welcome to bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: ajury in the us orders the conspiracy theorist alexjones to pay more than $900 million to the families of the victims of the sandy hook massacre. urgent action is required to reverse biodiversity destruction — that's the stark warning from the world wide fund for nature after wildlife populations decline by almost 70% in 50 years. the un general assembly votes overwhelmingly to condemn russia's attempts to annex four ukrainian regions. the us is promising more weapons for ukraine, including air defence systems. we are going to do everything we can as fast as we can to help the ukrainian forces get the capability they need

to protect the ukrainian people. scientists in australia teach brain cells grown in a lab to play a video game. we find out why. the next stage could open up options such as cyber security management or more economist devices and perhaps could lead to sentience and fully autonomous robots. we met the inventor taking off in his brand—new flying car. hello. welcome to the programme. ajury in the us has ordered the conspiracy theorist alexjones to pay $965 million in damages to the families of victims of the sandy hook massacre. mrjones falsely claimed for years that the mass shooting had been staged

by the government to try to introduce tighter gun controls. the school principal was among the 26 people killed in the attack in 2012. 0ur correspondent peter bowes has been following the story and joins us now from los angeles. i asked him what prompted this case. this goes back a decade and it is as a result of the families, they say they were harassed and persecuted by followers of alex jones because of the lie that he told, and as you have described, he said essentially the shooting was staged, that it did not really happen. he went as far as questioning the very existence of some of the children who died and said that the parents who appeared at news conferences in the days and weeks afterwards, he described them as "crisis actors". as a result, the parents say that they suffered significantly over the years.

they brought this action and, yes, clearly, it was about money and we have seen this colossal amount, almost $1 billion that the jury has awarded for alex jones to pay the families. but they've also made the point that this was a case about highlighting the importance of telling the truth. a colossal amount of money, as you say. one of the family said now that the verdict has been given. they are clearly relieved. there was a lot of emotion in the courtroom and, clearly, severalfamilies and individuals involved, and a complex decision, so we did take some time for this verdict to be announced and you could see the emotion in the faces of those parents, those relatives. and talking afterwards, they say that it is over, they wanted to make

the point that really you cannotjust go out there and tell lives. yes there is freedom of speech in the united states but you cannot tell lies and especially lies that have the kind of consequences that these families suffered. ms gunning is a vice president of an organisation that advocates for gun—control and gun violence. i spoke to her earlier on and asked her what this ruling means for the families. survivors are not a monolith so everybody�*s individual experiences are their own, but i will say for me, the amount ofjust incredible relief, i was becoming emotionaljust listening to the lead—in, just knowing the justice they had been waiting for and hoping for an wishing for an dreaming of is here. i cannot imagine and i hope that they are finding time tonight and in the days ahead to be together and to be proud of the incredible strength and effort that they have demonstrated over this really long period of time. stories of gun violence are unfortunately not rare

in the united states. as someone with such a strong personal connection to this, do you find it difficult to follow stories like this? there is an aspect of it that is absolutely re—traumatising, but i am of parent of children and ifeel like it is also my duty to be present, to pay attention and to apply myself because of my experience to create a better world for my kids and for everybody�*s kids. alexjones has suggested he will appeal. what's your reaction to that? i guess it's not a surprise because he is who he is, but the incredible vitriol and hate that he spewed for a very long time, it does stalk. there was a message today that truth matters, justice matters and as your correspondent said,

lies and lies in of this vitriolic unspeakable nature are unacceptable and i would imagine that the nextjury orjudge that reviews this case would find similarly to this group of incredible jury members who will surely take a long time to get what they have seen and heard out of their minds. you mentioned the message that this verdict says about spreading lies and misinformation. but longer term, do you think this will affect the narrative when it comes to gun control in the united states? i certainly hope so. i think unpacking moments like this are important and we know, actually, that most americans are with us in preventing gun violence. 90% of them want to expand what are called background checks on firearms, about 70% of americans want to ban assault weapons. so it's not everybody and it is most of us who want to lean in to this different world, and i think the more that we can shut down

these conspiracy theories and these unspeakable liars, the more that we can move to a place where we can keep our kids safe. let's get some of the day's other news. north korean state media says the country's military has test—fired two long—range strategic cruise missiles. the state news agency says the operation had been successful and was aimed at enhancing the reliability of tactical nuclear weapons. kcna reported that the missiles flew for 2,000 kilometres — just over 1,200 miles. authorities in nigeria say more than 500 people are now known to have died in flooding that has ravaged the country in recent weeks. experts say it's the worst floods during the rainy season in over a decade. 1.5 million people have also been displaced. meanwhile, at least 18 people have died in flooding in northern india. dozens of villages in uttar pradesh have been affected with some being totally cut off. 0fficials there say the monsoon season has extended

into 0ctober — it normally ends in mid—september. let us stick with the environment now. a new report that's just been released by the world wide fund for nature has shown that on average, monitored wildlife populations have declined by a staggering 69% since 1970. it says governments, businesses and the public must take what it called �*transformative action�* to reverse the destruction of biodiversity. i spoke about how this alarming statistic has come about.- statistic has come about. when ou have statistic has come about. when you have a _ statistic has come about. when you have a staggering - statistic has come about. when you have a staggering loss - statistic has come about. when you have a staggering loss of l you have a staggering loss of population, average population numbers across the planet, you are talking about a lot of species, losing a lot of individuals across a vast geography. so there are certain species that have declined more than others. those include things like sharks and rays,

which i think we have all heard about in the news, but also includes low—lying gorillas — michael lowe land gorillas and also other species like the australian sea lion and amazon on pink river dolphin. you mentioned _ on pink river dolphin. you mentioned australia - on pink river dolphin. you mentioned australia and the amazon. talking geographically, what particular parts of the world are of concern to you? what we see is the steepest declines in population abundances. in the tropics. the tropical marine systems, tropical marine systems, tropical rainforest, and we also see the biggest declines in latin america. so we are talking about 94% decline in average abundance of populations in latin america. that is massive in a place that is so species rich and so vital to our climate change future because it stores are so much

carbon. , , . , , carbon. this is a simple question. _ carbon. this is a simple question, but _ carbon. this is a simple question, but perhaps i carbon. this is a simple i question, but perhaps with carbon. this is a simple - question, but perhaps with a not so simple answer. what is causing this?— causing this? well, it is a re causing this? well, it is a pretty simple _ causing this? well, it is a pretty simple answer. - causing this? well, it is a| pretty simple answer. we causing this? well, it is a - pretty simple answer. we have unsustainable practices that are associated with energy use and production and food production, consumption and waste to that need to be reversed, and there are lots of good information about how the nations of the world, the governments of the world can do that, and we have really important conferences coming up in november, december of this year to get after that. you can find out more on our website. if you are interested.- if you are interested. doctor rebecca shaw _ if you are interested. doctor rebecca shaw there, - if you are interested. doctor rebecca shaw there, the - if you are interested. doctor l rebecca shaw there, the wwf chief scientist. the un general assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn russia's attempts to annex four regions of ukraine. only four countries voted with russia — belarus, north korea, syria and nicaragua.

meanwhile, the us and its nato allies have reaffirmed their support for ukraine in the face of intensifying russian aggression, promising to send military hardware to kyiv for as long as it takes. in the past few days, putin has given us all another grim preview of a future in which the appetites of aggressive autocrats outweigh the rights of peaceful states. we're going to do everything we can as fast as we can to help the ukrainian forces get the capability they need to protect ukrainian people. for his part, vladimir putin has accused the west of stoking the global energy crisis, suggesting that damage to the nord stream gas pipeline was the result of international terrorism. with mr putin under increasing pressure at home and abroad, our russia editor steve rosenberg considers what his next move might be. what will vladimir putin do next in ukraine? what is he thinking?

his special military operation has not gone according to plan. but u—turns? that's not his style. this is. at an event in moscow, classic putin — the kremlin leader painting russia as the victim and the authorities in kyiv as terrorists. keep in mind, though, that it was russia that invaded ukraine. i don't follow them. constantin's newspaper has criticised russian officials for nuclear sabre—rattling during the special operation. he says putin wants a new world order and don't expect de—escalation any time soon. he's authoritarian leader of a nuclear power. he's unchallenged leader in this country, and he has some strong beliefs and perceptions which drive him crazy,

and he's started to believe that this is existential. would putin really go nuclear in ukraine? he's dropped unsubtle hints. days before the russian invasion, the president oversaw massive nuclear drills. he's since warned the west he's not bluffing about the nuclear option. in putin's mind, for him, defeat is unimaginable. if you'd run a country for 22 years like vladimir putin has, and if you'd silenced all your critics and crushed the opposition, like putin has, you may well feel like putin appears to feel — that you will always end up a winner. to acknowledge that any other outcome is possible means facing up to an unpalatable fact that you are not invincible. and in a country with no checks or balances,

and where the leaders don't feel accountable to the public, there are few constraints on kremlin decision—making. the problem is that the system, which was created in this 30 years, didn't create the society. there is a lot of very nice people in russia. i think you met them. but there is no civil society. that's why russia can't resist. for now, resistance to the kremlin is coming from ukraine and the west. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we meet the inventor who is taking off in his brand—new flying car.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: ajury in the us orders conspiracy theorist alex jones to pay over $900 million to the families of the victims of the sandy hook massacre. and the world wide fund for nature urges governments to take immediate action, to reverse biodiversity destruction after wildlife populations decline by almost 70% in 50 years. not so long ago, flying cars were a figment of the imagination, but now that they've actually materialised, investors are scrambling to be a part of this technological phenomenon. xpeng's brand new flying car caused a sensation when it was unveiled in dubai this week as wendy urquhart reports. the flying car ex two looks like something out of a sci—fi

movie the good from dubai turned like something out of a sci—fi movie the good from dubai turned out like something out of a sci—fi movie the good from dubai turned out in like something out of a sci—fi movie the good from dubai turned out in droves like something out of a sci—fi movie the good from dubai turned out in droves to like something out of a sci—fi movie the good from dubai turned out in droves to watch the 90 minute test flight. --x2. the 90 minute test flight. ——x2. inside this carbon fibre car there are two seats with headrests and the passengers at the option of driving it manually switching to auto mode so they can enjoy the view from on high. it is the brainchild of the chinese car company xpeng. they say the design boosts in—flight performance and they also brought out that because it's all electric it produces zero carbon dioxide emissions and this is just the beginning. we emissions and this is 'ust the beginningfi emissions and this is 'ust the beginning. we are now in the researching _ beginning. we are now in the researching process, - beginning. we are now in the researching process, we - beginning. we are now in the | researching process, we make the step—by—step to the international market and first we select dubai city because dubai is the most innovation cities in the world and this is our first public flight globally. and this is our first step to the international. the

x2 can reach _ step to the international. the x2 can reach a _ step to the international. the x2 can reach a height of 3200 feet and it's capable of flying for around 35 minutes at a speed of 130 kilometres an hour. so it's perfect for short, low altitude city flights, but there are still a lot of questions to be answered, like when will it be ready, how much will flights cost, and will they be affordable? 0r cost, and will they be affordable? or is this just another pipedream? wendy urquhart, bbc news. well sandro monetti is the director of a new documentary tech to the future which highlights futuristic breakthroughs, including flying cars and hejoins me now from los angeles. good to see you, sandro, and thank you for being with us. these are been part of the public imagination from the jetsons to back to the future to blade runner. itruiiiiii jetsons to back to the future to blade runner.— to blade runner. will this happen? _ to blade runner. will this happen? yes. _ to blade runner. will this happen? yes, science - to blade runner. will this. happen? yes, science fiction to blade runner. will this- happen? yes, science fiction is finally becoming science fact. what we are witnessing here is a race in the skies to get to market first. you been focusing

on the package there on the chinese entry but the europeans have been at this longer. aeromobilfrom slovakia have aeromobil from slovakia have been aeromobilfrom slovakia have been working since 2010 on their own flying car. it is in my film tech to the future, coming soon, and what fascinates me is that ever since i was a kid, the idea of flying cars seems so sexy and exciting analogies becoming real. the european one is going to cost $3 million to buy one, they have an uber—style model coming and it will be interesting to see who gets there first, then will the chinese. there first, then will the chinese-— there first, then will the chinese. ., ., , , chinese. you mention this is bein: chinese. you mention this is being on _ chinese. you mention this is being on the _ chinese. you mention this is being on the research - chinese. you mention this is being on the research bookl being on the research book since 2010. it is 12 years ago. how much longer do we have wait? three or four years until you can have _ wait? three or four years until you can have one _ wait? three or four years until you can have one in _ wait? three or four years until you can have one in your- wait? three or four years until. you can have one in your garage if you've got a spare $3 million, six or seven years

they reckon for the uber—style service, aeromobil will own the platform as well, but there are so many legal hurdles as well to mount because i think that will hold things up more than technology. i mean, you see the test flight in dubai, not many powerlines to crash into, pretty open skies. in los angeles where i live, there are drones flying around all the time, building movies, so where do you have these flying cars, how can you make them safe? the technology is there but, like a lot of things, it's going to keep the lawyers very busy. you mentioned _ keep the lawyers very busy. you mentioned hurdles, legal hurdles. what about public opinion? do you think people are ready forflying cars? i5 opinion? do you think people are ready forflying cars? is a are ready for flying cars? is a treat are ready for flying cars? is a great question. _ are ready for flying cars? i3 —. great question. and when we've gone around promoting this film, it's something that divides the audience 50—50. half of them are terrified, half of them excited. so many of us in the world can't agree with anything. flying cars as well. i think they are hugely

exciting, loads of people think they are hugely dangerous. as with so many things with technology, time will tell. you not to technology, time will tell. you got to tell _ technology, time will tell. you got to tell us, _ technology, time will tell. you got to tell us, would _ technology, time will tell. you got to tell us, would you get in one? ~ , ,., , got to tell us, would you get inone? ~ , ., in one? absolutely not. i will hail in one? absolutely not. i will happily documented, - in one? absolutely not. i will happily documented, i - in one? absolutely not. i will happily documented, i will i happily documented, i will happily documented, i will happily reported that i'm too scared to actually get in one but i couldn't anyway because you need a pilot �*s license at the moment and i don't have one yet but if you want to drive one soon, get studying. which country do _ one soon, get studying. which country do you _ one soon, get studying. which country do you think _ one soon, get studying. which country do you think will - one soon, get studying. which country do you think will be i country do you think will be the first to fully license and allow flying cars? i the first to fully license and allow flying cars?— allow flying cars? i think, havin: allow flying cars? i think, having been _ allow flying cars? i think, having been very - allow flying cars? i think, having been very close i allow flying cars? i think, having been very close to allow flying cars? i think, - having been very close to the slovakian version and seen the passion that has gone into it and the time, i rather suspect they might shock world and get our first but it is a race and money talks so whoever attracts the biggest investment will, i expect, be first to market. shall expect, be first to market. all riaht expect, be first to market. all right sandro monetti, director of tech to the future, thank you very much. stay safe!

scientists in australia have grown brain cells in a lab that have learned how to play a basic video game. they say that their so—called "mini—brain" can sense and respond to its environment. the team also claims to have created the first sentient lab grown brain. other experts describe the work as exciting but say that calling the brain cells sentient was going too far. here's our science correspondent, pallab ghosh. these little blobs are clumps of brain cells that have been grown and allowed. researchers connected them to a computer. under the microscope except expect microscope, you consider tiny wires that sand impulses in and out. it loads a basic 19705 in and out. it loads a basic 1970s game called pong in a rectangle on the screen. the lab grown game moves a white line to stop there. getting past. line to stop there. getting ast. ., ., past. right now we have the chance for— past. right now we have the chance for drug _ past. right now we have the chance for drug discovery, i chance for drug discovery, disease modelling, understanding intelligence. the next stage could open up

options such as cyber security management or more autonomous devices and perhaps could even lead to sentience and fully autonomous robots that can act and change in the real world. the researchers grew a clump of 800,000 brain cells from a mixture of mouse neurons and human stem cells. the plan is to see if more of these mini brains become worse at playing the game after they've been dosed with alcohol, just like a human player would. many brains have also been grown in a uk lab in order to study brain develop stop its taken researchers six weeks to grow these mini brains stop you can see the electrical activity of their neurons on the screen here. it's precisely because they behave similarly to women brains, even though it's at a very rudimentary level, that researchers yet are taking great care in the way they develop the technology. there ma be develop the technology. there may be the — develop the technology. there may be the potential, -

develop the technology. there | may be the potential, probably much further down the line, to simulate something like certainly intelligence and cognition. we want to make sure that we know ahead of time where that boundary is so that we don't accidentally stumble over it. ,. , , ., over it. the scientists are working _ over it. the scientists are working with _ over it. the scientists are working with ethics - over it. the scientists are l working with ethics experts over it. the scientists are - working with ethics experts to develop new rules to regulate the research.— the research. will these so-called _ the research. will these so-called mini - the research. will these so-called mini brains i the research. will these - so-called mini brains develop so—called mini brains develop to the point where they can feel pressure or pain, and how might we consider their moral status if they were conscious or sentience? and how should we regulate the use of research in future technology. these are questions that we have not begun to consider.- questions that we have not begun to consider. today's mini brains are _ begun to consider. today's mini brains are a _ begun to consider. today's mini brains are a very _ begun to consider. today's mini brains are a very long _ begun to consider. today's mini brains are a very long well- brains are a very long well from becoming self—aware and many researchers believe that is unlikely to ever happen, but they agree that they do need to proceed with caution. pallab

ghosh, bbc news. the hollywood star jamie lee curtis has had her hands and feet cemented in concrete at a ceremony in los angeles. the tcl chinese theatre handprints—footprints tribute has been a prestigious hollywood honourfor the past 95 years. the actress signed the date as october 31, halloween, rather than the day's date, october 12, in homage to the film that launched her movie career. before we go, do bear with us for the finale of a story that script the world. a new champion has been crowned in this years fat bear week. yes, thatis this years fat bear week. yes, that is a real competition with cameras following bears across the katnai national park in alaska as they follow fish for their winter hibernation. the winner is there are 747. here he is in september. it is since gained weight to an estimated

635 kilograms, 1400 lb, becoming one of the largest town —— brown bears on earth. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @richpreston. hello there. 0ur weather story is becoming a little bit more unsettled as we head towards the weekend. no two days the same at the moment, not only in terms of weather, but also the feel of things, both by day and night. now, for thursday, many of us will see some sunny spells, but there will be blustery, squally showers developing in the far north—west. over the next few hours, we'll start to see this weather front easing away from channel coasts. it mightjust continue to bring a little bit of early—morning rain on thursday. look at the temperatures — double digits because of the cloud and the rain around. further north, though, it's going to be a chilly start, with a touch of light frost in rural parts. but as we go through the day, there will be a good slice

of dry and sunny weather to look out for for most of us. into the afternoon, however, the winds will strengthen, we'll see some squally showers developing into northern ireland and north—west scotland in particular. elsewhere, temperatures pretty similar to the last few days by the middle of the afternoon. we're looking at highs of 11—17 celsius — that's 63 fahrenheit. now, that weather front will continue to move its way steadily south and east, weakening all the time. it's going to be replaced by another one moving through scotland and northern ireland as well. at the same time, there's the potentialfor a little bit of showery rain once again, just clinging on to channel coasts first thing on friday. sandwiched in between the two, we should see some drier, brighter interludes, and behind, it's going to be bright and breezy with showers. so, friday's a really messy story, a real autumnal picture of blustery showers. warm in the sunshine still, with 17 degrees the high. now, low pressure never too far away as we head into the weekend. plenty of isobars, particularly the further north you go. gusts of wind, 40—50 mph, and they're going to be driving weather fronts in around those areas of low pressure. so, saturday

is going to be a case of sunny spells and squally showers, the showers most frequent out towards the west, but some of those will start to push a little bit further inland as the day continues. favoured spots for the best of the drier weather, parts of aberdeenshire and perhaps through south—east england as well. and here, we'll see highs again of around 11—17 celsius. not much change as we go into sunday and monday. the winds stay blustery from a warm source, plenty of showers to dodge as well. take care.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: ajury in the us has ordered the conspiracy theorist alexjones to pay more than $900 million to the families of the victims of the sandy hook massacre. jones falsely claimed that the incident was staged by the government to try to tighten gun controls. the world wide fund for nature has urged governments businesses and the public to take what it's called "transformative action" to reverse the destruction of biodiversity. the plea come after their biannual report showed wildlife populations have declined by almost 70% since 1970. the un general assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn russia's attempts to annex four ukrainian regions. the us defence secretary, lloyd austin,