this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. welcome if you're watching i'm ben boulos and these are the latest headlines... iranian state media says british—iranian dual national alireza akbari has been executed on charges of spying for the uk — which he had denied. britain's prime minister calls it a "callous and cowardly act". ukraine's capital, kyiv, has been hit by a missile attack, with critical infrastructure apparently the target, as president zelensky insists the fight for soledar goes on — despite russian claims they've taken the town. climate activist greta thunberg joins protesters in the german village of lutzerath as police try to clear the area to make way for coal—mining.

come here, protect life, and fight for survival. as long as people are here, lutzerath stays. takeaways, restaurants, and cafes in england will have to stop using plastic cutlery, plates, and bowls from october as part of a new government plan to tackle plastic pollution. and new hope — how hormone replacement therapy, which helps control symptoms of menopause, could reduce the risk of alzheimer's dementia among women at risk of developing the disease. iran's state media has reported that a british iranian national, alireza akbari, has been executed. mr akbari, who was a former deputy

defence minister for iran, was detained three years ago and charged with spying for the united kingdom. the british government says the execution was politically motivated and will not go "unchallenged". in the last few hours, the uk's prime minister rishi sunak says... "i am appalled by the execution of british—iranian citizen "alireza akbari in iran. "this was a callous and cowardly act, "carried out by a barbaric regime "with no respect for the human rights of their own people. "my thoughts are with alireza's friends and family." a little earlier, we heard from bbc monitoring journalist khosro isfahani who has been watching iran for us. this morning, theirjudiciary's official outlet released a statement saying that alireza akbari has been executed. two days earlier, a state—affiliated newspaper had hinted that he might have been executed or

his execution might be imminent, so this news has been around and his family expected him to be executed. they were actually called to the prison to have the last meeting with mr akbari. the iranian state media has released videos of alleged confessions by mr akbari, which he has denied, and in a voice message shared with bbc�*s persian service, he has said they were, these confessions were obtained under torture and when he was drugged with psychedelic medication by interrogators. there has been condemnation, certainly from britain, especially, given the fact that he was a dual national with british nationality as well as his iranian nationality.

how will that be going down in iran? will it make any difference at all? so far, iran's state media, especially outlets linked to the islamic revolutionary guard corps, irgc, has labelled the british government's response as the "employer", quote—unquote, reacting to the execution of the "chief spy" — again, quoting them. this is the classic islamic republic response to western reactions to any form of human rights violations in the country. the islamic republic has responded the same way to international condemnation of violence against protesters over the past months. this is not new.

khosro isfahani there from bbc monitoring. i'm joined now by human rights lawyer, hossein ahmadi—niaz who specialises in iranian affairs. what you make of the legal process, if there is a need to speak of, which resulted in this execution? well, this process, thisjudicial process completely is not accurate, is not complete and is not critical because firstly he prohibited completely access to an end of pendant lawyer because based on —— independent lawyer... article eight of iran's criminal procedures he denied completely to access the independent lawyer, only regime's authorities let him to have a judiciary lawyer so this kind of lawyers and not completely

independent lawyers. they try to help the authorities and the regime because this case was in violation�*s court and revolution�*s islamic courts in iran was not a trial lawyers and completely all of them judge in this kind of court are not independent. the lying on intelligence they receive in iran. despite they are relying on intelligence. they rely on the authorities, not independent judiciary. we make in this case, given the defects in the legal process you have pointed out, what sort of accountability is there? what sort of action can be taken to hold iranians authorities to account for that? of course, as you know, in iran's...

in this case there is not any distinguish went in authorities between crime and punishment because based on the law in iran in this case execution is not a part of punishment in this case. unfortunately iranians�*s authorities using this case based on the political points and this case is completely directly with a recent protest stations and demonstrations in iran and otherwise evading regimes use dual nationalities or citizens as a pray in this case. i think and believe that there is no sunni rule of the law in this case.

—— prey. human rights lawyer, thank you very much forjoining on bbc news. you very much for “oining on bbc news. ~ ., , you very much for “oining on bbc news. ~ . , ., news. -- i think and believe that the are news. -- i think and believe that they are not _ news. -- i think and believe that they are not following _ news. -- i think and believe that they are not following the - news. -- i think and believe that they are not following the rule i news. -- i think and believe that they are not following the rule ofj they are not following the rule of law in this case. earlier, our political correspondent david wallace lockhart updated us on the uk government's response. of course, alireza akbari, a dual british—iranian national, so we would expect a uk government response here. the prime minister tweeted this morning saying he was appalled. of course, when we heard originally it was from iranian state media, but we now do have two uk government figures, including the prime minister, seem to confirm the execution. rishi sunak saying it was "a callous and cowardly act "carried out by a barbaric regime." we also heard from the foreign secretary, james cleverly, who also took to twitter. he put it in very stark terms. he says iran has executed a british national. he said it was barbaric and deserved condemnation. in a separate statement that mr cleverly, the foreign secretary, put out he said that the foreign office would be summoning

iranian diplomats to make clear their disgust. labour, as well, saying that iran must be held accountable for this act. so diplomatic channels appearing to be established, but it's important to remember the uk government had made diplomatic efforts to ensure this execution did not take place. we now know that those appear to have failed. it's unclear at this point exactly if any sort of diplomatic channels could be opened up for discussions between the uk government and iran. relationships obviously not in a good place and hard to see how this execution can do anything but put them into a much, much worse place. david wallace lockhart there. the ukrainian capital, kyiv, has been hit by a missile attack, with critical infrastructure apparently the target. journalists reported a series of explosions overnight — saying warning systems had failled to sound the alarm. the mayor of kyiv, vitali klitschko, urged residents to take shelter, and said that missile debris had fallen in the west of the city. our ukraine correspondent has more from kyiv. there were a series of reported

of explosions from around 4am this morning. concerningly, the sirens didn't sound for a couple of hours, but what we are being told is that missiles have struck in the eastern flank of the city and the authorities are saying that infrastructure has been hit. we don't know where and we don't know what. now, kyiv and so many cities around ukraine are used to threats from the sky. at the moment, we don't know where this current threat is coming from. it can sometimes be missile strikes from the caspian sea. it can be through russian fighter jets in airspace in belarus, where they have stationed troops and aircraft. we just don't know at this stage. but even if... you know, the city's air defense systems are fairly effective, but not completely effective, so missiles can get through.

even if missiles are intercepted, the falling debris poses a real threat, as well. so we, like the rest of the city, we will stay down here and wait to hear more. that's james waterhouse. earlier, i spoke to frank ledwidge, a former military intelligence officer. he told me that a victory in soledar is of symbolic significance to russia, but it does expose divisions within its military circles. it's worth taking a step back here and appreciating the situation the russians are in. they are relying on a mercenary group owned by gangsters and proudly manned by convicted criminals and released criminals who comprise about, say western intelligence, about a quarter of the combat strength of russia in donetsk and in the donbas area. what we're seeing is a struggle between that group within the kremlin,

led by sergei prigozhin and the army, and soledar represents a feather in a cap — and it can't be disguised anything more than that — for that group, in its struggle to, i won't say dominate, but take some credit for what amounts to a minor victory. and the effective demotion, but deployment of general gerasimov as overall commander, now all russian forces in ukraine represents, i think, an attempt by the army to retake control, as it were, of the campaign. and then if russia is throwing such huge efforts at taking what would be a symbolic victory, and then if russia is throwing such huge efforts at taking what would be a symbolic victory, let's say theoretically you were advising the ukrainian side, what what would you say to them?

is it worth fighting to avoid russia having that symbolic victory, or is it not worth the potential loss of life and and effort that would go into trying to retain what is, strategically, perhaps a less important place? well, soledar is part of the bigger campaign for battles to gain dominated by this this wagner group of mercenaries. ukrainian rationale for this is that they're drawing in russian forces to chew them up, which they have been doing, and force them to expend resources in what amounts to a stepping stone, effectively, for much bigger targets, slightly to the north and west of slovyansk and kramatorsk, which are very heavily defended. so you can see the ukrainian rationale. it's to impose costs on the russians. however, i think they may be considering over the next few weeks whether it's worth the cost. but this is an example, ben, of something called sunk costs. both sides now have invested so much in the form of casualties and resources that both sides would find it difficult now to withdraw.

frank ledwidge there. the operation to clear a site in germany that's been earmarked for new coal—mining — is entering its fourth day. police have clashed with protesters near the village of lutzerath in the west of the country. but at least one famous demonstrator has turned up to offer her support — as tim allman explains. chanting for many, she has become the face of the modern climate change movement. so it was perhaps inevitable that greta thunberg would pay a visit to lutzerath. and as police continued clearing the site, she was not impressed. i think it's absolutely absurd that this is happening in the year 2023. it is — the most affected people are clear, the science is clear, we need to keep the carbon in the ground. and this — germany is really embarrassing itself right now. the german authorities disagree. they've spent the last few days removing demonstrators from this abandoned village. chanting.

once they're gone, it will be demolished to make way for an expanded coalmine. but some of the protesters are dug in — quite literally. translation: the tunnel is a very effective form . of defence against eviction. it's much harder to clear a tunnel than a tree house. germany had previously said it wanted to abandon coalmining, but russia's invasion of ukraine and the energy crisis it caused has prompted a change of heart, hence this ongoing demonstration and the thorny issue of how to bring it to an end. translation: we tried to convince i them to leave, but they refused. l now, we have to look at how we can safely recover the two people. chanting the last few protesters are still holding out and a large rally is due to take place later on saturday.

no surprises — greta thunberg is expected to take part. tim allman, bbc news. banks are being caught off guard by the emerging and growing threat of mobile phone fraud according to charity the fraud advisory panel. it happens when criminals steal mobiles not for the handsets but to try to gain access to the banking and financial apps on them. if successful, they can then use those apps to steal thousands of pounds or even more. dan whitworth from radio 4's money box programme has been investigating and joins us now. dan, give us a bit more detail about what this kind of mobile phone fraud is... think the viz easiest way to describe it is to talk about i have been speaking to in his early 30s called ed in his early 30s cold air then this happened to him on a night out in london last summer. towards the end of had his phone a lot and is to talk about i have been speaking to in his early 30s cold air then this happened to him on a night out in london last summer. towards the end of the night he had his phone a lot in his hand moves

that phone was unlocked and within hours he essentially had nearly £16,000 stolen from his bank account by these same criminals. a small portion of that was savings of £16,000 and they also applied for £11 loan —— an £11,000 loan from his bank five game which was appeased within a few minutes and owners also stolen —— at 5am, which was approved. not only did they also have a terrible time with what happened but also had a been half month with his bank fighting to try and prove what happened. eventually happened last month. what and prove what happened. eventually happened last month.— happened last month. what is the bankin: happened last month. what is the banking industry _ happened last month. what is the banking industry say _ happened last month. what is the banking industry say about - happened last month. what is the banking industry say about this? | happened last month. what is the i banking industry say about this? the banking industry say about this? tie banking industry say about this? tie banking industry say about this? tij: banking industry say about this? tij: banking industry say it constantly monitors the threat of emerging frauds like this one mobile phone frauds like this one mobile phone fraud and it says it is crucially saying a loss of threat is very

common but that doesn't help people like ed and a number of other cases they have swindlers set this type of fraud is quite common.— they have swindlers set this type of fraud is quite common. people might be shoutin: fraud is quite common. people might be shouting at _ fraud is quite common. people might be shouting at their _ fraud is quite common. people might be shouting at their television - be shouting at their television screens right now, what we to protect ourselves?— screens right now, what we to protect ourselves? cyber security exert protect ourselves? cyber security expert said _ protect ourselves? cyber security expert said a _ protect ourselves? cyber security expert said a couple _ protect ourselves? cyber security expert said a couple of _ protect ourselves? cyber security expert said a couple of key - protect ourselves? cyber security | expert said a couple of key things. number one, if you're going on a couple of key things. number one, if you're going and a night out you can of course remove your banking apps from your mobile phone and just keep them on devices that stay at homes of caution not opening yourself up to that kind of risk. also, if you use a secure pin number to unlock your phone, make sure you use a different one to open up your banking apps. i know before i started researching this story i had the same six digit number to mock my phone to open my banking apps and of course criminals will play a dominant on that. don't store any cash information or details on the note section of your phone because obviously criminals no criminal

damage human behaviour know how to do that. if you can use facetime idealfinger than ideal do that. if you can use facetime ideal finger than ideal biometric data because that will help. i’m data because that will help. i'm ve lad data because that will help. i'm very glad you — data because that will help. i'm very glad you touched on face ideally often the print id. presumably this is a developing area. what if they force you to look into the phone to unlock it all for yourfinger and the id bit to lock, unlock it that way? what is the situation then? think about the situation then? think about the situation then? think about the situation then is these criminals have access your phone. interestingly have spoken to a handful of base on this one interestingly have spoken to a handful of base on this one had his -hone handful of base on this one had his phone pickpocketed _ handful of base on this one had his phone pickpocketed and _ handful of base on this one had his phone pickpocketed and thinks - phone pickpocketed and thinks they're criminals had been shoulder surfing and watching typing is the number. anotherjob and had it mugged. two of the people have spoken to said they have their drinks spiked and then there biometric data was amused via a fingerprint and the police has investigated one of those cases are made of so this isn't something out of science fiction. this is happening now. people need to be aware of the dangers and do what

they can to protect themselves. such an important story. then, thank you much. dan whitworth on radio four�*s money box programme. some single—use plastics will be banned in england from october. takeaways, restaurants, and cafes will have to stop using plastic cutlery, plates, and bowls as part of a new plan by the government to tackle plastic pollution. sean dilley reports. quick, convenient and no washing up. but from october, the government says it plans to ban restau ra nts a nd cafes in england using some single—use plastics and polystyrenes. we've got a whole raft of measures on waste, trying to reduce waste in this country, and this new ban that we're announcing today is just one of a whole raft of measures to really tackle this issue. ministers are planning to ban single—use plastic trays, cutlery, bowls, balloon sticks and some polystyrene cups and food containers as part of england's 25—year environment plan to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by 2042.

in 2020, single—use plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers were banned for sale and distribution. it's estimated that england uses 2.7 billion items of single—use cutlery each year and the majority are plastic. in 2020, plastic cutlery made it to the top—15 most littered items. england, though, is playing catch—up with other uk nations. wales approved similar measures last month — those come into effect later this year — and scotland introduced a similar ban lastjune. takeaway owners are concerned that new rules could add to their costs when bills are already high. campaigners welcome any move that reduces our carbon footprint and reduces harmful greenhouse gases but, for some, the government's plans don't go far enough. we're second only to the us in how much plastic waste is produced per person.

that means we're the second—biggest producers of plastic waste in the world, so we really need transformative change to happen, we need the government to be showing real ambition and taking the lead. we're actually looking for a 50% reduction in single—use packaging, which would lead to the kind of change we need to see. the proposed ban in england only applies to cafes and restaurants and not to single—use plastic packaging for food and drinks sold in supermarkets. the government says it's working on separate plans for these retailers to cover disposal costs from 202a. sean dilley, bbc news. a new study has suggested hormone replacement therapy — or hrt — a type of treatment originally designed to alleviate the symptoms of menopause could be "potentially important" in lowering the risk of some women developing alzheimer's disease. the paper, written by scientists at the university of east anglia

and the university of edinburgh, says it has found evidence that hrt therapy reduces the incidence of the disease in women speaking to us about this is one of the authors of that report, professor anne—marie milihane from the university of east anglia in norwich. i'm sure you are wondering what that is! one of the authors joins us now. what is this gene, then, that they've identified that could be affected by this?— they've identified that could be affected by this? they've identified that could be affected b this? ., ~ affected by this? good morning. apoe is a really important _ affected by this? good morning. apoe is a really important protein _ affected by this? good morning. apoe is a really important protein in - is a really important protein in brain function. it does all kinds of things in the brain. it is involved in the neurons to seeds involved in producing glucose in the brain. but if you have the full version rather than the common three version it is less effective and in the long term it is associated with cognitive decline and increased risk of dementia. in decline and increased risk of dementia-— decline and increased risk of dementia. . , ., dementia. in which case, how important _ dementia. in which case, how important are _ dementia. in which case, how important are the _ dementia. in which case, how important are the findings - dementia. in which case, how important are the findings ofl dementia. in which case, how i important are the findings of this

study and whether they stop eventually having an effect to benefit patients?— benefit patients? yes, interestingly, - benefit patients? yes, interestingly, even i benefit patients? yes, i interestingly, even though benefit patients? yes, - interestingly, even though our findings are quite convincing and internally consistent in that we saw a benefit of hrt in women always of an association between hrt use and apoea an association between hrt use and apoeii women and things like overall cognitive function and brain volumes and memory these were associations and memory these were associations and they were done in an observational setting of around 1200 people saw a relatively small sample sides but they give us great bases now to say this is a real effect and to go on and do the complimentary randomised controlled trials were planning on doing. i randomised controlled trials were planning on doing.— planning on doing. i know hrt of course by its _ planning on doing. i know hrt of course by its nature _ planning on doing. i know hrt of course by its nature is _ planning on doing. i know hrt of course by its nature is designed i planning on doing. i know hrt of. course by its nature is designed to alleviate symptoms in the medical search is prescribed for women but is there any potential application of this that would help prevent men

develop alzheimer's as its specific to women? it develop alzheimer's as its specific to women? , develop alzheimer's as its specific to women?— develop alzheimer's as its specific towomen? , . to women? it is very specifically an oestro . en to women? it is very specifically an oestrogen replacement _ to women? it is very specifically an oestrogen replacement therapy i to women? it is very specifically an oestrogen replacement therapy is i to women? it is very specifically an | oestrogen replacement therapy is in the first instance it is highly likely that it is going to be a therapy that will reduce risk in women rather than men so now that's our plans. that is an interesting concept but likely that the benefit would be more specific to women. really impatient you coming on to talk to us about it. you are much indeed for your time.— talk to us about it. you are much i indeed for your time._ -- indeed for your time. thank you. -- thank ou indeed for your time. thank you. -- thank you very _ indeed for your time. thank you. -- thank you very much _ indeed for your time. thank you. -- thank you very much indeed - indeed for your time. thank you. -- thank you very much indeed for i indeed for your time. thank you. --| thank you very much indeed for your time. more than 500 ufos have reportedly been spotted by us troops. a new de—classified us government document shows that the us national intelligence agency is now aware of 510 reported sightings — nearly half of the new sightings were deemed unremarkable — but more than 100 of them remain unexplained.

how intriguing! that's it for the moment. i'll see you soon. hello. compared to the grey conditions most woke up to this morning, a bit more sunshine around almost uk—wide. but we'll still feel the effects of last night's rain, and flood warnings continue to go up in some areas. the bbc weather website has all the latest details. and if you're on the move, bbc sounds to find your bbc local radio station, they'll keep you up to daate. it's this area of low pressure responsible. the main rain—bearing weather front moving eastwards, but we still have a hang—back of rain through orkney this afternoon and showers, and some longer spells of rain and hill snow pushing in to western scotland and northern ireland. in east anglia and south—east of the channel islands, it may take until maybe late afternoon to see any glimpses of sunshine. staying a bit wetter here for longer. but for all, temperatures actually dropping relative to this morning.

around 5—11 c through the afternoon. the strong winds in the south will start to ease a little bit, but they will pick up across some parts of northern ireland and south—west scotland, and we could see gusts of a0 to 50 mph here, if not a bit more, to end the day and to go into the night. and it's here where as winds start to go more northerly, it will bring rain into more sleet and snow territory across parts of northern scotland. and this band of rain — across northern ireland, into northern england and, eventually, north wales — will have some sleet and snow in the hills as well. north of it, the risk of frost and certainly some ice. all of us, a colder night than last night. so, as we go into sunday, a change is afoot. colder weather for all. the real coldest air — the darker blue colours here — waiting in the wings to push their way southwards through sunday night and into monday. it's to the north of this zone of cloud and outbreaks of rain, and also, hill, sleet and snow which arrive through parts of wales, the midlands and east anglia through the day. south of it, sunshine, a few showers, more of a westerly wind to the north of it. a northerly wind making it feel increasingly chilly. lots of sunshine around, but frequent snow showers

in the north of scotland and a sub—zero wind chill to go with it. as you go, then, into sunday night, a bank of rain — as it pushes through the english channel — could turn to sleet and snow in the south—east. but northern england, northern ireland most likely to see a covering of snow as we start monday morning. but across the board, very cold start to monday morning. maybe as low as —8 through parts of scotland. and that risk of frost and ice, which will be with us for a time next week, with that colder air in place. and there will be a chance of snow in places. frost and ice the most widespread risk. temperatures, you can see, in the capital cities staying in the mid, if not lower, single figures. rising, with some rain returning later in the week.

this is bbc news. i'm ben boulos and these are the headlines: iranian state media says british—iranian dual national alireza akbari has been executed on charges of spying for the uk, which he had denied. britain's prime minister calls it a "callous and cowardly act". ukraine's capital, kyiv, has been hit by a missile attack, with critical infrastructure apparently the target, as president zelensky insists the fight for soledar goes on, despite russian claims they've taken the town. climate activist greta thunberg joins protesters in the german village of lutzerath as police try to clear the area to make way for coal—mining. it's the fourth day of officers are trying to forcibly remove demonstrators. they say they don't plan to leave.

takeaways, restaurants, and cafes in england will have