welcome to bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: cheering argentinianjoy — lionel messi leads his country into the world cup semi—finals after a dramatic penalty shoot—out against the netherlands. but heartbreak for their south american rivals brazil — they are out, also after a penalty shoot out. cheering croatia's win over brazil puts them into a second successive world cup semi—final. in other news: the us says russia and iran are developing a full—scale defence partnership, with moscow offering support in return for drones to use against ukraine.

russian opposition politician, ilya yashin, remains defiant in the face of an 8.5—year sentence for commenting on the war in ukraine. and, the sea—cow, which has featured in folklore for thousands of years, is on the edge of extinction. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. to the world cup now, and both of friday's quarter finals went to penalties, with croatia and argentina securing their semi—final places, at the expense of brazil and the netherlands. the first game saw croatia, who were beaten finalists four years ago, taking on brazil. it was goalless after 90 minutes before neymar put brazil

ahead in extra time. but with just three minutes to play, bruno petkovic equalised with croatia's first shot on target in the match. and that meant penalties. croatia scored all four of the ones they took. but first rodrygo missed for brazil. and then when marquinho hit the post from twelve yards, the favourites were out. here's how the fans responded. first the brazilians in rio dejaneiro. lots of disappointed faces. compare that to these pictures from zagreb. cheering and even croatia's prime ministerjoined in the celebrations. translation: two

world cups in a row it is a fantastic feeling for the entire croatian people and across the world, a very special state of good mood today. let's hear from our correspondents in the two countries now — in a moment, we'll bring you katy watson's thoughts from brazil. but first here's guy delauney in croatia. they are toasting the name of dominic, after the match and quarter—final of the world cup which croatia one on penalty as they ten to do and dominic livakovic did what he did, save those crucial keys. horatio proving extremely resilient in their spot kicks. talking to fans throughout the course of the day and even when it looked desperate for croatia in the second half of extra time when they were 1—0 down, there was an, look, we will score a goal and take you to penalties. we

believe and once more they believe and once more they believe they can go all the way to the finals. people are saying to me, we went all the way to the finals and this time we are going to do it again but we are going to do it again but we are going to do it again but we are going to win it. you can hear the band has started up, musicians who presumably have been booked to celebrate a win by brazil, going through to the semifinals, but now, if they have been booked, they might as well enjoy the party. you can see people sitting behind me, it is an unbelievable result for the brazilians, they were so convinced they were going to win this game and go through to the final. i have never seen such confidence from a nation. football means everything to brazilians. and especially after a difficult few years politically, with so much division, i was talking to one women who said that brazil comes together with football. it does not matter about class, race, politics or religion, that brazil comes together when there is a world cup. and in fact, they used to... they take the day off, nobody works because football matters so much. but instead, they are going to have to find another team to support. i was talking to one couple

who said they will now be supporting croatia. they of course beat brazil, they are a good team to support, they say. but the mood is definitely heavy. my partner has just rocked up to a kids' party, he says it feels like they have double booked it with a funeral. it will take some hours, some days for that mood to left. let's look at the other quarter final now and croatia's reward is a semi—final against argentina. goals from molina and lionel messi gave them a 2—0 lead late in the second half. but first the netherlands pulled one back through weghorst�*s header. and then in the 11th minute of added time, with the last attack of the game, weghorst equalised. there were no more goals in extra time but when the netherlands missed their first two penalties in the shoot—out, argentina's lautaro martinez was left with the chance to win the game — he didn't miss. this was the moment the fans watching in buenos aires saw the winning spot

kick go in. cheering plenty to celebrate there but disappointment in the netherlands. our correspondent anna holligan sent this update. anything and it was a painful repeat of the 2013 semi—final in which argentina won on penalties. this competition has brought the country together, united people during a cost of living crisis and many will be hoping this kind of vibe, atmosphere, sense of togetherness can continue through the year but this is the end of the dutch journey in the end of the dutch journey in the world cup 2022. let's hear now from buenos aires. i asked dan edwards, the co—host of the argentinian

football podcast the hand of pod what it had been like watching the game an absolute rollercoaster of emotions this evening. from scenes as brazil go out to the very real concern that argentina might be going out the same way, after it looked so promising and then, at the end, just thatjoyous scene — lautaro martinez netting the winning penalty after more penalties saved from emilio martinez. we've got two more games of this and i don't know if we're going to get through them. as you mentioned the netherlands equalizing there pretty close to the end. did you feel it was going to slip through argentina's hands at some point? i think at moments, you saw in the brazil game, when the momentum shifts so late and so decisively, it is so hard for a team to back and recover from that but what this argentina team has going for them is they have such a good attitude, such a good team spirit, they were able to ride that out, they pushed it all the way in extra time.

theyjust have that character to bring themselves through the penalty shoot—out and i think that really says a lot for this team, just as it did coming back from the first day defeat against saudi arabia and getting to this position now. it is a team thatjust wants to win and stay together, and they've got a lot going for them. the remaining two quarter finals will be played on saturday. first up are the first team from an arab country to make it to the last eight of a men's world cup — morocco — who will take on portugal. and later, the defending champions france face england. we'll be covering the build up in the coming hours here on bbc world news and you can find much more on our website, bbc.com/news the united states and the united kingdom say russia and iran have strengthened their relationship into a fully—fledged defence partnership. the white house's national security spokesman, john kirby says washington has seen reports the two countries

are considering joint production of lethal drones. it comes as the us announced a new $275 million aid package to help boost ukraine's air defences, against russian drones in particular. joining us now is our news reporter azadeh moshiri. what more do we need to know about this?— about this? this is not the first time _ about this? this is not the first time there _ about this? this is not the first time there were - about this? this is not the - first time there were concerns around the relationship. 0ne around the relationship. one point, ukraine blood iran was applying drains to use during the invasion. later on, iran said they were supplied before the invasion began, after denying it. now they are essentially saying this military cooperation has deepened and morphed into a fully fledged defence partnership and if they think this is not only threatening ukraine but also iran's

regional neighbours and the international community. the united states as it has seen a report that says russia and iran are considering a joint production of lethal dryers and the us is also concerned iran can supply ballistic missiles. but let's listen to what the united kingdom ambassador to the united nations says. russia is now attempting to obtain more weapons, including hundreds of ballistic missiles, in return — in return — russia is offering iran an unprecedented level of military and technical support. we are concerned that russia intends to provide iran with more advanced military components, which would allow iran to strengthen their weapons capability.

she is talking about a reciprocal relationship, iran becoming more of a freight with russian sending them more weapons. it has been called a threat because of the deals between the two countries. running in parallel are the ongoing anti—government demonstrations. ongoing anti-government demonstrations.- ongoing anti-government demonstrations. what is the latest? voters _ demonstrations. what is the latest? voters have - demonstrations. what is the i latest? voters have continued despite the islamic republic conducting its first execution of a protester, a 23—year—old, and that is a gamble and a bet that the exotic republic of iran are making. perhaps you insult via boasting death sentences are carried out. the judiciary says 11 are now facing the death penalty and get people still turn out on the streets and charred death to the data, reference of the

supreme leader.— stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we're in the bahamas to visit the disgraced crypto—boss who says he wants to start a new business to pay back victims of the ftx collapse. john lennon was shot at the entrance of the dakota building in the centre of new york. a crowd has been standing in silent vigil and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire _ have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of _ have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this _ have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war - have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended i have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended in the old city of dubrovnik. this morning citizens are saying shells were landing every 20 seconds. ., , ., , seconds. people have been

gathering _ seconds. people have been gathering to _ seconds. people have been gathering to mourn - seconds. people have been gathering to mourn his - seconds. people have been - gathering to mourn his passing. imeida — gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former president of the philippines has gone on trial in nila, facing seven charges of tax evasion estimated at £120 million. she pleaded not guilty. £120 million. she pleaded not uuil . . ., . , , guilty. the prince and princess of wales are _ guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to _ guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. - guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a . of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: argentina and croatia will meet in the semi—final of the football world cup in doha. both teams prevailed in penalty shootouts in matches against the netherlands and brazil. the us says russia and iran are developing a full—scale defence partnership, with moscow offering support in return for drones to use against ukraine. one of russia's leading opposition politicians has been jailed for speaking out about russian war crimes in ukraine.

ilya yashin told his supporters not to worry about him as he was led away for his eight and a half year sentence. from moscow, here's our russia editor steve rosenberg. handcuffed and locked inside a glass cage as if a dangerous criminal. but ilya yashin is a russian politician, a fierce critic of vladimir putin. he had been put on trial for talking publicly about evidence of russian atrocities in the ukrainian town of bucha. thejudge convicted him of spreading "fake news" about the russian army and sent him to prison for 8.5 years. "don't worry," he told his supporters, "it's ok." shouting. outside the courthouse, "freedom," they shout. but just a tiny few. perhaps this is why. eight years of prison is a lot.

some people that murder someone may get less. so it's understandable why not many voices you hear now like yashin�*s one. the trial that has now ended here reflects the growing wave of repression in russia since vladimir putin invaded ukraine. the message from the kremlin to its critics, to its opponents, is clear — "stay silent." later, vladimir putin was asked for his reaction to the 8.5—year prison sentence. "isn't that brutal?" asks the journalist. the president's reply: "casting doubt on the decision of a court is inappropriate." in a statement, ilya yashin said this: "strong leaders are calm and confident. "0nly weak ones try to silence people." steve rosenberg,

bbc news, moscow. let's now speak to natalia arno, president of free russian foundation — an international organisation supporting civil society and democratic development in russia. she joins us live from washington dc. thank from washington dc. you for being with us. there thank you for being with us. there is a constant threat to dissenting voices and opposition viewpoints in russia. many people watching around the world will be thinking, don't stay in the country if you are going to speak out against the government. ilya yashin did choose to stay in the country, why? choose to stay in the country, wh ? , . ., . choose to stay in the country, wh ? , . , ., choose to stay in the country, wh? . ., why? yes, correct. he is one of the most _ why? yes, correct. he is one of the most committed _ why? yes, correct. he is one of the most committed and - the most committed and consistent people, one of the most outspoken critics of putin's regime, and one of the bravest people i know. and i wasn't surprised that when all of us were asking him to leave the country and when we were telling him how dangerous is to

stay, he chose to stay in the country, to share the risks with other russian people and continued telling the truth to the russians, and he continued his anti—war activity, and his words were very loud, very accessible, was very appreciated by many, many people in the country. so i am very proud of ilya, but at the same time very sad and worried about him, and i agree with him that this sentence of 8.5 years is very optimistic, the regime is very optimistic, the regime is not going to survive that long. by attacking ukraine the kremlin has expedited its expiration date. he kremlin has expedited its expiration date.— kremlin has expedited its expiration date. he told his supporters _ expiration date. he told his supporters not _ expiration date. he told his supporters not to _ expiration date. he told his supporters not to worry - expiration date. he told his i supporters not to worry about him, you just said you are worried about him. what will the conditions be like in prison for him?- the conditions be like in prison for him? the conditions be like in rison for him? , , ._ prison for him? this is the way of silencing — prison for him? this is the way of silencing any _ prison for him? this is the way of silencing any dissent - prison for him? this is the way of silencing any dissent in - of silencing any dissent in russia, russia has this long

soviet tradition of building gulag is and silencing opposition this way. there are other ways, opposition this way. there are otherways, many opposition this way. there are other ways, many voices, many otherways, many voices, many people who other ways, many voices, many people who are very active and who have strong opposition to the kremlin who want a different russia, want russia to be free and democratic and normal, they were forced to flee russia like me, like hundreds and thousands, probably millions of people now, civil society activist and independent journalist and now, civil society activist and independentjournalist and many independent journalist and many other independentjournalist and many other people, the brains of russia basically. but also many russians were silenced by bullets or by poisoning and other weapons that the kremlin is using. so the kremlin doesn't like any opposition, any alternative, and it is very concerning but at the same time, again, we see this as a sign of weakness, they are afraid of people, of people with free will.— afraid of people, of people with free will. you mentioned this is the _ with free will. you mentioned this is the kremlin's - with free will. you mentioned this is the kremlin's way - with free will. you mentioned this is the kremlin's way of i this is the kremlin's way of silencing voices, but here we

are talking about on international news channel, very briefly if you can, surely this is not sustainable by the kremlin? it this is not sustainable by the kremlin? , ., , , ., kremlin? it is not sustainable because more _ kremlin? it is not sustainable because more and _ kremlin? it is not sustainable because more and more - kremlin? it is not sustainable - because more and more russians want changes in the country, more and more russians don't support this brutal war against ukraine, and everything the kremlin is doing is very, like it is wrong positions and the wrong side of history, we see with how, the solidarity of the entire world is supporting ukraine, fighting with us against the kremlin regime, i don't think the kremlin is that sustainable. they have some resources to prolong a little bit, survive a little bit longer, but not forever. and again, we are on the right side of history, russia should be free. ~ . free. we will leave it there, thank you — free. we will leave it there, thank you very _ free. we will leave it there, thank you very much - free. we will leave it there, thank you very much for - free. we will leave it there, - thank you very much forjoining us. president putin has said further prisoner swaps

with america could be possible, if the two countries can continue to reach a compromise. his comments came after the release of the american basketball player, brittney griner — seen here getting off the plane which flew her back to the us in san antonio — in exchange for the convicted russian arms dealer, viktor bout. ms griner is undergoing medical checks in hospital in texas. when the leading cryptocurrency exchange ftx collapsed, the role of its boss, sam bankman—fried, came under close scrutiny. he's now facing multiple federal investigations, and says that now, far from being a billionaire, he's close to being broke. he's currently in the bahamas, and our reporterjoe tidy has been to meet him. for weeks, this island paradise has been at the centre of one of the biggest financial scandals in history. at the centre of the centre, sam bankman—fried. but instead of hiding in his luxury apartment, he is on a mission to say sorry. look, ishould have been on top of this, it was a huge oversight. i made a lot of mistakes that

are things i would give anything to be able to do over again. regardless of any apparent remorse, there is only really one question victims, investigators and reporters want an answer to. were you incompetent or were you fraudulent? i didn't knowingly commit fraud. i don't think i committed fraud. i didn't want any of this to happen. i was certainly not nearly as competent as i thought i was. that is why we started ftx, to harness the possibility of this digital asset world. bankman—fried's ftx was a giant of the crypto currency industry. the exchange allowed people to trade their normal money for digital tokens like bitcoin. but last month, it was revealed ftx and bankman—fried's separate company, alameda research, were financially unstable. everything came crashing down, billions of dollars are now missing, more than a million people out of pocket. it is alleged that the alameda hedge fund was using ftx customer money that should have been secured.

until very recently, this was the headquarters of the $32 billion ftx empire. we have spoken to a former senior employee of the company who worked here with sam bankman—fried. he is furious at how the ceo has handled the collapse, but also about what he is saying right now. he says you are lying, he says that you knew about it, and that it is impossible, he says, for you not to know that ftx's customer funds were being used on these big, risky bets for alameda research, and this is all, in his words, "a bold—faced lie and a cover—up." is that true? no. no, it's not. that doesn't change the fact, though, that it was a really bad mistake, and that it hurt a lot of people. and, like, that is on me, one way or another. the former billionaire claims he is now close to being broke, but the 30—year—old's dream, if he can get through multiple federal investigations,

is to start a new business. i think at the very least i have a duty to ftx's users to do right by them as best as i can. you mean somehow make money and pay them back? i would give anything to be able to do that. even though jail time is possible, he says he tries not to think about it. joe tidy, bbc news, in the bahamas. conservation experts say the sea cow, a marine mammal that inspired tales of mermaids, is being driven to the edge of extinction. according to an update of the international union for the conservation of nature's red list, the dugong is almost wiped out in some parts of the world. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill sent this report from the un biodiversity conference in montreal. the red list is something no creature wants to be on. it's a list of more than 40,000 species now threatened with extinction. and the international union for the conservation of nature revealed the latest update to this list here at the biodiversity talks in montreal. it laid out what conservationists have called a barrage of threats to the marine world.

marine species are facing unsustainable fishing and by—catch, poaching, criminal networks, pollution, climate change, disease. the pillar coral that's found throughout the caribbean is now deemed critically endangered, threatened by pollution and warming seas. many other species feed and live on these corals. the dugong, a large grazing marine mammal is now on the brink of extinction, with trawling and pollution wrecking its habitat. what is happening here in montreal aims to turn this around by agreeing a global deal to protect nature. indigenous people, many of whom live in some of the most biodiverse places on earth, are here to remind all of those countries that their rights are a fundamental part of that. where we are able to protect our territories and practice our traditional livelihoods, that is where nature remains and biodiversity remains. so these are hot spots that are left.

the most biodiverse areas are indigenous people and local communities' areas. places where they live. not places where guards are wearing uniforms and guns to guard, no. it's where people live, because then they know the value of this biodiversity, and that is why they live in harmony with it. there are almost two weeks left of these negotiations, but there are already some concerns that there is a lot of division remaining between all the countries, particularly on how to pay for the protection of biodiversity. with a million species now facing extinction according to the un, this is being called a last chance for the natural world. plenty more on the bbc news website and the bbc news app. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @richpreston. please do get in touch. thank

you for your company and we will see you next time. goodbye for now. hello there. it does look like this cold spell is here to stay for the foreseeable future. we are likely to see further spells of rain, sleet and snow. some significant accumulations towards the second part of the weekend in one or two areas. we will start to see increasing amounts of freezing fog developing as the winds will turn lighter, particularly across england and wales. bitterly cold start to the weekend then, as you can see from these temperatures, even lower in a few spots, maybe down to —9 in places, and watch out for ice first thing around northern and western coastal areas. it is here where we are likely to see the wintry showers continuing throughout the day. elsewhere, there will be a lot of wintry sunshine around. we could see this area of snow becoming heavier and more persistent across the north—east. and the east of scotland through the day, some significant accumulations

of snow, certainly over the grampians. temperatures range from freezing to around 4 or 5. another very cold day to come, temperatures below par for the time of year. through saturday night it stays icy, northern and western areas where we have had this rubbish, this area of snow continues, drifts south into southern scotland, particularly towards the borders, perhaps up to the very far north—north—east of england. again, a widespread sharp frost across the uk. temperatures down to around —7 or —8 in a few places. into sunday, we need to keep an eye on this weak area of low pressure, this weather front developing towards the south—east quadrant of england. that could develop thicker cloud and even some sleet and snow, particularly later in the day, which could affect parts of the south—east and east anglia. elsewhere, another bright day on sunday. however, areas that start with some freezing fog could stay quite grey and very cold through the day. parts of east wales, the midlands and eastern england, so no higher than freezing here, elsewhere

1 to 4 degrees. for sunday evening and sunday night, we could see that area of sleet and snow affect the south—east, could see some significant accumulations in the south downs. there could be some disruption in places for monday morning across the south—east. stay tuned to the forecast as this might change. elsewhere, largely clear, another very cold night to come, wintry showers around coastal areas. you can see the upcoming week, it is remaining cold, all areas will stay very cold, temperatures below the seasonal norm.

this is bbc news. the headlines — argentina are through to the last four of the football world cup, after beating the netherlands in a penalty shoot—out. they'll face croatia in the semifinal, who knocked out the favourites, brazil, in another penalty shoot out. croatia's win puts them into a second successive world cup semifinal. the united states says russia and iran are transforming their relationship into a fully—fledged defence partnership, with serious consequences for ukraine, and for iran's neighbours. the us national security spokesman, john kirby, said iran is supplying hundreds of drones that have been used to attack ukraine's infrastructure. and a leading russian opposition politician has given a defiant response to an eight—and—a—half—year prison sentence, for comments he made

related to the war in ukraine.