining. if you're making an _ asteroid mining. if you're making an asteroid, - asteroid mining. if you're| making an asteroid, make asteroid mining. if you're i making an asteroid, make a asteroid mining. if you're making an asteroid, make a killer. asteroid mining. if you're making an asteroid, make a killer. he asteroid mining. if you're making an asteroid, make a killer. he survived asteroid mining. if you're making an asteroid, make a killer. he survived thou~h. killer. he survived though. paul is building _ killer. he survived though. paul is building a - killer. he survived though. paul is building a new- killer. he survived though. | paul is building a new home killer. he survived though. - paul is building a new home in space. 0n paul is building a new home in space. on your bike or not.

how do you make cycling safer? and a click construction, man versus machine. 1 and a click construction, man versus machine.— and a click construction, man versus machine. i have dropped some. versus machine. i have dropped some- sorry! — for the whole of human history, we have had no choice but to live off the land — literally. everything that we use comes from planet earth. now, some of those resources — rare, precious metals, for example — are really useful for scientific and climate research, but they are really difficult to mine. other resources are just, well, running out. all systems are ready... and all of this begs the question — as we venture into space, how are we going to live? where are we going to live? and what are we going to live on? so, as humans, we have been

exploiting the resources on earth for as long as we have been around, but instead of looking down now at what is underneath our feet, we are starting to look up and see what else is out there. ultimately, what we are looking at doing is going to an asteroid, landing on it, taking samples and then, kind of bringing them back. yes, we're going asteroid mining! and these are the concept designs for machines that could one day be part of a new gold rush — well, actually, platinum rush — that could potentially be worth quintillions of pounds. and this is the first part of that robot — the claw that stops it from floating away from the asteroid by gripping onto the surface hard. the grippers that they use are essentially derived from, ultimately, things like gecko pads and if you look at, like, the ends of tarantula's feet, you know, the hairs that they have? that's how a spider is able to climb the wall.

it's got quite a bit of force. we haven't tested it. we've not quite tested this, but if you were to put one on your head, it would have the force required to crush your skull. oh, good! which is lovely, isn't it? well, if you're going to make an asteroid—climbing robot, make a killer asteroid—climbing robot. but, really, is this the way to solve our resource problem? after all, it's all a fair way off yet. as well as designing the rest of the robot, with help of tohoko university injapan, the asteroid mining corporation need to find the right asteroid to mine. now, that's done by looking at the chemical composition of meteorites to identify what their parent bodies — in this case, asteroids — are made of. so, there you go. each element has been assigned randomly a colour. so, in this image, all the green is iron, all the orange is calcium, the pink is silicon, the cyan is magnesium and there's also some darker green that is oxygen in here. is it the case that you will look through all your meteorite samples and one day, you'll come across something that's, say, rich in platinum, and then that gives them then the green light to go get it? absolutely. if we find a concentration

of platinum in one of our meteorites, then we can certainly tell the amc guys, "ok, the types of meteorites that we're finding platinum "in are likely to involve this type of asteroid, "so now, it is over to you." and, you know, these days, we can actually go one better than waiting for space debris to come to us. and we have gone and got it. the uk's national space centre in leicester is at the centre of the universe — well, that's what they tell me, anyway — so let's hit their planetarium for a quick recap one of the most daring space rock missions so far. the asteroid belt is this ring of bits and bobs that orbits the sun further out than mars, but that's not where all the asteroids are. if we fly back towards the sun, past mars, you will find some asteroids a lot closer to earth. and one of those is called ryugu, and that's the one that all the fuss was about. back in 2018, we visited the japanese space agency, jaxa, to meet the team

behind hayabusa2. this audacious mission successfully flew to ryugu, blew a hole in it, and brought samples back to earth. so, we thought before the landing that it was one sort of asteroid, but now we've actually started analysing it, we realise it's actually experienced an awful lot of alteration with water. and, as we know, water could mean life. but what does professor bridges think about commercial asteroid mining? i think it's a really fascinating area. will it be economic to bring back a large fragment of an asteroid, which is very metal rich, say? will it make more economic sense to recycle and reuse or have a new mine on earth? it could take decades before anyone successfully pulls off asteroid mining — which, considering there are only

a few protections in place for the preservation of space, means that hungry pioneers might end up further exploiting our natural world for profit. of course, not all space research is about what we bring back from the beyond. as more and more of us head up there, paul carter has been looking at how we might go about building space habitats for humans. the international space station — a home to humans since the year 2000 with seven researchers on board at any time. and our interplanetary population is set to grow as private firms also compete to put more people in orbit. this is why scientists at the university of manchester are developing new materials for habitats in space, on the moon and mars.

in space, micrometeorites hit the structure at 8 kilometres a second, so we want to make it safer for astronauts, so we are using graphene, which is 200 times stronger than steel. this is the model we are working on. shown here as a sheet or a powder, graphene also reduces the need for bulky insulation, with space temperatures ranging from a sunny 120 degrees to a cool —170. on a single layer of graphene around the structure can dissipate the heat from hot to cold side. astronauts can have more space within the habitat, wspecially when they are living there for months or years, they need as much space as they can get. and you only need something one atom to get those benefits? we only need one atom. it's a magic material! many models have been 3d—printed in plastic, but a large—scale model is being woven out of graphene—coated carbon fibre.

this is a 3k carbon fibre. so, it's very thin, as you can see. it is really kind of precise, it's really kind of fine movements. this side will be very weak, so we can put many different directions of fibre. and so, that increases the strength of the final material? that's correct. this collaborative robot is designed to improve efficiency and safety. ai also identifies faults that would become dangers in the high pressure and temperatures of space. the flexible material is then set at around 170 degrees. so, you're just cooking your own space habitat? exactly! in true blue peterfashion, here's a scale model

we made earlier. the full size is about 6 metres wide by 12 metres high. while vivek is working with governments and businesses to get his graphene pod into space in the next six years, other labs are looking at building homes on the surface of lunar landscapes. transporting material from earth to the moon and mars is very expensive, so, really, what we want to do is utilise as much resources in situ as possible. aled's already made bricks with binders like egg albumen, chickpea juice and cow blood, but the right glue has to be freely available in space. you imagine, like, cows floating in, like, space. it's just going to be a nightmare. so, human blood has been used in these experiments. in some ways, it seems, you know, quite feasible, but it would probably also damage the health of the astronaut. that one says �*urea' on it. now, is that...is that what i think it is? 0bviously, wee is something

we are going to be producing in abundance. of course! actually, when we added urea, it made the materials up to three times stronger. one of the most viable concretes comes from a by—product of space food. we know we'll probably feed astronauts on the moon and mars with algae, just because it is so efficient, so we could potentially produce construction materials from this algae, which we know we'll probably be growing anyway. looking at the bubbling algae growing in action, it's incredible to think its by—products could become the building blocks of the future. and as for graphene homes knitted by robots? you'll have to...watch this space. that was paul. we heard from

elon musk if his purchase of twitter goes through. the headline is he will let the jump headline is he will let the jump back on the platform and wanting the sale isn't done and says ideally it'll happen in the next few months. after nearly 20 years electronic arts says it all stop making fifo videogames. it's one of the best—known and profitable series of the industry but now ea plans to launch its own football game.— football game. i'm not surprised _ football game. i'm not surprised to _ football game. i'm not surprised to see - football game. i'm not surprised to see them | football game. i'm not i surprised to see them go football game. i'm not - surprised to see them go in this direction because we are seeing games go there as a whole, moving more into games as a platform and bring in other brands like entertainment products like concerts and other live events into their games, more than games, becoming a big content hubs where you spend an evening and don't necessarily play the game you are there to play.— you are there to play. staying with gaming _ you are there to play. staying with gaming and _ you are there to play. staying with gaming and intended - you are there to play. staying with gaming and intended as| you are there to play. staying | with gaming and intended as a latest company to blame problems getting components for lower sales, problems getting components for lowersales, predicting problems getting components for lower sales, predicting a 9% fall in sales of switch consoles this year. a moment of

silence, please, for the ipod. apple is discontinuing the product the first what is it to our ears in 2001 and revolutionised the mesic industry in the process. homes and buildings a being built higher, faster, better and with three deconstruction getting hyped, for now it's still mostly with good old brick and mortar. later by skilful bricklayers. but this home here isn't being built by humans. it's being built either offend. __ by it's being built either offend. —— by that thing. this is a robot that circles the sight of whether house will be stopped after loading it with water and bricks, it lays them down, firstly expelling water before placing the bricktown on top.

doing so with incredible accuracy. at a rate of three bricks per minute. that's compared your average experienced human bricklayer like simon. he would lay down for permanent so it still needs to catch up. that's not forgetting machines don't get tired and don't need regular tea breaks. this is a trevor rimmer side lays levels of bricks without needing to stop. it means there is a need for scaffolding because there is an operator in a separate trolley around the track surveying the build. this is where the uk's first home being built by a robot bricklayer will be. not every brick is made equally. they all differ in size. the robot houses sensors to analyse each individual one. an algorithm finds the middle of the bricks, measures that in milliseconds and places it,

filling the gaps with more or less mortar so when it's finishing a row, you are short by half a brick also. but it isn't totally self—sufficient. it still needs to humans to operate and load it. we it still needs to humans to operate and load it. we sat on this journey — operate and load it. we sat on this journey five _ operate and load it. we sat on this journey five years - operate and load it. we sat on this journey five years ago - operate and load it. we sat onj this journey five years ago and it initially expected to take so long but there are many complexities to get the machine to work with standard bricks, blocks and mortar. the mortar is a particular challenge. while because like it wants to set all the time.— while because like it wants to set all the time. they've done that with this _ set all the time. they've done that with this is _ set all the time. they've done that with this is really - that with this is really printing is also the mortar is pumped nicely without much pressure that would normally cause it to set quickly. the average — cause it to set quickly. the average age _ cause it to set quickly. the average age of _ cause it to set quickly. the average age of a _ cause it to set quickly. tue: average age of a bricklayer cause it to set quickly. tte: average age of a bricklayer is over 50 years old. there is a dramatic massive shortage of labour and it's not that attractive to students. with a robot, you can build a house with a tablet rather than a trowel. ., ., ,,

with a tablet rather than a trowel. right, time to take on the machine. _ trowel. right, time to take on the machine. yes, _ trowel. right, time to take on the machine. yes, i— trowel. right, time to take on the machine. yes, i never- trowel. right, time to take on | the machine. yes, i never have laid a bridge before but i did watch a few tutorials earlier and simon gave me a lesson. you think i will be here? you think i've got a shot? 0kay. you have a lot more faith in me, more than i have of myself. thank you. and go. what if i cheat a little? hold on, let me do two. that said, say, i did two in one. can the robot do that? no. i have five more left, how many has it done? no, it hasn't! is it that? then i have won. so the one thing a robot can't do is defend itself, can it? the brick don't fit. hold on. if i push all these along... done! this is tougher than i thought,

and it actually takes a two—year apprenticeship to learn the trade, so for the robot to do it so well is pretty impressive. but, remember, it is still a bulky piece of kit, and having simon here who can do four bricks a minute, it is still a tad slow. there is also more and more 3d printed houses, but i'm told these just aren't as long—standing. these just aren't as long-standing. these just aren't as ionic-standin. ., , ., ., long-standing. what is going to ha - en long-standing. what is going to ha en to long-standing. what is going to happen to those _ long-standing. what is going to happen to those houses - long-standing. what is going to happen to those houses in - long-standing. what is going to happen to those houses in 20, l happen to those houses in 20, 30, 40 years' time, substandard houses again, this is the way to build a house, bricks, blocks and mortar. this house you are building here will last for 150 years.— for 150 years. are you 'ust auoin for 150 years. are you 'ust goingtoi for 150 years. are you 'ust going to make * for 150 years. are you 'ust going to make a i for 150 years. are you just going to make a machinel for 150 years. are you just i going to make a machine for everything, bricklaying, tiling, insulation?- everything, bricklaying, tiling, insulation? just the heavy superstructure, - tiling, insulation? just the i heavy superstructure, where there is a physically demanding work and the machine with its lasers and sensors can bring a level of men —— measurement that a human can't do. so level of men -- measurement that a human can't do.- that a human can't do. so this bricklaying — that a human can't do. so this bricklaying robot _ that a human can't do. so this bricklaying robot could - that a human can't do. so this bricklaying robot could do -

that a human can't do. so this bricklaying robot could do the | bricklaying robot could do the job, underthe bricklaying robot could do the job, under the right conditions, and, wow, can they really do thejob. conditions, and, wow, can they really do the job. but skilled craftsmen everywhere can still rule sites with an iron fist. well, they are more skilled than i am. shifting the brick, have i ruined this house? yes. omar beating _ have i ruined this house? yes. omar beating a _ have i ruined this house? yes. omar beating a bot _ have i ruined this house? yes. omar beating a bot there, - have i ruined this house? yes. omar beating a bot there, alll 0mar beating a bot there, all in a day's work at click. as we rethink how we build our cities, how we move through them is changing too. today, transport is the primary source of pollution in the uk. whilst electric vehicles will help address that, other technologies are aiming to get more people travelling on two wheels. this is tether, which beams a laser light 1.5m around the bike, creating an area that cars shouldn't enter. it is, of course, more visible and more necessary at night—time, but the box is also collecting data on any cars that do enter that zone

in the hopes that it will be able to create a map of a safer city for cyclists. the device was developed here in the uk, where a third of cycle injuries and deaths are the result of cars overtaking too closely. cycling across london is borderline terrifying or just very unsafe. we present that back to cyclists when they're next taking a route across london or any city in the world, we can highlight where those unsafe areas on their route are. that can be everything from "avoid these routes" right through to "this is the best bridge to cycle across london "on from north to south." thousands of near misses and

hundreds of we thousands of near misses and hundreds 0— thousands of near misses and hundreds of we are looking for better places _ hundreds of we are looking for better places so _ hundreds of we are looking for better places so we _ hundreds of we are looking for better places so we remove i better places so we remove completely the cyclists and drivers just have bad arguments and bad experiences. driversjust have bad arguments and bad experiences.— and bad experiences. similar to those in assistance _ and bad experiences. similar to those in assistance collect - those in assistance collect data 30,000 times a second to differentiate cars and trucks from other bikes. do you think the cyclists, seeing where the danger is on the road, could actually put them off cycling — which, of course, isn't what you want? we hope the outcome will be almost like traffic data, so that you can make a better decision about how, when you leave, or driving safer in certain places. whilst these lasers light up vulnerable cyclists at night, in future, these devices could also go on helmets or backpacks, helping users communicate in different ways. looking at audio feedback as well. like, we love the idea of pressing a button and changing the projection to a heart to say, "thank you for giving me enough

space," for example. the data doesn't cover the whole capital yet, but with 60 more testers receiving kit this month, it will soon cover more ground, and a wider launch is expected for later this year. it is of course not the only project pushing pedal power though. in the us, nick on bikes that don't require anyone behind the handlebars. the city sounds group at the mit media lab are on a mission to change how we live in our cities. researchers here have focused on improving urban design, mobility, and ultimately reducing carbon emissions.— ultimately reducing carbon emissions. ~ . , emissions. we are getting used to an order— emissions. we are getting used to an order and _ emissions. we are getting used to an order and it _ emissions. we are getting used to an order and it is _ to an order and it is downstairs in five minutes, right? that already happened with mobiles that are not so environmentally friendly, so we want to bring the same thing to

more environmentally friendly. they have invented an autonomous bicycle, the idea being they will persuade you to write them. by arriving on demand. write them. by arriving on demand-— write them. by arriving on demand. ., ., , , demand. for example, this could be related _ demand. for example, this could be related to _ demand. for example, this could be related to the _ demand. for example, this could be related to the fares, - demand. for example, this could be related to the fares, may - demand. for example, this could be related to the fares, may be l be related to the fares, may be could have a different price if you are peddling normally. t you are peddling normally. i would definitely not be pedalling. would definitely not be pedalling— would definitely not be ”edallin. ~ ., ., pedalling. we are not saying it will be the _ pedalling. we are not saying it will be the ideal _ pedalling. we are not saying it will be the ideal solution - pedalling. we are not saying it will be the ideal solution but i will be the ideal solution but it is more in this field of shared autonomous mobility, we want to give different options for different cultures, different days.- for different cultures, different da s. ., ,, ,, different days. thank goodness for that. different days. thank goodness for that- as _ different days. thank goodness for that. as well _ different days. thank goodness for that. as well as _ different days. thank goodness for that. as well as teaching i for that. as well as teaching the bike out about itself, a custom switch mechanism had to be crafted to open and close the rear wheels. so what did people say when they saw this bicycle peddling its own way around campus?— bicycle peddling its own way around campus? everyone has different prototypes _ around campus? everyone has different prototypes going i different prototypes going around campus, so some people would look at it, others

wouldn't even realise that is an experiment.— wouldn't even realise that is an experiment. the vehicles could connect _ an experiment. the vehicles could connect with - an experiment. the vehicles could connect with public i could connect with public transit and be used for the first and last mile of journeys, and when they are not being ridden, which the team believes could be around 80% of the time, they want to put them to work in between shifts. so ma be to work in between shifts. sr maybe they can bring you ice cream, pizza, they could maybe even pick up trash. they could plough the snow from the streets, so we are thinking of different uses these vehicles could have during the day. the ro'ects could have during the day. the prejects here _ could have during the day. the projects here are all about making cities and ways of getting around them more clever, but whatever you do, do not mention smart cities. t not mention smart cities. i don't like that phrase at all, it has— don't like that phrase at all, it has kind of been co—opted by marketing _ it has kind of been co—opted by marketing departments of major corporations. it doesn't really mean — corporations. it doesn't really mean anything anymore. we think about— mean anything anymore. we think about what might be beyond smart — about what might be beyond smart cities. we are looking at ways— smart cities. we are looking at ways to — smart cities. we are looking at ways to increase the social performance, the economic performance, the economic performance and the environmental performance of cities — environmental performance of

cities. . ., , cities. the commute is in their cross hairs — cities. the commute is in their cross hairs. by _ cities. the commute is in their cross hairs. by cutting - cities. the commute is in their cross hairs. by cutting it i cross hairs. by cutting it down, they say we can hugely reduce our c02 down, they say we can hugely reduce our co2 emissions, and they are reimagining housing with that in mind. tt they are reimagining housing with that in mind.— with that in mind. if you can develon an _ with that in mind. if you can develop an apartment i with that in mind. if you can i develop an apartment where, as we call— develop an apartment where, as we call it. — develop an apartment where, as we call it, you can live large in a — we call it, you can live large in a small— we call it, you can live large in a small space, if you are living — in a small space, if you are living on— in a small space, if you are living on half the space with double _ living on half the space with double the functionality, have cut the — double the functionality, have cut the embodied energy and the us energy in half, you have cut the c02— us energy in half, you have cut the c02 emissions in half. but how many _ the c02 emissions in half. but how many of _ the c02 emissions in half. but how many of us _ the c02 emissions in half. emit how many of us really dream in living of smaller homes? exactly what you want to do in the community to reduce c02 emissions is what you want to do to— emissions is what you want to do to increase the innovation potential, the interaction of pebble. _ potential, the interaction of people, encourage people to get more _ people, encourage people to get more exercise, which improves the public— more exercise, which improves the public health. you keep wealth— the public health. you keep wealth in the community, which improves — wealth in the community, which improves the economic performance. so in our mind, it isa— performance. so in our mind, it isa win- — performance. so in our mind, it isa win- win— performance. so in our mind, it is a win— win if you can focus on these _ is a win— win if you can focus on these hyper local solutions to global— on these hyper local solutions to global problems. the on these hyper local solutions to global problems.— to global problems. the big brains here _ to global problems. the big brains here are _ to global problems. the big brains here are seriously i brains here are seriously thinking about our future,

developing possible solutions to ensure we actually have one. that was nick. i could do with a self riding bike right now! that is all we have time for this week. we will be back the same time next week. i had better get this back to base, seeing as it is not going to do it itself. thanks for watching. bye—bye! hello, again. there's a few big thunderstorms to watch out for over the next few hours, particularly of concern is across parts of central, southern england, southeast england, and into areas of east anglia, as well. but on into thursday's forecast, they'll all be out of the way, and we're looking at some warm spells of sunshine. so let's take a look at those storms, then.

they first developed across the channel islands, and in the first hour that they'd already existed, there had already been over 10,000 lightning strikes, these storms here. now, what'll happen over the next several hours is they'll work in probably around hampshire, sussex, surrey, greater london, moving into east anglia. they could bring some localised flash flooding — 25 millimetres of rain in some of them falling injust one hour. some large hail is a possibility, as well as some very strong gusts of wind, locally. eventually it will become drier and quieter, and temperatures, as we start thursday morning, around 10—14 celsius, so it is going to be mild. now, there could be an odd shower left over across the far southeast of england, but otherwise, a largely fine morning, with spells of sunshine. there'll be a bit of high cloud in the sky, that'll make the sunshine a little hazy at times, and through the afternoon, we could see a few passing showers for northern ireland and northwest scotland, but even here, not many. most of you feeling warm in the sunshine — 19 celsius in aberdeen, 23 towards london and southeast england. it won't be quite so warm, though, on friday. the wind'll pick up, and we've got this band of rain that'll be pushing its way

eastwards off the atlantic. now, there could be another batch of thunderstorms coming in from europe that gets very close to southeast england, so we'll have to keep a close eye on that. but otherwise, there'll be a gap between the showers and the more general rain across the north and the west, so there could be some areas that just about stay dry. but whether you stay dry or not, temperatures will be a little bit lower, 15—18 celsius. now, the weekend starts off with some sunshine, showers mostly confined to the northwest, and after that sunny start, things tend to turn a little bit cloudier through the afternoon, but still with some sunny spells coming through from time to time. temperatures on saturday in any sunshine should reach the low 20s, but across the north and west, not much sunshine, a bit of rain, 11t—15 celsius here. sunday and monday, again, there could be one or two showers, mostly across the northwest of the uk, but otherwise some pleasant spells of sunshine. that's the latest weather. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. our top stories: a 21—year—old russian soldier pleads guilty to shooting dead an unarmed ukrainian civilian, in the first war crimes trial of the conflict. 0n patrol with the afghan vice & virtue inspectors, as they enforce the taliban's strict rules on how women should appear in public. as india and pakistan face blistering temperatures of 50 degrees celsius, experts warn such heatwaves are now a hundred times more likely because of climate change. climate change is a hot topic here in australia too, as voters go to the polls in just two days, i'll have the latest live from sydney. and, words of advice from singer—songwriter taylor swift as she receives an honorary doctorate