welcome to bbc news. i'm monika plaha. our top stories: the biggest air disruption in america since 9/11: officials say a damaged database file caused a technicalfault that forced flights to be grounded across the us. my my top priority right now, now that the system is working again as of nine o'clock this morning, is to understand the root cause, understand how it could have led to this level of disruption and understand how to make sure that he does not happen again. gunfire. fighting intensifies in eastern ukraine as the battle for the town of soledar proves one of the bloodiest of the war so far. jeff beck, one of the guitar masters of the rock era, dies suddenly at the age of 78.

little relief from the rain in california as the chaos caused by deadly downpours becomes clear. there's warnings of worse weather to come. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. first, an investigation into the failure of the safety messaging system, which led to all departing flights in the united states being grounded early on wednesday, was caused by a damaged file in a database and not by a cyberattack. that's according to an investigation by the federal aviation authority. flights have been getting back to normal, but the us transport secretary said the faa must find out why back—up systems did not prevent the failure.

our north america correspondent gary o'donahew reports. it was in the early hours that the problems began to emerge with the notam system, which warns pilots of any dangers before they take off. byjust after 7am, the federal aviation authority was ordering all carriers across the us to ground their planes until further notice, causing chaos for early morning travellers. i'm a little annoyed. yeah, a little nervous. we're going on a cruise. we have a cruise to catch at 6pm. i feel bad for the people who are actually sitting i on planes right now. i mean, we're at least lucky| that we're still in the airport and if i truly wanted to, i could go back home. i you would not think that this could happen in this day and age, you know, with all the money that's pumped into transportation, but here we are again. in a tweet, the white house said the president had been informed and that there was no evidence

that a cyber attack was responsible at that point. thousands of flights were delayed, affecting all airlines from coast to coast. the all—clear was given around 9am. by that time, huge backlogs had occurred. the transportation secretary said the problems had resulted from irregularities in the safety messages being transferred to pilots, and it was important to find out why the usual redundancies in the system hadn't prevented the failure. when there's a problem with a government system, we're going to own it, we're going to find it and we're going to fix it. my top priority right now, now that the system is working again as of about 9:00 this morning, is to understand the root cause, understand how it could have led to this level of disruption, and understand how to make sure that it does not happen again. the transportation department has begun an inquiry and a senate committee has said it will do the same. given the disruption that's been caused and the fact that the faa doesn't currently have a permanent administrator in post, answers will be demanded as soon as possible. gary o'donoghue, bbc news.

we can now speak to associated press airline reporter david koenig. the sfa say the system failure was due to a damaged file. there is lots of questions to our backup system didn't actually prevent the failure —— faa. where did it all go wrong? that is exactly right. that is what the investigation is seeking to answer because there is an ironclad rule in aviation, you are supposed to have a redundancy, not supposed to have a single point of failure arejust one to have a single point of failure are just one thing goes wrong and the whole system collapses. so the faa is under a lot of pressure to describe why they didn't have a backup system, or if they do, why didn't work. they to restart

this main system this morning after it went out last night, and that didn't work either, so they have a lot of questions to answer. �* �* they have a lot of questions to answer. ~ ~ _ they have a lot of questions to answer. ~ ~ ,, , they have a lot of questions to answer. ~ ~ _ , ., answer. the faa say there is no evidence of— answer. the faa say there is no evidence of a _ answer. the faa say there is no evidence of a cyber _ answer. the faa say there is no evidence of a cyber attack, - answer. the faa say there is no evidence of a cyber attack, and | evidence of a cyber attack, and as you were saying, a thorough review will now take place. what happens now and how long will and investigation like this actually take? it will and investigation like this actually take?- will and investigation like this actually take? it is hard to sa . this actually take? it is hard to say- i _ this actually take? it is hard to say. i think— this actually take? it is hard to say. i think it _ this actually take? it is hard to say. i think it will - this actually take? it is hard to say. i think it will drag i this actually take? it is hard j to say. i think it will drag on for a while. i think you will see the faa and department of presentation come up with some answers pretty quickly, but congress is now getting involved, the committees in congress have indicated they want to look into this as part of... they are going to reauthorise the faa later this year, so we can expect hearings to go on probably four weeks. stretching over a period of weeks, there won't be hearings every day but it is going to take some time. it every day but it is going to take some time.— every day but it is going to take some time. it has also caused a — take some time. it has also caused a lot _ take some time. it has also caused a lot of— take some time. it has also caused a lot of disruption . take some time. it has alsol caused a lot of disruption for passengers as well. there has been chaos in the airport. what has been the knock—on effect

from all of this? it has been the knock-on effect from all of this?— from all of this? it did take a while. even _ from all of this? it did take a while. even after— from all of this? it did take a while. even after the - from all of this? it did take a while. even after the faa - while. even after the faa lifted its ground stop at nine o'clock eastern time in the us, they acknowledge that it was going to take some time because of the backlog, and so there was this cascading chaos of delays and some cancellations lasting all through the day, and we are now at the point, i checked a little bit ago, we are now at 1300 cancellations are now at 1300 cancellations are nearly 10,000 delayed flights just today. hopefully tomorrow will be more normal. fingers crossed. david, thank you very much for your time here on bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. the family of a british iranian dual national sentenced to death in iran have told the bbc that authorities are preparing to execute him. alireza akbari was arrested more than two years ago and accused of spying for the uk, which he denied. the foreign office has urged iran to release him and say they are supporting his family.

the man suspected of stabbing six people at a paris train station on wednesday is reported to be a libyan national who was due to be deported. he's currently in hospital after being shot as police tried to stop his attacks. police are still investigating the motive, although it's not thought to be terror related. to my hamlet has been discharged from hospital nine days after suffering a cardiac arrest during an nfl game. he collapsed during a match between his team with the buffalo bills and the cincinnati bank hours. doctors said they were confident he could now be safely discharged. to the conflict in ukraine now, and russia's defence ministry say fighting continues in soledar in eastern ukraine despite earlier claims by the head of the russian mercenary group wagner that his forces had taken the town.

the town is seen as strategically significant as it could be used by russian forces as a place from which to launch a fresh assault on the city of bakhmut, which has been the scene of fierce fighting for weeks. james waterhouse has this report. distant artillery fire the situation in soledar depends on who you ask. it's under control as of this morning according to this ukrainian commander. "they will never break us," says his injured comrade. "we are winning." but if you ask these two, "wagner are clearing the city," they say. russian, yes, but not from the regular army. they're from a private military group called wagner, a network of mercenaries who do a lot of russia's fighting. its boss, yevgeny prigozhin,

has recently recruited convicts from russianjails, and they've been spearheading the attack on soledar, claiming to now be in full control. we chat to one ukrainian soldier on the front to see if that's the case. don't believe russian propaganda. it's not true. bakhmut and soledar have ukrainian control. kyiv has described the battle for soledar and bakhmut as the bloodiest scenario yet. and that's all we can say with real certainty. small amounts of territory are being fiercely fought over and the human cost is huge. but the kremlin is less keen to acknowledge that, instead accusing ukraine of exaggerating the situation to secure more military support, which is continuing to arrive. on a visit to western ukraine, poland's president duda

is the latest to announce the supply of tanks. volodymyr zelensky wants more to follow suit. in russia, there seems to be division. the kremlin claims there is still fighting in soledar, at odds with wagner's take. translation: i understand that the situation in - the new entities is difficult and hostilities continue in some territories. peaceful life has not been restored everywhere, and the safety of people has not been ensured. moscow is continuing to claim everything is going to plan in its quest to occupy the eastern donbas region. you wonder what will be left, whether it succeeds or not. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. the rock musicianjeff beck, known as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, has died at the age of 78. beck, who played with the yardbirds in the 1960s,

and led thejeff beck group, died suddenly after contracting bacterial meningitis on tuesday. he won eight grammys. his fingers and thumbs were famously insured for more than $8 million. we can now speak to another rock legend. gene simmons from kiss. 0ne one of many paying tribute. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. no doubt it is a really sad day for the music industry. 0ne really sad day for the music industry. one of the greatest musicians of all time. you knew him well. what was he like as a person and also a musician? it person and also a musician? it is difficult. i learned about jeff ausmat passing not too long ago, just a few hours ago, so you can hear it in my voice, it is a little much. first,

more importantly than the bbc and all the accolades and all thatis and all the accolades and all that is my heart goes out to his family, to his fans, to everybody. he... iwill tell you a quick story above and beyond his god giving... the miracle that was jeff beck as a musician. miracle that wasjeff beck as a musician. i miracle that was jeff beck as a musician. i was miracle that wasjeff beck as a musician. i was proud to be able to host the classic rock awards and i was going on and on about all the guitar players and drummers and the room was filled with all these giant figures, and my son was with me, was sitting at a table with me, was sitting at a table with me and goes, dad, dad, it is jeff beck. yeah, that isjeff beck. 0h, jeff beck. yeah, that isjeff beck. oh, my god! igo, jeff beck. yeah, that isjeff beck. oh, my god! i go, you want to say hello to geoff? do i want to... yeah! yeah! want to say hello to geoff? do iwant to... yeah! yeah! so i walked over and i said, jess, would you mind? my son is a big fan of yours, he wants to... so

we walked over and he goes, how are you? nice to see you. and my son was so overtaken, you know, the words that came out just... he was a blithering idiot. he couldn't even form the words. i will tell you that, and all the guitar players will tell you that, the classics, the great, clapton, jimmy page, allamazing, jimmy page, all amazing, amazing jimmy page, allamazing, amazing talent, onlyjeff beck have the ability, the god—given blessing to be able to easily be an icon injazz, infusion, in rock, blues, he could do it all. we want to hear something classic? this and tojeff beck's version of ness trauma with a symphony orchestra. if nobody is around, you will cry. it is beyond anything. it nobody is around, you will cry. it is beyond anything.- it is beyond anything. it was so lovely — it is beyond anything. it was so lovely to _ it is beyond anything. it was so lovely to hear _ it is beyond anything. it was so lovely to hear that - it is beyond anything. it was so lovely to hear that fond l so lovely to hear that fond memory that you have therebetween jeff beck and also your son. and you mentioned an

icon indeed, and to this day, he has influenced so many musicians. what impact did he have a new, and also your music? ~ have a new, and also your music?— have a new, and also your music? ~ , ., music? well, i will tell you that above _ music? well, i will tell you that above and _ music? well, i will tell you that above and beyond - music? well, i will tell you that above and beyond the| that above and beyond the words, every day when we do shows, we put a little music on in the background. unfailing, every single preshow, it takes me about two hours to do the make up and all that nonsense, every day that we are about to go do a show, what fires me up is the same thing that fired up jimmy page and led zeppelin, before there was a zeppelin, you put on the firstjeff beck record. truth! and then the second one. and it isjust undeniable. nothing like it has been done before, during or since. in fact it is fair to say that geoff group began led zeppelin. i listen to it all the time. and it plays, the guitar players, i hum along to the solos. that is the sound of greatness.

the solos. that is the sound of greatness-_ greatness. and to this day he has made _ greatness. and to this day he has made an _ greatness. and to this day he has made an incredible - has made an incredible contribution to music, hasn't he? an a time grammy winner alongside many other achievements and awards. what do you think his music meant to the world? it changes lives, awards, they do not mean as much as somebody being touched into their heart personally know something. there are all kinds of awards given out to people i have never heard of and do not emotionally care about any motion is what it is all about. geoff may not have had the best voice in the world but his guitar sang like no human being on the face of the planet. you can learn how to play guitar you cannot learn to be geoff back. ., . ., back. he did touch the life of many peeple _ back. he did touch the life of many people but _ back. he did touch the life of many people but looking - back. he did touch the life of - many people but looking through

social media, jeff beck's legacy will always live on? after you turn off the tv, before you go to sleep, put on somejeff beck, my personal favourites are the first to rip albums. jeff beck's music will live on. , ,, ., , live on. indeed. gene simmons, thank you _ live on. indeed. gene simmons, thank you for— live on. indeed. gene simmons, thank you for your _ live on. indeed. gene simmons, thank you for your time - live on. indeed. gene simmons, thank you for your time here - live on. indeed. gene simmons, thank you for your time here on | thank you for your time here on bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: former tennis number one naomi 0saka announces her pregnancy, but already has her eye on a return to the court. day one of operation desert storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attacks since the second world war.

tobacco is america's oldest industry and it's one of its biggest, but the industry is nervous of this report. this may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. there is not a street that is unaffected. l huge parts of kobe - were simply demolished, as buildings crashed into one another. i this woman said she had been given no help and no advice i by the authorities. she stood outside - the ruins of her business. tens of thousands of black children in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the country's new multiracial government and enrolled at formerly white schools. tonight sees the 9,610th performance of her long—running play, the mousetrap. when they heard of her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonight's performance, but agatha christie would have been the last person to want such a thing.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: aviation officials say a damaged database file caused the technical fault that forced flights to be grounded across the us. explosion fighting intensifies in eastern ukraine, as the battle for the town of soledar proves one of the bloodiest of the russian invasion so far. torrential rain continues to fall in california as the latest storm sweeps in from the pacific. mudslides have cut off roads and communities. at least 17 people have died in the american state after a month of heavy rain and flooding. the us president has declared a state of emergency. here's james clayton. santa cruz is famous for surf, but not quite like this. its historic pier has been smashed, beachside houses destroyed. this is supposed to be a picturesque beach, but it's absolutely

covered in detritus, wood, even entire trees that have been swept into the sea by swollen rivers. the president has declared a state of emergency across the state, and here in los angeles, two vehicles plunged into this huge sinkhole that opened up on the road as a result of flooding. local media reported that two people were taken to hospital with minor injuries. the small town of felton near santa cruz has been under water as the local river burst its banks. karen hendrick realised the water was coming up to her house too late. she couldn't get out, stuck above the water as it rose around her home. is it scary when you're surrounded by floodwater like that? this was the first time that i was scared, yeah. in the past, i always thought, you know, "oh, we'll get three, four, even five feet "of floodwater come through". this one didn't seem like it was going to stop. and i was imagining, you know, 10—12 feet of water, so that was pretty scary.

2a hours ago, the floodwater was about up here to my chest. it's now receded, but what it's left is this thick, glutinous mud, which has covered what is, in fact, a paved road. and of course, the mud hasn't just stuck to the streets. it's covered the inside of people's homes, too. audrey baxter is a student who lives in the town. she lost childhood memories. it'sjust something i used to read as a child, and it's alljust soaked all the way through. many other areas across california are being deluged — floods, landslides and blackouts. the governor of california scrambling for resources and worried about what's to come. have you ever seen anything like it? not at this scale. i mean, i've seen isolated incidents. these experiences are unique in that respect. they're novel, but they're also predictable because this is our reality with this weather whiplash and the extremes. and it's likely we'll see more of this in our future. and with more storms

forecast to hit the coast, california is braced for yet more rain and more damage to come. james clayton, bbc news, santa cruz. now, the former world number one tennis player naomi osaka withdrew from the australian open, that starts next week, and now we know why. the 25—year—old posted what she called "a little life update for 2023" on social media, including a picture of an ultra sound scan confirming that she is expecting her first child. our news reporter azadeh moshiri joins us now. there's lots of lovely message is pouring in over social media. what more do we know about the news she has shed? that's right, coco gauff, for example congratulated her and so did tennis legend billie jean king. it is worth putting up jean king. it is worth putting up the message she shared with

the ultrasound image. she said she has so much look forward in the future and one thing is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, that is my mum. she is not going to participate in australian open but she has not played in tournament since september in the pan pacific open. she has had issues with mental health in the past. in 2021, she pulled out of press conferences and out of the tournament, the french open. explained she had been going through bouts of depression is. this time it is better news. she is prioritising her personal life, she is having a child, why not take a break.— she is having a child, why not take a break. she is aiming to return to _ take a break. she is aiming to return to the _ take a break. she is aiming to return to the australian - take a break. she is aiming to return to the australian open | return to the australian open next year and she not the only female tennis player who has taken a break recently female tennis player who has

ta ken a break recently after announcing her pregnancy? that's right. angelique kerber announced a break, she also said she thought him against one is not fair. they have people who have taken a break for pregnancy and then came back to when grand slam titles. evonne goolagong and kim clijsters. serena williams took a break to have a child, came back to reach finals and then retired last year. also rules of been changed to make it easierfor of been changed to make it easier for new mothers to come back. naomi will be back early next year. back. naomi will be back early next year-— back. naomi will be back early next ear. ~ . , next year. what has been some ofthe next year. what has been some of the reaction _ next year. what has been some of the reaction to _ next year. what has been some of the reaction to this _ of the reaction to this announcement? ., , ., announcement? there was coco gauff and billie _ announcement? there was coco gauff and billie jean _ announcement? there was coco gauff and billie jean king, - announcement? there was coco gauff and billie jean king, as i gauff and billiejean king, as i mentioned, you have magazine spreads, g0 and vogue who have

gone big about it because someone like naomi osaka has become a bit of a legend. the japanese player who won four grand slam titles at such a young age came onto the scene when she beat serena williams when she beat serena williams when she beat serena williams when she was very young. it is a big announcement and it is getting a lot of attention. thank you very much, we appreciate it. tatjana patitz, one of the original supermodels who dominated fashion in the 1980s and �*90s, has died aged 56. she reportedly died on wednesday morning, according to a source from the manhattan—based agency, the model co—op. the germany—born model was among a handful of women of the era whose looks and style catapulted them to a global fame that transcended modelling. among those paying tribute to tatjana is the foundation

set up by the late photographer peter lindbergh, who worked closely with many supermodels. the tweet: "we are deeply saddened by the passing "of tatjana patitz, a long—time friend of peter's. "we would like to salute tatjana's kindness, "inner beauty and outstanding intelligence." and the broadcaster kris krosach has quoted tatjana: "i am proud of my wrinkles. "i worked for each one and they belong to me. "growing older is beautiful. "you become wiser and more mature." a reminder of our top story: i willjust remind you of the story i just willjust remind you of the story ijust read, we were speaking about tatjana patitz, one of the original supermodels who dominated fashion in the 19805 who dominated fashion in the 1980s and 90s has died at the age of 56. you are watching bbc

news. hello there. we are stuck in repeat mode, i'm afraid, which means yet more wet and windy weather to come. in actual fact, to close out this week, it's going to be a case of showers, longer spells of rain at times and the winds will always be a feature. now, for the time being, we've got some wet weather pushing its way across england and wales, with the heaviest pulses of rain across south wales and parts of south—west england. it could lead to some localised flooding here, accompanied by gale force gusts of winds as well. so that weather front will linger first thing thursday morning. another area of low pressure nudging into the far north—west of scotland as we go through the morning will gradually bring wetter and increasingly windy weather here as well. sandwiched in between the two, there will be some drier, brighter interludes,

and eventually that rain in the south will start to pull away. wind gusts, though, quite a feature, in excess of 40, close to 50 mph on exposed coasts at times, so a blustery afternoon. a south—westerly wind direction, so on your thermometer, temperatures will peak at about 12—13 degrees, but it may well feel a bit cooler if you're caught in the cloud, the wind and the rain. as we go through the night, we could see strengthening winds for a time as that low pressure drifts its way eastwards, so severe gales not out of the question along the southern flank of that low. with the cloud and the rain around, temperatures will hold up above freezing, but that low pressure will start to pull away on friday, over to scandinavia. and we start to see the isobars open up. this little bump, this ridge of high pressure will quieten things down for friday, although the wind direction's swinging back around to more of a northerly or north—westerly, so a slightly cooler source. but there will be some sunshine around on friday. it will be a drier day, just a few scattered showers driven along the coast by the strength of those winds.

top temperatures in scotland between 5 and 8 degrees. highest values further south, perhaps just scraping into double figures once again. more wet and windy weather arrives, though, in time for the weekend. once again, a low centred to the far north will introduce some cooler weather as well, some wintry showers to higher ground, but there is a chance that we are going to see some pretty wet weather on saturday. fingers crossed, something just that little bit drier as we move into sunday.

this is bbc news. on bbc news, it is extreme conservation, turkey. i am michaela strachan, a wildlife presenter who is passionate about conservation. my work has taken me all over the world. and in that time, i have seen huge changes, many due to climate change. in extreme conservation, we meet inspirational people who've dedicated their lives to protecting the natural world. this time, i'm in turkey. this country's stunning forests are facing devastating losses.