this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. russia claims a strategic victory in ukraine, saying its troops have captured the eastern town of soledar. the manchester city footballer, benjamin mendy, is found not guilty of rape and sexual assault, but he faces a retrial, on two counts. campaigners vow to fight a court ruling that people do not have a right to wild camp in england's dartmoor national park.

hello and welcome. russia says its forces have completed the capture of soledar —— a small town in eastern ukraine that's been the focus of intense fighting. moscow called it an important step in its offensive — which would allow russian troops to cut off ukrainian forces in nearby bakhmut. if russia's claims are true, it would be the first ukrainan town it has captured sincejuly — after six months of russian forces in nearby bakhmut. but ukraine's president zelensky says the battle in soledar is still underway. our ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse reports. a salt mining town under russian assault, soledar has become a story of carnage and contradiction. after months of bloody fighting, an attempt by russia to give a clear message. for the first time, a claim, to be in complete control, and that this town is the start

of something bigger. "the capture of soledar became possible due to the constant destruction of the enemy," says russia's defence ministry. "by ground attack, aircraft, missiles, and artillery." but ukraine is saying... "fighting continues in soledar, our troops are holding defence against the enemy." ukraine has resisted russia's attack here for months. the price is getting heavier. translation: we will never give up. this is our soledar, our city, and we will not give it to anyone. ukraine is ours. as soon as we see the russian soldiers we will hit them. the kremlin has not had anything to cheer about for the last six months since it last captured a major location. soledar would change that but it's also why kyiv is hinting at a possible retreat, and that is because the last time a city fell russia made minimal gains and ukraine retook swathes

of territory elsewhere. it's also why soledar is unlikely to alter the course of this war. we were in the nearby city of bakhmut last weekend, an urban battlefield that could not have felt further from the politics of control. ukraine is trying to portray its own momentum. translation: the aggressor must be defeated on the ukrainian land - where he came so that it won't be necessary to fight on the lands of other european nations later. we need to do it now so that russia does not get a break, does not have time to adapt and restore its strength. this year is crucial. more western weapons are on their way to ukraine. the fear is, without them, russia's advance might not stop at soledar. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv.

i'm joined now by elizabeth shackelford, senior fellow in us foreign policy at the chicago council on global affairs. what you make of this latest development? it is hard to independently verify if russia has taken soledar at this point but making the assumption that they have, it is contested but they have certainly been making gains there. i would disagree with russia's claimed that this is a strategic victory. it is certainly a tactical step to overrunning bakhmut which is part of the overall plan but not a big step along that path. but what i find more notable is already been indicated is that this is russia's first victory in a while. so all my mind is does this indicate russia's ability to conduct offensive operations. we will find out over the coming days and weeks. bi;

the coming days and weeks. by operations you mean its ability to hold territory that it attends. offensive operations. whether they will continue progressing further in taking more territory and also retaining but it has taken which has been his problem over the past few months this is the first victory they have had in months and it is very important for the deep russian military�*s morale and putin public appearance back home that they have this victory. so that appearance is probably the most important part of this victory for putin.— this victory for putin. especially with things _ this victory for putin. especially with things like _ this victory for putin. especially with things like morale - this victory for putin. especially with things like morale and - with things like morale and recruitment. let's move to the ukrainian side of this equation. more broadly, supply of military, well, hardware of all descriptions. this breakthrough by russia, if that is what it becomes is only more of

an indication of the importance of western support and military supplies are. i think it will put the spotlight on this debate currently happening with many western supporters over the fighting vehicles. we have had some indications last week that germany, uk, us will all be providing some. i have heard indications today that the uk has effectively admitted to providing some and that will be important for their ability to push back against russia. we are seeing a pattern of debating and debating over whether to provide more advanced and different types of weaponry, ultimately over the course of the past year the decision tends to be to provide them. i think the timing here will be of the essence with the fighting vehicles. just timing here will be of the essence with the fighting vehicles.- with the fighting vehicles. just to no back to with the fighting vehicles. just to go back to the — with the fighting vehicles. just to go back to the russian _ with the fighting vehicles. just to go back to the russian side - with the fighting vehicles. just to go back to the russian side nowl go back to the russian side now before i let you go. this fighting group the walking or —— wagner

mercenaries it is a particular relationship. it mercenaries it is a particular relationship.— mercenaries it is a particular relationshi. , ., ., relationship. it is and do something i've been watching _ relationship. it is and do something i've been watching about _ relationship. it is and do something i've been watching about at - relationship. it is and do something i've been watching about at this. i i've been watching about at this. some of what we have seen coming out of the russian ministry of defence is that there are intentions there. between the ministry of defence and the wagner group and who is claiming victories and who is in the lead. so i think that is something to watch to see where that relationship goes. who is taking the lead and who bully and by no means it has been no small part the effort of wagner to recruit out of prisons and that has been a part of raising numbers that russian�*s have to throw at this battle and that is certainly one of the biggest aspects. —— assets. there's been an explosion on a gas pipeline connecting lithuania and latvia. the transmission company, amber grid, says the blast was in the north of lithuania, and was still being looked at. footage shown on the lithuanian

state broadcaster appears to show a fire breaking out in the area — residents of a nearby village are preparing to leave. the blast follows multiple explosions last september, which damaged two pipelines carrying gas from russia. the manchester city footballer — benjamin mendy — has been found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, after a six month trial at chester crown court. jurors failed to reach verdicts on two other charges, meaning he will now face a re—trial later this year. another man was also found not guilty of three counts of rape relating to two teenagers. our north of england correspondent, danny savage, reports. he was the millionaire footballer who had the world at his feet. but what now for benjamin mendy? cleared of the majority of charges against him, but facing a retrial on two others a jury couldn't decide upon.

so, come to the darkness. mendy lived here, a mansion in a prosperous cheshire village — where the court heard he ignored lockdown rules and had parties. his trial heard he told one woman it would be her privilege to sleep with him. he would meet them in restaurants and nightclubs, arguably charmed them with his strong french accent and bring them back here. a country house, where the prosecution claimed some women felt vulnerable, scared and isolated. but a jury concluded that he wasn't guilty of six alleged rapes said to have happened here. and here is like the cinema place. this is mendy giving a guided tour of his gilded life. in court he gave evidence in his defence, insisting he hadn't forced anyone to do anything. mendy was a member of a world cup winning squad and won the premier league with manchester city.

despite being cleared of many charges, it's hard to see him resurrecting his career any time soon. one of the interesting things that came out at the trial was his own defence lawyer saying effectively his career in football in this country is over. and that was a recognition that in terms of the behaviour that came out in the trial and the way that he, by his own admission, treated women, it makes it very, very difficult to employ him. benjamin mendy�*s solicitor today said the player is delighted at being unanimously acquitted of eight out of ten charges he faced and that he looks forward to clearing his name in relation to the other two charges, so he can start rebuilding his life. more than thirty tornados have struck the southern united states killing at least seven people in alabama and georgia. powerful winds blew the roof off this hospital in the town of moulton. officials are searching for bodies in ruined

buildings and the full extent of the damage is being assessed. states of emergency have been declared in alabama and georgia. this is the damage in the town of selma, the historic downtown area is in ruins after a large tornado cut a path across it. residents there are under curfew. graceland will be the final resting place for lisa marie presley — the only child of rock "n" roll legend elvis presley — according to a family spokesperson. celebrities have been paying tribute to the singer since she died suddenly at the age of 5a after suffering cardiac arrest at her home in california. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson looks back at her life. a warning, there are flashing images from the start. lisa marie presley on the red carpet at the golden globes on tuesday evening, two days before she died. that night, austin butler

won a best actor globe for playing her father elvis in baz luhrmann�*s biopic. the film deals with the tragic end to elvis�*s life. now, there is yet another terrible chapter to the family saga. thank you for opening your hearts, your memories and home to me. lisa marie, i love you. on thursday, lisa marie presley was found unresponsive at her home in calabasas, california, and rushed to hospital. the us media say that she had had a cardiac arrest. this comes just three years after her son ben keough took his own life after having spoken about the pressures of being a presley. she was elvis presley's only child, born exactly nine months to the day after his wedding to priscilla. lisa marie was nine when elvis died, making her thejoint heir to his estate, inheriting the lot at 25. there were four marriages. 20 days after the first ended,

she wed michaeljackson, uniting two of the most famous names in music. even appearing in his video for you are not alone. 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. # i was crying every time i'd leave you #. a big music lover, you know. had a huge impact on me my whole life, so i didn't do it to become a pop, you know, whatever. it's not a pop record. but ijust sort of needed to do my own thing. she also recorded a number of duets, combining her vocals with the original takes by her late father. tom hanks, who stars

in the elvis film, was one of the first to pay tribute, describing himself as "absolutely broken." while 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 5a. jem awad is the senior music editor at variety magazine and joins me now from ny. a woman born into the most extraordinary circumstances and lives the most extraordinary life how do you begin to unpick it? to me it is an example _ how do you begin to unpick it? to me it is an example of— how do you begin to unpick it? to me it is an example of how _ how do you begin to unpick it? to me it is an example of how difficult - how do you begin to unpick it? to me it is an example of how difficult it - it is an example of how difficult it is to be the offspring of an icon. someone who is just not human. they

are so iconic. and she never really had a chance for a normal life. her father doted on her, but he died when she was so young and she released three albums. she was a good stinger i would not say she was a great singer but she had a great voice but there was a certain character in personality but does not come across in actual singer is that i think she did not quite have. having said that she meets a very good records, she made three albums and worked with some top—flight producers a guy named eric rossi who worked with tori amos a lot and her last album was with t—bone burnett and was an ideal pairfor her because it brought out the bruising is in her voice —— bluesy nests. the lack of hungerfor is in her voice —— bluesy nests. the lack of hunger for it showed that her music career was stop start. i

her music career was stop start. i was struck by the outpouring of emotion for several reasons. it is complicated to try to —— individual tragedy at 5a not that old at all but it also seems to bring up the name in the family and history so much a motion for so many people right across america.— much a motion for so many people right across america. 10096. i think eo - le right across america. 10096. i think --eole are right across america. 10096. i think people are probably _ right across america. 10096. i think people are probably feeling - right across america. 10096. i think people are probably feeling that. right across america. 10096. i think people are probably feeling that byj people are probably feeling that by the obvious elvis connection but a lot of people are not and also the fact that it was such a surprise. it is very young to pass away of any causes. let alone a cardiac arrest. and you must feel like she never really had a chance. it is such a difficult situation to be in and to matter what you're doing, no matter where you are your lineage precedes you. and no wonderful treat you normally. so it is very sad for such

a number of reasons. i normally. so it is very sad for such a number of reasons.— normally. so it is very sad for such a number of reasons. i will leave it there but thank you _ a number of reasons. i will leave it there but thank you very _ a number of reasons. i will leave it there but thank you very much - a number of reasons. i will leave it there but thank you very much for| there but thank you very much for coming the programme. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: why the right to put up your tent on english wildernesses like these could be under threat. 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. this woman said she had been given no help and no - advice by the authorities. she stood outside the ruins of her business. j 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. russia claims its forces have captured the ukrainian town of soledar — but kyiv insists "severe" fighting is still ongoing. the manchester city footballer, benjamin mendy, is found not guilty of rape and sexual assault, but he faces a retrial, on two counts. there are not many places left in the uk where you can pitch a tent anywhere for some wild camping.

until today, in england and wales it was possible only on one small pocket of land — dartmoor, in devon. and now it's been banned there too — asjenny kumah reports. chanting: dartmoor! our moor! _ campaigners protesting last month to any new restrictions on dartmoor. for decades, people have enjoyed and assumed right to sleep under the stars on designated areas of the commons. today's ruling has left many disappointed. it's helped people with depression and anxiety and to get over a trauma. it's enabled people who live in inner cities to come out and experience the wild for the first time in their lives. and overnight, that has been stripped from all of us. wild camping is about carrying everything you need in your backpack, using a small tent and taking your rubbish with you. but there have been problems when people haven't followed the rules.

there have been incidents where litter, human waste has been left behind. these are already against laws, they are against the littering lies, they are against the laws that have governed how wild camping is able to take place on dartmoor. the vast majority of people who enjoy and take part in doing wild camping every year leave absolutely no trace, you would never know that they have been here. this couple who own a 4,000 acre estate took their case to court, claiming some campers caused problems to livestock and the environment. today, thejudge ruled that a law regulating access to more land does not provide a right to wild camp. but it's been a historic custom for decades, leaving many concerned about the future of events like this one. the park authorities say they are working to find a way forward. we are bitterly disappointed with thejudgements. we are really keen to work

with landowners to try to make sure that the ability of people to wild camp on dartmoor is sustained going forward, and we are also considering whether there are any grounds to appeal the judgment, because we think it has wider implications. in a statement, landowners said... "we are grateful to the high court for clarifying the matter. while there is a right to wild camp across scotland, the last pocket of england and wales where this right was thought to exist has just disappeared. jenny kumah, bbc news, dartmoor. tom usher, who's the chief executive of the dartmoor preservation association, is disapponted by the decision. it's very disappointing. it's really upsetting. i mean, at a single stroke, one individual or a very small group of individuals has essentially whiped out from under tens of thousands of people a really

wonderful experience that, as all your previous speakers mentioned, contributes to mental health, physical resilience. and there's a wonderful thing to do for anyone who loves the outdoors. there is something very specific about the experience of camping overnight, especially wild camping. it's not like being in a campsite. you are a very long way from anywhere else, away from light in our sort of hyperconnected world where everyone is plugged into the internet constantly, especially young people, children and youth, being able to go to a part of the uk that is still dark, that is unconnected and feels wild and free, even though it is still relatively safe by virtue of being near hospitals and their roads is an astonishing thing. and it is, as your correspondent said, the last place in england where it was until today, still presumed legal to do. and now that final presumption is gone. and what you have is an assault on people's access to the green spaces of the uk. it's a real shame. so you're right, people can still do those things and should. but here is one particular thing

with a particular set of benefits and a huge following that has just been taken away from. from the very many by the few. ajudge in new york has ordered donald trump's family real estate company to pay a fine of one point six million dollars, after being found guilty last month of tax fraud. the manhattan criminal court imposed the sentence, after jurors found two trump organization affiliates guilty of 17 criminal charges last month. the penalty was the maximum thejudge could have imposed. neither the former us president or any family member was personally charged. the anti—apartheid activist, frenijinwaala, who became the founding speaker of south africa's first democratically elected parliament, has died at the age of 90.

during the 1960's and 70's she lived in exile in mozambique from where she helped many prominent members of the banned african national congress escape abroad. president cyril ramaphosa said the country was mourning the passing of a formidable patriot. milton nkosi a senior research fellow at africa asia dialogues a think tank based injohannesburg looks back at her legacy. freni jinwaala was a struggle stalwart. she was born on the 25th of april in 1932, in a province which has since transformed now in post—apartheid south africa. but at the time the province was called transvaal. she was young, bright and feisty, and she came from an indian family background. her grandparents moved from india, from the parsi community to south africa, and she became quite early on in her young life, a political activist being a formidable leader for the anc. she studied law at the university

of london and also went on to study in oxford, where she completed a doctorate in philosophy. she was south africa's first speaker of parliament after the end of apartheid led by nelson mandela. she served from 1994 to 200k. when she was in tanganyika, which is now tanzania. and she was sent by the former anc leader oliver tambo to go and pick up nelson mandela, who had come to tanganyika at the time for military training to fight the scourge of racial oppression of apartheid. so she was quite an instrumentalfigure. beyond being an academic herself, she was also the spokesperson of the african national congress at a time when women's roles were quite limited. so she was a leader in her own right.

this is bbc news bye—bye. hello there. well, so far, january 2023 has been very wet indeed, with above average rainfall for many. we've seen some localised flooding, river levels running very high — some of them breaching their banks altogether across southern and western parts of the uk. so a number of flood warnings continue, remain in force across the uk — head online to see where they are. however, as we move through this weekend, the rain will clear away, it will turn a bit brighter, but a very different feel to the weather for part two of the weekend and into next week. things are set to a much colder, the risk of ice, snow, and frost. now this area of low pressure bringing wet and windy weather across much of the uk to start saturday. early on saturday, that rain will be very heavy and persistent across southern western areas — up to 70mm of rain, in fact. the northern half of scotland will see clear spells and scattered showers, which will be of a wintry flavour as it will be cold here,

but milder further south. so a very wet, windy start to our saturday morning across much of the country. eventually that rain will tend to clear away, but it will leave a legacy — standing water, atrocious road conditions, exacerbated flooding, as well, across some southern and western areas. but it brightens up into the afternoon, plenty of showers rattling through the northern half of the uk. wintry on the hills, it'll be colder here. the last dregs of the milder air hold on across the southeast, but it doesn't last. through saturday night, the colder air wins out, clear spells, blustery showers, long spells of rain across the northern half of the country. increasingly wintry, notjust to higher ground, even down some lower levels across northern scotland, and it will be a chilly night across the board. so sunday's looking colder — we're all in the arctic air, then you can see from the blue colours here, the white speckles indicating snow showers, which will be affecting primarily the northern half of scotland. this weather front will bring a mixture of rain, perhaps a bit of sleet over high ground for parts of northern ireland, into parts of north wales, northwest england,

into the midlands, as well. elsewhere, plenty of sunshine, top and tail of that weather front, but there will be some snow showers feeding into northern scotland, some of these down to lower levels, as it will be a cold day right across the board, single—figure values there. factor in the wind, it'll feel even colder than that. so into next week, it stays much colderfor a time — the risk of overnight frost and ice, an increasing chance of snow in places. some of that snow might be disruptive sunday night into monday, particularly across central and southern parts of the uk, so stay tuned to the forecast. but the general theme is, as we move through the week, temperatures begin to recover again towards the end of the week.

this is bbc news, the headlines... russia says it has now taken the small town of soledar, in eastern ukraine, that's been the focus of intense fighting. officials in kyiv say fighting is continuing, and the russian side has made similar claims before. the manchester city footballer, benjamin mendy, has been found not guilty of raping four women. the jury was unable to reach a verdict in the cases of two other women he was alleged to have attacked, so he will face a retrial later this year. a gas pipeline connecting lithuania and latvia has been hit by an explosion. the country's gas operator says it's launched an investigation. ajudge in new york has ordered donald trump's family business to pay a $1.6 million fine after being found guilty last month of tax fraud.

the fine was the maximum allowable.