this is bbc news — i'm lewis vaughanjones — 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. at least seven people have been killed as dozens of tornadoes strike the southern united states. premier league footballer — benjamin mendy — is found not guilty of rape and sexual assault — but he faces a retrial on two counts. tributes are paid to lisa marie presley, the only child of elvis, who's died at the age of 5a. and — we speak to eric cantona about his new exhibition on footballers who've changed the world — and how the premier league has lost its soul. i feel that if i was in england today i would support a club

in the second division, i think. 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 military setbacks. but ukraine's president zelensky says the battle in soledar is still under way. 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. elizabeth shackelford is a senior fellow on us foreign policy at the chicago council on global affairs. i asked her what she makes of the russian victory announcement in soledar. 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 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 of taking the donbas 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. by defensive operations you mean its ability to hold territory that it takes? sorry, cffensive operations. whether they will continue progressing further in taking more territory and also retaining what 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 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. especially 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 will be vital. 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 to go back to the russian side now before i let you go.

this fighting group, the wagner mercenaries, it is a particular relationship. it is and it's something 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 tensions 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 has putin's ear, and it ny 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 assets. more than 30 tornados have struck the southern united states killing at least seven people in alabama and georgia. 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. james clayton reports. america's extreme weather shows no sign of abating. here in alabama, a scene of devastation as a tornado ripped through communities. the deadly tornado focused on the area of selma, famous for its civil rights march. the billowing winds blew off roofs and destroyed homes. they tore off the chimney, flipped the car. i mean, it's bad out here, like in louisiana. it's bad. others have come back to find their properties destroyed. well, i think i was blessed with enough sense to get out of here before the tornado hit. i've lost everything that i own. but other than that, i've got my life and i'm in good health. the ferocity of the winds here caught people off guard. there were reports

of several mobile homes being launched into the air. on the west coast. in california, the heavy rains continue to fall. roads have been swallowed by rivers and landslides, causing disruption and even isolating communities. here in monterrey, the salinas river burst its banks, flooding the surrounding area. there are concerns that entire towns could be cut off here. here in san francisco, itjust keeps raining and raining and raining. the ground here is totally sodden. there's just nowhere for the water to go. and with plenty more rain forecast, there's expected to be further flooding too. james clayton, bbc news, san francisco. let's get some of the day's other news. 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, afterjurors found two trump organisation 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. federal prosecutors in brazil have asked the supreme court to include the right wing former presidentjair bolsonaro in their investigation into what led to his supporters storming government buildings in brasilia last sunday. the statement by the prosecutor general�*s office suggested that mr bolsonaro may have incited a crime by posting a video questioning the legitimacy of last october's presidential election, which was narrowly won by his left wing rival lula da silva. a gas pipeline connecting lithuania and latvia has been hit by an explosion, but the fire that broke out has been extinguished and gas supply is back to normal. no injuries have been reported. a spokesman for the pipeline's owners, amber grid, has said that so far, there's no sign that the explosion was

caused deliberately. the moroccan national football team has pulled out of the african nations championship after failing to get permission to fly direct to algeria where the tournament is being held. the defending champions — who last month became the first african or arab team to reach the world cup finals — had been waiting for hours at rabat airport for expected approvalfrom algiers. that didn't come. algeria broke off diplomatic relations with morocco and closed it's airspace to the country in august 2021, citing spying and "hostile acts" by the kingdom. 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. on a visit to washington, japan's prime minister has warned that russia's invasion of ukraine has opened a dangerous new era for the world. in a speech after meeting president biden at the white house, fumio kishida said russian aggression could encourage similar acts elsewhere, including asia — and that china remained the central challenge for both the us and japan. president biden voiced strong support forjapan's recent announcement that it would double defence spending over the next five years. you are watching bbc news — the headlines... russia claims a strategic victory in ukraine — saying its troops have captured the eastern town of soledar. at least seven people have been killed as dozens of tornadoes strike the southern united states.

graceland will be the final resting place for lisa marie presley — the only child of rock'n'roll legend elvis presley. 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 herthejoint 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 deputy music editor at variety. he told me more about the life and legacy of lisa marie presley. to me it is an example of how difficult it is to be the offspring of an icon. someone who is just almost not human, they are so iconic. and she never really had a chance for a normal life. herfather doted on her, but he died when she was so young and she released three albums. she was a good singer i would not say she was a great singer but she had a great voice but there was a certain character and 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 pairing for her because it brought out the bluesyness in her voice. the lack of hunger for it showed that 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. 100%. i think 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 almost feel like she never really had a chance. it is such a difficult situation to be in and no matter what you're doing, no matter where you are your lineage precedes you. and no is going to treat you normally. so it is very sad for such a number of reasons. 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 in johannesburg 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 leaderfor 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. 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. he was one of the leading lights of the premier league, when it began in the early 1990s, talented, eccentric and a real character... but now the former manchester united forward, eric cantona, says big money is ruining the game, and the premier league, has lost its soul. now an actor and art enthusiast, he's co—curated

an exhibition of paintings, looking at majorfigures in the sport, who've used their fame to change society. nick robinson has that story. for the man they still call the king, football was always much more than a game. it was an art form and eric cantona believes art should always make a statement as it does in this new exhibition of paintings of great sports men and women who changed things off as well as on the pitch. football is an art, from my point of view. we can use football in sport because you have a great sports man who has been brave enough to try to change things, even the first black player to play for england. and the same thing with socrates in brazil. trying to promote democracy.

eric cantona helped propel manchester united to trophy after trophy in the 1990s. his goals are still revered but football has changed so much since then. it is not only football, it is modern life, the winter olympic games in asia, it went to saudi arabia, which is unbelievable, it seems that money can buy everything. success these days is oiled with millions from the arab world. the saudis are helping to turn newcastle into winners again, manchester city's rise to the top was funded by abu dhabi, and arsenal's emirates stadium is sponsored by dubai. if i was in england today, i would support a club in the second division, i think.

in a better atmosphere of football. i love football and i love the atmosphere of football and i do not know why some clubs change their stadium to be a bigger stadium. i think arsenal, when they left highbury, they left their soul. but he hopes that the new stars will use their influence beyond the world of sport. i'm very optimistic and i really believe in the new generations. the message of this powerful exhibition in eric cantona's adopted home is that sport can be about so much more than money. it can be about hope. and change. and evenjustice. nick robinson, bbc news, at the nationalfootball museum in manchester. plenty more online on the bbc news website and app as well.

he can give me on social media. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ l vaughanjones 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. 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 70 millimetres of rain. 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. it's a very wet, windy start to our saturday morning across much of the country venture that rain will tend to clear away, but it'll 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 south—east. 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. it will be a chilly night across the board. so sunday's looking colder. we're all in that 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 is claiming a rare victory in what's become a war of attrition in ukraine. it says it's captured the eastern salt—mining town of soledar — though ukraine says fighting is continuing. the town had been pumelled for weeks — in one of the most intense battles of the war. more than 30 tornados have struck the southern united states — killing at least seven people in alabama and georgia. 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. 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.