the premier league footballer benjamin mendy is found not guilty of six counts of rape and one of sexual assault. the manchester city and french international had been on trial since august, along with another man. the cheery in this trial deliberated for three weeks. they cleared benjamin mendy of the majority of charges against it but could not decide on two. he now faces a retrial. —— thejury decide on two. he now faces a retrial. —— the jury in this trial. also on today's programme: the uk economy grew unexpectedly in november — boosted by the football world cup. it went up 0.1%. a man's appeared in court charged with murdering 26—year—old beautician elle edwards on merseyside. tributes are paid to lisa marie presley, the only child of elvis,

who's died at the age of 5a. royal mail customers still can't send letters and parcels overseas — after a cyber attack on the company, with criminals believed to be demanding a ransom. and wales are in the men's hockey world cup for the first time — and england are their first opponents. and coming up on the bbc news channel: the problems keep piling up for chelsea manager graham potter, with new loan signing joao felix facing suspension following defeat for the blues at fulham. good afternoon.

welcome to the bbc news that one. in the last half hour manchester city footballer benjamin mendy has been found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. jurors were unable to reach a verdict on one count of rape and one of sexual assault. it follows a six—month trial at chester crown court. our north of england correspondent danny savage is there. explain what has happened? this trial started _ explain what has happened? this trial started back _ explain what has happened? ti 3 trial started back in august last year and the jury went out to begin their deliberations before christmas. they have been in and out of court ever since for something like 15 days in total trying to reach a decision on the charges benjamin mendy faced. he was charged with a variety of offences including rape, attempted rape and said assault and the overall picture is he was accused of taking women back to his mansion in cheshire, he was a

wealthy manchester city footballer who lived in a mansion in a multipart of the cheshire countryside, that women were taken back and whilst they whether he sexually assaulted or raped them and a number of women came forward with those allegations. but in relation to six alleged victims that the trial covered the jury found him not guilty of assaulting four of them, so he was cleared of rape unanimously by the jury. they were sent away to cfa could come back with majority verdicts in relation to the outstanding charges that they could not. thejury at to the outstanding charges that they could not. the jury at chester who have been here since last summer were dismissed and benjamin mendy will face a retrial later this year which is expected to last two to three weeks on the two outstanding charges the jury could not decide upon, one of attempted rape and one of rape, in relation to two other

women. he was on trial with a friend of his, 41—year—old louis saha matturie, he was also found not guilty on some charges but again the jury guilty on some charges but again the jury could not decide on a bed so he will also face a retrial in time. a record transfer for will also face a retrial in time. a record transferfor a will also face a retrial in time. a record transfer for a defender appetite when benjamin mendy came to manchester city, a world cup winner with the french squad eight few years ago, he faces going through this process again with a retrial. thank you, danny savage. now the other main story this lunchtime. the uk's economy grew unexpectedly in november — boosted by the football world cup. the latest official figures were better than expected, with increased spending in pubs and bars. let's take a look at the numbers in more detail. gross domestic product — that's the measure of all activity by businesses, government and people in the uk — rose by 0.1%, better than anticipated, despite households being squeezed by the

rising cost of living. but today's figures marked a slowdown since october — which showed an increase of 0.5%. and there are concerns that soaring costs could still tip the uk into recession — the figures show uk economic output as a whole shrank by 0.3% betweenjuly and september. our business correspondent ben king has this report. a world cup full of surprises has produced another unexpected result. football fans spend more money in november celebrating in pubs or at home, helping the economy to grow by no .1% and not shrink as many economists expected. but there was not much to celebrate for many other companies. this company saw strong sales about black friday but things have been slowing as consumers tighten their belts.

people are finding things difficult. they're kind of worried about their basic costs of heating and fuel and all the rest of it, and the worries of inflation. so we can very much tell that there's a little bit of tension in consumers, and we feel it ourselves. higher interest rates are pushing up mortgage payments and on the streets of worcester people have felt the rising energy prices. we certainly have not had the heating on. i am very, very frugal with my heating and hot water, believe you me. we've not got the heating - at the moment and stuff like that just because we can't afford it. how do you keep warm? blankets, jumpers, scarves. yeah. it hasn't really affected me because obviously interest rates are going in the right direction for me, personally. but i just worry about everybody else who has got mortgages. october and november were both positive, meaning unless the figure for december is quite a long way

down, 0.6% or more, the figure for the three months as a whole will still be positive, meaning the economy avoided falling into recession last year, but this year may be different. i recession last year, but this year may be different.— recession last year, but this year may be different. i don't think we have avoided _ may be different. i don't think we have avoided a _ may be different. i don't think we have avoided a recession, - may be different. i don't think we have avoided a recession, we - may be different. i don't think we have avoided a recession, we willj have avoided a recession, we will avoid a recession, in 2023. the uk faces a significant number of challenges. cost of living pressures remain substantial, we have seen a lot of rate hikes from the bank of england and we will be seeing tax hikes in the uk too, it is a lot for an economy to cope with. the uk still has not _ an economy to cope with. the uk still has not recovered _ an economy to cope with. the uk still has not recovered to - an economy to cope with. the uk still has not recovered to levels l still has not recovered to levels seen before the pandemic unlike germany, the us at the other g7 major economies. prime minister rishi sunak pledged this month to get the economy growing again and today's figure is encouraging, but the uk faces a tough road ahead that there may be more surprises in store. our economics editor faisal islam is with me.

a slight increase for that month, what does it mean? it is a slight increase for that month, what does it mean?— a slight increase for that month, what does it mean? it is one month's fiuures what does it mean? it is one month's figures that — what does it mean? it is one month's figures that were _ what does it mean? it is one month's figures that were better _ what does it mean? it is one month's figures that were better unexpected, | figures that were better unexpected, as ben reported it means for the final three months we will expect a flat economy, maybe small growth, which would stop the continuous quarters of falling economy and the recession that was widely assumed has not started. however, it is about this year that most economists were concerned, but the cumulative additional impact of both rising interest rates, rising energy prices and food prices would hit households. what is interesting about the november numbers and the retail numbers seen this week is that perhaps it suggests resilience among consumers, more than expected given the hits from energy and food prices, and if that has come from savings accumulated since the

pandemic, for example, maybe that will last into this year and the downturn will be slower. a difficult one borrowed money, people celebrating the world cup etc, maybe we will have a worse hangover —— but if it comes from borrowed money. we still expect interest rates to be raised next month up to 4% and perhaps beyond. raised next month up to 496 and perhaps beyond-— raised next month up to 496 and perhaps beyond. thank you, faisal islam. a man's appeared in court charged with murdering a 26—year beautician on merseyside. elle edwards was shot in the head at the lighthouse pub in wallasey on christmas eve. connor chapman, who's 22, was remanded in custody. here's our north of england correspondent, judith moritz. elle edwards was cnn christmas day with friends when she was shotjust before midnight. a gunman opened fire at the lighthouse in wallasey on the wirral peninsula which was busy with drinkers ensuring the facilities. despite efforts to save her she died of her injuries, she

had been shot in the head. her relatives said christmas and their family would never be the same again. last night 22—year—old connor chapman was charged with her murder. he spoke in court today to confirm his name and that he has no fixed address. he appeared before magistrates in birkenhead this morning charged with a total of nine offences including two cans of attempted murder, three of grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm and ammunition and using a stolen car. the court heard a converted scorpion submachinegun was used in the attack. connor chapman was not asked to enter any plea and was remanded in custody until his next appearance. the hearing at wirral magistrates�* court only lasted three minutes and connor chapman stood throughout in the dock of courtroom number six, answering as his name was put to him but giving no other details. he was

wearing a grey tracksuit, long hair and a beard and he stared ahead with his head held high as the charges against him were read out. the charges cannot be dealt with by magistrates so the case has been committed to crown court that he will next appear before liverpool crown court on monday. four others have previously been arrested in connection with the shooting, of those three have been released on bail while further inquiries are carried out at the fourth has been recalled to prison on licence. thank you, judith moritz. a woman in her 20s has died after a dog attack in surrey. the woman was pronounced dead at the scene in caterham yesterday afternoon. another woman suffered dog bites and was taken to hospital with non life—threatening injuries. surrey police said armed officers went to the scene and seized seven dogs. children in the town where arthur labinjo—hughes lived before his death are experiencing "significant harm" due to delayed

responses by council services, a report has found. six—year—old arthur�*s father and stepmother were jailed for his killing at their home injune 2020. an ofsted inspection of solihull council�*s children�*s services has rated it inadequate. the council said it accepted the findings of the report. tom hanks and john travolta are among the celebrities who�*ve people are still unable to send letters or parcels overseas with royal mail, after the firm was hit by a cyber attack on wednesday. it�*s believed royal mail is being held to ransom by criminals with suspected links to russia. our cyber reporterjoe tidy has more details. this is the ransom note that greeted staff trying to log into their computers at royal mail. your files and data are encrypted, it says, with links to the cyber criminals�* del canet website, a short and

matter—of—fact message belying the chaos caused inside the royal mail�*s international sorting offices. since wednesday the company has said it cannot send packages or lettuce abroad. the company has not commented on the ransomware situation, saying only it is a cyber incident, but a source close to the investigation had said they are being held to ransom by cyber criminals. ransomware attacks are sadly persistent with organisations being hacked and paying cyber criminals almost daily, but this is especially serious. royal mail is deemed as uk critical national chance staff tally it is chaos inside. ah, chance staff tally it is chaos inside. ., ., ., , inside. a ransomware attack can be an existential— inside. a ransomware attack can be an existential threat _ inside. a ransomware attack can be an existential threat from _ inside. a ransomware attack can be an existential threat from an - an existential threat from an organisation, it can literally close the doors of an organisation and put them out of business. i don�*t want to panic anyone, that extremely unlikely to happen with royal mail because only simpson cell systems have been locked out, but for

organisations generally, ransomware organisations generally, ra nsomwa re can organisations generally, ransomware can be a very big problem. customers are left not knowing _ can be a very big problem. customers are left not knowing what _ can be a very big problem. customers are left not knowing what to - can be a very big problem. customers are left not knowing what to do - can be a very big problem. customers are left not knowing what to do with l are left not knowing what to do with that post. i are left not knowing what to do with that ost. ., are left not knowing what to do with that ost. . ., , are left not knowing what to do with that ost. . . , ~ u, that post. i have family in america, i t to that post. i have family in america, i try to send — that post. i have family in america, i try to send that _ that post. i have family in america, i try to send that stuff, _ that post. i have family in america, i try to send that stuff, i _ that post. i have family in america, i try to send that stuff, i try - that post. i have family in america, i try to send that stuff, i try to - i try to send that stuff, i try to send _ i try to send that stuff, i try to send a — i try to send that stuff, i try to send a pair— i try to send that stuff, i try to send a pair of shoes, could not. the ransomware — send a pair of shoes, could not. tie: ransomware crew is one of the most prolific cybercrime groups in the world. operating on russian hacking forum sale thought to be rooted in the country, which is accused of harbouring these groups. yes —— the fbi say they have extracted tens of millions of p in 2020. the royal mail is now one of thousands of organisations to full victim to these ruthless hackers. russia says its forces have captured the town of soledar, a salt—mining area in eastern ukraine that�*s been the focus of intense fighting. the defence ministry in moscow said this would allow russian troops to cut off ukrainian forces in bakhmut, which they�*ve been attacking for months. there�*s been no comment from ukraine. let�*s get the latest from our correspondent in kyiv, james waterhouse.

what do we think is actually happening? it what do we think is actually happening?— what do we think is actually haueninu? , ., happening? it could well be that russia ultimately _ happening? it could well be that russia ultimately takes - happening? it could well be that russia ultimately takes control i happening? it could well be that | russia ultimately takes control of the town of soledar, but the benefits for it in doing so are questionable. the human cost of its questionable. the human cost of its quest is not. this is somewhere where we had seen some of the bloodiest fighting, but on wednesday we had a claim from a mercenary group which has been spearheading russia�*s attack on the town, they claim wednesday that it controlled soledar. today we have a claim from the kremlin that it that now controls it to its regular army, highlighting a growing division in moscow. we have spoken to ukraine�*s military in the east and it has told us it is not true, we are continuing to hold the line and fighting is carrying on in what is left of this town. we are in a phase at the

moment where russia is throwing everything for a very short—term gain which could be used for propaganda purposes. we are already seeing soledar talked up in russia as some kind of victory. president zelensky is talking about taking the right steps in the coming days, i would not be surprised if we saw a tactical retreat as they tried to inflict maximum casualties. thank ou. tom hanks and john travolta are among the celebrities who�*ve paid tribute to lisa marie presley, the only child of elvis presley, who�*s died at the age of 54. she was taken to hospital in los angeles after reportedly suffering a heart attack. colin paterson looks back at her life, and just a warning — there is some flash photography in colin�*s report. lisa marie presley on the red carpet of the golden globes on tuesday evening, two days before she died. that night austin butler won best actor for playing her father in a

bio pic which dealt with the tragic to elvis�*s life. now there is yet another terrible chapter to the family�*s saga. on thursday lisa marie presley was found unresponsive at her home in calabasas california and rushed to hospital. the us media said she had had a heart attack. this isjust said she had had a heart attack. this is just three years after her son took his own life after spoken about the pressures of being a presley. lisa marie presley nelvis�*s only child, born nine months to the day after his wedding to priscilla. she was nine when elvis died, making her thejoint heir to the she was nine when elvis died, making her the joint heir to the estate and inhabiting the lot at 25. they were four marriages, 20 days after the first ended she married michael jackson, uniting two of the most famous names in music and appearing in one of his videos. they were togetherfor in one of his videos. they were together for little more than a year. her marriage to oscar—winning actor nicolas cage was even shorter,

108 days. in 2003, lisa marie presley launched her own music career, making the uk top 20 with lights out. aha, career, making the uk top 20 with lichts out. �* , , . ., ., ., lights out. a big music lover, had a hue lights out. a big music lover, had a huge impact — lights out. a big music lover, had a huge impact on _ lights out. a big music lover, had a huge impact on the _ lights out. a big music lover, had a huge impact on the whole _ lights out. a big music lover, had a huge impact on the whole life, - lights out. a big music lover, had a huge impact on the whole life, i - huge impact on the whole life, i didn�*t do it to become a part whatever, it is not a pop record, but i needed to do my own thing. she also recorded duets with her dead father for charity. also recorded duets with her dead fatherfor charity. tom hanks, who started the elvis film, was one of the 30 pay tribute, describing himself as absolutely heartbroken. nicolas cage said lisa had the greatest laugh of anyone i ever met. fans have begun to turn up at graceland to pay tribute, once again a presley is being mourned.

lisa marie presley, who�*s died aged 54. the time is 13:18. our top story this lunchtime: manchester city footballer benjamin mendy has been found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault at chester crown court. and still to come... the latest social media sensation — sophie the dog, the rescue from romania. coming up on the bbc news channel: british number one cameron norrie is on track for his first title of the year, as he qualifies for the final at the auckland open, just days before the first grand slam of the season. it is exactly two years since italy began holding its biggest anti—mafia trial since the 1980s. hearings have been ongoing against more than 300 suspects from one organised crime group, with charges including murder, extortion and drug—trafficking.

our italy correspondent mark lowen has travelled to calabria, in the south of the country, to meet some of those caught up in the mafia�*s crimes, and those leading the battle against them. it is perhaps italy�*s most dangerous commute — by italy�*s most threatened target. nicola gratteri has spent his career fighting the country�*s most powerful mafia, the �*ndrangheta. as we speed through its bastion of calabria, his five—car escort follows his every move. translation: i often talk to death. you have to rationalise fear to move on. the most beautiful thing is freedom. to be able to move around alone, or to go to a barfor a coffee. i used to do these things as a boy. but in my mind, there is a lot of freedom. from the lush toe of italy, the �*ndrangheta family clans have spread terror through killings and kidnappings. massacres elsewhere in europe traced

back to their rivalry in calabria. today, their currency is cocaine, smuggled through gioia tauro, italy�*s busiest container port. their annual income, an estimated $60 billion. around one in ten of the containers that pass through this port are checked. this shipment seems to be clean, but bananas from south america are a classic method that the �*ndrangheta use to stash cocaine. their branches operate right around the world, and the group is now estimated to control up to 80% of europe�*s cocaine trade. and what is inside here? this is our last seizure. we were given a rare glimpse of a recent haul. seven tonnes of cocaine. its street value, 1.4 billion euros. more than 300 �*ndrangheta suspects

are now facing italy�*s biggest anti—mafia trial since the 1980s, in a special courtroom to cope with the size. it�*s crippled the mancuso clan, one of the group�*s ruthless families. their brutality has broken sara scarpulla and her husband, whose only child, matteo, was blown up by the mancusos, after a dispute over land. translation: he was a joy of life. a polite, exceptional boy, he never said a word against us. i am proud to have been matteo�*s mother and to have had him as a son. sometimes, i ask god, "where were you when my son was dying?" and matteo�*s girlfriend tells me, "he was there, taking matteo with him." there are few turncoats in a mafia forged in blood ties, but we met one, born into the group he�*s now betrayed, testifying

at the mancuso trial. translation: the words repeated were always the same. _ "kill, kill, kill". i was brought up as a child soldier and it began at a very young age. the �*ndrangheta is a monster. a multi—headed hydra. it�*s a matter of time that the mancuso clan will regroup, and they will be back stronger than ever. and so, no rest for nicola gratteri. hero to many, enemy of some, italy�*s anti—mafia crusader goes on. the devotion, the sacrifice, for a battle italy may never stop fighting. mark lowen, bbc news, calabria. areas around inverness and the river forth have been awarded freeport status, in a scheme agreed by the scottish and uk governments. freeports offer tax incentives, with the aim of stimulating economic growth in an area. the two winning bids were announced

as rishi sunak continued his first visit to scotland as prime minister. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon is in invergordon. so was this a full show of unity here? ~ , , g ., so was this a full show of unity here? ~ , , , . ., so was this a full show of unity here? ~ , , ., , here? well, yes, jane. i think this “oint here? well, yes, jane. i think this joint announcement _ here? well, yes, jane. i think this joint announcement about - here? well, yes, jane. i think this joint announcement about these l here? well, yes, jane. i think this- joint announcement about these green freeports here on the cromarty area and the firth of forth indicate a willingness to cooperate and work together in some areas. there was that private dinner between the first minister and the prime minister which both sides afterwards described as cordial, but there are still many areas where big differences remain. we are told that there was a robust exchange of views at that dinner on the issue of independence. and of course, one other big area of disagreement or potential disagreement is a law passed at holyrood just before christmas making it easierfor people to change their gender. rishi sunak has commented on that today, he said he is concerned about the

potential impact of this law on other areas of the uk, he said the westminster government is reviewing it and that is completely standard practice to do so. but they have until the middle of next week to decide whether or not they wish to block it and, if they did, that would lead to significant and big potentially big political differences between the two governments once again. lorna gordon, thank _ governments once again. lorna gordon, thank you. _ the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has urged rishi sunak to do a "deal" on post—brexit trading arrangements for northern ireland, saying that he would promise to support him if he does. speaking at queen�*s university in belfast, sir keir said the prime minister should "stand up" to conservative mps in the european research group and unlock the stalemate the northern ireland protocol had caused at stormont. the oscar—winning actor kevin spacey has pleaded not guilty to seven offences against one man, he is appearing via video link at southwark crown court for a plea and

trial preparation hearing. the charges include indecent assault, sexual assault and causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. the offences are alleged to have taken place between 2001 and 2005. the act it�*s now facing a total of 12 sex offence charges against four men. kevin spacey will stand trial injune. the bbc has learned that officials from nhs england are to brief the health secretary about allegations of a toxic culture at one of england�*s largest hospital trusts. a bbc newsnight investigation, broadcast last year, reported widespread allegations of bullying and intimidation of staff at university hospitals birmingham. here�*s david grossman. every doctor must be registered here, with the general medical council. if a doctor�*s accused of a lapse of professional standards, it�*s the gmc who investigate, the ultimate sanction being struck off the register.

the allegation that this organisation — that�*s essentially here to ensure that doctors behave both ethically and safely — is being used to intimidate doctors is a serious one. a newsnight investigation reveals a culture of fear in one of england's biggest hospital trusts. late last year, we reported that of 26 doctors referred to the gmc by the university hospitals birmingham trust, not one had any action taken against them, and we�*ve now learned that regulators were warned about the culture at uhb a year ago. you could see that people were being bullied, you know, by the threat of referrals to the gmc about whistle—blowing. the unison trade union says it was contacted by dozens of uhb staff, most of them medics and not unison members. initially, we just thought it wasjust, like, one or two, and then it got quite worrying, the number of people and the sorts of things that they were saying. so numerous and serious were the concerns the union

was hearing that they put together a confidential report, which they sent to the care quality commission. it was really clear that people were being discouraged from reporting incidents, because the trust management wanted to say they ran an exemplary hospital and they didn�*t have any problems. then when you started digging in further, you could see that, you know, the use of disciplinary procedures against senior medics to try and stop them from being whistle—blowers. the cqc say they considered the unison report when they conducted their most recent assessment of uhb, which ranked the trust as "requires improvement". uhb told us they hadn�*t received or seen a copy of the unison report, and so couldn�*t fairly comment. they denied that staff were bullied or intimidated by management. since our initial investigation, the local health board has announced three separate reviews looking into the allegations we raised. the trust told us these are now well under way. david grossman, bbc news.

the men�*s hockey world cup is under way in india — and wales are competing for the first time. the team is partially self—funded, and players have to train in their spare time. their debut match, against england. here�*s our sports correspondent, andy swiss reports. anthems play ready to make hockey history. for wales�*s men, a first—ever world cup match — something that, till recently, would have beggared belief. over the years, they�*ve so often struggled. in their first 50 matches, they won just three, and there�*s been some heavy defeats. and that's number 17. .. but against the odds, this part—time team of students, teachers and financial analysts qualified to face the world�*s best. hockey�*s a hobby for the vast majority of us. it�*s what we do in our spare time. it�*s what we do on evenings and weekends, aside from jobs. to be going to a world cup

and playing and performing on that stage, it�*s kind of a bit of a kind of pinch—yourself moment, really. and what an opening match — against england, no less. but wales�*s hopes of a dream start didn�*t exactly materialise. barely 30 seconds gone and england ahead, through nick park. wales, though, were soon showing their resilience. how�*s this for some courageous goalkeeping? but with england doubling their lead at the halfway stage, wales�*s world cup debut is proving a difficult one. andy swiss, bbc news. now, we are a nation of animal lovers, but no—one was quite prepared for the scale of the reaction to sophie, the romanian rescue dog. it is all right here, isn�*t it? this is your home. it�*s been a month since a very nervous looking sophie arrived at her new home — with former bbc correspondent

rory cellan—jones and his wife, diane — having been rescued