this is bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories — hong kong media tycoon, jimmy lai, a critic of the chinese government, is sentenced to five years and nine months forfraud. argentinianjoy — lionel messi leads his country into the world cup semi—finals, after a dramatic penalty shootout against the netherlands. but heartbreak for their south american rivals, brazil — they are out, also after a penalty shootout. croatia's win over brazil puts them into a second successive world cup semi—final. 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 eight—and—a—half year sentence, for commenting on the war in ukraine. and — a "last chance for the natural world" — the un biodiversity conference warns of the extinction of millions of species. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america, and around the globe. we start with some breaking news out of hong kong, where the media tycoon, and leading critic of the chinese government, jimmy lai, hasjust been sentenced to five years and nine months injail, after being found guilty of fraud.

he's also been fined a quarter of a million dollars and banned from managing companies for eight years. mr lai founded the pro—democracy newspaper apple daily, which was shut down by the authorities in 2021. he's been convicted of fraud, in relation to the lease let's cross live to hong kong, and speak to the bbc�*s danny vincent. what more do we know? what we do know is — what more do we know? what we do know is that _ what more do we know? what we do know is that jimmy _ what more do we know? what we do know is that jimmy lai - what more do we know? what we do know is that jimmy lai has - do know is thatjimmy lai has been sentenced to five years nine months. and he has also been fined more than 200,000 us dollars for this fraud case. he is also unable to manage any companies of ads will stop now, many critics would say that jimmy lai is being persecuted. many of his supporters and activates argue thatjimmy lai was the target for national security law and after the protests in 2019 when the national security law was introduced here in hong kong,

they will argue that the authorities targeted jimmy lai and are now using the legal system and the law to essentially persecute him. the authorities would argue that is not the case. they say of his leahy has been found guilty of fraud. they have laid out the case, they have sentenced him now. he hasjust turned case, they have sentenced him now. he has just turned 75 years old. he has only been in custody since december 2020 and he still has the national security law trial, which is currently postponed. sojimmy lai will be spending at least more than five years in prison, and depending on what the result is, or the national security law trial, he could be spending many more years than that. , , spending many more years than that. g , , ., spending many more years than that. , , ., that. just remind us what apple dail was that. just remind us what apple daily was and — that. just remind us what apple daily was and how _ that. just remind us what apple daily was and how it _ that. just remind us what apple daily was and how it came - that. just remind us what apple | daily was and how it came under the ire of the chinese government.- the ire of the chinese government. the ire of the chinese covernment. . , government. apple daily was the most penular _ government. apple daily was the most popular newspaper- government. apple daily was the most popular newspaper here i government. apple daily was the most popular newspaper here in | most popular newspaper here in hong kong. it was essentially a tabloid. they're described tabloid. they�* re described itself tabloid. they're described itself as pro—democracy, and

for many, many years, was refunded byjimmy lai, it was critical of the authorities here in hong kong but also in beijing. when the national security law was introduced, many critics believed that apple daily and jimmy lai would become a target of this national security law, and he was arrested and the number of apple daily senior staff were also arrested and charged with breaking the national security law. in one of the biggest mass arrests relating to this law, hundreds of police officers basically stormed into apple daily and made the arrests. i think some of our viewers will remember the pictures ofjimmy lai being taken around the newsroom by police in handcuffs, and he has been in custody since december 2020. apple daily closed last year, following further raids, and many people argue it is not just an attack on apple daily but also an attack on the

media, and the rate for freedom of speech in hong kong.- of speech in hong kong. danny vincent in _ of speech in hong kong. danny vincent in hong _ of speech in hong kong. danny vincent in hong for _ of speech in hong kong. danny vincent in hong for us, - of speech in hong kong. danny vincent in hong for us, thank l vincent in hong for us, thank you. —— hong kong. it's been a dramatic day in the football world cup in qatar, as the first two quarterfinals ended in penalties. the favourites to win this year's tournament, brazil, have been knocked out after losing to croatia. they'll bejoined in the semifinals by argentina, who defeated the netherlands. tim allman watched the action. crowd groans. this was not part of the plan. despair in rio, after brazil crashed out of the world cup. you can see from the looks on theirfaces, everyone here expected their team to go a lot further than just the quarter—finals. translation: the guys played very well, but i think _ they lacked passion. unfortunately, it ended in penalties. this is very hard for us. translation: it was a silly - mistake, everyone went forward, there was a counter—attack

and this unfortunate thing happened. how different things look a little earlier when neymar put the brazilians ahead. this his 77th goal for his country, equalling the official record held by a certain someone called pele. but if brazil thought that was going to be that, they were wrong — bruno petkovic equalising with three minutes to go. so, to penalties and brazilian fans may want to look away now. their first kick was saved, their last one hit the post. croatia pulling off another upset in a world cup that has been full of them. europe one, south america zero. but argentina were looking to change that. a first—half goal from nahuel molina putting them on their way. then a second—half penalty from lionel messi doubled their advantage. but two late goals from wout weghorst, one in the 11th minute of injury time, and we had the second penalty shoot—out of the day. shootout of the day. this time, it was the europeans

who came up short. emi martinez saving from virgil van dijk and steven berghuis. so, it all came down to this, lautaro martinez scoring the decisive spot kick. glorious scenes for argentina. brazil's world cup dream may be over, but his is alive and kicking. tim allman, bbc news. here's some reactions from the streets of argentina's capital, buenos aires. translation: we started very well. i was super confident and then we got scared. then it was like keep supporting the selection. there were all the emotions come you are happy, nervous, supporting, always supporting, all the way. translation: honestly, - it was crazy, i swear my heart was exhausted, it actually had to breathe! translation: we suffered - but we won, that's what counts.

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 roller—coaster of emotions, the entire evening. from a little bit of schadenfreude, seeing brazil go out, to the very real concern that argentina may be going the same way after it looked so promising, and then at the end, just that joy of seeing lautaro martinez net the winning penalty after more penalty heroics from emiliano martinez. we have two more games of this and i don't know if we're going to get through them. as you mentioned, the netherlands equalising there, pretty close to the end. did you feel like it was going to slip through argentina's hands, at some point? i think another moment you think, we just saw it

in the brazil game, when the momentum shift so late and so decisively. it that is very hard for a team to come back and recover from that, but what this argentina team has going for them as 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 and just got character to bring themselves through the penalty shootout, and i think that really says a lot for this team, just as it did coming back from that first day defeat against saudi arabia and getting into this position. it is a team thatjust wants to win and stay together, and they've got a lot going for them. so up against croatia next, who also won on penalties of course. now, team spirit is one thing, but when it comes to techniques and tactics, how do croatia play as a team? what does argentina have to consider in their match against them? i think against croatia, we are going to see a very similar game to what we saw today against the netherlands. croatia are showing they are very disciplined, very resolute. perhaps they are not the team left in qatar with the most dangerous offensive potential,

but they don't give up much. they held brazil at bay. all those brilliant strikers for almost 120 minutes, then got the goal when they need to. i don't know, no one in argentina will take them lightly. memories of that crushing defeat back in 2018 are going to be fresh. but if argentina play like they did today and keep it tight and of course utilise lionel messi, who's having a fantastic tournament, i think they've got a good chance. let's get some reaction from the other quarter final. croatia through to their second successive world cup semi final — something the prime minister was keen to enjoy. this is a brilliant generation of croatian players, led by our captain luka modric, who has been playing in spain for more than ten years,

with real madrid, with an excellent trainer, zlatko dalic, and all the others we have had, a subtle, i would say, complement of new, young players who fit in the core of the team that was already forged back in russia, four years ago. so two world cups in a row to be again in the semifinals with the perspective that we might again end up in the final, it is a fantastic feeling. the entire croatia and croatian people at home and across the world are in a very special state of good mood today. one sad piece of news to bring you from qatar. one of the most well—known sports journalists in the united states, grant wahl, has died. he covered american and world soccer on his substack, for cbs sports, nbc news and previously worked for sports illustrated. the us news network npr said he collapsed at the argentina quarter—final in doha on friday.

grant wahl made headlines earlier on in the tournament when he wore a black t—shirt with a circle in the colors of the rainbow wrapping around a soccer ball, in support of the lgbtq+ community. he claimed then he'd been refused entry to the game initially because of what he was wearing. us soccer said it was heart broken by the news and grant made soccer his life was network. we will bring you more on that story when we have it on that story when we have it on bbc 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. i asked our news reporter azadeh moshiri what else we know about these warnings.

this is not the first time there have been concerns around the relationship between iran and russia. you'll remember that at one point the united states and ukraine warned that iran was supplying drones to russia to use during this invasion in ukraine. at the time, iran denied it and then later on said these are iranian—made drones but they were supplied before the invasion began. but now the concerns that the united states and the united kingdom are spelling out are more serious. they are essentially saying that this military cooperation the two countries had before, has now deepened and morphed into a fully—fledged defence partnership and they are saying this is not only threatening ukraine but it's also threatening iran's regional neighbours as well as the international community as a whole. in terms of the details, the united states says it has seen a report that says russia and iran are considering a joint production of lethal drones and the us is also concerned that iran may start supply ballistic missiles. but let's take a listen to what barbara woodward, the united kingdom ambassador

to the united nations said, because she's spelling out another bigger concern. 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. so she is talking about a reciprocal relationship, there, iran potentially being made a more dangerous threat, by russian sending them the possibility to strengthen their own weapons. it is something the british ministerjames cleverly has essentially called a threat

because of the sordid deals between the two countries. running in parallel to this story are the ongoing anti—government demonstrations in iran. what is the latest there? protests have continued, and that's despite the islamic republic conducting its first execution of a protester, mohsen shekari, a 23—year—old, and that is a gamble and a bet that the iranian government, the islamic republic, are making, that perhaps they will be able to instil fear in these protesters by seeing that the death sentences are carried out. the judiciary right now says 11 more are currently facing the death penalty and yet people still turned out on the streets and chanted, "death to the dictator" — a reference of the supreme leader ali khamenei. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: the natural world in grave danger as millions of species edge towards extinction, according to the un biodiversity conference.

john lennon was shot at the entrance of the dakota building in the centre of new york. there's been crowd here standing in silent vigil and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people have been celebrating the passing of a man they say were — the passing of a man they say were responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former president of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila, facing seven charges of tax evasion estimated at £120 million. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the hong kong media tycoon and pro—democracy activist, jimmy lai, has been sentenced to five years and nine months in prison forfraud. argentina and croatia will meet in the semifinal of the football world cup in doha. both teams prevailed in penalty shootouts in matches against the netherlands and brazil. 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 8.5 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. "only weak ones try to silence people." steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. a former minneapolis police officer who knelt on the back of george floyd, has been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. j alexander kueng pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second—degree manslaughter in october. george floyd was killed by police in 2020, and his killing sparked a wave of demonstrations

against racial injustice. the officer was one of four involved in the arrest, which was killed by bystanders. a trio representing three nations at the centre of the war in ukraine will receive the nobel peace prize later on saturday. the bbc�*s stephen sackur has been in oslo for an exclusive hardtalk interview with two of those three joint winners. one being oleksandra matviichuk who refused to accept the award alongside a russian organisation. she emphasised the importance of accounting the war crimes for peace in eastern europe. we have to change our paradigm of thinking. because they will not be sustainable peace in our region without justice. not be sustainable peace in our region withoutjustice. because

russian troops committed war crimes in different countries and they had never been punished for this. and this leads to the situation where russia starts to believe they can do whatever they wanted. so we must break the cycle of impunity in order to stop situation when russia use war as a tool, how to achieve their political interests. and use war crimes as a method how to win this war. it is going to be similar and look like the old soviet narrative about sister nations which was circulated during the soviet union, and it was a huge nation, because it was a huge nation, because it was not sister nations, it was only one nation dominate, one system dominate, one language prevail. but this nobel peace prize is not about countries. this nobel peace prize is about very human stories because it is about people, it is about human rights defenders who jointly resist this common

evil, who remind me of the motto of soviet dissidents, "for yours and four hours freedom". ——and our hour freedom". stephen sackur also interviewed yan rachinsky, a human rights activist who runs a group that aims to shed light on abuses in the soviet union. he has described the war in ukraine as "monstrous" and also told us how the russian authorities told him to turn down the award, but he refused to listen.

conservation experts say the sea cow 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. our 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. some positive environmental news for you. a rare malayan tapir, a species which is related to both the horse and the rhinoceros, has been born at chester zoo in england. the female calf, named nessa, weighed 9kg and has a rare coat of both spots and stripes. the zoo says the arrival is highly significant as only 2,500 tapirs are said to remain across south east asia. the species�* numbers have halved in the last llo years.

you can reach me on twitter, i'm @richpreston. 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: the hong kong media tycoon and pro—democracy activist, jimmy lai, has been sentenced to five years and nine months forfraud. he is already serving prison sentence for attending a vigil marking the tiananmen square massacre and is facing further charges under the national security law imposed on hong kong. 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 semi—final, who knocked out the favourites brazil in another penalty shootout. croatia's win puts them into a second successive world cup semi final. 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.